The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

5

The bags were all emptied out onto the floor. A stack of books were being examined by the kids in the corner. Dustin was taking notes on a notepad with his tongue out in focus.

"Stuff to make molotovs, check. Rags? Check. Guns, shanks, body armor, gasoline, ammo, fanny packs? Check. Robin lists as she points out each of the items.

"This should do it, right?" Eddie asks anxiously pointing at the pile. The RV comes to a stop and I hold onto the wall.

"If Vecna's weakness is fire, then yes. We should have more than enough artillery to kill him." Max says coming up to us. She looks to me. "We haven't found anything crucial yet, but we did find out about this." She hands me the pocket knife. Dustin comes up behind her and Steve and Nancy are with us in the circle we formed.

"I saw an ancient symbol book and grabbed it. The symbol, quite literally, means 'those who are damned.'" My heart skips a beat; that's not exactly what I was told.

"What does that mean exactly?" I ask.

"Basically, this symbol was carved into items such as knives, to protect those who are called the damned." He pauses and breathes in deep. "Damned to Vecna." Erica says coming up to us. I take a breath as my chest tightens. So all along I was susceptible to be one of Vecna's victims. Dustin continues. "My guess is, whoever gave you this knife knew you would be in trouble one day for when Vecna decided to come out of hibernating." I look to Eddie. I was so glad he had grabbed it at the docks. If not, then I'd be Vecna chow.

"Does that mean.. my vision showed me my Dad was in danger because of Vecna? Because he's not protected? You can't just write the symbol down in your house like- like a ward?"

Dustin shakes his head. "No. It has to be carved from pure oak. That's all I know so far. I don't know why you have these visions- or abilities yet, though. Lucus is looking at that as we speak. But I do know that somehow you're connected to the Upside Down. Which means your family is."

"What the literal hell." Robin nervously says.

"Oh my God," Nancy and Steve say.

I nod ignoring the comments. "Thank you, Dustin." So my dad never truly lied. It was a symbol of protection. And a symbol of love if he gave it to me knowing it was gambling with his life. And he gave it to me because he knew one day Vecna would come back out of hibernating. I hold the knife and tuck it into my shirt.

I turn to Eddie. "Thank God you grabbed it." I breathe.

"Yeah, same." His eyes were fixated on me, as if he was petrified at the thought. Steve then exits the RV to get gas with Nancy and Robin.

"Can I get chips?!" Eddie hollars out of the window.

"No!" Steve yells back.

"A cold one?!" He asks again.

"No!" Nancy yells.

"I just want chips and a beer, man." He grunts. "I'm tired of.. these." He holds your a granola bar in disgust. The people who lived here before had little to no food. "Rabbit food!" He exclaims.

Everything was making sense. Puzzling together now. If I was connected the to Upside Down, it made sense for me to start that connection as soon as Dustin made contact with the real world and the other one.

Something triggered in my brain. And it led to a whole bunch of shit to unlock.

***

A couple of hours pass with me not trying to doze off. Eddie was in the corner snoring like a caveman again. Steve yells to the back, the RV coming to a stop. It was fairly dark outside.

"We're here." I look out of the window and put my hands on the glass. My breath clouds the window and I could feel my heart pick up it's pace. I needed to warn them before it was too late. I needed answers. I needed to get them to safety. I feel a tap on my shoulder and look back.

"You wanna take a minute?" Steve asks raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, no, I- I don't know." I didn't know what to think. It felt like it's been months since I've been my temporary home. Dad said he was done moving since Mom couldn't handle it anymore.

"Where are are?" Eddie startled awake.

"We've been arrived, sleeping beauty." Erica snaps. I smile at her remark.

"Do you want me to go with you Clary?" Robin looks at me. They all look worrisome and I roll my eyes.

"You guys are so strange, you know that? It'll be fine. I'll be in and out. Nice and quick." I stand up and look over to Eddie, motioning my head towards the house. "I'm bringing one person." I look to Eddie. "You coming with?" I kick his shin. He nods and staggers up on his feet, finding his equilibrium again.

"Meeting the parents, eh?" Eddie jokes. I hit him in the arm.

"Take this just in case you run into trouble." Steve hands Eddie a walkie talkie.

Everyone is congregated in the middle of the RV, talking with their eyes and expressions. Eddie and I exit the RV and start up the small steps that led to the front door. I look at Eddie and he looks at me, almost nervously.

"It'll be fine. My dad is one of the coolest guys you could meet." He stays silent and I put my hand on the gold knob, slowly turning it. It was locked. I press the small circular doorbell to the right and follow it with a knock. The ring echoes then fades completely. "Dad? It's me! It's Clary!" I use my hands as binoculars to see through the patterned window. I saw a whole lot of nothing and a dark house. He usually sat on his recliner and watched ball. I knock again, but harder. "Dad! Hey!" My chest began to tighten again and my stomach starts to sink. "No.." I murmur. Was the vision real? Present time? I start to kick the door knob, attempting to break the hinge.

"Clary!" Eddie yells. "Stop, we can find a better way." He puts a hand on the door knob.

"Get it off before I kick it, Munson." He removes his hand and turns around slowly facing the RV. I kick harder. Then harder. Then harder. I feel my feet retaliate from the harsh pounding of thick wood on my soles.

All of a sudden, the door gives out, swinging open then slowly closing. I take a glance inside and it was too dark to make out. "Dad!" I scream. I open the door with my finger tips and walk into the living room.

"Maybe we should leave." Eddie says. His voice sounded unsure.

"No." I turn around and flip on the light switch. As soon as I turn my head, I'm met with a room full of red. Red everywhere. Two silhouettes lay on the ground and my eyes refuse to register their faces.

"No," I breathe.