Daisies || Max Mayfield

72: Guns

I sat with Max at the table. Dustin, Lucas, and Erica were arguing on the couch. Eddie and Robin were discussing tactical war strategies on the floor. Steve and Nancy were in the front seats, trying to find a spot to pull over and get set up for tonight. Tonight, when we go into the upside-down.

Max might die tonight.

Any of us might die tonight.

I slipped my hand in Max's squeezing it. She didn't say anything.

Steve pulled up in front of a massive overgrown field, disconnecting the wires to turn off the camper. Nancy stood up in the front, a list in her hand.

"Everyone. We need to build everything before dark. That gives us about an hour and a half. No dilly-dallying. We don't have time. You will get your job, do your assignment, and be ready to leave. No matter what."

"Uh, Nancy, what are the jobs?" Robin asked softly.

"I'm getting there." She pointed to Lucas and Erica on the couch. "Sinclaire's, you're working on the spears for Dustin and Eddie. To protect the trailer gate. Eddie and Dustin, you're building the shields. We have one hammer. Steve and Robin, you guys are filling the cocktails. And Max, Daisy, and I are going to work on my gun, and Daisy's gonna be doing some shooting practice. You've got the pistol from last year, right?"

"It's in my bag," Max said. "And bullets."

"Good." She nodded to me. "Get the rope and the saw."

Everyone was kind of quiet as we got our stuff. I think it's the impending doom of hey, if we don't kill this fucker tonight, the world will end. A great idea, really, to put nine teenagers in charge of that. And Erica's barely a pre-teen, she's eleven.

We don't even have the rest of our team. The Byers are in California with Mike. I mean, Mike isn't super useful, but El and Will? We need them. El could probably one-shot Vecna, and Will pulled a gun on the Demogorgon.

Nancy said no close-range weapons, so I guess I'm gonna be pulling a gun on Vecna. Ugh.

Nancy set up the table out in the grass, laying her gun over it. It had a long barrel, like typical hunting rifles. I don't understand her plan. The barrel makes sure the bullet goes in the right direction. I don't think it's going to work.

Max had the pistol placed on the table next to it, while Nancy held the saw in one hand.

"Max, hold this down." Nancy had her holding the stock of the rifle, basically putting all her weight on it while Nancy tries to saw the end off. It looked surprisingly easy.

"Daisy, come on." Nancy nodded to me. "Work on tying knots in the rope, about one every foot and a half."

"I still don't know why we need the rope?" Max asked, watching me unravel it.

"To climb in and out of the gate faster," Nancy explained. "Once we kill Vecna, we need to get out fast. Climbing the sheet is difficult."

"Oh."

By the time they'd sawed through the gun, I was done tying knots. The rope was thick enough that when I wrapped my hand around it, my fingers barely touched. The knots were perfect for climbing.

Max had collected a few bottles from the camper and ran around the field, setting them up on a rock about fifty feet away.

Nancy handed me the box of bullets and the magazine from the pistol. "Do you know how to do this?"

"No."

"Alright. Put the bullets in the bottom, all pointing this way." She demonstrated, putting one in. "That should fit six."