METANOIA | Eddie Munson

The Nina Project, Part 2

3rd Person's POV

Eddie retrieves the walkie-talkie and sits on the couch again, the empty pan disgarded on the floor somewhere.

"Hey Dustin, this is Eddie the Banished-"

"Nerd." Valerie mumbled and Eddie looked at her as if she was crazy before carrying on.

"You there? Dustin can you hear me? Dustin? Earth to Dustin."

"Hey, it's Nancy."

"Wheeler! Hey, um, we're gonna need a food delivery, like really soon."

"Unless you want us going out into the world." Valerie added after him.

"No, no, no. Don't do that. Just stay where you are and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, um..." Eddie hesitated and looked at Valerie, "can you pick me up a six-pack? I know it's stupid as shit, drinking right now but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves."

Eddie was ready for Valerie to snap at him.

Instead she nodded, "Yeah, good call."

Nancy cut Eddie off before he even had the chance to say something, "Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back."

"No don't you da- Wheeler? She's already gone isn't she."

"Yup. Come on, let's go back to the annoying shed. It's not safe to be out here during the day."

Eddie agreed and they both made their way to the shed, taking the empty cans of spaghettiOs with them.

Valerie somehow let Eddie convince her into playing a game of throwing pebbles into cans. This must have been rock bottom right? It can only get better from here.

An hour later, she was fully invested and hell bent on winning, even if it was a game of pebbles and cans.

Eddie didn't really care about the game, even though he had been the one to suggest it in the first place. He was too busy enjoying how competitive and worked up Valerie would get.

Specially when her hair would keep getting in her face.

The urge to just tuck it behind her ears for her kept pestering him. More often than not he had to stop himself from giving in, he knew that if he did Valerie wouldn't hesitate to slap him and knock him out.

Somehow that only made him want to do it more.

"Yes! I won, suck it Munson." Valerie leapt up from her seat.

"Please, you only won because I let you." Eddie scoffs.

"And why'd you let me win?"

"I was... distracted?"

Tires screeched outside and they immediately snapped their heads towards the window.

They both crouched beside it and inched up to get a glimpse, it was Jason and two of his friends.

"Fuck." Valerie whispered.

"Shit, shit-" Eddie scrambled to reach the other window to get a better view. Valerie went after him.

"They're going to the house." Eddie said.

"Yeah but the bed is slept in, the bathroom's recently used and so is the kitchen. They're gonna know we were there and it's only going to be a matter of time before they think to look for us here."

"So we're screwed." Eddie and Valerie nodded together.

Valerie grabbed the walkie, "Hey Dustin, it's your sister. You do remember me right? If any of you morons are listening, we're fucked. Jason and his boys are here and they're searching the house. Harrington? Robin? Anybody?"

Valerie slammed it shut and paced back and forth for the next hour while Eddie kept trying to contact Dustin. It had gotten dark outside.

"Dustin? Please, are... are you there?"

Valerie shook her head at Eddie.

"Nevermind." Eddie sighed and put the walkie down, "We gotta escape."

"But we can't go out front they're gonna see us."

"So we go out back."

"The lake?"

"Yeah."

"Munson I'm not going skinny dipping."

"We don't have time for jokes Valerie, come on."

"No seriously, I can't swim."

"Good thing we have a boat then."

They spent the next 10 minutes pushing the boat out into the water and getting into it.

"Hey, Freak!"

Valerie and Eddie looked at eachother, then looked back only to find Jason and his friend staring at them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Shit." They both say at the same time.

Eddie rushed to turn the motor on, "Just...come on, you piece of shit!"

"Uh, Eddie they're taking their jackets off."

"Come on, gotta help me out here man." Eddie was still speaking to his motor.

"They just jumped into the water."

"Goddamn it. Nope, okay. All right. Okay."

"Eddie stop speaking to a motor and start fucking paddling."

Valerie and Eddie were trying, but Jason was gaining on them quick.

"Hey, save us all the trouble and stay back asshole." Valerie stopped paddling to scream at Jason. She wanted to punch him. Just one good punch. She could only imagine how satisfying the crack of his jaw would sound like.

"Come on, we almost have him." Jason stopped to turn towards his friend.

His friend was staring back. Into what? Nobody could tell.

"Hey, Patrick?" Jason yelled, "Patrick!"

Suddenly it was as if he was pulled underwater.

Jason kept yelling his name.

Patrick rose up from the water until he was floating mid air.

Valerie felt a shiver run down her spine.

She and Eddie both backed up out of instinct until they stumbled into the water.

Valerie flailed her arms around helplessly, before Eddie wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up and against him, his other hand holding the boat to keep them both afloat.

Valerie let out a gasp as she coughed out all the water. She was struggling to breathe and looking up at Patrick didn't help one bit.

His arms and legs snapped back, so did his throat.

Valerie was hyperventilating, she felt light headed.

"Valerie?" Eddie whispered, although it fell on deaf ears.

Patrick's eyes were sucked back into his sockets, and he fell back into the water.

She was trembling, and Eddie tightened his hold around her, "Valerie, we gotta go."

[A/N: Not to brag, but I finished this chapter in an hour and a half 🙄 what I'm trying to say is that I don't recognise myself anymore, I'm a wizard and that I deserve an award.]