Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 70

As they pull up into the gravel drive, Angie's heart skips a beat.

What if Eddie isn't here?

Where else could he be?

Wherever he is, is he hurt?

Steve glances over at her, placing a comforting hand on her thigh, "Look," he whispers, "We're gonna find Eddie. No matter what."

Angie turns to him, trying her best to contain her tears.

"Even if he's not here, we'll keep looking." Dustin smiles, patting her gently on the shoulder.

The car rolls into park and Steve helps Angie from the passenger side as the others move towards the door.

Dustin rushes onto the porch and pushes the doorbell. Over and over and over again.

Max looks through the open window, "I guess he's not here."

"Eddie!" He yells, "It's Dustin! Look, we just wanna talk, okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help."

He looks solemnly at Angie as she holds her hands close to her chest, "Eddie!" He begins again, "Angie's here with us! She's really worried about you!"

The others scan the interior with their flashlights.

Robin shushes Dustin as he continues to ring the doorbell.

"Rick! Reefer Rick!"

Steve slaps Dustin gently across the chest, "Don't scream that."

He chooses to ignore the advice, yelling it even louder than before.

"Dustin, stop." Angie whines softly, "He's not here."

Steve pulls her hand from her chest, leading her around the side of the house, "We don't know that yet."

He turns to the others, "Guys, come on. There's a shed out back."

They scan the woods around them with their flashlights, approaching the building carefully.

Robin nudges the door open, "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Angie falls back into panic as the others continue the search.

Steve immediately turns to her, noticing her hesitation, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"What if he's not here?" She wails, "What if I never see him again?"

Billy's bloodied body flashes before her eyes as her vision begins to fuzz with panic.

He firmly grabs her cheeks, "Hey, don't do that." His gaze meets her own, "We're gonna find him."

"You don't know that!" She cries.

Steve opens his mouth to respond when the shed erupts with noise, "What was that?" He mutters.

"Eddie! Eddie!" Dustin yells, "It's me! It's Dustin!"

As Steve beats her to the door, he spots Eddie holding a broken piece of glass to Max's neck.

"This is Max. She's not gonna hurt you, right Max?"

"Right," she whimpers, hands held high in surrender.

"She's the friend who never wants to play D&D." He explains.

Angie freezes, unsure if it's really her brother. She pushes Steve to the side as he tries to pull her back.

Sure, it's her brother, and he shouldn't hurt her. But all Steve could see was a man with a weapon. He couldn't risk her getting hurt.

"Eddie, drop it!" She yells.

Eddie's body tenses, his back to her. He seems hesitant, not convinced his mind is telling the truth.

"Eddie, she's just a little girl!" Angie reasons, "Please, Eddie. It's me."

He loosens his grip on the glass, turning to face his little sister, "Angie," he mutters, tears brimming in his eyes, "what the hell is going on?"

A tear slips from her eye, "I can explain, but first, you need to let her go."

Eddie turns to Max, finally looking her in the eye. He immediately drops the glass. It clatters to the floor as everyone sighs in relief.

Angie runs to him as he begins to fall down the wall. Catching him, he clings to her as he fights the incoming tears.

He sniffles, pulling away, "We need to talk."

She nods, still wanting to be close to him, "What happened in the trailer, Ed?"

He shakes his head and scoffs, "You'd never believe me."

"Try us."

The others circle him as Steve speaks softly, "You'd be surprised by what we'd believe."

"Her body," he mumbles, "it just like lifted into the air and, uh... and she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones, uh," his body tenses as he remembers the sight of Chrissy's body.

Angie places a comforting hand on his own as he picks at his nails. Steve fights a smile as he realizes where Angie got the habit from. The one he "hated" so much.

"Her bones," Eddie continues, "started to snap. Her eyes, man. It... it was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling. I... I didn't know what to do, so I... I ran away. I left her there."

"I saw her body, Eddie," Angie mumbles, looking to Steve for reassurance, "There was nothing you could've done."

Eddie scoffs, turning to the others, "You all think I'm crazy, right?"

"No," Dustin steps forward, "We don't think you're crazy."

He stands abruptly from the wall, leaving Angie behind. Steve immediately leans for her as the situation seems to go south.

"Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds."

Max speaks for the first time since being released, "We're not bullshitting you."

Angie follows his lead, "We believe you."

Dustin looks to Angie as he begins speaking, "Look, what we're about to tell you might be a little... difficult to take."

Eddie tries to blink away the fear, "Okay."

"You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed?"

He nods.

"They're not... way off. There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

"Like ghosts and shit?"

"Not exactly," Angie mutters, placing an anxious hand on her sleeve.

"There are somethings," Max sighs, "worse than ghosts."

"These monsters from this other world... we thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you."

"We think that what happened to Chrissy was another wave of events caused by another... bleed into our world," Angie explains, walking around Eddie to address him with the others.

"That night," Robin questions, "did you see anything,?"

"Dark particles, maybe?"

"It would almost look like dust, swirling dust."

"No, man," he shakes his head rapidly, "there was nothing you could see or, uh... or touch." He faces Angie, pleading, "You know, I tried to wake her. She couldn't move. It was like she... she was in a trance or something."

"Or under a spell," Dustin concludes.

Angie leans into Steve, whispering with concern, "Or the Mind Flayer is back."

Eddie scoffs softly, "More like a curse."

"Vecna's curse."

Steve places a comforting hand on the small of Angie's back, "Who's Vecna?"

"An undead creature of great power."

"A spell caster."

"A dark wizard."