The gang had spent the night in the Wheelers basement, taking turns watching Max and keeping music playing to protect her from Vecna. Robin insisted that Brooklynn do the same; now that they knew how to repel Vecna, she didn't want to take any risks with her girlfriend's life.

They were woken up early by Nancy. Max had drawn multiple pictures of building parts she had seen when she was taken by Vecna. When Nancy put them together, they made Victor Creel's house.

Robin exchanged a look with Brooklynn when they arrived at the abandoned house. All the windows were boarded up, and the door had a large slab of wood covering it from top to bottom to ensure no one was able to get in.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve asked as he and Nancy dug the nails out of the wood with the back end of a hammer.

"We're not sure," Nancy replied. "We just know this house is important to Vecna."

"Because Max saw it in Vecna's red soup mind world?"

"Basically."

"Great." Steve groaned.

"Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is," Dustin suggested. "Why he's back. Why he killed the Creels. And how to stop him before he comes back for Max."

Lucas frowned. "We don't think he's in here...do we?"

"Guess we'll find out," Max said as Brooklynn hugged Robin's arm nervously.

The large wood slab fell to the ground with a loud thud. Steve rattled the doorknob, but it didn't open. He sarcastically asked if he should knock and see if anybody's home. Robin said that there was no need and held up a brick.

"I found a key." She shrugged. She handed it to Brooklynn. "Would you like to do the honors, BJ?"

"Would I?" Brooklynn grinned excitedly and took the brick. She yeeted it through the stained glass window of a rose on the front door.

Steve reached his arm through the hole and opened it. Lucas tried to turn on a lamp, but there was no electricity. Dustin clicked on his flashlight, frowning at Steve when he asked where everyone got those.

"Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child," Dustin sassed.

Brooklynn took an extra flashlight out of her backpack and tossed it to Steve before venturing further into the house with Nancy and Robin. All the furniture and everything was still here, coated with dust from the many years that had passed.

"I guess a triple homicide isn't good for resale value," Robin commented.

"Hey, guys?" Max called out to them. They all went over to her. "You all see that, right?"

She was shining her flashlight at a grandfather clock, just like she had seen that night in the school hallway. But it was just a normal clock...right? What was its purpose?

"Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks?" Steve asked, frowning. "Maybe he's, like, a...clockmaker or something?"

Brooklynn stared at him before glancing up at Robin. The taller girl sighed and shook her head, muttering that he was such a dingus.

"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin said sarcastically. Steve glared at him.

"All I know is...the answers are here...Somewhere," Nancy said. "Okay, everyone stay in groups of two. Robin, Brooke, upstairs."

"You said groups of two." Steve frowned as the three girls headed upstairs.

"Use your brain, dingus," Robin called over her shoulder. "There's an uneven number."

They looked around upstairs for a while, but found nothing. They heard a yell from another room and went to see what happened. Steve had said that there was a black widow spider. There were cobwebs in his hair, and Nancy helped him clean it off. Robin said that if she was looking for a spider that it wouldn't be found until it laid its eggs and all the babies spilled out. She and Brooklynn walked away laughing when Steve asked what was wrong with her.

"Hey, guys!" Max yelled from somewhere in the house. "Lucas and I found something! Get down here!"

They hurried downstairs to see what the younger teens had found. Max and Lucas were standing below a chandelier, the lights flickering. This was odd considering that the place didn't have electricity.

Nancy said that it was like the Christmas lights; how they had come to life when Will Byers was in the Upside Down. Joyce had figured out that he was using them to communicate with her. This could only mean one thing. That Vecna was there with them, in the house, in the Upside Down.

The chandelier went dim. The group exchanged looks.

"I think he just left the room," Robin said.

"Did he hear us?" Max asked.

"Can he see us?" Steve wondered.

"Headphones," Lucas told Max.

"Brookie, you too," Robin said.

Brooklynn pulled on her headphones and clicked on the mixtape Robin had made for her. She knew that her girlfriend was just being overprotective – it's not like Vecna had anything to use against her or anything – but if it made her feel better, then she wasn't going to argue.

Nancy instructed them to turn off their flashlights and spread out. They did so and split up, Robin sticking close to Brooklynn. After some time, both their flashlights lit up, and Robin yelled out to the others.

Venca was moving. The group followed him through the house, their flashlights indicating where he was. They were led upstairs to the attic. Dustin wondered if he was leading them into a trap.

Brooklynn clung onto Robin's arm as they approached a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. All their flashlights flickered until they exploded. A couple glass shards cut Brooklynn's cheek, trickles of blood falling down her face.

They were now in complete darkness. The light above had gone dim.

"Brooke, are you okay?" Robin asked. She used the pad of her thumb to gently swipe away the blood. Brooklynn nodded and said that she was. "Come on, let's get those cuts cleaned up."

She took her hand and led her downstairs. They sat down on the bottom step, and Robin took the first aid kit out of Brooklynn's bag. She gently cleaned the cuts with a cotton pad and rubbing alcohol, the blonde wincing and yanking her head away at the stinging. She covered the cuts with a couple small band-aids before kissing her cheek. "All better," she whispered.

Brooklynn smiled softly and leaned up to kiss her lips before they went outside to meet the others. Steve gave them a knowing look as they piled into the car and began the drive home.