The Devil's Gift/The Bloody Handed

5

I wasn't sure where that whole scenario came from the other day. One minute I was tired and the next we were talking. Then the next we started aggressively making out like vultures. Eddie had a thing where he got protective over certain things, and if it boiled down to me he definitely was in top of it. Ever since I met him I knew he had a certain energy to him that screamed spunky and adventurous.

There was not one time I've seen him laid back, quiet, or reserved. Scared, but never reserved. He knew his voice and how to find it at any given minute. But that was something I always found intriguing about him- he was always underestimated, treated as a plan C. No one in our group saw Eddie the way I did- except Dustin. They've never taken the time to sit down with him and dissect who he really is as a person. That was the sad part.

I felt as if no one truly tried to look into him as Eddie Munson. They looked at him as the outcast freak, like Jason did. It kind of saddened me.

We've been on the road for about a day now, just waiting and planning. Robin, Nancy, and I were sitting on the couch trying to lay out where we should put the gasoline at in and out of the house. We drew on a book page and tried to come up with different scenarios depending on where Vecna was in the house.

I haven't had anything crazy happen besides the occasional ringing every-time we passed an energetic hot spot. Little amounts of blood still came out each time, and I was tried of having to clean myself every couple of hours because of it. Eddie always made sure to be ready when he saw me wince in the slightest bit of pain. Everyone has to know we were dating, there was no doubt about it. The other day when I walked out of the room my hair was standing up in every direction, as well as Eddie's. Not only that, our clothes were kind of twisted and mangled. The first thing everyone did was point out our looks and start silently laughing. I especially noticed Robin, who tried to quietly tell me with her widening eyes before everyone else noticed.

Every time Eddie and I spent a moment together, Steve's mood dampened a lot. He wanted someone. He was timid, and tried not to look at Nancy all the time. But I always caught him taking glances. He struggled really hard to talk to her and they've had a few successful conversations. The other night I heard them talking outside of the trailer. Unlike last time though, Steve seemed to have more of an acceptance instead of a reluctance to Nancy moving on with her life.

"Alright. We are about fifteen minutes away, people." Steve calls out.

Robin slaps lighters and matches onto the table, then Dustin hauls over the four cans of gasoline.

"Alright, plan overview" Nancy says as she points to Eddie and I.

"Eddie, Dustin, and I will drop you guys off at the water gate, then we will drive to Victor's house. We will be up the attic after we spread the gasoline. I lure in Vecna. Vecna takes the bait. As soon as that happens, I'll signal for you guys to go on the walkie. Then I'll light the match, drop it, then run like hell out of there while you guys do the same."

"What about the Demobats?" Eddie asks.

"Well, we are going to just run like hell and book it. The Upside Down has lost a lot of its mojo so there's that." Robin says.

"Perfect. And hopefully, killing Vecna revives Max." Nancy says.

"It's our best shot of hope; Vecna has all of his victims down to a T. Max is the only living host he has left, so there's a good chance her consciousness could return." Dustin says.

"Perfect." I take a few match boxes and hand them to Eddie, as he slides them into his jacket pocket. I see him slip out a small red and white carton, and tilt to the side away from everyone. I peek over his shoulder and see a carton of Marlboros. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and his thumb on the lighter wheel, ready to light.

"Eddie Munson!" I exclaim. I rip the thing from his mouth and he turns to me.

"Hey, rude!" I grab the carton from his pocket and toss them backwards.

"Those will kill you! Where even did you get those?" I cross my arms and he looks around dumbfounded.

"The.. gas station.. way back.." He slowly says. A smile starts to emerge on his face. I raise my eyebrows in response. "What?! They were free!" He rolls his eyes, and groans. "They're no fun, Dusty Buns."

I can't help but look back at Robin and Nancy who are laughing. I can hear Steve laugh as well.

"Oh! I got an idea..." Eddie exclaims. He runs over to the counter and snatches the Polaroid. "We need a before and after picture."

"Eddie..." we all groan. He looks back at us and frowns, pleading with his gaze.

"Fine. One." I say with a finger up.

He holds up the camera and tilts it towards us. "Come on Harrington, turn that ass around and smile!" I look at Steve who whips his head around hesitantly.

I give a half smile, refusing to show my teeth. The only people who fully smiled were the ones you'd expect. Dustin and Eddie.