ACE OF HEARTS
CHAPTER SIXTY TWO: EDDIE THE
BANISHED
AFTER DEPARTING FROM Victor Creel's haunted house, the group wasted no time heading towards Reefer Rick's in order to check on Eddie Munson and inform him the very little information they had uncovered. Of course, due to Cassie Harrington's request, they made sure to stop at the grocery store beforehand, grabbing Eddie some Dustin-approved junk food and the six-pack he specifically requested. Of course, they weren't worried about Eddie's safety, for they didn't hear his frantic calls from the walkie talkie the night before.
That being said, the last thing the group expected to find at Reefer Ricks house were large strips of police tape holding back crowds of people swarming the area. As Nancy Wheeler pulled onto the gravel road, they were met with several police vehicles, news vans, and Hawkins residents waiting to hear the news.
"What the hell happened here?" Mike Wheeler asked the group.
"I don't know," Nancy answered, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "It looks like there might've been another victim."
"Damn," Cassie cursed, looking around at the crowded scene. "Eddie's definitely a goner."
Jabbing his elbow into her side, Dustin Henderson quickly shushed the girl, "Don't say that!"
"Jeez, sorry dude," Cassie spoke, raising her arms up in defense. "I was only kidding. I'm sure he's fine."
After parking the car, each of the group members immediately filed out of the vehicle and advanced towards the large crowd of people. Of course, they didn't want to be seen by the officers, so Nancy Wheeler pulled the group aside and led them behind one of the large news vans.
Crouching down behind the vehicle, the group carefully listened as Officer Powell began to speak to the news camera, "As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight reporting a homicide here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from that house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18-year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney."
Standing just behind Cassie, Lucas Sinclair let out a gasp, his head shaking as he listened to the officer in disbelief. Lucas had met Patrick through basketball, and even though they were not that close, he still considered him to be a good friend. It was safe to say that his death made somewhat of an impact on Lucas, for the boy grew incredibly quiet after hearing those words.
"We have also identified a person of interest..." The police officer trailed off, taking a deep breath before stating the name. "Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward."
"Did they just..." Cassie Harrington gasped, covering her hand over her mouth. "Holy shit."
"This is not good," Steve spoke, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is really not good."
Stepping away from the interview, Dustin Henderson suddenly heard a static sound coming in from his walkie talkie. Lifting up the device, the boy listened as a familiar voice rang through the speaker, "Dustin, can you hear me?"
"Eddie, holy shit," Dustin frantically answered, catching the attention of the rest of the group. "Are you okay?"
"Nah, man," Eddie Munson answered, his fragile voice shaking as panic began to set in. "Pretty...pretty goddamn far from okay."
"Where are you?"
"Skull Rock. Do you know it?"
"Uh, yeah," Dustin began, his mind whirring in thought. "That's near Cornwallis and-"
"Garrett, yeah," Steve nodded, turning to the boy and patting him on the back. "I know where that is."
"Hold tight. We're coming. We're coming."
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As the group trudged through the vast wooded trees in attempt to locate Eddie Munson, they were forced to listen to the constant bickering of Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson. For the past fifteen minutes, the two were in a heated argument over the location of Skull Rock. While Dustin believed it was North, Steve knew it was South. Of course, this meant that every ten steps, the group would have to change directions, which grew incredibly annoying after a while.
"Will you guys just pick a way to go?" Cassie groaned as the group turned around for the fifth time. "Jesus Christ."
"Yeah, will you guys, like, cool it?" Mike Wheeler called beside her. "We're wasting so much time and we need to get to Eddie."
"Well, if Dustin would just let me lead, we wouldn't be having an issue here," Steve argued, rolling his eyes. "He's taking us the wrong way."
"It's north," Dustin Henderson told the boy, looking down at his compass. "I'm positive. I checked the map."
"You do realize Skull Rock, it's like a super popular make-out spot?" Steve asked the boy, shaking his head. "Well, it wasn't popular until I made it popular. Alright? I practically invented it. We're heading in the wrong direction."
Without warning, Steve Harrington broke away from the group, starting a new route in the opposite direction.
"Steve," Dustin called after the boy. "Where are you going?"
"Holy shit," Cassie whined, her patience reaching a breaking point. "I'm going to punch you both if you make us turn around one more time."
"Stop whining, let's go," Steve called after the group, guiding them towards him. "Trust me."
Throwing her head back, Cassie Harrington let out a loud, dramatic groan before reluctantly following after her brother. Thankfully, Steve Harrington was true to his word. After about ten more minutes of walking through the woods, the boy led them right to Skull Rock.
"Boom! Bada bing, bada boom," Steve Harrington called, triumphantly raising his arms. "There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."
"It's about damn time," Cassie sighed, examining the large rock. "I can see why they call it Skull Rock."
"It's a make-out spot, you said?" Mike asked Steve, sarcastically lifting an eyebrow.
"Don't even try it, Wheeler," Steve Harrington answered, narrowing his gaze at the boy.
"What the..." Dustin spoke, looking down at his compass in confusion. "This doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it," Steve shrugged, turning to face the boy. "Can't admit you're wrong, you butthead."
"I concur," Eddie Munson's voice echoed through their ears as he jumped down from above, landing just behind Dustin. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a...total butthead."
"Jesus, we thought you were a goner," Dustin called, pulling Eddie into a tight hug.
"Oh, so it's okay when you say he's a goner," Cassie spat at the boy, crossing her arms over her chest. "But when I say it, it's bad."
"Not now, Cassie," Dustin shushed the girl. "You're ruining the moment."
"I got out of there as fast as I could," Eddie admitted, patting the boy on the back. "I stole this walkie and I ran."
"Thank god," Mike Wheeler sighed, jogging over to the two boys and joining the hug. "I knew you'd make it."
"What the hell even happened?" Cassie Harrington asked as Eddie pulled away from the hug.
Scratching the back of his head, Eddie Munson walked back towards his hideout, taking a seat on the ground underneath the large rock. After a brief moment of silence, the boy began to speak, "Well, uh, I assume you've heard the news already. Jason and Patrick came to pay me a little unexpected visit."
"How'd they find you?" Mike asked the boy.
"I don't know," Eddie shrugged, looking down at the ground. "When I saw them coming, I took a boat and tried to get as far away from them as possible. Jason and Patrick, they swam after me, and that's when it happened. When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..."
Eddie trailed off, nervously chuckling as he shook his head. "My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran."
"Do you know what time this was?" Nancy Wheeler asked the boy.
"The attack?" Eddie asked, raising his eyebrow. "Yeah, I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked."
"9:27."
"Wait..." Cassie Harrington spoke up, her mind whirring in thought. "That's the exact same time the lights went all crazy. I knew something was off, I could feel it. That burst of energy in the attic was Vecna attacking Patrick."
Taking a deep breath, Mike Wheeler pulled his gaze away from Cassie and turned to the rest of the group, "Well now we know how Vecna attacks and where he attacks from...but how do we kill him?"
"I guess we need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart," Max Mayfield announced, shrugging her shoulders.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Steve Harrington asked the girl, "A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?"
"It was a metaphor," Max explained.
"Did you seriously just ask that question?" Mike Wheeler asked the boy, raising his eyebrows. "First a clockmaker now a vampire?"
"Okay, you know what-"
"It doesn't matter how we kill him," Cassie cut in, stopping their conversation. "We won't even be able to get to him unless we find a way into the Upside Down. Last I checked, all the gates are sealed off."
"Everything was way easier with El," Steve Harrington sighed, turning to Eddie. "We had this girl. She had superpowers."
"Superpowers, yeah, you mentioned her," Eddie hummed, nodding once before fixating his gaze on the boy pacing back and forth. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"
"Cursed? No, no. He's fine," Steve sighed, studying the boy. "Mental? Absolutely."
"Dustin, what are you doing?" Mike Wheeler called out at him.
"Boom!" Dustin Henderson's voice yelled, startling both the group and several nearby birds. "Bada... bada... boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north."
"Seriously?" Steve asked, his eyes widening. "You're serious?"
"Mhm," Dustin answered with a smug smile.
"This is Skull Rock!" Steve shouted, lifting his arms while gesturing to the rock. "You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong right now."
"Yes," Dustin agreed. "And no."
Shaking his head, Steve's mouth widened in disbelief, "Oh my god."
"This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers', and when we got in the car on Curly," Dustin explained to the group, whilst stopping in his place. "But, it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."
"So you're using faulty equipment, dude," Steve Harrington cut in, shaking his head. "You're still wrong."
"Except it isn't faulty," Dustin answered, turning to his friend. "Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?"
"An electromagnetic field."
"Yep," Dustin cheered, turning back to the group. "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..."
"There's a gate," Mike and Lucas answered simultaneously.
"So, you're telling us that there might be a gate we don't know about?" Cassie Harrington asked the boy. "In Hawkins? How is that possible?"
Facing the girl, Dustin answered, "Well, for starters, it'd have to be much smaller and way less powerful. Something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna."
"And a shot at freeing Cassie from this curse," Mike Wheeler finished, shifting his gaze back onto the girl beside him.
Without a second thought, Dustin Henderson turned his back to the group and began to walk away.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," Steve called after the boy, shaking his head. "Where are you going? Eddie's still a wanted man, we can't just go for a hike in the woods."
"This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Cassie and Eddie."
"I'm with Dustin on this one, Steve," Cassie Harrington spoke to her brother, shrugging her shoulders. "If there's a chance at finding Vecna and killing him, count me in."
"What say you, Eddie the Banished?" Dustin asked the boy, causing all eyes to fall on him and await his response.
"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 began, tilting his head as he looked up at the sky. "But, the Shire is burning. So Mordor it is."
Jumping up and down, Dustin Henderson excitedly cheered at his response. As the rest of the group turned to follow him, Steve Harrington stopped and muttered to his sister, "What the hell is Mordor?"
Cassie shrugged, raising her arms up in defense, "Don't ask me."