[ Location: Brimborn Steel Works - Outskirts of Hawkins ][ Date: March 30th, 1985 - Saturday Afternoon ]
I parked my bike in the tall grass, hidden from the road. The old steel mill loomed ahead, a rusted skeleton of industry against the bright blue sky.
"Checking out local architecture," I whispered to myself, recalling the lie I told my mom. "Right."
I walked up to the side entrance. Locked. Heavy chains.
I reached for my wand.
'Alohomora.'
The padlock clicked and fell open.
I slipped inside. The air was stale, smelling of rust, wet cardboard, and... fertilizer? No. Underneath the chemical smell, there was something sweeter.
Something rotten.
I walked deeper into the factory floor. A low-level vibration against my skin, like standing next to a high-voltage wire.
Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.
Thousands of tiny claws on concrete.
I climbed a catwalk and looked down into the main vat room.
It was a sea of rats. Swarming. Chittering. They were moving in a circle, like a whirlpool of grey fur.
And then, one of them stopped. It shook violently.
POP.
The rat exploded , not into blood and guts, but into a pile of writhing, wet goop. The goop moved. It slithered toward another pile of goop, merging with it.
'The Biomass,' I thought, nausea curling in my stomach. 'He's building a body. Piece by piece. Cell by cell.'
I reached for my wand. 'I should burn it. Incendio Maxima and roast the whole building.'
But I stopped.
In the center of the rat swarm, something was floating.
It wasn't a rat.
It wasn't a piece of machinery.
It was a red balloon.
'Oh Fuck.'
It bobbed gently in the stagnant air, tied to a piece of rebar sticking out of the concrete.
'That... shouldn't be there.'
I focused on it.
'System. Observe.'
[ Entity: Deadlight Construct ][ Status: Watching. ]
The balloon turned slowly. On the rubber, written in black marker: HI VIVAN.
A chill that had nothing to do with the Mind Flayer went down my spine.
"Okay," I whispered, backing away slowly. "That's a new flavor of horror. I'm leaving."
[ Location: Frostwell Residence - Vivan's Bedroom ][ Date: April 1st, 1985 - Monday Morning (2:00 AM) ]
I tried to stay awake. I really did.
I drank coffee. I read Advanced Occlumency.
But exhaustion is a heavy blanket. Eventually, I drifted off.
I was dreaming. I knew I was dreaming because the sky was bleeding red, and I was standing in a hallway that shouldn't exist.
The Creel House.
The wallpaper peeled back like dead skin, revealing wet, pulsating veins underneath.
'Occlumency. Shields up.'
I visualized my mental fortress.
CRACK.
The vault door crumpled, like tinfoil.
"You persist," a voice echoed. It didn't come from the hall.
It came from inside the vault. Inside me.
Vecna.
I spun around. He was floating at the end of the corridor, suspended by vines. His skin was raw, wet, a map of agony. He didn't have eyes, just pits of malice.
"I told you. You should just die, Nuisance."
"And you're a lich with a boundary issue," I shouted back, backing away. "Can't a guy sleep without a psychic invasion?"
"Sleep, yes I am gonna give you permanent sleep. Good night, Vivan Frostwell."
My blood ran cold.
'He knows my name?'
He raised a clawed hand.
"Let us see what is inside."
He pushed.
It wasn't a physical push. It was a hydraulic press on my consciousness. My Occlumency (Level 3) screamed under the pressure.
It felt like my brain was being squeezed through a straw.
'I can't beat him here as he's a spirit stats 500, He is strong. I'm a spirit stats 120.'
I didn't fight back.
I pulled the plug.
I visualized a pair of scissors and I cut the cord.
SNAP.
[ Location: Vivan's Bedroom - Reality ][ Time: 6:00 AM ]
"GAH!"
I sat up, gasping. Air. Sweet, real air.
Warm liquid dripped onto my chest. I touched my nose. Blood. A lot of it. My ears were ringing, a high-pitched whine that wouldn't stop.
[ System Notice: Mental Defense Breached. ][ System Notice: Forced Disconnect Successful. ][ Occlumency Proficiency Increased. ][ LEVEL UP! Occlumency is now Level 4. ]
"Level 4," I wheezed, grabbing a tissue box. "Great. Only six more levels until I can sleep without being mentally groped by a Professor X zombie."
I walked to the window.
Hawkins looked normal. The sun was rising.
But something felt... heavy.
The psychic shockwave of our clash hadn't just vanished.
It rippled out like a sonar ping.
'I just rang the dinner bell,' I thought, wiping blood from my lip. 'I hope nothing else was listening.'
[ Location: Hawkins Middle School - Lunch ][ Time: 12:30 PM ]
"New kids," Dustin whispered, leaning over his tray of mystery meat. "Transfers."
"From where?" Lucas asked.
"Maine," Dustin said darkly. "Some town called Derry. Apparently, it's worse than here."
"Worse than Hawkins?" Mike scoffed. "Do they have Demogorgons?"
"No," Dustin said. "But they have a really high missing persons rate. Like... way higher."
I looked over at the table in the corner.
There were three of them. They looked exhausted. Haunted. Like soldiers back from a war nobody else knew about.
Bill Denbrough. Tall, skinny, stuttering as he asked for a napkin.
Richie Tozier. Thick glasses, loud mouth, currently making a crude joke about the lunch lady.
And the girl.
Beverly Marsh.
She was... striking. Fiery red hair, cut short. She was scanning the room like she expected something to jump out of the vents. She looked tough. Broken, but tough.
'System. Observe.'
[ Target: Beverly Marsh ][ Status: Marked by the Eater. ]
[ Debuff: Chronic Fear (Suppressed). ]
'Marked by the Eater? '
I looked at Bill and Richie. Same mark.
'They didn't escape fucking Derry. They brought it with them.'
Suddenly, Richie stood up and walked toward our table. He stopped in front of Mike.
He stared at Mike.
Mike stared at him.
It was like looking in a funhouse mirror. Same bone structure. Same hair. Same face.
"What the hell?" Dustin whispered. "Mike, did you clone yourself?"
Richie pushed his glasses up. "Who's this frog-face? He looks like a cheaper version of me."
Mike bristled. "Excuse me? You're the one with the coke-bottle glasses!"
"At least I have personality, Frog-Face!" Richie shot back. "I bet you're the boring one in your group. The leader who whines a lot?"
The table went silent. Lucas and Dustin tried not to laugh.
"I like him," Max smirked from beside me. "He's annoying."
I stood up. "Alright, break it up. The multiverse is lazy with character models, we get it."
I walked past them, heading for the exit. I needed fresh air.
As I passed the corner table, I caught Beverly's eye.
She tensed, her hand going to her pocket (cigarette lighter? Weapon?).
I stopped and looked at her.
"Welcome to Hawkins," I said softly. "It's safer here. Mostly."
She blinked, surprised by the tone. "Is it?"
"No," I admitted. "But we hit back."
Her eyes widened slightly. A spark of interest.
[ System Notice: Relationship with Beverly Marsh unlocked. Status: Wary/Intrigued. ]
'She's a fighter. I like her.'
[ Location: Starcourt Mall Construction Site ][ Time: 4:00 PM ]
I dropped El off with Max near the arcade entrance.
"Okay," I said. "Rules. No boys. No powers unless emergency and Max... teach her how to shop."
"I got this, Dad," Max rolled her eyes. "Come on, El. Let's go to the Gap."
"Gap?" El asked, excited.
I watched them walk away.
Then, I saw him.
Billy Hargrove was leaning against his blue Camaro, smoking. He was watching the girls.
But he wasn't alone in his head.
'Observe.'
[ Target: Billy Hargrove ][ Mental Resistance: Cracking. ][ Status: The Nexus. ]
He twitched. He looked at the girls... then he looked at nothing. At empty air. He swatted at something near his face.
There was nothing there.
'Flies,' I realized. 'He's seeing flies. The Mind Flayer is starting the corruption.'
I turned to leave, but stopped.
Standing near the bike rack was Richie Tozier. He was alone, looking at a storm drain near the curb. He was pale. Shaking.
I walked over.
"You okay, new kid?"
Richie jumped about a foot in the air. "Jesus! Don't sneak up on a guy!"
"You're staring at a drain," I noted. "Expecting Ninja Turtles?"
"No," Richie adjusted his glasses, sweat on his brow. "Just... thought I saw something. A balloon."
My stomach dropped.
"A red one?" I asked.
Richie froze. He looked at me, terrified. "You... you saw it too?"
"No," I lied. "But I know the signs."
I looked down into the drain.
It was dark. Damp. Smelled of sewage and old rain.
And then... a giggle.
"Beep beep, Richie."
It was faint. Echoing.
Richie scrambled back, hyperventilating. "He's here. He followed us! That bastard followed us!"
I stepped closer to the drain.
Two silver eyes glowed in the darkness. They weren't looking at Richie.
They shifted to me.
The giggle stopped.
A sniff.
"Ooh..." the voice changed.
It was hungry. "You taste... spicy."
I didn't flinch.
I flared my Magic. Just a pulse. A warning.
"Wrong town, Bozo," I whispered. "We have enough monsters."
The eyes narrowed.
Then, a single red balloon floated up from the darkness.
Pop.
Blood splattered on the grate.
The presence vanished.
Richie was on the ground, dry heaving.
"Get up, Tozier," I said, offering him a hand. "Welcome to the party."
I looked at the blood on the grate.
It formed a smiley face.
'The Mind Flayer in the earth. The Clown in the sewers. And the Russians in the middle.'
I sighed.
"I'm going to need a bigger gun."
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