The Rescue Of Eddie Munson

Chapter 93

Notes:Please leave comments and kudos, they really inspire me and give me the fuel to continue writing.Managed to get the second half edited and ready so here ya go! 2 chapters, call it a solstice miracle!

Chapter 93

Dustin nodded gratitude clear on his face as he pressed his thumb on the button and spoke, his voice once more cracking "yea Suze... I'm ok.. So damn glad to hear your voice."

Suzie was quicker to respond this time, "me too my Dusty Bun! I've been so worried.. Hawkins is closed down! The government has declared a state of emergency but nothing that they're saying makes any sense! Earthquakes don't cause bats to fly like that in the daylight, or make them look like what the ones I saw."

You could've heard a pin drop as those words made their way through the minds of everyone in the room, heads shaking in denial.

"Fuck..." Dustin's succinct reply was a perfect reflection of my own feelings as I fought to control my fear imagining if the demobats continued to spread. Clearly Dustin hadn't realized his thumb had pressed the button once more and the reply was even faster. "Dusty! What is going on?! You are too smart not to know what's really going on."

Dustin eyes studied the others around the room, his gaze caught mine and Eddie's and we both shrugged caught unawares and unsure what to suggest. He then turned towards Jim and Joyce's his expression increasingly desperate and pleading.

Jim nodded reassuringly "Dustin you're a smart kid, and from what I've heard about this girl of yours, she's smart as hell, tell her."

Dustin nodded absently not fully processing the compliment. He took a shaky breath before pressing the call button again "alright Suzie..sugarplum this is gonna be a lot...let's switch to our channel and I need you to sit down, ok?" He ignored the scattered gasps and laughter at his use of her intimate pet name as he switched to their private channel on the walkie, pressed the button once more and began to sum up the Hawkins/Upside Down mess and their present situation.

It was a fair bit of time as the group watched in silence as they listened to Dustin telling the incredibly odd story that the group had come to call their everyday lives.

Once he'd finally finished Dustin was thoroughly winded as he sat down on the edge of the nearby mattress. He braced his hands on his knees, setting the walkie to rest on the mattress in front of him. He was so focused on his own breathing he didn't notice Steve sitting beside him to offer silent support. It felt like forever waiting for Suzie to reply. Finally another crackle of static announced her reply. "Dusty..I...I don't know what to say. If it were anyone else telling me something like this I'd think they were insane or a very talented storyteller. But after everything I've seen on the news alone.. and when you asked me about planks constant last year..your friends visit and the 'americantendo story'.. Dusty are you safe? I.. I don't even.."

Will, Mike, Argyle and Jonathan flailed their arms about rapidly stammering out an explanation about their need to find 'Nina' and to get to Brenner's lab and rescue El. El watched on giggling, her cheeks flushed thoroughly amused as she hadn't heard the full story yet.

Dustin watched on listening to the story with brows high as he took it all in before finally answering Suzie. "Yea Suze..I'm safe. We're all safe together at a cabin...we've uh got some protection to keep everything from getting to us. We're working on a way to take care of Vecna and be done with this... once and for all." It was clear that he was afraid to tell her all of the details of their plan because he knew it wouldn't help, she'd only worry.

Suzie's reply was soft and filled with concern, it was obvious that she knew there was a lot that Dustin wasn't saying. "Ok, Dusty... please be careful and try to radio when you can. I'm serious Dusty be careful I can't lose you!...I love you, Dusty."

His cheeks flamed, his heart in his throat at both her pleading and her declaration at the end. He stammered before finally responding "I'll be careful Suzie..I swear. Love you too my Suzie Q..."

As he release the call button he finally let go and allowed himself to feel. Tears tracked down his cheeks as the connection ended and he allowed the walkie to fall on the mattress, his shoulders slumped.

Steve placed a gentle hand on Dustin's shoulder "shit.. you gonna be alright Henderson? We're here for you.."

Dustin nodded slowly, a mix of heartache and relief clear on his face. He was so happy to hear her voice again..those words from her lips, especially after everything he'd seen but he hated to lie to her about how put together the plan was or how safe they actually were.

It was so painful to see Dustin suffering like this, Eddie and I both knew that being able to talk to Suzie might be bittersweet but we'd hoped it would be more sweet than bitter.

I called over to him "Hey Dustin..you did great. I know you didn't want to be so vague and pretty picture like that but I think you'll agree it was the best idea." Eddie nodded his arms tightened protectively around Red knowing full well that he couldn't and didn't want to imagine being in the same situation with her he added, "Red's right, you did good. Knowing every possible risk but not being able to do anything about them is hell. You took care of your girl. Now help us make this plan happen, that way you didn't lie to her."

Dustin managed a wry smile as he nodded reaching a hand up to take Steve's making sure he knew how grateful he was for his support as well. Taking in a big breath he sighed before pushing himself up to stand, Steve helped him as he stood as well, before moving to sit back beside Nancy.

Dustin walked over and sat next to Eddie and I before turning and asking his brow arched "alright so when we were walking in I thought I heard something about using paintballs guns against zombies? What crazy shit are you planning now Dungeon Mama?!"

Shaking my head at Dustins question, his sass clearly back in full force, "Alright smart ass... yes. Paintball guns against zombies. It's for the people in town, since we don't know if they're flayed or if they're just under Vecna's sway this is a good non lethal option." At his slightly horrified and confused expression I continued.

"Now we've got two good options to fill the paintballs the way I see it. One is a homemade pepper spray type of situation. The second would be more effective... but requires some additional risk."

The sputtering and confused look on Dustin's face didn't go unnoticed as he sat there with a similar expression to my explosive arrows we'd tested what seemed like forever ago. A mix of terror and excitement as he tried and failed to find the words "Umm.."

Shaking my head at Dustin I directed my attention towards where Robin and Lucas sat as I continued, "If I'm not mistaken... when we drove to get you Lucas, I saw an animal hospital on the outskirts of town not far from here. Animal hospitals have ether, as well as medical supplies that we'll probably need in this big battle." I glanced around at the rest of the room, my heart racing, cautiously hopeful, worried that they'd think I'd finally gone insane.

 "I'm sorry, you want us to shoot what are basically zombies..with paintballs filled with pepper spray and ether?!" Murray called out, from where he stood in the kitchen his eyes wide, a knife in hand paused in air from chopping tomatoes. Turning his attention towards Eddie he added, "Kid..I think your wife might be slightly insane.." his expression a mix of jealousy and amusement.

Eddie chuckled as he placed a soft kiss against my neck before responding "I mean..."

I clicked my tongue against my teeth, pursing my lips as I glanced out of the corner of my eyes at him and his hesitation.

Eddie sputtered choking back some laughter as he finished speaking, his arms hugging me tight as he turned his attention more towards me. "Of course you're not insane sweetheart..but this idea is out there...but then again so's all of this shit so..."

A wry smile crossed my lips as I nodded, bobbing my head back and forth. "Alright thats fair... but I mean does anyone else have any other ideas?"