WILDFIRE ↝ E. MUNSON

[19]

"Come on, guys, this way!" Dustin exclaimed from the head of the group, following the compass as they moved deeper through the forest.

Lily stayed near the back of the group as they continued to follow the small device to what it believed was north, though they didn't appear to be making much progress. No matter how far they trekked, everything seemed normal, without so much as a twig out of place. If they were getting closer to the gate, and their one shot at getting to Vecna in the Upside Down, Lily thought they would have seen something out of the ordinary by now.

As the group settled into a comfortable silence, only broken by that of feet stepping on branches and dead leaves, she lagged behind a bit, the distance between her and Sarah, who'd also brought up the end of the group, widening as she began to wander, letting her hands roam across the leaves on the nearby trees and allowing herself to finally feel some sort of grounding after the past few days. She kept a steady pace behind them, but a branch snapping from behind her caused her to freeze in place.

"Lily?" a voice called out from behind her, and her eyes quickly moved up to the rest of the group, who watched her with horrified expressions. "Lily, is that you?" Jason's voice rang out again, accompanied by the sounds of a body moving quickly through the underbrush.

Lily's eyes moved over to Eddie briefly before finding Steve, who began to hurry towards her. "Get him out of here, now." she whispered to Steve, pushing him back in the direction of their friends. "I'll distract him and find you guys after."

She watched as they rushed out of sight, until they were hidden down the slope of a hill ahead, and only when she was sure they were gone did she turn around to see Jason come into view, a relieved smile crossing his face as he studied her.

"Jason," Lily breathed, her voice faltering as she looked him over, struggling to find any other words as she took in his appearance.

Since she'd last seen him the night before he'd changed his clothes, though his appearance still looked ragged. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in days, his hands clenched at his sides, though the smile still remained on his otherwise tense features, giving him a haunted look. The setting sunlight glinted off his hair, turning his blonde locks a shade of bronze.

"Y-you're okay," he stammered, reaching out to pull her into a hug, which she reciprocated, giving her the opportunity to turn them around so his back now stood in the direction of her retreating friends.

"I'm fine," she forced out in an attempt to reassure him.

"You were on the boat last night," he said, and she nodded in return. "P-Patrick, he..."

"I know, Jason," she assured him. "I know."

"I tried to come find you, make sure that freak didn't hurt you next." Jason said, causing Lily's eyebrows to pinch together in confusion.

She knew the police had publicly declared her a hostage after being spotted on the boat, but deep down, she'd had some flicker of hope that Jason had realized Eddie was innocent after witnessing the way Patrick had been lifted into the water, or the way the boat had capsized and Eddie was too busy helping Lily out of the tangled tarp while Patrick's bones had snapped, but somehow, deep in Jason's dark, twisted mind, he'd still found a way to make Eddie the villain.

"What?" she spat, red tingeing the corners of her vision.

"Eddie Munson," Jason explained. "He killed Patrick last night, you saw it."

"No," Lily insisted, shaking her head. "Jason, you know Eddie didn't do this. Eddie didn't touch Patrick."

"He's a vessel." Jason proclaimed. "Eddie sold his soul to the devil for the Hellfire Club, and he has his powers now. That's how he killed Patrick, that's how he killed Chrissy, and that Fred kid. You were there last night, you saw it happen."