The Protector

Vecna's Curse Part 3

After a rather long drive, the group finally made it to Reefer Rick's house. They all quickly hopped out of the car and walked up to the front door.

Dustin rang the doorbell before waiting a moment. After not receiving an answer, he rung it again before rapidly pressing the doorbell.

"Okay. Well, that's settled. I guess he's not here", Steve told the group. "Eddie! It's Dustin!", Dustin shouted out causing Steve to mumble out a small sarcastic "great".

"Look we just want to talk, okay? No cops, I swear. We just wanna help. Eddie!", Dustin said while loudly banging on the door.

"Shh", Robin told Dustin while Dustin continued to ring the doorbell. "Rick!", Dustin yelled causing Maddie to chuckle slightly. "Reefer Rick!", Dustin shouted again.

"Don't scream that", Steve stated annoyed. "Rick!", Dustin shouted while Maddie started to look around the property. "He's not there", Steve told Dustin.

Max walked over to where Maddie was standing seeing a large shed. "Hey, guys", Max yelled to the other teens. The other teens walked over before looking at the shed.

Maddie was one of the first people to walk towards the shed while pointing her flashlight into the windows. Robin opened the door before Maddie and herself popped their heads inside.

"Hello?", Robin questioned. "Is anyone home?", Robin asked while the group entered the shed. "What a dump", Steve stated. "Stevie", Maddie scolded slightly.

Steve grabbed an oar before poking at a large black tarp that laid over what was thought to be a boat. Maddie and Dustin both approached the boy before Dustin questioned, "What are you doing?". "He might be in here", Steve responded.

"So take the tarp off", Dustin said in an obvious tone. "Or are you planning on hitting him with an oar to make a good first impression of peace?", Maddie asked Steve.

"If you're so brave, you take the tarp off", Steve told Dustin before poking it more causing Maddie to roll her eyes.

Max looked at various food wrappers before pointing out how someone has been there. "Don't worry. Steve will get him with his oar", Dustin stated sarcastically.

"I know you think you're being funny, but considering everyone in this room had nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slight-", Steve started to say before being cut off.

A random figure popped out from under the tarp and pushed Steve back until his back hit the wall.

"Whoa!", Dustin yelled out. Maddie quickly followed the two figures standing behind the boy holding a knife up to her best friend's throat. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!", Steve said nervously.

Before anything else could happen Maddie quickly moved behind the boy before holding her own knife up to his throat. "Leave him alone", Maddie said threateningly.

"Woah, whoa, whoa, Eddie! Maddie! Stop! Eddie! Maddie!", Dustin screamed out. "It's me. It's Dustin. This is Steve. He's not going to hurt you, right, Steve?", Dustin asked Steve who replied, "Right. Yeah".

"And this is Maddie. She won't hurt you either, you just have to drop the knife", Dustin stated calmly. "Steve why don't you drop the oar", Dustin told Steve who reluctantly dropped his weapon.

Eddie quickly shoved the knife further in it Steve's neck causing Maddie to do the same with Eddie's. "They're cool. They're cool", Dustin stated.

"I'm cool man. I'm cool", Steve quickly murmured. "What are you doing here?", Eddie questioned nervously while finally meeting Maddie's eyes. Maddie looked straight into his eyes causing Eddie to look away. She quickly studied the male in front of her. Maddie had to admit, he was very attractive.

"We're looking for you", Dustin responded. "We're here to help", Robin added. "Eddie, these are my friends. You know Robin, from band. This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D. Eddie. We're on your side. I swear on my mother. Right, guys?", Dustin asked.

"Yes. Yes, we swear", "On Dustin's mother", "Yeah, Dustin's... Dustin's mother", Max, Robin, and Steve all answered while Maddie remained silent. Eddie finally removed his knife from Steve's neck causing Maddie to drop hers.

Maddie quickly checked on Steve. After seeing that he was okay she looked over to see Eddie sliding down a post all the way down to the floor. She approached him with Dustin.

"Eddie. We just want to talk. Okay?", Dustin asked softly. "We want to know what happened", Robin added in the same tone. Eddie sniffled before saying, "You wouldn't believe me".

"Try us", Max replied with a shrug. "We have very large imaginations", Maddie added with a small smile.

"Her body just like... lifted up into the air and, uh... And she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones... Uh, she... Her bones started to snap. Her eyes man. It... it was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling. I... I didn't know what to do, so I... I ran away. I left her there", Eddie explained finally looking at the group.

Maddie looked at Eddie with pain and sympathy in her eyes. The way he talked about this girl's death showed that he really cared for her. Maddie knew how much it hurts to see the person you love die right in front of you and not being able to do anything about it.

"You all think I'm crazy, right?", Eddie scoffed out. "No. We don't think you're crazy", Dustin stated. "Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds", Eddie shouted out.

"We're not bullshitting you", Max responded. "We believe you", Robin said. "Like I said, we have pretty big imaginations", Maddie explained.

"Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little... difficult to take", Dustin told Eddie causing him to reply with an "okay".

"You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed?", Dustin started. "They're not way off", Dustin continued.

"There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours", Dustin explained. "Like ghosts and shit?", Eddie questioned.

"There are some things worse then ghosts", Max added. "These monsters from this other world... we thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you", Dustin said.

"If they're back again, we need to know", Maddie and Max stated at the same time. "That night, did you see anything?", Robin asked. "Dark particles, maybe?", Max questioned.

"It might even look like dust", Maddie stated causing Eddie to look at her briefly. "It would almost look like swirling dust", Dustin said drawing Eddie's attention away from Maddie.

"No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh... or touch. You know, I tried to wake her. She couldn't move. It was like she... she was in a trance or something", Eddie stated. "Or under a spell", Dustin replied.

"A curse", Eddie added with realization on his face. "Vecna's curse", Dustin said causing Steve to ask, "Who is Vecna?".

"An undead creature of great power", Dustin stated nervously. "A spell caster", Eddie said. "A dark wizard", Dustin added. The group looked at each other with worry while Maddie looked towards Eddie who looked back with a sad and nervous smile.

A/N: So Maddie finally met Eddie! So after reviewing some of your comments I'm most likely going to alter the end of this season a little bit. Everything will happen as it does on the show except there will be a twist at the end! Please feel free to comment, I would love to hear your opinions! As always I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to vote. Love from the author, over and out!