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Chapter 52, Dream a Little Dream of Me (Ep. 9: The Piggyback)
It seemed they weren't going the wrong way after all.
Once they reached the Creel House and noticed the dim light coming from the little rocket, they signaled Erica to alert Max and Lucas to initiate the next phase.
"Okay, the lovebirds have copied," Erica informed. "Max is moving into phase two: distracting Vecna."
"So far, so smooth," Robin commented.
"Yeah, we're not even at the hard part yet."
Gwen stared at the Creel House, watching the bats circling around like a swarm of guards. She wasn't fond of Max being the bait, but knowing Lucas and Daphne were there to bring her back made her feel a little bit better. Max was in good hands and as long as she had her trusty headphones, everything would be okay.
After the most eternal minutes, Erica called out to them, "Okay, she's in. Initiate phase three."
Robin reached for her walkie-talkie to let Dustin and the others know, "She's in. Move on to phase three."
Now it was getting real.
A tightness pressed against Gwen's chest as she thought of the swarm of bats heading in her brother's direction. She wanted to trust that everything would be okay, but not being by his side made her afraid that anything could happen. She didn't want to let her pessimism control her, seeing as it was the one thing that ruined everything.
It was time to get ready, so she took a deep breath for composure.
"You okay?" Steve asked, and walked up to her upon her worry.
She didn't see the point of lying anymore, "I'm worried about Max and Dustin. I'm afraid something will go wrong and I'm not sure what I'll do if anything happens to them."
"Hey," he held her hand and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Max is going to be alright. She's the toughest kid there is and she's survived Vecna before, so she'll be able to do the same again. As for Dustin, well, I'm more worried about the damage he'll do to the bats."
She lightly laughed at his joke, "I'm serious, Steve-"
"So am I," he argued, smiling softly. "Dustin's a tough kid and he's with Eddie. He's well-protected."
Gwen knew he was right. Maybe all this pessimism and overthinking were just her nerves trying to get the better of her. She nodded at him and took a deep breath, trusting that everything would be okay and they would be safe and sound in a couple of hours.
"Yeah, you're right," she agreed. "They got this. They're strong, so they'll be alright."
