𝙁𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙀𝙍 ༄ 𝙈𝘼𝙓 𝙈𝘼𝙔𝙁𝙄𝙀𝙇𝘿

16. Let me on the boat.

"When I got to shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh..." Eddie stopped to take a drink of his water. "My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing I do now, apparently. I ran." Eddie chuckled.

"Do you know what time this was? The attack?" Nancy questioned the boy.

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what the time was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." Eddie said, before tossing his watch to Nancy.

Nancy caught it and took a look at it. "9:27"

"Same time out flashlights went kablooey." Robin said.

Why was it always 9:00? The mind flayer at the sauna, and now vecna. I guess 9:00 is just a bad timing.

"Which mean what, exactly?" Steve asked.

"That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick. And apparently was trying to get into Mal's mind."

"Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks." Robin told them, lightning the mood a bit.

"And where he attacks from." Lucas added.

Mal watches as Dustin paces around, looking at his compass. She furrowed her eyebrows at the boy, but didn't question it. Dustin was weird.

"So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart." Max spoke up.

"If he even has a heart." Mal and robin said at the same time, causing them both to look at each other and nod.

"A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?" Steve asked, making Mal slap her hand onto her forehead, how old was this guy again?

"It was a metaphor."

"A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie asked from beneath the rock.

"Probably not." Mal muttered.

"I say we chop his head off." Lucas joined in.

"I say we blow him up." Mal suggested. It was a good idea, she thought.

"Yeah, I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that. Til we find a way into the upside down." Nancy told them, making the mood go back down.

"We need El to get her powers back and for Mal's to be stronger." Max said, causing Eddie to look up, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry? What?" He asked, causing everyone to look at him.

"Oh, yeah, Mal has powers too." Steve causally told him.

"I thought you said their were only two?" Eddie questioned, remembering what Steve told him.

"Yeah, me and El." Mal told him.

"She saved the world before." Max shrugged, smiling at her girlfriend.

"And died and came back like two times." Steve added, causing the girl to shiver- not good memories.

"Three." She corrected him. "Not good memories."

Steve nodded. "Sorry about bringing it up." He apologized, causing ten younger wheeler to smile.

"It's okay."

"But it was easier when el went into this mind thing and could, like, see what people were doing." Steve sighed.

"I can go into the void, too. It's just terrifying."

"And it drains you." Max added to Mal's sentence.

"Well-no, I don't get drained that easily." Mal lied, causing max to raise her eyebrow at the girl.

Mal looked away, before looking back at max, seeing the girl wa a already looking at her. Max gave the girl a soft smile, one that could make Mal melt.