Head Over Heels for Eddie Munson

Ch18: Psycho Killer

I blocked out the screaming voices, the cursing, and the pleas for my help as I got more focused on my breathing. Inhale, exhale. The shaking breath rushing through my teeth and out of my mouth, in through my nose deeply as I intake more air. As the rest of the group scrambled to find music, I was busy trying to invade Nancy's mind. "This is music!" Eddie's voice echoed through the trailer. I knew the difference in dimensions would cause a rift in my abilities, but I needed to try. I focused on Nancy's breath now. Her pattern breaking, uneven breathing, and shaky exhales. However, locating and entering her mind seemed easier than usual, like it was meant to happen.

A familiarity met me as I looked through Nancy's visions, seeing through her eyes. I was in a lowly lit room, white with a mirror. In the middle, sat Papa and a child I had not recognized, someone I should have known. Papa was tattooing a number onto him, much like the "007" on my wrist, but was too far and small to make out. "Lori, are you okay? Where are you?" Eddie asked worriedly as the lights flickered more in the trailer. I had sat down under the gate, using all the strength I could to stay with Nancy. "I....am ok," I said, "We are in the lab with Papa." I thought back to my last day at the lab, September 8th 1979. I remembered the chaos, how easy it was to escape because all the guards were dead. Left alone in my room, I was able to survive the massacre with what seemed to be pure luck. I was only passed out, hurt but not dead, with my door broken down and a dead guard next to me. While only being eleven for a few months, I was not used to death, it was hard to leave my room. I was scared. Bits and pieces of that day come to me every now and then, although I can never remember the entirety of that day. Seeing into Nancy's mind allowed me to remember more, a shiver running down my spine.

I knew when I saw Fred's body through the Sheriff's mind and when I witnessed Patrick's death that everything seemed weirdly familiar. I had seen it all before but I didn't know when, where, or who. My mind was pulled back to Nancy as I heard a loud clang, the tattoo gun set down on a metal table beside Brenner. The number was revealed then to be "001". My breath shook and I felt uneasy, One was never someone we talked about. "All done," Papa's voice said, "Not so bad. Was it? See? There's nothing to be afraid of. Is there, Seven?" He knew, I stopped breathing for a second, and exhaled a shaking breath. Eddie noticed and I felt him sit next to me. I was there and he knew and he was leading me. That was why it was so easy! Venca allowed me in, he lured me. "He knows I'm there," I stated as calmly as I could, my stomach dropped. I tried staying calm, taking deeper breaths. Papa turned to me, his eyes clouded and voice distorted, "Nancy, why don't you take a seat." Vecna was smart, realizing what I had been doing, but he wanted me to be here, to witness his story. Nancy ran into the hall, deja vu hitting me as I saw similar dead bodies lying in the hall of the lab. It was almost like I had gone back to that day, the lifeless contorted corpses lying with bones snapped and eyes popped. The blood soaked through their white clothes and left marks on walls and doors. I was never able to find the culprit of the deaths, the psycho killer who distorted the human skeleton of anyone they wanted. "Nancy, stay with me, stay with me!," Steve yelled, "Whatever you guys are doing up there, hurry up!" I straightened my back, trying more and more to get Nancy out of Vecna's grasp. She ran down the halls to a blocked door and started ripping off pieces of wood. I was in a tug of war battle for her mind, my head started to hurt and another stream of blood exited my free nostril. "Seven," Vecna's voice echoed through the hall. "Lori?" Nancy whispered to herself, turning around. "I know what you are doing, Seven," His voice sounded through the hall, "You cannot have her back yet, not until it's time for her to leave." Nancy's heavy pants increased as she pushed harder to escape, breaking through the wood boarding up the doors. "Now, you've seen where I have been," His voice was closer, only steps away, "I would like very much to show you where I am going." She broke through the door, only to find herself back in the tattoo room with Papa."Take a seat, Nancy," He said through Papa's body. Vecna approached Nancy, tied to a chair with vines, a new thought popped into her mind. "Seven, I want you to tell Eleven. I want you to tell her everything Nancy sees." Nancy's gasp announced the beginning of a series of future visions, Hawkins torn apart, my friends dead and injured. "No!" We both screamed, both waking up. I curled up, my knees to my chest, crying, "No, no." Robin sat beside Eddie and I, their hands on my back, watching as I buried my face into my bruised knees. After what Vecna had shown me, the throbbing pain from my cuts seemed insignificant.

"You're okay now Lori. I'm here, okay?" I heard a voice, Eddie's. I looked through my tears, a blurry silhouette of Eddie sitting next to me. I pulled him into a tight hug, my arms wrapping around his neck, face buried in his hair. He put his arms around my waist in a comforting hug which I loved so very much. "Thank you," my voice was muffled, but I felt his smile on my shoulder. Robin helped me up and we cleared the way for Nancy and Steve to come back through. She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. "Thank you, Lori," her tears soaked into my clothes and her shaking body calmed down, "I'm glad you were there with me." I patted her back and held her head lovingly, I could feel her loud terrified emotions circling her mind. I looked through her hair at Steve and he nodded with a smile, I tried as hard as I could to smile back.

It was him all along, I saw in Nancy's mind. One was Henry, One was the guard, One was Vecna. He was the psycho killer and no matter how far we run, he will always be a step ahead of us. He would inevitably win. The visions he showed Nancy and I, they were all true. The deaths, Hawkins' fall, the complete destruction—it's all coming. I sat down, a glazed look over my scared eyes, I had witnessed death many times before, but nothing compared to what would eventually happen. We were all screwed and I had no idea how to stop it, but I knew everyone relied on me to save them. A hand shook me and a voice faded in, "Lori, Lori!" Eddie turned me around, looking into my eyes, "You okay? What happened?" I couldn't answer, my eyes teared up. It was Eddie I saw dead, along with Steve, Nancy, Robin, Eleven, everyone. The vision Vecna played of their deaths, he only showed to me, Nancy's mind showed no sign of the deaths I witnessed. I sucked it in, smiled and nodded as if nothing had happened. Telling them the truth would only make things worse for us and I couldn't risk them being distracted.
***
A/N: Yall im so sorry its been so freaking long, school started and it has been hard to write. You guys literally motivate me so much that I'm gonna try to get back on the grind, I'm also really excited to show yall the ending. :D Thank you for sticking with me, this chapter is kinda short. I will try and get another one up tmo but with school it might be hard, im so sorry!!!! Enjoy and if u have anything to say at all, comments are always open. Love you guys so much. XOXO<3