Hell on Earth

Chapter Eighty - Finding Watergate

Cynthia and Eddie got to shore. They pulled the boat onto land and hid it in the trees. Cynthia grabbed the radio and tried to turn it on. There was nothing. No blinking red light that showed it was working.

"Dammit!" Cynthia cursed. "The radio got fried when it fell into the water."

"Oh my god," Eddie was pacing up and down the woods. "Another person just died. Holy shit, another person just died."

"How are we going to contact them?" Cynthia muttered to herself.

"Another person just fucking died!" Eddie said.

"Eddie," Cynthia grabbed ahold of his shoulders. "Eddie, take a deep breath in." She did the motion and Eddie followed. "And deep breath out." Eddie followed her example. She cupped his cheeks. "I know what we just saw is horrifying. I'm pretty sure I'm in shock right now, but we have to keep moving. We have to tell the others what just happened."

"Okay," Eddie nodded. He still looked shaken, but at least he was calmer. "We can radio them. I caught it before it could sink."

"The water fried the radio," Cynthia said. "I tried to turn it on: nothing." Cynthia ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what to do."

"I might," Eddie said. "There's a construction site. My uncle has some buddies who work on the crew. They use radios. If we get one, we might be able to contact the others."

"That'll work," Cynthia nodded. "I remember the frequency Dustin always has his on. After that, we need to get someplace safe. Skull Rock should be good."

"Yeah," Eddie said. "Good, good, good."

"Let's get walking," Cynthia said. "This is going to be a hike."

The couple walked through the woods as night turned into day. Cynthia honestly just felt numb. She couldn't believe that was what Vecna's curse did to people. It was more terrifying than she ever could imagine. Cynthia played with the pick and ring on her necklace. She was just grateful that they didn't get lost in the lake. Cynthia was pretty sure she would have broken down if she had lost her gifts from Eddie. They made it to the construction site. Cynthia waited in the bushes while Eddie grabbed the radio. Once he had it, they made their way to Skull Rock. Cynthia didn't know if the hike was shorter or if she had lost all feeling in her legs, but they got there quicker in her mind. As soon as they got there, Eddie handed Cynthia the radio. Cynthia messed with the radio frequency.

"Hello," Cynthia said as she held down the button.

"Dustin, can you hear me?" Eddie asked as he leaned into the radio. "Wheeler?"

Dustin's voice came out of the radio, "Eddie, Cynthia, holy shit! Are you guys okay?" Cynthia just let out a sigh of relief and laid on the ground.

Eddie took the radio from Cynthia, "Nah man. It's pretty goddamn far from okay."

"Where are you?" Dustin asked.

"Skull Rock," Eddie said. "Do you know it?"

"Uh yeah," Dustin said. "Hold tight. We're coming."

Eddie put down the radio. He knelt besides Cynthia. She knew that he was worried, but she honestly had nothing left. Between seeing a boy get murdered and walking literally all night, she was empty and numb.

"Cynthia," Eddie looked at her. He softly shook her. "Are you in that trance?"

"I'm not cursed," Cynthia said. The only things she could see were Eddie's face and the blue sky. "I just don't know what to do anymore. No matter what we do, someone always dies."