Eddie Munson? Never heard of him.

Hey, I'm Liv. 29. She/Her. 18+ only MDNI. If you're looking for well written plot and smut, you've come to the right place.https://archiveofourown.org/users/livpethttps://www.wattpad.com/user/livpet

[livpet]

Part One: Venus in Furs

Summary: In Eddie Munson's humble estimation, Kelly Turner is the most perfect being to ever walk the earth. Too bad that Kelly doesn't feel the same. By a twist of fate, their paths intertwine just in time for everything to turn Upside Down in Hawkins. 18+ MDNI. Eddie Munson X f!oc.

Status: Complete

Soundtrack

Chapter One: A Girl In Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)

Chapter Two: Rainbow in the Dark

Chapter Three: You Really Got Me

Chapter Four: Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)

Chapter Five: Can't Help Falling in Love

Chapter Six: Just Like Honey

Chapter Seven: Sabbra Cadabra

Chapter Eight: Perfect Day

Chapter Nine: Breaking the Law

Chapter Ten: Master of Puppets

Chapter Eleven: Stairway to Heaven

Chapter Twelve: All Along the Watchtower

Part Two: King of the Dead

Summary: In Eddie Munson's humble estimation, Kelly Rose Turner is the most perfect being to ever walk the earth. She's now just as enamored as he is, and together, they won't go down without a fight. The battle for Hawkins, and the world, is on. 18+ MDNI. Eddie Munson X f!oc.

Status: In progress

Chapter One: I Was Made For Lovin' You

Chapter Two: Lady Strange

Chapter Three: All Night Long

Chapter Four: Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

[havinganormalone]

Fanfiction is insane. You can write porn so good you make friends.

[livpet]

King of the Dead Chapter Four: Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

Sunday, March 30th, 1986.

I woke up in an unfamiliar place, but with familiar arms around me. I sighed as they held me tighter.

“You awake?” I breathed, trying not to disturb anyone else.

“Yeah,” Eddie puffed against my ear.

We were curled up in a beanbag chair against the wall under a blanket, in the dark corner of the Wheelers’ basement behind the stairs. I could see the dark blue night just beyond the window, and all around us were the snores and rhythmic breathing of our sleeping friends.

“Your call. Time to go?”

He took a deep, sleepy breath. “Not yet. We’re running on fumes, baby. Let’s stay for breakfast, then we’ll go.”

“You could—”

“If they catch me, finish your breakfast and pretend you don’t know me.”

“Never.”

“I’m asking you to, Kelly Rose.”

“Hell no. You’re gonna need me if they come for you, trust me.”

“Of course I will. But not if it’ll ruin your life.”

“Eddie, nobody’s life is getting ruined as long as I’ve got my nest egg.”

“You shouldn’t waste it on me.”

“It’s never a waste on you.” I kissed the side of his closest finger.

He kissed my neck in return. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

* * *

So, last night got a little heated, and not in a fun way.

First, there was the challenge of actually getting Eddie into the Wheelers’ basement without anyone seeing him and immediately calling the police. My boys and I had some measure of expertise in this area, but Nancy had other ideas.

“He can’t just come through the front door with us. We’ll let him in through the basement window or something.”

“Or something?” I asked impatiently into the walkie talkie. We’d parked the cars all around Maple Court to try and look less suspicious; Doug was in his driveway, with Eddie hunkered down on the floor of the backseat until further notice; Steve was parked as close to the Wheelers’ garage door as he could get, while the Dues sat idling under Dustin’s carport. Argyle had swung in last behind Steve, boxing in everyone in the BMW. They’d made a scene already with how loud Argyle’s radio was, so time was of the essence to settle our next move. When I’d turned on the walkie again to assess our options, I found everyone else in chaos already talking over each other across the airwaves, and that was what brought on Nancy’s obsessive compulsion to take control, even when she obviously had no plan outside of hearing herself talk. After the night we just survived, I’d had enough. “What do you think people will say when they see a wanted murderer sneaking into a well-to-do family’s basement on a Saturday night? This is Maple Court we’re talking about. Be a little realistic here.” For once, Nancy made no answer. It seemed like everybody else was finally listening, too. “If we surround him and all go in at once, we can be distracting enough to get him in unnoticed. We can’t make him invisible and we can’t have him committing fucking crimes in view of, you know, an entire neighborhood of busybodies just waiting for their chance to see something. But we can make sure nobody actually notices him. If he goes through the front door, nobody can say he forced his way in uninvited, either. All the guys can cover him while the girls are up front talking. Easy as pie, now over and out.”

Nancy really didn’t like what I did next; because I chose to understand that there was a time and a place for stealth, and there was a time and a place to charge forward boldly. She was choosing neither, and was right back to listening to herself talk again, so I turned off the walkie and took our chance by the balls.

I was the first one out of the car, dragging Eddie by the hand low to the ground as we hauled ass across the pavement to the Wheelers’ driveway. Doug came running around us in front, with Jeff and Gareth behind Eddie. The minute we were spotted, the Dues emptied with Davey leading. Then followed Argyle, Jonathan, and Robin from the van, finally falling silent now that they were joining the rushing crowd. That was when Nancy tried to preempt me.

“We’re not doing this!”

“We already are. Mike, you take care of Jane.”

“Already on it.” By then, the mob was fully formed, and there was no stopping us once Mike threw the front door open and shouted, “Mom, we’re having a sleepover! Everybody’s here, don’t worry!”

“Mike! Nancy!” Mrs. Wheeler called in return from the kitchen, only to turn the corner in a march of frustration. “Where’ve you been? I was worried!”

“That’s why I said don’t worry,” he snarked, but she wasn’t having it if her narrowed eyes were anything to go by. “Look, I’m sorry, it was my fault. We went to see Max and got caught up with everybody else there. It’s just been so depressing lately, so we thought it’d cheer everyone up to have a sleepover like we used to. Nancy’s even having one with the girls!”

On tiptoe I said quickly in Doug’s ear, “Get Eddie to the basement, it’s right there.” I stuffed Eddie’s rings in my jacket pocket and zipped it before shrugging it off to throw over him. I covered enough of him to obscure his face and upper body, but his eyes and the top of his head were still visible so that he could see where he was going. If my theory was right, Mrs. Wheeler would just see a girl with bangs and a pink jacket out of the corner of her eye. Nothing distinct, nothing police would take seriously from some bored housewife. “Stay. Low.” The moment I faced forward, it was showtime. “Hi, Mrs. Wheeler!” I greeted gleefully. “Everything’s been so hectic, I haven’t gotten the chance to introduce myself. I’m Kelly Turner, I moved in up the way on Maple Street.”

“Oh!” Just like I wanted, I stopped her in her tracks. “You just moved into the Hollands’ old house, right?”

Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was the part where shit was locked and loaded for hitting the fan with Nancy.

“Yeah, that’s what the neighbors said. They sound like they were a really great family. I’m so sorry about their daughter.”

Behind me, there was a gasp, then a muffled sob. Nancy took off like a shot up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door. I could even hear the hard click of her lock. There was no keeping the panic off my face when I turned back to Mrs. Wheeler, certain I’d blown it for all of us.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she was quick to assure me. “I’ll go get her, just a minute. Nancy!”

She went up the stairs after her daughter only for Mrs. Henderson to appear in her place. “Dusty! You should’ve called!”

“I did! I left a message!”

“Oh. Well, still, you shouldn’t be out this late!”

“But the curfew’s over. And come on, we have guests!” He gestured to Davey and Jake, who stepped forward in time to distract from the rest of the group retreating down to the safety of the basement.

“Mrs. Henderson, please forgive us. We’ve just been having such a good time catching up and getting to know everyone, the time flew right by,” Jake explained with a well practiced shrug and sheepish grin.

“Scout’s honor, we were all together the whole time, and everybody’s accounted for.” Davey was never a Boy Scout and all the trouble had happened while we were separated, but as long as the final part was true, there was no reason to suspect anything.

“Why is Dusty covered in mud and why do you all smell like fire?”

“Ma’am, he insisted on sitting on the ground at a small gathering near the lake so that every girl would have a clean place to sit.” See, that was the trick to a good lie right there. The lie was our location, but the end was true, and that would be enough to convince her coming from a girl like me. “The only word for him is gallant. He’s a fine young man,” I finished with a smile to really stick the landing.

It was tens across the board. “Oh, I couldn’t be prouder of him. Are you a counselor at Knowhere too?”

“I wasn’t fortunate enough to go, but I’ve known these two knuckleheads since they were campers there.”

“And now with these two knuckleheads, we make a full set,” Jake threw his arms around mine and Dustin’s shoulders with a laugh. We all joined in, then Mrs. Henderson broke up with us only a second behind.

“Oh, jeez, Mom, look at the time! Aren’t you late for Tews’ dessert?”

“Oh! Shoot, I’m late for his pill. Mike said you’re sleeping over?”

“Yeah, I already have everything I need.”

“Alright, that’s fine. Nice to meet you, sweetheart,” she shook my hand with a delighted smile.

“So nice to meet you, too. Have a good night!”

As she passed, Jake took his arm off my shoulder to wave, “Night, Mrs. Henderson!”

“We’ll keep an eye on this one, don’t worry,” Davey grinned.

“Good night, and don’t eat too much junk, Dusty! It gets stuck in your braces!” she waved hurriedly as she closed the door behind herself.

Finally, the coast was clear. Or so we thought. “Can I play too?” we heard from the living room. It was the youngest Wheeler, along with her father, who was asleep with the newspaper over his chest on his easy chair.

I was the first to recover from the surprise. “Well, hello! You must be Holly. I’m Kelly.”

“Hi,” she greeted with a shy smile.

“Holly, you know Mike says no D&D ‘til you’re older,” Dustin said.

“But I am older.”

“You have to be even older.”

“How old?”

“At least one more birthday.”

His arbitrary assertion didn’t land. “But what difference will one birthday make?”

“Holly,” I intervened. “Sometimes the game has some scary fighting, and I bet if you had nightmares that Mike would be in big trouble, right?” She nodded dejectedly. “So, when you’re a little older and a little more ready for scary stuff like that, you’ll play. But in the meantime, could you do us all a big favor?” That got her perked right back up. “I really like your drawing.” It was the truth, because it was a hilarious caricature of Mr. Wheeler sleeping. “Would you make some pictures for us to use next time? You’ve seen what Mike’s figures look like?” She nodded eagerly. “That would be a huge help. I can’t wait to see your art! You’re really, really good.”

“I have a monster you can use now,” she offered, already scurrying off to her room. Unlike Nancy, she returned before we could make it to the basement door. “Here! And I really saw this one!”

Dustin gasped and took the drawing from her. “What do you mean you saw this one?”

“On Fourth of July! Mom wouldn’t listen to me, but I swear I saw it!”

“Then we have to use it in our campaign!” I replied enthusiastically, opening the basement door. “Thank you so much for sharing it with us. This is perfect!”

“Holly, this was exactly what we needed,” Dustin said, shaking her little hand sincerely before bolting down the stairs.

“Have a good night!” I waved. She returned it happily, and the boys closed the door behind us.

“Mike!” Dustin burst at the foot of the stairs. “Has Holly been telling you about monsters lately?”

“I mean, as much as any other kid, I guess?” Mike shrugged.

“Well, this is one she says she saw, and from this perspective, I’d say she had a front row seat right at the top of the ferris wheel.”

“Holy shit,” Mike swore in realization, taking the drawing to get a better look at it. “Fourth of July.”

“Yup! Her words exactly! Is Hopper right? Do we need to get everybody out of here?”

“El’s almost here. We should stay together, she’ll protect us.”

“So, that thing is real too?” I asked, joining Eddie to take his hand, covered in rings once more. “Should we go? Is this too much? We’re adults, so be honest. You shouldn’t be looking out for us, we’re supposed to be looking out for you.”

Mike answered with certainty, “No, I mean it. Eddie’s safe here, Will’s safe here, El’s been safe here before. Speaking of, here she comes.” Headlights flashed past the basement window, and Mike went blasting up the steps three at a time, a blonde wig in hand.

In his absence, everyone stood waiting in different areas around the large basement. Davey and Jake stayed close to me this time, with the whole Hellfire Club assembled on Eddie’s other side. That left Will closest to Jake on the couch, with Jonathan, Argyle, Robin, and Steve directly across from us, rounding out the semicircle. Nancy’s absence only doubled the tension mounting between Jonathan and Steve, the former being in silent conversation with Argyle, while the latter was shooting looks to Eddie, who was visibly mocking Steve for the predicament he found himself in. Robin was trying and failing not to laugh at both pairs of boys under her breath.

“Fegele, you okay?” I heard in my ear.

I whispered, using my left hand to squeeze his, “Yeah. Are you?”

“… No. Neither is Jake. He drank the rest of his flask on the way here.”

“Shit, alright. Uno secundo, por favor.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t gotten any better at Spanish since middle school.” He cracked his joke with a smile, but I could see how hollow it was.

“I didn’t have you to teach me since middle school,” I replied, squeezing his hand for a second longer before letting him go to turn toward Eddie. “Jake isn’t feeling good, I’ll be right back.”

“We’ll be right back,” he told Dustin mid-conversation.

“You don’t have to come.”

He never let go of my hand. “’Course I do.”

Together we went all of five feet so that I could sit beside Jake, cutting him off from Will momentarily. “How are you?”

“I think I hit the sweet spot,” he grinned wryly. “Breakdown averted. But boy, am I gonna need some strong coffee in the morning. I wish Glo was here.”

“Nobody makes a pot of Joe like Glo,” I recited our old saying.

“Remember the sunrise?”

“Right there on the Baltimore harbor. We’d hop ourselves up after a long night and walk back to your car past the bakery, and they’d give us yesterday’s bread. And we’d smell the Domino factory for miles, like walking through a fair with fresh cotton candy every morning. Sometimes, the clouds would even look like cotton candy under that sunrise, too.”

“And the ride home never disappointed, either.”

“We always had so much fun.”

“Ride with us next time, okay?”

“Only if Eddie can come.”

“Fine, fine,” he waved dismissively. “I brought your mix tape, but we haven’t gotten to play it yet.”

“Is it already in the boombox?”

“Rewound and ready. Ha! Rewound is a funny word. If you were fat you’d be weeround.”

I couldn’t help but laugh with him. There were plenty of angry drunks in the world— like Uncle Murray— but Jake was never one of them. “Well, you’re in luck, then. I heard there’s a situation brewing on the back roads. We’ll play it when we go check it out.”

“Think it’ll be a long night?”

“Could be.”

“Like old times,” he sighed happily, looking up at me from where he’d slouched into the sofa. “I’m so happy you called, Birdy. Or, that Henderson called, I guess. Really, I am. Don’t let my dead eyes deceive you, I’m just coming to terms with Uncle Murray being right about aliens.”

“And that thing is one of ‘em?” Davey jumped in to clarify.

“It has to be,” I answered, taking Jake’s hand. “And it’s okay if that scares you. It’s okay if you guys need to go home. Don’t get in trouble just for me.”

“Birdy, are you nuts?” Davey deadpanned. “Aliens are fucking real, and violent, and here, and you think we’re gonna leave Uncle Murray to have all the glory?”

“What’s a better resume?” Jake slurred with a small grin. “Cured cancer and fought aliens, or cured cancer and ran scared? We know its weakness now, so of course we’re staying. Can’t get rid of us that easy.”

With a slam of the door above us, Mike and Jane came booking it down the stairs hand-in-hand, giggling breathlessly all the way to the last step.

“Did you see his face?”

“He was like a red balloon about to pop!” Jane was wearing the wig Mike brought her, and seemed a bit more confident from when I’d seen her earlier. “Will, Jonathan,” she turned with a smile, “Joyce said we can stay. She just wants to talk to you first. And Murray wants you, too,” she gestured toward us on the far end of the couch.

Jake chortled, “Uh oh, we’re in trouble, Dave.”

“We’ll just see about that.”

She added, “You too, Kelly.”

“Oh, we’re definitely in trouble,” I winked at my boys. “Eddie, stay low.” I shucked my backpack and stuffed his much broader arms and shoulders through the straps hurriedly. “Let’s all go together, then. And Jane, you look really pretty, by the way. Blonde suits you.”

As I went to pass, she took my hand, and stared into my eyes with intense earnestness as she replied, “It suits you, too.” There was something deeper she was trying to convey, but there was no time to talk about it just yet. I wouldn’t forget, though.

“Thanks. Be back in a few, okay?”

At her nod, I led the way out of the basement and the house altogether. Uncle Murray and Mrs. Byers were waiting for us at the end of the walk, with the Murray glaring daggers while Joyce came forward to embrace her sons. In the passenger seat of Murray’s van, the top of Hopper’s baseball cap could be seen and the window was open just a crack. If he had to hide like Eddie for now, that could work to our advantage.

“What the hell happened?!” Murray whisper-shouted at a barely acceptable level for the area and time of night.

“You didn’t tell us Alien was a fucking documentary, that’s what the hell happened!” Davey returned. “Pardon my French, Mrs. Byers.”

“It’s fine. But you’re okay?” Her tremulous hands cradled Will and Jonathan’s faces in turn. “Everybody’s okay, right?”

“We’re fine, Mom,” Will nodded reluctantly. “For now, at least.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, doe eyes wide with concern.

Will’s hand went to the back of his neck. “It’s not paying attention to us anymore. But that could change.”

“And that is why you three,” Murray pointed a fat finger in mine, Davey’s, and Jake’s faces, “are not coming to my base anytime soon. And by that, I mean ever.”

“That’s alright, we’re staying with the Hendersons anyway. But you at least need to fill us in a little here. Birdy and Jane had to save our asses.”

“No one is permitted to see my research before it’s submitted for publishing, and that includes you, Nancy Drew! Yeah, that’s right, I see you up there!” Murray pointed at the window above the garage, but by we all looked up, all that could be seen was a half-open window quietly sliding shut.

“Fine, we’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Davey shrugged.

“There’s not gonna be a tomorrow. This is your head start. I’m calling your parents first thing in the morning, and if you’re lucky and leave right now, you just might make it home in time to not be grounded until college.”

“Uncle Murray,” Jake tutted with a shake of his head, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You haven’t talked to Dad since you left. We know a bluff when we hear one from you. We’ll work everything out first thing tomorrow. Goodnight, Mrs. Byers.”

“We’re all CPR certified, so don’t worry about a thing, Mrs. B.!” Davey waved.

“Thank you for letting Jane and Will have a little fun after everything. It’s really cool of you,” I smiled at Mrs. Byers, who returned it with one of her own. “We’ll all just be here, so call anytime.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I know it’s not a very cool mom thing to do, calling at a sleepover. I’m just glad everybody’s safe and up for some fun, and you’ll be together.” She shot a look at Jonathan. “But don’t stay up too late, alright?”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’ll be a problem tonight,” Jonathan waved with a thin half-smile.

Here was the real parental clincher for Joyce and an ass-chapper for Murray: “Drive safe!”

Joyce couldn’t have been happier with how the conversation went if her squinty smile was anything to go by, while Murray couldn’t have been unhappier. A perfect execution by our standards.

Once inside again, we all let out a collective sigh. The relief only lasted a moment, though.

“Jonathan, can I talk to you?” Nancy asked from the top of the staircase.

“Yeah, sure. Coming,” he replied stiltedly.

Up the stairs he went, and Mrs. Wheeler gave me a look of sympathy from behind the kitchen island, glass of wine in hand. With a small wave of acknowledgment, I opened the basement door for the second time that night and led the way down.

I wasn’t expecting what we found at the bottom of the stairs. Everyone was crowded around the table in the middle of the room, where my empty takeout boxes were arranged and stacked into what looked like a small city. Taped to the back of a folding chair was Holly’s monster drawing, looming over the makeshift buildings menacingly.

“Hey! Perfect timing,” Dustin enthused. “Eddie’s onto something here.”

“I have a theory. Will the Wise,” Eddie nodded, “we seek your wisdom in this hour of greatest need. That shadowy, specks flying, pure evil cloud was the Mind Flayer, right? That’s what the freshmen tell me, but you’d know best.”

“It was part of it, but not the whole of it; like with Holly’s drawing. That was the closest the Mind Flayer ever got to winning, and we only barely stopped it in time. We thought Hopper died that night.”

“And Billy did die. Saving Max.” Lucas added gravely. So the mall fire wasn’t just an accident after all.

“But still, that’s just one part of the Mind Flayer, and we almost didn’t make it,” Mike concluded, hunched over the tabletop. “The whole thing would be enormous. But because it’s so enormous, I think it has to send smaller pieces of itself through first before it can pass into our world completely. That’s why the Russians were trying to make a gate under Starcourt, and it’s why a gate has formed downtown.” He slammed his finger down on an X between the boxes. It converged outside of one they’d stacked two Slinkies on top of. “The library has already crumbled, clock tower and all.” He knocked the box to the side and the Slinkies went rattling down with it. “The gate is practically wide open, and you know the soldiers can’t do shit against anything coming out of there.”

“I have to close it,” Jane nodded. “Before Henry gets through.”

Something wasn’t adding up. Nancy and Jonathan made their appearance then; just in time for me to whip around to Nancy and demand, “How in the fuck is he still alive if you shot him and set him on fire?”

There could only be one person, or creature, I could be referring to. “I… I have no idea. I shot him at least six times.”

“And the flambe went off without a hitch,” Robin threw in from her corner of the table. “Dingus and I made direct hits and they all exploded.”

“Nance shot the son-of-a-bitch out of a third story window. He’s like Michael Myers or something.” Steve shivered at the memory and stepped back to shake his shoulders out.

“… But where did you shoot him?” I asked slowly, already tensing for the answer.

“All over his body.”

“But not in the head?”

It was deadly silent in the space between my question and her answer. “No.”

“Six shots, at least, and not a single one to the head?”

With a scoff, she began listing off, “I got him right in the heart, his stomach, probably his lungs—”

“— But never his head?”

“… No.”

“Well, Nancy,” I started venomously, “last I checked, he doesn’t kill people with his heart, or his stomach, or his lungs. He kills them with his fucking brain! And you didn’t think for even a second to aim for it?!”

“I thought it would be enough!”

“And quite apparently, you thought wrong! Now look at what’s happened! You had one fucking job, Wheeler!”

“Hey, come on, that’s enough,” Jonathan protested.

“Yeah, do it yourself next time, then,” Steve bit out. “You weren’t in that house.”

“You’re right, Steve, I wasn’t there,” I lobbed sarcastically, “because as a result of Nancy’s stupidity, I was fighting a thousand bats to one while my boyfriend bled out at my feet! But if you’d care to remember, I offered to go, and Nancy insisted. So, don’t you dare pretend like I wasn’t pulling my fucking weight. Nancy wouldn’t even have that shiny new shotgun if it weren’t for me.” A sudden thought struck me then. It made me clench my fists with anger I was barely able to keep in check long enough to ask, “What kind of gun were you looking for when we came here? You said it’s yours, but I didn’t happen to notice a gun rack anywhere.”

“I have a pistol in my room as we speak. Wanna see it up close?” she challenged in a far morel livid tone than I’d heard from her yet.

Too bad for her that she didn’t scare me one bit. “If we were looking for a pistol, then how much practice did you have with shotguns before now?”

“… Enough,” was her unconvincing reply.

“That translates directly to, ‘almost none,’” I mocked. “Why didn’t you just buy a gun you actually knew how to fucking shoot? And not to mention,” I went on, preventing Jonathan and Steve from jumping in again, “you specifically sawed off that shotgun I paid for so you could get up close without him grabbing for it. You had to get close ‘cause you sacrificed all your long range accuracy. How far were you when you shot him?”

“Look, I didn’t exactly have a yard stick—”

“The point was to get close enough to kill him. You insisted you could do it. So why the fuck isn’t he dead?” Her mouth opened and shut three times, but no excuse came out. “So, you used my money to commit a felony for no reason at all, and we have no results. Nancy fucking Wheeler, ladies and gentlemen! Give her a big hand!”

“I tried, okay?!”

“You guys hear that! She tried! How big of you! Well, while you were out there trying and failing miserably, I was actually fucking doing, and so was Eddie, and so was Dustin! While you tried, he died! He fucking died, but both your little boyfriends are A-fucking-okay, and that’s all that matters, right?!”

“Jesus Christ, enough!” Jonathan burst.

“Yeah! Way too far, Turner,” Steve admonished.

“Let me be absolutely clear: I have no problem with you or Robin. You actually kept your ends of the fucking bargain. This is between me and the single point of failure, here,” I pointed, turning my ire back where it belonged. “You took six shots, and not a goddamn one mattered. Was he moving around? Was it hard to aim in the dark? What’s the actual fucking reason?”

“… No, he wasn’t moving.”

At that, I couldn’t keep from throwing my hands up in exasperation. “Not even a moving target! You couldn’t hit a stationary fucking target literally to save your life! So Eddie had to pay the price for you making needless mistake after needless shitty mistake!” By the end, I was heaving, fists shaking from how tight they were curled. “Tell. Me. Why.”

“I was just so scared! I thought it was enough! But when we looked out the window, he wasn’t on the ground.” Her face was contorting in fear and sorrow, blue eyes glassy and huge.

I couldn’t care fucking less. “You know who was scared? Eddie. You know who was on the ground and couldn’t get up? Eddie! He died fighting to buy you time, and you fucking wasted it!”

Nancy was crying by the time Eddie rounded the table and got between us. “Hey. Look at me.”

“Don’t you dare defend—!”

“I’m not. Just look at me.” I didn’t realize how hard I’d been scowling at Nancy until I saw Eddie’s soft, close-lipped smile. “We’re out now, and we’re not going back there. Okay?”

For a moment there I lost my momentum, but I was right back to boiling when I answered, “That would’ve been true if she just did her fucking job! But now that—” I pointed at the folding chair, “— is just waiting to use the gate now! If we don’t go back, he’ll just bring the Upside Down to us instead! And it’s her fucking fault!”

“But I’m here. I’m right here, Kelly Rose. And so are you. And as long as that’s true, we still got a chance, right?”

Behind my teeth there was a fresh tirade just waiting to be launched; one full of doubt, and fear, and true hatred. But I remembered the kids present and took a deep, shuddering breath instead. “Right. It’s just unnecessarily harder now.”

It was clear to me then that I needed to have a contingency plan ready. No matter what happened, I still had to look out for Eddie, even if he seemed willing to go back in the line of fire to do his part for his friends. Nancy had gone from an inconvenient annoyance to a danger to herself and others in my estimation, and if everyone else in the room had even half a brain, they’d be able to see it, too. This would be polarizing, though, and sides would have to be taken. It was a risky game to play with Eddie at stake. But I had confidence I could sway the court of public opinion on this one. If I couldn’t, it would only be all the more reason to make a plan and stick to it, Hawkins be damned. No matter what, Eddie was going to make it. Unlike Nancy, failure wasn’t an option in my book.

“You know what makes everything a lot harder?” Nancy fired suddenly, rounding Jonathan to get to me, “The fact we don’t know you at all.” Yup, here it comes, right on schedule. “Will couldn’t help what happened when he disappeared. But Vecna targeted you for a reason, and there’s been nothing but trouble since you moved here. It was quiet after Fourth of July, now everything’s ruined!”

I scoffed in disbelief, “You’re blaming me for getting cursed?”

“Wheeler, that’s actually the most fucked up thing you could’ve said,” Eddie admonished over his shoulder, staying between us.

“Yeah, do you blame Max for getting cursed, too?” Lucas suddenly piped up angrily.

“Of course not,” Nancy was quick to deny.

“Then do you blame Fred?” I demanded, knowing it was a low blow since his loss was so fresh. But she’d already gone low, and there wasn’t an ounce of me willing to spare her precious feelings anymore.

The horror was immediately apparent on her face. “God, no!”

“What about Chrissy?” Eddie asked.

“No, never!”

Lucas pressed, “And Patrick? Did he deserve it just for being Jason’s friend?”

“I barely knew him!”

“Well,” I started, arms folded across my chest, “you barely know me, too, but that isn’t stopping you from blaming me. So, enlighten us, Wheeler. What makes me a unique threat here when I’ve bent over backwards to help your sorry ass?”

“You’re from the lab! For all we know, you could be just as much of a threat as Vecna, or even worse!”

“Henry,” Jane corrected sternly. “His name is Henry. And she’s not like him, she’s like me. Am I a threat?”

“Yeah,” Mike jumped in now that his girlfriend had spoken up, “is El a threat? Is Will? Kelly wouldn’t even talk to anybody at school unless she absolutely had to. She never did anything wrong, and the minute we needed her help, she was there, just like everybody else here.”

Apparently, even with her own brother taking up for me, Nancy wouldn’t be dissuaded. “But how do we know she isn’t just biding her time?”

“Because I saw her,” Jane replied.

“Saw her what, exactly?”

“In the lab, I saw her. Papa….” God, just that name was enough to send a cold chill down my spine. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stood on end, and my stomach did an uncomfortable flip. It seemed she needed a moment to collect herself, too. “… He trained me again before Mike found me. He showed me all the tapes of when Henry attacked. Even though she couldn’t fight then, Kelly tried to keep me safe. He already killed everyone else, but she still tried.”

“And how is that any different from me trying?” Nancy asked indignantly.

“Because you had a gun. You could’ve got him while we were fighting. She didn’t have anything.”

“… Don’t hurt her,” I whispered, a warm tear of anger and anguish suddenly rolling down my cheek before I could stop it. “I told him not to hurt you.”

There was a flash before my mind’s eye. I saw a hand; my trembling, pale little hand, held out in defense. A vicious, glowering man in a white uniform stood only feet away. Henry. I could hear myself say, hoarse with fright, ‘Don’t hurt her.’ He smirked viciously and took a step anyway. Then came the rage, the righteous fury filling me from the top of my head to my sock-covered toes, just as it had when I fought his bats. ‘I SAID DON’T HURT HER!’ With a jerk of his head, my arm shot off to the side, every bone broken from my fingertips to my shoulder. I had screamed so loud I could feel it clawing at my throat even then, and my stomach lurched with nausea as if it was really happening to me all over again. I was thrown backward, and the last thing I saw was Jane, screaming too and reaching for me as she grew farther and farther away.

Only a week ago, all I wanted in my life was to remember. To finally know who I really was, where I really came from. Now it felt like a curse, because it was. Vecna’s curse. Henry’s curse. One’s curse.

Nancy shook her head, unconvinced. “I’m sorry, El, but that was a long time ago. We don’t know if we can trust her now.”

That was it for me. My last straw was broken, and I couldn’t hold back anymore, consequences be damned. “Nancy Wheeler, you’re the single dumbest know-nothing-know-it-all I’ve ever fucking met. I’m leaving.”

“Birdy!” It was Dustin who said it, surprising us all to attention. “You can’t go. Eddie didn’t get to make his point yet. It’s late, you might as well stay the night with the rest of us. We can talk this out.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Nancy reassured sarcastically, “Birdy doesn’t have to go anywhere. I wouldn’t stay down here another minute, not even for that whole briefcase of hers.”

She went stomping past me, but was shocked into stillness when I grabbed her by the collar of her sweater and pulled her down to eye level. “You don’t ever call me that again. Like my respect, that name is earned. Dustin earned it, you haven’t.”

I shoved her down onto the first step of the staircase, and with a gasp she sat there for a moment before rushing up the stairs, mascara streaking down her face as her tears fell in rivulets. I was glad to see the back of her.

“Nancy!” Jonathan and Steve called in unison, only to glare at each other. But a second later those glares turned on me, only for me to scoff a disbelieving laugh.

“That was way too far,” Jonathan was quick to say as he pushed past me up the stairs.

“Seriously, give her a break,” Steve scowled down at me, following close behind Jonathan.

“You’re mad at me when it’s her fault your asses are still on the line? Byers, in case you haven’t noticed, your brother isn’t safe tonight because she couldn’t do one fucking thing right! If you’d been the one aiming, would you have missed?” Jonathan stopped suddenly just before the top stair, and Steve ran into his back before he could stop himself. Jonathan turned only for a moment to face me, but seemed to decide against answering me at the last second. It didn’t matter, though. That was answer enough for everyone present; a passive confession from a passive boy. Thank Christ, Eddie isn’t meek, I thought as I watched them go in disgust. I swiped the drying tear from my face with a rough hand and turned to what remained of our ragtag Party. “If any of you are upset with me, I accept that. But I won’t apologize for what I said. This is exactly how angry we should all be right now. That,” I pointed at the drawing, “is coming for us, but a thousand times worse. Sooner or later, it’s happening, and we have to acknowledge the weak links before they get the rest of us killed.”

“Finally, one of you nerds are actually talking sense for once,” Erica was the first to say. “We don’t have time for hurt feelings. Save that shit for your diaries. And if you can’t handle it, there’s the door.”

No one moved, not even Argyle. We were in agreement.

Eddie turned to his band. “Gentlemen, before I go on, I need you to swear another oath with me.”

“Here?” Gareth asked.

“Now?” Doug followed, casting an uncertain glance at the spectators surrounding them.

“Yes here, and yes now. We’re swearing an oath of fealty to Kelly Rose Turner. She talks, we listen. I’ve already added it to the Munson Doctrine, and I formally propose ratifying it in the Corroded Code.”

“Dude, you’re serious?” Jeff questioned.

“As a heart attack. Me and her, we’re going the distance whether you guys come along or not.” Their eyes widened at the affront of such a suggestion. “But, if I know my sheep,” he smirked, “this flock knows who we’re been following since the start of the year. And I know what you’re thinking, this is just Eddie getting fired up—” he mocked. “And you’re goddamn right I am when it comes to her! My corroded coffin lies empty another day because she willed it to be so. Basically, I’m saying this is shape-the-fuck-up or ship-the-fuck-out time. We know what we said the night we took our first oaths, now it’s time to keep them.”

“Never in my wildest dreams, ever,” began Gareth, “could I have seen us ending up in Wheeler’s basement with Kelly Turner.”

“And that you’d be a fugitive,” Jeff added bluntly.

Doug shuddered, “And that monsters are in Hawkins.”

“But it’s all true,” Eddie finished for them with a nod. “And before we can clear my name, we gotta deal with the monsters. So, if you’re really planning to stay in this fight, you have to prove you mean it. No weak links. No going back. No. More. Running.” The three looked nervously between each other, and everyone else watched on with interest. “If you’re staying in the flock, you agree to these terms: Kelly Rose Turner is our guiding star, and we follow her orders to the letter— to the end. Say aye.”

Had I known this was where it was going, I would’ve stopped it a while ago. My flush of anger was now one of utter embarrassment. “Eddie!”

“I love when you say my name,” he replied, smarmy grin lighting up his face. He was so fucking beautiful. With just one look, I couldn’t stay mad at him.

“Aye.” The first to say it was, of all people, Jake. Davey and I stared at him dumbstruck. “What? That’s how it’s always been, Birdy. Might as well make it official.”

I could almost see the gears and cogs turning in Davey’s head. He was thinking hard about something. “You know what? When you put it like that… aye.”

“Aye!” This time it came from Dustin. “’The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known,’” he quoted from Return of the King. “If I’ve earned calling you Birdy, you’ve earned my loyalty ten-fold. Lead where you will, my Liege, and I’ll follow.”

Sweet, brave Dustin. His face nearly glowed with pride as he spoke. He was too young for the fight he’d been in and the one we were about to get into, though. “Dustin, you’re very kind to say so. But this is way too dangerous to drag you into again. Jake, Gareth, I don’t want you in this either. Anyone who isn’t a senior or above can’t be in the line of fire anymore.”

The protests were immediate. Several cries of, “That’s not fair!” went up in all directions.

“I have to fight,” Jane asserted. “Henry has hurt too many people. Now, we hurt him. Together.”

“El’s right,” Mike nodded.

“And together means all of us,” Lucas gestured broadly. “We all have a stake in this now. We’re not backing down.”

“I wanna fight, too,” Will stood. “I didn’t know how to say it in front of Jonathan, but that’s just it. Vecna— Henry,” he corrected himself, “has fucked with us long enough. Fucked with me long enough.” His jaw was set with determination. “Whatever it takes, this time we kill him. For us— for everyone we couldn’t save, and for everyone we still can. If we kill him, the hivemind will be too weak, and El can close the gate.”

“That’s exactly what I’m getting to, Will the Wise,” Eddie nodded, “but I’m waiting to hear from a few key players. Sir Doug Goode the Good, Sir Jeff the Just, and Sir Gareth the Great. Do your hearts quaver and fail on the eve of peril? You only attained knighthood a fortnight ago and you’re already bringing shame to your hard-earned stations?”

There was a tense pause where the three looked between each other in uncertainty. And who could blame them after what they’d already seen and suffered in one night? Finally, Doug took a knee before Eddie.

“My Liege Lord and Liege Lady,” he said solemnly. “To your oath, I say aye. I’ll protect you from the monsters with everything I’ve got, Kelly.”

His cornflower blue eyes held mine. The sincerity he exuded made me smile, breaking through the dark clouds that’d crept into my mind. There could be no doubt of it: Doug Goode truly was good, through and through. “Thank you, Sir Doug.”

Jeff and Gareth shared a glance before kneeling on either side of Doug. Hand over heart, Jeff proclaimed for all to hear, “You risked life and limb tonight, so tomorrow it’s my turn. I say aye!”

“And I can’t let these assholes have all the fun,” Gareth said confidently until his voice cracked at the end. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he continued, “If we’re really doing this, then I’m in. Aye.”

“Then we understand each other,” Eddie nodded. “Rise, Knights of Corrosion. Much like last we met, Vecna yet lives. Lady Applejack,” he turned to Erica, “when all hope was lost, you nobly slew the Undying King in the stronghold of his cult. But he, and his cult, are still out there. In short, we’re gonna commit several more felonies before this is over. Are you really sure you wanna offer your poison-soaked kukri at a time like this?”

“Like I told those piece of shit jocks when they came looking for you losers, I’ve bled with you. That’s for life. Let’s kill this bastard before he kills anybody else.”

Before Eddie could go on, Argyle asked, “So, there’s gonna be another mind fight, right?”

“A big one,” Jane confirmed. The uneasiness returned to me in an instant.

“We’ll get to that, don’t get ahead of yourselves,” Eddie said, taking over again at the head of the table. “First, we gotta talk about the obvious: we need fire, and a lot of it. Not so much that we burn the whole town down, but enough to kill that motherfucker once and for all.”

“Another run to the War Zone?” Robin suggested.

“I’m thinking a lot bigger. You made a valiant effort with the Molotovs, but they’ll see anything like that coming a mile away now.”

“My uncle’s the manager at an Ace Hardware in Indianapolis,” Gareth offered. “They sell flamethrowers year-round for leaves and shit. I can probably get us a discount.”

I was sold the minute he mentioned flamethrowers. “Boys, you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” I asked to the side.

Jake had already lifted a small leather bound notebook from his inner pocket. “I’ll make some calls in the morning.”

Similarly, in Davey’s hand was a leather bound checkbook. “Call ahead, have him set aside every last flamethrower he can get his hands on,” he told Gareth. “And I mean every. Last. One.”

Eddie pointed, “No checks, they’re traceable. Tsk tsk, Davey, that’s a rookie mistake.”

“I’ll foot the bill,” I said.

“So, what Nancy said was true?” Davey asked. “There’s money in that briefcase you’re lugging around?”

“I plead the Fifth.”

“You said cards on the table, Birdy.”

“I’m protecting you, not myself.”

“Where’d it come from?”

“Nobody’s looking for it, if that’s what you’re asking me.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie. Reefer Rick would be locked up for a good long time to come, so he would never know what became of his stash until it was far too late. I had big plans for that money, every last cent; everything was riding on it. “And the same goes for you as anyone else: you touch it without permission, you’ll regret it. Dearly. You want something, you ask.”

He put his hands up in amiable surrender, checkbook held high. “Alright, alright. Just open a tab for us and we’ll pay you back when things calm down.”

“Families don’t keep score, remember?” It was so important to me. He had to remember.

This was what I’d missed so much about my boys. The connection we shared— full understanding of each other with just the slightest glance. And even when I couldn’t, they always remembered. “’Course I do, Birdy. We were in Barbara Fritchies’. You finally got your houseboat.”

The Barbara Fritchie Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland was more of a diner, but semantics aside, you couldn’t beat their shakes on a hot day. That was the first and only time in my entire life I had a sundae with the works, or a houseboat, as it was shouted to the kitchen. Zayde ordered it for me, knowing perfectly well that I wasn’t allowed to have it. I promised to pay him back as soon as I got home, afraid of what my parents would do if they found out. He waved me off with that jovial, hoarse laugh of his. ‘It’s like tick-tack-toe, fegele; families don’t keep score. We just do it because we can.’ It was the last day he could use his cane. He was wheelchair bound after that. But what a day it was.

Everyone turned to me, waiting for a response after I’d previously been so vocal. But my answer wasn’t for them, it was just for my boys, and they already knew it by heart since it’d been Zayde’s joke: ‘Too bad it wasn’t the kind with keys.’ Besides, I was far more interested in getting the spotlight off of me and onto Eddie where it belonged. “So, what’ve you been cooking up in that head of yours, baby?”

He eagerly began, using his hand to guide along the map as he said, “If we have to get up close to the gate, we have exactly one direct path. It’s risky, though.”

“Those are the backroads, right?” Doug asked worriedly.

“Yup. We’d have to blow through miles of enemy territory, but if we go that way, we get the advantage of paved roads and a straight shot around the blockade. The vines won’t touch asphalt or cement, remember?”

Gareth shook his head, “Enemy territory is an understatement, dude. It’s not just the basketball team out there anymore.”

“Basically, every jock and hick in the county is out in those woods, and they’ve all got guns,” Jeff explained. “It’s getting scary out there, man. Especially at night.”

“Benny’s looks practically apocalyptic,” Doug added. “Poor Mr. Benny would roll in his grave if he could see the place now.”

“Mr. Benny was nice to me,” Jane said somberly. “They shouldn’t be there. We’ll take it back.”

“Take it back?” Davey asked with sudden interest. At Jane’s firm nod, he swatted Jake’s shoulder and continued, “She really is Birdy’s sister!”

“Oh, hush. You’ll give her the wrong impression,” I said with a swat of my own, though my smile betrayed me. “What he means is, we have some manner of expertise when it comes to getting into scrapes with bad odds. There’s no backroad on the Eastern Seaboard we haven’t gone down, and there’s nothing to be scared of in the Dues. If you let us lead, we’ll get everybody through.”

“You don’t know these roads like we do,” Eddie argued with a gesture to his band.

“We’re quick studies,” Davey assured with a grin.

“That’s all to scale, right?” Jake asked, waving toward the table.

“Yeah, for the most part.”

I knew Eddie took map construction seriously. It was part of what made being Dungeon Master so intense for him. To my eye, the map looked as accurate as could be without exact measurements, and I wouldn’t let the boys’ knack for criticism get to him.

“Of course it’s to scale. I told you, he’s a genius.” Taking the end of the table opposite Eddie, I asked, “So, what’s your idea?”

“What if we could lead it away from everybody and kill it at a safe distance? These things are like junkyard dogs whether they’re big or small. They chase. That means they have instincts separate from the hivemind. They can be controlled, but it isn’t constant. If we split up the hivemind’s attention with a big enough chase, we could funnel the sons-of-bitches exactly where we want ‘em, then broadside the head honcho while they aren’t looking.”

“They can’t see,” Jane piped up. “Their smell isn’t good either, unless it’s blood. But their hearing is very good. If you can keep them away from Henry and the gate, I’ll close it.”

“But what about the airmen?” I asked.

“If they’re smart, they’ll take cover when they see us coming. If not, well, that’s not our problem,” Jake shrugged. “We’re talking about aliens here, not some stupid joyride. This isn’t covered by the Geneva Conventions.”

“There’s gonna be Hawkins Conventions when this gets out. Have you lost your damn minds?” Erica sassed incredulously.

“It depends on if there’s any evidence left when this is done,” I answered. “No evidence— whether it’s from a clean getaway or the town getting obliterated because we failed— no case. We don’t know what we’re up against yet. But they don’t, either. We need to know all our options before things get bad.”

Only a moment of silence elapsed before Dustin cried out, startling us, “Bada bada boom! That’s why they picked bats!” At our bewildered expressions, he explained as if it were obvious, “It’s not just aerial advantage they need; the hivemind is prioritizing hearing! Even sonar! First there was just one demogorgon, then more demogorgons and the demodogs, then the gigantic mall monster made from every organic material it could find! It’s figuring out the right form to take in real time, and it realized it needs to hone aerial and audio! But now that the demobats have been bat-tered,” he joked, though it fell flat with the seriousness of his theory, “it’ll have to reform again… into something even harder to kill this time.”

“But fire always works, right?” Davey clarified.

“It always has before. 220 degrees Fahrenheit is the magic number to expel the particles from the body, but to incinerate them like El did, your guess is as good as mine.”

Davey turned to Eddie. “Alright, so where would we lead these things?”

“Depends on how many there are and how big the Mind Flayer actually ends up being. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

Jane confirmed our worst fears. “It can get much bigger than that. When I closed the gate in the lab, I could feel it trying to reach me.”

“In the junkyard,” Will began, rubbing the back of his neck, “that’s what it felt like to me, too. I could feel the whole force of its intentions bearing down on me, even though it was in a form with a fraction of its true size and power.”

“So, we’re gonna need more than flamethrowers,” Davey surmised. “They’re a good start, but they won’t be enough to finish this thing off.”

“One thing at a time,” Lucas interjected. “We’re not doing anything until Max wakes up. She needs us to be there for her right now. She’s vulnerable.” He choked on the last word.

“I’ll try to wake her up again,” Jane nodded.

“I’ll take a crack at her, too,” I said. “We’ll go while everybody’s in church.”

“I’m not sure we have that long,” was his grave reply.

“We can get you in tonight, then,” Davey grinned, already taking his keyring out of his slacks pocket.

Jake went on, “We work in our dad’s pharmacy, and he works in the lab on Detrick. We have military IDs for making deliveries there. Going through the loading bay to the on-site pharmacy will be a piece of cake, just lead us to the right door.”

Nodding, Lucas said with certainty, “Done. Who else is coming?”

“We told Joyce we’d stay together,” Jane reminded Will. “I’ll get Jonathan.”

“We also said we’d stay here. Jonathan can stay behind and cover for us if Mom calls.”

“What about Nancy?” Mike asked.

Robin added, “And Dingus?”

Dustin supplied, “At least one of them should have a walkie talkie, and if worst comes to worst, they can call the hospital.”

“Mike, leave a note where they’ll find it,” I directed. “Eddie, you and the guys stay here.”

“Nope,” Gareth shook his bangs from his eyes. “I wanna see for myself what you did to Eddie. I still don’t know what you even did to me, it all happened too fast; but I do know it works, and I wanna see how.”

“Same here,” Jeff nodded.

“My dad’s gonna kill me, but I’m in,” Doug finished.

“Sorry, Kelly Rose, but rules are rules. Where you go, I go; and where I go, they go. We’ll figure it out, but we’re all going.”

All eyes fell to Argyle. “My brochacho up there is gonna need backup and a ride if things go sideways with his ladylove. I’ll hang back and hold down the fort. Go save your friend, little mind fighter. I’ve got Jonathan covered.”

Mike scratched out a quick sentence on a jaggedly torn sheet from his notebook and used his walkie talkie as a paperweight. “Call if anything comes up. And don’t smoke here.”

“Not even with the window open?”

Mike was about to deny him when he glanced at the window. “Oh, shit! The vines!”

There, crawling a millimeter at a time, had grown row after row of black barbed vines across the Wheelers’ front garden. The hedges and flowers were already growing gray and withered by the sickly light of the street lamps. Even still, the vines didn’t cross the concrete of the street and sidewalk, just like in the Upside Down. The path to the cars would still be clear.

“Alright, everybody get to the Dues. Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready.” At their silence, I explained, “I have a candy striper uniform, I can get you in to see practically any patient in the whole country. I’ll be quick. In the meantime, who has gum to share?”

Doug answered, “My dad keeps Altoids in the glove box.”

“Perfect, they’re mandatory for everyone. We can’t sneak into a hospital in the middle of the night smelling like fire, pot, and booze, now can we?”

In much the same manner as how we got there, out of the basement and into the night we went, and I took off running down the street alone. My heart was in my throat, but it was only a matter of time before I’d have to go home eventually. I dreaded what awaited me there.

* * *

I woke again with a jolt. Then the warm silence settled back over me, beckoning me to sleep again. I couldn’t, though. It was Sunday. I promised Eddie a pie every Sunday. By the light of the crack of dawn, gray and faint as it filtered in between the vines and drapes, I gently untangled myself from Eddie.

It was easy enough to throw a pie together with what the Wheelers’ had already in their cabinets. With no cigarettes and no way to brew a pot of coffee without waking the whole house with the smell, I was on edge to say the least. Having something to do with my hands was a necessity. That was how I ended up making an apple pie from scratch and breakfast.

By the time the coffee pot finished filling, the sun was shining and the bacon had just been deposited onto a paper towel-draped plate to drain off the grease. Mr. Wheeler was the first to appear.

“Who’re you?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Wheeler. I’m Kelly Turner, I go to school with Nancy.”

I was still in my candy striper uniform. Mr. Wheeler looked me up and down appreciatively, then his eyes landed on the counters laden with food. The egg timer went off, and I had no choice but to bend to retrieve the pie.

When I straightened, he commented distractedly, “Nancy should have you over more often.”

“Would you like the inaugural cup, sir?” I asked with a smile, gesturing toward the coffee pot so he’d take his beady, bespectacled eyes off me.

“Oh, no, ladies first. You’ve worked your tail off in here.”

I hated him talking about my tail— not that talking about anything else of mine would’ve been better. Fortunately for me, the siren song of bacon and fresh pie was stronger than the appeal of my short skirt, but I didn’t expect my luck to last. I prepared my mug and left.

Back in the basement, it only took one pass of the steaming coffee under Eddie’s nose to rouse him. “Drink up, we’re leaving the minute breakfast is over.”

Eddie slurped along the very edge of the cup, cautious of the temperature. “How do you make rocket fuel taste good?”

“They’ve got the good stuff— Gevalia.”

“You have some, too,” he said, pushing the mug into my cold hands.

I only lingered in the warmth of it for a moment before pushing it back. “I’ll get more when I head back up. And I’ll grab you something to eat.”

“You’re too good to me, baby.”

“You don’t even know how good I’ve been to you yet,” I winked.

“Hey. Really, have some. You’re okay.”

“Are my nerves showing?”

“No. But your garter is.” He softly squeezed my upper thigh.

“Damn it, I hate these fucking things.”

“Take ‘em off, then.” His fingers traced little patterns across the lace, creeping ever upward.

“Jesus, no more rocket fuel if this is what it does to you.” He held it by the tips of his fingers around the rim so that I could take the handle from him. After a healthy sip I gave it back.

“You really think it’s as big as a rocket?” he smiled roguishly. I snorted so loud that I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from waking the others. “Yeah, didn’t want hot coffee coming out your nose. Seriously, though. Are you okay? Last night was a pretty big shock.”

That was saying the absolute least of what transpired after we left the Wheelers’ last night. Maybe I was in shock. There was no time for it, though.

“I’ll be fine. You just worry about not getting caught for another day.”

[livpet]

King of the Dead Chapter Three: All Night Long

Saturday, March 29th, 1986.

“You know they’re going straight to the dump, Joyce,” Hopper rumbled as he lit the joint he’d been saving for when the kids left and Jane went to bed for the night.

“I know,” she groaned, cigarette in one hand and her chin resting on the other.

“Then why the hell are you letting them?” Murray asked in a harsh whisper, nose nearly pressed to the glass with how closely he was watching the teens outside Hopper’s window.

“It’ll keep ‘em busy so we have a chance to talk. At least this way we actually know where the hell they’re going for once,” Hopper reasoned.

“That’s kinda what I was thinking too.” Joyce took a long drag from the cigarette she’d been craving and resisting all night. “God, Hop. What happened while we were away? Two kids’ hearts stopped! And that girl almost gave me a heart attack, Murray!”

“I know, it’s like she was raised in a barn.”

“No, I mean she looks like the doll I had to smash to get the ransom note! Murray, you were on the phone with me— I swear to God, it’s like the doll came back to life as her, they look so alike. How do you know her, again?”

“She’s my nephews’ little Bride of Frankenstein. She left Maryland four years ago and I thought I’d never have to see any of those shits again. I didn’t even know she moved here. If I had, I wouldn’t have come tonight.”

“Christ’s sakes, Murray, take a load off. You know, she was right about your blood pressure, if nothing else.”

“Fuck you, Jim.”

“Hey, knock it off!” Joyce interjected. “But what else about her? Why that doll?”

“Oh, her life’s something right out of General Hospital. She’s an amnesiac, you see. Bumped that pretty little head of hers in the car crash that killed her parents, and she still can’t remember a thing. She got adopted right away but she didn’t know up from down after the crash, so she could get away with murder if she wanted to. But no, they’re all as American as apple pie in the Turner household. The doll is a coincidence, Joyce. I’ve seen the kind you’re talking about and they’re common in Russia.”

“It still doesn’t feel right to me somehow….”

“Somehow? She’s one of those lab kids, Joyce,” Hopper scoffed. “I heard El, she called her Nine. And I know she mentioned an Eight at some point, but I don’t remember what she said about her. Then they both said One. They’re talking about their assigned numbers. Come on, Murray, I know you did a background check on her and her parents; you wouldn’t be talking about all this if you didn’t.”

“Yeah, you bet your ass I did. Her whole story checks out, Jim, I’m telling you. I found the death certificates, the newspaper articles about the crash, the whole nine yards.”

“I don’t trust shit now, and that includes the papers and certificates. You haven’t seen the files, so consider this an anonymous tip-off— you’re gonna want to write this down— that Dr. Brenner had dozens, maybe even hundreds of kids just like them… made. This has been going on for decades. There are mass graves, if you know where to find them. And Dr. Owens’ name was mentioned in there too, Joyce. That girl,” he pointed out the window at the fading headlights, “and my girl are in the same number sequence ‘cause they’re from the same batch. As far as I know, El’s mom is the only one who ever tried to find her kid again, and you saw how she paid the price for it.”

“Okay, so Little Orphan Annie out there really is an orphan. Big whoop, Jim. Her new parents are still as squeaky clean as it gets.”

“… Too clean?” Joyce asked, sharing a worried glance with Hopper.

* * *

“Doug, may I borrow your lighter one more time?” I asked as he pulled out of the gravel and earthen path that connected Hopper’s property to the far-off main road.

“Y-yeah, ‘course,” he stuttered, digging into the pocket of his jacket.

“Thanks,” I smiled.

“Anytime. Really.”

“Could I keep it and buy you a better one later to make up for it?”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope, I’m always as good as my word. Just ask Eddie. Speaking of, got a cigarette, babe?” I asked over my shoulder.

“Camels alright?”

“Fine with me, but hide ‘em from Robin.”

“Yeah, Eddie, let me hide them for you,” Jeff offered with a teasing grin.

“I get to say this all the time now, by the way: over my dead body.” He opened a fresh pack I was sure came from Wayne and tapped one out for me to take.

“Okay, yeah, explain that whole thing from the beginning,” Gareth interjected from behind me while I lit my cigarette.

“I died, she saved me. The end.”

“But which of Henderson’s stories were true?” Jeff asked excitedly. “Did she do CPR, and if so congratulations; or did she necromance your ass, and still congratulations?”

“Nobody puts the romance in necromance quite like my Kelly Rose,” I saw Eddie grin in the rearview. “Maybe that’ll be the next song I write.”

“You still haven’t even finished Flatline,” Gareth was quick to point out.

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing I haven’t too, ‘cause now it’s getting a rewrite. I’m taking it in a way more literal direction.”

“Dude, quit stalling!” Jeff protested.

“Did you do CPR?” Eddie finally asked me, leaning over the center console so we were face to face.

“No, compressions wouldn’t have been a good idea.”

“You hear that?” he asked with a grin, ungracefully throwing himself back into the middle seat. “She knows about shit like that. Ain’t she somethin’?” His goofy smile was infectious, I could feel it starting to spread on my own face without my permission.

After a long exhale of smoke left my mouth and filled the car, I continued, “I know about all kinds of shit. But do any of you boys know you’re officially aiding and abetting a wanted man as we speak?” The sudden silence among them spoke volumes. “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of. If that’s too much, no worries, we can call for another ride. But you should decide sooner than later if you don’t wanna risk being publicly spotted with us in town. And needless to say, if you drop us on the side of the road and sell us out to collect some reward or whatever, you’ll sorely regret it.”

“What’ll you do to us?” Gareth asked with a touch too much enthusiasm to be appropriate. I pulled the lever to recline the back of my seat so the headrest hit him square in the groin. At his exclamation of surprise and pain, the other three burst into loud peels of laughter, with Doug glancing between the road and the rearview mirror as he drove. “Point taken,” he heaved out in a labored breath.

“Good,” I replied and pulled the seat back into place. “So, what’ll it be, boys?”

“I’m in,” Doug was the first to declare. “We’re in. Right?”

“Yeah, totally,” Jeff agreed. “Can’t let you guys have all the fun.”

“I’m gonna have to call my mom soon, but yeah, I’m in too,” Gareth finished.

“That’s fine, the Dues has a phone.”

* * *

“Now remember, when Nancy loses her shit, you’re the one at fault here,” Dustin said firmly.

“I know,” Mike barely got out before proceeding to cough until he could hardly breathe.

“Dude, come on, you’re making me look bad.” Dustin took an experimental toke of the joint Mike handed him and began to cough in much the same fashion.

“I don’t want any,” Will said awkwardly when it was offered to him next.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Jake turned in the passenger seat to say. “There’s never any pressure.”

“Yeah, no pressure,” Mike hacked.

“None at all,” Dustin agreed, giving a thumbs up with his free hand.

“Actually, I think I’d rather drink if we’re really doing this.” Will wasn’t sure where the sudden surge of courage came from to say it, but he didn’t regret it when he saw the way Jake’s eyes sparkled with mischief at the suggestion. Mike and Dustin were both taken aback, but especially Mike.

Jake asked, “And what would the gentleman have this evening?”

“What does the barkeep recommend?”

Mike couldn’t believe his ears. What was that tone in Will’s voice? And why did it make him feel so left out? Dustin sitting between them might as well have been a ten foot wall for how cut off they suddenly seemed from each other.

“A cosmo might be a little much for you, so I’d say a gin and tonic.”

“Alright, one gin and tonic, please.”

To the boys’ surprise, Jake’s passenger seat turned one hundred-eighty degrees to face them in the back. “Coming right up, sir.”

From the fine wooden side paneling swung out a fully stocked mini bar. A chill curled around their ankles and rose to fill the car; it was even refrigerated. He added a splash of gin to a glass and filled the rest with tonic from an old fashioned glass seltzer bottle.

“Oh, come on, I can do more than that,” Will scoffed.

“Relax, Speed Racer. Taste it before you commit.”

Will rolled his eyes, but his initial sip did end up giving him pause. “I like it….”

“But…?”

“… It’s missing something.”

“I’ll make you a Tom Collins instead then, and if you don’t like it I’ll drink it. Deal?”

“Deal,” he smiled and put the crystal glass back on the sterling silver tray. “But what is it?”

“Basically I’m just adding a little lemon and sugar.”

“So, basically like gin and Sprite.”

“No need to be such a reductionist. But, I can add some lime if you want.”

“Can I have one too?” Dustin asked.

“Dude!” Mike objected, cringing immediately as he realized how similar his tone sounded to Nancy’s when she scolded him. “Take it easy, we gotta stay sharp to find your demodog.”

“Speaking of,” Jake continued as he loaded a shaker, “you’re really serious about that thing?”

“As a goddamn heart attack! I could have a Nobel Prize by Christmas!”

“So there’s really something out there to find?”

“Unfortunately,” Will answered, rubbing the back of his neck. Something didn’t feel right.

* * *

In light of the extent of the damage to the whole of Hawkins, and the unique needs of the residents as well as emergency responders in the wake of such a large scale disaster, the curfew had been lifted by the Hawkins Police Department effective immediately. That was why Mrs. Henderson scuttled across the street an hour after sunset to knock on the Wheeler family’s door. Dustin said he would be with Mike and their friends, but no bicycles had returned to Maple Court as of yet. In her worry, she narrowly escaped a fate even worse than Yertle’s.

Under the shadow of nightfall the vines rose out of the cracks in the earth and crept along the ground in search of prey. It was time to feed, and in turn, assimilate. Any creature small and low enough to the ground would do for the time being.

On the outskirts of town, feeling its way across the damp earth, a star-nosed mole was wrapped tight and dragged down into depths no mole had ever dug. A mere ten miles from there was Maple Court, and specifically, the Henderson residence. Mrs. Henderson had left Yertle, Dustin’s turtle, unattended on the back patio of their home, assuming it would be fine if Dustin saw fit to leave him out there in the first place. A tendril came from the tree line and ensnared him around his shell, and neither Yertle nor the star-nosed mole were seen as themselves again. Tews watched in horror from the window and bolted under Mrs. Henderson’s bed to hide for the rest of the night.

The vines that were successful in their hunt receded back to whence they came, leaving the rest to spread rapidly into a network far and wide to blanket every available earthen space along the ground. The invasion had begun.

* * *

Four very different vehicles played follow the leader into town like a scene straight from Wacky Races. The Duesenberg at the end of the procession turned at the sign pointing to the hospital while the rest proceeded with apprehension toward the first four-way stop being directed by soldiers instead of the usual crossing guards.

Leading the charge was Steve’s BMW, followed by Doug’s father’s Volvo, and bringing up the rear was the Surfer Boy Pizza delivery van, blasting the radio loud enough for all three. That also meant Eddie was trapped smack in the middle with no escape if he was caught.

While the passengers of the Volvo yelled over the Billboard Top 100 to decide their course of action, the occupants of the van and BMW said not a word. In the BMW it was because the tension could be cut with a cake knife; as for Argyle, he was just enjoying dancing along in his seat as he followed the rest.

* * *

“Jesus Christ, this is a nightmare,” Jeff shook his head.

“You can’t tell me there’re no back roads in this shithole town,” I groused.

“There are,” Doug answered, “but you don’t wanna go that way, trust us. Benny’s is still standing, but the jocks’ve totally taken it over and the whole old highway. The cops already know and they don’t give a shit. Everybody’s going out of their fucking minds around here.”

“Alright, noted,” I replied, my mind already made up the moment I recognized the soldiers we were steadily approaching. “Eddie, switch shirts with me. I actually know those guys.” I was unbuckled from my seat and peeling my jacket off in a flash. Next went my shirt, causing an uproar the second it was off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Gareth stuttered, eyes bulging when he took in the sight of my bared skin.

“Jesus Christ!” Jeff cried, halfway between startled and ecstatic.

"Oh, shit,” Doug swore as he almost rear-ended Steve’s Beemer.

Eddie was rarely speechless, but his open-mouthed smile said enough. “Do you need help?” I offered.

“Nope!” He quickly jumped into action and had his jacket and shirt torn over his head and off his arms in five seconds flat, his accessories jingling and clinking together with every movement.

“Gimme your rings.” I had a little too much fun watching him slide every individual ring from his fingers, but hey, I can’t help that my boyfriend’s hands were beautiful. I kept moving as quick as I could and shoved them in my jeans pocket. I then put on his bloodied shirt. It smelled like the sum total of all our misfortunes and still had holes where blood had flooded out of him and onto my hands as I held him. I shut my eyes tight and held my breath while I gingerly tangled myself into it. The blood made the fabric rigid and uncomfortable against my skin. I put my jacket back on with a shudder. “Now put yours on too. Gareth, you’re switching seats with me.”

“What?” I shimmed my way over the center console and into the backseat. Gareth didn’t have his seatbelt on, so it was easy to yank him up and shove him down in the passenger seat. “Whoa, hey!”

“Gareth, you touch my bag down there for any reason other than to keep it from falling over, I’ll do a hell of a lot worse to your hand than Jason Carver ever could. Eddie, come ‘ere.”

I patted the spot Gareth just vacated and Eddie hopped to eagerly. Now that he was wearing my CBGB shirt and any distinct accessories or markings were covered, I straddled his lap just in time for Steve’s car to be stopped by the Airmen at the intersection. Doug came to a smoother stop than the last, but his eyes flicked up to watch me in the rearview every other second without fail. Speaking of rearview, my ass in my Levi’s looked great filling out that mirror despite the circumstances. I couldn’t blame the boys for staring, and honestly, it didn’t bother me much anyway. Not after being shown off by Larry every chance he got. Eddie deserved a chance to show off with his friends a little, too. We were celebrating tonight, so why not make the most of it? Their gobsmacked faces on that last day in the cafeteria flashed through my mind. If one lick got that kind of reaction, this would really throw them for a loop.

One hand found his hair and gathered it in my fist at the nape of his neck, while the other cupped his jaw to tilt his chin up and obscure his face from the soldiers we were about to entertain. If all went well, he would just be a nondescript guy in every way, no long curls or tattoos to be seen and no way to tell any facial features; and if I was really lucky, they’d all be so busy watching me that they wouldn’t remember enough about anyone else to definitively describe them later.

The car ahead wasn’t permitted to pass. The sound of boots coming toward us next were clear even with the windows up. Showtime.

My lips clashed with his and demanded as much of him as he could give. After a confused beat he obliged me. The trick here was to wait for my cue, even if the waiting made me sweat bullets. I hoped it would just give me a healthy flush in the eyes of the pervs we were about to engage.

The driver-side window squeaked down, and I heard the all too familiar, “IDs, please.”

“Puckett!” I burst as Eddie gasped for air under me. “Oh, my God! You got the promotion!”

“No way, it’s Jailbait! Guys, c’mere!”

“Holy shit, it is Jailbait!”

“Not Jailbait anymore,” I giggled with a mile-wide smile, pressing Eddie’s face against my chest to keep him hidden.

“Hey, happy birthday!” the most well-meaning of the bunch said with a wave.

“So, this is what daddy’s little girl gets up to the minute she’s legal, huh?” one laughed. The rest were quick to follow suit.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Puckett leered as he leaned into the window for a closer look at me around poor Doug.

I fought to keep my bright smile in place and not openly sneer at him. “I just bet you have.”

“I guess it’s just not our lucky night, though.” He patted the roof of the car affably. Pointing to the vehicles in front of and behind us, he continued, “Everybody here with you?”

“Yep, we’re heading to the other side of town. It’s a surprise party and we’re bringing the pizzas. Can you ask the boys extra nicely to not give us a hard time?”

“Yeah, you got it, not Jailbait,” Puckett winked in a way he must’ve thought was charming. “Come in,” he said into the receiver strapped to his chest. “You sorry bastards will never guess who’s coming down Main Street: Jailbait Turner. Get a good eyeful as she pulls through. Middle car, backseat, over.” As he passed to wave Steve through the four-way stop, he called out to Doug, “Drive extra slow for my boys, yeah? We’ve missed her!”

I blew them a kiss, and they wolf-whistled and hooted our whole way through the intersection. The minute I could, I hastily told Doug, “Sorry about that. You can put the window up now.” Once it was cranked closed with a squeak of the glass, I sighed in relief. If nothing else, I knew none of those creeps spared anybody but me more than a glance. Pulling Eddie up for air, I asked, “You alright, baby?”

“Never been better,” he practically purred with a glazed over look in his eyes. “I fucking hate all these assholes staring at you, though.”

“Better they stare at me than you. Just pretend we’re at Rick’s.” I kissed his dimple.

“Rick’s?”

“On our favorite couch.”

“Oh, God, the leather one,” he groaned lowly.

“Yeah, just like that, baby,” I whispered I his ear close enough to flick him with my tongue and drag my lips across the shell of his cartilage. It sent a jolt through him I could feel run from his head to his shoes. That was all it took to get him going.

In tandem I seemed to fall into him as he pulled me in with his arms coiling tight around my back. They were long enough to criss-cross behind me so that one hand anchored me against him by my opposite hip, and his free hand twisted into my tangled hair, able to explore now that his fingers were free of rings that might catch along the way. His lips and tongue joined mine in glad reunion. That was all it took to get me going.

We kissed like we were each other’s only oxygen supply and every second was critical, because we were the only ones in the car who really knew how close to the truth it was. As the procession crawled through the traffic lights, I was only vaguely aware of the cacophony outside the car. In stark contrast with the Airmen, Eddie’s friends were utterly silent, not even daring to shift in their seats. It wasn’t until we made it through the last light that we all seemed to come up for air at once.

“Your eyeballs still in your heads, boys?” I panted coyly.

Doug suddenly stiffened, eyes dead ahead in the mirror’s reflection and white-knuckling the steering wheel. Jeff cleared his throat around a choked apology and faced his body toward the window beside him. It was Gareth who found the courage to ask quietly from the passenger seat, “Is that really what kissing’s s’posed to sound like?”

“If you’re good at it,” I replied without hesitation. “Now, gently as you can, pass my bag, please.” Gareth absentmindedly fulfilled my request, his mind somewhere between the gutter and the clouds. Eddie’s arms remained around me as the only seatbelt I had, so I put my bag in the open seat between us and Jeff. First and foremost, I ensured Bilbo was alright, and place its stem between my teeth while I dug out what I was really after: the walkie talkie. “Steve, you copy?”

After a beat his voice crackled through, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“How fast can that sweet BMW get us to the junkyard?”

“Isn’t the plan to go slow and fly under the radar?”

“Ye-!” Nancy’s outraged voice could be heard before Steve took his finger off the push-to-talk switch.

I couldn’t remember the last time I rolled my eyes harder. “It was, but I wouldn’t put it past those guys to follow us, and I don’t wanna give them an opening. They think we’re going slow and in a totally different direction, so we should take our chance while we can.”

“What about Argyle? He doesn’t know any of this.” Jonathan asked.

“He’s a big boy, he’ll figure it out once he sees us driving away.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Steve answered flippantly.

“Wai-!”

I laughed as I put the walkie in my bag and pulled the seatbelt across it. “Babe, hold on to me. Doug, get ready to punch it!”

Eddie turned me around to face forward in his lap with ease and pulled the belt over us both. Pressed so close together, I could feel his erection in all its glory. He tried to sound unaffected as he explained, “Doug has never punched it in his life. That’s why these nerds usually ride with me.”

“Well, Doug, today’s the day.” When I leaned forward to brace both hands on Doug and Gareth’s seats, my red nails digging into the soft upholstery, I brushed against Eddie even more firmly. His arms around my waist tightened, holding me in place.

“Uh….” While Doug wavered, the Beemer took off with a squeal of its tires.

“Now! Hit it!” Gareth cried and pounded the center console with his uninjured fist.

“Wait, seriously?” Jeff asked excitedly.

“Ah, okay, okay!” Doug’s foot hit the gas, and off we went with a jolt.

* * *

“What’s with the shake up?” Dave asked in the rearview after hearing the exchange through Dustin’s speaker.

“I dunno, but we better hurry,” Dustin slurred.

“There aren’t two hospitals, right?”

“No?”

“Then we’re here.” Dave pulled into the nearest parking space he could to the main doors. The parking lot was nearly empty now that visiting hours were near their end.

“Hey, it’s Lucas!” Mike observed with a hazy smile.

Will, being the least inebriated of the trio, cranked the window down beside him and called, “Lucas! Erica!”

Their heads turned toward the sound of his voice in unison, and their confusion grew in unison as well upon finding Will waving from an unknown, bizarre vehicle that was neither government nor some rogue agent based on the earthy scented smoke that vented from the interior.

“Oh, I’m telling all your moms about this,” was Erica’s greeting.

“What the hell, Will?” Lucas made the attempt to seem above it all on the off chance it might convince Erica not to tell their own mother too, but one look at her made it quite clear that ship had already sailed. “Where we going?” he asked, dropping the act with a clap of his hands and an excited yank of the door handle.

Erica followed, fanning the smoke out of the back of the car with her hand. “And who the hell are these nerds?” she was visibly unimpressed despite the opulent surroundings.

“Jake Bauman. And this is Dave, my brother,” he introduced, sticking out his hand with a friendly grin.

She folded her arms instead of taking his hand. “Erica Sinclair. And it isn’t nice to meet you. It stinks like dead skunk in here, and you’re all wasted.”

“Erica!”

“Just the facts!”

“Look, it’s been a really long day,” Lucas pleaded. “You saw Max. I just… can you please just give us this one time?”

“This one time? What about the last one time, and the time before that? Don’t think for one damn second that I forgot I’m getting a Nintendo out of you just because your girlfriend is in the hospital.”

“We’ll all owe you for it. Think about it, you can spend the whole night gathering blackmail. Just let us have tonight.”

“I already got enough blackmail for a lifetime with that shoebox under your bed.”

“That’s right!” Dustin burst. “You never told me what’s in there!”

“Erica!” The desperation was rising in Lucas’ voice.

“Somebody better sweeten the pot before I use that fancy phone up there to call mom and tell her that not one, but two Bum Men are potentially endangering my life this time.”

“Shit, should’ve warned you guys about that,” Dustin winced. “She really doesn’t like your uncle.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t give people a lot of reasons to like him even on a good day. We won’t hold it against you,” Jake assured with an easy smile.

Just the sight of it made Will’s cheeks redden from more than the gin he’d drank too quickly and clumsily to impress. Mike wondered why he noticed something so minute in the muted light of the hospital parking lot at all.

“That’s nice,” Erica nodded with a sarcastic smile. “But all that aside, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to hold against you in the next thirty seconds if I don’t hear something good.”

“Lady Applejack, we’ve sworn oaths and bled together more than once now,” Dustin jumped in, hands out in placation. “You want us to owe you for life? Fine, we’ll owe you for life. That’s what friends are for anyway. Okay? Don’t tell, and we’ll owe you in perpetuity.” His slurring was less than convincing and it showed. He tried again, “Big or small, near or far, you can always call on us.”

“Point taken, but enough of the sappy shit. I want specifics and tangible outcomes. Lucas, you’re covering my chores until college. Dustin, you’re doing my homework until college. Mike, I get to use your workbench for my mini figures anytime I want whether you’re alive or dead. And Will,” she gave him an assessing sidelong glance, “you’ll teach me how to sew my own costumes. I know you made your Will the Wise cloak and hat by yourself.”

“Will the Wise, huh?” Jake teased as he turned his seat back into place facing the dashboard.

Dave pulled out of the lot to the tune of the four boys in the backseat agreeing to Erica’s demands, with Will’s being the shyest of the four from his self-consciousness. Once they were on the road, the air of revelry returned to them.

“Now, just where in the hell are you taking us?” Erica continued.

“The dump,” Dave replied, grinning around his cigar in the rearview.

Scoffing, Erica directed at Lucas, “Oh, you’re so lucky I feel bad for you.”

“You’re used to the dump by now!”

“Sober and in broad daylight! There could be glass and rusty metal we can’t see! If I get tetanus tonight, you’re all gonna regret it.”

“Then just don’t trip,” Lucas shrugged.

Dustin yanked a silver flashlight free from the backpack resting at his feet. “Don’t worry, I came prepared!”

* * *

The cars were parked in a sloppy semi-circle, leaving room for the Dues. Eddie unbuckled us and pushed open the door for me. The moon was glowing behind the cloud cover, offering just enough of its strength to light the junkyard and the nearby clearing.

I wasn’t sure what I’d feel being back here after everything that’d happened, but I didn’t expect it to feel so… so… triumphant. Standing there again in the fresh air, at the end of the fight instead of the uncertain beginning, covered in blood that had been shed in another dimension, my heart fluttered and dared to soar. Vecna’s vision had succeeded in scaring me, but we succeeded in thwarting him when it counted the most. I squeezed Eddie’s hand, and he squeezed mine, and suddenly I had permission to feel alright, if only for a little while. We were there, together against all odds, and it was everything in the world I could want or need in that moment.

Our flashlights and lighters chased away the shadows, and a small fire was built behind a stack of ruined cars for cover. Morale seemed to double as the light grew, and then doubled again when Davey and Jake arrived with the kids.

The boys all ran straight to Steve first, taking turns detailing every square inch of the Dues and trying to one-up each other’s smoking and drinking on the way there. Jonathan’s shock at Will’s apparent change of heart where partying was concerned sent everyone in the know into peels of laughter. Nancy wasn’t impressed, her expression matching Erica’s, but then again no one expected her to be.

Only when Dustin turned to me, Eddie, and the rest of the Hellfire Club, did Eddie’s shoulders relax and his hand go slack in mine, ready to let go and embrace Dustin the moment he had the chance. Dustin was toasty to say the least after his first foray into chemically induced fun, and he burst out in tears as he pulled Eddie into a rib-cracker of a hug. Eddie clapped him on the back hard and could be heard muttering, “You’re good, you’re good.”

“Jane, you seeing all this?” I asked lowly through my walkie talkie without holding push-to-talk.

“Yes.” I could hear her smile even in that lone syllable. No one else looked up though, so I knew it was a direct line between she and me.

“Where are you?”

“By the fire.” I looked up, and in a quick lick of flame it was almost like I could see the ghost of her, but as quick as she was there she was gone from my sight. I waved subtly with my finger tips and heard back, “Hi.”

“Hi. My next egg roll will be in your honor.”

Erica rolled her eyes at the enthusiasm of the boys and sat with a huff on an overturned crate by the fire. “You guys seriously couldn’t party anywhere else? Literally, anywhere else.”

“This isn’t about partying, my dear Lady Applejack,” Dustin proclaimed animatedly, suddenly recovering from his tears. “This is a manhunt for a Nobel Prize! We’re looking for Will’s old fridge. There’s a demodog in it, and if it’s even remotely preserved we stand to win at least one prize, if not sweep the entire Sciences category!”

“Um, I’m no expert, but last I checked, all the fridges here look basically the same,” came her unamused reply.

“An excellent deduction, my dear Watson!”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Okay! So, here’s what I’m thinking: we go in teams of two and fan out all at the same time. Whoever finds the right fridge first will signal the rest of us and we’ll assess sample collection once we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Teams of three,” I interjected, sitting beside Erica to give Jane a better signal.

“But that’s fewer teams! We don’t have all night.”

“Hey, your last team of three worked out, didn’t it?” Eddie asked indignantly.

“That was totally different, this is just an extraction mission on familiar terrain.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m finishing my dinner before I do anything else,” I announced, lifting that promised egg roll from my bag to my mouth.

“Food sounds so good right now,” Mike grinned, slipping Lucas a joint none too subtly.

“Actually, yeah. No point searching on an empty stomach,” Dustin agreed despite having just eaten with the rest of us at the cabin, limping over to drop beside me on the ground.

“Dude! There could be glass or metal!” I hurriedly exclaimed, looking for any sign that he accidentally landed on something suspect.

“That’s what I told him!” Erica raised her voice exasperatedly.

“I checked! I checked!” he waved his flashlight around to prove it. “Keep your pink jackets on!”

Truth be told, and you know how reluctant I can be to do that even at the best of times, I wasn’t up to my usual razor sharp observation skills on account of the weed, booze, and the magic of MSG. But sure enough, Erica and I locked eyes after briefly assessing each other’s outerwear.

“Awesome bomber jacket, hot pink really suits you,” I smiled.

She looked at me the same way she did when she loaned me her My Little Pony pencil. “Yours would look better if it wasn’t water logged and blood spattered.”

“I’ll take that,” I chuckled. “Better mine than yours, right?”

At that, her lips quirked, but didn’t quite form a smile. “You’re damn right.”

“Hungry?”

“I’m good.”

“Then I’ll take hers,” Lucas said as he joined us, plopping down beside Dustin.

“Don’t you want an actual seat? You’ll ruin your clothes.”

“Actually…” he took a contemplative glance at his letterman jacket and blue jeans. “I don’t like these anymore. No, screw that, I hate them. So, if they get ruined, good.”

“Good,” I repeated with a nod, fishing out an unopened paper bag that had gone transparent with grease and a fistful of sauce packets. “The supper of champions.”

Lucas shared the four egg rolls with his friends and tossed them each their share of sauce. Most of the group found their own places around the fire with a variety of improvised seating, and in a matter of moments, everyone was passing food, joints, and flasks with varying degrees of discretion while talking amongst themselves.

Suddenly, Eddie was behind me, nudging my crate with his sneaker. “Up.”

“There’s another crate right there.”

“I don’t want a crate, I want you in my lap.”

“It’s mine, then,” Doug said, rounding us to perch as best he could beside me. Jeff and Gareth pounced on the last two, leaving Davey and Jake standing across the fire, leaned in close together whispering, each with one foot against their bumper on either side of the license plate. Whatever they were conspiring about, I knew they’d fill me in before long. It was their way, making their plans just the two of them before they’d come to me. Sometimes they were too alike for their own good, thinking too similarly to see the bigger picture. They couldn’t even begin to imagine how big of a picture we were dealing with, so I wanted them to scheme and plot to their hearts’ content. I wanted us to feel like us again.

I was so distracted by my train of thought that I didn’t really answer Eddie, and if there was one thing I knew he wouldn’t stand for in this world, it was being ignored. Especially by me. I squealed in surprise when he picked me up bridal style. “Hey! You can’t just man-handle me!”

“Oh, really? ‘Cause I think I just did.”

“Put me down!”

“If you insist.”

Too fast for me to do anything about it, he took the crate for himself and sat me on his knee. Before I could protest further, he slapped me on the ass, and we both knew there was no point arguing. Besides, Eddie was holding me tight around my middle, his head resting over my shoulder. It was the kind of squeeze that translated to ‘help,’ not ‘hello.’

“You okay?”

“No. But I will be. Just sit with me, please?”

“Of course, baby.”

A silence of understanding fell over us. He never quite relaxed, though. He passed the time by kissing my neck and shoulder softly while he listened to the conversations around us. I could feel every time he’d perk up at something interesting, and I was just glad to be feeling him at all.

“Comfy?” he finally asked.

“Yeah, but you can’t be.”

“It’s just my left asscheek I can’t feel, righty’s still hanging in there.”

“We could trade,” I giggled quietly around the stem of my pipe.

“Elbereth needs her throne, and her throne needs Elbereth,” he murmured into my neck.

“Don’t indentured servants outrank furniture?”

“Fuck no. You think if a servant polishes the throne wrong they won’t get their ass handed to them? If anything, this is a promotion.”

I threw my head back against his shoulder and laughed. He chuckled and pecked my neck again. The heat of the nearby flame licked at our smiling cheeks and the tips of our noses, and the moment was kissed upon my memory with the next press of his lips.

“This still feels like a fever dream,” Doug remarked.

“I actually don’t get how this is possible. I just know this goes against the laws of physics, or matter, or motion, or something.” I’d politely avoided their gazes until that point, but when I looked up, Gareth was speaking from behind his hands, his elbows resting on his torn knees.

Jeff paused to collect his thoughts. “It’s definitely weird… but I’m happy for them.”

“Hear that? That’s Jeff the Just for you,” Eddie said, the barest hint of audible pride in the back of his throat. They were dorks and losers, but they meant well, and that was what Eddie prized most above all other traits when it came to his dearest friends. It was what made him so magnetic to people, good or bad. It was also what made him so heartbreakingly endearing to me.

We weren’t quite the same where friends were concerned, though. Goodness was admirable, sure, but results were what counted at the end of the day; a fact I was painfully aware of by now. Were his friends trustworthy and reliable? Were they well-meaning and stalwart under pressure? It was a dangerous time to have to suss out those kinds of things, but if even one of them turned out to be a flight risk for Eddie, I’d take down the whole lot of them without a second thought.

“Birdy, come have a drink with us. We’ve got cosmos on ice waiting for you.”

I could feel Eddie’s muscles tense all around me. Davey had approached from his blind spot.

“Coming.” I squeezed Eddie’s hand as I stood and tugged him up after me.

“Without the furniture, doll.”

“Hey, only I can call him that. Boromir, noble son of Gondor, is always welcome to come with us.”

“You can’t be serious.”

It was time to set the record straight. “From now on, either invitations extend to both of us, or neither.” There was no room for negotiating.

If the sentiment bothered him, he didn’t let it show. “My mistake. Let me pack you a fresh bowl, Jake’ll get your drinks.”

“Excellent idea, my dude,” Argyle nodded from across the fire and stood with a jolly smack to his knees.

Jonathan rose almost automatically, making Nancy scoff, “Jonathan!”

“I was gonna ask if you wanted anything!”

Before she could unload on him the way she clearly wanted to, Steve asked Davey, “Can I get a beer?”

“Of course, right this way.”

“Steve!” Nancy and Robin said together this time.

“You’re driving!” Nancy took over for the two of them. She was the type to relish being the sole speaker on a group project.

“Just one won’t hurt! You seem like you could use one yourselves.”

“You’re encouraging the kids!”

“They don’t need any encouragement in case you haven’t noticed, Nance.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed, and you aren’t helping.”

In the time it took for them to start bickering, Jonathan and Argyle had joined up with the growing crowd. To everyone’s surprise, it was Gareth who approached next and said, “First things first, I was told these guys have a phone. If you’re for real about looking for something out there, I need to call my mom real quick so she doesn’t lose her goddamn mind at me when I get home. The rest of you probably should too before you’re shitfaced.”

“Yeah, sure, we’ll call your mom,” Jeff snickered with Doug.

“Not what I meant, assholes!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, fear not! We do have a phone, and it’s also right this way,” Davey offered with a gesture toward the Dues.

Dustin observed casually, “At this point, it’s the only phone in the whole county that hasn’t been wiretapped.”

There was collective confusion and upset at that revelation for most of the group, including myself. “What’re you talking about?” I demanded.

“Oh, yeah, you weren’t here for all that,” Mike said as if he was just recounting a funny memory and not an obscene violation of civilian privacy by an unchecked government. “A few years ago they tapped everybody to try and find El. They also never untapped everybody, so try not to say anything too detailed or incriminating. The feds move fast.”

With that fresh perspective forcing all us newbies to reevaluate everything we thought we knew about the simple act of phoning home, or anywhere else in town for that matter, Gareth led the charge to the Dues.

“Duuude,” Argyle began, usual smile firmly in place, “I just remembered, I haven’t talked to my folks in, like, a week. They don’t even know I’m not in California right now, dude. Can car phones do long distance? Gotta touch base with the rents before they have a cow.”

Jake threw in, joining the migration, “Long distance calls have to be paid in full upon completion.”

“Can I pay in postponed pizza?”

“We’ll have to discuss that.”

Only a few calls had to be made since most parents in Hawkins seemed perfectly content to never see their kids, and especially if it was a weekend. Argyle’s parents didn’t even pick up, which he shrugged off easily. Any parents who couldn’t be reached directly received a message on their answering machine while the rest were glad to know their children wouldn’t be returning until late, and with clear consciences, everyone happily dug into whatever we could get our hands on to re-cloud our minds. Davey packed my bowl while Jake poured the drinks, and when all was said and done, it only took about fifteen minutes total. There was still plenty of time left for Nobel Prize winning monsters.

When we were all settled back at the fire again, Davey addressed the group, “So, here’s the deal: Jake and I talked over the plan as it currently stands, and it needs some adjustments.”

“Aw, come on!” Dustin complained.

“Now, now, don’t get your tighty-whities in a twist and do the jocks’ job for them. We just think at least a few of us should stay behind to play lookout—”

“— I volunteer,” Erica raised her hand high. “You and your uncle got a real child endangerment problem.”

“Endangerment, child or otherwise, is actually very subjective under current laws. You should look into that.”

“Why do you know that?”

“We’re camp counselors for gifted kids; we have to know things like that when we let ‘em shoot arrows and learn pyrography.”

“I met my Suzie-poo on the archery range,” Dustin sighed wistfully. “Also, hope everybody took note of that. Gifted kid over here,” he gestured proudly toward himself. “Shit, I should’ve worn my camp cap!”

“Oh, wait, you guys reminded me,” I said, rising from where I’d only just returned to Eddie’s lap. He huffed in agitation. “Let me see your leg, Dustin.” I knelt on the ground where nothing was broken or hidden, and rolled up the cuff of his pant leg to reveal his sprained ankle. Covered in a white tube sock, I rolled it down gently to find the angry red swelling beneath. “Take a deep breath and count to ten.” My hands wrapped around both sides of his ankle, and in the time it took him to gasp from the pain on contact, it was gone with a radiating warmth left behind, and his ankle was healed.

I let go, and he stood up steady and straight with ease, no injuries to be found and a rush of energy thrumming through him. “Thanks, Birdy,” he sighed in relief, smile wide and toothy.

“Anytime. Can’t have you running around in the dark with your hit points low.” With a swipe under my nose to keep the blood there from running down my lips, I continued, “Just be careful from now on, okay?”

“Always. I learned from the best!” From the corner of my eye, Eddie’s beam went slack with hurt at Dustin’s finger guns toward Davey and Jake.

Steve’s reaction was closer to outrage couched in sarcasm. “Uh, okay, sure. Guess I’m not the best anymore.”

“Steve, you’ve always been terrible at being careful. You’re actually the least careful person I’ve ever known.”

“Can you believe this kid?” Steve asked Eddie. “After everything we’ve done for him?”

“You’re telling me, man. I only, you know, died for him.”

“Which is objectively the least careful thing anyone can do,” Dustin argued.

“And what’d I tell you about his tone?”

“Unbelievable,” Steve scoffed with a shake of his head.

“As for lookout duty, count me in,” I continued, trying not to laugh at my already disgruntled boyfriend. “I wanna eat the rest of my soup while it’s still a little warm.”

“Of course, it’s your favorite,” Davey nodded in understanding. Eddie mumbled something under his breath that made his friends laugh, but I didn’t catch it.

Robin threw in, “I’d also like to stay.”

This led Mike to observe, “So, basically, all the guys are going and all the girls are staying.”

“As if I’d let you off the hook that easy. I’m going,” Nancy stepped forward.

“You just had to open your damn mouth, didn’t you?” Lucas muttered just loud enough to reach me. I could hear Jane’s giggle through the walkie talkie in my bag.

Nancy, always ready to jump into a leadership role whether she was asked to or not, sternly instructed, “Dustin, I’ve been thinking about your plan too, and I want every group to have at least one adult chaperone. I agree with Kelly about going in teams of three, but we should go in rotations, not all at the same time.”

“That serious, huh?” Jake asked, his smirk making it obvious just how much he wasn’t taking this seriously.

“You have no idea,” she snapped, wiping the mirth right off his face.

“But this is a race, right?” Davey asked. “Don’t we have to all start at the same time or it won’t be fair?”

“Indubitably!” Dustin agreed, taking back over. “So, let’s do you, me, and Jake. Nancy, you should go with Mike and Lucas to keep them out of trouble.”

“Dude!” Lucas scoffed. “Just stab me in the back while you’re at it!”

“That’s a great idea, Dustin. And Steve should go with Jonathan and Argyle,” Nancy added.

“Why?” Jonathan and Steve asked together, equally offended.

“No reason in particular.” Nancy might’ve had her talents, but lying would never be one of them.

It was Eddie’s turn to say, “Corroded Coffin sticks together. Or will we be accused of cheating if we find the son of a bitch first?”

“You won’t find it first, so that’s fine by me,” Dustin assured him.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Interesting. Then… readysetgo!”

Eddie tried to sprint off into the darkness first, but I stopped everyone by yelling, “Hold it!” With everyone’s attention on me, I began swapping the random assortment of flashlights at our disposal. “Davey, you give me that one since I’m lookout. Don’t give me that look, you’ll still have Dustin’s. Mike, give yours to Steve, and Argyle, give yours to Eddie.” Pleased that every group had a decent light source, I continued, “Now you can go.”

And with that, the boys and Nancy all went flitting off into the night.

* * *

Erica was still displeased with how her evening was going and chose to spend her time doing her Spring Break homework. To be fair, if I had any intention of going back to school again, I’d probably join her. Instead, Robin and I sat together, sharing more food in the Party’s absence. But time kept creeping on, and by the time my soup was finished, I couldn’t take it anymore; Eddie’s bloody shirt had worn out my last good nerve, and with sobriety encroaching ever nearer, there was nothing left to dull my senses to the gore I was clothed in. I promised myself another cosmo after I was changed.

“I’ll only be a minute, I’m gonna get changed before everybody gets back,” I excused myself, taking my backpack by the strap and walking quickly around the side of the first broken down truck I saw.

I leaned my bag against one of the cinder blocks it was held up by, then my Rolling Stones t-shirt replaced Eddie’s homemade Hellfire one. It was so soaked with dried blood that it landed in the dirt with a dull thud. Even filthy, the familiar softness of my own t-shirt invited my hands to coil themselves in it, just to remind myself that I was alright and so was Eddie. Or so I thought.

“Guys, come in, over.” Just as I brought the speaker to my mouth, there was a howl of pain off in the distance, then a screech, followed immediately by Dustin screaming loud enough to hear without the walkie talkie, “GUYS, COME IN, OVER!”

“What’s wrong?!” I shouted back.

“The demodog! The vines brought it back! GET TO THE CARS!”

I ran back to the fire to relay the message only to find Robin and Erica already fleeing in the direction of the cars. They must’ve heard Dustin’s screamed warning. I grabbed Robin by the arm and stopped her in her tracks. “Where’re the Molotovs?!”

“What?!”

“The Molotovs! You filled them, where’re the rest?!”

Realization struck in the nick of time. “Hold on, I’ll be right back!”

“Hurry, goddamn it! Erica, get in the Dues and lock the doors,” I pointed.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” I heard Erica say, already on the move.

We three broke off in opposite directions at full tilt. I sprinted straight for the fire with my flashlight raised, and at the very end of the dark row the Party had gone down, the reflection of Davey and Jake’s thick glasses greeted me before the sound of their heavy footfalls and heaving breaths reached me.

“RUN, BIRDY!”

“RUN!”

I’d never heard such bloodcurdling sounds come from either of them before. “Where’s Eddie?!”

“COME ON!” they screamed together, coming around either side of the fire to hook their arms through mine and haul me backwards. Their flashlight went flying out of my hand and the bulb burst against something behind the crates. Something round, with nails sticking out of it at crooked angles: the prototype shield we hadn’t deemed worthy to bring to the most metal concert in the history of the world.

Flailing violently, I bellowed, “LET ME GO! I CAN REACH IT!”

“BIRDY, STOP— AHH!”

I bit Davey’s ear hard. With my newly freed fist, I punched Jake in the spleen. He gasped, tumbled to the side, and gave me a clear shot. The adrenaline was rushing through me, and it seemed like only a blink before I lifted the shield from the earth.

Then the shouting caught up with me. All of a sudden it was like a stampede erupting on either side of the fire as everyone else emerged from the darkness, frightened and running for their lives.

The kids ran the fastest, their long legs carrying them swiftly. With Dustin’s injury healed and his vitality restored, he led to the left of the fire with Lucas on his heels, while Mike took the right with Will. Then came Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Argyle, followed a moment later by Jeff and Doug. That left two unaccounted for: Eddie and Gareth.

Will was the only one who looked back long enough to tell me, “Gareth stepped on a nail!”

“Where are they?!”

But he was already gone, one hand clutching the back of his neck while the other reached out for the Dues, where his friends were frantically calling him in to save him. That small hesitation was a mistake, though— for both of us.

Eddie and Gareth finally rounded the dark corner, Gareth’s cries and high whines announcing them. Eddie was supporting Gareth’s weight as he struggled through every step forward. It was obvious that Gareth could barely keep himself going with the state his foot was in, and Eddie was doing the lion’s share of the heavy lifting. It made them slow and vulnerable.

I felt sick. My mouth tasted like pennies. There would be nothing between them and what was coming.

That was when I saw it: Only ten feet behind was a bigger creature than the bats, sprinting on all fours like a junkyard dog, its face opened wide in a roar so heart-stopping that the world seemed to slow around me, and I had time to notice the firelight reflected off its rows of teeth and strands of saliva. It was hungry, and it was gaining on them.

“EDDIE!” My feet were moving before my mind could catch up with the rest of me. My left arm went under Gareth’s while my right raised the shield high, trying to protect the back of us if there was any chance at all it could stop that thing. Eddie kept our momentum from the front, but it did us no good when Gareth landed on his foot wrong and collapsed with a high yelp.

“Get back!” Robin threw her arm out in front of us. In her other hand was a lit Molotov cocktail. As soon as it was airborne, she dove for cover behind me. If I’d held that shield even one inch askew in any direction at that moment, it would’ve ended in multiple sliced arteries for all of us. The demodog sprang right over the modest fire without hesitation, but Robin’s throw struck true, and with an explosion of fire and glass right down its throat and out of its open maw, it fell on its back screeching and writhing in the fire, which caught and grew all around it thanks to the kerosene.

The shards of glass that should’ve hit us mostly embedded themselves in the shield, with some exploding and flying off in every direction, including the side of my face. A line of glass paved its shining, searing way from cheek to brow, missing my eye by a centimeter or two at best.

“Fuck!” I swore, flinching away from the impact.

“Quick, get away from the fire!” Robin cried, springing to her feet to help us with Gareth. “Steve!” she called urgently.

“Already on it!” he answered, springing across the hood of his Beemer with a Molotov of his own.

Once we were clear of any further danger, he lobbed it and engulfed the beast completely in flame. Its death was slow and unnerving to say the least, but finally, with one last shrill expulsion of its breath, it stopped fighting and fell still. Just when we thought it was over, though, out of its mangled mouth poured a swirling mass of dark particles. They rose high, high above the smoke of the demodog’s burning body, and came to hover directly above Will’s head. Every flashlight and car battery went haywire, even the ones of long-dead cars discarded in piles on top of each other. It was disorienting, and Will was breathing hard, terrified and rooted to the spot just feet from the Dues, a hand still clutching the back of his neck.

“Will!” Mike was the first to shout, trying and reach him before the particles could.

I swear I saw the mass rear back before striking like a fucking viper, forming a swirling tornado of particles aimed straight for him. No one could be fast enough to save him from that. I felt so cold in its shadow despite the blazing fire and warm blood running down from the constellation of cuts on my face, my eyes unblinkingly wide with a fear I’d dreaded to ever feel again, no less this soon.

But before it reached him, it was repelled. The particles tried again from so high in the air we lost sight of them in the dark clouds overhead, yet when they struck again, they were caught in midair; frozen in place, every last speck in the whole swarm. The lights and car radios were flicking on and off even faster now, the volume deafening.

“Oh, shit!” Argyle shouted to the group at large in realization, his expression suddenly shifting from stunned to a broad grin. “It’s a mind fight! Little mind fighter’s going for it!”

I didn’t know what he meant until Mike shouted into the air, “El! Keep doing it! Whatever you’re doing, it’s working!” Jane, having seen what unfolded, was defending Will. They hadn’t been exaggerating about her powers at all, and it was nothing short of astounding to witness what happened next.

At first just one particle combusted into a tiny spark, setting off the next, then the next in a chain reaction. From far below, I watched in awe as the particles were scorched from the inside out, their number so great that from there it appeared to be spreading to the edges of the swarm like a burning reel of nitrate film. It wasn’t over until the very last cinder was incinerated to nothingness. The second the light of it was snuffed out of this world forever, the flickering lights and malfunctioning cars all around us finally went dark and silent.

* * *

“Joyce, come on. You’ve earned it.”

“Hop, the kids might need something—”

“Live a little. Do it since Murray’s too much of a pussy.”

“Fuck you! I told you, it makes me paranoid!”

Joyce giggled throatily and Hopper knew he’d won her over. Just as she blew out a thick cloud in his face to spite him, the lights, which were disconnected from the electrical grid following Hopper’s capture, began to rapidly blink of their own accord. She stubbed out the joint in a rush, coughing hard as she slapped Hopper on the arm. “I told you!”

“Alright, alright!”

The three crossed to Jane’s room, where the door had been closed instead of left open three inches. They found her standing in the middle of the room, one hand raised toward the window while the other clutched a screeching walkie talkie, a bandana over her eyes tied tight at the back of her head.

Joyce yelled over the shrill squealing, “What’s wrong?!”

“It’s Will! They want Will!”

It was terrible, only being able to stand back and watch as Jane fought the unknown force singlehandedly. Murray had yet to see anything like it despite his close association with the girls’ guardians, and none of his research into MKUltra could have prepared him for it. There was no doubt that she was controlling powerful electrical signals with her mind, and he wondered if it was only a matter of time before she did to them whatever she was doing to the monster they could hear through her walkie talkie.

“El!” Mike’s voice broke through the signal. “It’s me! It’s fine now, you saved him!”

“Mike! They know where you are now!” she shouted frantically.

The screeching signal went quiet then, meaning neither she nor any other in possession of a walkie talkie had been the cause of it. That was when Hopper stepped in. “Get everyone out of there, right goddamn now! Call us from a safe distance and we’ll come get you!” Turning toward his daughter in concern, he wiped the blood from her nose and lip with his sleeve. “You alright?”

“I’m fine. But I’m coming with you.”

“Then put your shoes on. Murray, go start the van.”

For once, Murray did as he was asked without argument.

* * *

“You heard him, move!” Mike shouted, hauling Will into the nearest car, Steve’s BMW.

“Where are we going?” Steve asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“Our house!” Mike answered as if it was obvious.

Nancy flew into action, jumping into the passenger seat while Steve caught up. “Mike, you know we can’t bring everyone there!”

“We’ll tell Mom we’re having a sleepover and playing D&D. She’ll be thrilled!”

But it wasn’t that simple, and I wasn’t convinced. Yes, time was of the essence, and Gareth still had a nail in his foot, but time and tetanus wouldn’t matter if we made the wrong move now. “What about Eddie?” I demanded, grinding everything to a halt.

“Yeah, Wheeler, what about Eddie?” Eddie asked skeptically, his arms crossing over his chest.

“If we can hide El in my basement, we can hide you too. Speaking of….” He continued into his walkie talkie, “El, meet us at my house. And relax, Hopper, everybody’ll be there. We’ll even keep the basement door open three inches. Over and out.”

Hopper’s voice boomed back, “Do you have any idea how risky and stupid—!” In silent agreement, we all turned off our walkie talkies and stowed them in our respective backpacks.

Robin and Jonathan ended up with Argyle, his radio back to merely blaring instead of the unbearable, unnatural sonic frequency it had produced, while the Dues went ripping out onto the main road carrying my boys in their usual places, plus Dustin, Lucas, and Erica. But we occupants of Doug’s father’s Volvo couldn’t leave just yet. There was Gareth to deal with and one piece of evidence I was eager to get rid of.

“Eddie, Doug, get him spread out on the backseat! And don’t touch his foot!” I commanded.

“Where are you going?!” Eddie asked, dumbfounded by my sudden outburst.

“We can’t just leave the fire!” I yelled back to them in exasperation, already making for the truck where I’d thrown his Hellfire shirt in the mud. Once in hand, I went barreling for the fire next.

The demodog stank to high heaven, but this presented a unique two-pronged opportunity. I could prevent a potential wild fire that would majorly blow our cover, and get rid of the single most blood soaked article between any of us before it could be found. No evidence, no crime.

I beat the fire with that devil’s face with all my might. Blood and smoke stung my eyes, but I didn’t dare stop now that we were running behind. Then, Eddie was beside me, using his jacket to beat down the flames too. I heard behind me, “Jeff, get it started!” with a jingle of keys, and Doug came skidding up to us, wielding his own leather jacket and revealing the Hellfire shirt he’d been wearing beneath it all along.

Jeff did get the Volvo started before shouting over Gareth’s cries, “Hurry up! He’s freaking out!”

I threw what was left of Eddie’s shirt on the impromptu pyre and ran back to the Volvo. “I’ll trade you! Go!”

Jeff was all too happy to take the deal, apparently quite uncomfortable with loudly ailing people. “Be right back!”

In fairness to Jeff, Gareth was a bit grating up close, but I couldn’t hold it against him. “Gareth, you need to lay still for me, okay?” Just as he nodded through his whimpers, I pulled the nail out of his foot and sneaker with a swift, hard yank. It was so jarring and painful that he actually froze, his scream dying in his throat with a wheezy rattle, his face going puce and veins on full display across his face and neck. I knew it was a little cruel, not giving him a warning like that, but time was short and there was no room for pleading and babying on the schedule now. “There you go, just try to breathe for me.” I took his wrist where the bandages stopped and pulled his pant leg up just enough to show his calf. “All things considered, you’ve really been damn lucky tonight.”

The blinding pain was catching up to him. He was breathing too hard now after not breathing at all. He’d pass out from hyperventilating if he kept that up. But damn lucky he truly was, because healing him proved easier than I initially thought. The nail hadn’t gone as deep as I’d feared thanks to his shoe, and his hand and wrist only sustained a few major and several minor fractures from his run-in with Jason Carver. Full breaks or deep wounds took more effort to fix, but this was all said and done in several brief, although agonizing moments.

It wasn’t until I was already leaving the car that it clicked for him; he wasn’t in pain anymore. By the time he called to me, “What’d you do?!” I was halfway back to the fire. By the time I reached them, the last ember fizzled and died with a thin wisp of smoke. Doug’s headlights were our only guide now, and we stood in its rays for just a moment while we caught our breath.

“Gareth okay?” Eddie was the first to ask.

“Full recovery. Now, let’s go.”

We denizens of Doug’s dad’s Volvo found our original seats, shaken but with enough presence of mind to leave the scene quickly now that we had a plan to follow. Thankfully, the procession of vehicles were trying to get the hell out of that side of town as fast as their gas pedals would let them, so speed was encouraged and allowed us to catch up quickly without any additional trouble. We heard them before we saw them thanks to Argyle’s radio.

“Everybody okay?” I queried once the tense silence was broken for us.

“Are we okay?” Gareth asked in sarcastic disbelief. “We all just saw that shit, and you’re asking if we’re okay?! We almost died! You almost got blown up!” he yelled over Argyle’s radio.

“You guys could’ve been eaten,” Jeff said in a shell-shocked monotone.

“I was eaten. That’s why Kelly Rose couldn’t do compressions on me,” Eddie admitted. “It’s not fun.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Doug exclaimed.

“I wasn’t sure how much you remembered,” I said, turning toward him from the passenger seat.

“All of it. What about you?”

“All of it. At least, until I slept in.”

“I like that a lot better than calling it a coma.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Gareth cut in, gaining momentum as he went. “We’re not getting all distracted by the way the hot girl talks. She just did fucking witchcraft on me! And you even said she necromanced you! What the fuck did you do, Turner?!”

“Hey!” Eddie jumped in before I could. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to like that? Show some goddamn respect when you talk to my girl. Hot or not, when she talks, you listen. And where’s your fucking gratitude, huh? Kelly Rose Turner just put her sweet ass on the line for you out of every other sorry bastard alive. This is your biggest wet dream come true— fucking pervert— and she doesn’t even get a ‘thank you for saving my sorry ass?’ Where’s all that legendary chivalry, Gareth the Great?”

“You’re right, my bad,” he threw his hands up in surrender. But when his eyes met mine, they immediately went to the floor instead, his cheeks turning pink even in the low light. “Turner, I’m sorry. And… thanks.”

“Really selling it, Gareth of Gildedheath,” Jeff lisped with a small smile, beginning to come back to himself from his initial fright.

“Well, I can’t exactly get on my knees right now, can I? I’ll grovel better when we’re parked. But seriously, what did you do?” He finally found the bravery to try and meet my sharp gaze again.

After a moment of silent staring just to really make him sweat, I decided to take pity on him. “Gareth, remember the part when the hobbits meet the elves? They called the talents of the elves magic, but they tried to tell them it wasn’t magic at all. It was just something they could always do, like anything else. You have to think of it like that,” I explained as well as I could over Argyle’s radio. “Wanna see me do it again?”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Gareth enthused, leaning in close, his shyness forgotten.

Doug complained, “Aw, don’t do it without me! And don’t get blood on the upholstery! My dad’ll kill me!”

“Sorry, too late for that,” I turned my attention to him. “But we’ll get it detailed, don’t worry.”

“How much blood is there?” he bemoaned.

“Not much, just a little from the rusty nail. There’s about to be some from the glass, too. But I’m practically a crime scene cleanup expert, ask Eddie. Your dad will never know this baby even left the garage.”

“It’s true. She doesn’t miss anything,” Eddie confirmed.

“Aaand you all missed it.” In my hand was every shard of glass that had pierced me. My face was still bloody, including my nose now, but underneath there was no scar of any kind. I opened my bag and deposited the shards in the empty soup container. “The nail is somewhere at your feet,” I shot over my shoulder as I made myself comfortable again.

Gareth, Eddie, and Jeff all bent forward at once to retrieve it for me and cracked their heads together like the Three Stooges, falling back in their seats with three distinct shouts. Doug and I caught it in the rearview and burst out laughing, from the absurdity of it all and sheer relief in equal measure.

It was easy to smile and laugh with Doug. He was awkward, but never hard to get along with, unless the Hellfire boys were egging him on, of course. But when he was alone, he was always pleasant. It was why I’d smile at him every morning when we’d meet at our lockers. Sitting side by side now was so vastly different from those mornings that the contrast couldn’t be ignored. It broke any remaining tension between us, and by us I mean from his side alone. I was always quite comfortable with him, if not privately annoyed by his allegiance to Eddie at the time. Out of everyone in the Hellfire Club, he was the one who needed the most encouragement and received the least. He was almost exclusively called Freak at school, and while Eddie tried to make it into a badge of honor, I quietly resented it on Doug’s behalf. It was like I told Eddie, he wasn’t a freak and neither was Doug, so I tried to be nice to him when the rest of the world wasn’t.

I’m glad I did, I thought to myself, knowing now we’d be seeing a lot more of each other.

Eddie rubbed both sides of his head with a wince and groaned, “You owe me for my shirt, by the way. That was the first one I ever made.”

Frankly, I hated that shirt, especially after wearing it myself. I had no regrets. “Baby, I’ll buy you all the shirts you want when this is all over.” I pulled my pipe from my bag and lit what was left with the lighter Doug gave me. “Thanks again, Doug. I’ll buy you all the lighters you want, too.”

He turned so red he practically glowed.

[gardenspells]

just a friendly reminder that this blog hates ICE

[lobotomymutt]

*unfriendly reminder.

If you support ICE or anything of the sort I hope you choke on the damn boot you keep licking

[livpet]

The true ending of Stranger Things is that the Duffers were the mouth breathers all along.

[corncandraw]

ST S5 Finale

Please don't let anyone make you feel bad for being upset over all this. It is that deep, and it is that serious. As an animation student, not even a writing or film student, we're put in cultural studies classes to drill into our heads that our works don't exist in a vacuum. If you can't represent something sensitively, don't represent it at all. It is so crucial to consider your target audience (AKA the freaks and weirdos this show apparently stands for), and the current sociopolitical context in which it's released (AKA a regression of freedoms and treatment of marginalised groups, including the LGBTQIA+, and especially in the US). They didn't consider shit. For a show preaching anti-capitalism and anti-conformity all the way to the end, they sure don't know how to show it. And it's not. Your. Fault. If we go crazy, we go crazy together. Because god knows this community needs some support.

[livpet]

I refuse to be gaslit into accepting the slop that is the entirety of season 5. It’s a disgrace from top to bottom and there’s no excuse in the world for it. The Duffers should be utterly ashamed.

[livpet]

I would like to firmly establish that by definition, Will Byers is neither a wizard nor a sorcerer, but a warlock.

[livpet]

No spoilers, but I hate Stranger Things 5 from top to bottom so far, and that’s something I never in a million years thought could happen. If you loved Vol. I then I’m truly glad for you, but for me personally it was an immense disappointment. I won’t go into the minutiae of my every criticism, but to sum it up, there’s zero continuity in this season with anything they previously established in the show, and this was the worst possible time to literally lose the plot. Seriously, nearly everything they’ve explicitly established before about the storyline has been thrown straight out the window and it has utterly enraged me for days now. And to be clear, I’m enraged because I care. This is my favorite show, and to watch it go this way after everything hurts me deeply. On the bright side, it’s been very motivating for my writing and I’m excited to finish the series my own way with King of the Dead. We’ll see what Vol. II brings, but for now I’m even more disappointed by this than the final season of Game of Thrones.

[livpet]

King of the Dead Chapter Two: Lady Strange

Saturday, March 29th, 1986. Eddie’s POV.

It’d been a while since I felt this low. Yeah, I’ve had my moments along the way, but Kelly Rose was always there to keep it from really getting to me. But she wasn’t by my side then. She was under Davey’s arm. Because when she needed help, Davey came to the rescue. All I did for her was pace and cry for days.

“Eddie!” was hissed in my ear, accompanied by a hard punch in the arm. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Ow!” I softly exclaimed, looking up from the counter to find Steve blocking my view of the sofa. I was surrounded on all other sides by the counter and my band. Steve was the one who hit me, but the other three looked ready to jump in any second. “I’m… getting dinner, I guess?” I answered uncertainly, rubbing my sore arm.

“Fuck no!” Gareth shot back. “What you’re doing is blowing it! When the fuck have you ever let some asshole talk to you like that? Besides, you’re our link to Kelly now. If you lose her to that blowhard piece of shit, then we all lose her.”

“Seriously, get your shit together,” Jeff lisped, poking me in the chest.

“Remember what you told me in the woods?” Steve asked, gaze unwavering. “Well, it was good advice. Time to actually start following it yourself.”

My brain transported me right back to that dead forest in the Upside Down: “I know we don’t exactly know each other, and I only became an expert on love recently, but if I was in your shoes, man, I’d do whatever it takes to get her back. I wouldn’t rest ‘til I was sure I had her. Whatever you did wrong, fix it. Whatever she wants, give it to her. It’s worked out great for me so far.” He was right. It was damn good advice, and it’d worked like a charm until Davey came along. Too bad that he seemed to have the market cornered on giving Kelly Rose anything and everything her heart desired at the drop of a pretentious hat.

Suddenly, Doug was holding me up to his face by the collar of my leather jacket. “You’re our dungeon master. Our front man. Our fearless fucking leader. The glue that holds us and every other down-on-their-luck loser in this town together. This isn’t the time to back down, Eddie. If you lose her, Corroded Code be damned, I’ll beat your ass into dust. I’m willing to take a beating for you any day from anybody, but she’s special, man. We all see it. She’s the only girl who’s ever been nice to me. Jeff and Gareth…” he shot a dubious glance at Steve, “… and Harrington are right.”

Mike’s head popped up over Steve’s shoulder. “Whatever’s going on, I’m the official representative of the freshmen since Dustin’s on couch rest, Lucas isn’t here, and none of you know Will. So, what’re we talking about?”

Steve answered with a nod toward me, “Munson’s losing against the new guy.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Everybody did, actually. You better fill me in on what went down while I was gone, by the way. The apocalypse of Hawkins is way more believable than you actually getting with Kelly Turner. Oh, and can I smoke with you guys?” he finished with an excited grin.

“No!” we all chorused at once.

As he opened his mouth to protest, Steve cut him off, “Nance would fucking kill me, dude. Nope, not happening, not unless she says so.”

Mike groaned, knowing he hit a dead end. “Fine, then what else were you talking about?”

Jeff answered, “On top of losing to the new guy, Eddie’s being a total pussy about getting his girl away from that douchebag.”

“Hey!”

“He’s right,” Gareth nodded, arms crossed.

“I concur,” Doug agreed.

It was unanimous. Fuck me. “Great, at least there’s consensus,” I smiled sarcastically.

“Dude,” Mike broke in, “I just spent all semester learning this lesson, and I finally got it while I was away. It might be hard, it might suck and be weird even, but girls need reassurance. It’s like Chinese food for their feelings, or whatever. Show her you care more about her than this asshole does and she’ll come around. But don’t wait. I made that mistake, and it almost ruined everything.”

We all stared at him, mouths agape in silence after he was done. “Wheeler,” I finally said, warm hope filling my chest and a true smile forming on my face, “I’m impressed by your wisdom. You left Hawkins a boy and returned a man, it seems. Well done.”

“I can’t take the credit for that. Will the Wise helped me figure it out in the end, but he was right about everything. So, does that mean I can smoke even if Nancy says no?”

“Absolutely not!” Nancy’s voice rang from behind Mike, startling the whole group. “I can’t believe you!”

“Don’t tell Mom,” he said immediately.

“You’re lucky we can’t tell her any of this or you’d be so dead.” A brief pause elapsed before she looked up at me guiltily. “I’m sorry, that was so rude. I can’t believe I just said that.”

That really was the consensus, huh? “You were dead,” “Dead weight,” “The curse of Boromir,” “You’d be so dead.” It was inescapable for me.

“S’okay,” I told her with a smile I could feel was strained from my inner turmoil.

“No, really, that was way out of line.”

“Don’t sweat it, Wheeler. Go ahead and eat, your food’ll get cold.”

Her mouth opened to try another apology, I could see it from the pity in her eyes, but instead she just nodded and slunk back to her takeout boxes.

“Anyway,” said Mike once she was out of earshot, “just be honest with her and it’ll be okay. It sucks, but it’s worth it.”

Being honest wasn’t the hard part for me. It was the uncertainty of whether it’d be enough. She could run off with the Baumans and Rick’s money anytime she wanted to and nobody could stop her. She already said she had no intention of seeing her parents again. She was eighteen and rich and gorgeous beyond compare, the world could be her oyster with a snap of her cherry red fingertips.

But that wasn’t my Kelly Rose, now was it? My loyal, brilliant, tough-as-nails ladylove. As far as I could tell, she only abided by one rule at the end of the day: no man left behind. If she was with you, she was with you to the end of the line. To Mordor and back again, even if she had to carry you. And she was with me. My Sam, my Elbereth, my Luthien, my everything.

I knew what I had to do, what I had to say and how. With renewed determination thrumming in my veins, I slapped the counter with my ringed left hand, sending a metallic ringing slap throughout the cabin. “Alright, everybody get comfortable. It’s story time.”

The boys all looked between each other for a moment before grabbing the nearest takeout boxes and sitting on the floor around the coffee table. Now that I had a clear view of her with Steve out of my way, I could see Kelly Rose blow a wispy, growing smoke ring up at a tarped-over hole in the ceiling before passing her pipe to Dave, who passed it along to Jake, too content with his cigar, who then passed it to Argyle, who was stopped by the hard looks shot at him by Mrs. Byers, Chief Hopper, and the weird elder Bauman from their places around the dining table adjacent to me.

“Care to partake?” Argyle asked hopefully, holding the pipe over Jonathan’s head to hand them.

“We’re good and so are you,” Mrs. Byers replied, eyes wide and serious.

“You know what? Moms know best,” he nodded amiably. “Here dudes, you’re up.”

“That’s not what I meant—”

Before Mrs. Byers could intervene, Robin reached for it. “Thank you kindly!” she beamed.

“Robin!” Nancy scolded. “Seriously?”

“This might be the only chance I ever get to smoke in front of a cop,” she defended as if it were obvious. “Since the whole Russian interrogation thing, I haven’t been a big fan of authority. No offense, Chief.”

“When it comes to Russians, none taken.”

“So, you with me, dingus?”

Steve took the offered pipe. “You know what? After the week we had, hell yeah. Sorry, Nance.”

“This is a one time only deal, got me?” Hopper warned, sweeping his gaze over everyone individually.

Everybody nodded until he met my eyes last. I gave him two thumbs up instead. “We all good now?” I asked.

“We should get to smoke too!” Mike burst at the last second, sweeping his arm out to gesture at himself and the rest of the freshmen.

“No, Mike! Jesus!” For his trouble, Nancy socked him right in the arm. I wondered if Steve got it from her or if it was the other way around.

“Birdy?” Dustin asked, eyes wide and sincere. “Can I smoke since my ankle hurts?”

“You think your ankle hurts, kid?” Hopper challenged.

Kelly Rose took a sip of a silver flask Davey pulled out of his inner breast pocket before answering Dustin and the rest, “Boys, we’ve been smoking since we were younger than you. But, here’s the thing: jumping in feet first isn’t always the best idea, especially when you’ve never done it before. Better to under do it than over do it, and you’ll get enough of a contact high from the rest of us anyway. All you have to do is listen and eat your food for a while.”

All the youngest in the room, even Jane, took in what she said, and in their curiosity to find out for themselves what she was talking about, it ended their attempts to force the issue. So, that was the babysitter in her, huh? Kind, but direct and insightful. That was the mother of my future children right there, ladies and gents. I needed to make sure she knew she was it for me, and I was it for her, and it was us against the whole goddamn world. It always was, and always would be that way for us. It was destiny, written in the stars that she, my Elbereth, hung in the sky to find me.

“’In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,’” I began, striking a match on the wooden counter and stepping into the fray. The usual suspects all perked up at the opening line of The Hobbit, but I was especially surprised at the recognition on Mrs. Byers’ and the chief’s faces. As I spoke, I circled the room, lighting every wick I could find. “But this isn’t his story. Far away in time and space from the peace of that hole in the ground, there lived a man, born to make mistakes. His name was Boromir.” After a pause to sweep my eyes over everyone, I found my Kelly Rose again. It didn’t matter that Davey’s arm was over her shoulders. She was looking at me. “His family, his friends, and his home were what he held most dear in all the world, but he was far from perfect. He didn’t always do the right thing, even if he meant well. But he wanted to prove himself. He wanted to help the Fellowship save the world, and there was one thing he was the best at out of any of them—” I grinned down at Kelly Rose and Dustin, “— getting really fuckin’ loud.” Their faces lit up at the shared memory of my solo. I’d given it everything I had, and to see that megawatt smile of hers now, I knew I killed it. Or, I guess, it killed me. “When the Fellowship was under siege, he did everything he could to draw the enemy away, and for a short time he succeeded. But they were too much for him alone, and he died where he fought.” I blew out the match after lighting the final candle. Kelly Rose’s hand went to her mouth as tears gathered along her lower lashes. She didn’t look away, though. The corners of my lips lifted one at a time in a slow, broad smile as I continued, “But somehow, he caught the eye of a goddess along the way. Elbereth herself, most beloved of all the Valar among the elves, intervened for poor, lowly Boromir.” I hopped and bowed deeply to her, one leg and arm out, the other held to my chest with my hand over my heart. I looked up, and there she was, right in front of me, leaned in over the sea of takeout boxes on the table as she listened and watched with rapt attention. Davey’s arm was awkwardly retracted from her to my great satisfaction. It made me bolder. “She wasn’t like Luthien though,” I straightened as I continued, so proud of her I felt like my chest could explode, “singing a soft lament to convince Mandos that a mere mortal was worth saving. Oh, no. As rightful queen of the Valar, she singlehandedly beat Mandos into submission, and dragged Boromir’s soul right back into his body with her own two hands!”

Our elders and guests might’ve been confused, but everyone who’d been in the Upside Down that night understood. They’d seen for themselves just what my Kelly Rose was capable of, and all but Nancy cheered at the memory.

“You’re goddamn right!” Dustin crowed, pointing at me from where he sat. “I was there! I saw the whole thing! She killed so many demobats by herself, with just a spear and a shield! A spear that was taped together, and a shield that was a trashcan lid with some nails! She’s not like El, she can’t attack with her mind, but holy shit can she fight! And she literally brought him back to life when she touched him! That’s her power, but like, even more than that too. It was some of the craziest shit I’ve ever seen!” When his mind caught up with his words, he turned to Kelly Rose and gasped, “We gotta study you.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jake cut him off. “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself here,” he chuckled nervously. “Let’s finish the story, huh?”

Dustin wasn’t finished, though. “Remember I told you I almost got to make the biggest scientific discovery of the century? Steve, tell ‘em about the demodog we put in the Byers’ fridge.”

“Holy shit,” he coughed, “that was like a year and a half ago, right? We really bonded over that thing. Whatever happened to it anyway?”

“You’re the ones who put that monster in my fridge?!” Mrs. Byers cried out in shock. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“That I was about to make the biggest scientific discovery of the century!”

“What the hell are demobats and demodogs?” Hopper asked, as lost as most of the people in the room.

“Demogorgons can take form in different ways to benefit the hivemind. When the Mind Flayer tried tunnels, it needed creatures good at digging and attacking, so they took a canine form. This time, it wanted aerial surveilance and its advantages in a fight, so they became bat-like, wings and all. They adapt quickly to the latest need and grow exponentially fast after hatching.”

An uneasy silence blanketed the cabin. Dustin had said too much. Like, way too much. And the lack of anyone trying to disprove him only gave that much more credence to everything he was talking about. Fuck, we were really bad at cover-ups, huh?

Davey took a sizeable puff from his cigar. “That’s all well and good for a homebrew campaign, but it seems to me it has nothing to do with Birdy or Tolkien.”

It struck me then, what he and his brother were actually doing. Dustin outed Kelly Rose’s secret in front of everyone, and they were trying to keep everyone’s minds off that fact. They knew. And they were distracting and deflecting, trying to distance Kelly Rose from the enormous implications of what Dustin had unthinkingly exposed. They were protecting her.

“Hold on, what did happen to that demo-whatever?” Steve asked as he passed the pipe to Doug. Doug and the rest of the band were as shocked by the gesture as they were by the turn their night had taken. Even if I escaped here without facing a full interrogation from the ex-police chief himself, there’d be no getting out of it with my best friends. It was only a matter of time.

“Me and Mom took it straight to the dump when she found it,” Jonathan supplied.

“Did you bury it?” Dustin asked hopefully.

“No, I mean we took the whole fridge to the dump.”

“That means it’s still there!” Do you remember where you left it?”

“Boys, you are not going after a dead demo-something-or-other!” Mrs. Byers asserted with exasperation. “We don’t even know if there still is a dump, you’ve seen how bad it is downtown.”

Dustin’s head whipped up to look at Davey of all fucking people. “You’ll go with me, right?” He looked to Jake next. “I’ll share partial credit with you both.”

“Hey!” Steve burst. That’s s’posed to be my credit since I helped you get it into the fridge in the first place!”

“Let’s be clear,” Davey said. “You’ve told everyone right here, right now, that there’s some sort of undiscovered species rotting in a fridge in a dump, and you intend to present it to the scientific community, name it after the demogorgon from Dungeons and Dragons, and give partial credit to whoever helps you find it? And this is the same specimen you were going on about at camp?”

“No, let me be clear,” Hopper interjected. “Nobody’s going after any monsters, dead or alive. Does everybody understand me?”

After nodding along with the rest of us, Dustin muttered, “… Shit.”

“This is why I just wanted to go back to the story,” Jake sighed under his breath.

“Moving right along, then,” I chimed in with a clap of my hands. “Boromir’s eyes opened, yet he found Elbereth’s closed, unconscious from the exhaustion of her efforts to save him. But, her efforts paid off, and the Fellowship wasn’t scattered that day. She gave them a path home even the eagles couldn’t compete with, and the first thing they saw were the stars above them, shining clear despite the haze from the putrid fires of Mordor. O Elbereth, Gilthoniel, guided them home… and even before she woke again, Boromir was her sworn sword forevermore. Her servant to do with as she pleases, until the Music of the Ainur is sung again.”

Kelly Rose was practically glowing in the candlelight. She seemed to shimmer with every flicker, to grow even more radiant with every passing second. It was my greatest pride and privilege to say I knew that look on her face well now. It was the same one she gave me when I promised her Rick’s money, the same one she gave me every time she said she loved me, even when I was dying in her arms. She heard what I was really trying to tell her.

“Alright, enough.” Murray cut in, surprising everyone. I turned to face him from the interruption. “Let’s cut to the chase. You’re wanted for murder, and I’m looking for another big story after my last was so well received it even got your podunk lab shutdown. Tell us how you’re innocent and why we shouldn’t just turn you in regardless.”

“Eddie, don’t say another word.” Kelly Rose was on her feet in a second to defend me. “This sleezy sleuth’ll pin you to the JFK assassination if you give him an inch. Keep those pretty lips zipped for now, baby. We’ll talk later.” Jesus H. Christ, as long as she kept talking like that, I’d do anything she said. I pulled the imaginary zipper across my mouth, locked it for good measure, and threw away the key over my shoulder.

“You’re his accomplice then? The Bonnie to his Clyde? Oh, how darling,” he mocked. “Every newspaper and broadcast station coast to coast will eat this up with a spoon while The Chicago Sun-Times eats my shit.”

“Eat your own shit, Uncle Murray. God knows you’re so full of it you really could eat it with a spoon.”

“I’m not your fucking uncle!”

“Same difference. Now that we know what you’re up to, I think it’s time to take the kids home.”

“What?!” they all shouted, even Gareth. It was easy to forget how young he was when he played drums and D&D so well, not to mention never refused a chance to drink or smoke with the rest of us.

Apparently he’d largely flown under her radar up to that point, because she zeroed in on him when he made his unexpected exclamation. Her body language shifted from openly oppositional towards Murray to laid back, a hand on a jutted hip in cool self-assurance. “Yes, and that includes you too. Your parents must be expecting you, especially since you’re hurt.” Her eyes caught his bandaged hand before meeting his eyes again. She brought a finger to her lips and continued, “Around this piece of shit, it’s best to remember that silence is a right for your protection. Come with me— quietly— if you want to live.” She motioned for him to hand over Bilbo, which he did hesitantly. Then her eyes found mine again. “My bag, baby. Where is it?”

Damn, she was serious. We were leaving, and this time, I’d follow her lead without one complaint. I stepped over my friends and whistled a soft tweet at Davey to get his attention. I came to a stop in front of him with a snap of my fingers and a jerk of my thumb. “Up, duty calls.”

He scoffed, “Fuck you very much.”

“Davey!” Kelly Rose admonished.

“Sorry to disappoint, but she’s got permanent dibs.”

I stepped over his legs next and leaned over him where Kelly Rose had just been seated. I produced the bag in question from behind the couch, having known well before she woke up that she’d want her things within arm’s reach at all times, but out of sight and out of mind where everyone else was concerned; in particular, that briefcase full of money she’d stolen. So, I made damn sure it was done and that nobody touched it, or her, the whole time she was recovering. With a squeeze to feel the contents of the backpack, she confirmed for herself that everything she’d intended to bring back with her was accounted for. That shine in her lake green eyes was an admiring one now. A rare stroke of genius finally paid off.

Over our heads, the soft pattering of rain could be heard softly thrumming as it found its rhythm across the broken shingles and tarps above us in uneven intervals. That reminded me, I need to talk to Gareth about getting a little more experimental with his drumming once his hand was in shape to practice again. I knew Doug would be up for trying out some unconventional bass lines, and Jeff could find a melody in almost anything.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Kelly Rose sighed, slinging her bag onto her shoulders and tightening the straps again. She was getting ready to run if need be, and that meant I needed to be too. “The rain’ll take care of the ash as quick as it came. Problem solved!” She looked cheerful, but I could see the change in her. She was all business, and she was laser-focused on getting us all, but especially me, away from Murray before he could snoop any more. “Mr. Hopper, thank you very much for your hospitality. I’m sorry for any inconvenience we’ve caused. Mrs. Byers, it was nice to meet you, I only wish it’d been under better circumstances. Uncle Murray, and feel free to quote me on this, go fuck yourself sideways.” Shock and muffled laughter ran through the group at that. “Oh, and if you aren’t already, start taking Aspirin or something. Your blood pressure must be through the roof and you’d be mortified if you keeled over during karate class.”

“Oh, I’ll quote you alright. To the new chief of police!”

“Ooh, I’m so scared. Pray tell, did he work at the station all those years they laughed you out the door for trying to prove the existence of aliens?” Murray’s face became so twisted with rage I thought he might accidentally bite through his lopsided cigar. He couldn’t even bring himself to answer her, he was so angry. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

She turned to Jane then, who stood and hugged her. “Please don’t go.”

Kelly Rose’s lips could barely be seen moving next to Jane’s ear. When she pulled away to hold the younger girl at arm’s length, her eyes were large and alert. They said nothing else to each other, and with a quick wink, Kelly Rose began sorting out her haul of uneaten Chinese food.

“Have all the noodles you like, sir,” Jake directed at Hopper. “Rice dishes should come with us, though. They need to be refrigerated, wouldn’t want anyone to get sick.”

For someone who’d heavily implied he had at least one ankle in bad shape, Hopper sure didn’t waste any time getting up and nabbing several noodle-based takeout boxes from the counter and the coffee table, and one of every side just to be safe. I couldn’t hold it against him, I would’ve been doing the same if I wasn’t already on a tight leash. But shit if I didn’t love the way it squeezed and pulled me every time I even caught a glance of my Kelly Rose.

Jane didn’t take any extras for herself. She must’ve already been feeling the half a dozen egg rolls she put away in quick succession. Once Hopper returned to his seat, everyone descended on the leftovers like locusts. Kelly Rose already had her designated boxes and gargantuan to-go container of egg drop soup stacked and balanced carefully in her arms. I took them from her one at a time and arranged them in her backpack while the free-for-all unfolded around us. I made sure my body kept her briefcase hidden from prying eyes while her bag was open, able to feel the stares of all three Baumans on me.

“Need a ride, Uncle Murray?” Davey asked smugly as he slung a trash bag full of weed over his shoulder.

“Genuinely and without even a hint of hyperbole, I’d rather crawl through a frozen sewer pipe.”

Hopper chuckled and rested his cigar on an ashtray to the side. Mrs. Byers winced with apparent understanding. Just what the fuck did they get up to in Alaska?

“Alrighty, goodnighty!” Jake waved, seemingly impervious to the barbs of his own uncle. “We’ll see you tomorrow! And you’re coming for Passover this year, right?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll have a place set for you anyway,” Jake smirked conspiratorially. “And one for Birdy this year too, right next to yours! Won’t that be fun, doll?”

“Can’t wait,” she grinned. “I’ve missed your parents so much.”

“That makes exactly one of us,” Murray scoffed.

Once I had her bag zipped shut and secure, she went straight for the door, and everyone who hadn’t spent a shady week in Alaska hastened to join her outside. She took me by the hand so we wouldn’t be separated in the sudden surge. I wanted more than that, though.

Once we were on the front porch, the cool misty rain enveloping us as soon as we were out the door, I bent to loop the hand I was holding up and around my shoulders, then scooped her up with my free arm. I had her back, creamy thighs, and sweet ass all supported along my arm just right too. She squealed in surprise just at that, but it became a shrieking laugh when I jumped with her off the porch down to the softening earth, bypassing the steps. I swung her around just to breathe her in with the scent of petrichor in the air, and feel the weight of her in my hands, and the momentum we made as her heavy bag counterbalanced me. I needed to hear her laugh as I held her. It was part of the Munson Doctrine now, after all. I needed to feel alive with her now that reality was sinking in; that we both cheated death in the same day, together. That we did it to save each other, and we were still here, together. I had to remind myself with something tangible that we actually did it, all of it. I had to know, even in my cells, that we made it and we were still in this, together.

Her head was thrown back, hair flying in our breeze, eyes closed and smile electric. I could only imagine would I must’ve looked like, staring at her lovestruck as the world swirled and blurred around us. I didn’t care. All I cared about was that high laugh of hers bouncing right out of her and straight into me. The night was young, and so were we still, and so was our love, and so was this new life for us to share if we played our cards right. She tried teaching me some poker strategies while we were at Rick’s. I was ready to learn now.

She sat up and pulled me in for a warm kiss. She tasted like a Chinese buffet, weed, and a hint of cosmopolitan, but most important of all, underneath was the sweet taste of her. That morning I hadn’t known for sure if I’d ever get to taste her again. Now I wanted to drink from her like she was a fountain. I stood there kissing and savoring her for God knew how long. I couldn’t get enough of her. The rain did nothing to hinder us, it was actually a nice contrast to how hot I felt under my jacket and jeans. But wait, that reminded me.

“Harrington!” I called to get his attention. Kelly Rose was panting in my ear from the sudden end of our kiss. My lips tingled from how hard I’d pressed them to hers. At that point, I was holding her in front of me to hide the hard-on she gave me. “I need my battle vest back, man!”

“Oh shit, you’re right. I brought it home with me a few days ago. I’ll get it back to you.”

“Cool. She in one piece?” Kelly Rose started tickling my earlobe with her tongue. A shiver ran through me as I swallowed a moan.

“Oh yeah, not a patch out of place,” he snarked.

“Sweet, good deal,” I answered distractedly.

Then Kelly Rose bit me. Hard.

“Jesus!” I reared back. “You bit me.”

“You’re goddamn right I did.”

“… Can I bite you too?”

“Alright, break it the hell up you two!” Davey commanded as he passed. Was his job being my own personal buzzkill or something?

It was too late, though. I’d already seen the excited elation on her face at the suggestion. Oh, fuck me, I couldn’t wait to ditch the Brothers Grimm and get her all to myself.

Before we could pick up where we left off, Robin appeared on the other side of me. “Uh, sorry to interrupt this… joyful reunion. But would you mind filling us in on what our next move is?”

I could see that Kelly Rose was ready to tell her off, but seeing her new friend standing in the rain, she only sighed in disappointment. I took my cue to put her back on her feet, but my hands found her hips immediately and pulled her backward into my chest. Just because she couldn’t keep teasing me didn’t mean I couldn’t return the favor while she talked. Besides, since she was so petite, I was practically a human umbrella for her. I was just doing my part to keep my girl and her food dry.

“Alright, gather round, I’ll have to be quiet and quick. We can see you in the window, Uncle Murray!”

“I am not your uncle!” he seethed, muffled by the door.

“Listen up,” she whispered as everyone closed in around us to form a loose huddle. I brushed the hair at the nape of her neck aside and started stamping kisses into the skin just behind her ear. “We gotta be decisive here. Does anybody actually need to go home right now?” Everyone shook their heads or murmured their answers. It was unanimous, we were all pressing forward with wherever the night was about to take us, but that didn’t stop me from trying to get a rise out of her still. She was making a valiant effort of ignoring me, and that simply wouldn’t do when I wanted her as wound up as I already was. Her hoop earring, the weird wavy one I’d saved for her, bumped me in the nose when I tried to get even closer to her. It’d come loose again and was barely hanging on to her lobe. I pulled it out gently with my teeth. “Excuse me?” she gasped in surprise, delicate eyebrows raised.

I dropped the hoop into her upturned expectant palm like a dog with the morning paper. “It was gonna fall out again. And you’re excused.” I bit down on the spot that earring had been blocking from my reach, one of her favorite spots, and she gasped, stiffened, shivered, and sighed in rapid succession. Yeah, I knew what my girl liked.

When I licked her there to soothe the hickey I’d left behind, she gasped a third time and giggled breathily, “Eddie!”

I could actually hear just how big her grin was. I could feel it forming on her cheek against mine. I couldn’t believe it; I was the luckiest asshole who’d ever lived or died, bar none. I’d know, since because of her I’d done a hell of a lot of both now. Life was an amorphous, far-off thing I’d hoped to get to do someday, like seeing Metallica or Ozzy, before we met. But then she appeared, and all of a sudden the picture was crystal clear Technicolor and every sound was in stereo. I’d never been so turned on, sexually or mentally. Nothing got me off like her. Making her happy, helping her and trying to impress her any way I could, getting to know what made her her after months of hopelessness; it all went straight to my bloodstream faster and harder than any drink or drug ever could. Being here, holding her as she giggled my fucking name out of everyone else’s, felt completely impossible only two weeks ago, even though it was all I thought about despite her deafening silence at school. But two weeks might as well have been two lifetimes ago with how far we’d come.

This stays between us, but I’d actually been smoking less this semester. Not because I was trying to clean up especially for her or something, that might actually be noble; no, I’d just get so sidetracked by the mere thought of her that I’d actually forget to pack a bowl or roll a joint in the first place. The first time it happened, I laughed it off. When it kept happening more and more, I started to worry that it might never stop. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t been sure at the time that she would leave Hawkins the second she got the chance and I’d never see her again, left in her dust yet still unable to escape her. Luckily for me, though, she’s now solved both problems. My girl loved weed and me, so we more than made up for the time I’d lost daydreaming about her instead of smoking.

“Dude, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you.” I’d expected something like that from Davey, not Gareth. “It’s like I’m seeing the worst mirage in the world: it doesn’t make any sense what I’m seeing and I’m still going out of my mind over here in the desert. Kelly, I know we don’t know each other well, but you gotta let a guy plead his case before you make any final decisions.” The smile didn’t leave her face, but mine did. What the hell was this? Was there no honor among Kelly Turner’s admirers anymore? Before either of us could say something, he went plowing ahead, “Now, I know I’m a little young still, but only by a couple years and it won’t be forever! I’ll grow into you, like a Christmas sweater or something!”

After a moment of tense silence, a snort left her involuntarily she started laughing so hard. She bent double, clutching the straps of her bag as she howled. I was glad her buzz held strong and kept her comfortable. The last thing I wanted was one of these jerks to say something out of line and send her storming out of my life as fast as she’d come into it. This was the Kelly Rose I’d fallen hardest for when we were at Rick’s. The real her that almost no one got to see.

“As undeniably flattered I am to be compared to a Christmas sweater,” she chuckled as she caught her breath, “I’d much rather be seen as a person. Eddie’s good at that, so I think I’ll stick with him.” For a moment, to my complete shock, most heads around us nodded or shared looks of understanding, even Steve and Nancy. I had no idea so many people thought of me that way. It was a nice change from feeling like Eddie the Banished or Munson the Murderer. “Besides,” her grin of amusement reformed into a smirk that sharpened her tone, “I haven’t forgotten who laughed at me in the cafeteria on the last day of school.”

Many of the faces that had just been enjoying the moment of camaraderie went slack with horrified realization, even Dustin’s. He defended in a hushed burst, “But Eddie started it and you’re together now!”

“Only after he apologized and made up for it in full. He proved he could be even more than just my boyfriend; he’s my ally. And that’s exactly what we’re about to talk about. Anybody who doesn’t have a ride, you’re more than welcome to pile into the Dues. If you’re going home, or you don’t wanna get involved any further, I understand. But now’s the time to decide, ‘cause otherwise we’re going straight to the junkyard and you’ll be expected to fully participate as a member of the team.”

“The Party,” Dustin corrected.

“Sure, that works too. So, who’s in and who’s out?”

“What about El?” Mike interjected.

“We’ve got that covered,” she winked at Dustin. He blushed and nodded happily. Wait, what the hell were they in on that I wasn’t?

“Cerebro,” was all he said. The few of us who understood were able to put two and two together: he slipped her a walkie at some point before we left.

“Eddie, you’re riding with us,” Doug asserted quickly.

Steve took his chance next, “I’ve got Robin, Nance, Jonathan, and… Surfer Boy. Sorry, forgot your name. You’re with me in the Beemer. I am not babysitting tonight!”

“It’s Argyle,” he gave a small wave where he’d hunched down to join us, another black trash bag of premium kush in his other hand.

“Cool, Steve Harrington.”

“I’m with Dave and Jake,” Dustin threw in with an eager smile.

Steve and I shared an unamused glance. We needed to break their hold on the kid before he became as insufferable as they were. But tonight wasn’t the night. He was obviously trying to stay with Nancy, and I was doing the same with Kelly Rose, so cornering Dustin and un-brainwashing him would just have to wait.

“Can we pick up Lucas? He’s probably still at the hospital,” Will directed toward Jake.

“And Erica,” Dustin added.

“No way,” Mike denied.

“Dude, she dropped Andy Haver by herself with a crit straight to the cojones, and she broke a door down to get to Max and Lucas, and she’s the one who called the ambulance. She’s one of us now.”

“Wait, Lady Applejack actually racked Andy’s nuts and lived to tell the tale?” Jeff asked with a disbelieving grin. I was also immensely impressed with the younger Sinclair. She was a rogue through and through.

“Alright, I stand corrected,” Mike put his hands up in surrender.

“Why’re Lucas and Erica at the hospital? Are they okay?” Kelly Rose asked, concerned.

“Oh, shit, we didn’t have time to tell you…” Dustin started, feeling guilty for the oversight.

“… It’s Red,” I finished quietly for him by her ear.

She turned to meet my eyes over her shoulder. “Is she alright?”

“No. And everyone thinks I did it, just like with the others.”

Her hand flew to clutch mine in shock. “But she’s alive?” At my nod and kiss to her cheek, she turned to the huddle. “Who’s seen her?”

“We have,” Dustin gestured to the present freshmen. “Birdy… it’s bad. Really bad.”

“Her prognosis?” she clarified.

“Yeah. Vecna got her.”

“El saved her before it was too late,” Mike quickly added at Kelly Rose’s sharp gasp of horror, and Will nodded in confirmation beside him. “But… everything’s broken. And she’s in a coma…. Nobody knows if she’ll wake up. Lucas won’t leave her side, he has to get kicked out by the nurses every night.”

“Standard visiting hours? ‘Til nine?”

Dustin nodded curiously. “Uh huh. Why?”

The gears were turning so fast in that pretty head of hers I could almost hear them grinding away at whatever idea she was turning over in there. “Just making sure you’ll have time is all.” That most certainly was not all. God, I fucking loved when she schemed. “You guys better get going. Dustin, you can give Davey directions to the hospital and the dump, right?”

“Course, even with my eyes closed,” he replied confidently.

“Birdy, you’re not riding with us?” Davey asked in frayed astonishment, his cigar drooping between his teeth.

“I’m sorry,” she answered, quiet but determined. “But if Eddie’s going with his band, then I’m with them too. Where he goes, I go.”

The collective shock from my friends was immediate. I hadn’t seen Doug turn that red since he admitted their lockers were next to each other. If looks could kill, Davey’s would’ve sent me right back to the afterlife. Jake wasn’t much happier about the announcement either. I had to hide my face against her shoulder to bury my smile. I fucking loved that they hated me. They knew now that I’d been right in the kitchen, and that meant the game was all different. A new rule had been introduced and they were powerless to go against it. For now, at least.

“Wait a minute,” Nancy piped up. “Jonathan and I can’t just leave our brothers with total strangers.”

“They’ll be with me,” Dustin argued. “You know I’m the responsible one.”

“You’re the one leading the charge to find a monster corpse. In the junkyard. At night.”

“Responsibly though!”

“Me and Jonathan got the kids, no problemo. I’ll be driving my van anyway,” Argyle assured. He started tossing his keychain in the air with his free hand. He dropped it on the third attempt.

Nancy was obviously uncomfortable with the idea. Davey reasoned with her, “I saw you sizing me up, you know I haven’t had anything to smoke except this cigar and my flask never touched my lips. I think we can all agree I’m the best candidate for transporting minors out of our current options.”

Resigned, Nancy sighed, “Fine, okay. But you better watch out for them. I mean it.”

“We’re camp counselors, and damn sight better than the ones in the movies. Henderson here can attest to our pristine track records.”

“Never anyone unaccounted for and never a curfew broken! And—” he held up a finger for us to bear with him, and from his backpack he removed another walkie talkie, “— you’ll have a direct line to us the whole time we’re gone.”

“Your mom’s going to kill you,” Nancy warned him. Then for the second time that night, she looked right at me in panic. “Sorry! God, I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight. I’m so sorry.”

I straightened uncomfortably and moved my hands to Kelly Rose’s upper arms. “I think now’s a good time to hit the road,” I mumbled. It helped having something to do with my hands, and rubbing and squeezing her was better than any stress ball in the world.

Even if I could only see the top of her head from this angle, I could tell that Kelly Rose was glaring icily at Nancy. I knew that glare and slight adjustment to her posture well, probably better than anyone. It was the one she’d give me in class when I’d talk to her over the teachers during crucial moments of instruction. It was one of the only rises I could get out of her, but just that rare, truly mean change in her eyes was enough to drive me forward for the last three, almost four months. But that wasn’t something Nancy or anybody else wanted to see if they could help it.

After a stingingly tense moment, Kelly Rose lifted her pipe to the corner of her mouth, put her earring back in its place, and asked, “Anybody got a light?”

Everyone with a lighter on them sprung into action, even Robin. But why would someone so militantly against cigarettes have a lighter? I found that really odd for some reason. It tickled a part of my brain that felt wrong, like playing the wrong chord while learning a new song.

The lighter was distinctive. Big, with a red tiger on it. Not like our school’s mascot; this one was prowling in profile with a green rhinestone for an eye. That’s why it caught my attention I realized, it refracted the light from the other flames and almost seemed to wink right at me the way Kelly Rose did. It jogged my memory. Or I guess jocked in this case.

What? My woman told me she loves puns, so I figured I should give them a fair shot.

Anyway, Dan Shelter had a lighter just like that one. I always wondered when the dangerously high flame of it would catch the bangs of his blonde mullet on fire. He graduated the year I was supposed to, and he used to buy from me secretly so the other jocks wouldn’t find out. It was such a weirdly specific lighter, but it was even more bizarre that Robin Buckley of all people had one too, out-of-control-flame and all. Huh. Really weird connection to make out of the blue.

Kelly Rose accepted Doug’s help out of everyone’s, but when he realized that, his hand started to shake as well as the open flame. And I mean tremble. She held him by the wrist with one hand to steady him and used her other hand to shield the fire and the last of the tightly packed weed from the rain. As she got what remained of the bowl lit, he was slack-jawed, gazing in awe between where she was touching him and how her lips wrapped around her pipe in the firelight; as was everybody else who’d ever sat at the Hellfire Club table. Once it was torched, she French inhaled before blowing what remained in her lungs skyward. My cock throbbed just watching her from over her shoulder.

“Thanks,” she smiled, back to acting as pleasant as could be. It must’ve been surreal for the rest of the boys to see that smile in person after being so jealous of Doug over it all semester. I’d know, it still felt surreal for me too. Nancy was especially unnerved by the sudden shift in her demeanor, though. She, like the rest of us, could sense that Kelly Rose had plenty more to say, and that she was only biding her time for the ambush.

She then stood on one leg and tapped the wooden pipe against the bottom of her Converse high top shoe to dislodge the ash from the bowl. It was so different from the ash that had been falling only minutes ago.

“You know how to do an Irish waterfall, huh?” Doug asked shakily, cheeks hot as a lit coal despite the cool rain, blinking dazedly as he tried to make sense of exactly where he’d found himself that evening.

“Yeah, Eddie taught me.” He looked to me in wide-eyed disbelief along with the rest of the Hellfire Club. “You Irish?” He shook his head wordlessly. It made her giggle. He blushed so hard from his neck to his hairline that I thought steam was about to shoot out of his ears. “That your Volvo, Doug?” All he could bring himself to do was nod in response. “Good, then I call shotgun.”

[livpet]

King of the Dead Chapter One: I Was Made For Lovin' You

Saturday, March 29th, 1986. Dave’s POV.

When Dustin Henderson of all people radioed in to Jake and me, I knew in my bones everything was about to change. There was only one reason our Birdy would ask for the works and have to go through somebody else to reach us: she was up shit’s creek without a paddle, and the shit was only about to get deeper for her. It was an honor to be her paddle. I’ve loved her since the day we met.

Tom Kraus was the son of a son of a son of a bitch. There was never a conflict in the twentieth century that his family wasn’t on the wrong side of, with said family’s indiscretions going back at least to World War I Germany. Only after Hitler was confirmed dead an entire war later did they decide they finally needed a change of scenery, and once they reached Frederick, Maryland, they traded in their swastikas for white robes. Everyone knew, but no one dared say a word. It was the enraged chirp of our little Birdy that broke the silence on the day Tom Kraus went too far.

I think about it all the time: the first day of middle school. The Bus Story, as it came to be called by our curious campers at Camp Knowhere. We were under no illusions that sixth grade would end well for us. We’re Jewish and Jake was considered a freak already for skipping two grades in elementary to catch up with me, so of course we were targets. No one saw her coming, though. ‘Headcase’ ended up being her name wherever she went that first day, since none of us had ever seen a bald girl before. Her shaved hair was so blonde it was practically clear, which didn’t help anything. And the way she acted in class, it was like she was born yesterday or something. There were times she didn’t even seem quite sure about her own name, and she didn’t answer a single question right anytime she was called on. She was a goner, but she was also the strangest, prettiest thing I’d ever seen. I have quite the eye for such things, as you’ll come to know about me.

Naturally, everyone avoided her like the plague to let her take most of the heat from the usual bullies. Jake and I were only shoved in our lockers twice, a record low for a first day. She got nailed between every single class.

But like I told you, Tom Kraus was the son of a son of a son of a bitch, and by far the worst, most feared bully in the whole school. We were on the bus home, and Kraus had just broken Jake’s glasses, stomping them until they were unsalvageable. Then he spit in Jake’s face. The spitting was new. I felt a new kind of livid about it too. My jaw was clenched as tight as my fists, but fighting back wasn’t allowed. Harold and Devorah Bauman didn’t want any trouble, you see, what with how sensitive dear old Dad’s new lab job was and all; so, we were supposed to just keep our heads down and minimize the damage if we could. They wouldn’t be happy having to replace Jake’s glasses on the first day back, but they’d much prefer that to actually intervening on our behalf and risk rocking the boat.

Jake was so humiliated he started crying. Kraus pointed and cackled with his head thrown back so far I could see his silver fillings. I wanted them to be covered in blood from how hard I’d hit him, if only I could. Luckily for me, it was the last straw for Birdy, too. We didn’t know it yet, but she had the same marching orders from her parents that we did. One of the things I’d come to love most about her, though, was that marching orders went right out the window the minute anybody needed help. She couldn’t stand cruelty, wouldn’t abide tyranny. Good grief, when those cheeks of hers got all red hot, it was over for anybody who crossed her. Just because she was our little Birdy didn’t mean she wasn’t a bird of prey from the very start.

“Hey!” came ringing out high and clear over the sound of the bus tires against the road. Kraus lifted his head and caught the full weight of her metal lunchbox square in the face. She had stood on the seat right behind us while everyone was distracted and swung down on him with all her might, teeth bared and brow knit in fury. The grinning face of Scooby-Doo mocked Kraus as he took the direct hit at full strength, and he stumbled backward in a daze, the metallic clang of the impact following him down the aisle. Just as he managed to catch himself against a seat— Much to the terror of the twerps already sitting there— blood began streaming out of both his nostrils. At the sight of the blood now quickly covering his face and shirt, he screamed like a girl, swooned like a girl, and hit the floor with his eyes rolling to the back of his skull, less like a girl and more like a newly minted loser. We hadn’t even made it to the first stop on the route yet, so everyone’s saw it from start to finish. Jake was so shocked that he even stopped crying.

In a single blow, this new, completely bizarre girl shifted the social pecking order entirely. Whether it was for better or for worse remained to be seen, but all of us who’d been at Tom Kraus’ mercy knew whose side we were on now. She was a headcase alright, but she was that extra special kind you definitely wanted around in a tough spot. The kind that couldn’t be taught, you just had to be born with it. Birdy had moxie.

The bus came to a screeching halt. Birdy had braced herself for her hit with one hand tightly gripping the backrest of our seat, but she hadn’t seen a hard stop coming, and she rolled with a gasp over the backrest and fell right into my lap. I had just enough time to keep her from bouncing onto the floor with one arm while the other launched out to the side to keep Jake from falling clear off the seat and under the one in front of us. The driver threw the emergency brake once we were parked on the side of the road, and he stubbed out his cigarette before bringing Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control to an abrupt end on the boombox at his feet, the very one that was always at Jake’s feet in the Duesenberg now. I’d had this driver since kindergarten, and let me tell you, it took a real hell of a lot to get him to stop smoking and jamming, no less both together. That meant only one thing: he was about to come and investigate. Her lunchbox was now dented in the shape of Kraus’ nose and forehead, with a smear of blood where the corner split his lip open down the middle. And neither Jake nor myself could take the blame because it had orange flowers over a blue patterned background on either side of Scooby’s head, so it obviously belonged to a girl. The evidence would give her away in a second flat. As I’d concluded early in our first class together that day, she was a goner.

His heavy footfalls stopped just before Kraus’ unconscious form. “Alright, who did it?”

“IT WAS HEADCASE!” Half the bus erupted in a cacophony of echoed consensus. It was the half that stood to lose it all if Kraus went down like this. He had to be avenged immediately, the status quo had to be stabilized before it was too late. Otherwise they’d just be defenseless tattletales for the rest of the year, surrounded by everyone they’d ever pushed around, going back to old family grudges even. Suddenly, they just might be subject to exactly what they’d done to everybody else, with no way to wrestle themselves back to the top of the heap without going through an especially formidable half-pint girl. If they were ever beaten by her like Kraus was, they’d never live it down, not even after college, so it was best not to let it get that far and sell her out to the nearest adult, of course. Rat bastards, every last one of ‘em.

At least a dozen fingers pointed down at us, or more specifically, her. She looked up at me then with those phthalo green eyes of hers, haloed in wreaths of white so thick they were more like down feathers than eyelashes. They were the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen, real or imagined, and suddenly I knew that I was the real goner here. She was like a little doll somebody put the clippers to just to be mean. I wanted to take her home with us. Maybe Zayde knew something about doll restoration. He knew something about everything; we’d get her fixed up again in no time if she could just stay with us.

The driver, towering over us all, found her right away and the dented lunchbox she was still clutching. But his keen sight also took into account the broken glasses on the floor and the loogie drying on my brother’s reddened face.

Kraus groaned and brought a shaky hand to his surely throbbing face. When it came away sticky and bright red, he started to whimper, his beady blue eyes filling with tears.

The driver assessed him with a sideways glance. Gruffly, he asked, “How many fingers I got up?”

“F-f-four,” Kraus warbled.

“You know where you are?”

“The b-bus.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

At that, Kraus flew into a sitting position, the whites of his eyes blazing red as the tears started to fall. “It was that new girl! She hit me!”

“Why’d she hit you?”

“’Cause she’s crazy! Just look at her!” he cried, pointing dead between her eyes. It was the last time anyone pointed at her for the rest of our middle school careers.

Birdy struck out and bit the tip of his finger. Everyone gasped, but it was drowned out by Kraus’ wail as he lurched backward holding his hand protectively against his chest, knocking into the driver’s legs and almost sending him face first to the floor. The driver’s decision was made then.

“Tommy, get the hell up and quit your crying. We’re running late now ‘cause of you.”

“BUT—!” Kraus tried to scream, whipping around to glare up at the driver, but he was met with a glower so withering it shut him up the instant he saw it.

“If I have to tell you twice, I’ll personally escort you to your folks, and you won’t like what I’ll have to say to them.”

Kraus scrambled to his feet in the hottest rage any of us had ever seen him in, and that was really saying something. He was so distracted by his own unearned fury that he didn’t notice the shards of glass he was precariously close to as a result of his previous pulverizing, and ended up with a knee and shin full of them on his way up. He screamed with his mouth closed this time, his face turning hideously puce with the effort to catch the sound in his cheeks. When it passed, he was left heaving and seething. He knew he couldn’t take it out on the driver, he had at least that much sense left, so he zeroed in on Birdy instead.

“YOU JUST WAIT ‘TIL I TELL MY DAD ON YOU!”

“Tell him what?” I challenged, not able to hold back anymore now that the dam had been broken. “You’re seriously gonna tell your dad you got your shit rocked by a girl half your size? You know what, I wanna see how that plays out for you. Bring your dad outside and tell him right in front of all of us. Tell him everything. And any parts you try to leave out, like screaming and fainting like a goddamn damsel in distress, we’ll gladly fill him in for you. Go ahead, I dare you.”

The gauntlet was thrown down at last. The line in the sand there was no coming back from was drawn for all to see, and Kraus backed down with two rough swipes under his eyes with his uninjured hand. He went back to his seat and didn’t talk to anyone on the bus for the rest of the year after that, not even his old cronies; the threat forevermore hung over his head like The Pit and the Pendulum, knowing that no matter which way the blade swung, no matter who he might try to suck up to as a last ditch effort to save his reputation, that it would still eventually cut him. If he tried anything again, we’d tell his folks and the rest of ours too about what happened, and it would be irrefutable by the time it spread to everyone else at school. He had marching orders too, you know, and he wasn’t supposed to make this much of a fuss in case things got out of hand. His goose-step was well and truly cooked, you might say.

It was the first time I got to be Birdy’s paddle in her seemingly neverending whitewater rafting trip up Shit’s Creek. The look she gave me for my trouble made me feel ten feet tall, and that I couldn’t wait for the next time I could get her to give me a glance even half so admiring.

“Alright, sit up straight, now. What’s your name, kid?”

Quick to do as she was told, she perched on the edge of the bench seat beside me, hands in her lap and back straight. I didn’t like it one bit. It was too practiced, too fearful.

“My name is Kelly Turner,” she answered quietly without meeting his eyes.

Once in a blue moon, the driver would bestow upon one of us the equivalent of a Bronze Star for especially helpful deeds in service to the bus route, and apparently knocking Tom Kraus off his high horse called for celebration, even if it couldn’t be said outright. “Alright, Turner. What do you wanna listen to on the way home?” he offered, causing Jake and the others to gasp even more sharply this time.

She looked at him blankly, but seeing his own expectant expression, she turned to me for help. Even I was baffled that she couldn’t answer this basic of a question on her own. I knew what my answer would be, though. It’d been taunting me since it appeared from thin air at the ass end of the last spring semester, just sitting there among his vast collection of cassettes. I’d been thinking about it all summer.

I whispered, “Dynasty by Kiss.”

“Dynasty by Kiss,” she repeated like a foreigner with no idea what any of those words meant separately or together.

He seemed as bewildered by her as the rest of us, but her request was granted. With long strides he returned to his seat up front, and a moment later, the first fateful chords of the first track of Dynasty blared from the boombox and signaled the end of a fight well won. The bus was put back in drive, and any whispers were drowned out or directly prevented by the volume of the song. When I turned to say something, Birdy was hauling ass back to her original seat. Jake and I shared a silent question that was quickly answered. Back she came in a flash and a sigh of the seat settling beneath her as she sat again, this time with her backpack on. The kid she’d been sitting with originally, our buddy Barry Chen, looked relieved to be rid of her.

She bent and retrieved the broken remains of Jake’s glasses. One lens was embedded in Kraus’ leg at that point while the other had slipped out of the frame, cracked but still in one piece. She offered the mangled frames and surviving lens out to Jake in the palm of her dainty hand. “Sorry.”

“’S’okay,” he sniffled, still a bit shaken by the whole ordeal.

From her lunchbox she withdrew a matching thermos, and she unrolled the cuff in her sleeve to reveal a handkerchief folded neatly in a rectangle with a cursive K embroidered in one corner. She held out the hanky first, which Jake took gratefully, but when she tried to give him the thermos too he paused in confusion.

“Just water,” she assured, trying to interpret the pause.

“Why?”

For a minute it seemed like she was trying to decide how to explain, but gave up on the idea and showed him instead. She unscrewed the cup from the thermos and dunked the hanky in what was left from the school day. With as much care as she new how to give, she leaned over me to clumsily wipe away the last physical traces of Kraus’ cruelty and Jake’s tears. Visibly unsure of what to do next, she made herself busy putting and thermos and hanky away in her lunchbox.

“Sorry,” she repeated.

“Sorry,” said Will Byers, bringing my train of thought to a grinding stop, “but who are you guys?”

“You must be the Brothers Byers,” I acknowledged, gesturing with my unlit cigar between he and the perpetually dour-faced elder brother at his shoulder. “We’re the Brothers Bauman. Are you familiar with the journalistic exploits of our uncle?”

“Not really,” he winced self-consciously.

“Don’t worry, he hasn’t written anything decent since The Chicago Sun-Times canned him. You’re not missing out. Cigar for either of you gentlemen?”

“How do you know who we are and where we were?” Byers the Elder broke in, voice full of suspicion but eyes full of cautious wanting for the goodies we came bearing with us to Hawkins, Bumfuck USA.

Jake stepped up and offered his hand to Will with a grin. “The answer to both parts of your question is the same: Dustin Henderson. But first, I’m Jake. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Will. The pleasures’s mine, I guess. But you haven’t actually answered the question.”

“You’re the kid that disappeared for a week and ended up blowing the government cover up wide open after you were found,” I stated bluntly so there could be no confusion. “We were telling true stories at the bonfire one night at camp, and that’s the one Henderson told. Won him a Mountain Dew, if memory serves.”

“And how did Dustin help you find us?” Jonathan asked.

“Cerebro,” Jake and Will answered in unison. They looked at each other in surprise, then shared a small smile before breaking their gaze awkwardly.

“The thing for the walkie talkies?” Jonathan clarified.

“The very one. Who do you think helped him build it?”

Jake added, “We’re counselors at Camp Knowhere. He got assigned to our cabin and the rest was history.”

“Kelly dear put him in touch with us and we rushed straight here.”

“So then, what’re you doing here exactly?” Jonathan pressed.

“We’ve come to find that out ourselves. We’ll all find out faster if you’ll give us a hand bringing everything inside.”

Something strange happens when a group of guys find an opportunity to carry as many heavy things as possible in front of the ladies. An immediate response forms, all of them stepping up at once to get the best chance to posture. The Munson asshole led the charge as every dude stepped forward. Neither Uncle Murray nor Hopper stepped up because they were too busy speaking in hushed tones with Mrs. Byers on the porch. It was to be a free for all, then. So be it.

I unlocked the trunk with a turn of the key to reveal suitcase after suitcase, bag after bag, stored neatly in the deceptively deep bottom. There were more in the backseat, too, along with all the Chinese food and weed.

“What the fuck is all this shit?” Munson asked with a raised brow and a cocky smirk. The implication was clear: Can you believe these spoiled bastards and all their dead weight?

“I’m honestly surprised I’d have to even explain it to you, gentlemen, but alright. When a lady in distress asks for the works…” I trailed off loudly enough for the gathered girls to hear, catching Birdy’s eye right away. Calmly, I lit my cigar. I really took my time with it, carefully getting an even burn started. The smoke left my nose and mouth in heavy curling wisps as I finished with a gesture, “… You give her the works.”

Munson and his matching metal enthusiasts shared a disquieted look in the face of being so obviously upstaged by a complete stranger. Yeah, that’s right, I thought. We came all this way with all this stuff to help our girl because you apparently can’t. What a sorry bunch of schmucks.

When Dustin even came over, limping every step of the way, Jake intervened just before I could. “Don’t even think about it, Henderson. You so much as carry a fortune cookie and I’ll wedgie you so hard you’ll slingshot to the moon. Go inside and make a spot for us, and for shit’s sake, elevate that thing,” he nodded sharply at Dustin’s injured ankle. “You have just as much explaining to do as Birdy.”

Munson and some prep shot each other looks they thought nobody else would catch. What an odd pairing, an obvious metalhead and a yuppy, and in relation to Dustin, no less. The other guy had to be the one and only Steve Harrington. When it came to surrogate father figures, I was seeing a stark pattern emerge in real time where Dustin was concerned. Harrington, Munson, Jake and I all shared brown eyes and matching hair, albeit in very different styles. It was no secret at camp that he practically imprinted on us like a little lost duckling, and he followed us everywhere like one too. Looking at the other two hard, I wasn’t sure whether I should be flattered just to be held in such high esteem by our little protege, or deeply insulted by the company I shared in his Fatherhood Hall of Fame. His real dad must’ve looked like us. Like Dustin. Poor kid.

With a disappointed sigh, Dustin hobbled back the way he came to wait for us in the cabin as instructed. Now that the only possible casualty was out of the way, I decided to get things started with a nod to Jake. He already had bags of Chines food in both hands, no doubt the ones keeping Birdy’s usual order warm, so I scooped up the two largest suitcases, cigar between my teeth and glasses slipping low on my nose. I went straight for the cabin door, waggling my eyebrows at Birdy as I passed by to get a giggle out of her. Dustin had left the door open for us and was quick to make space on the sofa when we walked in ahead of the pack.

“We had to go a whole county over just to find a Chinese place that was still open, so get it while it’s hot, doll!” Jake called out the door to our girl, claiming his spot next to Dustin and tearing into one of the stapled shut paper bags. Dustin’s ankle was propped up on the low coffee table in front of the sofa, but Jake worked around him as he laid out the first course.

I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face. We’d been waiting for this since the day she left Fort Detrick for Grissom. We always swore this day would come, when we’d return to her victorious to celebrate in our favorite way: getting stoned, smoking stolen cigars, and eating as much Chinese food as we physically could in one night.

With nine guys working— if not together, then at least well enough to avoid any collisions while we did our damnedest to show off— the Dues was cleared out in no time. Everyone reassembled in the cabin with the girls bringing up the rear, having watched everything unfold from the sidelines up to that point. Birdy waded through the not-so-small crowd straight to the spot we’d saved for her, right between Jake and me. Her chopsticks and spoon were already waiting on a napkin, and beside it was a fortune cookie. Just like old times, even though we were surrounded by strangers in what appeared to be exactly the kind of cabin that horror movies take place in. Had taken place in, from the look of things.

There was no mistaking it, Birdy knew exactly what she was doing when she brought us here; that it would pique our curiosity down to our very bones on top of bringing us back together. Something was incredibly fucked up about the entirety of Hawkins, and somehow she was involved. Soldiers were everywhere. The smoldering open pits had taken over and gouged away jagged sections of roads and buildings. Some places were still burning, the smell of rubber and God knows what else hanging thick in the air of Downtown Hawkins to the point that it infiltrated the car even with the windows up. Getting over the hill on the outskirts of town to cleaner air had been a relief until that too familiar smell reached us: burning monkeys. At the very least, this murder cabin had a roof that was keeping the acrid scent and ash out, and the heavenly swirling wafts of fresh Chinese food in.

I can’t even begin to tell you the satisfaction that filled me when she bypassed her man to come sit between her boys, the stem of her gently burning pipe expertly held between her teeth, right where she always belonged and always would. I couldn’t have been more surprised, though, when she waved a girl closer as she opened the lid to her jumbo egg drop soup.

“Jane, have you ever had any of this?” Birdy made quick work of finding the egg rolls and flipping the lids of all the takeout boxes before her.

You know those moments where it feels like your heart stalls and plummets down to your shoes in abject horror? If you don’t, you’re luckier than I am, apparently. The girl who came forward from the back of the crowd was in much the same state Birdy had been in on that first day of middle school. Jane’s golden brown hair was barely visible it had been buzzed so short. Her equally golden eyes had a hardness to them, an edge of defensiveness that could make her dangerous should the occasion call for it; just like Birdy had. But they had that same curious shine to them, too. You could tell they’d both seen things. Wherever Birdy really came from, this girl was surely from there too, and only recently escaped from the looks of her. I didn’t have to look at Jake to know he was going through the same silent realization. This had to be why she ordered the works on such short notice.

Jane shook her head, but it was clear she was dubious of the delights she was seeing and smelling in front of her. Birdy gave her the napkin with her untouched spoon and chopsticks. “No thanks,” Jane declined shyly.

“Trust me on this one. Just take one bite of everything before you decide you hate it all. This is the kind of food that makes life worth living.”

Jane was visibly unconvinced. “Remember, dudette,” chimed in the Californian who had no idea he was about to become our best customer. “Try before you deny!”

“Listen to the voice of reason,” Birdy nodded, already leaning across Jake to get another set of utensils for herself and the rest of us out of the bag at his feet, shoving her pipe hastily into my waiting hands. Just like old times. Except, then she straightened and continued, voice as sweet as honey, “Baby, have you eaten today?”

Loverboy just couldn’t contain the grin that crawled across his goofy face. The way he looked at her made me want to punch his lights out. “Eating kinda slipped my mind.”

“Come smoke some of this and eat a little of that,” she invited as easily as breathing, trading me the pipe for my own set of utensils and offering up an egg roll.

It was astonishing. Revolting. Our territorial eater, the Terrorizer of Appetizers, who once punched Barry Chen in the throat hard enough to make him cough up a purloined handful of Reese’s Pieces, was sharing with people aside from us of her own accord. Not just sharing, but offering both him and the girl tastes of all her favorites before she even got one for herself. The girl I could understand just by looking at her; Birdy could never turn down a kid in trouble, and especially not this one if my theory was correct. Munson made absolutely no sense to me, though. He was just a stupid boyfriend, with heavy emphasis on stupid. She never shared with the last one, Larry, from what she always told us. What made this dumpster diver so special?

“I’ll smoke, you eat, then we’ll switch,” Eddie instructed instead, splaying out his ringed hands on either end of the table and leaning over it. He had more of a wingspan on him than I thought, and more hair, apparently; he was inches away from getting it in the food, and if I got any of his scraggly curls in my mouth, I knew I’d go ballistic.

Birdy turned her pipe around and tucked it in the corner of his mouth. His grin was even wider with the pipe, and the warmth behind her returned smile was unmistakable. She loved this creep. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It physically pained me to think about how that smug bastard must’ve been feeling right then. That ten-feet-tall, most-important-person-in-the-world-to-her feeling every guy got when they’d catch even a glimpse into her eyes and a hint of her smile. The sun practically rose and set with our Birdy, and the warmth of a perfect summer day would stir your heart just at the sight of her. He must’ve felt like he was on the very top of the world. Time to knock him right off the euphoric summit he’d reached.

“Birdy, you missing something?” When she turned to me questioningly, I brought her attention to one more takeout box. I opened the lid, and inside it was filled to the brim with individual packets of sweet and sour sauce.

Squealing with glee, she snatched up the sauce packet balanced at the very top and tore it open with her teeth. She slathered the end of her egg role in the glistening peach-hued glory and took as big of a bite out of it as she could.

Her lips wrapped around that egg roll was prettier than anything I’d ever seen before. Her back was still arched from leaning over to meet Munson halfway, and her shirt rode up where the gap between her jacket and her jeans formed at her lower back. I almost didn’t remember the cigar between my teeth in time to keep my jaw from dropping. From where I was sat, I could catch just a millimeter or two of the top band of her panties in my peripheral.

I’ll admit that when I saw Birdy come bursting out that door to greet us, I was bowled over by how much more beautiful she’d become with time. It was no secret that she was gonna turn out to be a knockout once her hair started growing back in. We were fourteen when we saw each other last, and she was mind-blowing to me then. At eighteen, she was a vision I didn’t even feel worthy to behold, so I damn well knew nobody else deserved her, either. Especially not Eddie fucking Munson. She would come to her senses now, at egg roll’s first bite the spell would be broken and she’d remember herself. With a moan, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she slowly chewed, cheeks stuffed and rosy. My mouth was watering, and it wasn’t for MSG anymore.

Fuck, I needed to get it together. If I was having this reaction to her, I could only imagine what the other lechers all around were thinking too. Their eyes were locked on her like they’d never even seen a girl before. The only ones who weren’t looking were Will and Jake, because they were too busy looking at each other.

At Birdy’s obvious, let’s say, enthusiasm, Jane took the other egg roll from the open greasy bag and assessed it cautiously. I stepped in, “Try it without the sauce first. If you like it, then give the sauce a chance.”

She stared for a moment, and always up for a challenge, I unblinkingly gazed back over the top of my glasses. I might be a lot of things, but above all I’m sincere to a fault, and that needed to be established quickly among this bizarre group of strangers we’d found ourselves in, Uncle Murray and Birdy excluded, of course. They were bizarre loved ones, completely different category. And besides, a staring contest was a good excuse to get my head screwed on straight again. Birdy had never been so distracting before.

Finally she blinked, and with one last curious sniff, she took as big a bite as Birdy. It took two chews before her eyes grew wide, shining with a brightness that could only come from the pure joy of experiencing Chinese food for the very first time.

“Hm?” Birdy hummed excitedly around her food, raising a thumbs up with an emphatic nod.

“Mm!” Jane groaned back with a nod of her own, closing her eyes as she savored the taste. Her returned thumbs up was decisive.

“Mhm! Knew it!” Birdy barely got around around her mouthful, pointing triumphantly with the hand holding her sauce packet. She then dabbed some on Jane’s next bite. They were chewing and swallowing so ravenously I was almost certain they were about to choke. The thought of doing the Heimlich maneuver on Birdy made my palms start to sweat.

The second she took her eyes off her own egg roll, Munson went in for a bite across the table. She was too quick for him, though, and yanked the roll back to hold it protectively in both hands out of his reach. “I’m not done!”

“But we’re supposed to switch!” he playfully protested.

“There’s plenty more in the kitchen, help yourself,” I deadpanned.

He got the hint and didn’t like it, I could tell. Then, he smirked that fucking smirk of his, and I goddamn hated it. “You call her Birdy, so maybe I’d rather she baby-bird it to me.”

He had the unmitigated gall to round the table and bypass my outstretched legs to settle on his knees between her and her waiting feast, his dark stare fixed on hers. He brought his mouth to hers slowly, opening it centimeter by centimeter, until he had raised high enough on his knees to be eye level with her. Then, he stuck his tongue out as far as it could go, made devil horns from a combination of his pointer fingers and Birdy’s pipe still clutched in his undeserving grip, and the closest thing I’d ever heard to Ghukliak in real life left his throat.

I couldn’t believe this freak. But what I could believe even less was how she responded. First she let out an explosive belly laugh, head thrown back with one of her radiant smiles in full view, and God how I’d missed moments like these with my best girl. That was when she ruined it by dabbing a drop of sweet and sour sauce right in the center of his tongue and licked it off in a long, distastefully exaggerated swipe. Let me be more specific here: she ruined me.

How was anybody supposed to stay professional sitting next to this obscene display? In that moment, I wanted her so badly, wanted to steal her so badly from Munson specifically, that I felt a tidal wave of jealousy douse me from head to toe in white-hot boiling anger. I hadn’t even been like this when she dated that schmendrick, Larry Cirigliano. I shot a glance over her head at Jake, but he was already looking at me, his lips twisting with the effort to hold back his laughter. I look to my only brother for backup, my closest of all allies, and I get mockery for my trouble. His poorly concealed amusement wasn’t helping me calm down any.

Neither did Munson’s goofy, startled chuckling as he essentially melted into a puddle at her feet, laying his head down on her thighs and wrapping his arms around her calves so tight that his muscles flexed under his jacket. His incessant giggles dissolved into open sobs before all our eyes, and to say it was jarring would be an understatement. His shoulders had been bouncing from sheer ecstatic giddiness a moment before, but now they were heaving with sobs and wailing as he buried his disheveled head into her right thigh, facing Jake and Dustin.

“I thought you were gonna die, Kelly Rose,” he whimpered.

“You were dead,” she replied slowly, calmly, until her bottom lip wobbled and the dam broke wide open in front of all of us. “You were dead, Eddie. I couldn’t protect you, even after you saved me. I’m sorry.” She leaned down and laid a kiss on the crown of his head, but couldn’t seem to bring herself back up again. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and wept into his dirty hair, her lips never leaving him.

Like a wounded animal he whined, “I love you.” It was unnerving to hear that kind of sound come from any living creature, no less directly in relation to Birdy. Just what the hell happened before we got here?

“I love you. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t.” He squeezed her legs even more, the leather jacket he wore creaking and squeaking with the coiling of his muscles. “You’re why I’m here at all. I’m sorry. Tell her again, Dustin. We’ll tell you as many times as it takes.”

“He’s right,” Dustin hiccuped, now just as upset as the other two. “He wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be here. Everything would’ve gone to shit without you. You saved our asses. Nobody else could’ve done what you did.”

To my horror, there suddenly wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I was even getting a little verklempt myself at the sudden understanding that none of this was figurative. Something really had gone horribly wrong with whatever they— we— were all involved in now. No man cried like that unless the danger was real. We could’ve lost Birdy and never even known it, and certainly not until it was far too late to do anything about it. My heart seized painfully and and thudded hard, my body going from uncomfortably warm with outrage to breaking into a cold sweat all over.

We almost lost her, I thought in disbelief. When did this happen? What the fuck could’ve possibly happened? I wanted to jump to my feet and demand answers so I could personally face down whoever in this crowd might’ve been responsible for the kind of failures required to get to the point of Birdy being in mortal danger, but all I could do was sit and cry silently beside her, the dearest friend I could ever lose. In the foggy corner of my eye, Jake took his glasses off and brushed away a tear of his own with a hasty fingertip. He felt it too: how uncomfortably and unacceptably close we’d unknowingly been to utter catastrophe.

It would be like when Zayde died all over again, hashalom alav. But even then, we’d all gotten to say goodbye, even Birdy. That was the day we promised we’d be buried together, the three of us in the plot right next to Zayde and Bubbe. I wanted to believe that if something happened to her I’d feel it in the cosmos, because the celestial shift that would surely occur upon the death of such a supernova-bright being would be felt in shock waves across the galaxy and beyond the instant her heart would stop. It’d honestly be preferable to suffer the inevitable heat death of the universe than to outlive Kelly Turner.

Apparently, Eddie Munson had almost suffered that very fate with the rest of we unfortunate few she would leave behind in a daze of gut-wrenching grief and never-ending sorrow. Ungoliant and Morgoth had almost managed to snuff out the light of the Trees of Valinor right under our noses. I needed to find out right away if he was Morgoth or Manwe in whatever nightmarish scenario had unfolded before our arrival, or I was about to lose my shit.

“What the hell happened to you kids?” Mrs. Byers finally asked the question on everyone’s minds, her dark eyes wide and concerned.

“What happened to you?” Jonathan fired back. “And don’t give me that bullshit about some conference in Alaska.”

“Hey, watch your mouth with your mother,” Hopper warned with a stern glance. “What happened to you? You were supposed to be watching out for El.”

“Mom left us on short notice to find you, apparently! I did my best, man.”

“Yeah, well, could’ve stepped it up a little bit more, huh?” Hopper asked sarcastically.

“It wasn’t my fault that El got herself arrested for assault! And I still did everything I could to try and help her!”

“You what?!” Mrs. Byers and Hopper rounded on Jane, who was also El it would seem, and who had just taken a bite out of her second egg roll. Despite her discomfort at her own emotions and of those around her, she had continued to eat, having retrieved her own packets of sweet and sour sauce now.

“And one of the agents in charge of guarding us died in my fucking arms, dude! If anything could be done to help, I’ve been doing it this whole goddamn time, so just lay off!”

His outburst silenced the rest of the cramped cabin, including Birdy and Munson. He still had her pipe in hand, and she gently took it from him as she finally sat upright again. She held it out in Jonathan’s direction.

“Sounds like you’ve earned this, then. Just be gentle with him, he clogs easy,” she said, offering up Bilbo kindly. She was passing the peace pipe to put a lid on this pot before it could boil over any more.

Mrs. Byers was visibly uncomfortable, but Jonathan took it anyway, and the surfer followed him into the toilet eagerly. I couldn’t call it a bathroom, the tub was on the other side of the cabin hidden behind a shower curtain, and powder room didn’t apply when there was no mirror to powder one’s nose in nor a functioning sink. Munson’s murder of metalheads watched them go with longing in their gazes. We could safely add potheads to the growing list of adjectives ending in the suffix -head that applied to Munson and his merry band of misfits, and at the very top was dickheads. They had to be if they were his obvious loyal followers. I still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t responsible for whatever happened to Birdy, so until I had the whole story, I was at the ready to turn on anybody she might need me to. She called us for backup, after all. I meant it when I said I’d come to deliver the works as requested.

Clearing my throat, I stood, with Jake following suit right away as always. He put out his hand to stop Dustin before he could try to stand and put unnecessary pressure on his injury.

Birdy met my eye and it made my heart leap. “The food’s getting cold,” I announced to the room at large, but my eyes just couldn’t escape hers. I swear, and everyone agrees, that they were like the tractor beams my uncle believed extra-terrestrials had. “Eat up, everybody. Please, feel free to dig into whatever grabs you, we got enough to feed an army.”

Glad to break the tension by breaking bread, or in this case fortune cookies, almost everyone shifted their attention to the kitchen counters and small dining table we’d littered with identical brown bags full of steaming hot Chinese ambrosia. Hopper tore into the nearest bag and only took a moment to inspect its contents before claiming the whole thing for himself. He was decent enough to leave the extra utensils and napkins on the counter for anyone who needed them, but he didn’t give up a single packet of sauce. I couldn’t blame him, the guy looked mangled and exhausted despite his excitement for fresh Chinese and Cuban cigars, and I figured he could use the extra sugar. In the back of the impromptu line was Jonathan’s haggard girlfriend, her large blue eyes flitting nervously between the closed bathroom door and everyone else in turn. She was downright shifty-eyed, and I didn’t like it one bit. It put a pit in my gut, and my gut had never steered me wrong before. She was hiding something. She was worried about her loser boyfriend too, but she was definitely hiding something.

When Jake left to get a selection of succulent Chinese for himself and Dustin, he offered his seat to Jane so that she could sit between Dustin and Birdy. She did so uncertainly, having to take a large step over Dustin’s propped up leg to take her seat, and I heard Dustin quietly assure her, “Don’t worry, these guys are the best.”

That certainly buoyed my spirit to hear, especially since Munson absolutely heard it too. It got me back in motion again the way I should’ve been this whole time. I handed Birdy a takeaway box of lo mein and her designated chopsticks. “We’ll talk after dinner?” I offered.

“No, it should be with everyone.”

“What’re we talking here?”

“All of it, Davey. The chips are down and all our cards have to be on the table now. There’s no choice.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s too late. Everybody knows too much, but nobody knows enough to figure out what do to next.”

“We’ve missed a lot, huh?” I asked guiltily.

“Through no fault of your own.” I didn’t like that kind of answer, but especially not from her. She didn’t used to be this cagey. The last time we spoke was on New Year’s Day, and in just a few months it was like she’d become a totally different person. Dating Larry had changed her, sure, but this was another matter completely. She’d never been so cut off from us. Was this new guy the reason her phone line was always busy? Was he why she never called us again?

Her parents were the scum of the earth, no doubt about it, but even they let her call us. The day she moved, January 2nd, we never heard from her again. We had to look up her new address and find her number in the phone book after she’d promised to call with her new number as soon as the land line was connected. Our Birdy never broke a promise. Something horrible had to have happened. The state of her confirmed that.

“Need anything else before we start, then?” If she really was sure, then I’d follow her lead. Jake would too, she could do no wrong in our eyes.

“Got any beer?”

“Better, we stocked the Dues before we came.”

“Cosmos?” she beamed with a gasp, perking up like she used to. It was the good sign I’d hoped to see from her. All hope wasn’t lost; not yet, at least.

“With extra vermouth, of course.”

“You’re heaven-sent.”

“Nah, doll, just Hender-sent,” I quipped with a waggle of my brows and a grin around my cigar. “Be back in a jiffy.”

“Ha! Good one, Dave! See, told you they’re the best,” Dustin enthused, knocking his elbow into Jane’s. Puns were always the fastest way to cheer Dustin up when he was homesick at Camp Knowhere.

Munson finally picked his head up from the soft safety of Birdy’s lap with a sniffle and a swipe under his runny nose. “Is this dickhead the one who got you making those stupid jokes? Even dying couldn’t make me forget how bad bat-le was,” he asked hoarsely, only half joking at most. I supposed his taste in humor matched his taste in attire. Puns are staples of comedy and humor, transcending space, time, and cultural differences with every friendly jape. Anybody who was anybody knew that. At least I didn’t have to feel bad about calling him a dickhead since the sentiment was clearly mutual.

“So, you’re saying it was… bad-le?”

Munson stared at him blankly while Birdy and I shared a chuckle at his expense. Then, he turned his stare on her. “You thought that was funny, huh?”

“I did,” she nodded slowly, her smile lingering. “Sorry, baby, but I’m a fan of the humble pun.” He nodded back and hummed before tackling her into the couch cushions, his head buried in her chest and his arms coiled around her waist. She squealed a laugh, holding her lo mein and chopsticks high to protect them from the impact. “Eddie!” she giggled.

“Guess I have to like puns now,” he grumbled into the CBGC logo across her breasts. It was the shirt I’d bought her that night in New York when it seemed like Lou Reed was singing Perfect Day just for us. It was tight on her now, and more of a crop top now than it had been when I first bought it for her at thirteen years old, but she wore it even still, like a sigil I’d long ago sworn myself to protect. Munson had to go, pronto.

“Hey, Van Halen, come get your share. Food’s going fast already.”

“That s’posed to be an insult?” he was quick to sneer up at me.

“Just an observation since you’d probably try to wear his skin if you ever got close enough. Is Eddie your given name or did you change it after him? You really should enter a lookalike contest sometime, you’d place for sure.”

“Davey,” Birdy warned, “be nice. Van Halen wishes he had half the talent my Eddie does.”

“Yeah, sure, and I’m Davy Crockett.”

“He’s a prodigy.” My head shook involuntarily in automatic disbelief. “A virtuoso.” She couldn’t be serious. Either I needed to get my ears checked or she needed to get her head checked. “A bonafide genius, just like you and Jake. So. Be. Nice.”

“Eddie played for you without us?!” Gareth cried affrontedly.

The biggest one out of the third-rate goon squad looked stricken. “Dude, that’s treason. We all swore an oath to the Corroded Code.”

“There were extenuating circumstances,” Munson replied with a wince.

“Like what? Dying, apparently?” the third and final member of the Motley Crew desperate to be Motley Crue lisped, arms crossed in disapproval. “They’re right, you did commit treason, and we deserve answers after we got our shit rocked just for knowing you! Where’ve you been, man?”

“He was with me the whole time,” Birdy was quick to chirp, drawing all the attention to her. It was something she’d said and done incalculable times before when one of our escapades inevitably went awry, and the fact that she was now saying and doing it for the likes of Munson made me want to grind my teeth. That was part of why I liked cigars so much, they forced my to keep my jaw relaxed and cooled my head enough to keep me sharp.

“How’d you die, Munson?” Hopper asked around a mouthful of fried rice.

“You brought him back?” Jane asked hesitantly, clearly uncomfortable at how close Munson was, still practically crawling into Birdy’s chest cavity. A lanky boy nearby was looking between Jane, Birdy, Munson, and Hopper in an awkward cycle, too far from the front of the food line to be preoccupied, but too close to not be drawn into the action. I knew that look he had all too well. He looked at Jane and her father the same way I looked at Birdy and hers when I was about his age. But what was his connection to Munson and the rest? I could see it in his eyes, he knew things.

Speaking of knowing things, Jane’s innocent little question posed a big problem. Nobody could know what our Birdy was capable of. She said cards on the table, but that couldn’t mean spilling her secret. That was absolutely and categorically forboden, never to be discussed unless absolutely necessary. If she used her power on Munson and somebody might’ve seen it, then it was no wonder she had a distress signal sent as soon as she could. Part of our role her was damage control. I could see the interest already lighting up the many eyes in the room. We were surrounded, and Jake was too busy talking to Will and inspecting the takeout boxes to break away.

“How about we hear it all from the man himself after he gets some food in him?” I clapped with an amiable smile around my cigar. I gave Munson a second and a half to get his ass in gear— that was far more generous than I would’ve been under any other circumstances, by the way— before I took him by the scruff of his leather jacket and hauled him to his feet. “Eat, Birdy. I swear you’re about to blow away in the next stiff breeze,” I ordered with a wink, trying to play off my very real concern with humor. Now physically freed up, she dug right in again with a smile.

When I saw her last, her cheeks were full and glowed a healthy pink. Now her cheekbones were prominent, beautifully so, but without their happy glow it confirmed the story her waistline told: she had already been scrawny and small when we first met, but she was as bony as a starved stray now. It made a lump rise in my throat. She hadn’t been eating again.

I was gonna throttle Munson the second I confirmed his part in all this. I couldn’t beat the shit out of her father the way he deserved because going to jail was out of the question now that Jake and I were MIT bound, but I could take out Munson no problem. Nobody would convict me if the wanted signs all over town were any indication. I might even get a key to the city, or hamlet, or whatever this dump was legally designated as. The point being, I’d avenge our Birdy somehow and spend the rest of my life making up for whatever happened. It would be an honor.

My clenched fist tightened even more around the leather between his shoulder blades. I walked him the few steps to the kitchen and put us at the back of the line so that I stood directly between him and Birdy. Ahead of us were the shifty-eyed girl and the gangly gal pal she walked in with. Neither of them even attempted to be subtle as they watched us. That was fine, I didn’t mind an audience nearly as much as Birdy always had.

As I let go of him and he whipped around to face me, I said lowly, “Pick your poison, Lives-in-a-Van Halen. What’s your usual order, huh? We got a bit of everything, don’t be shy. Fried rice? Mongolian beef? Peking duck? No, wait, you strike me as a General Tso’s Chicken kinda guy. Really, enjoy it, ‘cause when I find out what the fuck you’ve done, the next thing you’ll be eating is your teeth.”

Munson had something really biting on the tip of his tongue to say back to me, I could see it in the way the knot in his jaw jumped and his eyes blazed, but with a quick glance over his shoulder at our present company, he seemed to change course. “Relax, Grouchy Marx. Don’t get your silk pocket square in a twist over little ol’ me, now.”

Birdy told me to be nice, so instead of decking him, I got as close to his face as I could without burning him with the smoldering end of my cigar. He was trapped between me and the girls, and all of their wide stares were lit in a glowing red as they reflected the puff I inhaled before responding. “Don’t get cute with me, smart ass,” I murmured through the cloud of smoke I exhaled. “When it comes to my brother, Birdy, or Henderson, you answer to me. And as we speak, the former looks like she’s got one foot in the grave and the latter can’t stand on either foot in any grave. Why hasn’t she been eating?”

“She was knocked out for a couple days.”

“Before that.”

“I got her to eat as often as I could.”

“Have you ever seen her eat like that?” I gestured with my chin toward the sofa.

There she was, eating her fill with a ravenous gusto that was just plain filthy to witness for anyone interested in the fairer sex. Munson’s lips parted in a gasp as he watched her expertly maneuver her chopsticks and suck them clean between each cheek-stuffing bite. Her eyelids would flutter as she moaned to herself after every other mouthful or so. She’d done that since the very first time she ate food actually worth a damn at my very own dining table, and every time since it had filled my chest with a warm pride that made me stand a little bit taller and straighter. When she was happy, I was happy. When she was sad, or angry, or afraid, I was right there with her every step of the way too, and so was Jake. Every single step of the way, to the very end of the last long road. It was love. We loved her, I loved her. It was exactly the way Zayde said it was with Bubbe.

It was always a big family joke, how different their lives and the world would’ve been if Rachel Kaufman had married Aaron Feinstein instead of Mortimer Bauman. They were wed the day before Pearl Harbor. Then Uncle Sam needed mechanics, and off Morty went to answer the call. Ray did too on the home front, becoming invaluable as one of the first women tank mechanics and becoming the head of the local factory. In wartime, every hand matters, whether it’s turning a screw or the whole damn tide. Zayde and Bubbe did both.

When Morty’s unit became the first of the Allies to breech the Eagle’s Nest only to find it and the town below entirely abandoned, the men all got straight to work pillaging and calling home to find out what their missus wanted pilfered from the Reich before reinforcements arrived. Most wanted crystal chandeliers and lace curtains, and of course any other fine things they could get their hands on, down to the very last diamond studs in the very last unclaimed vanity table. But Ray Bauman had something else entirely in mind once Morty got his turn with the phone.

“Me and the girls hate all the walking,” she’d told him, so exhausted he could even hear it through the static, he always told anyone who’d listen. He was lucky she had to come home early that day or she would’ve missed his call entirely. “I’d rather brave the front line than hear the boys kvetch one more time about it. Don’t laugh, Morty, I’ve had it up to here with them! We need a car. A truck even. Anything you can get your hands on, but preferably something big. The girls on our street are killing themselves walking both ways with their arms full of either babies or groceries, before and after double shifts. I wanna give ‘em rides, we’re all going to the same place anyway, so don’t start with me about what the gas will cost us. A car is a good investment while we don’t know how long you’ll still be over there for.”

“My dear,” he replied, “you had me at hello. Whatever you want, it’s yours. It’ll take me a little bit, and it’ll be arriving in pieces, but you’ll have your car.”

It was no trouble for Bubbe to reassemble the car once it got there, and every time he remembered seeing her drive it for the first time, he’d always get the same smile, the kind he’d worn for her his whole life whether she was there to see it or not. That’s what I wanted with Birdy. I was damn sure Munson wouldn’t steal Hitler’s secret Duesenberg for her, and it was obvious he didn’t even know Chinese was her favorite. He hardly knew her. He couldn’t give her a home, a future, the way I could. Sure, she thought she loved him too, but much like indigestion, it too would pass. He had her attention, fine, that wasn’t up for debate. But we had far more history, and so much more still to make.

“I’ll admit that’s pretty new,” Munson answered quietly once he realized we’d all been staring in silence for too long. It wasn’t just us, either. Every boy present, and even that one tall girl, were staring mouth agape as they watched her go. Before he continued, his Adam’s apple bobbed hard in his throat. “That’s probably why you call her Birdy, right? ‘Cause usually she eats like a bird.”

“Not even close. If she likes what she’s eating and who she’s eating it with, this is what she always does. If you haven’t seen her like this, that should tell you something.”

“We were a little busy,” he glared. “If it’s not that, then it’s ‘cause of how she sings, yeah? She’s like a little songbird.” As he spoke, his eyes went right back to her. It was like he had magnets for corneas. I hated it because I knew I was the exact same way when it came to her.

“That’s two strikes, and whatever you’ve done to her will be the third. All I need is one good excuse and I’ll kick your sorry ass to the curb so fast your head’ll spin. Eat up, chump, you’re gonna need your strength for the grilling you’re in for.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide.”

He was already lying through his teeth. “We’ll just see about that. Look around you for a minute. You’re surrounded by a journalist, a cop, and God knows who else might want a crack at you in here, and all you’ve got is, what— three, four equally dubious buddies to help you? Can they even vouch for anything you’re about to tell us?”

“My Kelly Rose can. Will that be enough for you though? We don’t have to pretend with this gentlemen’s rules bullshit, dude. You want a crack at me? Go ahead then, take your shot, it’s the only one you’ll get. We can take this outside and get it over with real quick.”

“And let that stench into the cabin? You’ll ruin dinner. The certified genius, ladies and gentlemen,” I deadpanned with another puff of my cigar. The tall girl bit her lip to stifle a laugh while Baby Blues beside her was aghast watching our interaction unfold. “No, we have no choice but to stick with gentlemen’s rules bullshit, as you so eloquently put it, although if you were a real gentleman you wouldn’t have to pretend, now would you? Either way, there’s no easy way out for you unless you decide to bail. And make no mistake, you’d be going alone.”

“Are you really sure about that, Davey?” Oh, I fucking loathed the way he said Birdy’s nickname for me, with all that unearned nasally vitriol. Just who the fuck did he think he was? “I hate to be the one to break this to you, but I love her, and by some fucking miracle she loves me right back; and if I left, I know she wouldn’t leave my side.”

“Even if her initial instinct was to pity you enough to and follow along to make sure you didn’t die again or whatever, I’d talk her out of it in a minute flat.”

“She would know to beware the voice of Saruman.”

Now, that there was the straw that broke this camel’s back. “I come six hundred miles on short notice just to be accused of skullduggery by a straggly stranger, even though you’re the one with wanted signs on every flat surface within a mile of downtown? You think I’m Saruman, huh? You think I’m some villain waiting for my chance to strike? More like I’m the one you’re quoting, and I’ve come riding to Birdy’s rescue on Shadowfax as fast as the crow flies because you didn’t protect her. Must be the curse of Boromir; you’re dead weight, literally and figuratively, and now look at her. She’s fucking frail. I wouldn’t trust a goddamn cockroach in your care, no less her. Now, you grab something and sit down, and I’m gonna take care of her like you should’ve been this whole time. Your days with her are numbered, pal, so you better enjoy them, like all this Chinese, while they last.” With a rough pat to his shoulder and a nod toward the counter, I dismissed him and turned my attention to the gawking girls. “Ladies, I’m terribly sorry for the hold up with the line. I’ll go get my brother in gear, excuse me.”

Munson’s crestfallen face and deflated posture showed everyone that I won, but I wasn’t over it; the affront of being compared to Saruman of all people. Sure, I was persuasive, but I was no manipulator. Not with Birdy or Jake, at least. Everyone else was fair game, but that was just basic common sense. Where would the Fellowship have been if Gandalf hadn’t manipulated the guard into letting him keep his staff when they went to Theoden, King of the Rohirrim? If you aren’t mistrustful and at least a little calculating by nature, have you no sense of self-preservation? You have to be willing to play games every now and then to win big, and that means being able to recognize when the game begins, who the other players are, and how high the stakes are for everyone involved, not just you. But that just made me a savvy observer, not a fascist bastard like Saruman. If he intended to argue that point further, there would be no going outside, I’d knock his lights out then and there. Maybe you didn’t know, but there’s a place under everyone’s jaw where if you hit it just right, your opponent will be unconscious before they even reach the ground. I just so happened to know exactly where that spot was, and by God was Munson’s extra punchable.

When I approached, Will was asking Jake, “Be honest, how hard was it to toss your uncle like that? You made it look effortless.”

“It becomes effortless once you apply a little physics know-how. I can teach you, if you want.”

“Move it or lose it, Jake, we’re in for a show.”

“So soon?”

“Fighting words were exchanged.”

“You just couldn’t resist, huh?”

I snatched up the boxes he’d neglected on the counter beside him and a pair of chopsticks Hopper left. “I gave you fair warning. You snooze, you lose.”

He rolled his eyes at me and took up three other takeout boxes, handing one to Will. “I hope you like orange chicken.”

“It’s my favorite, actually.”

“Mine too,” he smiled, eyes bright behind the thick lenses of his glasses.

The bathroom door swung open and a plume of smoke escaped, revealing Jonathan and Surfer Boy in the haze. All eyes were upon them from their abruptness, a stoner’s worst nightmare, and they shrank in on themselves from the attention. Only then did Will take a step away, and Jake followed me back to the couch. I took up my original place, but Jake sat on the floor beside Dustin after passing him a box of orange chicken, making sure Jane knew the seat was hers to keep. We were gentlemen, after all. Plus it also left room beside him in case Will wanted to join him on the floor. I taught him that move. I hoped he knew what he was doing. Great flirting under great danger was always a great responsibility.

“What’re you mackin’ on, little mind fighter?” Surfer Boy asked as he came forward to peer at her dinner.

“Egg rolls.”

“Oh, hell yeah!”

“There’re spring rolls too, and crab rangoon, and anything else you can think of,” I told him.

“You’re a most generous dude. Next time you’re in Cali, swing by Surfer Boy Pizza and give ‘em my name, they’ll hook you up.”

“Duly noted and much obliged.” Never look a gift pothead in the mouth. “And what name should I give them, exactly?”

“Argyle.”

“Short, sweet, and to the point. We’ll get along just fine, Argyle.”

“You really like those, huh, El?” Jonathan asked as he stepped up beside his cannabinoid compatriot.

“Uh huh.”

“More than waffles?”

“Mm…. No, Eggos are still my favorite.”

“More than Hawaiian pizza?” Argyle asked intently.

“… It’s a tie.”

“Hey, I’ll take that!” he grinned and nodded in approval. He offered her a high five, and while she was distracted he took the fourth egg roll she’d intended to eat for himself. “You’re gonna make yourself sick, dude, I’m doing you a favor taking this off your hands.”

“He’s right,” Jonathan agreed before taking the spot Jake had silently reserved for Will, with Argyle plopping down with a thud on the other side of him. “Pace yourself, you’ve got all night if the ash doesn’t get better.”

“Yeah, that gross stuff isn’t letting up anytime soon. We were watching it fall through the window. Pretty, but morbid as hell, dude.”

“Then we should all get started, no?” I addressed the cabin at large, slinging an arm over Birdy’s shoulders. She fell easily into my side, like we were puzzle pieces coming back together again. It was pure bliss for one sparkling, shimmering second, looking down at her as she looked up at me, just like on the bus that day. Every time I saw her, and those eyes of hers were already waiting for me, I was reminded all over again why I fell like a rock for her with a warm stutter in my heartbeat that shouted, echoing through my atriums and ventricles, Magic is real and alive in the world as long as she’s in it.

“Um, no, actually,” Hopper replied sarcastically from the small table. “I get now why Murray can’t stand you. You’re pretentious, you’re rude, and you’re arrogant as shit. Who the hell do you think you are, talking to adults the way you do? You don’t ever speak to me like that in my own goddamn home again, or anywhere else for that matter. The only reason I’m not kicking you out is because of the ash, and I’m hungry and hurt enough to want your food and your weed more than I wanna teach your sorry ass some manners, but the second it’s done you need to leave. Understand me? Both of you,” he pointed between myself and Jake with the cigar he had been puffing from sparingly, savoring every lungful of premium Cuban bliss.

I was taken aback by that of course, as was Jake; but we were always quick to get things back on the right track. “Sir, you have our sincerest apologies,” I began, making a point to look him in the eye unflinchingly, a rare and invaluable skill for a high schooler. “We were under the impression this was our uncle’s place. We’d dared to hope he finally got out of the old garage and upgraded, your cabin really must’ve been lovely in its day.” Murray glared daggers at me, but I caught Hopper’s wistful wandering eye as it floated for a moment across the cabin walls. Yes, it surely had been lovely at one point in his life, and I’d hit him right in his nostalgia as intended. Remember, kids: a simple compliment goes a long way toward building and fixing bridges, even if you don’t mean it. You just have to take the time to tailor make it for your target and they’ll be putty in your hands.

“Really, we wouldn’t have made ourselves so at home if we’d known. We can leave now, it’s no trouble,” Jake added, sealing the rest of the night with classic reverse psychology.

Hopper sighed, beleaguered. “No, just, watch your tone. Alright?”

“Yes, sir,” we agreed in unison with matching nods.

“And don’t do that freaky Shining twins shit,” he groused. “Now, you boys are from Fort Detrick. I know a bit about the lab there. How much do you know about it?”

“If you’re asking whether we’re government conspiracy material, you’re in luck. We have experience thanks to Uncle Murray.”

“What a summer that was,” Jake sighed. “Remember when he taught us how to shoot, Birdy?”

“I still don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody get as red as your dad when he saw his model train table,” she answered after swallowing. “There wasn’t a single sign or head we didn’t shoot, and the thing took up the entire basement. He screamed for three hours straight, but Uncle Murray took all the blame for us, ‘cause his heart grew three sizes that day. We even got to keep the Red Rider.”

“You know I hate being compared to commercially branded holiday psy-ops,” he called and pointed from his broken seat beside Hopper.

“My mistake. I’ll stick to the unbranded holiday psy-ops from now on,” she giggled in answer to his glare. “Boys, I’ll be needing Bilbo back if you’re finished with him.”

“Oh, yeah, my bad!” Argyle patted his pockets to remind himself which one he left it in. It was sticking out of his right pocket the entire time, but he hadn’t noticed. Yeah, he’d be a regular customer for sure. But that was for later on.

When he handed it over, she took his hand to shake. “I’m Kelly, by the way.”

“Argyle’s the name, pizza and Pac-Man are my games,” he replied with two swooping shakes of his arm. “Are you also a mind fighter? You eat like one.”

She should’ve laughed. She would’ve waved him off with a smile. But instead, to my horror, she shrugged, “Kinda, I guess.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Jake demanded, sitting at attention immediately in just as much disbelief as I was.

“We said it’s Eddie’s turn to talk.”

“Kelly?” Jane asked.

“Hm?”

“Did you see him? Henry?”

“Vecna?”

They shared a meaningful glance and whispered at the same time, “… One.”

Several people reared back in apparent understanding at their utterance of the most famous prime number, while others, like Jake and myself, were left bewildered. I knew Vecna, any dungeon master worth their salt knew him, but who was Henry? Why did they say ‘One’ like that?

Suddenly, Kelly’s left hand was squeezing mine over her opposite shoulder. Two meant she’d fill us in later. Jake waited for my nodded confirmation of her message, and I brushed my thumb over the back of her small hand to let her know we understood. When I looked up, I caught Munson watching us like a hawk from the kitchen counter. He looked away first, embarrassed. Another round won. If you take any advice from me, remember that a lot of issues can be solved with strong eye contact alone, if you’ve got the guts for a game of chicken like that. There’s power in a gaze; it’s the window to our very souls, after all.

[livpet]

I’m in sub space (the feeling of euphoric satisfaction I get when I eat a submarine sandwich)

[livpet]

Venus in Furs Chapter Twelve: All Along the Watchtower

Saturday, March 29th, 1986. Eddie's POV.

By mid-afternoon, the cabin was overrun. First, the Wheelers arrived with the infamous Byers in toe, along with some Californian dipshit and Elev— I mean, Jane. They went straight to work trying to fix up the cabin with the elder Wheeler leading the charge, as per usual. Then came an actual fucking government vehicle stuffed with Mrs. Byers, some washed up reporter I'd seen sniffing around town a few times before, and none other than goddamn Chief Hopper. He looked like he'd lost almost half his body weight, but it was unmistakably him under his baseball cap and five o'clock shadow.

"You're supposed to be dead," I'd blanched when he walked through the door.

"Nice to see you too, Munson."

Not wanting to intrude too much on his emotional reunion with Jane, which was pretty damn hard considering how small the cabin was, I went back to Kelly Rose, who still hadn't moved a muscle. How there was still hair on my head to yank in worry at that point, I didn't know. Apparently, though, Jane was up for some intruding herself once she came out of her room, her face red from crying, but happy.

Slowly, she approached the sofa, her eyes filled with awe. "Nine?" she asked softly.

"Uh, hi," I began awkwardly. "I'm Eddie. This is Kelly Rose, but I'm the only one who calls her that. She'd want you to call her Kelly."

She nodded absently, never looking away from my girl's sleeping face. "Pretty," she whispered to herself, her lips quirking up in a half-smile.

"Isn't she?" I smiled fondly. It was the first time I'd genuinely smiled since the Upside Down. "Cool hair, by the way. I used to have mine just like that, and so did Kelly Rose. But, you probably knew that, since you knew her then. Sorry, I didn't expect to meet her sister without her and it's a little awkward."

Self-consciously, she brushed a hand over her shaved head. "It used to be long like hers."

"Do you want it to be long again?" She nodded sadly. "Then it will be. It'll just take some time, don't worry."

Nodding again, she asked hesitantly, "Are you her boyfriend?"

"Even better. I'm her slave for life." At that, she giggled, looking at me strangely. "But I happen to know Wheeler's your boyfriend. He never shuts up about you."

"Really?" Hope overtook her features. I wondered why.

"Oh, yeah. At school, at D&D, he brings you up every chance he gets. Same with Henderson and Suzie-Poo." My nasally tone made her giggle again. "And don't even get me started on Sinclair and Red."

"Max," she corrected me immediately.

"I know her name, that's just what I call her."

"You're the only one who calls her that?" she asked, echoing my own words back at me. It made me realize I'd need to be careful what I said around this little parrot.

"Well, not exactly. I'm just the only one who does and she hasn't bitten my head off over it yet."

Her smile faded a little, still lingering at the corners of her mouth, but tinged with clear sorrow. "Max won't wake up. I couldn't find her."

"What do you mean you couldn't find her? Did they move her to a different hospital?"

Shaking her head, she explained, "In her head. I looked for her, but she wasn't there."

Could that happen? They'd said she was stable, despite her extensive injuries, but what the hell did I know compared to a girl with mind powers? "Um, can you do me a favor?" When she nodded, I asked quietly, "Can you check in Kelly Rose's head? Just to make sure she's okay?"

"What happened to her?"

"She... she saved me," I said, a lump forming in my throat immediately at the memory of that night. "She's got superpowers like you. Henderson said she'd wake up, but it's been too long. To tell you the truth, I'm seriously starting to lose my shit over it."

"Her batteries ran out?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what he said."

Nodding, she replied, "She will be okay. It happens when we use too much power. We have to recharge. It takes a while."

"But she will wake up on her own? You're absolutely, completely, one hundred percent sure?"

With certainty I only wished I could have then, she assured me, "I'm sure. She will be hungry when she wakes up, but she will wake up when she's ready."

"Speaking of hungry," Hopper spoke up from the doorway of Jane's old room, nodding toward the kitchenette, "did you see what's on the counter?" There was a brown to-go bag sitting there, and when Jane opened one of the boxes inside, her eyes filled with tears as she ran to Hopper to hug him. "We made a pit stop at that one diner outside town. Thought we could have a little picnic. I'll grab a blanket, you bring the waffles, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, wiping her eyes with a smile.

The two walked out, only for three more to walk in: Steve, Robin, and Dustin, fresh from their volunteering gig. Dustin hobbled over to me first thing to check on Kelly Rose.

"She's still not up?"

"Not even close, dude."

"Shit," he quietly swore.

"Hey, don't do that to me right now. Jane just got done telling me she'll be fine, don't start messing with my head, man."

"No, no, not about that. I've got a surprise for her and I wanna make sure she's awake before they get here."

"Who's 'they?'"

Before he could answer, faces I desperately wanted to see but wasn't sure I would again came through the door, bringing me to my feet in an instant. First was Gareth, followed closely by Jeff and Doug, with Uncle Wayne bringing up the rear. As soon as they saw me, they all stopped in their tracks. Jeff was the first to speak.

"You look like shit, man."

"Fuck you, asshole."

Breaking into matching grins, with Jeff's making his braces glint in the light, the three came bounding up and pulled me by my shoulders into the tightest group hug I'd ever been a part of. It didn't matter that I was bloodstained and filthy, and definitely looked like shit as Jeff so poetically expressed. They missed me, and I missed them.

"How'd you find me?"

Gareth supplied, "I overheard Henderson talking to your uncle while I was getting my hand fixed up." Lifting it for me to see, it was bandaged thickly with a makeshift splint to support his wrist. "That fuckwad Carver and almost the whole basketball team cornered us during band practice. I'll be able to play again, but not for a while."

"Shit, man. That's my fault, I'm sorry."

"You're not the one who tried to break my hand, dude. You're good."

When they finally let me go, it was Wayne's turn. He hadn't hugged me like this since the day my old man was sentenced.

"Don't you ever run off and scare me like that again, boy. You hear me? Not ever again."

I'd never been so happy to hear that southern twang in my whole life, and that's why it pained me so much to have to disappoint him on top of everything I already put him through that week. "I wish I could make that promise, but I can't."

Before Wayne could question me, Doug's gasp caught my attention. "What's she doing here?!"

Suddenly, they were acting like they'd all been caught with their pants down, trying to straighten up their hair and clothes. "You wouldn't even believe me if I told you."

"Try us."

"Try me first," Wayne broke in. "Where in the hell have you been?"

"I can't tell you; but I wasn't alone, don't worry. She was with me the whole time."

"You're a goddamn liar," Gareth pointed his finger right in my face.

"He's not," Dustin answered for me. "I was there too. She really was with him every step of the way."

"The way to where, exactly?" Wayne was refusing to give up.

"Look, I'm not sure how much I can say right now. Got any cigarettes?"

Wayne nodded and gestured toward the door. "Let's go out there and talk a little, leave the Three Stooges here to make themselves at home."

"Hey," Doug complained, insulted.

"Henderson, you're in charge. Take care of my girl and get me if she moves even a little bit."

"YOUR GIRL?!" the three burst at once.

Shooting them a sly grin over my shoulder, I followed Wayne out to the front yard. I caught a glimpse of Nancy and Jonathan talking in hushed tones as they worked on nailing up the facade, neither seemingly thrilled to see the other. Yeah, Steve would be just fine if he ever managed to pull his head out of his ass. From personal experience, I knew that was easier said than done, but I was the one who got the girl and he didn't, so I felt qualified to judge him a bit.

After our cigarettes were lit, Wayne said, "Now, tell me what the fuck happened to you. You know how worried I've been? You know how long I've been looking for you? You didn't call, you didn't leave a note, just a dead girl in my goddamn living room. You know we've lost the whole trailer now, right?"

Wayne always knew just how to make me feel like I was an inch tall, but only when I deserved it. And when he put it like that, I could admit I seriously fucking deserved it. "I'll tell you as much as I can, and the only reason I have to leave some things out is 'cause I don't wanna make more trouble for you than I already—"

"Fuck that. The least you owe me is an explanation and you're gonna goddamn well give me one. I got a full pack and nowhere to be."

"Alright, alright, just... just wait until the end before you give me the third degree." If there was one person in the world I couldn't lie to, it was Wayne. Well, I'm sure Kelly Rose would say I couldn't lie to anybody that well, but especially not to Wayne. I told him about almost everything. I left out anything having to do with Kelly Rose directly, like finding Rick's cash and her powers, and of course I couldn't tell him about the Upside Down or Vecna. When it came time to explain about dying and coming back, I had to get especially creative. I felt like I was sweating bullets as I told him, "When the Creel House was destroyed, there was a fire, and I got caught in it getting everybody else out. But Kelly Rose wouldn't leave me, not even when I was trying to save her. I ended up collapsing from the smoke, and she saved me instead. She used to be a lifeguard, Red Cross certified and everything, so she did CPR on me." Now that I was past the lies and half-truths, I could tell Wayne was fully convinced. It should've made me feel relieved, but it only made me sick to my stomach, lying so much to the man I respected most. I started to get choked up remembering what I could of the next part, though, because it was the first time I didn't have to lie and could process a little of what happened to me. "Even when my heart stopped, she wouldn't give up on me, Wayne. She didn't give up on me for one second that whole night, or any other night either. I don't even know how long I was gone for, but it was long enough that anybody else would've admitted defeat and saved themselves. It didn't matter to her, though. She wasn't leaving without me, and she brought me back."

"It's true, sir." We both looked up to find Dustin, Jeff, Doug, and Gareth in the window, obviously eavesdropping. The band was in complete shock and not doing anything to hide it. In fact, everyone was listening in, even Mrs. Byers and the weird reporter. "It's all true. I... I was there. I tried to get her to leave. It was too dangerous to stay, but no matter what I said, she wouldn't listen. I thought she was gonna hurt me at one point over it, actually. But if she'd listened to me, Eddie wouldn't be here right now. She did chest compressions until she passed out. That's why she's still out cold. But because she did that, Eddie got both of us out just in time. We owe our lives to her and Eddie. Your nephew is a hero, sir, not some killer. He's my hero."

Wayne Munson could be a hard man to read at the best of times, but the tears gathering along his lower lashes were plain to see. "Well," he said, clearing his throat, "I asked for an explanation, and I got it. Now, aren't you supposed to be on guard duty, young man?"

Nodding, Dustin ducked his head back into the cabin, and the rest followed. Those who were outside pretended to go back to their original conversations or admire the sunset as it bathed the forest around us in pure gold.

"I'll understand if you never forgive me. I shouldn't have ran away, and I shouldn't have left you to find Chrissy and wonder what happened to me, but I didn't know what else to do. I panicked. I'm... I'm so fucking sorry. For everything, Wayne. And I promise, I'll get you a new place, a new truck, whatever you need."

Wayne was a fast smoker. He told me once he learned to be during 'Nam. So, when he finished his cigarette well before I finished mine, he pulled me into a hug that made my back pop all over it was so tight. "I'm just glad you're alright, you knucklehead. You're all I've got. If something happened to you, I wouldn't forgive myself, so I guess I can at least forgive you now that I know you're in one piece."

Careful of the ash from my burning cigarette, I patted him on the back. "I missed you."

"And I missed the hell outta you, too." When he pulled away from me, he continued, "Now, am I right to guess that little girl in there is the same Kelly you've been yammering about for the last three months?"

I couldn't stop my proud grin just at the mention of her. "The very same."

"How in the world did you go from her not even speaking to you to all this?"

"What can I say? You always told me my winning personality would take me places one day."

"I didn't mean here, but I guess that's my fault for not being more specific," he chuckled lowly, gesturing around us. "Well, since you spent all week with her, what's she like? Everything you hoped?"

"Wayne, I say this without an ounce of hyperbole: she's so much more than I ever could've known to hope for," I replied with a broad grin. "She blows my mind every single day. She's exactly as cool as she always seemed in school, but she's a nerd like me, too. She knows Tolkien frontwards and backwards. She basically knows how to play every game in the world and win, too. She smokes Virginia Slims like a lady but drinks whiskey straight like a man. And by God, she could make a sailor blush with that foul mouth of hers. There's nobody else like her in the whole goddamn world, and if you thought I was obsessed before, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'll never love anyone else for the rest of my days. I can't love anyone else now that I have her." The vision of what I hoped was my future with her came to the forefront of my mind. "I know I owe her my life now and everything, but it was already hers to begin with."

"I'm sure it helps that she's a real looker, too," Wayne smirked fondly down at me.

"There's never been anyone so beautiful in the world before and there'll never be again. You remember when I told you about the High Elves in The Lord of the Rings? I call her Elbereth— that's their favorite goddess. She's even more beautiful and strong than they could ever be."

"That's the highest praise you've given anybody before. Makes me feel a little better knowing you've been in good hands all this time. Now, why're you covered in blood?"

Before I could even begin to make something up, Dustin stuck his head out the window and screamed, "EDDIE, COME QUICK! SHE'S MOVING!"

The cigarette fell from my lip as I ran for the door. "Don't start a forest fire now!" I heard Wayne behind me as he stomped out the lit cherry I left behind. I couldn't care less, though. My Kelly Rose was showing her first signs of life in almost two days. A team of wild horses couldn't have kept me from her.

I almost fell right on my ass when I skid to a full stop in front of the sofa. Her brow was furrowed and her eyelids were fluttering. Her head was tilting like she was uncomfortable propped up on the arm of the couch with no pillow, and she probably was. The tiniest groan escaped her lips as they parted, the first sound I'd heard from her since I laid dying. It was sweeter than any music I'd ever heard.

Slowly, she fought her own eyes to open them as they rolled uncooperatively in their sockets. She dazedly found the wood beams above her, but she couldn't seem to focus or fully wake.

"Kelly Rose? Can you hear me? Kelly Rose?"

"Kelly Rose?" Jeff lisped in disbelief right behind me.

Waving him off with one hand, I crouched beside her and used the other to bring her knuckles to my lips, kissing them fervently. "Kelly Rose, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand or something. I'm right here, just let me know you're okay."

A couple of minutes passed as her senses slowly returned to her. In that time, most everyone had gathered again in the cabin, and with nothing else to do, they were all gawking at her as they waited for her to respond in some way.

When she finally seemed to come back to herself, eyes still heavy despite how long she was out for, she turned her head and smiled sleepily at me. "Morning, baby." The smile slipped as the glazed-over look left her eyes. They started flitting across my face, then down to my torso, all the way to the bloody tears in the sides of my shirt where the demobats attacked. Dark green eyes now as wide as saucers, she whispered, "Eddie?"

"I'm here."

"Eddie?"

"It's me."

"Oh, God, Eddie!" she wailed as she used what little strength she had to throw her arms around me and pull me as close as possible. I immediately returned her embrace, wrapping both of my arms around her slight frame and crushing her to my chest. "You—! You—!"

"I know. Henderson told me."

"Where is he?! Is he alright?!" she asked in a panic.

"I'm here, Birdy," Dustin answered, limping to my side and taking his cap off so she could see him clearly.

"Oh, God, Dustin! I was so horrible to you! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" she sobbed, keeping one arm around me as she reached for him too.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay! I'm not mad at you. There's nothing to be sorry for."

She pulled him into her chest, laying her cheek against his curly head. "I would've never forgiven myself if something happened to you."

"You're the reason nothing happened to me. You did even more than you knew. You saved us, Birdy."

From a few feet away, Doug could clearly be heard saying in shock, "I feel like I'm in an alternate universe or something." When his words caught up to her, Kelly burst into tears and held us all the tighter. "Shit! Was it something I said?" From either side of him, Jeff and Gareth punched him in both arms. "Ow!"

That was the moment Uncle Wayne chose to lumber up to us, and apparently it wasn't the best idea. He was hulking in his height, and Kelly Rose's line of sight was completely taken up by him. They'd never met, and when she saw his stern face, she gasped and got to her feet, even though she was trembling like a leaf all over after almost two full days with no food or water. Her hand went to her pocket, and out came her knife, the blade flashing golden red as the last rays of sun fell below the horizon. Even though her hand was anything but steady, she held it in a white-knuckled grip, ready to use it at a second's notice.

"Stay behind me," she told us lowly, gaze locked unblinkingly with Wayne's, daring him with her eyes to try something against us. He took another slow step forward— trying to seem friendly and failing miserably at it— and she adjusted her stance to match him. "Get the fuck back, asshole. I'll pop you like a goddamn balloon," she snarled, chest heaving.

It didn't matter if she was exhausted with only a little knife to defend us. It didn't matter that Wayne was so much physically larger and more intimidating than her. She was prepared to put up a fight once again for me and Dustin. It was the bats all over. God, I love this woman. "Sweetheart?" She didn't break eye contact. "Kelly Rose? That's my uncle, Wayne Munson. Wayne, this is Kelly Rose Turner, the love of my life."

Hearing that, she gasped shakily and immediately put the knife away. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, sir. Please forgive me, it's been a really long week and—"

She was cut off by him enveloping her in a bear hug that almost knocked the wind out of her. "Don't you dare be sorry for protecting my boy. I owe you a debt I can never repay. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down, and looking into her eyes with tears in his own, he continued, "If you ever need anything, you come straight to me, little girl. You hear me? Anything. You're family now."

"Thank you, sir," she whispered. It was clear on her face how surprised and touched she was by the sentiment, especially immediately after she had threatened him as viciously as she could muster.

"I mean it. Don't hesitate."

"I won't, sir."

"It's Uncle Wayne to you. Now, here's the number of the hotel I got put up in. All you have to do is ask for me if you need something, alright? Don't be a stranger." Wayne handed her the card of his hotel and she put it in the same pocket as her knife. When he hugged me goodbye, he whispered in my ear, "I see what you mean about that mouth on her. She's a real keeper. Do right by her, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, don't you start with that." Before he turned to leave, he put something in my hand. It was my broken pick necklace. "We'll get you a new chain, don't worry."

"But my—"

"Your guitars are in my hotel room as we speak, don't worry," he winked conspiratorially.

Grinning, I pointed and said, "You're the man, Wayne."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Wayne's leaving allowed another reunion to take place; one so long in coming I couldn't even begin to understand, but watching it unfold warmed my heart and almost every heart in the room.

Stepping out from behind Chief Hopper, Jane took a couple hesitant steps forward. "Hi," she said, quiet and cautious.

Gasping as fresh tears instantly welled up in her eyes again, Kelly Rose asked, "Sister?"

Jane nodded, "Sister. I'm Jane."

Kelly Rose stumbled toward the nervous girl. "I'm Kelly." They grabbed onto one another like each were a lifeline, and Kelly Rose fell hard to her knees from the weakness of her limbs catching up to her, taking Jane to the floor with her. Neither seemed to care, though. "God, I'm sorry! I should never've left you all alone. I didn't know, I'm so sorry!"

"I didn't know either. I'm sorry too," Jane cried.

Lifting up her face with shaking hands, Kelly Rose swiped the tears from her sister's reddened cheeks. "It wasn't your job to know. I was the big sister. I was supposed to protect you."

"You tried. Papa showed me. You did everything you could."

Recognition came to Kelly Rose's gaze. "The man with the white hair?" Jane nodded in confirmation. Kelly Rose laid a gentle hand on the back of her sister's shaved head. "Did he do this to you?"

Crying hard now, this time with despair, Jane nodded again. "He drugged me. He did it while I was sleeping."

Kelly Rose pulled her close so that she could cry into her shoulder. "But you got away?"

"Yes. Papa... Papa is dead."

"You're sure?"

All she could do was nod, she was crying so hard now. Sniffling, Kelly Rose lifted her face with hands full of care and pressed her forehead to Jane's. "I promise I'll protect you now. I've gotten a lot better at it, I swear."

With a watery chuckle, Jane nodded toward everyone standing behind her. "So have I."

Kelly Rose kissed her forehead. "Of course you have. You're all grown up now." Brushing a hand over the top of Jane's head, she continued with as genuine smile as she could give through her tears, "You're so pretty."

"Thanks," Jane smiled shyly. "I want you to meet my mom and dad, and my brothers."

"Hi," said Mrs. Byers with a kind smile.

"Hey, kid," Hopper said, warmer than I'd ever heard him before.

Before either of the Byers boys could speak, though, the reporter who'd been lingering in the back corner finally announced himself by saying, "Well, well, well. It seems there really isn't a God after all if we're back under the same roof. Or maybe, just maybe, God just hates me in particular."

"Uncle Murray!" Kelly Rose cheered in delight, quickly wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand. How the hell did she know this washed up weirdo?

"Don't call me that!" he admonished, pointing. "It's Mr. Bauman."

"But you know that doesn't work. What'll I call Mr. Bauman, then?" she asked, a teasing glint in her eyes I didn't understand but was relieved beyond words to see.

"You'll call him nothing, because that's exactly what he is and has always been!" he replied heatedly.

"Still living in your brother's shadow, I see. Careful, you'll grow mold that way. Actually, is that why you're even balder than last time I saw you? And what'd you do to your face? Not your best look."

"Oh, you little—!"

When Kelly Rose tried to stand to face him, she fell almost immediately. It was then I noticed she was still breathing hard, and her head lowered as she tried to catch her breath. I took a knee by her side before I even realized I was off the couch. "Kelly Rose?"

"Shit, we totally forgot," Dustin said, making his way past everyone to the bag from Melvald's. In quick succession he tossed me a 3 Musketeers bar and a New Coke that Lucas had neglected to drink. "She needs to recharge. Make sure she finishes both of those."

"But New Coke is just plain wrong," she complained weakly.

"Drink it this one time and I'll never make you again."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I popped the tab and unwrapped the bar for her. "Not too quick, you haven't had anything in a while. Take your time."

"How long was I out?"

"Two days." Wincing at my answer, she brought the can to her lips. Her whole face scrunched up at the taste. She used the bar as a chaser as she worked her way through the can, but in a couple minutes she was finished and already had the rosy glow back in her cheeks. "Feel a little better?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Good," Murray smiled sarcastically down at her. "Now, as I was saying—"

Once again he was cut off, but this time it was from a car horn coming up the road. Hava Nagila rang out over the hill into the early twilight, announcing the arrival of someone or someones I definitely didn't know. Kelly Rose seemed to, though, and so did Murray; both looked wide-eyed toward the only door of the cabin, but Kelly Rose grinned bigger than even I'd seen from her before, while Murray's jaw went slack in enraged disbelief.

Her head whipping toward Dustin, she gasped in pure joy, "They answered?"

Smiling from ear to ear with how pleased he was with himself, he said simply, "Just like you said they would."

I was definitely missing something here, and when I caught the look on Steve's face, I knew I wasn't the only one who didn't like being out of the loop. Before I could ask, though, Kelly Rose was sprinting out the door like she hadn't just been on the verge of fainting only moments ago with Dustin hot on her heels despite his injury. The rest of us followed, curious and confused in equal measure.

Now parked in front of the cabin was a gleaming black Duesenberg. It was elongated in a way I'd only seen on limos, but it was broad, too, and looked as sturdy as a brick shithouse. It was the showiest, flashiest, most bizarre thing on white-walled wheels I'd ever seen. The driver's side door opened to reveal a black loafer hitting the ground that was just as shiny as the car, then another. They matched a black suit and bow tie, while a red pocket square and rose on the lapel brought contrast to the ensamble. From the passenger side came an almost identical outfit, worn by an almost identical dude to the first, except he had an ascot around his neck. They even pushed their Coke-bottle glasses up their noses the same judgmental way as they looked at the cabin with matching critical eyes.

I knew at first glance that I hated these fancy fuckers.

"Boys!" Kelly called in elation, bouncing where she stood in excitement like a kid in a candy shop.

"Today's the day, Birdy," the driver announced with a shit-eating grin. Opening the closest back passenger door, suicide doors no less, he showed gigantic brown paper bags surrounding a black trash bag in a semicircle. The smell of hot Chinese food and weed filled the air. "We're two for two."

"Two for two?! Really?!"

Holding up yet another bag of Chinese food from behind his back, the other one crowed triumphantly, "Two for fucking two, doll!"

Squealing, she got a running start and threw her arms and legs around the driver before grabbing the face of the other to lay a loud kiss on both of their brows. My fists clenched so hard that my rings bit into me.

"Ah HA!" cried Murray, stepping out from behind the crowd with his finger leveled at the three. "This is it! Finally, I've got you little shits! You're dead meat when I tell your parents you stole the Dues, and took it across state lines no less! I can even call the police!"

"Uncle Murray!" they shouted in glee. Kelly Rose hopped back down so that they could hug their uncle. Only, after the hug, they both slung their arms around his neck on opposite sides, pulled him down into a headlock, and noogied him in unison.

"Get the hell off me!" Murray said as he struggled out of their grips. "I'll tell your parents about that too!"

"Murray, Murray, Murray. Here you are playing checkers when it's been a game of chess all along," the driver tsked. "You said none of it could be done, so of course, we've done it all."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"We're two for two."

"Bullshit."

"Bullshit on your bullshit. We've got the acceptance letters to prove it."

The other said, his grin just as shit-eating as the first one's, "You told us the Duesenberg would never be ours, but if you take a quick gander at the registration in the glove box, you'll find Davey's name instead of Dad's." That's when it all clicked in my head. These assholes were Dave and Jake, the ones Dustin wouldn't tell me or Steve about. I turned to face Steve just as he turned to me. We got it at the same time, and neither of us were happy about it. "You said I'd never be able to graduate at the same time as Davey, and I am. And you said we'd never get into MIT, but miracle of miracles, we have."

"Bull. Shit!"

"The glove box holds all the answers you seek, Uncle Murray. Read 'em and weep," Dave grinned. "But first, have a cigar. They're dear old Dad's finest Cubans, the ones he never lets you touch when you visit. That you can tell on us for, but nobody likes a tattletale, you know. Besides, I don't think he'll much care once he sees those official seals."

Because I was looking at Steve, I caught the suspicious glance Nancy shot at Jonathan, who was studiously focusing on his shoes. Steve didn't catch it, unfortunately. What he did catch was the moment Murray flew into a complete rage and tried to charge his nephews. I managed to look in time to see Jake flip him over his shoulder onto the ground like he didn't even weigh an ounce, not a curl or rose petal out of place as he did so.

As Murray lay there, groaning hoarsely now that the air had been forced from his lungs, Jake added snarkily, "You also said we'd never be better than you at karate. That's four to nil, in case you were wondering."

"Come on, up you get," Dave said jovially, offering his hand to Murray. Despite not being able to breathe, he still smacked the offered hand away. I would've too. "Aw, come on, don't be like that. This is a time for celebration! We got into our dream school and now we've got our best girl back! Isn't life just grand, Uncle Murray?"

Best girl? The thought rattled around in my head until I was ready to hit something. Specifically, Dave Bauman's fucking face.

When Murray still either refused to get up or simply couldn't yet, it was hard to say, the brothers waved him off in favor of sweeping up Dustin in their whirlwind of sleazy charisma. Hopper and Mrs. Byers approached him in concern, and I heard him wheeze, "... Used to have... all my hair... before those shits... were born."

"Henderson! Don't think we've forgotten you," Jake grinned. "Join our feast, we've much to discuss. What a year it's been since Camp Knowhere."

"You don't even know the half of it," Dustin shook his head, practically falling into their open arms in apparent relief. He'd never done anything like that with me before. And by the looks of it, he hadn't with Steve, either. He was actually turning red he was so pissed, and I wouldn't be surprised if I had too.

"First," Dave began, "who'd like a cigar? Ma'am?" He offered one from a monogrammed sterling silver case to Mrs. Byers.

"Oh, no thanks," she answered bashfully. Was she actually taken in by this asshole? How was that even possible?

"Sir?"

"Don't mind if I do, kid."

"Please, call me Dave. And you are?" He offered his hand to shake.

Hopper took it and shook very firmly, his usual intimidation tactic on the youth of the town. It didn't seem to work this time. "Chief Jim Hopper. I could arrest you for that weed, you know."

"Hopper the Big Bopper! You could indeed, sir, but why ruin your own good time? It's for everyone, after all." Dave pulled a cigar cutter from the other side of the silver case and prepped Hopper's cigar with precision. He looked impressed. Fuck.

"For everyone, you say?" It was the first time the Californian had spoken to anyone outside of the Byers and the Wheelers, straightening his visor in interest. "Now that's some real generosity, my dudes."

"Absolutely!" Jake answered. "We call it Chihuahua Chill. We get it by the pound in Mexico when we go for tennis tournaments. The head high is fun without causing any pesky paranoia, while the body high is relaxing, almost tingly. You seem like a man of discerning taste, my dude; feel free to help yourself."

Just as Jonathan was about to follow his friend to the car to check out the largest stash of weed any of us had seen before, Nancy smacked him on the chest and scolded, "Jonathan!"

"Yeah, Jonathan! What the hell? And in front of your siblings?" His mother asked, apparently shocked that he'd show any interest in it at all. Who couldn't look at him, no less smell him, and not know immediately that he's a stoner?

I thought I couldn't be shocked by much else until Hopper teased, lit cigar between his teeth, "Lay off him, Joyce. How's about I teach you to roll a jay like I promised in high school?"

"I told you no then, too."

"That was then, this is now. Come on."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she did end up trailing behind him to the opened car door. Her children, including Jane, were as gobsmacked as the rest of us.

"No! No, no, no, you can't be goddamn serious! Jim, you're supposed to be the authority figure here!" Apparently Murray's outrage was enough to get him back on his feet and shouting at full volume again.

"Murray, we passed my grave on the way here. I'm supposed to be dead, so I'm absolved of any kind of authority for the time being. Either shut your mouth or put a cigar in it."

"Give me that!" Murray snatched the case from Dave's hand. In his haste, he cut his cigar at an angle and too high above the cap, ruining the way it would burn and taste once lit.

"Tsk, tsk, Murray," Jake shook his head. "It's exactly that kind of careless sloppiness that keeps you from finding a meaningful relationship. A delicate touch would go a long way for you, you know."

"Speaking of a delicate touch," Dave threw in, "what the hell did you do to your face? If you're trying something new, next time, don't."

Murray turned red from the top of his head to where his neck disappeared under his shirt. "Jim, if you're not going to enforce the law or even basic decency anytime soon, I'm taking the opportunity to murder these two with my bare hands."

"You've already proven you can't, but you're welcome to try again whenever you like," Jake invited. "You'll have to get a lot quicker and sneakier to pull that off, though. Channel your inner hobbit."

"That reminds me! How could we forget already?" Dave jogged to the passenger side and rifled in the glove compartment for a moment before producing a carved wooden pipe so long that it belonged in The Lord of the Rings.

"You brought Bilbo!" Kelly Rose burst out in glee.

"Pre-packed with a new screen and everything. And we've got Sting too, of course. I hope you've been keeping that famous backhand of yours sharp, you're gonna need it whenever we can find a court. Anybody here play doubles? No?"

With a giggle, she bounced up to him and kissed his cheek on tiptoe before collecting her pipe. It was the last goddamn straw for me. As I stepped up to intervene, her eyes met mine, and a twinkle came to them just at the sight of me that could've rivaled any star in the sky above us. It made my heart race, reminding me that I owed that heartbeat to her. "Where have my manners gotten to? Boys, this is my man." Without missing a beat, she encircled my neck with her pink leather clad arms and kissed me deep in front of everyone. Her back was to her boys, but I peaked and had a clear view of how they were first stunned, then livid by our kiss. I couldn't help but smirk as I dipped her low and slipped my tongue in her mouth, kissing her with everything I had. It was our first since she saved me. I had to make it worth all the trouble, right? I wasn't being selfish or petty if she'd already earned it, obviously. Especially not when she returned it just as eagerly. I kissed my way down her neck before licking all the way back up again in a single stripe in the center of her throat. "Eddie!" she squealed with a laugh, the same way she would when I'd pick her up. I loved all her laughs, but that one was my absolute favorite of all.

When I pulled her upright again, I kept my left arm around her waist as I offered them my right hand, her arms still around my neck and her smile a mile wide as she looked up at me. I could feel her spit still coating my lips as I grinned, "Hey. Eddie Munson."

They looked at my hand like I'd presented them with a dead rat or something. But, at Kelly's shining eyes and hopeful smile, they each shook my hand in turn. They tried to play the game where they'd squeeze me until my fingers hurt, but I was ready for them, and turned the tables right away. Their hands flexed uncomfortably after I let them go. I won that round, and I'd just have to keep on winning until they learned their place compared to Kelly Rose's man.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Dave said for the both of them, as far from charmed as humanly possible. That was just fine, though, since the feeling was completely fucking mutual.

Just to be extra annoying, because it was one of my specialties when it came to assholes I didn't like, I said, "Funny, she said the same thing when we met." Clapping him hard on the shoulder, I went on, "Guess you'll just have to warm up to me like she did."

"Speaking of warming up; come on, baby, light my fire," she grinned with a nod toward her pipe, quoting The Doors.

"With pleasure, my love." Using the lighter I swiped from Wayne, I sparked her up as she puffed until the bowl was properly lit. She blew a smoke ring right in my face. I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt.

"Okay, please don't take offense Kelly, but I really do feel like I woke up in the Twilight Zone today," Doug said from the porch. Expecting another round of tears, Jeff and Gareth slugged him again. "Ow! I know you guys agree, though!"

"Gentlemen," Kelly Rose began, disentangling herself from my grasp— much to my immense regret— to face them, "what if I told you that you did, in fact, wake up in the Twilight Zone?"

"Where're you going with this, Birdy?"

Just as Dave asked the question on everyone's minds, snow— no, ash started to fall from the sky as black clouds rolled in rapidly overhead and blocked the stars from view. An acrid smell filled the air, absolutely putrid and unlike any scent I'd ever encountered. Kelly Rose looked at the Baumans, recognition turning their faces grim, even Murray's.

"Burning monkeys," they all said at the same time.

"What the fuck's that mean?" I asked.

"We used to live on Fort Detrick," Kelly Rose started.

"It's the bio-warfare center for the entire United States military," Jake supplied.

Dave went on, "They do all kinds of batshit crazy experiments there. It's where anthrax was developed into a bio-weapon for the first time. They do the experiments primarily on monkeys, and when they're done with them, they burn them. It's just like this, sans the ash raining down. You can smell it across the whole base as soon as they start."

There was a spot where the trees formed a path that led to a hill overlooking all of Hawkins. Rather than moving away from the source of the horrible smell, Kelly Rose and the Baumans went toward it, and the rest of us trailed cautiously behind, disconcerted from their explanation. The town was alight with the burning fissions in the earth, running in four jagged lines from where the gates had formed to combine where the Hawkins Public Library once stood proudly in the center of town. From the cracks that led directly to the Upside Down, black swirling particles were rising up into the air and forming low-hanging clouds, making the dark night even darker despite the many lights from the houses and business below.

"You think something's being burned?" I asked, laying my right hand on Kelly Rose's shoulder in support. My mood ring was as blue as the night around us should've been.

"No. Something's being forged," she answered. Creeping up the hill came a gray blight that killed the grass and wildflowers there. It stopped only feet away from where we stood. Looking over her opposite shoulder at the rest of the group, she said, her eyes as steely as her voice, "Welcome to the Twilight Zone, ladies and gentlemen."

None of us noticed Will Byers staring worriedly at the cloud directly over our heads, rubbing the back of his neck.

[livpet]

Venus in Furs Chapter Eleven: Stairway to Heaven

Thursday, March 27th, 1986.

“NOOOO!”

The scream of aggrieved horror that tore from Kelly’s throat echoed far and wide across the wastes of the Upside Down, nestling into all the darkest crevices and hollows in the farthest reaches of Hawkins where evil things lay dormant and waiting. It even reached the Creel House, alerting Steve, Robin, and Nancy.

“GOD, NO! EDDIE! EDDIE, PLEASE!” Even with bloodied hands, she cradled his head against her breast, rocking and shaking as she howled her lament. “I’LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING! DON’T LEAVE ME!”

“Kelly,” whimpered Dustin, distraught beyond any sadness he had ever felt before. “Kelly, he’s gone. We gotta go and find the others.”

Dustin’s words, despite being gentle, turned her blood to ice water in her veins. “He’s gone…. He’s gone….”

“NO! I WON’T LEAVE HIM! I WILL NEVER LEAVE HIM! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”

Trying to get through to her, he said, “Birdy—”

“I SWORE I’D CARRY HIM OUT OF HERE IF I HAVE TO! TO MORDOR AND BACK! AND I WILL!”

Suddenly, the earth beneath them shook violently, far more violently than any of the prior earthquakes that had occurred there the previous night. In a sudden explosion of fire and lava, a fission formed from the gate in the Munson trailer, collapsing it in a matter of seconds, and spread quickly in the direction of the town. Kelly, driven to protect him even in death, held onto Eddie’s body with one arm and pulled Dustin into her side with the other to keep him out of the path of certain destruction. The heat, even from a safe distance, was intense and suffocating. The smell of brimstone filled the air as noxious fumes rose from the crack. Their only way home was no more. Vecna’s vision had come to pass, and it would only be the beginning.

The new danger they found themselves in forced Kelly back into a state of awareness. She was the only adult Dustin had to rely on then, and she had to ensure his safety. It was what Eddie would have wanted her to do, as heart-shattering as it was to admit. “Dustin,” she sniffled, “use your walkie talkie. Find out if everyone’s okay.”

Dustin had not even considered his walkie talkie, too shaken by the apocalyptic devastation they were facing on top of their grief. Tremulously, he took it in hand and called into the receiver, “Mayday, mayday, w-we have a man down. I repeat, we… we have a man down, over.” His only answer was static. “I repeat, mayday! Man down! Come in all units! Do you copy?!”

To Dustin, it felt as if the static was taunting him, rubbing salt into wounds that surely would never heal. To Kelly, though, it almost seemed to call to her, brushing the edges of her subconscious in the same way the busy signal from Max’s phone had that morning. It was reaching, guiding, and centering all at once. It filled her ears until her mind locked onto a feeling she could not remember, but somehow knew as well as any other part of herself.

That was when she felt it. A featherlight touch between her mind and Eddie’s. The rest of his body had succumbed to his injuries, but his brain was still alive and active.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped so sharply it hurt. “Eddie! I can feel him! He’s in there!”

“What…? Don’t….” Dustin shook his head, fresh tears falling from his blue eyes, “Don’t say shit like that. Don’t be mean.”

“I’m not! He’s in there, Dustin! I feel it! He’s in there!”

“Kelly, stop! Just stop! We have to go, I told him I’d take care of you!”

“Turn up the static!”

When Dustin did not move, only stared at her in mouth-agape disbelief, she snatched the walkie talkie from his hand and turned the dial to maximum volume, smearing Eddie’s blood all over it in the process. The higher volume made the feeling even stronger, tangibly so, as if she could reach out and touch it if she wanted to. And she wanted to more than anything.

Instincts that had long lain dormant within her came back to the surface all at once. No pocket knives, or bolt cutters, or briefcases full of money would save her Eddie now. Only she could, even if it might kill her in the attempt. She would gladly make that trade if it came to it. Gently, she lowered Eddie back to the ground and placed the walkie talkie beside his head, then straddled him. His blood soaked through her jeans.

“What’re you—?”

“Listen to me and listen to me good, Henderson. You know which pocket I keep my cigarettes in?” He nodded slowly, looking at her as if she were a random madwoman accosting him. “Grab ‘em.” He did not move. “Grab. Them. Now!”

Rather than reaching for her pocket, he reached for her shoulder instead. “I know you’re hurting. I am too. But this isn’t gonna help anything,” he wept. “Get off him and let’s find everybody. They might be hurt… or worse.”

Deep within, something snapped, and any civility she had been attempting left her. There was no time to waste, yet it seemed like that was all he wanted to do. She could not stand it for even a second longer. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt with both bloody hands, she hauled him to eye-level with her. “You’re not fucking listening! Grab ‘em!” Now visibly afraid of her, he fumbled until he had the pack in his hand. “There’re two papers in there, one’s for you. You’re gonna take both, but only read yours. Follow the instructions I gave you to the letter. I’ll get Eddie on his feet, and when I do, promise me you’ll make sure he’s the first one out of this hellhole.”

“Kelly—”

“FUCKING PROMISE ME, HENDERSON!” she shouted an inch from his face, teeth bared and contorted features seemingly lit by the very fires of hell itself, shaking him until his teeth rattled.

“Okay! Okay! I promise!”

She shoved him away when she was done with him, and he landed painfully on his injured ankle with a low hiss. “Now, don’t talk.” He immediately opened his mouth to speak. “Not one goddamn word!” He jaw shut with a click.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself somewhat, she placed her hands on either side of his head. Before she began, she kissed his bandana-covered forehead, bringing to her mind their every memory shared. From the first day of the semester, being so annoyed by him; to the day before Spring Break, when she was so angry and embarrassed at his antics that she licked him in front of everyone, just to get as much of a rise out of him as he had from her; to their days at Rick’s, talking, playing, laughing, and making love every chance they got; to their last day, their last words, the terror and the bravery and the love that filled her to bursting for him. Every emotion she had ever felt for and with him flowed through her at once, the strongest being overwhelming love and loyalty even in all her uncontrollable rage and sorrow. When she straightened, she closed her eyes and focused solely on the static coming through the speaker. Blood dripped first from one nostril, then the other, as she channeled her heightening power straight into his skull. She started with his brainstem, remembering from Anatomy class that it controlled the vitals of the body. From there it became easier and easier to pinpoint each region of the brain, strengthening them, reversing any damage done in the absence of blood flow and oxygen. Through his brain, she could reach the rest of him and heal his every hurt. She emptied his lungs until they were even clearer than they had been when the day began, and filled the holes in his sides with sheer will. No matter how deep an injury ran, it could not escape her notice now, and she pieced him back together until she was certain he would not only survive, but thrive. Not one bruise or scrape remained on his entire body, with no scars to give away what had transpired on that cursed night in that cursed place.

Dustin could only watch in silent awe at the scene unfolding before him then. He realized Nancy really had been right that morning in Max’s living room; Kelly was, in fact, one of the experiments from the Hawkins Laboratory, just like Eleven. As she drew more and more power for her impossible cause, all of the dim streetlights on the road slowly grew brighter and brighter overhead, until their light was even stronger than that of the fiery pit nearby, as if they were a constellation of brilliant stars being born for the first time in the Upside Down. Kelly began to cry again, and the lights twinkled with every new tear shed. Then, she threw her head back and roared to the heavens, using every ounce of her remaining life force to restore Eddie’s to its fullest capacity. Scarlet lightning split the sky, and the streetlights exploded in pairs on either side of the road, beginning at the very end of the street and rapidly making their way straight toward them. When the final bulbs blew, raining down glass upon them, Dustin ducked and covered his head only to find that grass had grown beneath him. In fact, now surrounding Kelly and Eddie was a protective ring of quickly blooming red roses, their thorns growing elongated and sharp. Inside the circle, Eddie now laid on a bed of wildflowers. Together, they smelled like Kelly’s usual combination of Shalimar perfume, Love’s Baby Soft deodorant, and Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo, purifying the poisonous air swirling around them. It was then that Kelly’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed in a heap beside Eddie, the wildflowers cushioning her fall. The glass that had fallen to the ground sunk down into the grass and the roots of the flowers, absorbed like none of it had been there to begin with. Dustin had only seen one thing capable of such before: Kelly had opened a new gate.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was standing outside one of the houses in Loch Nora. You could always tell a Loch Nora house right away; the architect who built the neighborhood had done it to his wife’s exacting specifications and named it after her. This house, though, was especially familiar, but I just couldn’t put my finger on why. The door was wide open for me. I smelled something baking. Inside, the radio was on, This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads playing quietly in what had to be the kitchen. I could hear my Kelly Rose, too. I walked in, and her head popped up from around the corner. She was holding a phone to her ear, but the moment she saw me, she lit up like the Fourth of July, revealing that megawatt smile I loved so much.

“He just got home, let me call you back later. Give Vicky my love!” She hung up, and came bounding into the foyer toward me. She was a vision in a sundress as white as her flowing hair, her stomach rounded, her face aglow. She hopped right up into my arms and kissed me deep in greeting. “You’re just in time, I’ve got your guitar all ready for you and the pie’s in the oven.”

“Huh?” was all I could get out in my delight and confusion.

“For the interview, baby! I know you’re on a time crunch, let me grab it.” Back on her feet, she went into a side room that was probably designed to be a study, but was filled with the most beautiful instruments and equipment I’d ever seen, the walls festooned with framed pictures and news articles. I didn’t understand any of it, but I really fucking liked what I saw. One headline that caught my eye, the biggest and boldest of them all, read, MUSICIAN, NOT MONSTER: MUNSON FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES. I wondered what that was about, but the thought quickly left me when she came back into view, my Warlock in her careful hands. “The boys called, they caught an earlier flight, so they’ll meet you there.”

“Who? Meet me where?” I asked, slinging my guitar over my shoulder automatically.

“Were you drinking on the bus?” she giggled, shaking her head at me.

“I’m so fucking confused, but I love you,” I grinned. She laughed harder at me. My grin widened at the sound.

“I love you, but you definitely had too much to drink. You’re supposed to celebrate after the interview. How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.”

“Who’s the president?”

“Reagan, unfortunately.”

She was taken aback by that answer. I couldn’t imagine why, she hated the fucker too. “Do you feel okay? Should I call and postpone?”

“I feel great. But postpone what? What interview?”

“Baby, it’s Rolling Stone. And Clinton’s the president. Seriously, if you aren’t up for it I can call and cancel for you. Everybody’ll understand.” She felt my cheek and forehead with the back of her hand, looking for any sign of a fever.

“You’re fucking with me.”

“Do you remember what year it is?”

“My year; ‘86, baby.” She shook her head and pointed her thumb at the calendar on the wall nearby. It was covered in doodles in every color of the rainbow and reminders on various dates in many different kinds of handwriting, but in clear print, it showed March 1996. “What the fuck?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Look, I’ll just call real quick, and I’ll fix you some soup or something, okay?”

“No, no, really, I’m fine. I guess I just gotta get my head back on straight.”

“Want some coffee? I can put it in a thermos so you can take it with you.”

“Sure, thanks. With a little—”

“Baby, how long have I been making your coffee now? I know how you like it. Come on, sit down for a minute.” She led me by the hand into a kitchen that could have fit my entire trailer inside. She got to work setting up the coffee maker, and as it was brewing, she said, “I’ve been thinking of some names for the baby and I like one a lot, but I don’t think you’ll feel the same.”

Trying to not act too surprised at having it confirmed she was pregnant, no less with my child, I sat down as casually as I could while my knees buckled and answered, “Any names you come up with are great. What is it?”

“Just hear me out before you judge, okay?” When I nodded, she took a deep breath and continued, “I really like John. And I know it’s super common, but it’s not a family name for either of us, so it’ll be a clean slate for him, and so many people we look up to are named that. J. R. R. Tolkien? The J is for John, of course. Ozzy Osbourne? His real name is John. The list goes on forever basically. I want him to feel like he can be anything with his name, from a rock star like his daddy to the president if that’s what he wants. But, what do you think?”

She was so nervous, wringing her hands and biting her lip as she assessed my reaction. I was just thrilled we were having a kid at all, but I could tell there was something else, a reason she hadn’t told me. “There’s more on your mind. What’s up, buttercup?”

Sighing, she admitted, “I bought a baby name book and it has all the meanings in it, too, and I cried when I read John. It means, ‘blessed by God.’ I just… obviously, we’re far from religious, but I want him to know from the very beginning that we love him, and we’ll always love him. I want him to know we chose him. That he was never an accident, or a mistake, or anything less than what he is: a blessing. You can tell me if I’m being stupid about this.”

Standing, I hugged her as tight as I dared in her condition. “You’re never stupid about anything. I like it. I’ll come up with all kinds of nicknames for him.”

When the hug was over, the coffee was ready to be poured. With the pie baking too, the whole place smelled like heaven. A thermos was already on the counter and waiting, covered in stickers, with the biggest being a holographic logo for Corroded Coffin. It looked way better than the shitty spray painted banner hanging in my bedroom. Once it was ready just the way I liked it, she handed it to me with a smile. I kissed her hard, either unwilling or unable to hold back, I didn’t know and I could hardly care when my lips were on hers.

“What was that for?” she giggled as I lingered only an inch away.

“I just fucking love you.”

“And I fucking love you. But are you really sure you’re up for going?”

“Yeah, can’t keep Rolling Stone waiting,” I joked, not believing a word of it.

“Alright, but if you change your mind, just come straight home. The pie will be done and cooled when you get back. Tell Doug it’s his favorite this week.”

“I will. But Jeff and Gareth will be heartbroken.”

“Jeff’s favorite was last week and Gareth’s the week before that. Aren’t they old enough to get how taking turns works?” she grinned good-naturedly.

We walked back to the front door, hand in hand, but when I reached the threshold, I stopped. I had this feeling that if I left, there was a chance that I wouldn’t come back here; that this might all be gone in a blink. It scared me. “Kelly Rose?” She looked up at me, her green eyes bright and shining with clear adoration. I could’ve stood there staring into them for hours and hours. I wondered if our boy would have her eyes or mine, her nose or mine, her smile or mine. I hoped against hope that we would give him the best of both of us, and the best of everything life had to offer. I hoped I was a better dad than my old man ever could’ve dreamed of being. “Is it really okay if I go now?”

“Of course, baby.” She brought me down to her level for one last kiss, taking my hand and placing it over her stomach. “You don’t wanna be late. Johnny and I will be right here waiting for you when you get back.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” she smiled, rubbing her nose against mine.

I went out the door, thermos in hand and my only other sweetheart over my shoulder, and walked to the curb. A gigantic black tour bus with the same logo as the sticker was waiting for me there.

* * *

Eddie’s eyes flew open with a sharp gasp. The lightning above him was red, and the sweltering heat all around him was unbearable, but he was surrounded by the unmistakable scent of his Kelly Rose.

“EDDIE!” Dustin shrieked as he clumsily limped over the ring of roses and pulled Eddie by his jacket into a seated position. Then, he hugged him as if he never wanted to let go.

Dustin cried like a baby into his shoulder, and it reminded Eddie of what he had just seen. Had he dreamed it all? Did he get knocked out? Where was Kelly Rose? “What happened?”

“YOU DIED, YOU FUCKING MORON! YOU DIED! AND IF KELLY HADN’T SAVED YOUR ASS YOU’D STILL BE DEAD!” Dustin shouted at him, hysterical in his grief and unresolved anger and heart-pounding relief. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”

“I—” He froze as Dustin’s words caught up with him. He died. He had actually died. The memories all came flooding back at once. The demobats, there were too many of them. He had said goodbye to Dustin and Kelly Rose. She fought so hard for him, harder than anyone had ever fought for him, but it still had not been enough to save him in time. The taste of his own blood was still on his tongue. Yet, there he was, alive and feeling better than he had when the night began— when the week began, actually— because even after everything, after breaking his promises to her, she still would not give up on him.

What he saw had been a dream, but also not. Whether it was a glimpse of the future, or his own personal heaven, he had seen it, and he knew on some level it was real. Or, at least, it could be if he played his cards right from then on. Turning his head as much as he could in Dustin’s unrelenting grip, he found his Kelly Rose, unconscious, upper lip and hands covered in flaking dried blood, but still by his side even then.

“What happened?!” Robin called worriedly, leading Steve and Nancy as they all ran toward them as fast as their legs would carry them. “We heard Kelly scream!” Seeing the piles of hundreds, if not thousands, of demobats, the fiery chasm, and the protective meadow surrounding them, they all skid to a halt a short distance away. “Holy shit.”

“Is she alright?” Steve asked.

Dustin nodded, rubbing the tears from his eyes with his arm. “She’s like El. She ran out of batteries, but she’ll be okay.”

“She did all this?” Nancy asked, her eyes flitting around the scene in disbelief.

Dustin looked down at the unconscious girl in question, gaze solemn and serious. “She’s a hero.”

When Dustin got up and began limping toward Steve to check on him, Eddie lifted Kelly into his lap and held her as close as he physically could. Had she always been so pale? So small? When she was up and talking, it was like she was larger than life in his eyes and the eyes of all those lucky enough to behold her. Now, though, she was as tiny and unassuming as a little bird. She was fragile. How had he never really seen it before? It made his stomach sick, thinking of all she had faced so boldly even with the physical odds stacked as high as a skyscraper against her at every turn. That morning had already scared him out of his wits, but it had passed relatively quickly, and her persona had overtaken any weaknesses she may possess once again. But, there and then, he was forced to face the fact that his beloved was not as indestructible as she seemed; far from it, even. Dustin said she would recover, but was that really true? Or had she given too much of herself and caused permanent damage they had no idea about yet? She relentlessly fought who knew how many dozens of demobats in single combat with only a makeshift spear and a trashcan lid and still won. She made a garden grow in a dimension of only the worst kind of death and destruction. She brought him back from his own death and destruction with her bare hands. And it was all just so she could protect the ones she loved. So she could protect him.

Why would she even want to save my sorry ass after what I put her through? he thought sadly. He knew then that he was the luckiest man to ever live, die, and live again. He had to return the favor in kind. He had to make it all up to her, for the rest of the life she had bestowed upon him at her own peril. But first, she had to wake up so that he could. “Henderson,” he croaked around the lump in his throat, “when will she wake up?”

“I don’t know. She used so much energy she made a gate for us. It’ll be at least hours, but probably longer.”

“That’s a gate?” Robin asked, pointing.

Dustin nodded, “If all the other gates exploded open like the one at Eddie’s, then the one she made is our only way out.”

“How in the hell did she do that?” Steve was entirely bewildered.

“We know gates are formed through strong mental links,” Nancy said. “Who’s mind did she link with, though?”

“Mine,” Eddie confessed. “She saved me. I don’t deserve it, but she saved me.”

“Did Vecna attack you?” Robin gasped.

“No. Just those fucking bats.”

“He… he got away,” Nancy admitted quietly.

“What?” Eddie’s head snapped up to look at her. “What the fuck does that even mean?”

“It wasn’t enough. The plan wasn’t enough.” Steve and Robin shot each other a glance over Nancy’s head. She was hiding something, and Eddie did not like it one bit. “We’ll talk about everything when we get back.”

“Henderson,” Steve began, “you need to be prepared for something. The Creel House ended up the same way Munson’s trailer did… that means—”

“Max,” Dustin finished in a horrified exhale. “We gotta get back there right now! I tried calling in but nobody answered!”

“Shit,” Steve muttered, leaping over the roses and their many thorns. Robin and Nancy were close behind him, and he hoisted Dustin over the barrier before he could trip and hurt himself further. “The only reason we got out of there in time to not get incinerated was ‘cause we heard Kelly. Let’s go.”

Dustin pointed, “Eddie, you’re first.”

“What? But Kelly Rose should—”

“No! She made me promise you’d be the first one out, and I’m not going back on my word after what she did for us! Now shut up and hurry!”

“Henderson, I don’t even know how—!”

Before he could finish, with Kelly still in his arms, they began sinking into the grass and wildflowers. It was gentle, only a little ticklish, and cooling after being in such close proximity to the pit. A moment later, they were in their own dimension. Just as it had been in the Upside Down, the fission had spread through the trailer park, forcing the inhabitants to evacuate. No one was there to question the sudden appearance of the fairy ring Kelly had created for them, nor witness the group’s escape into the dark. The only witness was one dog, the dog Max would feed in secret when her mother worked the night shift, abandoned in his fenced yard to fend for himself.

Kelly’s gate remained until the world was changed.

* * *

Friday, March 28th, 1986. Dustin’s POV.

When we got to the Creel House, or at least what was left of it, the ambulance had already arrived. We had to stay behind the treeline out of sight to protect Eddie, who was holding Kelly’s bloodied body bridal style. I’d never seen Lucas and Erica hug before. He was inconsolable, watching Max get loaded on a stretcher into the back, while Erica held him and rubbed his back, no matter how awkward she clearly felt. I was crying too, and Steve rubbed my back to console me as well, but what good would it really do anyone? We were supposed to protect Max. We were supposed to protect everyone. But we failed.

There was only one place we could think of to stash Eddie, and by association Kelly, because at even the suggestion of leaving her side Eddie looked like he was ready to punch Steve right in the jaw. Hopper’s cabin was now completely trashed between fighting the Mind Flayer the summer before and Jason Carver and his flunkies ransacking the place to find Eddie, but it would do. Now that they thought he was nowhere near there, it was the safest place for him to lay low until Kelly woke up and we could figure out what to do.

I didn’t get home until after 2am that night. Mom cried when I limped through the door, and so did I. If Kelly hadn’t stepped up when we needed her most, I might never have seen my mom again, and she would’ve spent the rest of her life looking for me. I know she would’ve. If she spent months looking for our cat after Dart ate him, she’d spend years on end trying to find me, but never would have found even a single trace. It’d kill her.

I couldn’t sleep. Who could after all that? Every second of that night played on a loop in my head. I was almost sure it would be in there forever, going on and on and on. On my third replay of it all, I jolted into sitting upright in my bed. “Shit! Kelly’s letters!”

“Dusty? Are you okay?” Mom called in immediate concern from her own room.

“I’m fine, Mom! Go back to bed!” Diving for my hamper, I dug the half-ruined pack of Virginia Slims out of my pants pocket and opened it. There, just as she said, were two letters on yellow notepad paper, folded into neat little squares. In her instantly recognizable cursive, she had written To Dustin on one of them. My fingers fumbled it as I tried to unfold the note as fast as I could. Throwing myself into my desk chair, I turned on the lamp and read through the instructions she wrote for me in painstaking detail. By the end, my eyes couldn’t have been wider. “Holy fucking shit,” I breathed in the quiet of my room. They weren’t instructions. It was a script. She’d done her damnedest to account for every eventuality, and told me exactly what to do and say in case she wasn’t there to do it herself. Like a choose-your-own-adventure story of counters, contingencies, and most importantly, coordinates.

The wait was torture. I didn’t sleep a wink, but it gave me time to go over everything as many times as I needed to. With the time zone difference, it was absolutely necessary to time my next move just right. Just like she told me to. I wouldn’t let her down. When Mom got up to make a pot of coffee, I went straight to Cerebro and found the frequency she listed. It was just before the frequency Suzie-Poo and I always used.

“Reuben and the Raft, do you copy? This is a message on behalf of the Houseboat. I repeat, Reuben and the Raft, do you copy?”

A long moment passed before a voice came crackling over the airwaves, “Who is this and how did you find out about this frequency?”

“I’m not at liberty to say anything else until you assure me both Reuben and the Raft are present, over.”

“If this is some kind of joke, I don’t care who you are or where you are, I swear to God, I’ll find you, and you won’t like it when I do.”

“I can assure you this is anything but a joke. I’m on her orders, over.”

Another moment, then, “We’re both here, over.”

“Okay, then I need you to listen closely. The Houseboat is ordering the works. I repeat, the works. I’ll give you her exact coordinates, but only if you can make it. Can you be here within twenty-four hours, over?”

The longest pause of the interaction stretched until it made me twitchy in my seat. “We’ll be there. Now, give us the coordinates, over.” Luckily, I had the geographic coordinates of everyone I cared about written down, including Hopper’s cabin from when El still lived there. After I gave the coordinates twice, just to be safe, the voice on the other end asked suspiciously, “… Is this Dustin Henderson?”

* * *

Eddie’s POV.

The sun was rising, but Kelly Rose hadn’t yet. I’d already been panicking all night, pacing like a caged animal at a circus in the wrecked cabin of ex-pig Chief Jim Hopper, but now I was starting to really lose it.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if she’d at least moved, if her eyes fluttered or twitched a little bit, but there was nothing. Just the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, so slow and steady it was hard to see under her jacket unless you really looked. She was still too pale, too small, too vulnerable. I fucking hated it. I knew she’d hate it, too.

I tried to keep myself busy, I really did. I used a shirt I found in old Hopper’s dresser to clean the blood from her face and hands. Luckily, the water was still running, so it had to be from a well like at Rick’s. I swept away the debris on the floor enough to make a path from the sofa she was laying on to the door, so that when she got up, she wouldn’t stumble over anything accidentally. I found an abandoned pack of Camels in a drawer and smoked three in a row. They were old and tasted like shit, but I didn’t care. I paced, I pulled my hair, I laid my head on her stomach and cried for everything I was worth, but the time kept moving at a crawl, and still, she didn’t wake.

I realized too late that I’d fallen asleep while singing Perfect Day again, just in case she was actually in some kind of trance since Vecna was apparently at large, because I woke with a start when I heard the creaking of the door hinges. It was only Dustin and Steve, though, much to my relief. It was the first relief I’d had in over twenty-four hours.

“Sorry we left you here with no supplies,” Dustin offered with a sheepish smile, holding up a brown bag with the Melvald’s General Store logo on it.

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with the heel of my palm. “Any news on Red?”

“Yeah, Lucas called from the hospital this morning. The place is overflowing with people who got hurt when the cracks formed, but Max is the number one priority… because they think she’s one of your victims.”

“Ah, great. Just fucking swell. How’d I not see that one coming?” I chuckled sarcastically.

“Here, got these for you,” Steve offered, tossing me a pack of playing cards. “You seem like the kind of guy who’s gotta keep your hands busy.”

“Highly observant of you, Harrington. Thanks.”

“What else can we bring?” Dustin asked.

“Aside from a wrecking ball and a dozer for this shithole? A newspaper or a magazine would be nice.”

“Way ahead of you, the latest issue of Newsweek is in the bag.”

“I’ve taught you well, Henderson,” I nodded approvingly.

Dustin came to sit on the edge of the couch, looking down at Kelly Rose sadly. “Still hasn’t woken up, huh?”

“Not even one blink, man. You’re sure this is normal?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Superpowers really take it out of them in real life. When she wakes up, she’s gonna need plenty of fluids and sugar to get her strength back. The rest of the snacks from the War Zone are in there too for her.”

“Thanks, dude. Seriously.”

“I need to thank you, too. For what you did last night, I mean. It was dangerous, and scary, and so goddamn stupid… but you’re my hero, Eddie. And so is Kelly.”

Steve looked crushed hearing Dustin say that. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve rubbed his privileged nose in it ‘til his stupid hair fell out. But, today of all days, it was a hollow victory. “Don’t thank me when I should be saying I’m sorry about everything. I know I scared the shit out of you. I just didn’t know what else I could do.”

“Just, please, never do something like that again. Never. Kelly wouldn’t forgive you, and I wouldn’t either. You mean too much to us to lose you.”

“And what the hell am I, chopped liver?” Steve asked, gesturing toward himself.

“Steve, no offense, but you didn’t die. Not everything’s about you.”

“Alright, you little smart ass, you can just walk home then. Oh, I mean limp. See if I care.”

“You both need to get those attitudes under control. I see now who corrupted my little sheep, Harrington.”

“With his friends, the kid was already corrupted when I got here, trust me.”

“Speaking of corrupted, the only reason we got this stuff from Melvald’s is because the building was partially destroyed and they had to get rid of the inventory. Once it’s all gone, everybody has to go to the high school for rations until further notice, and they’re already tending to patients there now that the hospital is almost at capacity. Want us to come back tomorrow after we’re done volunteering?”

Dustin’s explanation made me realize I had completely forgotten about the rest of the town while I was worrying about Kelly Rose. I forgot about Wayne, and Doug, and Jeff, and Gareth, and everybody else I knew. They must’ve been out there looking for me, wondering if I’d been hurt or worse when the cracks formed. Or, had they been hurt? Were they all safe? The thought made my stomach do a somersault. “Yeah, come back tomorrow. But take this with you in case anybody I actually like is wondering about me.” I dug my pick necklace, still broken, out of my pocket and let it slip into Dustin’s palm. “They’ll know you’re telling the truth if you show them that. Tell them I’m okay, especially if you see my Uncle Wayne. And try to find out what’s happened to everybody since last night. If something happened to any of them, come back and tell me right away, okay? Don’t try to sugarcoat it if it’s bad.”

“Alright, you got it.”

They left shortly after that, with Steve assuring Dustin he was only kidding about making him walk back to town, and once again I was left with the oppressive pressure of the waiting game. It didn’t matter how loud I was, what I did, what I said or sang; Kelly Rose didn’t move a muscle even once. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it was frightening. The silence became a deafening ringing in my ears. I would’ve given anything for it to be taken up by her, even if it was just one single snore. Anything to let me know she would actually be okay.

Nothing happened, though. Not all that day and night. She just slept, and slept, and slept, to the point I started checking her pulse every five minutes or less— usually less. It was always the same, always steady, but nothing ever changed. She was already so thin, so frail, I was worried about her missing out on that many meals after already missing several over the last few days. There was no way for me to get any water into her either. All I could do was watch and wait, so that was what I did, until it consumed me. In a big way, I was glad of it, though. I was alive and well to be consumed by thoughts and fears of my Kelly Rose. It was a privilege as much as it was my own personal hell.

I felt like that until about halfway into the next day. She still didn’t wake by then, and her pulse was slowly getting weaker. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take it, or how much longer I should wait before I had to finally admit she needed a hospital. Wouldn’t that be a sight for the religious zealots of Hawkins, watching the one they were certain was a demonic serial killer walk into the emergency room with yet another apparent victim right in his arms. It occurred to me then that if I was the one who brought her there, they might not even help her. They might think she was my accomplice and let her die out of spite. I didn’t trust a single one of them to abide by the Hippocratic Oath in this case.

“Kelly Rose,” I whispered, kissing the back of her cold, thin hand, “you gotta get up for me, sweetheart. You gotta wake up soon, okay? Like, really soon. I can’t watch you fade away to nothing. I can’t lose you after you did all this for me. Wake up so I can say I’m sorry. Wake up so I can make all this up to you. Come on, baby. Pull through for me. Just move, make a sound, anything.”

She was as still and silent as the grave.

[livpet]

Venus in Furs Chapter Ten: Master of Puppets

Thursday, March 27th, 1986.

"Pass me a Jolt and show me the goods."

Dustin was quick to comply. Careful of my nails, I popped the tab and took three fast gulps. I'd need all the energy I could get before show time tonight.

The kids were all too happy to go through every single item they ended up buying, and I was glad for it. I needed a running internal inventory of what we had to work with in case shit it the fan at some point. Most pleasing by far to me was Erica's choice for the spearheads.

"By using hunting knives like these, you can stab and slash. And they're serrated to maximize damage. You're welcome."

"Thank you. I really do like the way you think, Erica. The boys could learn a thing or two from you."

"Hey! We picked all the snacks and cool camo stuff!" Lucas protested.

"Just the facts," Erica said smugly.

"And those are extremely important contributions. I was only teasing, you also have my sincerest thanks."

I lifted my Jolt to him, and he toasted with the New Coke he just opened. That seemed to assuage any potential hurt feelings.

"What're the bolt cutters for, though?" Dustin asked curiously.

"My dear Dustin, there's something everyone must learn at some point in life, and it's better to learn it sooner than later: never walk into an uncertain situation without bolt cutters. Hell, you should have them even in completely certain situations, too."

While Eddie and the kids were busy reveling in the finest snacks and monster hunting supplies the War Zone had to offer, I noticed that Robin was unusually sullen, sitting alone at the small booth while the rest of us were crowded into the back. A brief check in the huge rearview mirror up front revealed Steve and Nancy sharing starry-eyed glances and talking in hushed tones. "I'm committed to Jonathan." My sweet ass, Wheeler.

When I stood to go to Robin, Eddie's hand darted out to catch mine. "Whoa, where you goin'? Everything okay?"

"That's what I wanna know. I'll report back."

I didn't like being out of arm's reach from him either, believe me. The morning we'd survived still loomed large in my mind. But at such a crucial time, we couldn't afford to let a member of the team fall to whatever doubts were clearly churning in her head, and more often than not, girls needed other girls to confide in. I'd simply lend an ear if she wanted one, and if she didn't, I was only a few steps away from being in Eddie's lap again. In her distraction, I was able to sit right across from her before she realized I was even there.

"Jesus! Scared the shit outta me," she chuckled nervously.

"Sorry about that. People have threatened to put a bell on me before. But, why so glum, chum? Aside from the obvious, of course."

"No glum chums here."

"Buckley, you're supposed to be the convincing liar in the group. Yet, here I am, unconvinced."

"... It's private. Like, so private," she answered in a voice small enough to almost be lost among the chatter and the loud hum of the tires on the pavement below.

"So private that you don't want anybody to know, or so private you're bursting at the seams to tell somebody about it?" At that, her eyes snapped up to meet mine. "That's what I thought."

"It's... it's nothing I can actually say. I'm sorry."

"Why're you sorry when I'm the one being nosy here?"

"I just... on some level, I guess, I just feel like I always have to be sorry. Sorry for how I am, who I am. For everything."

"Did you get rejected or something?" The truth of it was already shimmering in her cornflower blue eyes. "You were fine before the War Zone. Did it happen while you were in there?"

She nodded, looking down at her clasped hands on the tabletop in shame. "Something like that, yeah."

"Look, any dorky dude who's stupid enough to reject you when you're literally on your way to save the world right now is just that: dorky and stupid. You don't need him, trust me." There was a pain in her expression I knew, not from my personal experience, but from Jake's. The puzzle pieces came together in my mind all at once. "As a true fan of the silver screen, it's safe to assume you've seen The Wizard of Oz, right?"

"Um, duh. That's the kind of question I'd expect the dingus up front to ask."

"Well, before I transferred to Hawkins High, I was in my school's production of The Wizard of Oz. I played Glinda."

"I can definitely see that for you," she commented positively, but confusedly.

"I say that to say this," I continued, cutting to the chase as gently as I could. "I have a lot of experience with friends of Dorothy. It's okay."

Realizing my meaning, her eyes welled with tears immediately. Hurriedly, she looked around, ensuring no one had heard us, and bent closer from her side of the booth. "How'd you know?"

"I could just tell that it isn't a guy you're upset over. Plus, I'll admit I've caught you checking out my boobs a few times." At that, Robin turned crimson and sniffled, holding back her emotions as well as she could in the midst of our unexpected conversation. "I thought you were just looking at the logos on my shirts whenever it happened, though," I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, it was so stupid," she rushed to say. "But, please, you can't tell anyone. Promise me you won't say anything."

"I promise, your secret's safe with me. And don't worry, that includes Eddie, too. But I will tell you, you've gotta stop saying you're sorry about little things. There's nothing to be sorry for. In the wise words of Mae West, it's better to be looked over than overlooked. Can't fault you for having good taste," I winked with a smile. Just when I thought she couldn't turn any redder, she proved me wrong. "All jokes aside, I know what's at risk for you, especially in a town this small. But as Glinda the Good Witch, I abide by a stringent code of ethics: any friend of Dorothy's is a friend of mine." I covered her clasped hands with my own. "Whether you need a brain, a heart, or some courage, I'm here for you. And no goddamn flying monkeys are gonna come anywhere near you on my watch."

Robin was so surprised, so moved, that she rounded the booth and hugged me. Squeezed the life out of me would've been more accurate, actually, but you can bet I returned it in kind. That was when we both noticed Steve's concerned stare in the rearview mirror.

"Does he know?" I whispered.

"Yeah. He's the only one I've ever told. It was during the Soviet truth serum fiasco I mentioned."

"Your friendship makes so much more sense now."

"He may be a dingus, but he's a dingus of the highest caliber. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

"I know he feels the same. He was so worried when you took off on the road, I could see it."

"What else did you happen to see on the road?" Robin glanced at the back of the passenger seat.

"That Steve and Nancy are totally in love and totally in denial about it."

"Thank you!" she crowed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. That caught the attention of everyone on board. Quickly recovering, she went on, "Of course Jimmy Stewart is the greatest actor of the century! His range and career are unparalleled! How does nobody get that these days?"

"It's truly a damn shame. He's got it all, but nobody cares when they're all so concerned about special effects in movies now," I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from smiling. Everyone quickly went back to their own conversations once they were sure nothing was amiss. "Good save."

"Thanks. It's an art form, really."

"Tell me about it. But, getting back on track here; you don't have to tell me the whole story, I just want you to know that getting rejected is always way less about you and way more about them. It took me a long time to figure that out, but it's true, and I don't want your confidence taking a hit from this. You're smart, you're pretty, and you're a fucking badass monster hunter. Either she'll realize she made a mistake, or somebody else will come along and see all of that in you."

"Thanks, Kelly. Really."

"Anytime. Really."

With one last hug, not quite so bone-crushing but still sincere, she returned to her original side of the booth and I fell back into Eddie's eagerly waiting arms, his hands up and grabbing for me as soon as I was near enough.

"Why does girl talk always take so goddamn long?" he whined in my ear before kissing me there.

"You thought that was long? We didn't even get into what a shame it is that Grace Kelly retired to be a princess. Actually, now that you mention it, I think I'll go back--"

"Nooope." He held me even tighter around my waist. "I waited for my turn, I'm not giving it up."

"It's always your turn," I smiled, quieting him with a kiss.

The kids started groaning and gagging in disgust. Only Max said, her gaze taking on a rare softness, "I think they're cute."

"Since you drank mine, would you be so kind as to open another Jolt for me, baby?"

"As my queen commands."

* * *

Our next stop was the dump, apparently. "We fought demodogs here once. There's a lot of good supplies lying around if you know what you're looking for, and nobody'll come out here," Dustin explained.

"Demo-whats?"

"Demogorgons come in all kinds of forms. Demobats like you saw, demodogs, whatever best serves the hivemind. But the most dangerous ones are humanoid. Luckily, though, everything in the hivemind has the same weakness: heat."

"Hence the flambe," Robin added as she passed by, an empty glass bottle and a funnel in either hand.

Dustin began walking in another direction, but just as Eddie was about to pull me along to follow, Max asked, "Kelly, can I talk to you?"

"Is it a private thing?"

"Yeah, kinda." She was shifting from foot to foot, her hand tight on the strap of her backpack. It was very odd behavior for her. Interesting.

Eddie looked between me and her, his hand tightening on mine. "Red, I don't think now's the time for everybody to split up."

"Nobody's splitting up, Jesus. We'll stick together and we'll be in everybody's eye-line the whole time."

With obvious reluctance, he brought my hand to his lips before letting me go. "Alright, but stay close."

"We will," I nodded reassuringly. "Catch up with Dustin, I'll be there soon."

Eddie's eyes were wide with worry, still just as haunted by that morning as I was, but he followed after Dustin dutifully. Max and I went the opposite direction, finding some privacy under the tattered awning of a long-abandoned ice cream truck.

"Look," Max began, "what you went through... I know it's hard to talk about. Believe me. But, out of everyone, we're the two that got cursed. That means he can come into our minds anywhere, at any time, and we have to be ready no matter what happens tonight. I spent the night before last writing letters to everybody. They're my fail-safes, and I figured you might wanna write a few yourself while there's still some time."

Her explanation sent a shiver down my spine. I wished I could blame it on being over-caffeinated, but I knew she was right. "Do you have paper and a pen?"

"Is a pencil okay?"

"Yeah, perfect." From her bag she produced a yellow notepad and a chewed pencil with a slightly dull point. "Thank you. This must've been hard for you to even bring up, but it really was considerate. I appreciate it."

"The day before Spring Break... what you said to me in the hall really hit me hard. I didn't like it. Vecna even used it against me."

"Fuck, I'm sor--"

"Don't be," she held up a hand to stop me. "He wouldn't have done that if it wasn't important. When you try to be nice, it's important, Kelly. So, I guess I just wanted to return the favor. While there's time, and all," she finished, her anxiety giving way to awkwardness.

"You keep talking about time, and implying there isn't much left. You gotta stop thinking like that. It's what he wants, and it makes us easier targets if we do his job for him and psych ourselves out. If being nice is important, then be nice to yourself too, Max." The sight of her, blind, limbs twisted in all directions, crying in fear as she took her last breaths in Lucas' arms, flashed across my mind. No, I thought, trying to shape my doubt into defiance with every word, she's gonna make it. We're all gonna make it. It's that fucker who should be worried about how little time he still has, not her. Not us.

"You're right. You're so right," she said, some of her confidence returning to her voice. "I think I'll even be extra nice to myself and take one of your Jolts."

"Consider it my end of the trade, then. A pad and a pencil for a pop."

"Ugh, I hate when the hayseed around here call it that. It's soda."

"You're preaching to the choir. I only said it for the alliteration, don't worry."

A ghost of a smile answered my own, and off she went, leaving me to my thoughts. I didn't allow the ice cold drenching of my own anxiety to wash over me until she was safely with Nancy, Jolt in hand. Even in the warmth of the day, I was left freezing, my shoulders shivering with the chill of it. She had given me the chance to essentially write a will, but what could I possibly say? Who should I write to? Certainly not my parents. They didn't give a shit about me at the best of times, there was no need to labor under any delusions about them changing their ways, driven by regret in the wake of some tragedy befalling me. What about my friends, though? Was government interference really to blame for them essentially dropping off the map, or were they really just busy and living their own lives without me now? I could accept that, even if it cut deeper than any knife ever could, as long as I knew they were safe and happy.

No. No. What the fuck was I even thinking? These were my friends. The craziest, most fiercely loyal people I'd ever had the honor and privilege to know, aside from my Eddie, of course. My Davey, and my Jake, and my Ella would never in a million years stand idly by while I was in trouble, or worse.

Looking out over the landscape, I found Nancy and Max, then Steve and Robin, then Lucas and Erica, until my eyes settled on Eddie and Dustin all the way out in the field adjacent to the junkyard. Eddie was testing out a shield made from a trashcan lid and nails he'd hammered into it himself, gesturing grandly as if he were giving a speech. Dustin was watching, enraptured, grinning his sweet smile from ear to ear. It was Dustin who gave me an idea that struck like a kick to the head. He was the key I never would've seen coming, and almost hadn't discovered in time. First slowly, then gaining speed with each connection made, a plan started to come together thread by thread, row by row, until I was completely certain of the mental tapestry representing my next course of action. The fear of not only failing, but being forgotten by those I loved, dissipated from my bones with every speedy scratch of the pencil against the paper. In the end, I wrote two lengthy letters: one titled To Dustin and the other addressed To Whom it May Concern.

As I was passing by Nancy and Max, something caught my eye, and not in a good way. "Um, Wheeler? What the fuck are you doing?"

"Committing a felony," she replied flippantly, tossing the business end of the shotgun she had just finished sawing off under a nearby school bus.

"Right. We'll probably commit a few more before we're done. But why that one in particular?" It was taking everything in me to use my kind babysitter voice and not blow my stack in front of everyone.

"When I was buying it, Carver grabbed the end of it and made a thinly veiled threat. So, I'm making sure nobody can grab it from me again."

"Do you intend to be within arm's reach of Vecna when you shoot him?"

"Well, no, but--"

"Then how does it benefit you to fuck up your accuracy? They're designed that way for a reason, you know."

"You handle your part of the plan, and I'll handle mine, Turner," she dismissed with a glare.

"Whatever you say," I sighed, continuing on my original path. It wasn't worth starting a fight, even if I wanted to really, really badly. The damage was already done now, but that didn't mean cogent questions should be ignored. How would she compensate for the change in her aim without practicing first? How could she act like I was the bad guy when she was the one fucking up a perfectly good shotgun for no real reason? All of this and much more I would've said, but I knew I couldn't in present company. She had the social high ground here, not me. I didn't miss the apprehensive glances I received from the others along the way, though. Whether they were because of the obvious tension between she and I, or if they overheard us and realized I made a fair point despite her protests, I couldn't decipher. But, it wasn't my department anyway. I was on distraction duty with Eddie and Dustin, and there was no team I'd rather be on.

By the time I reached my boys-- because of course I had adopted Dustin in my heart of hearts after he asked to call me Birdy-- they had just finished play fighting. "Working hard or hardly working?" I greeted.

"You tell me," Eddie replied, a slow grin stretching across his cheeks and revealing his dimples. Then, he tackled me low and threw me over his shoulder.

"Eddie!" I squealed, unable to help the laughter that bubbled out of me as he spun in a circle, my hair whipping around me with the motion.

"Huh? Where'd my Kelly Rose go? She was just here a second ago." Doing a one-eighty to swing me around even more, he asked Dustin, "Have you seen her? I swear, she was right here." Dustin could only cackle, holding his sides, as Eddie turned to and fro, pretending to look for me every which way. Finally, he turned his head and cheered, "There she is!" Before I could say a word, he bit me right on the ass cheek through my jeans with a playful snarl, and then spanked me loud enough for the sound to echo over the treetops, just for good measure.

"Ew! You made it weird," Dustin admonished, visibly disgusted. "I'm outta here."

"You'll understand one day, Henderson. Especially if you're girl really is prettier than Phoebe Cates," Eddie replied sagely, taking no offense. When Dustin made his way to Lucas and Erica, Eddie finally put me back on my feet. "Actually, I did that on purpose so we could talk. Sneaky, right?"

"You're getting sneakier by the day, I must be a bad influence on you," I giggled, rubbing the spot where he bit me. "You didn't have to bite so hard, though."

"Uh, hell yeah I did," he said as if it were obvious. "Have you seen your ass? Juicer than any peach in the goddamn world. I'm gonna take a bite out of it every single day once this shit's finally done." It was meant to be just a passing comment, light and fun. Instead, it made my heart thud hard against my ribs, almost painfully so. By the look of him, he had the same reaction when his own words caught up with his brain. "But, um, first, everything good with you and Red? You've been putting out girl fires left and right today."

"Yeah, she just wanted to talk about something I'd said in school." There was no reason to mention the folded up letters burning a hole in my pocket, tucked away in my beat up pack of Virginia Slims. They were fail-safes, after all, so by definition he didn't need to know about them unless I well and truly failed.

"Well, what did you say to her?"

"It was about her brother. I'd told her I was sorry for her loss. Turns out, Vecna used that against her, but it actually ended up being useful in a way."

"Shit, that's crazy timing. That's what I wanted to talk about too."

"Max's brother? Did you know him?"

"Billy? Yeah, he bought from me a few times, but that's not what I meant. I wanted to talk about your sister."

I almost missed the painful thudding of my heart compared to the way it seized at the mere mention of her. "Oh. Okay."

"It's nothing bad," he was quick to say, putting his hands up placatingly. "It's just that, what you said about her back at Red's... I've been thinking about it. A lot. It didn't sit right with me, and I figured out why." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "That's how I feel about Chrissy. Like I left her there, and it makes everything, all of this, my fault. But when I thought about you feeling like that, I knew right away it wasn't your fault at all. Not any of it. And I can't just stand by and let you hurt like that when you shouldn't have to." The tears clouded my vision before I could even try to stop them. Of course he noticed right away, he noticed every little thing about me, and brought me into his embrace. Rubbing the spot between my shoulder blades, right above my backpack, he went on, "Anything that happened to you, that happened to her and the others... you can't put that on yourself, Kelly Rose. You had to run away, and I know now that at the time, I did too. We had to live to see another day so we could get smarter, and stronger, and come together in time to take down this son of a bitch. The time's right, and we're gonna make it up to everyone when we end this once and for all. For your brothers and sisters, for Chrissy, and Fred, and Patrick, and for all of us. For everybody who couldn't run away." He finished by kissing my forehead so tenderly that a keening sob rose in my throat. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm always gonna be right here, as long as my Elbereth needs me."

"Never, ever, ever leave me. Please," I softly cried into his chest, clutching the back of his jacket in white-knuckled fists.

"Then I never, ever, ever will. Promise."

Sniffling, I said, "I feel like I just can't stop crying today. I'm sorry I'm no fun right now."

"Even during some of the most not-fun moments of my life, you've made them fun just by being here. It's okay, sweetheart. You can cry all you want."

"We really did have so much fun at Rick's, didn't we?"

"It was like a dream. I've never been happier. And I know that's selfish-- like, on a disgusting level. But it's true. You made this week the best I've ever had."

"I know. It's killing me inside, but I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way." I rubbed my sore eyes with impatient hands. "God, Eddie. How were we so much younger only a week ago?"

"There was a lot we didn't know then. But, it's like I said. We're smarter and stronger now. We'll get through this, and when we do, we'll never have to worry again."

Please, God, I silently begged, standing on tiptoe to kiss his soft cheek. Let Eddie be right.

Unfortunately, not all prayers are answered.

* * *

"Jesus, it's like she was destined for an alternate dimension. What do you say, Henderson? Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"And what about you, my love?"

"You talked a big game about how impressed I'd be if I ever got to see you with that guitar in your hands. Show me what you got, baby."

"Then let's do this."

Eddie slung the Upside Down doppelganger of his Warlock guitar over his shoulder and led the trio through the fortified trailer, up the ladder on the outer facade, and onto the roof. His amps were already plugged in and prepped, ready and waiting to draw every open-mawed beast within earshot straight to them. All they needed was their cue.

"Phase two complete! Now!" Lucas' voice blared through the walkie talkie in Dustin's hand.

"Knock 'em dead, baby!" Kelly cheered from the sideline with Dustin.

"Kelly Rose, you know I love you. But, Chrissy, this one's for you."

With a sharp tug, he broke the necklace chain his guitar pick was dangling from. Then, the prodigy commenced with his performance. Eddie's fingers were as fast as the crow flies, playing every chord with power and precision. Dustin was bobbing his head in time, grin wide and eyes sparkling. Kelly, on the other hand, was wonderstruck into wide-eyed stillness. Everything he had told her about his talent was undeniably true, and undeniably fascinating to behold in real time. She was spellbound by every note, every expression that crossed his face as he had the time of his life performing for two of his favorite people in an effort to save the world. Only when scarlet lightning struck overhead, illuminating her lover like a champion of myth and legend, was Kelly startled back into awareness.

"Twenty seconds, Eddie!" Dustin called over the music. Eddie nodded his understanding but did not lose focus for even an instant. He was just as absorbed in the song as Kelly was in him. "Ten seconds!" The demobats were closing in on them, flying above the dead forest in a swarm that could have blotted out the sun. Kelly could just barely hear their screeching over the closing chords of Master of Puppets. "Five seconds! Eddie!"

With perfect timing, Eddie finished, and they all escaped into the trailer unscathed. The demobats threw themselves against the outer barrier that had been constructed from plywood, scrap metal, and chain link fences, but to no avail.

"We did it?" Kelly asked quietly, looking at the walls for any possible weaknesses.

"I think we did it," Eddie nodded, a grin forming slowly as the realization sunk in.

The three looked at each other then, and Eddie's smile proved infectious. In seconds, they were shouting their cheers to the heavens, jumping and hugging.

"Dude... MOST. METAL. EVER!" Dustin screamed in glee. They froze in unison only a moment later when they heard the first thud directly over their heads. Then another came, and another, and another, all moving in the same direction. Only feet away from the group was a vent they had failed to even notice, no less block access to. All three took up their spears in apprehension. "They can't get in through there, right?"

The vent cover went clattering to he floor as a demobat stuck its head through and opened its mouth wide, revealing seemingly endless rows of fangs as it screeched at them. Screaming right back, they stabbed up and into the vent no fewer than a dozen times each, killing the creature. Putting their backs to each other, they formed a circle, trying to find any other weaknesses in the structure before they were caught unawares again.

"How many vents are there?!" Kelly called over the cacophony of the swarm outside.

"I don't know! I never counted!" Eddie shouted back.

Pointing, Dustin cried out, "Shit, shit, shit! Eddie, your room!"

There was only enough time for Eddie to bound down the hallway and shut the door, but the demobats were already inside, and the small bedroom was swiftly filling with more than enough of them to break the door down through force. With all his might, Eddie kept the door closed, but only barely. There was no way he could hold it for long, and the wooden dining chair within reach certainly would not be up to the task. It might keep them back for thirty seconds, if they were lucky.

"We gotta go! Kelly Rose, you first!"

"But--!"

"Hey, you promised me!"

She knew he was right, and she knew she had to keep her word, but the thought of leaving him made her stomach lurch. She nodded anyway, hoping that the faster she climbed, the faster they would all make it to safety in their own world. Her backpack went through, then her. Landing was softer and easier than the last time, but that fact did nothing to comfort her. Dustin came through right after, unharmed but shaken to his core. Eddie then appeared, filling Kelly with relief. He was the fastest climber out of all of them. He was going to make it.

When Eddie took hold of the tied bedsheets, though, he hesitated. The others had not gotten nearly enough time to complete the mission, and if he left, the demobats would go straight back for them. Steve, Robin, and Nancy would be goners, not to mention Lucas, Max, and Erica. That would leave Vecna unopposed and undefeated. Everything was on the line now, just like in his own campaign, only there were no natural twenties to roll this time to save the day.

He remembered the day he was bequeathed the Hellfire Club by his old dungeon master and friend, Kenny Goddard. Despite being the only one in the party to lose both of his characters during the campaign, he was chosen to be Kenny's heir apparent. Not because of his willingness to play, but his willingness to let others keep playing even if he could not. There was no more noble a trait than sacrificing one's self to let the game continue on. And right then, he knew the game would be over for everyone if he did not act. "For everybody who couldn't run away," he had told Kelly. And he meant it. Using the hand still holding the sheets, he held it taught and sliced it through with his spear. Next, he threw his mattress aside to ensure no one could follow him.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Dustin bellowed, clutching the sides of his head in disbelief as the other end of their lifeline fell uselessly at his feet.

"I'm buying more time," he said as calmly as possible, steeling his nerves for what he was about to do. "Kelly Rose Turner, I love you. I'll always love you." He did not stay to hear her reply. Despite their screaming and pleading, he burst out of the front door with his spear and shield secured to his back, chained it shut and padlocked it to keep the demobats inside, and took off down the road on one of the bikes they had ridden there only that morning. "COME AND GET ME YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Kelly watched in unbridled horror as the demobats broke through the flimsy bedroom door, circled the main room of the trailer, and made their escape to ruthlessly hunt down Eddie. Dustin was sobbing on his knees beside her, but her eyes were fixed on the spot where Eddie had been only half a moment ago. He had told her, demanded of her even, that they would never say 'I love you' as a goodbye. But what he said was as much of a goodbye as she had ever heard before. She would have thought it might leave her hollowed out to the point of numbness, completely and utterly bereft; instead, it made her magma-hot with boiling fury, her entire body and face turning puce with it. She had to move before she lost him forever, and wrath invoked by his boneheaded nobility was an excellent motivator.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, she tightened the straps as much as she could and grabbed a dining chair. "Dustin, stay here and wait for the others."

"What?!"

"Stay!" she commanded, pointing, eyes blazing. Without another word, she got a running start and jumped from the chair up to the edge of the gate. Once her head was through, gravity took over, but she was ready for the turn this time, and landed on her feet with only a minor stumble.

"BIRDY, NO! DON'T DO THIS!"

She paid him no heed. She threw open the front door, only to find the fencing chained and locked shut before her. "God fucking damn it, Eddie!" she seethed. Under different circumstances, she would have been impressed, even proud, but any obstacle standing between she and him would be met with only pure rage at that point. With one hand, the bolt cutters were yanked from her bag, and she had the lock broken off in a matter of seconds. Seconds that were crucial to all of their survival.

Kelly Turner had never biked faster in all her days. Her legs were shaking with fear, but she pushed on, bent over the handle bars like she was competing in the Tour de France. Up ahead, she saw Eddie positioned similarly on his bike, only to be knocked to the ground from the side by one of the demobats. The swarm followed, creating a swirling, living barrier around him. But, he got to his feet again, spear and shield in hand, prepared to fight.

She was too far down the road to help him. She did not have the strength to peddle any faster. He fought valiantly, even shouting taunts as he did, but once he was down to only his shield for protection, it was all over. Seven demobats took him down, five holding his limbs and throat with their tails, while the other two bit into the sensitive flesh of his sides. She saw his scream, mouth wide and eyes terrified, before the sound of it reached her.

Time seemed to slow down all around her to a snail's pace. The mind could do odd things like that in moments of immense stress and fear. The sight of him, on the ground and helpless, for some reason brought to the forefront of her mind the White Tree, the symbol of Gondor. He was just as pale, but rather than seven stars surrounding him and granting him their favor, seven leathery creatures of darkness surrounded him, protected by what was essentially a tornado of reinforcements, and all of them were intent on consuming him.

To break the formation, Kelly leapt off of the bike and allowed it to careen into as many demobats as it could, giving her the break she needed to duck into the fray. She only vaguely registered the sound of Dustin calling to her as she took up Eddie's weapons. If she was truly his Elbereth, then she would gladly unleash the wrath of the Valar upon any who had dared touch him.

The first demobat she killed was the one holding his left ankle, beheaded in one fell swoop. The others came for her, but all fell to her blade in seconds. "I'LL KILL EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF YOU FOR THIS!" she roared over the lightning that cracked over their heads.

She swung and stabbed in all directions, taking down any monster with the temerity to come too close. However, they caught on, and quickly changed tactics once the hivemind realized she would not be felled so easily. Suddenly, the swarm rose into the air and formed a funnel so that they could fly down in pairs right for her, ready to pick her apart piece by piece. Looking between the violent death that awaited her, and her Eddie, bleeding out and struggling to breathe, she made her choice. If she was going to die, she would die defending the love of her life. Dropping the spear, she fell to her shaking knees above Eddie, careful not to put any pressure on his torso, and cradled his head with one arm, keeping him from further harm with her body. The other she raised above them, using the shield to fend off as many claws and teeth as physically possible, catching each pair of demobats as they came so they would be impaled on the nails of the shield. They attempted all manner of aerial maneuvers, trying to get at either of them from all angles, though all met their end by her hand.

Then, as if by a miracle, the swarm stopped flapping their wings all at once and cratered back down to the cracked earth, seemingly lifeless. Kelly's sharp, keen eyes observed them closely for any sign of movement, even the smallest twitch, in case it was a ploy and they were preparing another attack. Yet, somehow, all remained entirely motionless. Dustin limped toward her and Eddie now that the wall of demobats had been brought down, frantic and afraid.

"Eddie! Eddie! Oh, God!"

Thinking fast, Kelly shucked her backpack and the camo vest covering her leather jacket, and shoved it roughly into Dustin's hands. "Put this under his head and keep him awake!"

"Kelly--"

"Just do it! I don't care if you have to slap him, just keep him awake!"

Kneeling at Eddie's side, she put her hands as delicately as possible on his open wounds. His whole body jerked at the contact, making him groan, "It's bad, huh?"

"No, no," Dustin answered unconvincingly, taking Eddie's hand. "You're gonna be fine. Just gotta get you to a hospital okay? Come on."

In Dustin's attempt to get his friend on his feet, he forced more blood out of the wounds, soaking Kelly's shaking hands. "Stop, stop, stop! You're hurting him!" she cried.

"Shit, shit, I'm sorry!"

"I think I just... I think I just need a second, okay?" Eddie said shakily, attempting to smile as he laid back down. "I didn't run away this time, right?"

"No. No, you didn't run," Dustin answered, tears pouring down his face.

Kelly could not concentrate, could not get her emotions in check. As a result, her power was not working fast enough to heal his extensive internal injuries, which had to be done before she could focus on the external. She was weeping as she tried desperately to force her power to cooperate. It was just like what Vecna had shown her would happen.

"You're gonna have to look after those little sheep for me, okay? And my Kelly Rose."

"No! You're gonna do that yourself."

"I don't think so, man. Say you'll look after them... say it."

"I-I'm gonna look after... after them." Dustin could hardly get the words out past the lump in his throat.

"Good. 'Cause I'm actually gonna graduate. I think it's my year, Henderson... I think it's finally my year." There was a gurgle in his throat that could only mean one thing: he was choking on his own blood. It would fill his lungs soon. "I love you, man."

"I love you too." Dustin lost it entirely then. "Kelly, what're you doing?!" he sobbed. "Help him! Help him!"

"Fuck, I'm trying! I swear I'm trying as hard as I can!" she wept.

"Kelly... Rose. It's okay, sweetheart. I love you.... Let me hear you say it one more time."

"This won't be the last time! You promised to stay with me for as long as I need you, and I'll always need you! Fight, Eddie! Stay with me, please, I can't lose you!"

"Kelly... Rose...." Eddie could feel himself slipping away. Yet, he was unafraid. He was sorry, so incredibly sorry to leave his Kelly Rose in such a state, but he was not even remotely scared anymore. He had watched in awe as she fought tooth and nail for him no matter the odds or the danger, like the warrior goddess he knew her to be, the lightning above turning her as red and eternally beautiful as the rose she was named for. By God, did his girl have thorns when the occasion called for it. He even knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she loved him until the very end. His Sam. His Luthien. His Elbereth. The cherry on top for him was that she finally got to see him perform, and it just so happened to be the most metal concern in the history of the world. What more could he have asked for from his final day? Maybe it would not be his year, not really, but it certainly was his day, his week, because of her.

"I love you more than anything, Eddie! I'd trade the whole fucking world for you! Please, don't do this to me! Don't leave me all alone again, please!" He did not respond, her begging fading into a soft lullaby in his ears. He only hiccuped, blood spattering across his full lips. After three more strangled breaths, his lungs ceased to function. His dark eyes became even darker, the light in them quenched, as they stared unseeingly at the starless sky. His heart stuttered its last. Frantically, Kelly checked his right hand, horrified at how cold it already was. His hands were never cold. The stone of his mood ring was pitch black. "Eddie? Eddie?! EDDIE!"

In the end, Eddie Munson was not Frodo, nor was he Beren, nor was he even the Manwe to Kelly's Elbereth; rather, he was Boromir, proud son of Gondor, slain in the attempt to protect those he held most dear so that they might go on to save the world in his stead.

[livpet]

Venus in Furs Chapter Nine: Breaking the Law

Thursday, March 27th, 1986.

“Just a perfect day… you made me forget myself… I thought I was someone else, someone good,” Eddie half-wept into Kelly’s ear, remembering all the times she had made him forget his troubles, believing for a brief while that he really was good, and that he had to be worth something if she said so, and that things could work out for them despite the odds. All he wanted was to return the favor, and in doing so, prove that she made the right decision taking her chances on a Munson.

Eddie received his wish. Before he could sing the chorus again, with a jolt and a gasp, Kelly came back to herself. Except, she did not realize it. He felt her head move as she looked over his shoulder at the four walls, remembering what the vines had meant in her trance. She thought that, by some horrific trick, she was still trapped.

“EDDIE!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs, struggling with all her might against his unrelenting grip on her. She punched, she kicked, she heaved her body in every direction she could, but he never let go, too afraid she might fall into the trance again if he stopped making contact with her for even a second. “EDDIE, HELP ME! PLEASE, EDDIE, WHERE ARE YOU?!” When she could not shake him, trembling in fear at the thought of being held captive in the clutches of her worst nightmare incarnate, she dropped to the floor, taking him with her as she tried to crawl away. “KEEP SINGING! PLEASE, DON’T LEAVE ME! EDDIE?!”

“Kelly Rose, it’s me!” He grabbed her wrist and yanked her back before she could blindly fumble her way straight into a vine. Taking her other wrist too, he forced her to face him. “It’s me! Look! It’s just me!”

She grunted and pulled as her wide, wild eyes went straight to his hands. There were both perfectly normal, as warm as they always were, and no stark black digits marred the skin of his left wrist. She had to be sure, though. Twisting his right hand at an odd angle, she found his mood ring, as dark blue as the night sky of the Upside Down just beyond the doors of the trailer. The color meant that he loved her. It had to be her Eddie.

“Eddie?” she whimpered.

“It’s me, I promise.”

“Oh, God, Eddie!” she sobbed, throwing herself back into his waiting arms. “You saved me. I heard you.”

“Thank fucking Christ,” he gasped, too overwrought to say anything else.

They cried together, faces buried into each other as their bodies were wracked with the force of their tears. It took them a moment to even acknowledge the others, who had only stopped shouting long enough to confirm Kelly was alive, but were now hollering again all at once, each person with different instructions and suggestions, but all with one goal: get their remaining Party members out of the Upside Down as quickly as possible.

“Eddie, I don’t know if I can move now,” Kelly whispered, trembling like a leaf as tears continued to pour down her cheeks. “I-I think I used up everything I had trying to get away from you.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll get you out.” Looking around, there were plenty of things she could stand on for a leg up, but without the ability to stand, none of them would do her any good. “Can you stand just long enough to get on my shoulders? Like that first full day together, remember?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted with a hiccup. “But if I can’t, go without me.”

“Absolutely fucking never!” he declared instantly. “We don’t go where the other can’t follow, right? So I’m not leaving you in a million fucking years. We go to Mordor together, we leave together. Take my hands, Kelly Rose. We’re getting out of here.”

“It might still be following me. It might follow me through the gate. I don’t know how much time you have, but you can’t risk it on me,” she wailed urgently. Looking up at him only made fresh tears blur her vision and spill over. “I love you.”

“I love you. So you’re never gonna say it like it’s goodbye ever again, you hear me?” What she was saying could indeed be true, there was no way to know, but all Eddie needed to know was that he refused to potentially lose her ever again. She would never leave his sight, never leave the safety of his arms, and she would certainly never be left behind like some doomed soldier that got caught in the crossfire. His Kelly Rose was no casualty. Clasping her hands, he pulled her up so her shaking legs were beneath her again, if only barely. As fast as he could, he got behind her and stuck his head down between her legs and raised her onto his shoulders. Her nails dug into the sides of his head she was trying so hard to remain steady, but he paid no mind to any insignificant aches and pains. When she was close enough to grab the bedsheets, the Party above began cheering their encouragement. But encouragement alone would not force her shaking arms to hold her, or her unsteady hands to grip the lifeline as tight as she would need to so she might climb out. Realizing this, Eddie murmured, “It’s okay, I got you,” and put his hands under her thighs to begin raising her form up over his head.

“Get her head through the gate, she’ll come down with it!” Dustin advised.

“Won’t she land on her head then?” Eddie asked in concern.

“No, she’ll flip in midair like everybody else! Her back will take the impact!”

“Shit,” Eddie hissed as he remembered the hard briefcase hidden in her bag, putting her back on his shoulders. “Give me your backpack first, you’ll hurt yourself if you land on it.” Kelly gave him a panicked glance in return. “I promise nobody but me’ll touch it.”

Knowing she could trust him, she sighed and nodded, the first thing she had done that was even remotely like herself since falling under Vecna’s curse. It gave Eddie a hopeful feeling to hold onto in his chest, like the warm tickling of the light in Nancy’s house. When Kelly handed down her bag, it was even easier to lift her above his head and through the gate. She landed on his mattress with a huff as the air was knocked out of her, sprawled out like there was no strength, no fight at all left in her. To Eddie, she looked like a little broken bird he had seen on the side of the road as a child. He could hardly take the sight of her like that so close to nearly losing her.

Dustin and Steve took her by her wrists and lifted her off the mattress, but she merely crumbled to the floor beside it, her limbs entirely unwilling to cooperate anymore. Eddie climbed and fell just as fast as the first time, leaving the Upside Down behind them, or in this case, above them. The moment he landed, her bag held tight in his fist, Kelly collapsed into fresh sobs on top of his chest, clinging to him like he was the only log in wild rapids that could keep her afloat. And he clung right back.

* * *

I hadn’t said a word since the Upside Down. Everyone was looking at me like I was a ticking time bomb. And maybe I was.

A sunflower yellow throw that smelled of Marlboro cigarettes and spilled beer was laid across my quaking shoulders. Eddie’s arm was protectively holding it, and me, in place against him. He wasn’t shaking, but his opposite knee was bouncing so much it was making the floor of Max’s trailer tremble. Finally, I reached across him and put a hand on his knee, and the motion stopped instantaneously.

“Sorry,” he whispered sincerely in my ear, kissing me in apology. He did that every time he whispered in my ear now, as if it could be the last time. I knew he was still afraid. So was I.

The others were crammed onto and around the sofa across from us. It was unnerving the way they hadn’t stopped looking at me, all huddled up and leaned in. They’d been like this since we made it out. I hated it. Not because of their concern, or the intensity of the burning questions in their eyes; it was because I had seen their ends, all of everyone’s ends, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at them when I knew that was all I’d be able to see.

“May I please use your restroom?” I croaked, my tired, salt-encrusted eyes never leaving the same cigarette burn on the carpet I’d been staring at since I was sat down there.

“Of course!” Max hurried, everyone standing at once, even Eddie. That might’ve actually been worse than just sitting and staring. Now I felt surrounded. “Down the hall on the right.”

“Thank you.” My voice was hollow, the exact opposite of how I felt. On the inside, I was full to the brim, drowning even. My chest and eyes burned with the tears I had already shed and the ones I was trying so hard to hold back. I hadn’t felt like this since Zayde died.

On wobbly legs, I shuffled down the dark hall, the stinging burn of all their gazes lighting the back of my neck on fire. Eddie was down the hall in three strides and opened the door for me, looking inside suspiciously. The room was illuminated by a small window and the sunshine of daybreak. It was too small for anything or anyone to be hiding in, and the shower curtain was pulled all the way back, revealing an empty bathtub as well. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“Okay,” Eddie answered, closing the door behind us and leaning his back against it.

“What’re you doing?”

“Whatever you’re doing.”

“Eddie—”

“If you think I’m gonna leave you for even a second, you’re dead wrong.” His phrasing made my stomach lurch, but there was too little in it for me to vomit. “Where you go, I go. Always.”

“What if I had to change a tampon or something?”

“Then I’ll be here to keep watch while you do.”

Eddie was so big in that tiny bathroom, it was like he filled up half the space with his body alone. I had no choice but to look at him, there was no avoiding it. I collapsed on the cold tile floor just at the sight of him. “I love you so much. You know that, right?” I pleaded, trying to keep my voice down through my fresh sobs.

“Of course I know,” he answered softly, sitting on the edge of the tub and gathering me between his arms and legs, physically shielding me from the rest of the world with his limbs and torso. “You know I love you even more, though, right?” I couldn’t answer. I was crying so hard again I could hardly breathe. My Eddie loved me beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I could take no solace in that fact, not when I knew how it would end for him because of me. “Shhh, Kelly Rose, I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here, as long as you need me.” He was crying too, now, but he was trying to be so brave. I could hear it, and it only made me feel that much worse. He had no idea what he was saying, and the guilt was about to swallow me whole.

For a few moments, I allowed my despair to overwhelm me. I gripped the back of his leather jacket with shaking fists as I screamed into his chest, trying to smother the sound in the planes of his body. He held me even tighter, so close I could hear his pounding heart as he cried with me, and I knew then that we really felt the same about each other. That if we could share one body, one protective shell to keep each other close and safe forever, we would do it gladly. We would never leave one another’s side, not for anything, weathering the storms of forever without a care in the world, because all either of us needed to care about was the other. We wanted safety, and shelter, and security, and we had it as long as we were together. The feeling of such certainty in our love only made my sorrow even more biter. To know we were relying on borrowed time, huddled together in terror of everything to come instead of enjoying a Spring Break of young love in the warmth of the sun, was so cruelly unfair in a grand scheme that was even crueler.

“Kelly Rose, you gotta breathe,” Eddie whispered hoarsely, brushing my hair away from my face where it had stuck from tears and sweat.

“I-I can’t,” I hiccuped, having to slap a hand over my mouth to keep the noise down as I broke down all over again.

“Come here, I got you.” Eddie scooped me up under my arms and settled me on the edge of the tub as he stood up. “Lean your head down and try to take deep breaths, I’ll just be a second.”

The curtain of my blonde hair obscured my vision when I tilted my head down. No, wait, it wasn’t blonde. It was white. At some point before I lost my memories, my hair had turned from even darker than Eddie’s to pure white. I had read about Marie Antoinette syndrome once. Hair was only supposed to turn white so quickly under extreme physical stress and visceral fear. The thought sent me shaking and spiraling all over again, but as I went to cover my face with my hands, my mole peaked out from the sleeve of my jacket. No, not my mole. My tattoo. A cover-up of my number.

Someone numbered me like I was cattle. Like in the Holocaust. I wanted to vomit again. I needed Davey and Jake, and Zayde, and one of the Cuban cigars we used to smoke in secret when Mr. And Mrs. Bauman weren’t home. I couldn’t be buried with them now. Everyone was going to die, and we were going to be separated forever, even in death. I did vomit then, only barely making it to the toilet, shivering and shuddering through every heave.

“I was hoping you’d keep that down, you’ve barely eaten as it is,” Eddie mumbled to himself above me. He gathered my hair up and held it in one hand, then laid a cold, damp cloth across the back of my neck. This time my shiver was from relief. “Keep breathing, I’ll get you some water.”

One-handed, he filled the glass on the sink to the brim with ice cold water. My hands were far too unsteady to hold the glass, so while keeping my hair held back in case I wasn’t finished with the toilet, he held the glass up for me to sip from. Between gasps I drank, and slowly, I calmed down enough to speak.

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Kelly Rose.”

“C-could you light me a-a cigarette?”

“Can I have one too?” At my jerky nod, he went straight to work, pulling the dented pack out of my pocket and locating a little jar of matches in the medicine cabinet. When we each had a Virginia Slim dangling from our lips, he used the strike pad on the side of the jar to light the match. When the cherries on our cigarettes glowed to life, he cracked the window and plopped down on the floor beside me, our backs leaned uncomfortably against the tub and our knees forced up to our chests with no room to spread out. “Feel a little better now?”

“Yeah, actually,” I said hoarsely.

“There’s not much in this world a cigarette can’t fix.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears, baby.”

I smoked as fast as I could. I was still teary, and that simply wouldn’t do. There was too much to say, too much to get done with so little time, and I had to get my head back in the game. A cigarette would do that for me, get my mind clear enough to make it through the important stuff and figure out our next move. I could feel the fight coming back to me with every drag I took, my thoughts forming bright and clear again after being engulfed by shadows. My feet wanted to run again, whether toward or away from danger, whichever would help Eddie more, and my palms itched for violence. For vengeance.

“Penny for your thoughts? You look like you’re ready to kill the sink with your bare hands,” Eddie joked weakly, bumping his leather-clad shoulder against mine.

I finished my last drag and flicked the butt into the toilet. “I gotta get it together enough to talk to everybody, but you have to listen to me first,” I said through my remaining sniffles. With increasing urgency, I continued, “If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to stay, you stay. If I tell you to hide, hide; if I tell you to jump, then jump—” I gasped as another sob tried to work its way out of my throat, a fat, hot tear rushing down my cheek and falling off my chin, “and if I tell you to fight, then by God, you fight with everything you’ve got. Promise me you’ll do what I say, when I say it. Promise me.”

“I promise,” he answered easily, wiping the new wet track off my face with a careful, calloused thumb, the smoke of his cigarette encircling my head. “But you have to promise me something too. Promise me that next time, you’ll go first. And every time after that, too.” He was trying to hold his own tears at bay now. It made my heart twist and ache for him, knowing how much I’d frightened him while I was in the trance. “I can’t take seeing you like that again. I just fucking can’t, sweetheart. Never again. So you go first from now on. I’ll watch your back, okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded, pulling him close to kiss his cheek. “I promise, baby. Whatever you want, I promise.”

When both of us were over the worst of our crying, I stood first and faced the mirror. There were decisions to make, and the first was how to handle the rest of the Party, who I had no doubt were right outside the door. I couldn’t crack anymore, I couldn’t break wide open the way I wanted to, not with Eddie and everyone else at stake. For a moment, standing there, I saw myself as a child again. Hair black and buzzed, eyes frightened but alert, cheeks high and round and secretly waiting for a reason to smile, only to be given reason after reason to frown instead. I had survived something in that little body. And I couldn’t let it all be for nothing, not when I’d come so far and had so much to live for now.

The time for embracing the young, lost version of myself was up. My hair was white now, and long, and was a complete wreck at the moment. My eyes were still just as frightened and alert, but my cheeks were sharper and more defined from a combination of too little food and far too much ill-gotten fun. I wasn’t that little girl anymore, and I never would be again. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t at least try to make things right for her, and for every child lost in that facility who had looked just like me.

I couldn’t tell Eddie about what I’d learned about myself in advance. I needed him to be just as surprised as the others when I told them everything. That way, no one could suspect him of anything. No prior knowledge, no nefarious secrets, nothing. Even if they couldn’t trust me after this, even if I ended up being too much of a liability and was ejected from the group for their safety, at least I’d know I still protected Eddie’s standing with them as best as I knew how.

My eyes grew dull and cold as they glaringly assessed my reflection, rapidly finding every flaw and correcting them into a careful mask of neutrality, just as I’d learned to do over the years with my parents. I had to be able to face everyone, even if it might be the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted. It was just a matter of figuring out how to say it all the right way. I couldn’t walk out there and crush them with the brutal truth. There were kids out there, after all.

“Kelly Rose, you’re scaring me.”

“Sorry,” I shook my head. In a few gulps I finished the glass of water, then flushed the toilet and washed my hands. When my hands were dry and notably less shaky, I took a fistful of Eddie’s Hellfire shirt and pulled him down for a slow, lingering kiss. “Thanks for taking such good care of me, baby. I love you.”

“I love you. And I’ll always take care of you.”

If I hugged him the way I wanted to then, I’d end up a crumpled mess all over again. I settled for taking his hand instead, and with a squeeze of reassurance I hoped was the right thing to do, I pulled the door open. Seven pairs of eyes were wide and waiting for me.

“Shit, sorry,” Max apologized as everyone trailed back into the living room.

“No, I’m sorry,” I sighed. “We have a lot to talk about and I shouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself,” Robin warned. “You went through some serious shit. A Vecna attack is never pretty. Anyone would’ve needed a minute after that.”

Sitting in my original spot with Eddie following right alongside me, I answered, “I took longer than a minute, though, and every minute counts from here on out.” That got everyone leaning in close again. I still hated it, but I went on, “If what I saw really was Vecna, then there’re more layers to this than any of us knew.”

“What did you see?” Nancy asked, verging on an outright demand in her urgency.

“I don’t know how much was pertinent to the current circumstances and how much was just to scare me,” I lied. “I saw a lot of things, but it doesn’t all make sense.”

“Maybe it’s like with the palantir in The Two Towers?” Eddie suggested. “They could show things that were real and bad, or things that were made-up and bad, or things that hadn’t happened yet and still might not happen.”

Max nodded, “That’s what it was like for me, too. Not everything he made me see was real, but some of it definitely was, and other things were possible, but haven’t happened. Whatever he showed you, he could’ve just been messing with you to throw us all off.”

“There’s something he showed me I know for sure is real.” All of your deaths. Every single one of you. “He’s opening a gate. Not like the ones he’s already opened, but a mega gate that connects all of them. One big enough to bring a whole army through. And when that happens—” I jumped back and gasped, nearly falling off the loveseat in my shock. Standing in the hall we had just come from was one of the girls from my memories. The one who was taken right out of my arms by that horrible man. A little girl I knew had to have died horribly, all because of me. She looked exactly the same, too; the same buzzed head we all had then, and the same hospital gown. She was staring right at me, silent and serious. I broke into a cold sweat and shivers just at the sight of her. “Oh, my God,” I choked, bringing a shaking hand to my mouth.

“What is it?” Eddie rushed, his attention darting between me and where I was looking.

I blinked, a tear leaking from my eye, and she was gone. “I thought… I thought I saw my sister.” I tried so hard to be strong, to not crack while addressing everyone, but just saying the word broke me. “She was right there. I swear to God, she was there.”

“Kelly, it’s okay,” Max tried to soothe me. “Vecna made me see my brother. It’s how he gets to you.”

“She’s gone.” Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of her. There was no wrangling myself under control again. I was completely losing it right in front of everyone; the gasps as I sobbed through my words were hardly enough for me to stay breathing. “All of them… my brothers and sisters, they’re all gone!”

It was Nancy who gasped next, looking stricken and glassy-eyed. “That’s what Eleven told me when she found Barb.”

“Don’t lie!” I burst, enraged and devastated. “Don’t you dare say she’s been here when she can’t be! I know she’s gone! He killed them all and I should’ve been with them. It’s always been him, behind everything, it was always him! And we trusted him! All of us, we thought he was looking after us! He took her from me and he killed her, and she was all alone! She was supposed to get out but I did instead! I left her there! It was all my fault!”

Eddie hauled me into his lap then, I could feel all his muscles coiling around my small frame to bring me as close as our bodies could physically be. “Sweetheart, you gotta breathe. I’m right here, just breathe.”

Nancy stood. “Is that who you saw just now? Eleven?”

“Wheeler, can you give her a fucking minute?” Eddie spat.

I couldn’t have spoken at that point even if I’d wanted to. My grief had reached a fever pitch, my entire body wracked so hard with sorrow I was left screaming behind my hand. I still nodded, though, and that spark I so utterly despised came glittering back into Nancy’s eyes.

“I was right, wasn’t I? You’re from the lab. That’s why you wouldn’t show us your wrist.”

I didn’t know! I didn’t know about any of it! My mind bellowed helplessly.

“Nance, that’s enough.” Steve pulled Nancy back down onto the couch beside him. “Isn’t Mike with El right now? When was the last time you heard from him?”

“He called from the airport when he landed, I’m sure they’re fine.”

“How many days ago was that?”

Steve’s pointed question gave Nancy pause. “About five days ago,” she replied, seemingly just realizing how much time had actually passed.

“El promised to call and tell me how the first day went. She had a bunch of stuff planned for him, she was super excited, but she never called. Not the next day, either,” Max said.

“Guys, they’re all the way in California, they’re totally fine. They’re probably just having such a good time they forgot to call,” Nancy dismissed. Max marched across the room to the yellow phone and started dialing. “The number’s—”

“I know my best friend’s number, Nancy. Jesus Christ,” Max huffed, rolling her eyes. After a beat, she shook her head. “The line’s busy.”

“Wait,” Dustin said, standing now as well. “I tried calling a couple days ago. It was busy then, too.”

Nancy reasoned, “Everybody needs to calm down here for a sec. Joyce is a telemarketer. She’s probably working.”

“It’s way too early in California to be working,” Max deadpanned. “They should all be asleep or just waking up. Something’s wrong.”

“Wait,” I sniffled, pulling away from Eddie enough to look at everyone again. It took a couple false starts, but I finally got out, “Whe-when I’ve tried calling m-my friends, it’s always busy too. I haven’t got-gotten a call through in m-months.”

“Even Dave and Jake?” Dustin asked, eyes wide and worried. At my nod, he clutched the sides of his head. “Shit, shit, shit, shit! This has got government interference written all over it!”

That was what finally forced Nancy to realize the severity of the situation. “Oh, God. That means Jonathan’s in trouble too.”

“And Will,” Lucas added. “There’s no way for us to know what’s happening out there, but it can’t be a coincidence. We gotta assume they’re all tied up in this somehow.”

“Are you sure you dialed it correctly?”

“Yes, Nancy, for shit’s sake!”

“Well, try again!”

Max huffed but did try once more, only to angrily drop the receiver and let it dangle, the busy signal faintly repeating for all to hear. “We’re wasting time!”

The group erupted, everyone trying to throw their two cents in at once, but they faded into the background. I was fixated on the phone, and the place beside it where I’d seen Eleven. Was she really alive? Did she manage to escape after all? I couldn’t get the busy signal out of my head. It was calling to me. Slowly, shakily, I made my way toward it. When I lifted the receiver to my ear, I could feel something. What it was I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but it was there, right at the edge of my consciousness. A sense of calm and focus breached the pain and fear that had overtaken me. Something deep down told me to hold on to the feeling and speak.

“Eleven? Can you hear me? It’s… it’s Nine.”

* * *

“… Eleven? Can you hear me? It’s… it’s Nine.”

The soft, feminine voice crackled through the speaker in the corner of Eleven’s cell. She pulled her blindfold off to look at the speaker, startled and astounded. She had seen everything, heard everything, but still couldn’t believe it. She had another sister, alive in Hawkins, and she was in just as much danger as Max and the others. Papa lied again. They weren’t safe, they’d never been safe. Who was Vecna? How could he open a gate, and one big enough for an army?

She impatiently wiped the blood from her upper lip and nose as she threw the cell door open. “Papa! Papa, where are you?”

“Hey, kiddo! Where’s the fire?” Dr. Owens cheerfully greeted from his desk in the main room of the underground testing site.

“My friends. You said they would be safe. They are not safe,” she explained, her eyes pleading for help.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’re you talking about? Of course they’re safe.”

“No,” she shook her head emphatically, “you’re wrong. I just saw them. Something very bad is about to happen.”

“Well, you know we’ve got people there right now, so they would’ve told me if something was wrong. But, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.” Eleven’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Where’d you see them?”

“My friend Max’s house.”

“Max who?”

“Max Mayfield.”

“Alright, I’m writing this all down along with the time, that way there’s no confusion. As soon as I hear back from my contacts in the area, I’ll send them over to Max’s and they’ll make sure he’s alright.”

“She.”

“Oh. They’ll make sure she’s alright, then.”

It was then that Dr. Brenner entered the testing area. “Eleven? One of the assistants notified me you were calling. Is something the matter?”

Slowly, she turned to look at him coldly over her shoulder. “You haven’t told me the truth, Papa. You promised: no more lies.”

“I’ve faithfully kept my promise, Eleven, and you’ve seen that for yourself this entire time. What do you think I lied about?” he asked, flashing his indulgent, condescending smile.

“You told me all of my brothers and sisters were dead. You showed me and made me believe you. But it’s not true.”

“Now, Eleven, we both know Eight is a special case—”

“Not Eight, Papa. Nine. Tell me about her.”

Dr. Brenner was visibly and unmistakably taken aback by her demand. “While her body was unaccounted for, I can assure you, she died with the others. There wasn’t a single trace of her left, Eleven, you must believe me.”

“No! Stop lying!” The light fixtures above them began to flicker. “I just saw her, I heard her in my room, and she saw me. I know she saw me.”

“Are you quite certain of this? You must be absolutely sure.”

“I know what I saw. She called herself Nine.”

Many emotions flitted across Dr. Brenner’s face in rapid succession, but finally, he settled on unsettling glee. “So, the runt of the litter was heartier than any of us knew. This is groundbreaking, Eleven. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will personally look into this matter.”

The sinking feeling in Eleven’s stomach told her that she made a mistake confronting Papa. Looking to Dr. Owens for assurance, he gave her a subtle nod and tapped the pad of paper he’d written on. The race was on for Owens’ contacts to find the Party before Brenner’s could.

* * *

Sometimes in life, we discover things about ourselves and the world around us at inopportune moments. In this moment, the fingers of my right hand were entwined with Eddie’s calloused left, held so tightly that his rings bit into my soft skin. He was wearing a Michael Myers mask and dashing between trailers to reach a specific one he had in mind, his long curls fluttering out behind him from where the mask couldn’t contain them. The rest of the gang was following close behind us, no one daring to make a sound. It was right then that I realized I was the luckiest girl alive.

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, and it offered me a glimpse of understanding I didn’t have the capacity for just half an hour ago. I not only survived Vecna against all odds, but it was because Eddie was the one who saved me. And after that, he was the one who comforted me, who put my pieces back together sturdy enough for us both to keep going, who figured out our next plan for everyone, and who remembered to make sure I ate and had at least one more glass of water before we left the Mayfield residence. He refused to leave me for even a second, and hadn’t stopped touching me since we made it through the gate. I needed his constant presence, I needed his endless touches, and somehow he knew without me saying a word about any of it. Because of this boy; no, because of this man, I was alive and as well as I possibly could be. By virtue of knowing him, of loving him and being loved even harder in return, I knew with complete clarity then that I was the luckiest girl alive. He bestowed that luck upon me, and I was going to put it to good use.

Vecna lied to me. He showed me visions that were either complete bullshit or half-truths at best, but either way, he had been proven unreliable almost immediately. It was the biggest, most costly mistake he ever could’ve made with me. Now that I knew Eleven was out there somewhere, and had been all this time, I knew by extension that every other part of the vision was faulty too. Eddie didn’t have to die. No one had to die. And with God as my fucking witness, I’d make sure none of them did. To Mordor and back again.

When we found the right trailer, which ended up being a camper, Eddie opened one of the smaller back windows and gave me a boost up through it. First went my bag, then I landed softly on an upholstered bench seat and scooched to the other end. Eddie came climbing through after me, ungracefully scrambling his way in only to somersault head over heals and flop over on top of me with a groan.

“Baby? You okay?” I asked, pulling the mask off so I could see his face.

His wince was hard to see, he’d buried his face so far into my boobs in his accidentally fortuitous position. But it was definitely a wince. “Right as rain,” he replied through gritted teeth, sounding short of breath. The furrow in his brow only deepened when he rolled off of me onto the floor of the camper. “Help me get the others in here,” he groaned as he stood.

Had he hit his chest on the way through the window and I just didn’t notice? Other than losing his balance at the last second, I thought he’d been fine. Whatever it was, he certainly wasn’t bleeding, so it could wait to be healed. Nodding, I went to the window. “Erica, you’re up.”

We took turns offering our hands to pull our friends up through the window. Steve went last and was tall enough to climb up himself, and sprang up from the bench seat upon landing much more lithely than Eddie had.

“Show off,” Erica scoffed.

Robin shook her head. “Like we’re supposed to be impressed or something.”

Nancy was visibly impressed. Robin and I both noticed and shared a meaningful glance. Addressing the elephant in the room would have to wait for later, though. With everyone accounted for, I got to work locking all the windows and the door, and Eddie threw himself into the front seat.

Max hissed from the back, “Hurry!”

“Workin’ on it, Red,” Eddie answered impatiently, retrieving a pair of pliers from the glove box.

I popped up over his shoulder after pulling closed the last of the curtains to obscure the view of the owners from outside. “Need any help, baby?”

“Take a load off, gorgeous, I got this.” He paused a moment, putting the pliers between his teeth as he pulled open the paneling hiding the wiring of the camper under the steering wheel. Hearing the damage being done in the front seat, Steve joined me, then Nancy, and then Robin to get a better look at Eddie’s handiwork. “While the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hotwire,” he explained resentfully. Expertly, he located the correct wires in seconds and began cutting and stripping them with the pliers. “Now, I swore to myself I wouldn’t wind up like he did, but, now I’m wanted for murder, and soon, grand theft auto. So, uh, yeah, really living up to that Munson name.”

Robin cleared her throat. “I’m not sure I love the idea of you driving.”

“Oh, I’m just starting this sucker.” Eddie turned to grin sarcastically up at Steve. “Harrington’s got her. Don’t ya, big boy?” Before Steve could form an answer one way or the other, Eddie tapped the ends of the wires together once, twice, and on the third spark, the engine roared to life with a loud rev and a bang from the exhaust pipe. The radio started too, blaring the local rock station at top volume with Judas Priest providing the soundtrack of our escape.

That was when the owners of the camper realized they were under siege. The started banging on the windows and doors, hollering at us to get out. At seeing the owners’ distress, Eddie’s grin became downright maniacal. He pulled me down for a fast, hard kiss, before hopping out of the driver’s seat and leading me by the hand to the back of the trailer in only a few quick strides.

“Everybody hold on to something,” Steve warned, taking his place behind the wheel.

Dustin screamed, his face contorted with his urgency, “DRIVE, STEVE, DRIVE!”

We were off with a jerk, a hitch, and a bang. The jerk sent everyone flying backwards wherever they were in the camper, the hitch was from Steve almost stalling out the engine when he shifted gears incorrectly, and the bang was from the awning of the camper slamming straight into the Forest Hills Trailer Park sign, tearing the awning clean off as we fled the scene. At least if we had to leave some evidence of our crimes behind, it was evidence that couldn’t possibly have any of our fingerprints on it.

Eddie and I landed beside Max and Lucas on the bench beat, Eddie gasping when his left side made contact with the cushioning. When he didn’t recover immediately, I carefully pushed him to lay on his back. He seemed like he needed the help and was hardly able to move. His face was red, eyes the size of dinner plates, and he was clutching his side.

“Are you breathing?”

A whoosh of air left him all at once. “I’m good,” he squeaked.

Batting his hand away, I only had to lift the hem of his shirt an inch before I discovered the beginning purple splotches of severe bruising. “What the fuck happened to you?” I was worried of course, but even more so I was confused. How could something like this happen on my watch? He’d been fine the whole time, nothing could’ve done this much damage.

“He fell for you. Hard,” Lucas supplied from beside me.

At my questioning glance, Max shook her head. “No, seriously. We didn’t realize you were in a trance until Eddie came through the gate, but as soon as he figured it out, he went right back for you. There was no mattress on that side, though, so he hit the ground when he fell. I thought for sure he’d broken all his ribs, but he got up right away, so we kind of forgot about it when we were trying to wake you up.”

“You’ve been running around with this the whole time and you didn’t tell me?” I asked, brushing a stray curl away from his cheek.

“It didn’t catch up to me right away, but fuck has it caught up to me,” he admitted.

“Alright, that’s it. You two, find somewhere else to sit, I have a patient and he needs to be able to stretch his legs.”

“Dude, come on,” Lucas complained.

“Not to mention that I was running on fumes to begin with, and I was just psychically attacked or whatever. I think we both deserve a nap, don’t you?”

There was no arguing with that logic. “Alright, my bad.”

Max and Lucas settled on the floor with their backs against the seat, allowing us to get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as we could be until his bruise was healed up. I laid my head on his chest, right over where his heart was thrumming steadily. His right arm folded over his chest to hold me close despite the pain it caused him, as his left cradled my shoulders above my backpack. My hands slipped under his shirt and rested featherlight over the bruise, ready to fix him up in time to sleep a little before we got to the War Zone.

Eddie whispered, “Wanna take off your bag?”

“No, it’s better to keep it on me,” I replied just as softly. “You never know what might happen.”

“Too true.”

The sound of the tires on the road below us, the quiet chatter of the others, and the clinking of the dishes as they rattled in the cupboards in the kitchenette created a kind of white noise effect that let me focus enough to heal Eddie. The warmth from my hands made him sigh and cuddle into me more.

By the time I was done, I was tired. It hit me hard and fast, but so did the shiver of fear that ran through me at the thought of nodding off and never getting the chance to open my eyes again.

“Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“Are you ever scared to fall asleep?”

Before he answered me, he tenderly kissed the top of my head. “You know, that night this all started, I thought I’d be way too freaked out to ever sleep again. I used to have nightmares sometimes growing up, so it seemed like a no-brainer that even if I could sleep at all, I’d wish I hadn’t. But when the time came, I wasn’t scared at all since you were there, and I haven’t had any nightmares this whole time. So, now I’m never scared to close my eyes when I know you’re with me.”

My chest swelled with emotion. A tear leaked from the corner of my eye and found its final resting place on his shirt. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, Kelly Rose.”

* * *

When I woke, Steve had just slowed the camper enough to pull into the parking lot of the War Zone. Eddie startled and snorted awake right after me, looking around bleary-eyed.

“We made it in one piece?” he asked, voice low and groggy.

“Seems like it.”

Everyone who had dozed off were coming back around, and once Steve found a place big enough to park, we all convened in a huddle on the floor. Of course, Nancy just couldn’t contain herself from taking the lead.

“Alright, we need a plan. We can’t start shopping without some idea of how to kill Vecna.”

“God knows plans are your specialty, Wheeler,” I commented offhandedly. Apparently I woke up on the wrong side of the bench seat, but it was too late to take the jab back now.

When Nancy paused long enough to glare daggers at me from where she sat with her back against the passenger seat, Steve stepped in, “Well, we know that whatever hurts one thing in the hivemind hurts them all, and all of them don’t like fire.”

“I like where your head’s at,” Eddie nodded in approval.

“Okay, we’ll flambe the son of a bitch,” Robin agreed eagerly.

“People can survive crazy burns, though, and he’s no ordinary person,” I argued. “We need more than that. Way more than that. Besides, what about the bats?”

“We were talking about that,” Dustin jumped in. “Robin told us about them before we fell asleep. If they’re the way she described, they’re demobats, and we have to proceed with extreme caution. Anything in the hivemind is a man-eating beast.”

“Once again, child endangerment,” Erica tsked.

“Wait a minute,” I held up a finger. “I don’t like that. If it’s a true hivemind and they hunt people especially,” Nancy became very interested in her ruined white shoes all of a sudden, “then they should’ve been swarming us like flies on shit. After we fought ‘em off and got to Skull Rock, they flew right over us and never came back. We didn’t see anything but vines for miles. So, what the fuck were they all doing?”

Robin wondered, “And why was the road so clear? Your theory fell through, Munson. If they can grow all over the buildings and cars, they can grow on the road. It has to mean something.”

“It takes a ton of energy for Vecna to attack and recharge,” Max began. “We know that because every kill has opened a gate so far, you can’t do that without an insane amount of energy all at once, plus the length of time between the murders. Maybe it takes so much out of him that it leaves him wide open. Maybe they were protecting him so he could go after you, Kelly.”

“The timing would make sense,” Nancy nodded.

“Alright, so how do we take the bats—”

Dustin interrupted Steve, “Demobats.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “… Out of the equation?”

“Can we burn them to a crisp, too?” Erica asked.

“You didn’t see how many there were,” Steve shook his head. “There’s no way we can take that many, and they’ll all come at once.”

“Then we need a distraction,” Eddie offered.

“It would have to be a hell of a distraction,” Lucas said dubiously.

“We’ll get to that part,” I assured. “But where could we even stage a distraction? How can we be effective without risking our necks too much?”

Nancy took the reins. “Someplace we all know well and wouldn’t be too hard to fortify. It should have good cover, easy access for us but not for anything else, and preferably a gate nearby to escape if we have to.”

My heart sank to my stomach when Eddie said, “Let’s use my place, then. Now that you’ve all been in every square inch of it, we can make it home base.”

“No offense,” Max cut in, “but our trailers are essentially glorified tin cans. I don’t see them standing up to Vecna and whatever else he’ll send after us.”

“Have a little imagination, Red. There wouldn’t be too many windows to board up, there’s only two doors and they’re right by each other, so super easy to guard, and there’s plenty of chains and fences to use from every other yard. It won’t take all day to get done, either.”

That was when I saw the changes in everyone’s faces. They all realized it was a good plan, and sure, I had to admit that it was, too. But, God, it made my heart skip a beat from pure dread. It was the most logically sound idea for certain, but I still had a horrible feeling about it. I knew I was outnumbered, though, and any protests would be pointless. All I could do to collect myself was close my eyes for a moment, remind myself that Vecna’s vision was bullshit, sigh, and say, “I’m making a list.”

Beside me on the refrigerator was a small notepad on a magnet with a pencil wedged behind it. I took them both, knowing I would have to bring them with me in case they were ever brushed for prints when this camper would inevitably be found. I began writing as fast as I could, my mind racing with possibilities for how to kill the fucker and his goddamn bats. While I’d only just found out about the War Zone an hour ago, it wasn’t my first military surplus store, and I had faith that whatever hicks owned the joint would be more than able to provide ample supplies for anything I came up with. If we were really lucky, they’d even have some leftover flamethrowers from Vietnam, but I’d make sure we had more than enough options to go around whether luck was on our side or not. Contingency plans were my bread and butter, after all.

“Uh, Kelly Rose? You good?”

“Huh?”

“That’s how you get when you’re taking notes in class for a test. Absolutely terrifying.”

I shook out my hand and turned the list around to present to everyone. “Well, I’m trying to be meticulous here. Anything you guys wanna add?”

After a brief scan of the page, Eddie whistled low. “I never should’ve doubted you.”

Excitedly, Erica asked, “Can we really get all this crazy shit?”

“Uh, one problem. We definitely don’t have enough money between us to pay for even a quarter of this crazy shit,” Robin pointed out.

Fuck. “Dare I hope that any of you have a charge card?”

“What do you think?” Erica sarcastically rebuffed me.

Just when I thought my stomach might be able to settle for at least a little while, it plummeted to the soles of my shoes. There was only one option, really. I would never, not in a million years, not for anything, allow this plan to fail. The world, and my Eddie, were at stake. There was no length I wouldn’t go to, no danger I wouldn’t face, no obstacle I wouldn’t tackle head on and overcome, if it meant saving him. Therefore, even though it made me want to spit nails, I knew there was no choice but to resort to the most drastic of measures.

“Alright,” I gritted out grudgingly. The change in my tone caught their attention right away. “Everybody’s gonna get real close and real quiet.” They all leaned in as much as they could, but I didn’t trust them yet. “Seriously, cover your mouths if you won’t be able to control yourselves.” After sharing questioning looks, they all covered their mouths, although Erica and Max were clearly nonplussed about it. Too damn bad. “Now, nobody saw this, nobody’s gonna ask any questions about it, and you’re definitely not gonna tell anybody outside this crime on wheels about it. I don’t care if it’s the CIA, your priest, your mother, or God Himself. You. Didn’t. See. Anything. Do we all understand each other here?” At their nods of confirmation, some more enthusiastic than others, I slipped my backpack off my shoulders and unzipped it, only to reveal the briefcase for all to see. With a quick flick of the dials for the combination lock, the case opened just enough for everyone to see what was inside.

Dustin cracked first, ripping his hand off of his mouth to point at the sea of money I’d been hiding. “WHAT THE FUCK IS—!”

“Henderson,” Steve clapped his hand over Dustin’s mouth before he could get any further and whispered, “of all the shit we’ve seen together, this isn’t even in the top ten. Get a grip, dude.” Returning his attention to me, he continued in slightly less of a whisper, “But, what the fuck is that?! You’ve had that on you this whole fucking time?!”

“No questions,” I jabbed a finger at him. “No fucking squealing or drawing attention to us,” my hard stare succeeded in visibly shaming Dustin from behind Steve’s hand. “And, if any you try to steal even one bill out of this case from me, I don’t care if you’re a minor, I’ll stab you right in the hand, and you’ll fully deserve it. You want something, you ask. You need something, you let me know right away, but you don’t take what isn’t yours when I’m going out of my way to be extra generous. Now do we understand each other?” Everyone was frozen in disbelief. Snapping my fingers in a semicircle, I goaded, “I’m gonna need a yes, a nod, something here, people. Now isn’t the time to just stare at me.” I received a nod of varying intensity from everyone but Eddie. “You good, babe?”

“You’re so goddamn hot when you get all snippy and protective,” he replied with a slow grin.

“Thank you, but not the time, sweets,” I said with a kiss to his cheek. It warmed under my lips with his blush.

Erica took her hand away from her mouth to raise it. “I’ve got a question, and it’s not about the money.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s actually about that. There’re a lot of guns on this list, but you know most of us have never even held one before, right?”

“Wait, what?” Looking around, I was taken aback by the confirmation on most of their faces.

“I’m pretty sure the only one here who knows how is Nancy,” Steve added.

“None of you have ever shot cans or bottles just for fun? Not even once?” Sheepishly, the others either shook their heads or wouldn’t meet my eyes. With a deep sigh of disappointment, I directed to Erica, “Point well made, then. What do you suggest?”

“Spears,” she answered with certainty.

“Walk me through your thought process here.”

“Easy. The single most used and most effective weapon in all of human history, across all cultures and terrains, is the spear for a reason. It keeps your enemies at a distance while optimizing options for defense, and if they get too close, you poke ‘em full of holes and call it a day. You don’t need any training to do that, either. You’ll be fighting bats, not just Vecna, and they depend on their fragile wings; the biggest, easiest parts of them to reach. Do the math.”

All of those were excellent reasons, making me nod thoughtfully in approval. “I like where your head’s at. But I’m almost certain this place is full of guns, not spears.”

“Then we make spears, genius.”

“Fine. Your job will be to find the right supplies to make spears out of.” Erica smiled, clearly pleased with her assignment. “Nancy, you’re gonna pick out your firearm of choice. I think short of beheading, our best bet is to set the shithead on fire and blow his brains out. Can you handle it?”

“Like Steve said, I know how to shoot.”

“Yeah, but so do I. I can shoot a flea off a dog’s ass, no problem. If there’s even a one percent chance of you missing this shot, you need to tell me right now so I can do it. There’s zero room for error here.”

“I know what I’m doing, Turner,” she snapped.

Apparently, Nancy was rather touchy when it came to people doubting her abilities. Ego like that was never a good sign, but everyone else obviously trusted her when it came to her aim, so I didn’t push it. I wouldn’t let her snide tone go unanswered, though. “Then put my money where your mouth is, Wheeler. Buy whatever you want, just as long as you know how to use it. ‘Cause if you miss, I won’t forgive you as long as I live.”

She lifted her chin defiantly at me, but I stared her down with all the intensity I had, ensuring she knew I was serious, until she was forced to give up and look down at her shoes again.

During our short confrontation, Steve had taken up the list. “Steal toed boots?”

“Would you rather stay barefoot, Kung Fu?”

“I always loved that show. But, no.”

“That’s what I thought. Any other thoughts, complaints, or suggestions?” The list was passed from person to person until it was returned to me. Aside from the part dedicated to the firearms, everyone was in agreement that it was comprehensive and needed no further revisions. “One last thing: snacks. Whatever you like, grab enough to share. Armies, no matter how small, run on their stomachs, and we can’t pull this off is we’re all weak from hunger. Also, we need as many caffeinated sodas as you can get your hands on. Mountain Dew, Jolt, Pepsi, Coke, whatever they got.”

“Can I get a New Coke?” Lucas asked hopefully.

“If they have it, it’s yours. But I also put canteens on there ‘cause we’re definitely gonna need to hydrate, so don’t forget them. Now, only the eldest get to hold the money.” The kids all groaned in unison, but not too loudly, mindful of my threats. “Hey, hey, use your heads. It’d be insanely suspicious if a bunch of kids were walking around with hundred dollar bills stuffed in their pockets, buying weapons and candy with not a parent in sight. You’ll get whatever you want, just don’t touch the money so nobody looks twice at you. The name of the game is discretion if we’re gonna pull this off.”

It was decided that Max, Lucas, Eddie and I would stay behind while the rest did the shopping. Since we claimed the bench seat on the way there, we let Max and Lucas have it back while we laid stretched out on the carpeted floor that smelled of cigarettes and mildew, holding hands as we dozed. We had no idea how much time passed before we were awakened by frantic feet and hushed orders to get moving.

“What happened?” Eddie asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

“Jason Carver and, like, the entire basketball team saw us,” Robin hastily filled us in.

“Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie and I shared a horrified glance before scuttling back to the bench seat, mindful to stay low and out of view from the windows. The last on board was Steve, with everyone else dropping what they were holding to brace themselves for what was sure to be an ungraceful exit, if our escape from the trailer park was anything to go by.

I dared to sneak a peak out of the large back windshield once we were on the road. There he was, Jason Carver, with his squad of loyal goons, watching as the camper hauled ass back the way we came. I knew the look in his eyes, in all of their eyes. They were out for blood. Innocent, entirely blameless blood. I realized then that I was looking at a ravenous pack of Nazis, and there was nothing I hated more on God’s green earth than fucking Nazis. Well, now Vecna was also tied for first place, but he’d get his soon enough. They all fucking would if they dared to come for any of us again.

The last time I was face to face with Jason, I didn’t want to fight him; half because my priority was getting Eddie to safety, with the other half being that I genuinely pitied him. It was when he lost Patrick, his best friend, after all. But if we were ever unfortunate enough to cross paths again, he’d sorely regret it. There’d be no pity or mercy from me this time. Nobody got to terrorize my sweet Eddie and get away with it, especially not some podunk poster boy for the Hitler Youth. Jason Carver and anyone stupid enough to follow in his footsteps had better watch their fucking backs.

[livpet]

Venus in Furs Chapter Eight: Perfect Day

Wednesday, March 26th, 1986.

Upon Eddie and Kelly’s return to the group where they had been waiting at Skull Rock, another earthquake struck, even more powerful than the first, sending everyone sprawling to the ground. The spindliest of the dead trees in the surrounding area creaked and groaned as they succumbed to the force of it, and when they fell onto the vines below, they became instantly ensnared by them, and were dragged deeper into the forest and out of sight completely in a matter of seconds. Everyone had been under the impression that the vines were akin to an alarm system, and were horrified to discover that they were capable of capture as well.

After a moment of silence following the quake, Robin asked sheepishly, “So, any ideas about an escape plan?”

“We can’t get out of here if we’re defenseless.” Nancy sprung for the chance to take charge and was the first to get back on her feet.

“Okay, well, this is just a fucked up version of Hawkins, right?” Eddie asked. At the affirmative nods from the three with the most experience dealing with matters of the Upside Down, he continued, “Then let’s go down to the police station and take all the guns and bullets we can find.”

“There’s no time for that,” Nancy argued. “It’s a police station, they’d have all that stuff locked up anyway and then we could end up trapped if something goes wrong. I know where to find a gun. We’re going to my house.”

“Do you know daddy dearest’s combination for the gun safe? Or are we gonna be sitting ducks either way?” Eddie asked sarcastically.

Leveling him with a sharp glance, Nancy replied simply, “It’s my gun.”

Eddie threw his hands up in surrender. “My bad.”

“How far is your house from here?” Kelly asked, more than happy to put aside her distrust for the moment if it meant finally get some real weapons involved. They could be in for a fight at any moment, after all.

“It’s miles away, but there are a few shortcuts through these woods we can take. I live on Maple Court.”

“Good, then we can stop by my house too. I’m on Maple Street, probably only a few doors down from you, and I know where my father keeps his gun.”

“Maybe we should split up then? Get both guns at the same time and meet back up?” Steve suggested.

Eddie squinted incredulously at Steve. “Have you never seen a single episode of Scooby-Doo? The whole Fred and Daphne thing before was supposed to be a joke,” he deadpanned.

“Nobody splits up, not for anything,” Kelly threw in before Steve could respond haughtily to Eddie. Steve did end up giving her an idea, though. Nancy was still watching her like a hawk, and Robin had her own burning curiosity lighting her eyes. It was only a matter of time before they would try and ambush Kelly with an interrogation. Luckily, when it came to two-on-one fights, Kelly remained undefeated. She knew just how to turn the situation around in her favor. “We’ll all stick together, but let’s do this:” placing her backpack at her feet, she withdrew one of the canteens and handed it to Eddie, “you and Steve take the rear, the girls and I will take the front.” For the remaining three, Kelly took out a snack for each and placed them in their palms. Steve received a pack of cherry Pop-Tarts, Robin a granola bar, and Nancy a dented can of Chef Boyardee beef ravioli.

“What, all I get is water? Even prisoners get bread,” Eddie complained, verging on whining.

Kelly unzipped her pocket and produced the unopened pack of Pop-Tarts she had neglected to eat when she decided to beat Nancy to the boat. Upon inspection, they were crumbled at the edges, but mostly intact, so she stuck one in Eddie’s mouth and kept the other for herself. “There, that’s a lot better than bread, right?”

Eddie nodded and snarfed down his snack in three bites. “Way better than bread,” he agreed with his mouth full. “Hey, maybe the elves called it waybread ‘cause it’s short for way better than bread.” Kelly was the only one who understood the reference and laughed, but he hardly minded. As long as she was laughing, he considered his job done. “Alright, we can go now.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do with this?” Nancy asked, eying the offending can of ravioli with distaste.

With a shrug, Kelly replied, “Bang it on a rock a few times when you decide to eat it, it’ll open.” She neglected to inform Nancy that there was a can opener at the bottom of her bag. Nancy scoffed, insulted. Before she could form a response to Kelly’s obvious snack hierarchy though, Kelly looped her arms through Nancy’s and Robin’s, putting Nancy on her left and Robin on her right. “Time to hit the ol’ dusty trail before another quake comes along and we end up dragged off to God knows where.”

The two groups walked only about a dozen feet apart, but it was enough distance to let them talk privately without the opposite group overhearing. As soon as the boys were out of earshot, Nancy rounded on Kelly. “What’s this actually about?”

“I’m so glad you asked, because that’s exactly what this is about. You’re both going to ask me three questions each, and based on the way you’re looking at me like you’re seconds away from an actual aneurysm, you’ll get first crack at me, then Buckley. You can ask any three questions you want, no holds barred. But then I’ll get to ask my own three questions at the end.”

“Only three questions?”

“Is that your first question?” Nancy’s lips formed a thin line as her eyes widened, her arm tightening around Kelly’s. “Christ, unclench, it was a joke,” Kelly scoffed a snickering laugh. “We’ve got a lot of miles to cover and plenty of time for chitchat. Call this an icebreaker if you want. Deal?”

“Deal,” Nancy and Robin answered quickly in unison, not wanting to miss their chance at interrogating the newest and most mysterious member of their ragtag group.

“Good. Then you’re up, Wheeler.”

“How long have you been able to do what you did?”

“As long as I can remember,” Kelly carefully answered.

“Is there anything else you can do too?”

“Nope, that’s all I know how to do as far as superpowers go.”

Nancy paused a moment to think over her final alloted query. “Where are you from?”

Kelly was relieved that Nancy’s question could be interpreted multiple ways. “Grissom Air Force Base,” she replied, though her mind was flooded with memories of Maryland and Fort Detrick.

“Do they have a lab?”

Yep, Kelly dodged a bullet. If Nancy knew about the lab at Fort Detrick, she would never let it go, even though it had nothing to do with their current circumstances. “Sorry, follow-up questions weren’t part of the deal. Buckley, your turn.”

“Thank God, the wait was killing me.” Nancy’s questioning had lasted all of a minute. “What was the turning point for you with Eddie?”

Kelly couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s really what you wanna know about?”

“It’s been melting my brain into a puddle of mush for days trying to figure you two out. Spill it.”

Getting her thoughts together was sobering for Kelly. “Well, if you insist. I don’t know you particularly well or what your mother may have taught you about life and relationships, but my mother was inescapably clear about my place in the world: serve your husband well, or be alone, and deservedly so.” Robin and Nancy shared a glance over Kelly’s head as she continued, “Every day, I cook, I clean the whole house, I do all the yard work, and I study my ass off, all just to learn how to take care of and not embarrass a future husband I’ve never met and never want to. My worth was based entirely on how well I could put everyone else first and myself last. But Eddie’s never once made me put him first. He puts me first, as much as I’ll let him, at least. And when I put him first, it’s because I want to, not because I have to. That was the turning point.” Kelly’s voice had taken on a dreamy inflection by the time she reached the end of her explanation, her eyes seeing both the vine-strewn path before them and flashes of the smile Eddie would get whenever he did something to make her happy.

“Yeah, my mom’s like that too,” Robin quietly replied. “When you put it like that, I get it now.”

Nodding in understanding, Kelly said, “It’s a damn shame how many girls are raised the way we were.”

“Is that why you’re in Home Ec?”

“Is that really your second question?”

“No, shit.”

Kelly chuckled, “Then ask your real question.”

Robin hesitated, her eyes growing wide and shining with intensity. “When the time comes… if the time comes, I guess I should say… will you turn him in?”

Kelly’s head snapped up to meet Robin’s eyes, her own flashing with anger. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. Not under any circumstances, not for anything or anyone, not ever. But actually, it’s good you asked, ‘cause now we can all get something straight here.” Kelly used their linked arms to pull Nancy and Robin down to her level, her long nails digging into their skin beneath their sleeves and holding them in place, as she murmured through clenched teeth, just loud enough for them to hear, “If either of you think you’re gonna be slick and turn him in for a reward, or for an article in the paper,” Kelly looked especially hard at Nancy then, “you’re dead fucking wrong. I know how to make people hurt, ladies. Really hurt. And you don’t wanna know what I’ll do to anyone who rats on Eddie. You’re both smart girls and clearly you’ve got a good sense of self-preservation if you’ve made it this far as interdimensional monster hunters. So, if you wanna stay preserved, you’ll leave Eddie out of any and all future plans you might’ve been cooking up in those heads of yours. If anybody questions you, and I mean anybody, even over the littlest thing, you don’t know anything about Eddie; you’ve never talked to him, you haven’t heard anything, and you definitely haven’t seen him. Capisce?” Nancy and Robin both nodded emphatically. “Good. Now, just in case the boys are watching, you’re gonna giggle like I just told you the juiciest gossip you’ve ever heard in three, two, one.” The three broke into laughter, loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to seem forced. Satisfied, Kelly loosened her grip, but didn’t unwind her arms from theirs. “I’m glad we settled that. So, what’s your last question?”

Hesitantly, Robin asked, “What’s your favorite movie?”

“The cinephile in me knows you want me to say Casablanca, and before you bust out your pitchfork, it’s my second favorite and exceedingly dear to me. But my all-time top spot has to go to Some Like It Hot.”

“My favorite’s The Apartment, Jack Lemmon’s next role after shooting Some Like It Hot. Any fan of Jack Lemmon’s is a friend of mine,” Robin smiled, quickly recovering now that they had found some common ground.

The two girls then turned their attention to Nancy, looking at her expectantly. “Come on, you guys don’t actually care about our favorite movies, do you? Are we in middle school?” Nancy asked with a roll of her eyes.

“They tell a lot about a person,” Kelly said without a hint of humor.

“Nancy’s a big Tom Cruise fan apparently,” Robin whispered conspiratorially, biting her lip around a grin.

“Yeah, that tracks,” Kelly nodded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nancy asked indignantly.

“He’s totally your type. Preppy with just a hint of an edge, all clean-shaven smiles and clever one-liners,” Kelly explained.

“Sounds like somebody else we know, doesn’t it, Nancy?” Robin’s meaningful glance and coy tone made Nancy blush and look to the ground.

“For your information, my favorite movie doesn’t even have Tom Cruise in it. It’s The Last Unicorn.”

“Are you the one who stole the only copy from Family Video?”

“No!” Kelly burst into laughter, knowing full well who stole it. The other two assumed she was laughing from Nancy’s defensiveness. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life!”

“That’s a shame,” Kelly shook her head.

“Why’s that movie in particular your absolute favorite out of every movie ever made? I thought you’d find little kid movies beneath you, since you just asked if we’re in middle school for even asking the question and all.”

“Isn’t it Kelly’s turn to ask the questions?”

“But I wanna know too,” Kelly added.

Heaving a beleaguered sigh, Nancy conceded. “Alright, fine. Robin, you’ll get it more than Kelly will. The first time things started to go wrong in Hawkins, when Will disappeared… after everything settled back down, it was hard for me and Mike to talk about any of it. We were supposed to just pretend like none of it ever happened and go back to normal. We started to grow apart, and that’s normal, but it wasn’t from a normal situation. Both of us could feel how bad we needed to open up about it, but neither of us had any clue where to start. Mom rented The Last Unicorn for my sister, Holly, and went out for date night, so I was on babysitting duty. She also left it to me to somehow convince Mike to sit and watch this girlie movie with us, and I thought for sure he was gonna fight me tooth and nail the whole time, but he didn’t. He watched it from start to finish without even one complaint. It was the first time either of us had cried since it all happened. We talked that night because of it. We talked about what it means to regret, and to love, and we really needed that. Whenever things are hard now, we rent that movie, and we get it all out while our parents are away. And it helps Mike bond more with Holly too, you know? It’s just… something nice we can depend on when things are anything but nice,” she finished with a vague gesture to their surroundings with her free arm, the can of ravioli still sloshing in her grasp.

“As a seasoned babysitter myself,” Kelly began, “I get that feeling. When kids are alone and feel safe, they’ll tell you exactly what’s going on around them. And sometimes it’s jarring when they open up, but you can tell they really need it, and you can learn a lot about how much they do or don’t notice. It helps them make sense of things, too.”

“I’m an only child and I’ve never babysat anyone because of my jam-packed extracurricular schedule,” Robin winced. “However, I have been forcibly injected with Soviet truth serum with Steve, and that was a real bonding experience I’ll never forget. We didn’t exactly have a choice in opening up or not, but it all worked out in the end.”

When Kelly looked questioningly between Robin and Nancy, Nancy supplied, “It’s been quite the year for all of us.”

“So I’ve gathered. Does anything normal ever happen around here?”

“Is that your first question?” Nancy asked.

“Touche. Wait, what the fuck?” They had reached the point where the dirt path was paved over to join the concrete road leading back to town. The vines had criss-crossed their path continuously the whole way through the woods, but they stopped short of the road, only curling and nestling along the outer sides. “You’re the experts; is this normal?”

“No clue,” Robin answered first.

“Why wouldn’t there be vines in the road…? How does this benefit the hivemind?” Nancy murmured contemplatively.

“What’s the hold up?” Steve called from behind them.

Kelly finally untangled herself from Nancy and Robin so that they could huddle up with the boys. Nancy took the lead and answered, “We need to be careful. There could be a trap here.”

Steve and Nancy went back and forth, trying to analyze the situation from every possible angle while Robin occasionally interjected. Eddie took up his usual place beside Kelly and shared in her last crumbling Pop-Tart with her.

“I’m telling you, we can’t go back,” Steve shook his head, his disheveled hair flopping with the motion.

“But what if—?”

“That’s it!” Robin threw her hands up in exasperation. “I’m just gonna check it out, everybody stay here. Or start running if you hear me scream. You’ll have to decide whether to run toward or away from me depending on the scream.” With no further warning, she leapt over the line where the vines stopped and went running down the abandoned road.

“Robin!” Nancy gasped.

“Buckley, what the fuck?!” Eddie shouted at her retreating form.

“I got her!” Steve assured, taking off at full speed despite being barefoot.

“Steve, wait!”

“So much for avoiding any traps,” Kelly sighed, crumpling up the shiny silver wrapper in her hands and sliding it into a side pocket on her backpack. “Let’s start walking, we’ll catch up with them sooner or later and it’ll be safer to move as a group until we know for sure what’s going on here.”

“Alright,” Nancy said resignedly.

Eddie planted his feet beside the vines to assist the ladies and offered his hand. Kelly clasped it and hopped easily onto the pavement, but unbeknownst to her, one of her hoop earrings had come undone and dropped to the ground with a quiet metallic bounce. Kelly gasped as it rolled in a crooked line toward the patch of vines, but before it could touch any of them and give their position away, Eddie stooped over the patch and flicked it into the air with the finger of one hand and caught it triumphantly in the other. Jumping with a grin a mile wide, he landed before her and bowed with a flourish, holding the earring out for her to take.

“You dropped this, my lady.”

“My hero,” Kelly sighed with a smile of true relief and admiration, taken pleasantly by surprise once again by his quick reflexes and penchant for panache. While she slipped the earring back on and checked that none of the others had come loose in all the recent mayhem, Eddie helped Nancy onto the road with equal consideration. With everyone ready, Kelly stepped up and kissed Eddie as she took his hand. “Let’s see what those two have gotten us into.”

“We should hurry,” Nancy cautioned. “Robin told me yesterday that she runs weird sometimes and I wouldn’t put it past her to land face first on a vine no matter how clear the road seems.”

Up ahead, Robin was still leading Steve on the chase, but not for long. Once he caught up to her, he pulled on her arm to force her to stop, and it took a moment for either of them to be able to speak as they caught their breath.

“What the hell was that?” Steve huffed, his hands on his hips.

“That, dingus, was a distraction.”

“From…?”

“From whatever the hell’s gotten into you. And what has gotten into you, huh, Steve? Where’s the King of Hawkins High when the princess is just waiting for him to jump in and sweep her off her feet?”

“Robin, we’ve been over this,” Steve groaned, exasperatedly scrubbing a hand down his face.

“Yeah, we’ve been over this a million and one times, yet neither of you are over this yet! You’re still as into Nancy as you were a year ago, and news flash, she’s into you too. Do you know what I’d give to have Vickie in the palm of my hand like that?”

“Whatever you think’s happening here, it’s not. You gotta drop it Robin, I was seriously freaked out when you ran off like that.”

“I’ll apologize for causing a freak-out, but I won’t apologize for trying to knock some sense into you. How can you seriously not see it?”

“She has Jonathan. There’s nothing to see.”

“You can’t honestly believe that, can you? What she has are some very hurt feelings over her lame-o boyfriend backing out of spending Spring Break with her at the last minute, and apparently all you have is Farrah Fawcett hairspray floating around where your brain’s supposed to be.”

“Hey! I told you that in confidence,” Steve hissed, looking around in case the others had caught up and heard her. “You don’t get it, okay? There’s always been something between her and Jonathan, they’ll get through whatever the problem is.”

“All that’s between them right now is approximately two thousand miles. I think that’s more than enough wiggle room for you to find your way back into her good graces.”

“Robin, come on—”

“Fine, don’t believe me? As if I’ve ever steered you wrong— then ask Eddie. He’s the resident Romeo now, I’m sure he can offer you some dingus-proof advice, man to man,” Robin finished with exaggerated air-quotes. “How’s boy time going anyway?”

Steve shrugged, his face entirely neutral. “Fine, I guess. We haven’t talked.”

“What do you mean you haven’t talked?” Little did Robin know, the same question had just been asked by Kelly up the road.

“I’m telling you, the dude doesn’t talk. Hasn’t said one word,” Eddie confirmed. “He just has this look on his face when he walks like he wants to punch somebody and I’m not sure if it’s about the vest or not.”

“I’m sure it’s not about the vest,” Kelly soothed.

“It’s definitely not about the vest,” Nancy shook her head. “He’s not usually like that, something’s gotten into him.”

“I just don’t know what’s gotten into me,” Steve sighed.

“Well, whatever it is, get rid of it. The last time you blew it with Nancy, it was because you weren’t there for her enough the way she needed you to be. That wasn’t your fault then, you weren’t as experienced with all the monster stuff and conspiracies yet. But it will be your fault this time if you don’t get your shit together pronto,” Robin scolded.

“I can’t just pretend Jonathan doesn’t exist, though. They’ve been through a lot together.”

“Steve’s really been through a lot,” Nancy explained. “Whatever it is, try not to hold it against him. I’m sure it’s nothing personal.”

“Sure, I’ve only heard that my whole life,” Eddie said sarcastically.

Before he could say more, Kelly lifted his ringed knuckles to her lips. “I’m sure it’s about being here. He can’t be happy about it, you know? Maybe he’s just quiet when he’s figuring his shit out.”

“You’ve gotta figure your shit out, dingus,” Robin shook her head exasperatedly. “Eye on the prize! You want Nancy, so figure out how to get her!”

“Easy for you to say when you still can’t even look at Vickie without turning as red as her hair.”

“That’s different and you know it.”

“I’m just saying, think about it from where I’m standing.”

“All I’ve been doing is thinking about where you’re standing! You’re here, in another dimension, and he’s not! He could’ve been, but according to her, he made up some half-assed excuse at the last minute and bailed. But. You. Didn’t. See where I’m going with this?”

“I can’t—”

“If Jonathan wasn’t a problem anymore, would you hesitate for even a second?” That gave Steve pause. “Being the way I am and having to keep it a secret… that’s my Jonathan, and Vickie’s my Nancy. If it wouldn’t be a problem, if I knew I had a shot, I’d take it in a heartbeat. Wouldn’t you?”

“In a heartbeat,” he nodded, his eyes seeing far away memories of their best days, the days that made his heart beat out of time just thinking about them.

“There you guys are!” Nancy cried. “You almost gave me a heart attack back there!”

“Oh, hey!” Robin waved. “No worries, this place is totally deserted.”

Kelly asked cautiously, unconvinced, “How can you be sure?”

“I’m an expert, remember? Trust me, if there was anything around here for miles, we’d know it by now. They don’t exactly make a secret of trying to kill you.”

Nancy bit her lip contemplatively. “Why would the vines stop at the road if it isn’t being guarded?”

“Yeah, it is weird. I don’t like it,” Steve added.

“Maybe the vines need dirt and that’s why they stay off the road?” Eddie shrugged.

“Well, I’ll just head down a little farther and report back if anything changes,” Robin said, preparing to make another exit.

“Hold it!” Kelly commanded, pointing at the hyperactive girl. “Before you go, want a beer?”

“Nah, I’ve still got my snack,” Robin answered, holding up her wrapped granola bar. “Thanks, though! Really hospitable of you. It’s nice having somebody on the team now who’s actually prepared.” With that, she took off once again, leaving the others behind without a second glance.

“Can I have her beer?” Eddie asked, his eyes pleading.

“Of course. Anybody else want one?”

“Is this really the time?” Nancy asked with a raised brow.

“Nancy Wheeler, there’s something you should know about me. I’m a firm believer in old wisdom, and smoke ‘em if you got ‘em applies no matter where you are or who you’re with. Speaking of, who’s confident they could get a fire going? I’m dying for a cigarette.”

“Me too,” Eddie agreed.

“Hold on, I learned this at camp once,” Steve said, raising a finger for them to wait as he left the road to find what he was looking for among the vines. It only took him a moment to come back with a wad of dead grass, a stick, and a flat stone. “Get your cigarettes ready. Can I bum one off you?”

“Naturally,” Kelly nodded, producing the sealed pack from her pocket.

Steve sat on the pavement and placed the grass on the rock. With the stick, he rubbed the flatter end between his hands as quick as he could against the rock. At first nothing happened, but then there was a thin wisp of smoke before a spark jumped up from the friction. A few sparks later and the grass around the stick caught fire. Steve picked up the burning wad carefully and used it to light Kelly’s cigarette first, then Eddie’s, and then his own. Kelly offered one to Nancy, and seeing that she was outnumbered, she thought maybe she could embrace some old wisdom just this once: if you can’t beat them, join them.

Steve was all too happy to help Nancy spark up before dropping the grass. They watched the little ball of flame burn to a crisp and fizzle out as they took a moment to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

“Baby?” Kelly asked Eddie.

“Kelly Rose?”

“Would you mind passing out the beers and opening mine for me?”

“Not in the slightest, my love.”

As Eddie rounded her to open her bag and get to the beers in question, he saw an opening to plant an obnoxious kiss on her cheek and took it. She giggled and swatted at him, making him grin like mad. Steve and Nancy had no choice but to watch their interaction, and separately, secretly, each longed to have it with the other.

The remaining four beers were passed around, and Eddie even opened Nancy’s for her too. She was genuinely surprised by the action, but appreciative nonetheless. Now that everyone was duly plied with a cigarette and a cool beverage, they naturally began walking again in pairs, Nancy with Kelly, and Steve with Eddie bringing up the rear.

“Now, back to my questions,” Kelly announced when there was enough distance between them and the boys. “My love life already came up, so let’s talk about yours. Who’re you in love with? And don’t tell me nobody, I can see it in your eyes and I just know you’re a terrible liar.”

“Hey! I’m an excellent liar!”

“See? That was a lie, and a terrible one as foretold.”

With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Nancy bought some time with long pulls from her cigarette and beer. “I have a boyfriend. His name’s Jonathan, he moved away right before you got here. He’s in California.”

“I’m choosing to ignore that insult to my intelligence, Wheeler. I didn’t ask who your boyfriend was, I asked who you’re in love with, and it’s easy to tell you’re definitely not in love with Jonathan.”

“That’s not true,” Nancy defended. “Of course I love him. Why would he be my boyfriend if I didn’t love him?”

“Christ, how long did you practice that one in the mirror?” Kelly snorted. “There’s a big difference between loving somebody and being in love with them. You’re talking about this dude like he’s a goldfish you recently flushed.” Nancy was visibly insulted by that assessment. “I’m just being honest with you here. I mean, look at you. Just mentioning him took the light right out of your eyes. Sure, you love this guy, I have no doubt you mean that and have good reason to. But you’re definitely not in love with him. You’re in love with someone else.”

That someone else was directly behind them, still glaring at the ground in silence as he got through half his beer and cigarette. “Who the fuck are Dave and Jake?” he finally asked.

“Dude, that’s what I’m sayin’! Who the fuck are they?” Eddie threw in, relieved he was not the source of Steve’s inner turmoil and at having the chance to share his own.

“I know a couple Daves and a handful of Jakes, but none of them go together.”

“That’s the problem I’m having too! Henderson’s never mentioned any Daves and certainly no Jakes, and he tells me about everybody.”

“Everybody?”

“Everybody.”

“What’d the twerp say about me?”

“Only the very highest praise at every possible opportunity. Said you were a certified badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact. Not gonna lie, the constant admiration got to me a bit… made me a little jealous.” Steve looked to Eddie in surprise, but he pressed forward. “And honestly, I thought he was full of shit every time, talking about a jock who’s actually cool and not a complete dickhead— went against my entire Munson Doctrine. I guess I just couldn’t believe that Steve Harrington was actually… a good dude. Popular but decent, the King of Hawkins High is actually a benevolent ruler? No way, not in a million years. Yet, after what I saw earlier, I have no choice but to admit he really was right about you. That was a total Ozzy move back there by the way, and for that you have my full respect.” Steve’s glance of surprise turned to one of confusion. “Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? Most famous…? No, not ringing any bells?” Steve shook his head sheepish shrug. “Okay, what you did was very metal, that’s all I’m sayin’. So, what did young Henderson tell you about me?”

“Nothing, so I’m starting to see a pattern here.”

“Fuck, ouch,” Eddie winced, rubbing his chest as if the news physically pained him.

“You’re saying ouch? You’re the one he’s telling everything to these days. I thought that was my job. What else hasn’t he told me?” Steve wondered, genuinely hurt by Dustin’s apparent secrets.

“He’s at that age, man,” Eddie shrugged as he took a drag of his cigarette. “You’ve got a lot of history and he practically worships you, dude. He’s gonna hide things you might not like, we all do it. I’m just a blank slate, even if I’m a goofy lookin’ one. Don’t hold it against him.”

“And you’re gonna stick to that too?”

“Fuck no, as soon as I get the chance I’m cornering his ass. If he’s hiding these mystery friends from both of us then something’s definitely up, and somehow my Kelly Rose is in on it too? I don’t like any of it.”

“Get in line, then. But you’re right, what’s up with your girlfriend?”

“What’s up with your girlfriend?” Eddie shot back.

“Nancy? She’s not my girlfriend.”

“I’m perfectly happy with my boyfriend, thank you very much,” Nancy huffed.

“Yep, you sound over the moon about him,” Kelly deadpanned in return.

“Things have just been a little rough lately. He’s been under a lot of pressure, you know? And so have I. But once we get our acceptance letters and summer vacation starts, everything will be back to normal.”

“Let me guess, you told yourself that before Spring Break too.” Nancy hid her disdainful embarrassment behind a long sip of her beer. “Look, we agreed on no holds barred. If you’re seriously gonna refuse to answer the question after I answered all of yours, then I’ll have no choice but to come to my own conclusion, and I’m already pretty certain about it.”

Trying to act much more nonchalant than she felt, Nancy asked before taking a lungful of smoke, “Oh? Go ahead, what’s your theory on my nonexistent secret crush?”

“I think it’s Steve.” Nancy choked out a thick gray cloud and began harshly coughing up all the smoke she had just inhaled. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“Are you sure she isn’t your girlfriend? Like, does she know that?” Eddie asked uncertainly.

Steve chuckled dryly. “Trust me, she knows. She has a boyfriend, after all.”

“Ah, so the hand of the fair princess has been ensnared by another,” Eddie nodded sagely in understanding. “But, it seems fortune favors you as always, King Steve. I bet if you made a move she’d dump loverboy in a heartbeat.”

Hearing Eddie’s phrasing made Steve realize that Robin might have been right. Maybe talking to Eddie about it would actually be a little helpful.

“Maybe it just wasn’t the right timing for you guys yet, but now it is?” Kelly suggested.

“If anything, the time has passed.”

“Not necessarily.” Kelly took the last sip of her beer, already mourning the loss of it. “Timing is a funny, totally bizarre thing. If you’d told me when I moved here I’d end up with Eddie of all people, especially with the way he is at school, I would’ve said you’re completely out of your gourd. The timing wasn’t right then, but it is now, and here we are. Crazy how things can change so much in a blink.”

“But that’s exactly what I love about Jonathan: nothing changes. He’s so stable, I know him like the back of my hand.” More like the palm of my hand, she thought, her scarred left hand clenching around the can of ravioli at the thought of the night they tried to trap the Demogorgon. Even then, though, it was Steve who showed up just in time. We wouldn’t have stood a chance without him. “We have history. We have plans.”

“Okay, but who’s making new history with you right now? Who have you been making plans with here?”

Nancy decided that she hated this question game. Finding out so little about Kelly beforehand only made her probing questions that much more frustrating.

“I know we don’t exactly know each other, and I only became an expert on love recently,” Eddie began, “but if I was in your shoes, man, I’d do whatever it takes to get her back. I wouldn’t rest ‘til I was sure I had her. Whatever you did wrong, fix it. Whatever she wants, give it to her. It’s worked out great for me so far,” he finished with a gesture toward his girl.

“She won’t leave Jonathan. They’re going to college together and everything.”

“Jonathan Byers? Zombie Boy’s big brother? Dude, he’s the least intimidating guy who’s ever lived. I caught him listening to the Smiths and crying in the bathroom once after school, and that was even before all that shit with his brother went down. My point is, you can take him, big guy. Go Tigers or whatever.”

“It’s her decision, and her mind’s made up, dude. There’s nothing I can do.”

Eddie burst out laughing so hard he stumbled. “Pfff, as fucking if! She looks at you the same way Kelly Rose looks at me. She’s practically begging you to make a move every time she blinks those big baby blues up at you. You can’t seriously be this much of an idiot, and as the resident idiot, that’s saying something.”

“That’s what she’d always say, too. ‘You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.’”

“And what’d you say back?”

“You’re beautiful, Nancy Wheeler,” Steve answered wistfully, half hoping and half dreading that he might be overheard by the object of his affections.

“Yeah, you’ll get her,” Eddie nodded with certainty, clapping Steve reassuringly on the shoulder with one hand and finishing his cigarette with the other. With his next step, he dropped the spent Virginia Slim and crushed the cherry under his Reebok sneaker. “It’s just a matter of getting the timing right. You’ve got ‘til she leaves for college. Out of state, right?”

“Emerson.”

“See, there’s your opportunity. There’s no fucking way Byers is getting into Emerson in a million years.”

“Dude, neither am I, though. How does that help me?”

“Just move to Boston with her. Jonathan’ll probably end up at community college in California and Nancy’ll be heartbroken that he couldn’t hack it with her, and that’s where you’ll come in. Even if you can’t go to classes together, you’d find an apartment and a job there no problem, and you can take things slow while she’s in school.”

The idea was suddenly so clear in Steve’s mind it almost stopped him in his tracks. He would move to Boston, prove himself, and get Nancy back. It would take time, as everything did between them, but time with her was all he really wanted anyway. “It really is that simple, isn’t it?”

“As long as you do the heavy lifting now before Byers can figure out what’s happening, yeah, should be easy as pie.”

“You have no idea how much heavy lifting Jonathan has been doing for the both of us. He’s going to Emerson just for me,” Nancy argued, though she knew deep down she did not believe it herself.

“Wow, he must be a real brainiac like you.”

Nancy winced, knowing he had never been a brainiac like her, and hid her reaction behind the last drops of her beer. “Yeah, he’s really talented. You should see his photos, he interned with me at the Hawkins Post last summer and did all their photography for them.” Her mind went straight to that night in the hospital when she and Jonathan killed their bosses under the control of the Mind Flayer. If anything would bond two people for life, it was that.

“Ah, so you’ll get your degree in Journalism, he’ll get his in Photography, and the two of you will be the reporting duo of the century.”

“That’s the plan,” Nancy nodded.

“Well, if you’re sure that’ll make you both happy.”

“I’m sure.”

“And you’re sure he’s sure?”

“Yes! Jesus Christ! And you’ve definitely asked more than three questions already so we’re done with this!”

“Alright, whatever you say,” Kelly replied easily with a knowing grin.

A beat passed as Nancy fumed in uncomfortable silence and Kelly enjoyed the last drag of her cigarette. “I am not in love with Steve, and I better not catch you trying to question him about this.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I’m not a Journalism major, after all. But, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to give you a big scoop if you asked nicely for it.”

Nancy’s right eye twitched at the implication, unable to stop herself from picturing Steve in his old Scoops Ahoy uniform. “That’s really rude, especially when you know I’m committed to Jonathan.”

“Actually, what’s really rude are your continuous insults to my intelligence after I called you out the first time. You’re not committed to Jonathan, you’re committed to the plan.”

“How dare—?!”

“GUYS! I FOUND SOMETHING!” Robin shouted at the top of her lungs from around the upcoming bend. All four of them heard her, and all four simultaneously broke into sprints to find her as quickly as possible. When they reached her, she was grinning from ear to ear. “I think I just found the shortcut to end all shortcuts.” Pointing down a dirt path that would have otherwise been overgrown and unusable in their own dimension. It was barren and full of vines twisting between desiccated trees, but just visible from where they stood, beyond the tree line, were the broken picket fences of Maple Court. “If we’re careful, we could be there in fifteen, twenty minutes tops.”

“I think the road is safer, Robin,” Nancy said with an uncertain glance at the vines.

“Hey, eyes on the prize,” Kelly cautioned. “Don’t forget, we left the kids back there with a killer on the loose. Anything could be happening to them right now. We have to get back as fast as possible, and we can’t figure that out if we’re sitting ducks on an open road. The fastest way is the best way right now.”

“Thank you!” cried Robin in vindication.

“You lead, I’ll follow,” Eddie assured Kelly with a nod.

“I’m with them, Nance. This’ll shave off at least two miles of walking, and the kids need us. There’s no time.” Nancy was visibly unconvinced. “We’ll take it nice and easy, okay? No more running,” he pointed at Robin, “and no more beers,” he pointed at Kelly.

“Scout’s honor,” Robin swore, holding up two fingers.

Kelly shrugged, “Those were the last of the beers anyway.”

“Alright,” Steve nodded. “Nance? What do you say?”

Knowing she was outnumbered, Nancy sighed, “Okay, but we take it slow. And I mean glacial.”

It was a difficult trek and there were a few close calls, but everyone made it past the tree line in one piece. Nancy would not admit it aloud, but she was grateful for Robin’s suggestion in the end. Now it was only a matter of making it through her front door; which, to her horror, was covered in even more vines than the path they had just come from.

“What do we do now?” It was Eddie who asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“Everybody stand back,” came Steve’s reply.

“Steve, wait, it—!”

With a bang and a crash, Steve kicked the door wide open. Everyone flinched and looked around for any signs of bats or vines readying to carry them away, but all was as still and silent as ever. “Huh,” he mused, “they must only activate if you touch them directly. Good to know.”

“Um, did you just shatter your entire foot and ankle doing that?” Kelly asked wide-eyed.

“It didn’t even hurt,” he shrugged. “Whatever you did earlier made me feel like a million bucks.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Kelly answered, clutching the strap of her backpack reflexively. If only he knew how close he actually was to a million dollars in that moment.

Creeping on their tiptoes, they entered the house only to find it as covered in vines as the door had been. Just before they reached the staircase, though, Steve came to a halt. “Dustin?!” The silence was heavy over Maple Court. “Dustin! Dustin, we’re here! Where are you?!”

He veered off into the living room, his head swiveling frantically in every direction to try and pinpoint the voice he heard. No one followed, though.

“I think he finally cracked,” Robin winced.

“We can uncrack him once we have that gun,” Kelly said. “Lead the way, Wheeler.”

Up the stairs they went, as quiet and careful as church mice, and found their way to Nancy’s bedroom. “This isn’t right,” she said immediately.

“What isn’t right?” Eddie asked.

“No, she’s right, this isn’t right,” Robin confirmed, looking around the room in horror. “Nancy’s room isn’t like this where we’re from.”

“This is my old wallpaper. And I gave this toy away two years ago at least.” Picking up her diary from the desk, she flipped to the last entry. “This diary should be completely full. It ends at November 6th, 1983… the day Eleven opened the first gate.” Nancy glanced at her cork board guiltily, finding all the pictures of Barb’s smiling face immediately. She was still alive on November 6th.

“Holy shit,” Robin breathed. “We’re not just in the wrong dimension. We’re in the wrong time, too.”

“And that means I don’t have my gun yet,” Nancy sighed in disappointment.

“Neither do I since I didn’t live here yet,” Kelly added.

Now truly frightened, Eddie asked shakily, “Are we seriously up shit’s creek without even one goddamn paddle? Is it too late to do my idea?”

Nancy shook her head, trying to keep her emotions in check. “Let’s tell Steve what we know and regroup.”

When they found him, he was still shouting in a frenzy for Dustin, jumping from one bare spot on the floor to the next, trying to pinpoint someone who clearly was not there with them. With a shake of her head, Robin whispered, “I told you, he cracked. Like a goddamn egg.”

“So, there’s this place called the Upside Down…”

Kelly gasped sharply, her head snapping in the direction of the disembodied voice. “Steve didn’t crack at all. I heard him too.” Jumping down the last two steps to the bottom, she hurried to Steve’s side. “Dustin! Dustin, can you hear us?!”

Suddenly, a softly glowing golden orb appeared in the kitchen adjacent to the living room. “You said lights mean Vecna, right?” Eddie asked, his stomach swooping and dropping to his shoes just at the thought.

“That’s not like what we saw,” Nancy replied, leading them slowly into the kitchen. “It can’t be Vecna.”

“It has to be the kids somehow,” Robin reasoned.

“Then those little assholes better answer me before I seriously flip my lid!” Steve yelled at the light in frustration.

Kelly took a step closer, observing the glittering light in the darkness closely. “I think if they could hear us they would’ve said so by now. But maybe this’ll let them see us?”

“Only one way to find out,” Eddie answered, putting on the bravest face he could for his girl before stepping up and reaching into the light. “Huh. It’s nice.”

At once, everyone stuck their hands in, making it glisten even brighter. “It… tickles,” Robin observed.

“It’s warm,” Nancy smiled in relief.

They took their hands away, causing the glow to dim, but not vanish. “Anybody know Morse code?” Steve asked dubiously.

They all shook their heads and answered in the negative, uncertain of how to proceed. Their literal shining hope among the decay of the Upside Down was beginning to seem like it would amount to nothing, and that would put them right back at square one.

After a brief pause of only a few seconds, Eddie asked, “Wait, does SOS count?”

All eyes turned to him, Kelly’s shining brightest of all as she took him in. “My hero,” she grinned, throwing her arms around his shoulders and squeezing him as tight as she could.

* * *

Speeding through the darkness down the clear road, Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Eddie peddled as fast as they could, the faded lights on their borrowed bikes guiding the way. Kelly rode on the back of Eddie’s of course, standing on the rear pegs with her hands gripping his shoulders firmly. The passing thought occurred to Eddie that this was his middle school dream come true, to have the prettiest girl in any dimension riding with him and holding on like she never wanted to let go.

They reached Forest Hills Trailer Park in record time with Eddie leading them straight to his white and mint green trailer. He bounded up the stairs to his door, careful of the vines covering them, to make sure he held the door open for Kelly.

“My lady,” he ushered her in with a bow and a sweep of his hand.

Giggling, Kelly curtsied in return and entered the domicile first, intending to feast her eyes on every detail she could find of Eddie’s life before they met, only to have her eyes drawn to the pulsating, glowing mass of tissue and veins and vines covering his ceiling. As the kids had guessed, there was a gate where Chrissy had died, and it was their ticket out of the Upside Down.

Once everyone was gathered inside, they began assessing how best to open the gate. Steve had been pulled in through the one in the lake, and that was an eventuality all of them hoped to avoid at any and all costs. Just as Kelly was about to offer to cut it open with her pocket knife as she had before, they all saw something attempting to poke through it from the other side. Thinking it might be whatever dragged Steve under the water earlier, Kelly flicked open her knife and got in front of Eddie, ready to fight for their very lives if she had to. It was unnecessary though, because with a pop and a rupture of fluid, the gate gave way and revealed Dustin, who had popped it with a broom handle, along with Lucas, Max, and Erica.

“BADA BADA BOOM!” Dustin crowed with glee.

“Henderson!” Eddie and Steve shouted back, waving their arms over their heads and wearing matching grins.

“Thank fucking Christ,” Kelly sighed, closing her knife and putting it back in her pocket.

Before long, a link between their worlds was established in the form of bedsheets tied together, dangling suspended in the air so that those trapped could climb to safety. When the kids dragged Eddie’s mattress out to cushion them if they fell, Eddie blushed furiously. “Uh, those stains… I don’t know where they came from,” he claimed lamely, looking nervously between everyone in the room, but especially Kelly.

She snickered, her eyes glinting with mirth. “Well, I know the first thing I’m buying you when this shit’s over and done with.”

First went Robin up the makeshift rope, landing clumsily but safely on the other side to everyone’s immense relief. Dustin and Lucas pulled her to her feet, leaving room for the next escapee. Nancy went next at Steve’s insistence, then he followed, leaving Kelly and Eddie.

“Ladies first, always,” Eddie said.

“I’m the one currently taking Gym, it’ll only take me a second to climb that thing. You go ahead, baby.”

“Getting a little too big for your tight little britches there. I hold the rope climbing speed record of Hawkins High,” he winked, proving his point by climbing up and landing on the other side as if it was nothing. “Shit, that was fun!” he smiled, taking Steve and Dustin’s offered hands and jumping to his feet. “Your turn, slow poke!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth for effect. Only Kelly stood still, as if she had not heard his call. “Kelly Rooose, let’s see those skills pay the bills, huh?” Again, she did not move and did not answer him. “Kelly Rose?” Slowly, her head tilted back, revealing unseeing, milky irises framed by fluttering eyelids. “KELLY ROSE!” Eddie screamed in utter terror, launching himself back onto the rope and climbing faster than he ever had before. With no mattress to break his fall back into the Upside Down, he landed hard on his left side with a booming thud, bruising his ribs and narrowly missing touching a vine with his hand as he scrambled to his feet, but he paid no mind to any of those insignificant details. The rushing of his pulse in his ears was deafening, the adrenaline now coursing through his bloodstream keeping him numb to any pain amidst his panic. “KELLY ROSE, WAKE UP! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!” He shook her shoulders violently, her body flailing with the force of it, but there was no answer. Taking her cheeks between his trembling hands, he begged, “PLEASE, I CAN’T LOSE YOU LIKE CHRISSY! KELLY ROSE!”

* * *

Kelly blinked, and in that second, she found herself not in the Munsons’ trailer, but strapped to a chair in what looked to be a medical examination room, the whirring of a tattoo gun at her left side. The man holding the gun was in a lab coat, white-haired and smiling, but his eyes were as hauntingly white as the rest of him. “Welcome home, Nine,” he said, his voice soft and lilting, as he revealed the digits he had permanently inked into her skin where her mole was supposed to be: 009.

The pain hit her then. She screamed, struggling with all her might, and the leather straps holding her captive became slithering black vines. When she looked up again, the man was gone, and in his place was the most horrific entity she had ever seen, far to horrific for her own mind to conjure even in her wildest nightmares. His skin was both completely dessicated yet somehow alive, comprised of decomposing flesh and the same vines holding her hostage where muscle and sinew should have been.

“Hello, Kelly,” it said, its demonic voice like ice water in her veins. It raised its left hand, huge and deformed, and slowly brought it toward her face with its unnaturally long fingers splayed. “You escaped me once. But you won’t escape me this time. No one will.”

Kelly continued to flail and scream with all her might, and finally, her right hand came free. Before it could touch her, she found her pocket knife and drove the blade through the center of its palm. It grunted and jerked backward, giving her enough time to stab the remaining vine holding her to the chair. That split second allowed her a glimpse of its wrist, where three digits also marred its skin: 001. She did not dare stay long enough to try and find meaning in the numbers that marked them both.

Springing forth from the chair, she flew out the door and sprinted down a completely white hallway, akin to a hospital, but decidedly more grim in atmosphere. There were doors on all sides, some numbered and some not. When she passed a wide window that looked into what appeared to be a children’s play area, she caught her reflection, and it was as if time slowed to a crawl despite how hard and fast she was sprinting. Gone were her flowing platinum locks and her pink leather jacket, replaced by a midnight buzz cut and a hospital gown. The only feature she recognized of herself were her eyes, still green and full of terror.

The fluorescent lights above her flickered and dimmed, then came back so bright it was almost blinding to reveal bodies and blood littering the hall that had been pristine only a moment before. Children with buzz cuts and gowns like hers laid motionless, their little bodies mangled almost beyond recognition. Soldiers lay dead in pools of their own blood, some with their mouths wide in silent screams. Kelly sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks, but she did not dare slow down for even a second.

“Kelly…” came the voice, somehow all around her yet nowhere to be found. “You can run, but you can’t hide. Not from me. Not anywhere.”

“EDDIE! EDDIE, WHERE ARE YOU?! EDDIE!”

* * *

The Party had descended into total chaos.

“KEEP HER ON THE GROUND! DON’T LET HER FLOAT!” Dustin shrieked before skittering off to Eddie’s room to find some music to play.

“What?!” was Eddie’s horrified response. Quickly realizing Dustin was serious, he threw his arms around Kelly’s twitching form, one above her backpack across her shoulders and the other below around her waist, and held on as tight as he physically could without hurting her, desperate to keep her feet on the ground. “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, come on, baby, don’t do this to me,” he whimpered in her unhearing ear. “I’ll do anything, anything, just stay with me. Don’t leave me now, I can’t do this without you. I need you, Kelly, please!”

Robin ran back into view of the gate with Erica hot on her heels, their hands full of Eddie’s cassettes. “Seriously, what is all this shit?! Where’s the good stuff?!” Robin called frantically.

“What do you mean the good stuff?!” Eddie shouted back.

Erica explained as only she could, “We’re trying to wake her up, stupid, not give her nightmares!”

“Do you have anything else?” Robin tried. “Madonna, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles; music! We need music!”

“THAT IS MUSIC!” Eddie roared back, pointing a ringed finger up at the two girls.

Steve could be heard yelling from somewhere in the trailer, “I found his uncle’s stuff! But they’re all vinyls and there’s no record player!”

It was in that moment Eddie realized with a sinking in his stomach that this was it. This was life or death for his beloved, his Elbereth, and without music she might respond to, they were out of time and out of hope. Sure, she said she liked metal and knew all his favorite bands, but none of them were her favorite, and none of them were even remotely soothing. Eddie felt more lost and afraid than ever before in his life, and the only person who could have comforted him was the one he stood to lose.

He buried his tear-streaked face in her shoulder, her skin already as cold as the leather jacket she wore, but the CBGB t-shirt beneath still somehow smelled like her despite everything they had been through. It was that t-shirt that ended up giving him the idea that saved her life.

Their first real conversation together played out in his mind, and it was then he remembered what she said that night alone with him in the school hallway: “Lou Reed started singing Perfect Day after I had just spent an exceptionally perfect day in the city with my friends, so that’ll always be a favorite for me.”

He told her then that he was not a Lou Reed kind of guy, but that did not mean he was without knowledge of him, or specifically, Perfect Day. He had heard it who knew how many times on the radio growing up, so he knew the music was stored somewhere in his brain. It was their only chance.

Eddie swallowed down the massive lump that had formed in his throat, brought his lips to the shell of her ear, and sang shakily, “Just a perfect day… drank sangria in the park… and then later, when it gets dark… we go home….”

* * *

Kelly almost tripped mid-stride when she heard Eddie’s voice echoing softly down the hallway to her; it was tremulous and low, but unmistakably him. He was singing. It was her favorite song, full of some of the best memories of her life. Memories of her boys, Davey and Jake, and how alive they always felt when they were together. The smell of cotton candy being spun fresh for them by the vendor in Central Park. The sound of Lou Reed playing the beat up piano in CBGB, the melody winding its way down the street as if it had been trying to find them, where they had prowled as if they owned the whole city of New York. Driving too fast up and down the back roads of Maryland in the Duesenberg, blaring the music they could never listen to at home. It was enough for her chest to swell with not only hope, but determination. Eddie was there even if she could not see him, and she would make it back to him no matter what it might take.

Vecna could hear the music too, though, and knew his grip on Kelly’s mind was slipping quickly. He boarded up the only exit he knew of to her mind, and the door appeared as he wished it to before her, causing her to skid to a halt.

Desperately Kelly pulled at the planks of wood, putting all her strength into the effort, but it was no use. Looking over her shoulder, she found her captor floating toward her, a cruel smile curling its lips, full of certainty that she was well and truly caught.

“Kelly… you let them all die. You left your brothers and sisters defenseless.”

The happy memories faded, replaced by flashes of faces she used to know even better than her own, faces she had loved once. Faces she no longer could recognize even as they lay all around her, they had been brutalized so horrifically. “No… no, I’d never…”

“But you did, Kelly. Look around you. You should have joined them, Kelly. They died alone. Screaming.”

“… Just a perfect day… feed animals in the zoo… then later, a movie too, and then home.”

That was right. She and her boys did feed the animals in the Central Park Zoo. And they watched movies at the Orpheum Theatre in Baltimore from midnight until dawn every chance they got, and after the last movie ended, they would have breakfast at their favorite greasy spoon and watch the sun rise over the Baltimore Harbor. Eddie’s voice was not coming from behind the door she was desperate to open. It was from a side door, another exit, but one that required a key card to open.

A long lost memory unfolded in her mind. A girl, younger than her, was ripped out of her arms by the power of a man they thought they could trust, and was trapped with him in the Rainbow Room. Out of her sock had fallen a key card. All the guards had them, and beside where Kelly stood was the lifeless body of one such guard. Dropping to her knees, she plucked a bloodied card from his pocket, and skirted around him to reach the door. She slid the card through the scanner, the light turning from red to green.

“Oh, it’s such a perfect day. I’m glad I spent it with you. Oh, such a perfect day. You just keep me hanging on… you just keep me hanging on…”

Behind the door was a dark staircase going downward many floors. There were no other doors along the way, and only deeper darkness below. But Eddie’s voice was definitely leading her there, echoing louder now, and she had to find him.

“Kelly, you can’t escape me. Not this time,” the dreaded entity declared, far closer than Kelly could stomach.

She raced down the stairs as fast as she could without losing her balance, trying desperately to blink all the tears out of her eyes so she could see where she was going. Down, down she ran, and found a white door at the bottom. With another swipe of the card it opened too, and she found herself in the boiler room in the very basement of the facility.

“Just a perfect day… problems all left alone… weekenders on our own, it’s such fun….”

She jumped over the few stairs leading into the room and ran for the other side. There, unassuming and rusty, was a drainage pipe. It had been left open, and was just big enough for Kelly to squeeze into. Eddie’s voice was coming from the other end of it. It was her only chance.

Kelly was panting rapidly for air between how fast she had run and how hard she was crying, but she knew she had to put her fear aside and act quickly if she wanted to see Eddie again. She climbed in, gagging from the stench, and began crawling on her belly through the muck and grime accumulated in the pipe from countless years of use. She could only move enough to drag herself forward on her forearms, shimmying and wiggling as fast as the confined space would allow, fighting with everything she had to get back to her Eddie.

“So that’s how you escaped last time…” she heard Vecna muse from the entrance to the pipe. “Very clever. You paid more attention than I ever knew. But it won’t be enough to save you or your friends. See what I have in store for you all… Nine.”

Kelly had no control over the visions spun before her mind’s eye, visions of death and destruction the likes of which had never been seen before on the face of the earth. Everyone she knew, everything she had ever cared about, would be gone forever, swallowed whole by clouds as black as night and scarlet lightning, vines and chasms of magma crisscrossing the land until nothing was left. She sobbed harder, barely able to breathe now, from the sheer enormity of the loss. The last vision was of Eddie, bloodied and still and cold in her arms, his glassy eyes looking up at her without seeing.

“Just a perfect day… you made me forget myself… I thought I was someone else, someone good.”

With a sharp gasp, Kelly awoke, the curse broken.