The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

3

The night fell fast. Eddie and I were once again forced to share a space. He offered himself the floor but I didn't allow him to. It just wasn't right. We were cramped and he snores like a cave man but other than that it was feasible. I slept little to none; my head was pounding all night and I had a residue of blood exit my ears. I was too scared to hear the screams and ringing again. For most of the night I watched Eddie drool on himself and the rest I watched through the small crack between the dresser and window waiting for a small amount of the upside down sunlight to peak.

I sat crunched up in a ball, and watched how Eddie's hands either almost smacked me or were draped off of the bed. Avid sleeper.

I hope Mom and Dad weren't worried about me. I mean, they probably were. But Dad didn't want me to call and check in. He said he wanted me to enjoy my time away and stay focused. Only if he could see me now. Focused on a big man child and demo bats instead of my calculus homework.

Sometimes I wonder what Hawkins looked like right now? How many more people had to die at the hands of such a monster for Vecna to complete his goal? How many families are scared to sleep at night not knowing if a serial murderer is going to come into their home in the dead of night because they don't understand what we do? Most importantly, how many idiots were listening to Jason Carver use Chrissy's death as an excuse for a power grab? I roll my eyes at the thought. We needed to get going and I was getting impatient sitting here with my own thoughts.

I take my hand and place it on Eddy's shoulder and shake him. "Rise and shine, sunshine." He startles awake and his eyes scatter around the room.

"Don't scare me like that, Gregerson."

"Says the guy who snores like a caveman." I murmur.

"A what?" He sits up.

"Oh nothing.." I look over to my side and give him a sly smirk. He glares and cocks his head at me in a mocking tone.

"Mmhm. We should get going before it's too bright." He says looking over the dresser.

"I agree. I'm sure Dustin is there now waiting."

Eddie and I exit the house and start to run at full speed. There was nothing in sight except the eerie darkness and flashes of red doom of the upside down that yearned to consume you.

At least a quarter of a mile later, we reach the wooded area where Steve was attacked.

"There!" I say pointing at the glowing red hole in the ground. "Remember it's under water. It should be dark enough in Hawkins for any patrol not to see us." Eddie nods and we jump into the abyss, immediately being consumed by water. We look at one another and kick our legs up. The surface seemed so far and my head was still tense from yesterday's episode.

Eventually, we reach the surface. Eddie and I look around and see the boat we came on, and three familiar figures. Nancy, Robin, and Steve. It was fairly dark still. They wave their hands and Robin flashes her light. When we reach the boat, I take Steve's hand to pull me up all while Eddie was lifting my legs. Awkward.

Eddie comes into the boat after me and drapes himself over the wood bench.

"Never again." He shakes his head.

"Agreeing with that." I say pointing my thumb to Eddie. I pull my pocket knife out of my bra and flip it on. I trace the engravings Eddie said he noticed I was tracing. D.M.C. Dad, Mom, Clary. I flip it back closed and tuck it back in.

"Are you okay Clariss- Clary? What happened back there?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, you were screaming then bleeding just out of nowhere." Nancy says in horror as she looks at my face.

"Not sure." I decided to shut down their question because not even I knew. Maybe it was just a different universe having a toll on me. "What's the next move guys?"

"Well we encountered a problem. Max was targeted by Vecna. We found out that music brings someone back to reality. Their favorite song." Robin says.

"Is she alright?" She was so young I'd hate to see anything happen to her.

Robin nods. "Yes but we need to act facts. And we also.. need to do some.. shopping. But you guys are more than welcome to wait once we get a vehicle." Robin says nervously.

"I'm sorry.. once we?" Eddie emphasizes leaning forward.

"Yeah, about that.. we gotta do some hot wiring." Dustin says.

"Oh hell yeah! I knew this would come in handy some day!" Edie props up. Nancy and Steve look confused as they shake their head at Eddie who looked like a kid in a candy store. Eddie Munson everyone.

"I need new clothes. These are barely hanging on." I say as I pick up a few shreds of my shirt. It was barely covering my stomach at this point.

"That's fine because we have a lot of blueprinting to do." Dustin says.

"Hey Dustin?" I say. He looks at me. "Thank you for being smart. Without you we would probably still be stuck down there." He smiles his boyish smile.

"No problemo. Erica did some heavy work too believe it or not. We also finally have Lucus." A lot has happened. I forgot about him. He was or is- friends with Jason. Basketball jock. Sweet kid from what he seemed though. The panic was sensed in my eyes because Nancy spoke up.

"He's not with Jason anymore. He Actually radioed us and warned us. He just needed to see Jason for who he really was." She nods. I nod in response and stare out onto the water. I think I've had enough wilderness for a while. Eddie takes place besides me, and I feel his leg slightly touch mine. I wanted to pull back but I wanted to keep it there at the same time.

"Another thing we should mention." Steve starts. "When Nancy was dropping out of the Upside Down right after Eddie had to take you away, Vecna gave her a message. Vecna is 001. Has been all along. He had an obsession with time which is why his victims see these clocks. He feeds off of sadness and gains power accordingly. His weakness is fire." Steve stares out into the distance.

"Wow. So 001 started this all?" I ask.

"Eleven banished him and he turned into a monster." Robin nods.

I wipe my forehead and nod. "At least we got the upper hand. But why did Vecna send the message to Nancy? I'm sure it's not to help us out."

"We aren't sure why." Steve says bluntly.

I look at Eddy who looks as alarmed as I do. He's toying with his handcuffs that are surprisingly not annoying to him.

"Why do you carry those.. things?"

"It's more fashionable I'd like to say," he winks. I widen my eyes and look down. "You never know when they'll come in handy."

"You're quite the character."

"Always." He says cockily.