Life Burns Faster | Eddie Munson

18

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Nancy asked Eddie, who peered around the side of one of the trailers.

"You're asking me now?" He whispered.

She shrugged and looked behind her at everyone lined up along the trailer crouching down.

"Okay – three, two, one... go," Eddie stood up, pulling down the Halloween mask Max had given him, and ran around to the motor home he was targeting, the others in tow. They all crept past the two owners of the vehicle who sat on the other side of it in chairs, reading newspapers. Faith's eyes widened in recognition.

Eddie led the way in jumping in through one of the open windows and landing onto the sofa at the back. 

"Well, that was suffocating," Eddie remarked as he pulled the mask off and tried to tame his hair. 

He headed straight for the dashboard at the driver's seat. He immediately began to hotwire.

"Where'd you learn how to do all this?" Steve enquired as he watched over Eddie's shoulder.

"Here comes the sob story," Faith chipped in and Eddie glared at her, a pair of pliers between his teeth. He removed them to cut another wire.

"Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hotwire," he explained. "Now, as Foster knows, I swore to myself I wouldn't wind up like he did, but now I'm wanted for murder, and soon... grand theft auto. So, uh, I'm really living up to that Munson name."

"Eddie," Robin called as she pushed past Faith. "I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving."

"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker," Eddie grinned devilishly. "Harrington's got her. Don't ya, big boy?"

He threw the two cut wires against each other and there was a small flash as the vehicle started up. There was a commotion from outside as the couple began shouting and banging on the windows.

"Shit, go," Steve pushed Eddie out of the front seat and got in it himself, grabbing a hold of the wheel and muttering under his breath about it being "just a car". "Everybody, hang on to something."

"Drive, Steve, drive!" Dustin yelled.

He revved hard before pulling away as fast as he could and everyone fell backwards, including Faith, who fell straight into Eddie. He grabbed hold of her but she quickly pushed herself off of him.

"Shit, they look pissed," Dustin exclaimed.

"Sure, they do. That's the Carpenters', never experienced a day of happiness in their lives," Faith explained, glancing at Eddie.

"Or so we know," he agreed as everyone continued to fall about the room. Steve finally reached the main road and drove straight.

"Why are you headbanging?" Lucas piped up and everyone looked to Eddie, who promptly stopped and grinned. 

"I can't believe you chose their trailer," Faith shook her head.

Eddie sneered. "You know they always had a vendetta against me since I took a leak on their campfire."

"You what?" Robin asked, disgusted.

"I was drunk, I thought it was a real fire and I didn't have anything to put it out with," he reasoned.

"Turns out beer doesn't exactly extinguish fire," Faith added and laughed. "A lesson Munson learned that very night. I guess piss does though, right?" 

"Oh yeah?" He taunted. "You weren't much better. Foster here found herself waking up in a ditch."

"Shut up!"