Trapped- Stranger Things

070: Skull Rock

Blakeley was walking through the woods to Skull Rock, music blasting into her ears from her headphones. As she was walking she hears a clock ticking loudly. Knowing it wasn't part of the song she takes her headphones off and looks around. She then spots a grandfather clock in the tree. Months of torment, nightmares, nose bleeds, headaches, hearing random noises, lying to her friends. Vecna was finally going to kill her.

~~~~~

The group were walking through the woods to skull rock at the same time Blakeley was, only they were going to opposite way. Harper, Max and Lucas were at the back of the group talking.
"Okay, so apparently we're going this way now." Harper says, as they change directions. It didn't surprise her as Steve and Dustin were leading. "I swear to god if they get us lost..."
"Hey." Max says, looking at Lucas. "You okay?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine just... thinking about Patrick, you know?" Lucas says.
"Yeah." Max says.
"I mean it's like. 'Why him?' But then I remember this one day, he... he came to practice with a black eye. He said he fell, but clearly he was lying." Lucas says, as they stop walking. "It's like everyone Vecna targets has something in their life something that's-"
"Hurting them." Harper says.
"Haunting them." Max suggests.
"Yeah." Lucas says. "I didn't really know Patrick, so it was easy to just look the other way I guess. But I did know you girls. And Max your cursed and Harps, you got powers that you didn't want. And I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"It's not you're fault." Harper tells him.
"No." Lucas says. "It is. I didn't look hard enough to see you both were struggling. I'm sorry I wasn't there. But, I'm here now."

Eventually they see skull rock.
"Oh boom. Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson." Steve says. "In your face, man. In you stupid cocky face."
They all walk up to skull rock as Blakeley appears from the other way.
"B!" Harper shouts running over and hugging her sister tightly.
"You okay, Blake?" Nancy asks. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I'm... I'm fine." Blakeley says, causing the group to give her unconvinced and worried looks. "Seriously, guys, I'm fine."
"Thank god, it's just you guys." Eddie says appearing from behind the rock.
"Jesus, we thought you were a goner." Dustin says, hugging him.
"Yeah, me too, man. Me too." Eddie says.

"When I got to shore I tried calling you guys, but, uh... my walkie was busted, man." Eddie tells the group "Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran."
"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy asks.
"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was." Eddie says. "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."
Eddie throws his watch towards the group and Nancy catches it.
"9:27." Nancy reads.
"Same time our flashlights went kablooey." Robin says.
"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asks.
"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick." Blakeley explains.
"Well, we're one step closer." Harper says, as Nancy throws Eddie his watch. "We know how Vecna attacks."
"And where he attacks from." Lucas says.
"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart." Max says.
"If he even has a heart." Robin says.
"A stake is he like a vamp-? Is he a vampire?" Steve asks.
"It was a metaphor." Max tells him.
"A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie asks.
"I say we chop his head off." Lucas says.
"I say we do all of that, but we can't do anything until we find a way into the Upside Down." Blakeley says.
"I can try to use my powers to open the gate." Harper says.
"Yeah, no. That's not happening. You'll die if you do that." Blakeley says.
"Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed is he?" Eddie asks, watching Dustin pace back and forwards behind the group.
"Cursed? No, no, no, he's fine." Steve says. "Mental? Absolutely."
"Boom!" Dustin shouts causing them all to jump and look at him. He points to Steve walking forward. "Bada... bada... boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north."
"Seriously? You're serious?" Steve asks.
"Mm-hmm." Dustin says.
"This is skull Rock, okay? You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now." Steve says.
"Yes and no." Dustin says.
"Oh my god." Blakeley says, placing her hands over her face and turning away from the group before turning back to them. "Dustin! We have more important things going on then whether you were right or wrong about where this stupid place was."
"Stupid place?" Steve asks kind of hurt. "This is were we had our first date."
"I didn't mean it, Steve. All I'm saying is we have more important things to worry about." Blakeley snaps.
"B, you sure you're okay?" Harper asks.
"I'm fine!" Blakeley says.
"This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheeler's. It was correct when we got in the car on Kerley. But it started to slip the further east we went.Now, it's way off." Dustin says. "When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."
"So you're using faulty equipment you're still wrong, dude." Steve tells him.
"Expect it isn't faulty. Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?" Dustin asks.
"An electromagnetic field." Lucas says.
"Yep." Dustin says.
"I'm sorry, I must have skipped that class." Robin says.
"In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either, there's some super big magnet around here, or..." Dustin says.
"There's a gate." Lucas says.
"But we're no where near the lab." Nancy says.
"But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about." Dustin says. "It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful."
"Snack size gate." Harper says.
"How? Why?" Steve asks.
"No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance." Dustin says. "And the last time we've seen anything like it. It was a gate. And I hope it is, because that way, we would have a way to Vecna. And a shot from freeing Max from this curse."
Blakeley looks down. Does she tell the group she was now also cursed or no?
"Where are you going?" Steve asks, causing Blakeley to look up and see Dustin walking away. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go hike in the woods."
"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max and Eddie." Dustin says. "What say you, Eddie the banished?"
Everyone turns to Eddie.
"I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think it's a really bad idea." Eddie says. "But, uh, the Shire... the Shire is burning. So mordor it is."
Dustin jumps up and down before they all start walking away from Skull Rock. How could Blakeley tell the group she was now cursed when they already had Max and Eddie to worry about.