The Freak and the Cheerleader
Chapter Six: The Distraction
Beth left the boathouse just as the sun was starting to rise. When she pulled up to her house, it occurred to her she hadn't slept in her own bed for five days. She took a long, slow shower and stood in her bedroom for a long time, wrapped in a towel and staring at herself in the mirror. Today is my best friend's funeral. The words echoed in her head, feeling like a foreign language. Beth's gaze went right to a photograph of herself and Chrissy, back when they first joined the cheerleading squad. We were supposed to graduate this year. Instead we're burying you, Chrissy. And nobody even knows the truth. Nobody but me. Beth sat on her bed, considering her cheer uniform. After today, she didn't think she'd ever want to look at it again.
Once Beth pulled into the church parking lot she sat in her car for a long time before finally getting out. Mourners milled around the entrance. She spotted Amber and the rest of the cheer squad filing into the church, identical in their white cheer jackets with green trim. Beth couldn't even muster the indignation of being left behind. It already felt like they weren't her squad anymore.
"Beth."
She turned to see Jason approaching her. His blue eyes look haunted. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Jason…hi," Beth said slowly. "I've…I've just been laying low. Since everything happened." She thought about attempting a hug, but there was coldness in Jason's stare. "How have you been holding up?"
"You would know if you hadn't disappeared."
"I'm sorry," Beth said. "I just…haven't wanted to see anyone. Since Chrissy died."
"Since Chrissy was murdered."
She swallowed. "Yeah. Since she was murdered."
"What happened that night?" Jason asked. "You were supposed to drive her to Benny's."
"No, I wasn't," Beth said. "That wasn't the plan."
"It's what Chrissy said the plan was," Jason reminded her.
"Maybe you misheard her. Why do I feel like I'm getting interrogated?"
"I hear you've been defending her murderer."
Beth took a deep breath. Stay steady. "What are you talking about?"
"Amber told me you've been saying Eddie Munson didn't kill Chrissy." He spat Eddie's name like a curse.
"All I said was that it didn't make sense. Chrissy didn't even know him," she said. "Have the cops even named him as a suspect? Because if the police can't even say it was him-"
"You mean the police who say Chrissy was buying drugs?" Jason took a step closer to her. "I don't trust Chief Powell. He has no idea what's going on."
"And you do?" Beth challenged, finally looking him in the eye. "What are you, a damn Hardy Boy now?' Jason grabbed her arm suddenly, his grip like a vise. It chilled Beth. "Jason, you're hurting me…"
"I am so damn tired of your attitude. What happened to you?" Jason said. "We never really got along, but I at least thought you cared about Chrissy."
"I do care about Chrissy," Beth hissed, yanking her arm free of Jason. "I'm just not insane enough to go around hunting people because I think they're possessed by the Devil or some shit."
"You read about it all the time," Jason warned. "These kids get lost in the game, and they can't tell reality from fantasy-"
"You're the one who sounds lost right now. When was the last time you slept?"
"How can I sleep when my girlfriend is dead and the monster that killed her is free?"
Jason's eyes were manic now. Beth wasn't without sympathy. He wasn't even wrong about the supernatural having to do with Chrissy's death. She chewed her lip. Maybe I can tell at least part of the truth… "Jason, do you want to go somewhere and just…talk? I don't want to fight. Chrissy wouldn't want us to fight," she added.
"We can't go somewhere and talk. We have to go to Chrissy's funeral," Jason said curtly.
"But-"
"Beth, for once in your life, can you think about other people? Chrissy's parents? Her little brother?" Jason sneered at her. "You haven't even been to their house to see them since it happened. I know you've always been a selfish bitch, but this is low even for you."
Beth inhaled sharply. "That's not fair. You know I miss her just as much as you do-"
"I don't know that," Jason cut her off. He turned to walk up the steps of the church.
"I was the one who said something was wrong with her," Beth reminded him loudly. Jason slowly turned back to face her. "The whole week before she died. You brushed me off. You wouldn't listen to me!"
"Lower your voice, Beth," Jason said, his cold stare sending a shiver down her spine. They stared each other down for a moment. "I don't think you belong here." He turned away one last time, leaving Beth alone in front of the church. Tears welled in her eyes. For once, she and Jason agreed on something.
"I'm sorry, Chrissy," Beth whispered before turning away, drifting away from the church.
Beth walked through town slowly, Jason's accusations echoing through her head. It's all bullshit, she reminded herself. Chrissy was like a sister to me. Even so, his words needled her. She'd hidden for two days before going back home. She never did go to the Cunningham's. But how could she face them without telling them what she knew? Without Chrissy's parents dismissing her horrific story as a hysterical delusion?
Then there was the role Chrissy's parents played in the whole Vecna attack to begin could not imagine explaining it without including that wrinkle. Mrs. Cunningham's constant pressure to lose weight. Mr. Cunningham's failure to defend his daughter even 'd never stand for Beth laying the blame for Chrissy's death at their feet.
It's not like I ever told anyone she had bulimia until it was too late.
Beth was supposed to be Chrissy's biggest protector. So why hadn't she protected Chrissy from herself? She could have told Jason, she could have told anyone on the squad. The school counselor. Instead I decided to take it on myself. How'd that one work out? With Chrissy broken in pieces, emotionally and physically. She thought she'd been doing the right thing by keeping Chrissy's secret. She didn't want to betray her best friend.
Or I just didn't want to do the hard thing.
It would have been hard to speak up about Chrissy's eating disorder—but it might have saved her. It would have been hard to go to the Cunninghams after Chrissy's death—but they deserved that much in their grief. It would have been hard to go into that church after Jason laid into her—but what sick person doesn't show up to their best friend's funeral? Beth was starting to realize she'd never done anything hard in her entire life. She'd just thrown fits until she got what she wanted. She'd rather blame other people for her mistakes than try to fix them. And now she was alone. The cheer squad didn't need her. She felt like a stranger in her own home. She'd only had one real friend. And she's gone now.
Beth had reached the wooded outskirts of town, following the road that led up to Lover's Lake. Back to my little hiding spot, she thought ruefully. The thought of Eddie there almost made her smile—but how can I smile right now? Chrissy had been , Eddie needed protection, and of course, Eddie wasn't guilty, but did that give her the right to fall in love with him now?
Love?
It had been five days since Chrissy died. Five days in a tiny shack with the only other person who knew the gruesome truth—someone she'd been terrible to for years. Someone who couldn't leave without being arrested. Six days ago, they wouldn't have willingly been in the same room together. How could she call it love under circumstances like this? It was a distraction from harsh reality on her part, Stockholm Syndrome on his part at best. He'd kissed her goodbye when she left that morning, and it had felt so nice, but how could she expect it to be real? God knows he'll be sick of me soon. It always ends up like that.
When Beth reached the boathouse, she kicked the door jamb in the rhythmic way they'd agreed on as a signal before entering. Eddie looked up from where he sat, doodling in his notebook. "Hey," he said. He checked his watch. "You're back earlier than I thought you'd be."
"I didn't go."
"What?"
"I…I didn't go. I couldn't go in." Beth let her jacket slide off, feeling heated from the walk uphill to the lake. "I got there and Jason found me and he said all this shit and-"
Eddie stood up quickly. "What is that on your arm?" Beth looked down and noticed a mark on her left forearm. Right where Jason had grabbed it. "Did he do that to you?'
"I—He grabbed my arm. I didn't even realize-"
"He put his hands on you?!"
"It's not a big deal, Eddie."
"Beth, he left a bruise-"
"Maybe I deserve it!"
A deafening silence engulfed them as Eddie stared at her, horrified. "Beth…"
"I mean I know he's an asshole but he didn't say anything about me that wasn't true," Beth continued, pacing around the boathouse in her nervous energy. "All he knows is his girlfriend is dead and her best friend just…bailed. I didn't show up for anyone. That day, when I first found out Jason was looking for you; I could have tried to find him. Talked to him then. If I had tried, he might not be so insane now. I almost tried to tell him about Vecna," she said. "Right there in front of the church! Because even if he's gone full psycho vigilante, he deserves to know the truth! And so do Chrissy's parents! I still haven't seen them once since it happened! Instead I'm blaming them for leaving Chrissy vulnerable to Vecna's attack. What the hell is wrong with me? Where do I get off judging them? Yesterday they were preparing to bury their daughter. And what was I doing yesterday? Making out with a guy in a boathouse like everything's normal!"
"Wow. Not even twenty-four hours before you start regretting that," Eddie muttered.
"No—I—" Beth buried her face in her hands, roaring in frustration. "Perfect. Now I'm pissing off the one person who's been putting up with me this whole week. How many more bridges can I burn today? You're the one who's trapped and being hunted, and I'm bitching because I've made a mess of my own life. A complete and total mess. Do you know when I got back to this shack, it felt like home? What the hell is wrong with me?" Beth hadn't realized she'd started crying. "I'm sorry, Eddie. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
"I shouldn't have said that." Eddie walked to her and wrapped his arms around her in an apologetic hug. "I really shouldn't have said that."
"Why not? I deserve it."
"The only thing you deserve," Eddie said, chin resting on top of her head, "is the chance to kick Jason's ass yourself. You can't let him get inside your head. He doesn't know what you've been through."
"I just…feel so overwhelmed," Beth mumbled. "And guilty. You shouldn't have to stand here and comfort me. You've got your own problems. Way bigger than mine. And I've been so awful to you…"
"Well first of all, I'm not great at comforting people, so it'll probably be a wash," Eddie said. "And secondly, you've more than made up for all the shit in the past. And I don't just mean yesterday," he added quickly as Beth turned her head to give him a look of reproach, "I mean, you've pretty much dropped everything to be my guard dog. I honestly feel like I'm ruining your life-"
"You're not," Beth insisted, voice wavering.
"Okay, see what I mean, I'm trying to comfort you and you sound like you're gonna cry again," Eddie said. "I'm obviously very bad at this."
"You're not that bad," Beth reassured him. She took a deep breath. Being in Eddie's arms made her feel steady again. Even if it didn't make any sense, she didn't want to lose this. "I think you're the only thing that makes me feel sane anymore."
"Yeah, that is not a good sign," Eddie said, making Beth giggle. "I should not be anyone's benchmark for sanity."
"I love this song."
Beth and Eddie had been lying on the floor for hours, their jackets bunched up as makeshift pillows. After much debate, they had decided it was a low risk to put the radio on, volume down as quiet as they could, right next to them. "The lyrics are sad, but the music sounds happy," Beth continued, her head on Eddie's chest, his fingers running lazily through her hair.
"Never heard it before."
"How? They used it in the Pretty in Pink soundtrack."
"Beth," Eddie said, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Do I look like someone who went to see a movie called Pretty in Pink?"
"I'm just saying, it's a popular song," Beth said, rolling her eyes.
"Who sings it?"
"Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark."
"Oh, now you're messing with me," Eddie laughed. "What kind of band name is that?"
"What kind of band name is Iron Maiden?" Beth countered. "What does it say about the music when even the people who play it equate it to a medieval torture device?"
"At least it's easy to yell at concerts." Eddie raised his fist like he was onstange. "Thank you, Indianapolis, we are Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark!"
"Shh, you're talking over the entire song," Beth giggled, covering his mouth. Eddie pulled her hand away and held onto it, their fingers intertwining. She sighed. She wanted so much to just enjoy being with him. But in the back of her mind, always, was a sense of guilt. "Is it dumb to say how much better I feel when we're arguing over band names? It sounds horrible, but…I like when I get to ignore all the shit happening."
"I was ten when my dad went to prison," Eddie said. "At first, I spent all my time listening to my dad's records. Led Zeppelin, mostly. Then, I was listening to one of their songs, and I realized they were saying things I'd never heard of before. Mordor. Gollum. I bugged Uncle Wayne about it, asking if he knew what it meant, and the next day he handed me a copy of The Hobbit. I devoured it." Eddie smiled at the memory. "Couldn't get enough of it. I didn't have to think about how my dad was gone and I didn't know when I would see him again. Or the fact that I had to live with my uncle or how everyone acted weird around me at school. I could just go on an adventure. Uncle Wayne was amazed that I was reading a book willingly. My point is," he said, "sometimes you need to escape the shit you're in to survive it."
"Yeah. That's exactly how I feel right now." Beth closed her eyes, trying to let go of the guilt. For two minutes, just let everything go. No Jason, no funerals, no Vecna… "Hey, wait. Have you heard from the Vecna gang?"
"I radioed them earlier for a food delivery-"
"Did they say anything about Max?" Eddie looked confused. "Max? Vecna's potential next victim, Max?"
"Oh. Shit, right. They didn't," Eddie said. "I'm assuming that's good news."
"You assume? So you didn't ask?"
"I'm pretty sure they would have told me if Max was dead," Eddie told her. Beth was about to press more when they heard a car door. "Probably them now with the food. You can examine Max yourself."
Beth got up from the floor and went to the window, careful not to be in full view herself. She saw an all too familiar Jeep parked next to Reefer Rick's house. Her heart stopped. "Eddie, stay down."
Eddie sat up, looking at Beth with concern. "What's going on? Who is it?"
Beth looked back at him, the color drained from her face. "Jason."
Eddie's eyes went wide. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit...I think I left the door open."
Beth blinked in shock. "What are you talking about—did you go in Rick's place?! Somebody might have seen you! Probably did, considering Jason finally found us!"
"I was hungry-"
"Why are you always hungry, Eddie?!"
"I've been very stressed out Beth!" He crawled quickly to get to the walkie-talkie, mumbling, "She gives me one salad and thinks I'll never be hungry again." Eddie pulled the antenna up and began radioing Dustin. "Hey, you there? It's me, Eddie. You remember me, right? I think we might be in real trouble here, so if anyone's there..? Wheeler?" He smacked the radio in frustration. "Anybody?"
Beth watched cautiously out the window as Jason led the way into the house, Patrick and Andy behind him. They had weapons—a tire iron and baseball bats. They'll kill him if they find him. She ran down the options in her head. Her car was still parked at the church, so running for it and driving Eddie out of town wasn't on the table. There was the boat—but it's still light out, people will see us, and where would we go after that? She looked at Eddie, the fear on his face breaking her heart.
"I'll go."
Eddie looked at her incredulously. "What?"
"I'll go in. I'll distract them. I'll get them to leave."
"Beth, are you insane?" His voice cracked with terror.
"You said it yourself, I'm your guard dog. This is exactly why I'm here in the first place," Beth reminded him. "The Scooby-Doo gang is off doing whatever the hell they're doing, so it's up to me. I can do this." Beth went to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "You just stay here and wait until you see the Jeep leave. I'll probably have to go with them, but I'll come back. I promise."
"Please, don't go—Jason already hurt you," Eddie pleaded.
"And this is my chance to hurt him back, if it comes down to it," Beth argued. "I'm not gonna sit in here and wait for them. Besides," she said slowly, "Andy is still technically my prom date. So the odds of him hurting me are low. I'll just focus my efforts on him."
Eddie sputtered a bit. "How…How exactly do you plan on distracting him, Beth?"
"Wha-Now is not the time to get weird and possessive, Eddie! I'm going and that's final." Beth kissed him quickly on the lips to pacify him and swiftly made her way out the door, grabbing her purse on the way out. She shook out her hair and reapplied her lipstick as she stealthily made her way towards the main house. Beth made a mental apology to Eddie as she adjusted her cheer uniform for maximum cleavage and rolling the hem of her shirt up to expose just a bit of midriff. It's not my fault guys are easiest to lead when they're horny.
She paused briefly at the steps leading to the porch, quickly getting her story straight in her head. She smoothed her cheer skirt, and slowly walked through the door. In truth, she didn't want to face Jason if she didn't have to. She crept through the house, praying she could find Andy first.
By a stroke of luck, she found him alone in the kitchen. "Beth?" Andy said, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I went for a walk around the lake after Chrissy's funeral. To clear my head," Beth said. "And then I saw Jason's truck and I thought I'd check out what you guys are doing." She offered him her sweetest smile, standing with her hip jutted out to the side. Andy couldn't help looking her up and down. It was pathetic, but helpful in the current situation. Beth had only agreed to go with him to prom because Chrissy and Jason wanted them to all drive together. Jason had also suggested that Beth and Andy would make a decent couple because Andy was the only asshole big enough to tame her. Chrissy had to do a lot of work to calm Beth down after that comment.
"We're hunting a Freak," Andy said, looking a little too proud of that fact. "Do you know whose house this is?"
"No…"
"It's Reefer Rick's. The Freak's supplier."
Beth screwed up her face in a skeptical expression. "Really? Drug dealers have lake houses?"
Andy shrugged. "Jason will be surprised to see you here."
"Yeah…I know. We got into a fight because…I haven't been a good friend to him. After Chrissy's death. It's just been so hard," Beth said, leaning into the helpless girl angle that she hated most. But Andy was your typical jock—he thought himself a knight in shining armor, when really he was a douchebag in a baseball cap. "I know I've been a bitch…You'll protect me if he gets mad, right?" She put a hand on his arm, looking up at him with big doe eyes. With anyone else Beth would expect them to see through her bullshit act. But in addition to being a douchebag, Andy was a dumbass.
"Of course I will, babe," he said, resting a hand on her hip and grinning. Beth forced her smile to stay put.
She took a step back and started wandering into the living room. "Do you think they'll still have prom?" she asked. "Part of me feels like no one should be allowed to have a prom when Chrissy is dead, but I've been thinking we could have a whole memorial to her. She'll be Prom Queen, obviously. A real big portrait of her up front. We bought our dresses together a week ago," Beth said, turning back to Andy. "She looked so pretty in her gown." She gave him a wicked smile. "My dad hates the gown I picked out. Know why?"
Andy leered. "Why?"
"It's got this like, really low neckline…" Beth trailed her finger down her chest, and just like that, she had Andy completely under her thumb. His tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth. "Anyway, you'll see it at prom. If there's still a prom."
"We should definitely have a prom," Andy agreed. "With the memorial, like you said."
"Do you think Jason would agree to it?" Beth asked, pouting in fake doubt. "He's just so upset about Chrissy. And of course he would be. But I don't think Chrissy would want him to be sad forever. She loved him and wanted him to be happy."
"I'll be happy enough when the Freak is dead." Beth turned to see Jason standing in the doorway, her heart suddenly pounding in fear. He looked at her curiously. "How did you end up here?"
"She was out for a walk and saw your Jeep," Andy said. Jason looked ready to dispute the coincidence of it all, but Beth wasted no time. She flung her arms around his shoulders in a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Jason," she said, mustering up as much sincerity as she could. "Everything I said at the funeral…I was wrong. You were right. I haven't been a good friend at all." After her breakdown earlier that day, it wasn't hard to be honestly apologetic for certain things. "I guess I was just…in shock. I've been friends with Chrissy since kindergarten. I can't imagine life without her, you know?"
Jason awkwardly patted her back. "I know…it's not your fault. It takes an extremely strong person to think clearly in times like these. I don't blame you for falling apart." Let that one go, for the love of God, Beth begged herself. You need to take his insults if Eddie is going to live.
"So is it just you two here?" Beth asked, finally letting go of Jason.
"Patrick's around," Jason said. "We should spread out, if we're going to find this Freak-"
"Wait," Beth said. Jason narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I…I know I wasn't in the right frame of mind at the funeral today. But I want the chance to memorialize Chrissy. Talk about how much she meant to me. How much you meant to her." She swallowed. "Can we all go back to my house and just talk? Have an evening where we just focus on Chrissy? And her memory?"
"That's a nice thought," Jason said slowly. "But it will have to wait. I'm not resting until Eddie Munson is found."
"You should stick with me," Andy told Beth, taking her arm. "I'll make sure that Freak doesn't hurt you the way he did Chrissy." Beth tried not to sigh too audibly as she allowed herself to be led through the house.
The hours ticked by and the sun set as the three boys and Beth wandered from room to room, Beth trying to keep tabs on everyone's movements without being conspicuous. Andy tossed things around haphazardly as he searched. Yes, Eddie is definitely hiding in one of the dresser drawers, Beth thought to herself as he rifled through pants and shirts in the last bedroom. She sighed. "Guys, I don't think he's here."
"Look again," Jason ordered, stalking into another room.
"Andy," Beth whined as they started back at the beginning, in the kitchen. "Don't you think we should leave now? It's been hours. I'm bored. We should go back to my house. My parents aren't home," she added in a sly tone, tugging at Andy's arm. "I can tell Patrick is ready to leave too. Let's just tell Jason we're done."
"Jason won't be satisfied until he's got that Freak's head on a platter," Andy said. "And Patrick's just spooked. He thinks the Freak cursed us all." He laughed in an imitation of a monster's cackle, grabbing at Beth's sides for effect. She forced a laugh.
"That's so silly….Cursed how?" Beth had a bad feeling about this.
"Oh you know…The Freak's got a whole Satanic cult. They probably do ritual sacrifices of virgins. At least you're safe there, huh Beth?" Andy slapped her ass, while Beth used all her strength to not kick him in the balls. "Patrick's just being dumb, but I bet they dress up in robes and shit, chanting to the moon. Carving up girls who would never sleep with them."
"That's sick, Andy."
"It happens, Beth. That's why Jason's not gonna let this go. That Freak murdered Chrissy, and until that Freak is dead-"
"Eddie didn't do this." Beth was finally out of patience. "Eddie Munson doesn't have a cult, he doesn't murder people, he's just a nerd who likes a dumb game where you have to roll dice before you even take a breath."
It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room. She watched Andy's expression change. Shit. "Jason said you'd been defending him. I didn't want to believe it." Andy took a step closer to her, his eyes narrowed. "You know something, don't you?"
"I don't know anything," Beth said nervously, taking a step back. "I just-"
"Jason," Andy yelled. "You should get over here. Now." He turned away from Beth, moving to find Jason. She eyed a pot on the stove, bits of Spaghetti-Os stuck to the sides. She grabbed it and swung at the back of Andy's head.
Bam. Andy went down. Beth put the pot back on the stove and sprinted out the door, running for the boathouse. Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears. She'd completely screwed everything up.
"We gotta go! We gotta go!" Beth said urgently as she burst through the door.
Eddie was crouched near the boat, the walkie-talkie in his shaking hand. "What happened?"
"I just assaulted my prom date. Get in the boat now!" She grabbed her jacket and the oars and hopped in, Eddie untying the boat and clambering in after her. They paddled frantically.
"Wait, this thing has a motor," Eddie noticed suddenly, getting up to try starting it. It did nothing in response.
"Eddie, forget the motor, it probably doesn't even have gas in it," Beth hissed. "Just help me paddle!" Eddie ignored her, desperately yanking at the pull cord and swearing. "Eddie, for the love of God, we don't have time-" She stood up to pull him back down before he capsized the boat.
"Beth!"
They both looked at the shoreline where Jason stood, eyes blazing. Patrick stood behind him. Beth momentarily wondered if she'd actually killed Andy. "You traitorous bitch!"
"Paddle!" Beth screamed, slashing the water with her oar. She heard the splash of Jason and Patrick diving into the lake. Eddie continued his frantic swearing as he paddled next to her.
"They never goddamn answered," Eddie was saying.
"I told you Steve Harrington was useless," Beth growled. "If I ever see them again, I'm going tokick all their asses, one by one, starting with The Hair!" She turned to check Jason's progress. Damn him and his time on the swim team. He was gaining on them, Patrick not far behind. Patrick. He thinks he's cursed. Beth stopped rowing for a minute and turned around.
"Jason! You have to listen to me!" she yelled. "The thing that killed Chrissy—it's not what you think! You have to trust me on this!"
"Really, Beth? You're going to do this now?" Eddie said through gritted teeth, paddle still going as fast as he could row.
"Why should I listen to you?" Jason yelled back. "You betrayed me! You betrayed Chrissy!"
"Hey, come say that to my face, asshole!"
Eddie stood and grabbed the back of her shirt before Beth could lunge any farther towards Jason, yelling, "That is the exact opposite of what we want him to do!" He noticed Patrick lagging in the water just as Beth did. "Hey, what's up with that one?" Beth watched in horror as she noticed Patrick's eyes. Rolled to the back of his head, eyelids fluttering. Just like Chrissy.
"Patrick?" Jason had finally noticed too. "Patrick, what's going on? We almost have them!"
"It's happening again," Beth whispered to Eddie. "Vecna." Right on cue, Patrick's body shot up into the air, hovering eight feet above the water. The three stared up at him, speechless. One by one, his limbs began to twist and snap.
The boat lurched as Eddie fell into the water. Can he swim? Beth dove in after him, grabbing at his arms in the water. They resurfaced just as Patrick's eyes seemed to impode. Beth grabbed the boat and flipped it, ducking under with Eddie to swim as fast as they could to the opposite shore. The boat would provide cover, maybe even make people believe they'd both drowned. Jason's screams echoed across the lake.
The boat thudded against a solid barrier. Must be the shore at last. "Wait until I check the coast is clear," Beth said before ducking under the boat and slowly resurfacing. She saw nothing but the vague outline of the trees in the darkness. She lifted the side of the boat for Eddie and they climbed up onto solid ground. Beth had never felt so cold before in her life. "Eddie?" she said through her shivers. "Are you okay?"
Eddie didn't respond. He lay on the ground shivering, staring up at the sky. Beth shook him, and he turned his head to look at her. He still looked petrified. "Come on," she said, pulling him to his feet. "We should get farther into the woods." Beth dragged him along until she felt like they were far enough inland. It was so hard to see anything. Even if they had thought to grab the flashlight, it would be at the bottom of Lover's Lake now. "Eddie, is the walkie still on you? Eddie, come on, you have to talk to me," Beth urged, helping herself to his back pocket, where the walkie-talkie managed to stay. Of course, it was completely soaked and therefore useless. Beth fruitlessly slapped it a few times, praying she could just shake the water damage out of this particular electronic device. "Dustin, Nancy, anybody, do you copy? This is an emergency!" she pleaded, but the walkie-talkie was dead.
Eddie mumbled something. "What?"
"I ran away. Again."
Beth looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Of course we ran. They were trying to hurt us-"
"Beth, someone just died in front of me. Again," Eddie said. "And I ran away. Again."
"Eddie, I'm trying really hard to understand what your point is. Do you think you should have stayed there?" Beth asked. "We couldn't have prevented the Vecna attack, and we sure as hell couldn't fix it after the fact-"
"I—I don't know! Maybe we should have stayed behind!" Eddie said. "Helped Jason or-"
"Help Jason? The guy trying to kill you? You wanted to help that Jason?" Eddie ran his hand over his face in frustration. Beth couldn't tell if it was shaking from the cold or the fear. "I'm not trying to be insensitive to the death that just happened, but I still don't see how we had a lot of choice in the matter. Staying behind would have been dangerous. Even if Jason didn't kill you, the cops would have shown up-"
"Going in the house with them was dangerous. You still did it," Eddie said. "You did it alone. I let you go in alone. They could have hurt you-"
"They would have killed you," Beth repeated slowly, holding his face in her hands. "And for the record, nobody 'lets' me do anything. I thought you'd know that by now."
"I'm a coward, Beth-"
"Eddie," Beth said sternly, holding his shoulders a little harder from the icy stiffness in her fingers, "You said not that long ago that sometimes we have to escape the shit we're in to survive it. That's what we did. We survived it." She finally realized Eddie was crying, and she reached up to wipe the tears with her thumbs. "We have to keep surviving it, Eddie. We can do this." Beth wrapped her arms around him, wishing she had a better idea of what to do next.