✓ | FLOW ( eddie munson )

thirty-two. the war zone

veda henderson

          I sit in the armchair of Max's trailer, everyone else sits or stands around me as they all stare at me intensely. Once everyone calmed down from their freakout over my little mind vacation, I knew it was time to give up the whole '001' tattoo information along with everything else I learned. 

    "He showed me..." I trail off, looking down at my hands as I pull at my fingers in nerves. "I think he showed me the future. It was... God, it was awful. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown was on fire-- everything was on fire. It looked like..."

    "Hell?" Dustin pipes up, furrowing his eyebrows at me. I look up at him, nodding my head slowly in confirmation.

    "There was, like, dead soldiers and this- this giant creature with a gaping mouth," I look down, lifting my foot up to place on the armchair under me. I fold into myself, biting onto the sleeve cuff of my hoodie. I let go of the fabric, looking over at my brother and Eddie, "This creature wasn't alone. There were... so many of them. A whole army of monsters from the upside down or wherever the hell they come from,"

    I pause, letting the group digest my words as I clench my eyes shut, thinking of the next memory Vecna forced into my head. 

    Opening them, I instinctively lock eyes with my brother for a fleeting moment before I can't bear to look at him any longer. 

    "He showed me my house-- my... Mum. Dustin too. They were both-" I cut myself off, covering my mouth with the cloth of my sleeve as if I could shove the words right back into my throat. I don't need to finish for them all to know what I mean. "The worst part is... in the vision... I didn't seem to care. Like... like I was on Vecnas side,"

    "He's just trying to scare you, V," Eddie tries to reassure me, his voice soft. "It's not real,"

    I close my eyes, a tear escaping as I vigorously shake my head, "Not yet. But, he kept referring to everything as 'we'. Y'know, like, 'we' need each other, where 'we' will go. He sees me as... as an extension of himself,"

    Dustin and Eddie share a worried look as if I just confirmed their worst fears.

    "You two have known something's been going on this whole time. I can feel it. I know you know what I'm talking about," I almost plead, feeling desperate for them to just talk to me even if it's not good news. The group turn to Eddie and Dustin, waiting for them to say something. 

    "In the game, Vecna has this sort of... right-hand man. Kaz," Dustin begins, the name sending shivers down my spine. "He's this un-dead henchman-- it's beside the point. He has the power to open portals, the same way you've been doing,"

    "So, Vecna gave me this ability to be his sidekick?" I scoff, moving my legs so they're crossed underneath me. It's impossible to get comfortable no matter how much I move. 

    "Vecna needs you on his side," Eddie confirms, his head low.

    "But why me? I'm-" I cut myself off, thinking back to when I was strapped to that chair, Vecna's hand over my face as he shoved memories into my head. I somehow broke free from the restraints and hit him with so much force that he flew away from me. "Shit,"

    "What?" Nancy asks, her eyes quizzing me.

    "In the trance, Vecna had me strapped to a chair as he shoved these images into my head. I don't know how, but, I broke free from the restraints and some sort of force shot from me and threw him across the room,"