𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 - 𝐒.𝐇 (𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐭. 𝐭𝐰𝐨

"When I got to the shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh... my walkie was busted, man. Drenched." Eddie explained. "So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently." He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "I ran." He smiled, chuckling, and looked around at everyone who stood in front of him.

Lea crossed her arms and looked down at him sadly. "Eddie, it's o-"

"Do you know what time this was?" Nancy interrupted. "The attack?" Lea raised her eyebrows and turned the top half of her body back to give a mean look at the girl who was noticeably trying to avoid her eyes.

"Yeah, no, I... I know exactly what time it was." Eddie answered, going to take off his watch. "My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." He held up his watch and threw it at Nancy.

"9:27." Nancy nodded.

"Same time our flashlights went kablooey," Robin added.

"Which means... what, exactly?" Steve asked, glancing at Lea with an expression she couldn't quite read.

"That surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick," Lea answered, crossing her arms.

Nancy tossed Eddie his watch and Robin began to speak. "Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks."

"And where he attacks from," Lucas added.

Max held a blank stare at the ground. "So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart." She shrugged and looked up at everyone.

"If he even has a heart," Robin said.

"A stake?" Steve asked. "Is he like a vamp- is he a vampire?" Lea raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend and shook her head.

"No, no. It was a metaphor." She said. "For now all we know is that he's a teen-killing mutant thing."

"A bullet should work on him, right?" Eddie asked from his crouched position underneath the rock.

"I say we chop his head off." Lucas said.

"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.

Lea rolled her eyes.

"We need Lee and El to get their powers back." Max said brusquely.

Eddie, once again, looked at Lea with a bewildered expression. She ignored it and shifted her weight. "Everything was like... way easier." Steve said, wrapping his arm around Lea's waist and pulling her closer to him. Steve looked to Eddie. "Lee and her little sister, they had like these awesome superpowers-"

"Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned that." Eddie cut him off. Lea rolled her eyes and focused on Dustin who had been pacing since they all started talking. "Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed is he?"

"Cursed?" Steve repeated as he looked away from Lea to the boy in question. "No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely."

Lea shook her head with a small smile and nudged her boyfriend in the ribs when suddenly, Dustin's voice echoed through the trees.

"Boom!"

Lea and Steve snapped their heads in his direction with wide eyes. He pointed at Steve and walked forward slowly. "Bada... bada... boom." He whispered.

The blonde girl furrowed her brows and glanced at Steve and then back at Dustin. "I was right. Skull rock was north." He shouted.

"Seriously? You're serious?" Steve asked.

"Mmhm." Dustin hummed with a smirk on his lips which made Lea smile a bit, trying not to laugh.

Steve tore his arms from around his girlfriend and pointed them up at the giant figure in front of him. "This is Skull Rock. Okay?"