Escape ~ S.Harrington

75} The Crumble of Hawkins

Two Days Later

While everyone was leaving Hawkins out of fear for their lives, or going to church to pray, Jenna, Steve, Alice, Dustin, and Robin were all helping gather some of Nancy's old stuff to bring with them to the aid center.
"Did someone order a pizza?" Mrs. Wheeler asked.

Everyone looked up to see a Surfer Boy Pizza van pulling into the cul-de-sac. From it emerged Jonathan, Eleven, Will, Mike, and some other dude they'd never seen before. Jon ran right to Nancy, Mike to his mom, Dustin to Will, and Jenna to El.

"Oh, I've missed you, El," Jenna said into her shoulder.
"I've missed you, too. I thought you were dead."
"Well, so did everyone else. I'm so proud of you for fighting One. You were so strong and brave. I'm so happy you have your powers back."
"Papa helped me."
"What?"
"I'll explain later."
"Okay-"

"El!" Dustin and Jenna switched spots, Jenna now hugging Will.
"I'm so glad that you're safe, Will."
"I'm glad that you aren't actually dead."

"Hey, Dustin?" Will looked over at him, "Where's Lucas?"
"He's at the hospital," Dustin told them.
"Was he hurt?" El asked.
"No. No, he's..."
"Dust, they don't know," Jenna put a hand on his shoulder.
"Know what?" Will asked.

Nancy gathered up the California crew and took them to the hospital to visit Max. Jenna went to check on her every day since she got there and didn't plan on stopping. She knew Max was in there but just couldn't get out. She also, as expected, partially blamed herself for what happened.

While they went to the hospital, Robin, Alice, Dustin, Steve, and Jenna went to the schools where they were helping to aid those who needed it. Jenna had to dress in very baggy clothes to disguise herself and luckily the bruises on her face made it hard for anyone to recognize her.

They all plopped down boxes of donations and Robin offered for them all to help out, so they were each assigned a job. Alice and Robin were on sandwich making duty, Dustin was sort of just wandering around handing out cups of water, Steve was helping to sort donations and Jenna sacrificed herself up to donate blood. They had very few donors and it felt like the least she could do.

"Alrighty," Melissa, one of the volunteers, said, "You're all set. Thank you for your donation, we really appreciate it. O negative is hard for us to come by and we are in desperate need. Would you like a sticker?"
Jenna gave a weak nod and was given a sticker that said, 'I saved 3 lives today. Donate your blood.' Mildly creepy, but she didn't care. As she slowly stood up, she saw Dustin trying to signal her over to where he was.

As she got over there, she realized it was Eddie's uncle that he'd found. He was replacing all of the defaced missing persons posters of his nephew.
"Mr. Munson?" Dustin asked, "I'm Dustin Henderson. Can we talk?"
"I can't imagine we got anything to talk about. My nephew is innocent. He's still missing and I'll put up as many posters as I need until he's found."
"We know he's innocent," Jenna took her hood down, "Hi, Mr. Munson."
"Jenna! But, how?"
"It's a long story, but he," Jenna gestured to Dustin, "was with Eddie when- when the earthquake hit"
"And... where is Eddie now?"

Jenna pulled his guitar picks necklace out of her pocket and handed it to Mr. Munson.
"I'm- I'm so sorry," Dustin barely got out.
At this point, Mr. Munson, Jenna, and Dustin were all crying. They all walked over and sat down on an empty bench to talk.
"I wish everyone had gotten to know him," Dustin said, "Really know him. Because they would've loved him, Mr. Munson, they would've loved him."
"Even in the end," Jenna joined in, "he never stopped being Eddie. Despite everything."
"I've never seen him get mad. He could've run. He could've saved himself, but he fought. He fought and died to protect this town. This town that hated him."
"He's not just innocent... he's a hero. He's my hero. He's Dustin's hero. You know how much I love Eddie.Now, I may have been 'dead' for almost a year, but I never stopped thinking about him. He's been one of my best friends for years and I'm so proud of him."

Mr. Munson abruptly turned and gave Jenna a hug. He needed it. They just sat there crying for what felt like ages. She eventually had to go to help clean up Hopper's cabin and left Dustin to help Mr. Munson collect himself. When Jenna got to the cabin after almost crashing 3 times and almost running over a squirrel, she was met with no one outside and the door hanging wide open.

"Hello?" Jenna called in, "Anyone home? Did I miss-"
Her breath got caught in her throat when she saw none other than the man who'd supposedly died the same day as her standing right in front of her.
"Hopper!" She ran right into his arms, "You're alive! Oh my god, I thought I killed you when the machine exploded."
"I'm happy you're alive! I thought you'd been disintegrated by that thing. It had been haunting me throughout my entire stay in Russia."
"Russia? Did you learn any Russian?"
"A little. You would like my new friend Enzo, I think. He's like you if you were an old man."
"So, a copy of you?"
"Haha, very funny, kid."
"Thanks for all of the years of combat training. Those skills were one of the only reasons I stayed alive in the Upside Down for months."
The two just stood there enjoying each other's presence, but that soon got disrupted by Will.

"Jenna?" He tapped her on the shoulder, "I need to talk to you. Now."
Jenna let go of Hopper and walked outside to talk with Will.
"He's not dead," Will looked panicked, "I can feel him."
"Hey, calm down. I know he's not dead. I feel him, too."
"Now that I'm back in Hawkins all of my senses feel, like, heightened. I feel him everywhere. He's weak but there and I'm scared."
"We're in this together, Will. I won't let him hurt you."
"Jenna..."
Right as he said that they both reached up to feel the backs of their necks. As they looked up at the sky, it started to darken with new clouds rolling in.

The same particles that floated through the Upside Down started to fall right before their faces like Vecna was infecting their world with his.
Oh, fuck.

Jenna and Hopper led the way as they all trekked through the woods to find a more open area to observe what the hell was happening. They made their way to an empty field that was once covered with colorful and vibrant flowers and was now slowly turning gray. Jenna picked up a now gray flower and it looked like it'd been infected with some sort of mold, and it broke almost instantly in her hand. She made her way over to Will and held his hand knowing he was feeling the same discomfort as her. As they looked out over the field, helicopters were flying all around as more smoke started to fill the air. The gates were now glowing bright red and the sky slowly started to turn red with the same lightning the Upside Down had haunted Jenna with.

Jenna. This is all for you. I told you we could build an empire and here it is. Prepare to have a kingdom unveiled before your very eyes, except it's one that we will rule together whether you want to or not. Why? Because I need you and I have you. Will can feel my presence, but you can feel it. Prepare for my total control, fellow one. We will be unstoppable.

Leave.

In. Your. Dreams.

And all of Jenna's thoughts were lost to the void.