fast car | STEVE HARRINGTON [2]

36. the final countdown, part 2

RINGO WHEELER WAS CERTAIN THAT by the time they'd be done with Henry/Vecna/One she'd be fit enough to be a track star. Never in her life had she ran as much, whether it was from her enemy or toward a friend in need.

Ben Waters had propelled out of the trailer like a bat out of hell, coincidentally toward bats in hell, in a brave but incredibly idiotic attempt at diverting the demobats attention away from his friends. He intended to lead them on a goose chase across the Upside Down, having grappled for one of the bikes they had earlier left behind and pedalling faster than lightening into the abyss. He left behind a stunned Ringo and Eddie, who didn't have to think twice about giving him back-up as they chased after him.

Ringo let out a rough shout of frustration when Eddie too hauled a stray bike out of the dirt and launched himself onto the seat, taking off after him and leaving her behind without the ability to ride one. With no other choice, she was forced to sprint as fast as she could in the direction they had been heading, even if it meant she'd be sorely lagging behind.

Further ahead, Eddie was muttering complaints and frustrations aloud about Ben's actions.

"Little asshole, I'm going to wring his neck for being so goddamn dumb," Eddie huffed. An ache began to spread in his thighs from how hard he pedalled the bike, now only just being able to make out Ben's figure further ahead with a cloud of demobats at his tail. If they were to turn and gun for Eddie instead, he'd be screwed.

He hadn't thought twice about trying to help the boy. Pure instinct and loyalty had him hurtling forward. As much as he had laughed off the notion of ever being a hero, this was his friend. The same Ben who didn't speak his first two weeks in Hellfire club, fearing everyone would hate him. The same Ben who harboured Eddie at his house without hesitation, despite his fear of the law and the repercussions that would have came with it. He wasn't going to let Ben fall victim to this murderous bastard as Chrissy had, both as innocent and undeserving as the other.

Even further ahead, the Waters boy was doing something even more uncharacteristic than diving headfirst to save his friends. He was swearing.

Ben muttered the word 'shit' over and over to himself so many times it barely sounded like a word to him any more. His mother would scorn him for using such language, but his mother didn't have a couple dozen otherworldly creatures at her back ready to tear her limb from limb either.

Furthest back from the chaos, Ringo was doing her best to avoid all rocks and slithering vines that would send her tumbling face down to the ground. She was determined to not fall into a horror movie stereotype of a running protagonist that tripped suddenly as the killer chased them. But in the end, it wasn't an invisible rock or any other obstruction that toppled the blonde to her knees - it was pain.

It came fast and sudden, pinpointed inside her chest and feeling like a ball of fire had lit up inside of her. Ringo fell forward clutching her chest desperately to free herself of the pain, but without any visible cause it was impossible as she tugged her shirt down to search for a wound and came up empty. Like a penny dropping, or a light bulb turning on, she began to realise what was happening to her.

Whatever small piece of himself Vecna had placed inside of her, violently and disturbingly shoved down her throat, was somehow still connected to its original owner. Nancy and the others had made it to their destination and were currently setting fire to Henry, at Ringo's expense.

Letting out a soft cry of agony, she slumped forward against the dirt, fisting the shirt above her chest between her fingers as if it would relieve the pain. A few yards ahead, the bats that encircled Ben were suddenly squealing violently as they felt the same affliction. They laid off their attack and began to falter mid-flight, but not before one stray creature managed to swoop from the side and knock against the back wheel of Ben's bike, sending him hurtling to the ground.