Wrapped Around Your Finger - Eddie Munson

Chapter Twenty Two: The Curse

Everyone has arrived back at Eddie's trailer. They dragged a large metal tub into the living room, dumping buckets of water and salt into it. Mike and Hopper were giving El a pep talk before sending her in. Steve and Dustin were testing the goggles by walking around with them in and smacking into things.

I sat nervously on Eddie's bed, watching them all from the doorway. I was terrified, for El and for myself. I was trying to listen to Murray explain the science of everything to me, but I couldn't focus. The only thing I could focus on was Eddie, who was currently pacing around the hallway.

"We're ready." Nancy said.

I watched as El submerged herself in the water with bated breathe. Once they were sure, Hopper looked to us and nodded. It was go time. I laid back on the bed and shut my eyes, expecting it to hurt. My mind felt cloudy and slow until suddenly I was no longer in Eddie's room.

I was in the hospital, I didn't have to open my eyes to know that. The beeping of the monitors and whirring sounds of machinery told me all I needed to know. I finally opened my eyes, only to find that the memory of my mother wasn't in her bed. She wasn't there at all, no one was.

I stood up, looking around curiously. I looked over the array of "get well soon" cards on her window sill. Sitting on her side table was a picture of her, my dad, and I from a family vacation to New Hampshire. It was so long ago, I couldn't remember it.

I walked out into the sterile hallway, which was also completely empty. The ambient sound of medical equipment was the only thing that broke the silence. I kept moving, not sure where I was supposed to go. It felt like the hallway was endless until I finally reached the door.

Opening the door it was immediately evident that I wasn't in the hospital anymore. The smell of fresh air and the ocean pulled me to my senses. It was Florida, I was 13 on a vacation with my dad. I could hear laughing from down the beach, it was us.

I was running out of the water with my dad chasing me. He was yelling something about throwing me into the water and getting revenge. I couldn't remember what I did to him first, but from the smile on his face it couldn't have been bad. Young me collapsed onto her beach towel, still laughing uncontrollably.

"Hannah?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. It was El. She looked anxious, like she'd seen something that upset her. I looked at her with concern before she told me I could speak.

"El, are you ok? You looked scared." I asked.

"I'm fine, yes. I was worried I wouldn't find you, but there's something I think you need to see."

She took my hand, leading me away from the beach. We walked through the door to a boat shack and ended up... back in a hospital? It had the same sterile, white walls and floors. The same flickering overhead lights. The same metal doors, but I didn't recognize it.

"Hey, El? Where are we?" I asked.

"Hawkins lab." She answered.

"Uh, that doesn't really mean anything to me."

"I was born here. This is where I lived with the other kids, where Papa taught us." El explained, continuing to lead me through different doors.

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked, but she didn't need to answer.

There she was, my mom. She was sitting on the floor, playing with two toddlers. The room was filled with different toys and puzzles for children. The white walls were interrupted with a painted rainbow streak that spread across all four walls. In the center of the farthest wall from the door was a two way mirror.