ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟ [eddie munson]

ꜰʀᴇᴇ ʙɪʀᴅ ¹

** tw: gun violence / violence **

Clumsily, she took off her jeans and jacket, trying to put on the black cargo pants and military jacket in the small bathroom of the mobile home. Lorraine didn't think it was necessary to do so, but she thought it probably helped Dustin cope with the idea of going into the Upside Down and fighting Vecna. Also, Lorraine always loved any excuse to put on a costume, although this time it didn't feel so much like a costume.

Once she had finally put them on, tying the laces of the Doc Martins she found laying around the mobile home, she huffed and wiped the sweat from her brow. She brushed her hair into a half ponytail, at least so that the stray hairs wouldn't get into her face. Looking into the mirror, making sure that even though she was going into war she didn't look like an idiot, she could feel tears start to well in her eyes. She was terrified.

"Come on, Wallace!" A bang at the door, Steve screaming behind it. She shook her head and wiped her eyes, hoping no one would notice her little moment as she crawled out of the small bathroom and into the room where everyone waited.

Eddie stood behind Dustin, who sat at the breakfast nook, while Robin, Nancy and Steve stayed at the front. All of them dressed up like they were going into a war zone, which was pretty accurate. Max, Lucas and Erica sat at the back, fingers fidgeting and arms crossed, waiting. Lorraine leaned against the bathroom door, as the silence grew.

"Phase one," Nancy began, "Lucas, Max, Erica and Lorraine are at the house ready, got?" Erica nodded her head whilst Lucas looked on at Max with a worried face, her eyes straight on as she continued to listen to Kate Bush on her deck. Lorraine silently nodded, gulping loud enough that for a moment she thought everyone else had heard her. "Phase two, Vecna takes the bait and that's when Lorraine and Erica give us the okay."

"Phase three," She took in a deep breath, "Eddie and Dustin distract the Demobats." Lorraine's heart sank slightly, the thought of him going without her. She looked over to him, who shot her a look of reassurance before stretching out a hand and grabbing Dustin's shoulder. They both seemed ridiculous with their get ups, however, Lorraine bit her lip as she looked at Eddie's bandana wrapped around his head.

"Phase four." She finally said, sternly, taking a deep breath. "We get this mother fucker." Hearing Nancy swear made Lorraine smirk and lift her brows, almost proud that she finally slipped up even if it was only now.

"No one deviates from the plan. No one goes into the next phase without a signal. No one, and I mean no one, goes off course. Okay?" Lorraine almost felt like she was being scolded by a school teacher, but nodded, assuring that she had no plan to go off course, as she had put it.

Once they had gone over the plan a few more times, making sure that everyone knew their cue, they sat down wherever they could before setting off to their first destination: Skull Rock.

The silence between them was deafening, everyone seemed to be in their own heads. Perhaps remembering something a bit more heart warming. Maybe they were thinking of their parents, or their loved ones. For certain, they were all thinking about what they were about to do. If their plan worked, they'd save Max from Vecna's curse. If their plan worked, Eddie could at least have a chance of being a free man. If their plan worked, hopefully they'd lift the curse that Hawkin's had been drowning in for so many years. If their plan worked, of course.

Eddie's hand squeezed her knee, making Lorraine jerk her face towards him. He looked at her lovingly, as he caressed her with his thumb. Biting the inside of her cheek, trying not to let the fear grow inside her like it had before in the bathroom, she gave him a weak smile. Her hand crawled to his, placing her fingers between his as she squeezed tightly. Their white knuckles bumped up and down as the mobile home continued down the dirt road towards Skull Rock. Both their eyes screaming words that they couldn't muster in the moment, their grip getting stronger as they inched closer to their first drop off.