The Four Rings || An Eddie Munson Fanfiction

Chapter Seven - Hiraeth

The group had made a lot of progress throughout the night, even managing to find a few extra hands to help out. After officially losing whatever forces were after them, Steve thought it would be best if he ditched his car. It was quite clear how attached he had grown to his automobile so as they were watching its dull tint sink slowly to the bottom of Lovers' Lake, Emelia couldn't help but feel empathy. That being said, it was for the best. Even if Steve had managed to flee the scene without his plate being recognized, they would more than likely be looking for the make and model of his car now.

As unfit as it probably was, Emelia soon found herself back at Skull Rock. The majority of the group had gathered near the clearing to discuss their next steps regarding defeating Vecna. Nancy Wheeler had met up with them shortly after Steve had dropped them off at the trailer park and although it was fairly early, Nancy seemed to be catching on. Emelia couldn't help but be unsure of how to feel around her. They never got along in high school. They were both in separate cliques and always seemed to have clashing interests. She hadn't seen her in quite a while and as optimistic as she wanted to be, a part of her wondered if Nancy Wheeler could ever move on from her popularity phase. Lucas Sinclair had offered to help out, as well. When she first caught sight of him, she had to do a double take. She found it extremely hard to believe that he was on their side, considering he had spent the last few days hunting them down.

Keeping her eyes braced forward, Emelia leaned her back against the rock and began tracing shapes in the dry dirt. Her flashlight was propped upright between her knee and her thigh, allowing her to see rather far into the forest. The view soothed her nerves slightly but her posture still remained slumped and alarmed. Her body was still in shock from the recent events, her blood running through her veins like plumbing in the winter time. No matter what she did, she couldn't stay warm.

"Hey," Eddie spoke, peaking his head around the rock in an attempt to ease her fear. She raised her finger to wave, offering a light smile in a replacement as her greeting, and pulled her legs tight to her chest. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she replied, running her finger along her shoulder. Considering the freshness of the wound, the pain was still rather powerful. It hurt more than it had initially now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, but she hid her discomfort rather well. Every so often, Eddie would wander over to her with a handful of water to splash on her wound. The hem of his shirt was almost completely gone now, exposing the lower portion of his abdomen. "How are you?"

"Alright" - Eddie lowered himself to Emelia's side, keeping his eyes directed forward into the dark forest ahead of them. A small sigh escaped his throat as he ran a hand through his disheveled locks. He seemed to be deep in thought and right as Emelia asked what he was thinking about, Eddie blurted, " - You saw my uncle?"

The pair of them apologized for interrupting each other and chuckled slightly in unison. Emelia gestured for Eddie to keep talking if he needed to and when he didn't, she decided it would be just for her to reply. She had only met Wayne Munson a few times in her lifetime, but she knew for a fact that he was the one she saw. There were only a few original families left in the trailer park, so they liked to keep distant tabs on each other. Regardless of if they were friends or not, it was important for them to stick together. Her parents were known to voice their opinions very loud, constantly instructing others on how they were supposed to raise their kids so they were prone to not getting along with a lot of people. Emelia had a distant memory of watching her father and Mr. Munson being torn away from each other from her bedroom window. He had every reason to let the cops arrest her and yet, he still viewed her as unexpendable.

"I didn't get a good look at him, really," Emelia spoke, reminiscing over the recent event. She wanted to uncover as many details as she could, knowing how important it was to share even the smallest ones with the group. "But I know what I saw."