RUMORS•eddie munson

3

Ziggy was partially relieved when Eddie kept his eyes on the floor in front of him as he recounted the death of Chrissy. If he had looked up he would have seen her sour face. She was never great at masking how she felt, which was why Dustin sent her a worried glance when he could see the skepticism and doubt written all over her face. Despite this, her hand never left his.
"You all think I'm crazy, right?" Eddie's free hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Ziggy's chest lifted with a deep breath before she slowly let it out, hoping it would ease her nerves.
"No, we don't think you're crazy." Dustin carefully whispered. Ziggy turned to look at him at the sound of true sincerity in his voice.
"Don't bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds!" The loud boom of his voice made Ziggy flinch back, loosening her grip on his hand. He gripped her fingers tightly just as they started to pull away. She squeezed back.
"We're not bullshitting you. We believe you." Max reaffirmed. The same sincerity hung in the air, making Eddie finally raise his head to look at the younger girl. Ziggy turned back to look at her as well, a dangerous glare covering her face.
"Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little...difficult to take." Ziggy tilted her head to the side, not sure where Dustin was going with this.
"Okay..." Eddie croaked out. Ziggys hand tightened around his once again.
"You know how people say Hawkins is cursed? They're not...way off." Ziggy started to shake her head softly. It seemed that Robin was the only one who noticed.
"There's another world; a world hidden beneath Hawkins."
"Hey." Ziggy whispered in warning, the shaking of her head becoming more apparent.
"Sometimes it bleeds into ours."
"Hey! That's enough! What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Ziggy now had everyone's attention.
"Ziggy, he needs to know the truth." Dustin shook his head in sympathy. Ziggy didn't even have the patience to laugh at his response.
"No, we do. He's obviously fucking traumatized."
"I knew you wouldn't believe me." Eddie retracted his hand from Ziggy's. She turned quickly, her face morphing from one of rage to absolute sympathy and care.
"No! No, Eddie I be-"
"I know what I saw." His wide eyes didn't blink as she reached out to him. He didn't offer his hand back this time.
"I know you know what you think you saw, but that's not what really happened. You're not lying, you're just-"
"Crazy?"
"In shock. You're in shock, Eddie, and we can't clear your name until we know what actually happened." When Eddie stared her down, she knew he wasn't going to hear her out. She sighed in defeat.
"Harrington?" Steve looked down at her with a frown. Her glassy eyes squinted up at him as she pinched her lips together. Ziggy nodded her head, pushing herself to her feet in anger. She began to walk towards the door before Dustin stopped her.
"What do you think happened with Will Byers?" Ziggy practically stomped as she turned to face the group again. She tilted her head and pointed at the youngest boy.
"Your friend that moved away and conveniently isn't here to speak for himself?" Steve threw his head back in frustration.
"This is why I didn't want to bring her."
"You're fucking with him!"
"No, we're trying to save him!" Dustin interrupted.
"Starcourt mall. Chief Hopper. Barbara Holland. It's all connected." Ziggy looked around at all of them. They truly, dearly wanted her to believe them, but she couldn't bring herself to jump to such ridiculous conclusions, despite the fact that they were starting to sway her little by little.
"Starcourt Mall burned down." She all but whispered. Dustin shook his head as if to say 'damn! so close'.
"With all of those people inside randomly in the middle of the night? Cmon." Ziggy's angry demeanor faltered. The bottom line was, whether or not they were being honest, they truly believed what they were saying. She looked down at Eddie from across the room. He looked like everything was starting to click.
"So, you're saying ghosts and demons killed all of those people?" Ziggy dropped her hands to her sides, giving up on arguing.
"No."
"There are some things worse than ghosts." Max clarified. Ziggy's shoulders began to soften.
"We thought they were gone, but they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you." Dustin turned to look at Eddie again.
"If they're back again, we need to know." With everyone's attention back on Eddie, Ziggy decided to take a step back, leaning on the wall behind her with crossed arms.
"That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked.
"Dark particles, maybe?"
"It would look like dust; swirling dust."
"No, man. It was nothing you could see or, uh...or touch." Eddie's voice lowered to a whisper.
"I tried to wake her. She wouldn't move. It was like she was in a trance or something."
"Or under a spell."
"A curse."
"Verna's curse."
"Who's Vecna?"
"An undead creature of great power."
"A spell caster."
"A dark wizard."