Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 36

It's been half an hour since Chrissy broke free from Vecna and she has finally stopped shivering. Surely sharing her experience—the little she felt comfortable sharing—with the group didn't help and Eddie hates himself for wanting to know the stuff she held back: the content of the vision before Vecna shared his past and plan with Chrissy. But all she said was that Vecan had been "particularly vicious this time."

Eddie has been keeping a close eye on her, trying to keep her in a bubble with 'Against all odds' playing in her ears and his body shielding her from the agitation around them. That's the only thing he can do while his level of fear doesn't seem to be dropping an inch.

Apart from Dustin who's pacing since Chrissy finished recounting what Vecna said to her in the vision, the rest of the group has been busy building a barricade in front of the gate. Chrissy was adamant they needed to. Nobody argued and now there's a pile of desks blocking the gloomy hole.

With a sigh, Harrington hops next to them on the desk. Eddie instinctively pulls Chrissy closer. It's stupid, so stupid that Harrington makes him feel insecure like that. If only he was a douche, that would make things easier, but in the little time they spend together, Eddie gets what Dustin means: Harrington is a good dude.

As to prove it, he leans over to make eye contact with Chrissy:

"You okay there? Sorry I crushed you earlier. I hope I didn't hurt you."

Chrissy tenses and mumbles an "It's okay."

Eddie rubs his hand up and down her arm. He makes eye contact with Harrington and sees the genuine concern on his face. They exchange a stiff smile. Who knows, maybe when this is all over, they'll end up being friends.

"Okay," says Dustin, clapping his hands and making everyone flinch. "Let's sum it up."

Dustin bounces on his feet in front of the desk where Chrissy, Eddie and Harrington are sat, waiting for the others to gather around him. Max sits on the floor, Lucas stands behind her with his hands on her shoulders, Nancy and Robin lean against a large printer on Eddie's left side. Part of him wants to know what Dustin's genius mind has come up with, hopes for a solid plan that won't get any of them killed. The other part just wants to run away.

"Thanks to El, we know Vecna is a number, like her, but bad. He's got a similar kind of psychic powers that allow him to move stuff around—"

"Those stuff including people," points out Lucas in a snarky voice.

"And to connect with his victims' mind," continues Dustin as if never interrupted. "He's doing it from the Upside Down and so far he has killed two people like that. From our observations at the Creel house, the attic is most likely to be the location from where he operates and we are guessing he's in the same state of trance El is when she uses her powers to search for people in the void."

"You better be right on that," says Harrington.

"Have I ever been wrong?" snaps Dustin back. "Don't answer that," he adds to Max, who has opened her mouth.

She gives him a face. It hits Eddie square in the face that three of them are just kids. Smart ones, fucking brave one, but still kids. And yet, they're more reliable than he is...

"Anyway. We know how he operates and thanks to Chrissy, we now know his motives—"

"The extinction of the human race," finishes Robin

"Right. Because he's a weirdo and people were mean to him," adds Harrington.

"And his goal: once he kills his four victims, it'll open the largest gate ever between our world and the Upside Down."