Not Just Another Number

Nancy Joins

Sarah's POV

I kick my car door closed with my heel as I tighten my grip on the bags of food in my hands. I look over at the others, seeing them holding bags full of food as well. I nod over to the boat house in front of us, walking over to the front door.

Dustin takes the lead with an excited smile, shoving open the door with a loud thud. "Shit!" Eddie curses from inside, startled. I peek my head inside, seeing him huddled up in the corner across from me. I reach my hand inside, showing him the bag of food. "Delivery service." Dustin says, doing the same.

Eddie sighs, relaxing. He shakes his head and walks back over to the boat he was hiding in last night. He hops in, sitting cross legged. We all put our bags into the boat. He reaches for the bag closest to him and pulls out a box of cereal. He rips open the top and starts to shove cereal into his mouth.

I lean against one of the support beams, crossing my arms. I look over at Christine, who's looking at Eddie in concern. She's standing beside Robin. I look over at Dustin, waiting for him to start the explanation we talked about on the way here.

Dustin clears his throat, making Eddie look up at him, still eating his cereal. "So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer?"

"Bad news first, always." Eddie says with his mouth full. I scrunch my nose up in disgust, looking away for a second.

"Alright, bad news." Dustin says. "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."

"Like, 100% kind of convinced." Max points out, nodding her head. Eddie stares at her for a few seconds, face dropping in anxiety. "And the good news?" He asks, turning back to Dustin.

"Your name hasn't gone public yet." Christine tells him with a comforting smile. But that smile quickly disappears as I shift. I frown down at him. "But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do too. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

Eddie looks away, eyes glazing over with fear. "Hunt the freak, right?" He looks back up at us. "Exactly." Robin says, face grim. Eddie shakes his head, holding his box of cereal close. "Shit."

Dustin, trying to make the situation better, keeps the conversation going. "So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence." Eddie cocks his head to the side, fear turning into annoyance. "That's all, Dustin? That's all?" He asks, sarcasm filling every word.

Dustin doesn't catch it. "Yeah, no, that's pretty much it."

"Listen, Eddie." Robin's voice makes me look away from Dustin. "I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before. I mean, they have a...a few times, and...and I have once." Robin says, trying to reassure him.

Christine nods along, adding on. "Same here, but, um, ours was more human-flesh-based, their's was more smoke related. Well, not Sarah. Sarah's got a whoooooole lot more experience than the rest of us." She rambles on, picking at her fingers as she speaks. She looks up, noticing our looks and her rambling stops. "Uh, anyway, the bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this."

Steve nods, gesturing as he speaks. "We usually rely on Sarah and this girl who also has super powers, but those went bye-bye, so..."

Eddie looks back at me, eyes wide. "Also?" He asks, looking more confused than ever. I nod and cross my arms tighter around myself. "Yeah, pretty cool shit, but those also went bye-bye, so no dice." I tell him. Dustin raises a hand to me. "Well, only one of your powers did."