"Nancy!" I scream, violently shaking her, knowing it's useless. "What's taking them so long with the music!?" I ask Steve. "Tell them to hurry! Nancy, come on, wake up. Stay with me."
I rack my brain trying to figure out what her favorite song is, but I don't have a clue. It also seems unlikely that, being in Eddie Munson's trailer, he'd have the kind of music she likes. Nancy never seemed like someone who would like W.A.S.P. or Dio.
Nancy gasps and her eyes shoot open. She collapses into my arms.
"Woah, Nance," I say, trying to hold her up. "Steve, help me!" He rushes to my side and helps me set her on the floor. "It's okay," I assure her, holding her close to me. "It's okay now. You're okay."
We re-group in Max's trailer in the normal world and Nancy tells us about the vision Vecna showed her.
"He showed me... things that haven't happened yet." Her voice is shaky and just barely a whisper. "The most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this... this giant creature with... a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army."
His army, I remember what Will had said in the past. It makes me wonder if Will is experiencing anything in California. If he can feel something is off.
"And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then... He showed me my mom." Nancy's voice breaks and tears well up in her eyes. "And Holly. Mike. And they... They were all..." she trails off, unable to finish. She draws in a shaky breath. Tears roll down her cheeks.
"Okay, but... he's just trying to scare you, Nance," Steve tries to ease her nerves. "Right? I mean... I mean, it's not real."
"Not yet," she whispers, tearing her eyes off the floor to glance up at Steve. "But there... there was something else. He showed me gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer, but... they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home."
Silence passes between us like a cold wind. Everyone tries to process the news. It's so hard to imagine that that's our future if we fail. So much is riding on us and our nonexistent plan to stop Vecna.
"Four chimes," Max says from the corner of the room. "Vecna's clock. It always chimes four times. Four exactly."
Nancy lifts her head. "I heard them too."
Max steps closer. "He's been telling us his plan this whole time."
"Four kills," Lucas realizes. "Four gates. End of the world."
"If that's true... He's only one kill away," Dustin says solemnly.
"Oh Jesus Christ." Eddie buries his face in his hands. "Jesus Christ."
Steve motions to the phone. "Try 'em again. Try 'em again."
Max takes the phone off the wall and dials the Byers' number again.
Steve leans back on the sofa beside me. He places his hand on my knee, but not in a reassuring way. Not like, it's okay. More like he's making sure I'm still here. Making sure someone is still here to ground him.
I place my hand over his and intertwine our fingers.
"Anything, Max?" I ask anxiously.
"No. Rang a few times, then went to busy signal."
I shut my eyes and breathe out. What if something happened? Is Will okay? Can Vecna reach them from the other side of the country?
"Maybe you punched it wrong," Steve suggests. "Try again."
"I didn't punch it in wrong," Max says defensively.
"Well, I don't know."
"Dude," Dustin begins, "I think she knows how to use a phone."
Steve shrugs. "I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong."
Max tries again, just to make Steve happy. "Same shit." She hangs up, putting the phone back on the wall.
"How is that possible?" Lucas asks.
"I told you, Joyce has this telemarketer job. Always on the phone," Dustin says. "Mike won't stop whining about it."
"Yeah, but this phone's been busy for, what, three days now?" Max asks. "That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."
"Max is right," I say. "Something's going on in Lenora, and I have a feeling it's all connected with this in some way."
"Right," Nancy says, looking out the window. "It can't be a coincidence. But Vecna can't hurt them. Not if he's dead." She turns around with determination burning in her eyes. "We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."
"Whoa, no, no, no," Steve protests.
Eddie shakes his head fervently. "Nope."
"We barely made it out alive," I say. "We're not going back!"
"Only because we weren't prepared," she says. "But this time, we will be. We'll get weapons and protection. We'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him." Her voice is so confident and full of conviction it's hard to argue. She sounds certain that we'll make it this time, that we'll succeed.
"Or he'll kill us," Steve says, standing from the couch. "The only reason you survived is because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."
"And for good reason." Robin stands up. "We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?"
"One."
"Vecna."
"Henry."
Everyone gave out different names.
"Right. We've learned something new about Vecna/Henry/One. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my... my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight."
"So then why fight fair?" Dustin asks with a shrug. "You're right. He's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths. And weaknesses. When El remote-travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state. I bet the same is true of Vecna."
"That would explain what he was doing in that attic," Lucas says.
Dustin's eyes light up. "Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless."
"Defenseless? Yeah? What about the army of bats?" Steve gestures to the line across his throat where the bat had strangled him. It's bruised now and the blood has dried to his skin.
"True. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow."
"And, uh, how do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asks, rising from the couch.
"No idea," Dustin says, and Eddie sits back down. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin."
"That all sounds good in theory," Robin begins, "but there is no pattern to Vecna's killings. Not one that I can decipher. We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's going to attack."
"Yeah, we do," Max speaks up.
I realize what she's doing and immediately shoot to my feet. "Max, no way—"
"I can still feel him," she says. "I'm still marked. Cursed."
"I feel him, too," I say.
"I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."
"No, Max," I say more forcefully. "I'll do it."
Her expression hardens. She's already made up her mind. She's not going to back down. "He really wants me. I'm the one who has to do it."
"Max. You can't," Lucas urges. "He'll kill you."
"I survived before. I can survive again. I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. Then you can chop his head off. Stab him in the heart. Blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooks up. I honestly don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just... Whatever it is... Whatever you do... Try not to miss."
✶
Eddie has us all gather around Max's dining room table for reasons he hasn't disclosed yet. He sets a magazine down, smoothening out the page and pointing to an advertisement in it. "Check this out. The War Zone. I've been there once. It's huge. They got everything you need for, uh... Well, killing things, basically."
"Do you think fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Robin asks. She points at the page. "Is that a grenade? I mean, how is any of this legal?"
"Well, lucky for us it is, so... this place is just far enough outside of Hawkins. As long as we steer clear of main roads, we ought to be able to avoid cops and, uh, angry hicks."
"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn't go to some store called the War Zone," Erica says.
"Normally, I'd agree, but we need the weapons." Nancy crosses her arms and straightens up. "So I think it's worth the risk.
"Me too," Dustin says. "But is it worth the time? It'll take all day to bike there and back."
"Who said anything about bikes?" Eddie asks.
Steve looks down at him. "You got some car we don't know about?"
"It's not exactly a car," Eddie straightens up to meet Steve's eye level, "Steve. And it's not exactly mine, but, uh... it'll do." He turns around to face Max. "Hey, Red, uh, you got a ski mask or a bandanna, something like that?"
We gather anything we may need between now and defeating Vecna, then head out across the trailer park. We all hide behind one of the trailers as Eddie pokes his head around the side. Max's old Michael Myers Halloween mask covers his head to conceal his identity.
He gestures for us to follow him and we start our quick paced scurry across peoples' yards to a Winnebago motor home. Eddie creeps around the back, with us behind him, keeping our heads low. He reaches up, sliding the back window open, then climbs through.
Steve holds his hands together, allowing me to step in them and pull myself up. Eddie takes my hand and pulls me on inside. Everyone else piles in while Eddie heads to the front of the motor home.
I walk up the aisle to the front, just as Eddie is taking the bottom panel under the steering wheel off. He pulls out a handful of wires, about to hot-wire the vehicle.
"Where'd you learn how to do this?" Steve asks him, appearing beside me.
"Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hot-wire. Now, 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."
Robin stands behind us, watching him. "Eddie, I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving."
"Yeah, I'm not fond of the idea either," I admit.
"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker. Harrington's got her." He leans in closer to Steve's face, grinning madly at him. "Don't ya, big boy?"
Eddie touches the two wires together and the engine starts.
The residents who were peacefully sitting in lawn chairs outside begin shouting at us and banging on the door.
"What the hell? Hey! Open this door!"
"Shit!" Steve pulls Eddie out of the drivers seat and jumps over the back of it. "Everybody, hang on to something!" He shouts to everyone in the back.
I dive into the passenger seat and grab onto the armrests for dear life. "Go! Go! Go!" I shout. Steve takes off driving like a maniac.
Dustin looks out the back glass. "Shit, they look pissed."
"Everyone get down!" I yell. "We don't want them to know what we look like!"
Robin ducks down, holding onto some cabinets. "It's not every day you lose your house and car in one fell swoop."
"Hold on! Hold on!" Steve takes another turn on two wheels, knocking over a line of trash cans. He hits the gravel road. Trash flies into the air behind us. He takes another turn out of the trailer park, hitting the main road and heading to the War Zone.
The drive is all back roads through scenic farm land and wooded areas. A slow country song softly plays on the radio. I hold the map in my lap, giving Steve the directions. Out of the corner of my eye, I keep catching glances of him stealing looks at me. A poorly hidden smile on his face.
"What?" I finally ask him, looking up from the map.
He quickly returns his gaze to the road, acting like his eyes have been fixed on it this whole time. "What is what?"
"You keep looking over at me."
"No, I don't. I... I definitely don't. No." His cheeks redden.
"Yes you do. Now tell me what it is."
He shakes his head. "It's nothing. It's just silly."
"What's silly?"
"This dream. This vision I had... about the future. Well, not a vision, like, see the future. Just something I'd like to happen."
"And what is that?" I reposition in my seat to look at him better.
"You and me," he glances over at me, his voice is soft and quiet, "traveling around the country in an RV. Maybe have some little Harringtons if you want?"
I raise a brow. "Little Harringtons?"
I'd never given much thought about having kids. But maybe in the far, far off future, it might be kind of fun.
"Yeah, have some little nuggets. Every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons, we would pack into something like this and... just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. Go on adventures. End up in some beach side town in California. Spend a week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something."
I can't hide my smile. I imagine it. Traveling to amazing places. Going on hikes, learning to surf. Not have a set destination, just out adventuring to wherever we feel like exploring. Experiencing new things. Having a life that doesn't revolve around trying to stop monsters and the Upside Down from destroying everything and everyone I love. A life where I'm not almost constantly in survival mode.
He glances in the rear view mirror at the kids in the back. "It's not like I haven't had any practice with kids."
I shake my head with a smile. "That's fair. I guess the both of us do have some experience in the kid department."
He looks at me with a smile. "Always the babysitters."
I let out a breathy laugh. "Always the goddamn babysitters."
A giant army green sign welcomes us to the store. WAR ZONE, it has written in giant yellow letters. ARMY, NAVY, SURPLUS. "LARGEST STOCK OF FIREARMS IN HAWKINS."
On the smaller sign below, it says, Arm yourself. Boots, shorts, duffle bag. Open to the public.
Eddie stays in the motor home, still being a wanted man and all, it's best he doesn't go walking around redneck central. Dustin and Lucas also stay since they're part of the Hellfire Club. The rest of us walk through the front doors and have a look around. The place is packed with people and I immediately want to run back to the motor home. The sign out front wasn't lying. They have all you need in here for all your illegal endeavors.
"So much for avoiding angry hicks," Robin remarks.
"Let's be... fast," Nancy says.
"Yep." I nod.
"Definitely," Erica says.
A sign in the middle of the store catches my attention, exciting me. I grab a basket and Steve's hand. "Come on, let's look at the knives." I drag him down the aisle with me.
There are strong, heavy duty knives with paracord wrapped handles and twelve inch blades. I grab two of them and put them in my basket, along with two new sheaths that strap to my thighs.
Steve stands at some shelves against the wall, taking a dark green and brown camouflage shirt off the shelf. He takes Eddie's vest off and tosses it to me, then puts the shirt on. "Metal's just not my style."
I hold the vest up and look at all the sewn-on patches and pins. "What, you mean you don't like Motörhead?"
"I'm not a motor head—I don't know how to fix cars and shit."
"No, Motörhead is... never mind." I shake my head.
"Hey, check this jacket out." He pulls a brown leather bomber jacket off the rack and puts it on, turning around to face me with his arms spread out.
"You missed your calling, Harrington," I say. "You should've been a model."
"Oh, yeah?" He turns around a few times, earning stares from the local rednecks. "You like it?"
"I love it. Very redneck chic."
"Your turn." He drags me down another aisle.
I pick out a black leather bomber jacket, some combat boots, and fingerless gloves. I put it all on and turn to face Steve. He puts his hands on my waist and draws me in.
"Very badass." He kisses me on the forehead.
"Thanks." I smile up at him, resisting every urge inside screaming at me to kiss him on his soft lips.
We find Robin standing down an aisle, looking at some cans of gas. "How many cans of gas do you think we need?" She asks.
"Uh, I guess about six," I answer, coming up with a totally random estimation in my head.
Steve and I start putting the cans in the shopping cart, then notice Robin isn't helping. Instead, she's looking at Vickie with a longing expression. Like the whole world has become blurred around her and only Vickie is in focus. Like she's the only person in this whole crowded store.
"What are you gonna do, Robin? Just stand here and gawk at her?" Steve asks in amusement.
"Shut up."
I nudge Robin in the back, encouraging her to go talk to Vickie. She takes a step forward, and another, but stops. A blond guy sneaks up behind Vickie and wraps his arms around her, startling her. Vickie and the guy start talking, then they kiss. He kisses her cheek, then drags his lips down her neck, leaving more kisses. Right here in the store.
It's kinda gross, being right here in public and all.
I can see the moment Robin's heart breaks and it makes me sick. It makes me hate Vickie and it makes me hate her stupid blond boyfriend.
Robin takes off.
"Wait, maybe she's just closeted? Or bi? Or—?" I try, but she's already out of earshot.
I start to take off after her, but stop. My eyes land on Nancy, who's buying a shotgun at the counter. Beside her stands Jason, yet another blond I hate. You can't miss him in his green letterman jacket. Class of 86, on the sleeve. I tug the sleeve of Steve's jacket.
"Hm?" He turns around, his eyes falling on the same thing. "Shit."
Nancy and Jason talk. They both try to intimidate the other with harsh eye contact. Jason puts his hand on her shotgun—a dumb move. It's common knowledge around here that you should never touch Nancy's guns. She holds her ground, finally forcing Jason to backdown and leave her alone.
I start noticing that Jason's friends are here, too. One stands down an aisle to my left. Another appears across the room. They've infiltrated the place.
Steve and I round everyone up quickly and pay for our things, then head straight for the motor home. We pile into the vehicle in a rush. Steve immediately takes his seat behind the wheel and starts the engine.
"What happened?" Lucas asks worriedly.
"Gotta go." I toss Eddie his vest and sit down in the passenger seat beside Steve.
"Your old friends are here," Erica tells them.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Dustin shouts.
"I'm going! I'm going!" Steve yells back. "Sit down!" He presses the pedal hard and we take off. People in the back of the vehicle get thrown around and brown paper sacks full of our supplies fall off counter tops.
"And buckle up!" I add.
"Should've said that earlier," Dustin says, attempting to get up from the floor.
✶
We drive a good distance away from the War Zone, making sure Jason hasn't followed us with his goons. Steve pulls off the side of the road, driving into a field. He stops and we get out, splitting into groups to make some homemade weapons with the things we bought.
Hammers bang from Eddie and Dustin, who are driving nails into lids of metal trash cans, making shields. Nancy and Max work on sawing the barrel off a shotgun. Erica and Lucas work together to make spears. Steve, myself, and Robin make what I call almost Molotov Cocktails out of glass bottles, gasoline, and a piece of fabric as the fuse.
"It just doesn't make sense," Steve says, pouring gas in a bottle while Robin holds it.
"What doesn't make sense?" She asks him.
"That was Dan Shelter. He graduated, like, two years ago."
"So?"
"So he's in college. Which means he was visiting on spring break. Fast Times was returned, like, I don't know, a week ago? Right? Unless she's got some horn dog brother that we don't know about." Steve shrugs. "Which is possible. Or she's just really into Judge Reinhold?"
"I still say she could be closeted, you know? Have a boyfriend as a cover," I say. "Or even bi—"
"Guys," Robin cuts me off. "I don't care. And I don't understand why you two do either with everything that's going on. Honestly, this feels like a perfect time for that little pull of the rug because... In the face of the world ending, the stakes of my love life feel spectacularly low."
"I get it," I say. "But you can still have hope for the future. It's a very small chance, but we could still succeed."
Robin sighs. "Not everything has a happy ending." She sets the cocktail on the ground behind her with the others. "And I'm not just talking about failed romance." She pours the gasoline into the bottle I hold. "I just... I have this terrible, gnawing feeling that... It might not work out for us this time." She stops her pouring and looks between me and Steve.
Hearing someone else say it fills my stomach with dread. I think back to what I saw when Vecna cursed me: some of the people I care about most, dead.
"You think we shouldn't be doing this?" Steve asks Robin.
"I think we're mad fools, the lot of us, but... but if we don't stop him, who will? We have to try, right?" She looks out across the field.
Nancy aims her new barrelless shotgun. Eddie and Dustin frolic around, playing with their new shields. They pretend to battle Erica and Lucas, who wield homemade spears.
"Yeah," Steve says.
I nod. "Definitely. We've gotta try."
Steve raises his cocktail. "To killing Vecna."
"Slash Henry." Robin raises hers.
"Slash One," I finish, raising my glass bottle and toasting.
A few hours later, we finish with the preparations. Out the windshield of the motor home, the sky is a beautiful burnt orange color, making everything in the vehicle the same color. I take a second to admire it. For all I know, it could be the last one I see. It could be the last sunset for any of us.
The thought makes my heart twist in a painful knot. No. I push the thought down. It's best not to think about what could happen. It'll only make my anxiety worse than it already is.
Somber silence fills the air. The heavy reality of what we're about to do is finally sinking in. We're not ready for this. But there is no other option. This isn't debatable. Either way, we're probably going to die. At least this way we'll have actually tried to win.
Steve parks in front of the Creel house, letting Lucas, Max, and Erica out to start their portion of the plan.
I stand from my seat, pulling Max back before she can step out of the vehicle and pulling her into a fierce hug.
"You be careful," I sternly tell her, fighting the tears that threaten to spill. I try my best to look brave even though I feel like freaking out or breaking down. I take a deep breath and force my emotions down. "If you don't think you can handle it, stop. If it becomes too much, stop. Put those headphones back on. You hear?"
She nods, hugging me again. "I'll be careful."
"You better be."