No Surrender | Eddie Munson

Chapter Forty-Two: Vecna's Curse

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: VECNA'S CURSE

STAY RIGHT HERE — CHLOE AMENT

You were all I needed now it's clear
I'd pay any price to have you here
Though the sirens sound my world is falling
Love, you're still the path I'll keep on following

——————

The room is shaking. Screams fill my ears. I try to block it out, to silence it, but nothing works.

"Help! Help me! Help!"

Gasping frantically, clawing at my surroundings to pull myself out of the darkness, I sit up.

I'm on the couch. The blanket crumple on the floor and the television is still paused on the opening of Gremlins. But the space beside me is empty.

The clock shows that it's eight o'clock but that can't be right. I came back at ten. Rays of pale light seep through the curtains. It's morning. I must have fallen asleep.

My body shakes, wobbling precariously as I push myself up to my feet. "Eddie?"

No response.

The bathroom is empty. I take my pills and continue through to my bedroom. Still, no sign of him. I work up the energy to change out of my days-old clothes, figuring that he must have gone to fetch something from his van. He'll be back once I'm out of the shower.

Thirty minutes later and he is still nowhere to be found. I put on the white lace dress he'd found me in the mall. It hasn't been touched since I first got it but still fits loosely. The blur of its uneven hems around my knees doesn't feel like magic anymore.

A frown weighs on my features when I notice the damp patch on my chest that grows with each drip from my hair. "Eddie?" another shout of his name brings more silence.

He can't be hiding. As childish as he can be sometimes, he doesn't do that kind of thing. Not anymore, at least.

Not daring to open the doors to Hopper or Eleven's rooms, I decide to search the rest of the house again. I'm the only one here. My feet awkwardly nudge into some old boots I haven't worn in a while as I fumble with the phone dial. The steady hum reaches my ear. I wait. Nothing.

——————

Desperately trying to curb the panic rising in my chest, I skate over to the trailer park as fast as I can. My hands twist and tug on the hem of Eddie's flannel but it brings me no comfort.

All I can think about are the endless possibilities, every single bad thing that could have happened for him to not come home to me last night. Those fears are only worsened when I round the corner and find a fleet of patrol cars parked around the front of his trailer.

I dump my skates on the side and rush over. Eddie's uncle is on the porch, talking to Chief Powell. "Wayne?" I call. "Wayne!"

My approach is quickly blocked, an arm firmly holding me back by my shoulders. I try to struggle but Callahan's grip only tightens. "Jesus, Kid. You can't come past. This is a damn crime scene."

I hesitate. The pressure in my chest worsens and my breath comes out in short gasps. "W-What? What happened? Is Eddie okay? Is he—"

But Powell has already opened the door. I can see just past him to something lying on the floor.

It takes me a moment to realise it's a body at all. All I see is a crumpled heap, the yellow and green stripes of a Hawkins cheerleader costume and a head of blonde hair twisted at an unnatural angle.