Against all odds || Stranger Things 4 | Hellcheer

Chapter 35

Eddie is in sheer panic. Despite the headphone on her ears blasting Against all odds loud enough for him to hear it too, Chrissy is lifting in the air!

"Why the music isn't working," screams Dustin next to him.

"I don't know! What do I do?!"

They wasted too much time changing the batteries of the walkman Dustin brought and Eddie is scared it's too late. Until now, Chrissy's trance had never lasted more than a minute before the song started playing. Yet, from the way she talked about her visions, it always seemed to last longer than that. How far deep into Vecna's trap is Chrissy after all this time?

With both hands on her shoulders, he tries to hold her down. Her face is at his height, bloodshot eyes, white iris, staring right at him although they can't see. Despair creeps inside him like a cold hand clenching around his guts. It's not working. He can't save her this time.

His body trembles. He wants to cry, to scream, to curl up in a ball and wait for this nightmare to stop. Please, please let it be a nightmare!

Then his brain flashes one foolish idea. He slips his hand on the back of her head, keeping his other arm around her shoulders to prevent her to rise up, and crashes his lips on hers.

***

Chrissy feels an odd calmness taking over her as Vecna's claw-like hand closes around her head. She shuts her eyes. Let it be quick so she can stop feeling all this pain. So she can reunite with Eddie. According to her mother's logic, they should both meet up in hell...As long as they're together, she doesn't care.

It's not so bad. Dying. Nothing like she expected. There's this warmth growing in her, slowly seeping through her body. A tingle on her lips. The warmth turns into a burn that rips open her chest. Her eyes flash open. She can see light pouring from her, bright, so bright it pushes Vecna away.

It swallows her whole, like a comforting blanket. She squints at the blinding light and when it finally dims, Eddie is holding her tightly against him. Kissing her.

They fall to their knees, breaking the kiss. She clasps her hand on his cheeks, sobbing, feeling his face. His eyes are wider than she has ever seen them. Shiny and bemused. Alive. She cries harder. She doesn't understand.

"It's okay," he says in a raspy voice, pulling her into a hug. "It's over. It's over. I'm here."

He keeps mumbling soothing whatnots and she needs all her strength to push herself away and articulate, "Are you real?"

***

Eddie's heart aches as Chrissy pats his face, repeating, "Are you real?" She's always overwhelmed when she breaks free from her visions but this is a whole new level. A cold anger rises inside him. What did Vecna use against her this time? This bastard is gonna have to pay, the sooner, the better.

He pulls Chrissy against his chest, "It's me, hun. It's really me."

His voice is still quavering from the dread of nearly losing her, he tries to make up for it by stroking her hair. She sobs loudly, holding so tightly onto him the headphones on her head are digging into his neck. His bruises start hurting again. He grits his teeth, keeps fondling her, whispering soothing words until her body stops shaking so hard.

From the corner of his eyes, he notices Dustin fidgeting next to him. He's surprised to find the boy's face streaked with tears. Eddie manages to stretch his lips into a tiny smile when their eyes meet.

"Are you okay," Dustin asks in a feeble voice after he lowers his stare on Chrissy.

If Eddie had room for him, he would have pulled the kid into his arms. He still has to thank Dustin for making an entire tape of "Against all odds"—that must have been a straining 120 minutes of recording—and bringin it in case Chrissy needed it. Chrissy who he can feel taking deep breaths and wiggling to move away from him. He only loosened his grip enough to give her space to turn her head toward Dustin after she rubbed her face on her sleeve.

Eddie presses a kiss on her hair but gets distracted—and distraunt—by the sound of Dustin's crying.

"I'm so sorry," weeps the boy, "I never forget to check the batteries, I never do. I don't know why I didn't check the walkman. I almost killed you!"

"Wow," both Eddie and Steve shouts at the same time.

"Slow down there, buddy," says Steve with his hand landing on Dustin's shoulder. "The only one who's responsible for this mess is Vecna. You hear me?"

Eddie nods emphatically, his stomach heavy with guilt. He didn't even think to bring a radio to make sure there'll be music at all time.

***

Chrissy blinks, confused. Moments ago, Dustin was claiming she wasn't one of them and now...She gently pushes Eddie's away to get up and freezes when she spots the familiar redhead face. Max gives her a queasy smile. Max is alive?

Chrissy feels dizzy. Scared. The muffled sound of Phil Collins' voice coming from the headphones that have slid down doesn't soothe her anymore. She crawls backward, heart pounding, digging the heel of her palms into her eyes. She saw Max dying, she felt the loss, the hurt. What if this is another of Vecna's tricks? To make her question reality. To drive her crazy.

Eddie's hands clasps on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Is something wrong?"

He looks so real, so Eddie, with his wide eyes bright with worries. The cut on his lower lip, the bandaid on his brow ridge, the marks on his neck where Jason tried to strangle him—she has looked at those bruises long enough to know them by heart. Can Vecna create a vision so accurate?

He lifts one of his hands to adjust the headphones on her ears, "You're safe now, it's okay," then strokes her hair. Did he do that while she was mourning Max? Or when Ana said all those mean things? She forces herself to think back. She can't remember but it might be the adrenaline messing with her brain. If only she could know when her vision started...

She slaps herself mentally, removes the headphones and asks Eddie. He frowns.

"Right when you stepped out of the Upside Down...why?"

The answer hits her so hard she has to lean onto him. The relief brings tears to her eyes. None of this was real! The pieces slowly clock together.

"What's going on," asks Dustin.

She meets his eyes, the same genuine care that she always sees in Eddie's. Before she knows, she pulls the kid into a tight hug, whispering, "Thank you for the music."