In The Stars / Steve Harrington 3

Chapter 9

After we get the groceries for Eddie, we make our way back to Reefer Rick's house. We get the groceries out of Steve's trunk and walk out to the shed. Dustin opens the door, and we see Eddie beside the window holding his broken beer bottle out at us. "Delivery service." Dustin says with a smile. Eddie sighs in relief, and Steve waves at Eddie from over my shoulder.

We give Eddie his food, and he instantly opens a box of serial and some chocolate milk and starts eating. He goes and sits down, and we all gather around him. "So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news." Dustin says. "How do you prefer it?" He asks. "Bad news first always." Eddie says with a full mouth. "Alright, bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you." Dustin says. "Also, uh, they're pretty convinced you killed Chrissy." Dustin says. "Like a hundred percent kinda convinced." Corey adds.

"And the good news?" Eddie asks. "Your name hasn't gone public yet." I say with a small smile. "But if we found out about you, it's only a matter of time before others do too, and once that gets out, everyone and their shallow minded mother is gonna be gunning for you." Robin adds. "Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie asks. "Exactly." Steve says. "Shit." Eddie curses under his breath.

"So before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence." Dustin says with a smile. "That's all Dustin? That's all?" Eddie asks sarcastically. "Yeah, no, that's pretty much it." Dustin says, matching his sarcasm.

"Listen, Eddie, I know everything that Dustin and Bella are saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this kind of thing before. I mean, they have a few times, and Corey and I have once. Mine and Corey's was more human flesh based, and their's was more smoke related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we've got this." Robin says to try and cheer Eddie up.

"Yeah, see, we usually rely on this girl who has superpowers, but uh, those went bye-bye, so uh -" Steve begins before Robin cuts him off. "So we're technically in- in- in more of a-" Robin stutters, trying to find the right word. "Brainstorming phase." Max says. "Brainstorming." Steve repeats with a nod and snaps. "There's nothing to worry about." Dustin says. "Yeah." Steve says with a smile. Eddie gives them a look, and I sigh.

We all turn to the door as we hear police sirens. "Tarp, tarp, tarp." I say as I run to the window. Eddie covers himself with the tarp, and the others follow me to the window. We watch as several police cars and an ambulance go by the house. "Shit." I curse under my breath.

We run out of the shed and get in Steve's car. We follow the police cars and stop as we see the road blocked off. We get out of Steve's car, and we see Nancy being questioned by Chief Powell and Officer Callahan. Nancy waves at us, and I see Corey wave back. Corey told me how she, Nancy, and Barb Holland used to be best friends, but they grew apart after Barb's death.

After Nancy gets finished being questioned, we all decide to regoup at the trailer park. Steve drives us there as Nancy takes her own car. Once we get there, we all get out and sit at a picnic table in the center of the trailer park. We explain everything that has happened to Nancy and wait for her to ask questions.

"So you're saying that this thing, that killed Fred and Chrissy, it's from the upside down?" Nancy asks for clarification. "If the shoe fits." Corey says with a shrug. "The working theory is that he attacks with a spell or curse. Now, whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mindflayre or just loves killing teens, we don't know." Dustin says, and I flinch at the mention of the Mindflayre. "All we know is that this is something different, something new." I say with a sigh.

"It doesn't make sense." Nancy says with a shake of her head. "It's only a theory." Dustin says. "No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense." Nancy explains. "I mean, why them?" She asks. "Maybe they were just in the wrong place. They were both at the game." Dustin theorizes. "And near the trailer park." I say in realization. "We're at the trailer park." Steve says worriedly. "Uh, should we maybe not be here?" Steve asks as we all look around.

"There is something about this place. Fred started acting weird the second we got here." Nancy says, and I turn my attention to her. "Acting weird as in?" I question waiting for her to explain. "Scared, on edge, upset." She explains. "Bella said Chrissy was upset, too." Max says, and everyone looks at me for explanation. "Yeah, but not here. She was crying in the bathroom at school." I explain.

"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right? So maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman-" Corey begins before being cut off. "Vecna." Dustin corrects, and Corey sends him a glare. "I don't know about you guys, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone." Steve says, and I get an idea. "Maybe they did." I say, and everyone looks to me for an explanation. "I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly's office. If you saw a monster, you wouldn't go to the police. They'd never believe you, but you might go to your-" I explain before Robin cuts me off. "Your shrink." She says, and I nod.

"Well shit." Dustin says. "I need to get to Ms. Kelly's house." I say, and everyone nods, and we all get up and walk to the cars. I notice Nancy split off from us, and so does Corey. "Woah, woah, Nance, where are you going?" Corey asks, concerned. "Oh, there's just something I wanna check on first." She says. "Something you maybe want to share with the rest of us?" Dustin asks. "I don't want to waste your time it's a real shot in the dark." Nancy explains. "Yeah, okay, are you out of your mind? Flying solo with this Vecna guy on the lose it's too dangerous." Corey says. "Okay, us ladies will stick together." Robin says as she grabs a walkie-talkie from Dustin's backpack and walks over to Nancy and Corey. "While the rest of you go check out this shrink." She finishes.

"Be careful!" I yell to them as they walk to Nancy's car. "We will!" Corey calls back to me. I sigh and get in the passenger side of Steve's car. "I have a bad feeling about this." Steve says as he cranks up his car. "What do you mean?" I ask, confused. "I don't know, I just don't like this whole situation. If something happens to you- if something happens to anyone, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. We don't have half of the group this time, so we're more at risk." Steve says, and I smile at his worriedness. "Everything is gonna work out, Steve." I say as I put my hand on top of his. He looks at our hands and then back up to me. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just being paranoid." He says with a nod. I let go of his hand, and we drive to Ms. Kelly's house.