𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻.

thirty three.

THE PIGGYBACK

edited.
3178 words.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Okay." Nancy huffed. "I wanna run through it one more time. Phase one?"

"We meet Erica at the playground." Robin filled in. "She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."

"Phase two?"

"Max baits Vecna." Charlie wrung her hands. "He'll go after her, which will put him in his trance."

"Phase three?"

"Me and Eddie draw the bats away."

"Four?"

"We head into Vecna's newly bat-free lair, and... flambe."

"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied." Nancy explained. "Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

"Got it." Charlie whispered, pulling the leather jacket around her a little tighter. Unlike everyone else, she hadn't been loaded up with gear and weapons.

She was the weapon.

Everyone set now, they followed Nancy from the woods back to the trailed park where Eddie's trailer was waiting to lead them into the Upside Down.

"Be careful." Dustin slapped Steve's arm.

"Thanks buddy." He pulled himself up onto the tied together sheets, flipping over into the upside down. From there, he placed down a mattress, they threw their weapons down, and climbed up one by one.

Charlie sighed as she followed the others out of the trailer. She hated the upside down. Less so because it was full of other-worldly monsters but more so because it was stuck on the day everything went wrong.

The day Will went missing.

"Hey guys." Steve turned to face Eddie and Dustin. "If things go wrong here, and I mean at all. You abort. Keep em busy for a minute or two, we'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. You guys are just-"

"Decoys!" Dustin stressed in annoyance. "Don't worry, you can be the hero Steve."

"Absolutely, I mean." Eddie exchanged a glance with Dustin. "Look at us, we are not heroes."

Charlie grimaced, taking a step closer to the two. "Be careful, okay? Please."

Dustin softened. "Yeah. We will."

The girl gave a bit of a smile before turning to join the others, only to have Eddie call her back.

"Hey, Super Girl?" He smiled. "Make him pay."

Charlie hesitated a bit before nodding, turning to follow her friends. She gulped down the lump that had formed in her throat, her hand reaching to pick at her hat.

She could do this.

She would do this.

Kill Vecna.

* * *

"Uh, I don't mean to freak anyone out but I swear I've seen this tree before." Robin fretted, shining her flashlight at a random tree.

"That's impossible." Nancy sighed.

Charlie wanted to agree but she wasn't sure. Every tree in this forest looked the same. Decrepit and covered in vines.

"That would suck, right? If Vecna destroyed the world because," she began to hyperventilate. "Because we got lost in the woods."

"We're not lost Robin."