The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

6

The day started to drag on. Everyone eventually woke up and started to do some work outside. We had several stations of work depending on what group you were in. Steve, Nancy, and Robin all had to prepare their flammable weapons. Lucus, Erica, and Max had to prepare their flashlights and get lanterns to work so Vecna can manipulate this world through light. Eddie and Dustin were avidly working on their.. armor building skills.

I look to my right and see Eddie pound nails into a garbage can lid. With that, a cheap makeshift spear wrapped in duck tape- that would have to do the job. It didn't take much to impale the bats and kill them. Dustin was already working on the body armor. I wasn't sure where him and Eddie went to get all of this stuff, but it looked reliable. He had head gears made, body covers, pads, the whole deal. His dungeons and dragons dream was coming true, just not in the most ideal setting.

I look at Eddie who is swinging his spear around like he had a black belt in karate. I can't help but laugh and shake my head at his pure childish self he embraced sometimes. How could people pin a man like this as a murderer? I look at him as he swings himself forward onto a wooden pallet, lifting his shield (by that I mean his metal garbage can lid with nails).

"Do you wish to battle, Lady Redhead?" He raises his eyebrows. "I sense looks of.. judgement." He flips his hair. I laugh and he jumps down, coming to me. He lift up his shield, tilting it both ways.

"Smart thinking, Einstein." I poke at the nails softly.

"Right?! Someone just hand me my bachelors in ass kicking already, eh?" He sticks his tongue out of the side of his mouth, nodding.

"Clary!" I look over and see Dustin gesturing for me to come over. I sit up and walk over to him with Eddie. He holds up pieces of metal and thick fabric. "This was the best I could do. It should be enough to prevent major damage from any bat bites." I take the makeshift armor and hold it up to my small body.

"Thank you, Dustin. You did great." I tuck the suit underneath my arm.

"Hey, you're really ready for battle!" Dustin says raising his eyes and opening his mouth at Eddie. He gives a small laugh. Eddie looks at him, almost unamused. "You good?" Dustin asks with the tilt of his head. Eddie gives him the same expressionless faze. "BAT-TLE." Dustin says slowly. "B.A.T." He looks helpless and I cover my mouth to refrain from laughing. Eddie gives him the same dead eyed look. "No?" He shakes his head and his arms drop to his side. "I thought that's as a good one.." he says.

All of a sudden, Eddie springs forward and takes Dustin by surprise, almost mauling him backwards. He continues to hold him in grip strength.

"What're you doing?!" Dustin exclaims. Eddie tosses his slightly, his tongue out as he whips his hair out of his face. "Son of a—" Dustin goes in to tackle him football style, sending Eddie back. Dustin had a tight hold and Eddie was trying to escape his grip, laughing. Next thing you know, Eddie takes his hand and pulls up on Dustin's pants.

"No wedgies, no wedgies!!" Eddie grabs a hold of Dustin by the shoulders and looks him dead in the eye, wiping hair out of his face beaded with sweat.

"Never change, Dustin Henderson." He smiles. "Promise me?"

Dustin slowly shakes his head. "Wasn't planning on it."

"Good." Eddie gives him a slight nod. "Goood?" He repeats waiting for Dustin to answer back.

"Good." Dustin starts to laugh. I can't help but notice myself smiling. Their relationship truly was one of a kind. They always had something to say about one another and it was all good. Dustin was the one who had faith in Eddie from the beginning- we both did.

"You too, Gregerson." He looks at me and gives me two fingers going between his eyes and mine. "Never change." I nod firmly at him. Eddie and Dustin start to mimic fighting with their makeshift weapons, just like kids would do. Eddie good over Dustin's back, swinging his proud shield.

I walk over to Lucus, Max, and Erica. I haven't talked to them much given the circumstances I've been in and I wanted to let them know I was proud of them. Especially Max for overcoming something as difficult as Vecna and putting her life on the line for all of us. I cross my arms as I approach the teenagers with their heads down on a blueprint.

"Hey guys." I smile.

"Oh! Hey, Clary." Lucus smiles.

"How you guys feeling?" I ask.

"Like a million bucks!" Erica exclaims. "We got this in the bag, I just know it." I smile at her attitude.

"And you, Max?" She was silent.

"I feel.. ready. I need to do this." I frown.

"But you shouldn't have had to. If I could, I'd be taking your place." She shakes her head.

"Thank you, Clary. I just.. it's closure for Billy. For myself. To redeem some part of me I'm missing." She nods looking up at me. "I got this." She smiles.

I return her smile and look to Lucus. "Do you think Jason and his squad will interfere considering you're a target for them too now?"

Lucus swallows and sighs. "I sure hope not. But if so, we will be ready. Maybe he can see the truth." Maybe he did need to see the truth. Then it could get us a one way ticket back into Hawkins once she drops the accusations. Knowing Jason, he would rather blame and live in denial than accept the truth of reality.

I head back over to the side of the RV and pick up the Walkman that Eddie and I left out in the grass. The sun was starting to retreat behind the tree line. We were just slowly waiting for nightfall to approach. I trace the plastic and feel each tiny hole of the speaker and smile. I wish I could just repeat last night over and over again. But there was a time where we all had to go back into reality.

"Hey, Gregerson." Eddie plops himself right beside me. "Oh- here." He pinches his fingers in my hair and pulls out a leaf and flicks it. He grabs the Walkman out of my hand and pops it open. He takes out the tape and examines it, flipping it over. "You know, this song never really grew on me until last night." He flashes me the front. I feel my face get hot remembering how I fell on top of him.

"Uh- yeah, yeah. I mean- I guess, I- I'm sorry for uh.. falling on you last night. In all fairness you did scare the shit out of me." I look down at my hands, scraping dirt from my nails.

I could feel his smile start to form. "Who said you had to apologize?"

"I, uh- I don't know. Just figured it might have had to hurt a little."

"Please, Sparky you're barely 100 pounds!" I laugh. "Hey, wanna see what I did while I had the free time?" I look up and see him grab something out of his pocket. It was the stone I had given him, except it was now on a string. He made it a necklace.

"Woah," I breathe as he plops it into my hands. "How did you do that?"

"A magician never tells his secrets," he wiggles his finger back and forth.

"I didn't know you'd like it that much." I say handing it back to him.

"Why wouldn't I? It's the most anyone has ever really done for me. Here, put it on for me. It's going to be my good luck charm." He turns around and lifts his mess of curly hair. I reach over and wrap the string around his neck, and start to knot it several times so it was sturdy and wouldn't untie.

"There." I say.

He turns and smiles at me. "Much obliged, Sparky." We stare at each other for what seemed like centuries, just not talking or saying any words. I would say I was uneasy with eye contact but something about Eddie Munson made me read him like a novel I couldn't put down.

"Alright, you fuckers ready to kick some Vecna ass?!" Dustin yells with his shield up in the air.