slay 'em dead//Steve Harrington

30

Since Eddie is still hiding out, we decide it's best that we go grocery shopping for him. Steve, Robin, Dustin, Max and I walk into the shed with grocery bags in hand. The place looks even more like a dump in the daylight.

"Jesus..." Eddie says. He seems jumpy. Afraid that he'll be found.

"Delivery service," Dustin says.

Eddie begins to shove cereal into his mouth the second we put the bags down. I cannot imagine what he's going through right now. He can't leave. He's been accused of murder.

"So, we got, uh, some good news and some bad news," Dustin tells him. "How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always," Eddie says.

"All right. Bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you. Also, they're, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy," Dustin explains.

"Like, 100% kind of convinced," Max states.

"And the good news?" Eddie asks.

"Your name hasn't gone public yet," I inform him.

"But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do too," Robin reasons. "And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie says.

"Exactly," Robin tells him.

"Shit," Eddie remarks.

"So, before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence," Dustin says.

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it," Dustin tells him.

"Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before," Robin states. "I mean, they have a... a few times, and... and I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this."

"Yeah, see we usually rely on this girl who has superpowers," Steve tells him. "But, uh, those went bye-bye, so..."

"So, we're technically in more of the..." Robin starts.

"Kinda..." Steve says.

"Brainstorming phase," Max says.

"Brainstorming," Steve agrees.

"There... There's nothing to worry about," Dustin assures.

Steve scoffs and Eddie doesn't look too convinced. He looks downright scared as we hear sirens.

"Shit," Steve says.

"Tarp," I tell Eddie. "Tarp. Tarp."

Eddie covers himself with the tarp. As I look out the window, I see cop cars and an ambulance rushing by.

We get in the car to see what happened. As we pull up to where the cop cars stopped, I can see Nancy. A cop is talking to her. There's a white sheet in the middle of the road.

We sit at a picnic table in Max's trailer park. Nancy starts to explain to us what happened. We let her know what we found out.

"So, you're saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it's from the Upside Down?" Nancy asks.

"If the shoe fits," Steve says.

"Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse," Dustin explains. "Now, whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know."