In another part of town, Mike, Dustin, Max, and Will had followed Ethan to meet Victor. They walked cautiously, looking around in every direction, as if expecting something to emerge from between the houses at any moment. Behind them were Steve, Billy, Nancy, Jonathan, and Julie, who had insisted on coming along to keep them from doing anything reckless, since none of them agreed to stay behind at the house.
In the community house, up in Victor's attic, the walls were covered with drawings pinned up using rusted nails. Twisted trees, faceless figures, houses surrounded by shadows at their entrances. The air felt heavy, almost suffocating. Ethan stopped abruptly, his eyes shining with curiosity."This is it," Ethan said.
Mike frowned as he studied the drawings."Great. Exactly the kind of place that shows up right before someone starts screaming."
Dustin adjusted his cap, trying to lighten the mood."Hey, don't judge. Some geniuses live like… weird hermits."
Max crossed her arms, scanning the drawings carefully."These aren't normal drawings." She nodded toward one with her chin."That tree… I've seen it from the road."
Will swallowed, a chill running down his spine."Me too."
Behind them, Steve raised both hands in a calming gesture."Okay, rule number one: no running inside, no touching weird stuff, and if something moves… I go first."
Billy let out a low laugh, leaning against the wall."Since when are you the babysitter, Harrington? Besides, I go first. You're brave—but weak."
Nancy shot him a sharp glare."Since you decided to follow a kid into the house of the weirdest guy in town."
Jonathan silently studied the drawings, stepping a little closer to one of them."These drawings are strange… they look like memories."
Julie took a deep breath and gathered her courage."Victor is strange, but he's a good person. He once saved me from the Smilers when they got into this place."
That made all the kids frown at the same time."They got into this place?" they asked in unison.
Julie nodded, nervous under the sudden attention."Someone let them in. A lot of people died."
"Liam is right—it's better to live in town. You can't trust just anyone," Billy said in a seriousness that was unusual for him. It only reinforced the idea that Liam's decisions had to be followed to the letter, and that he himself would make sure others did the same.
"On that, we agree," Steve said, nodding slowly.
The door creaked open slowly, the long sound making several of them tense. Victor appeared, holding a pencil in one hand and an old lunchbox in the other. His eyes went straight to Ethan."You're late," Victor said.
"I didn't know there was a time," Ethan replied with a small shrug.
Victor tilted his head, thoughtful."There's always a time."Then he looked at the group."There are many today."
Dustin leaned toward Mike and whispered,"Why do I feel like he's about to tell us how many of us are going to die?"
Victor heard him."I don't know, but it could happen at any moment."
Silence. No one moved.
"Uh… that's good, right?" Steve said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
Victor didn't respond. He turned and walked deeper into the house without inviting them in, but he left the door open.
Ethan stepped forward without hesitation.
"Ethan, wait," Will said, reaching out slightly.
"It's okay. He's my friend."
"He seems to know a lot. Let's go in," Max said firmly.
Billy clicked his tongue."Great. A crazy guy who 'knows things.' Just what we needed."
"Billy, shut up," Nancy said without looking at him.
Inside the house, Victor sat down on the floor and pulled out a new drawing. He carefully slid it toward Ethan.
"The child who listens understands first," Victor said.
Ethan knelt beside him."Understands what?"
Victor lifted his gaze, fixing it now on Will, making him tense.
"That the place doesn't want you to leave—but it also wants to kill the special couple."
A chill ran down Will's spine.
"What does that mean? It wants to kill Liam and Carrie?"
Victor went back to drawing, as if that were more important than answering."Yesterday I dreamed that an old man got angry when they tried to leave, so he killed the couple."
Steve took a deep breath, rubbing his face."Okay. Officially, this is worse than anything this town has said so far."
Julie moved closer to Nancy and whispered,"What if he's right? What if Liam and Carrie die for trying to get us out?"
Nancy didn't answer right away. She looked at Ethan, at Will… then at the door."Then we have to listen. Even if we don't like it."
…
Back in town, Liam and Carrie had already arrived. They were currently choosing houses for their group alongside Boyd; they had already discussed it with Donna, and their entire group chose to stay in town.
"We'll take these four houses. That's enough for our group," Liam said, observing the layout. He planned to place several families in a few houses so they wouldn't be too far apart and could help each other quickly in an emergency.
Boyd nodded."Alright. I'll place an amulet in each house so the monsters can't get in. Make sure your group understands how important the amulet is."
"Done. I'll handle the rest. Tomorrow, you'll find one or more of the Smilers dead," Liam said confidently, without hesitation.
"I'd appreciate that. It would change this place," Boyd said, feeling a hope he hadn't felt in a long time.
Liam nodded, then noticed a nearby house where Clint stood, waving him over as if he wanted to talk about something important.
"Well, I'll see you later. I've got something to take care of," Liam said, turning slightly and raising a hand in farewell toward Boyd.
Clint nodded and stepped forward, gesturing toward the inside of the house."Welcome to my home. Let me introduce you to my family."He pointed to the woman carefully holding two small children—a boy around four years old and a two-year-old girl."This is my wife, Laura, and these are my kids, Cooper and Lila."
"Nice to meet you. Welcome to our home," Laura Barton said with a warm smile, though she tried to keep the children from breaking free and running straight toward Liam and Carrie.
"The pleasure is ours," Liam said sincerely, lowering his gaze slightly as he noticed the two restless children watching him with curiosity.
The kids managed to slip out of their mother's grasp and ran without hesitation—Cooper straight to Liam, and Lila toward Carrie.
"Big brother, people say you're super strong," Cooper said excitedly, throwing little punches into the air as if fighting invisible monsters.
"Sorry, my kids admire you," Clint said with a calm smile, enjoying that rare moment of genuine happiness in a place where it almost never happened.
"Don't worry, it doesn't bother me," Liam said, bending slightly to get to the boy's height.
"Yes, I'm very strong—strong enough to kill bad monsters," Liam replied with a confident smile aimed at Cooper.
"Wow! I want to be like you and Dad when I grow up," Cooper said, jumping excitedly, his eyes full of admiration.
"Hahahaha."On the other side, Lila laughed as she floated gently in the air thanks to Carrie's telekinesis. Carrie smiled widely as she watched the girl's happiness; the scene stirred her desire to have children even more, but remembering Liam's refusal made her pout briefly before she composed herself.
"I want to do that too," Cooper said, eyes shining as he watched his sister float, and he ran toward Carrie without thinking.
"Alright, another future hero flying to save the innocent," Carrie said, replacing the pout with a wide smile as she carefully lifted the boy into the air as well.
"Thank you for this. It's not easy to see my children happy here, with those monsters tapping on the windows every night," Clint said sincerely, watching his children laugh without fear.
"No need. Carrie clearly looks like she's having fun with the kids too," Liam said calmly, observing the scene with a mix of peace and reflection.
"It still helps a lot," Laura added, leaning lightly against the doorframe, visibly relieved.
Liam nodded in acceptance, then looked at Clint, making it clear with his gaze that he was waiting to hear why Clint had called him over.
"Oh, right—sorry. I forgot why I called you after seeing my kids so happy. Let's go inside," Clint said, scratching the back of his neck before leading Liam into the house and toward the living room. They sat across from each other while Laura headed to the kitchen to prepare something.
"I'm not a normal law enforcement officer like you probably thought," Clint said seriously, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I suspected as much. I can tell from your movements that you have more experience than the other officers like Boyd, Hopper, or Kenny," Liam said calmly, not revealing that he knew far more about Clint than he could imagine.
Clint nodded slowly and continued."I work as an elite special operations agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization responsible for maintaining global security," Clint said, looking directly into Liam's eyes, watching for his reaction.
Liam raised an eyebrow with interest."That sounds impressive. A few days ago, I learned about that organization when a girl from my group read the mind of a Russian soldier."
That made Clint frown; his lips pressed together slightly as he processed the information. If the organization Hopper mentioned already knew about S.H.I.E.L.D., then he better understood the danger they could pose to ordinary civilians."I didn't expect you to already know about S.H.I.E.L.D., but that makes things easier," Clint said, pausing briefly as he rubbed his chin.
"In recent years, our organization has begun encountering supernatural beings all over the world. Some we can deal with—but in other cases, our only option is to seal off the area to prevent further incidents."The seriousness of the subject showed clearly on his face; his eyes hardened as he recalled past missions. He himself had taken down several of them, and none had been easy.
"I understand. I've encountered several of them. Not all of them are on the same level—one I had to run from, another resurrected and hid, another escaped to hell, and another hid out of fear," Liam said calmly, though his gaze drifted for a moment as he remembered what had happened over the past months.
Hearing that unsettled Clint. Swallowing was almost reflexive; imagining such things was difficult even for someone with his experience, but he forced himself to accept it, knowing the kind of world he lived in."That… doesn't sound easy."
"It's no problem. I actively hunt them myself," Liam said with unsettling calm, as if he were talking about something mundane.
That encouraged Clint, who straightened slightly in his seat before continuing."I called you to see if you'd be willing to join my organization. We could really use people with abilities like yours and Carrie's to deal with those monsters," Clint said sincerely, recalling the massacres he had seen on missions involving the supernatural.
Liam held Clint's gaze for a long moment, thoughtful, weighing every word before answering."I can't join—but we could work as partners. You tell me where creatures like that are, provide the necessary resources, and I kill them," Liam said calmly, considering how much easier cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D. would make things.
Clint nodded slowly. Recruiting him wouldn't be easy, but the alternative didn't sound bad either."That sounds reasonable, but we'd have to discuss it with my boss before deciding anything."
"Then we'll talk about it once we get out of this place. I also need to pass important information on to your boss," Liam said with a slight seriousness in his voice, thinking about the information regarding Hydra and letting S.H.I.E.L.D. handle them. Of course, he wouldn't be naive enough to say it over the phone—he had other methods.
That made Clint frown slightly, unsure what he meant, but he chose not to ask, leaving that topic for Fury."I hope this turns into a successful collaboration. No one should have to live through situations like the one we're in now."
Liam nodded firmly. If he could help people while growing stronger and building positive recognition for his Faith ability, he would do it without hesitation.