voyager // max mayfield

EIGHTEEN: MORDOR IT IS

They were silent as they carried on, Steve talking the lead as he walked through trees and bushed.

"bada bing, bada boom! There she is, Henderson," Steve said with a smile on his face trying to forget his conversation with his sister. "Skull Rock."

Eve and Dustin followed him through quickly, trying not to get poked in the eye from random branches.

"In your face, in your cocky little face," Steve continued, putting his hands on his hips as he looked up at the rock. But Dustin was more focused on his compass.

"It doesn't make sense," Dustin mumbled with his eyebrows furrowed, the compass not facing the way it was supposed to in correlation with the map.

"Yeah, yeah, Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it." Steve said, shrugging his shoulders, "You just can't admit that you're wrong, you little butthead."

There was a jump, as Eddie Munson appeared out of literally nowhere, making Eve jump back in shock, almost falling onto Dustin.

"I concur," Eddie said, trying to ignore Eve as she found her footing, "You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead."

"Jesus, we thought you were a goner," Dustin breathed out, released to see his friend alive again. He didn't want to think about it too much, but when they arrived and saw the cop cars, he was terrified that Vecna had stopped by for a little visit. He moved closer, hugging Eddie tight.

"Yeah, me too man," Eddie said, hugging him back as he breathed out, "Me too."

That was when the rest of the gang made it to skull rock, the whole group back together again.

-

"When I got to shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..." Eddie stops for a moment, taking a swig of his water - they'd listened to his story about how Jason and his friends had found him and chased him out onto the lake, and then of course the terrible death of Lucas' friend, "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 asks him, "the attack?"

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was," He nodded, his head, reaching for his wrist to take off his watch, "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." He chucked it to her, making her flinch as she grabbed it and looked at the time.

The whole time this had been happening, Eve had found herself staring at Dustin as he paced back and forward, eyes set on his compass.

"9:27," Nancy nodded.

"The same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin nods her head.

"Which means what, exactly?" Steve asked them, arms crossed over his chest as he watched his sister watch Dustin.

"That... that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick," Nancy realised, "It was so strong Eve was brought into it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Eddie asked, looking over at Eve.

"Oh, she's got this weird connection to this other monster from the upside down," Steve explained to him casually, not noticing his eyes get wider, "It's like a seasonal thing at this point."