THE REAL MONSTER
⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ Gina curses under her breath as they sneak around the trailer park, Eddie leading the pack in Max's Michael Myers mask, not that it's doing a great job at helping them be inconspicuous; there are ten of them.
They walk by two people sitting under a tent, who Gina can only assume are the unsuspecting owners of the RV.
Everyone climbs in one by one, Eddie rushing straight to the front, messing with the wires until the engine starts to run, also turning on the radio. The owners jump up and start banging on the windows, only making the situation way more hectic.
"Open this door!"
Come on the rising wind
"Drive, Steve!"
We're going up around the bend
"Shit, they look pissed!"
Bring a song
"Don't show your face, dumbass!"
Apparently Steve drives terribly under pressure, because he starts to veer off the road, knocking into garbage cans and sending Gina straight into the wall.
—
⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ After everything finally calms down, Gina sits down next to Robin, hoping maybe a conversation will happen.
Instead of that conversation, Gina ends up drifting off to sleep, resting her head on Robin's shoulder as she sleeps.
—
⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ They finally make it to the War Zone, Gina jolting awake when Steve parks the RV behind the building.
Deciding that having Eddie go in would be too dangerous, Gina gets voted to stay behind along with Dustin and Lucas. She's scary, in Lucas' words.
Now that Robin was gone, Gina lays down on the couch, staring at the ceiling as the boys talk about Dungeons and Dragons for what seems like days.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Gina realizes the parking lot is becoming way too busy, so she goes into the store to tell them to hurry up.
Walking through the aisles and weaving through crowds, Gina almost didn't see Stephanie talking to...
Gina stops in her tracks when she sees Matthew fucking Carver standing over Stephanie. She walks towards them, standing behind him.
"Get the fuck off me!"
When Matt doesn't let go, Gina kicks him between his legs, making him loose his grip and turn around. "The fuck was that?" he shouts, looking down at Gina. Just because he's almost half a foot taller than her, doesn't mean she looses fights.
"Who do you think you are?" Gina asks, narrowing her eyes at the boy.
Matt chuckles dryly, almost mockingly. "Weren't you taught that women should be see—"
Before Matt could finish, Gina punches him in the nose, instantly making him start to bleed.
"You bitch!" he yells as Stephanie takes Gina's hand and speed walks out of the store before anything worse could happen.
"Fucker!" Gina shouts back, flipping him off as her and Stephanie walk back to the RV.
"So much for wanting to follow the law," Stephanie whisper yells to Gina as they walk out.
They get back in the RV where everyone else is waiting with the supplies, staring at them due to their loud appearance.
Lucas gives them a look. "What happened?"
"Your pansy-assed teammates are here," Gina remarks, kicking some children's toy across the floor and sitting back down next to Robin.
As Steve pulls out of the parking lot, Robin notices the blood on Gina's hands. "Woah, what's this?" she asks, going to touch Gina's hand.
"Jason Carver's asshole of a brother was giving Stephanie problems, then, obviously, I kicked him in the balls and he had the audacity to say that women should be seen and not heard, so I punched him," Gina tells her, probably raising her voice too much.
Robin still looks worried for Gina. "And you made him bleed? Good on you."
"Hopefully I slaughtered his ego," Gina scowls, leaving the two in silence until Steve finds an open field so they can make their weapons.
Everyone exits the RV, forming their own groups to start to make the spears and shields.
Gina, Steve, and Robin sit outside of the RV with bottles of kerosene, empty bottles, and rags. The plan is to light the rag on fire, creating a sort of fireball to use against Vecna.
Breaking the comforting silence between the three, Robin says, "aren't you guys scared? I just...I have this terrible, gnawing feeling that...it might not work out for us this time."
"You think we shouldn't be doing this?" Steve asks in response.
Robin continues to pour the kerosene. "I think we're mad fools, the lot of us, but...if we don't stop him, who will? We have to try right?"
"To killing Vecna," Steve says, holding up a bottle
Robin grabs her own bottle. "Slash Henry."
"Slash One," Gina finishes, holding another bottle as they all clink the bottles and continue to fill them.
After all the bottles are filled, Robin and Gina start to talk, switching from topic to topic like the world isn't about to end.
"What about after we graduate, you still wanna leave Hawkins?" Robin asks, waiting for a response as Gina figures out how to word it.
"I don't know, I never thought I would even graduate," Gina answers, knowing Robin won't get it.
Robin gives a confused look. "You mean you thought you'd fail?"
Gina pauses for a moment. "You know that's not what I meant."
After thinking for a second, Robin looks at Gina, her face looking as though she might cry. "Oh."
"Oh," Gina repeats just as Steve interrupts the two, coming out of the RV.
"You think we're ready?" Steve asks, looking around at everyone else scattered around the field.
Gina sits up. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Hey, guys!" Steve yells, getting everyone's attention. "Let's go!"
One by one, they all get into the RV with their weapons, dressed in what can only be described as hunting gear, and backpacks filled with the bottles of kerosene.
The ride is completely silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts and worries.
Steve stops in front of the Creel House where Stephanie, Max, Lucas, and Erica get out.
Gina stops Max, touching her arm. "Stay safe," is all she could think of. What else can you say in this situation?
They drive away, heading to Eddie's trailer, to the gate, to Vecna.
Heading for a place that will become the small part in their minds, the place they'll randomly remember in years time, the place they'll grow resentment towards.
A place where they will kill that monster, that place, that thought.
⋇⋆✦⋆⋇
do the last few paragraphs make sense?? wanted it to be a symbol of like ptsd or something but i don't know if if makes any sense 🤪🤪
also not really of a bitch slap it was more of a sucker punch but i like both
2/25/24