"Hey, you remember what I said last year, right? We're Zombie Boy and Ghost Boy. I'm not ever gonna leave you."
"Promise?"
"One hundred percent."
***
In which Alistair fights the monster that possessed his friend alongside his friends, while trying...
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Chapter Sixty-Eight: Another Gate
(The Dive, Pt. 2)
***
"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh... my walkie was busted, man. Drenched," Eddie said, pausing to take a drink from the bottle of water, as he finished recounting what had happened on his end last night.
Alistair had listened from where he stood next to Cami, his dread increasing more and more with what Eddie had told them—Jason had found Eddie. He'd managed to figure out where Eddie would be hiding at and nearly caught him. Anger and terror filled Alistair when he heard that—of what might have happened if Vecna hadn't attacked.
And the attack... Alistair had listened to it and resisted the urge to look at Max, crossing his arms to hide how his hands were shaking. Yes, Patrick had sneered at him, Mike and Dustin and others deemed freaks and geeks, but he was still a person, and he didn't deserve to die like that by Vecna, not when Alistair knew first-hand how terrifying the curse was, how he and Max had barely survived Vecna. How without music, it was that easy and that quick for Vecna to end the torture and go in for the kill.
Terrifyingly easy.
"So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran," Eddie finished, chuckling bitterly.
"Yeah, and that's a good thing. You got away before the cops came, or if Vecna attacked again," Leo reminded as Rowan nodded in agreement.
"Leo's right. It's not cowardly to run if it saves your life," Rowan pointed out quietly.
Eddie didn't look like he believed either of them, but he didn't argue, only saying, "Noted. I'll remember that next time I have to run again."
Rowan frowned as Alistair looked at Eddie, confused on why he was ashamed with running when any sane person would run when confronted by the Upside Down and its horrors—especially when it had saved his life twice—as Nancy questioned, "Do you know what time this was? The attack?"
"Yeah, no. I know exactly what time it was," Eddie answered, pulling off his watch. "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."
He tossed it over to Nancy, as she looked at the numbers permanently frozen on the screen and read out, "9:27."
"Same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin said, confirming what they already knew.
"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asked.
"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick last night," Nancy answered.
Alistair remained quiet, looking down. So he'd been right—he had felt Patrick die last night, just like he felt Fred die. Cami, seeing how he was quiet and correctly guessing why, rested her hand on his shoulder, giving silent support.
