Hidden Within the Shadows

don't mind me

The sun was starting to set. Everyone had changed into their new clothes from the War Zone, those who would be going into the Upside Down. Adrian, Eddie and Robin were sitting on the couch at the back of the RV, with the kids sitting near them. Steve and Nancy were in the front once more. They were joined by Natalia, Marta and Carner this time, who were looking apprehensive and nervous. Once they saw the Upside Down for themselves, they'd truly believe.

Adrian was nervous. This was his first fight against the Upside Down and its latest evil that was thrown at them. But this was the big bad. Was Vecna the Mind Flayer's righthand man? He had the power to be that, and if Vecna was only a subordinate, then how powerful was the Mind Flayer? This was just one step in the fight, and they couldn't lose it. He couldn't let Vecna take Max, or fight his way into their world. Eleven had to be there, would back him up and they would take on Vecna and kill him.

No-one spoke as Steve drove, coming to a stop outside of the Creel house. Adrian reached over and took one of Eddie's hands in both of his, needing to feel grounded in reality. Marta got to her feet and followed Erica, Max and Robin out. Marta paused in the doorway and looked at Adrian for a moment before she stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

Eddie squeezed his hand, and Adrian forced himself to breathe evenly. They were going to be fine. They had to be.

The sun had finally set, and they were in the RV, just outside the reach of the trailer park. They'd had to wait until it was dark before they could risk going through the gate in Eddie's trailer. There'd been several people milling around, basking in the spring sun before they'd returned to their homes. Adrian had no idea where the couple was, the ones who they'd stolen the RV from. Probably in a motel or something.

"OK, I wanna run through it one more time," Nancy said, looking sombre as she turned to look at them. "Phase one,"

"We meet Erica at the playground," Eddie said. "She'll signal Max and Marta when we're ready,"

"Phase two,"

"Max baits Vecna. He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance," Steve said.

"Phase three?"

"I shut the gate, and then Carner, Dustin and Lucas draw away the bats, and set everything up in the school and get out of the Fred-Gate," Adrian said, a brief fond feeling flooding him when Eddie put his hand on Dustin's head. "Then I speed to the lab and get in the tank and go into his mind."

Nancy nodded. "Four?"

"We go into Vecna's empty bat cave and burn him to a crisp while Adrian keeps him distracted," Eddie said.

"And pushes Max out to safety," Steve added, and Adrian nodded. "El should be ready and waiting, right?"

"Yeah, she knows it's going to happen, but ... I haven't heard from her in a while. If she doesn't appear, that's on Brenner and his lot. I have a few ideas on how to distract Vecna, don't worry."

Steve nodded, a faint smile on his face before he glanced away, eyes going to Eddie. Adrian knew how nervous Eddie was over this whole thing, and he was handling it pretty well.

"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied," Nancy said, determination in her voice. "Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

"Got it," they all said together.

They grabbed their gear and got out of the RV, with Natalia casting nervous glances at Adrian. Carner looked nervous, which Adrian hoped was a good thing. Their group made their way through the trailer park and made it to the Munson trailer. There wasn't any police tape, but there were a few dim lights around.