𝐈 𝐃𝗼𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 | Eddie Munson

Chapter Sixteen

The fire is huge.

We're all sitting in a circle, me and Eddie by he wall of the trailer, the steps separating us. Dustin is on the left of Eddie, then goes Steve, Nancy, Robin and Max is next to me.

When we finished creating our fighting weapons we played around for a little bit, me and Dustin had a great game of tag going on even Max joined in. Of course I got bored and let them win at the end and I laid down in the grass exhausted. Max laid down next to me and I could hear her heavy breathing as im sure she can hear mine.

When our breaths evened out and I couldn't feel my heart beating rapid in my chest Max looks over at me. "So your Angela?" I looked over at her, we're still laying on the ground so when I turn my head to look at her I get grass poking my eyes. "Yea" and as I reply I realize I never said one word to Max this whole trip, she never said anything to me either. Its odd though because we're the ones who's been seeing Vecna and you'd think I'd want to know about her experience but no, I honestly forgot she was here.

"So you've also seen him?" and I know she's referring to Vecna "yea I have" I turn my head to the sky and then right back to her "what was it like for you?" I'm curious to know, and I want to know if it was different for me.

Max takes a deep breath through her nose before explaining "it was like I was in another world. The first time I thought I was seeing things-" I cut her off "a clock?" she pauses "yea a clock. And then it was my mom... I thought I was talking to her but i.wasn't... It was Vecna, and he grabbed me in like a hug position, and when I fought he wouldn't let go. Until he did."

Her story is different than mine so I think I should explain "mine was different. It happened when I was at Eddies trailer. All of a sudden I heard the dinging of the bell which I've been hearing all day at that point, and then after that I heard my name being called which I thought was Eddie at first. But when looked it was Vecna. I ran to a room and locked myself in when he slammed open the door and put his hand above my eyes in a weird way. Luckily I woke up and Eddie was there."

"Sounds like he almost got you" Max says "What do you mean?" I ask and Max sits up now, I do the same. Max continues "When Vecna attacks he does what you just described him doing. He kills." She looks at me with her eyes and keep talking "He takes those who are struggling, for example Nancy's friend Fred struggled with anxiety and also lost someone close to him, he died last night. For me I just lost my brother and I've been kind of depressed about it. So I guess he thinks he takes away the suffering"

"Wait so all this is real?" I ask frightened "We're gonna die?"

"We won't die" Max seems sure "All we have to do is Kill Vecna so he can't kill us" I'm confused now "but how do we kill him if he's not from this world?" Max looks confused "they really didn't tell you anything did they?" I shake my head and say "apparently no!"

She shakes her head "idiots" and she turns toward me so her feet are facing my thighs "OK so basically there is a whole other world but its actually-" I cut her off again "yeah I know this, its under Hawkins" she continues "yes but there's actually a way to get there"

I turn towards her now so both are feet are pointed at each other. "I don't understand" and Max explains "So we don't know exactly how the world was created but a few years ago a friend of ours went missing and it turns out he was lost in the upside down. "When he got lost it opened a gate, and that gate was an entrance to the upside down but it was also an entrance to our world." She pauses "lots of things came out of that gate but luckily our friend El, she has superpowers and she closed the gate or so we thought-" I'm sorry I cut her off again but what?! "Wait wait wait, she has superpowers?" It probably looks like my eyes are bulging out of my head, but they kind of are I mean I'm finding out all of this and then we throw in that there's this girl with superpowers?!