Raising Hel | a Stranger Things fanfiction

Chapter 9

Timeline check: sets during ST4 episode 3, on Sunday 23rd of March 1986

Hellen picks up the phone and rehearses one last time the sentence in her head as she dials the number to Ferguson's apartment. She won't need to say anything, nobody picks up. It's not that much of a surprise on the first Sunday of spring break.

She contemplates going to his parents' place, see if he's visiting for the holidays, but the last time she saw them was 5 years ago. What if they don't recognize her? What if Ferguson isn't at home? No, this is triggering her anxiety too much.

She could go to Hawkins's lab, see if she can do some measurements. Now that the lab is closed, there shouldn't be any security around.

On the way, she stops by the trailer park. A group of teenagers is gathered on the picnic table, one of them stares at her while she drives by and parks in front of the Munson trailer. She can see the yellow tape on the door, M. Munson can't be at home. If only those kids weren't there, she could check if Eddie is. Maybe she can slip a note under the door without looking too suspicious? Or go ask the kids if they saw him?

The curly-haired boy is now fully turned in her direction, at any moment he could tell the others about the weird car. But Hellen can't bring herself to leave without checking on Eddie. She scribbles a quick note with the name of her hotel and the number of her room on a piece of paper and bolts out of the car before her courage fades out.

She strides toward the door, knocks a few times, feeling the eyes of the teenagers on her back.

– Eddie? It's Hellen, are you there? Eddie?

Someone calls out for her from the picnic table. Panicked, she slips the note under the door, runs back to her car and hits the gas.

*

Dustin stops running when the car engine roars. He makes a mental note of the plate numbers, wondering why someone would drive all the way from Georgia to visit Eddie.

He waits for Steve, who apparently thought he could outrun the car, to come back so they can walk to the picnic table together.

– Have you seen her before, asks Steve.

– I don't think so.

– She could be his girlfriend or something.

Dustin frowns. The pony tail and cardigan isn't the style of the girls he would imagine Eddie dating. His friend doesn't seem interested in romance anyway. He bragged about hooking up at parties or after shows – sometimes using nicknames that were so ambiguous they made Dustin wonder what kind of girls goes by that – but it would be a far stretch to call those romantic relationships.

– I don't think he's got one. She definitely doesn't know him from his band and...

His words trail off as a picture pops up in his mind. Eddie's freshman yearbook. What was it? '81? Dustin remembers finding it on the bookshelf in Hellfire. Eddie had been excited to show them what was just the 'D&D club' at the time. Dustin would swear there was a girl in a cardigan in the pictures.

– What is it, worried Steve.

– I think she's a former member Hellfire.

Steve spits a laugh as they sit back with the others. Robin, Nance and Max staring at them expectedly.

– You want me to believe that girl likes to play pretend she's a wizard or whatever.

– She was in one of Eddie's year book.

– Yeah, from last decade, snorts Steve.

Dustin makes a face but continues his thought process.

– Maybe that's why she's got Georgia plates on her car. She's in college there. And she came to visit him for spring break!

– Okay, but it doesn't explain why she ran away, says Steve.

– I mean, replies Robin, that's kind of what a lot of girls have been doing lately when they see you coming too close.

– Ouch!

– Does it really matter, interrupts Max.

– She's right, says Nancy, we have bigger issues now. I don't think we need to worry about her. Let's focus on finding out what links Chrissy and Fred.