Raising Hel | a Stranger Things fanfiction

Chapter 13

Timeline check: sets during ST4 episode 5, on the evening of Tuesday 25th of March 1986

_

Hellen shifts from one foot to the other. The Hideout is not exactly what she imagined it would be. For a moment she wonders if her memory is failing her. From his letters, Eddie had let her believe the place where he and his band were playing once a week was some sort of trendy open mic place. This looked more like a leer for drunken plant workers...

But it's Tuesday night and it might be her best chance to get any news from Eddie, so she takes a deep breath and steps in. The smell of tobacco and sweat make her crunch her nose. She tries to ignore the stares as she walks to the counter, very aware that any outfit would have been more appropriate than her golden-yellow Georgia Tech sweater.

The bartender is in deep conversations with a customer – a long-haired man that gruffs more than he talks – and doesn't notice her attempts to catch his attention.

– Uh ... hi, says a much younger voice.

She turns around to find a cheeky teenager. She sighs in relief when she sees the logo on the t-shirt he's wearing under his red flannel jacket. Corroded coffin – it can't be a coincidence.

– Are you Hel, he asks.

– Yes. Are you in Eddie's band?

– I'm Garrett, he nods. Have you seen Eddie lately?

She looks down, her heart sinking.

– I was hoping you had...

Garrett invites her to the table he shares with Jeff and Larry, the two other members of the band. She wonders how they recognized her when all she knew was their names. Maybe Eddie does really brag about her being a rocket scientist. The thought tightens her throat a little more. Wearing that GT sweater wasn't such a bad idea after all...

But as nice as these boys seem to be, they don't have any clue on where Eddie could be. It doesn't look like they searched too hard, though.

*

Eddie grunts as he pushes himself out of the water. He stumbles inside the boat, snatches the oar and rows frantically until he reaches the shore. Heart pounding, he jumps off and tries to pull the boat on land, but his foot slips and he falls back. The choc blocks his lungs and for a terrifying second, he can't breathe. When he finally manages to inhale, he rolls on the ground and curls up on himself, shaking.

For the second time, he witnessed the horror show of a body being twisted by invisible hands. He can't take it anymore. He doesn't care where Carver is now, if he catches him, if he beats him.

His wet clothes cling to his body, the cold numbs it. His mind too, if not for the ghost of Chrissy coming back in it. He knows he needs to hide the boat and find somewhere to spend the night, but he can't find the strength. To think that Dustin dealt with shit like this thrice before... Dustin's voice rings through his head, casting away Chrissy's. 'We've got this, just stay put.' That kid...

Eddie rubs his eyes and reaches for his walkie-talkie. He desperately hits the buttons without any results. It didn't like taking a night swim in the lake. Eddie curses through his teeth while pulling out his cigarettes from his pocket. Of course, they're drenched, worthless. He sighs and put them back in his jacket, filling a piece of paper in his pocket. The letter he wrote for Hellen ... now unreadable. She'll never know what happened to him now.

– Come on, man, he mutters to himself. Pull your shits together.

He gets up, takes a deep breath and finishes putting the boat under cover.

*

Dustin is still staring at his broken flashlight. The attic has fallen silent and nobody seems to want to be the first to speak. It's eventually Max who does.

– He's in the Upside Down, right?

Dustin meets her eyes, at a loss of words. His brain is racing. When Max described her hallucination, there was nothing indicating she was in the Upside Down. But those light tricks? They look too similar to what happened with Will not to be linked to that parallel universe. Then it means ... somehow, Vecna has the power to create a psychic link with his victims even though they're not in the same world. What if that surge of energy was Vecna cursing someone else, since Max escaped his mental grip? Most importantly, how can they stop Vecna from here, now that the gate is closed?

– Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking, says Robin. Cause it looks to me like we are screwed. Completely, utterly, screwed.

Steve glares at her, pointing at Max with a tilt of his head.

– Can we just leave this place, asks Lucas.

After a short silence, Steve shrugs and heads to the stairs with an 'I could eat.' It's one of those times Dustin isn't if his friend's being obliviously stupid or if he's just pretending to be so everyone has an excuse to leave. He smiles to himself and follows him.