Chapter Eleven: The Toss
"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied," Nancy reiterated. "Nobody deviates from the plan. No matter what."
They all nodded, a platoon of soldiers following their general's command. Thanks to Steve and Robin's choices at the War Zone, they looked the part—military jackets and camouflage marked them as ready for battle. Beth had tied her hair up with a bandanna, twisting it up in a low bun. A leather bomber jacket covered her Hellfire tee.
Technically, Beth thought, Max and her team were already in the thick of the fight, left alone in the Creel house to lure Vecna into his trance in the attic. She had serious reservations about the decision to leave Max with only Lucas and Erica as her defense, but the Sinclairs were stalwart in their choice: Lucas wouldn't leave Max's side, and Erica wouldn't be separated from her brother. "Do you think, if you had a sibling, you'd be that close with them?" Beth had asked Eddie when they dropped the three off in front of the crumbling remains of what used to be a beautiful house, a stained glass window in the door smashed in the corner. "Like, willing to fight monsters together kind of close?"
Eddie had smirked. "I think Erica doesn't trust Lucas to be enough of a badass to protect Max by himself. That girl's got enough attitude to bring down Vecna all on her own." He looked over at Beth. "She reminds me of you. Outspoken. Tough as nails. Definitely brought me down a few pegs when I first met her."
Beth smiled. She could relate. "Erica Sinclair, future Queen of Hawkins High."
"At the very least, future Queen of Hellfire." If there is a Hawkins High left to reign over went unspoken. Eddie's hands were slightly trembling as they pulled away from the Creel house. "It's just adrenaline," he'd insisted as Beth took one of his hands in hers. "I'm not scared."
"Right, why would you be scared," Beth quipped. "We're only going into an alternate dimension to kill a demonic being capable of snapping limbs with his mind."
Eddie hadn't responded to her sarcasm, just looked straight ahead with a serious expression. "No more retreating," he said under his breath. It was a mantra he repeated often, all the way to the trailer park, where they went over the plan: Once Erica signaled the Upside Down crew that Max had successfully baited Vecna, Beth, Eddie, and Dustin would lure the bats away and Nancy, Steve, and Robin would corner Vecna in his lair. Beth couldn't help but wish she could be part of the team that flambé'd Vecna; avenging Chrissy's death was still foremost in her mind. But the teams this way were even: three on each front.
They made their way into Eddie's trailer to brave the gate once again. Steve went through first, flipping and landing on his feet with a self-satisfied shrug. His smug moment as an action hero was short-lived as Beth followed, executing her own flip and sticking the perfect landing. "Maybe you could've been a cheerleader, too," she told Steve with a smirk. He grumbled as they brought the mattress out to act as a landing pad on the Upside Down side, and the rest of the crew climbed through the gate, alternating team members with tools being thrown through.
The strange vines that had crawled along the trailer ceiling at the gate's entrance covered the walls and floors of the Upside Down trailer, and Beth received several warnings about how these vines could alert the rest of the Upside Down monsters of their presence. "Everything's a hive mind," Nancy explained. Outside, the trailer park looked even more desolate than normal. Particles floated through the air, and the gray-blue atmosphere was shot through with neon red lightning at regular intervals. It was easily twenty degrees colder here than it was in the real world. It was exactly Hawkins if it had been reimagined as a nightmare.
"Listen," Steve said, right before he, Nancy, and Robin took off to the Creel house. "If things here start going south, I mean at all...you abort. Draw the attention of the bats, keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be heroes or something-"
"Steve, we got it. We know what the plan is," Beth said.
"We're just decoys," confirmed Dustin. "You can be the hero."
Steve nodded and was about to leave when Eddie stopped him. "Just…make him pay," he said, his eyes containing all the pain and sorrow from the last week. Steve nodded a final time before walking off with Nancy and Robin, their backs strapped with weapons and supplies.
"So, Bat Plan phase one?" Beth said to Dustin.
He nodded. "I'll see about getting power going to the trailer. Where there's lightning, there's electricity."
"And you're sure you know how to do this?"
"Please," Dustin said. "I built a radio antenna strong enough to reach Utah." He paused before saying, "I'm sorry about freaking you out before. About the government stuff? I just didn't want you to go in blind."
"I get that," Beth said quietly. "But after this is all over and done with, I'm still going to ask Nancy how she made that exposé happen. She managed to take on that faction of the government and live to tell the tale."
"It might not be fast enough to spare Eddie from time in prison."
"I know," Beth said sadly. "But look, first things first. Do you electrical thing, Ben Franklin." Dustin saluted and headed towards the trailer to find the generator, pulling insulated gloves from his jacket pocket. Beth turned her attention to Eddie, who was still watching the Vecna team as they receded into the woods.
"Are you jealous that you won't get a crack at Vecna?" she asked him, looping her arm around his. "In a way, he cursed you too."
"Yeah. I'm thinking about all kinds of things," Eddie said, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Like Harrington acting like we can't be heroes."
"He just doesn't want us taking unnecessary risks," Beth said. "Trust me, it's killing me not to be the one to burn that psycho's house to the ground. But that's teamwork. We've all got our jobs to do. Turning this trailer into a fortress, for example. Not everyone can be a flyer. Some people have to be the base."
Eddie looked at her in confusion. "Wait, who's flying?"
"Those are cheerleading terms. Also payback for every time you've said Mordor to me without explaining what the hell that is. And anyway," she added, "You get to have the mostfun out of anyone. Except maybe me, because I get to watch." Beth grinned at Eddie, who cracked a smile in return.
"Bada-bada-boom!" Dustin yelled from around the back of the trailer. "We've got power!"
They ran to check out the setup: Dustin had managed to rig part of a metal chain link fence to act as a lightning rod to spark the generator. "And you're sure this is safe, Henderson?" Eddie questioned.
"There's two safety guards, there and there," he pointed out. "Both would have to be severely damaged before the trailer becomes one giant bug zapper."
"Just how you want to describe something you're going to be standing on," muttered Beth. "A potential giant bug zapper."
"No time for doubts," Dustin warned her. "Phase two: fortress building." The three hurriedly gathered whatever materials they could to fortify the trailer. Scrap metal was drilled over the windows and the side door; more of the chain link fence was erected around the porch, with a gate allowing passage into the trailer. They stood back to admire their work. "Not bad at all," Dustin concluded.
"Now, for the fun part," Eddie grinned.
The three entered Eddie's room, where miraculously, the one thing that wasn't covered in vines was Eddie's electric guitar. "Jesus…It's like she was destined for an alternate dimension…" Eddie whispered in awe. He lifted the guitar away from the mirror. "Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?"
"And to think you were momentarily jealous of Harrington's job," Beth teased. She turned to Dustin. "Okay, grab every speaker you can find. We're going to need a lot of volume."
They gathered amps, speakers, cables and extension cords, and used the pickup truck alongside the trailer as a ladder up to the roof. Eddie and Dustin hooked up the equipment as Beth surveyed the view from atop the trailer, wondering if the sound would carry enough to lure the bats to them. No time for doubts, Beth reminded herself. Now they just had to wait for the signal from the Vecna crew.
"You nervous?" she asked Eddie, whose fingers were tapping along the neck of his guitar. "Because I don't think the bats will be able to tell if you screw up anyway."
He chuckled. "I know. This is just for me. One last hurrah in case the world ends," he said wistfully, looking out at the trailer park below. "If I go down, I'll go down shredding." Eddie looked at Beth, chewing his lip, his brown eyes tentative. "Hey, uh, if shit does go south…"
Beth inhaled sharply. There was something about his tone that made her heartbeat speed. She was unsure of what she wanted to hear him say next. "Yeah..?"
"Uh…thanks. For everything this week. Saving my life and shit."
She exhaled. "Um. Sure. You're welcome." What did I expect? Beth asked herself. She started to turn away.
"Oh, one more thing—"
She turned back around eagerly. "Yeah?"
Eddie tossed her something in a small case. "Earplugs. For you and Dustin."
Beth clumsily caught them, a tight smile on her face. "Sure. Earplugs. Good idea, thanks." She turned away, took a few steps, and then turned around again. If he doesn't say it, maybe I will. "Eddie?"
"Yeah?" His eyes met hers, and her heart stood still in fear.
If he doesn't say it back, I will throw myself off this trailer in embarrassment.
"Um…play good," she said awkwardly instead. "For Chrissy. It's the closest we'll get to revenge." Beth finally walked away, thrusting the earplugs at Dustin and trying to convince herself she made the right decision. If world does end, it won't matter. If it doesn't, then I've still got time.
The walkie-talkie dispatched the call to arms from Robin: "She's in. Move on to Phase Three."
"Copy that, initiating Phase Three," Dustin replied, connecting the last extension cord. "Hope they hear this." He cranked a knob on the main amp, feedback crackling through the speakers, and nodded at Eddie.
Eddie nodded back, pulling the guitar pick chain off his neck. "Chrissy, this is for you," he said, making eye contact with Beth as he said it. She smiled in encouragement, and he started to play.
It started with four chords, strummed out defiantly, before Eddie started in with the riff, his face serious in concentration. His fingers moved effortlessly along the fretboard. Beth watched with eyes wide; she hadn't seen him play since seventh grade, and of course she'd expected he'd be better now than he was then. But back then? Cute kid playing guitar.
Now? Absolute rock god.
The way he thrashed his head, the hair not held back by his bandanna flying. How his body bent over the guitar, pouring every ounce of energy into pulling music from the strings. Eddie leaned his foot against a small amp and threw his head back, euphoric and triumphant. Beth couldn't look away.
"Eddie!" Dustin turned to him, having spotted the bats. "Lockdown in T-minus 30 seconds!"
Eddie nodded and cast a look over to Beth. Her bottom lip was half-caught in her teeth, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her own fingers dug into her waist, desperate to keep herself alert and focused. His wicked little grin practically made her knees buckle.
"T-minus twenty seconds!"
Eddie launched into the guitar solo, his fingers somehow moving even faster. Beth reached out a hand to steady herself against an amp, losing her battle of self-control versus desire.
"T-minus ten seconds!"
Eddie's strumming hand was a blur, the body of his guitar held tight against his body. The notes were high and squealing. I could watch him like this forever…
Beth yelped as Dustin shook her back to attention, the bats rapidly descending on the trailer. Somehow her legs cooperated long enough to hop down from the trailer to the truck roof to the truck bed and down to the ground, the screeches of the bats filling the air. Dustin was first into the trailer, Beth holding back to watch Eddie slam the porch gate shut with just enough time to spare. As the bats crashed into the chain link, Beth's lips crashed into Eddie's, unable to deny herself this one small pleasure.
"I'm really starting to like metal," she offered as an explanation, in response to Eddie's amused grin.
"Jesus Christ you two, get inside now," Dustin yelled.
They were circled up, backs to each other, spears and shields at the ready, listening as the bats swirled outside. Beth wondered how long it would take before the bats lost interest in their fortress and made their way back to Creel house. If they did, the Vecna crew would have crucial minutes shaved off their window of opportunity. Suddenly there was a lull in the crashing and screeching.
"Hey dipshits!" Dustin yelled out. "Give up that easy, huh?"
Eddie shushed him. "Is that really necessary?"
"Maybe," Beth said. "If we want to keep them away from the Creel house…"
They heard movement above their heads. "They're on the roof…" Eddie whispered. The three followed the sound, until they all noticed a small air vent in the ceiling. Shit. We didn't cover those…
Dustin's voice trembled. "You don't think they can get through-"
The bats answered for him, one breaking through and baring his teeth in a snarl. They wasted no time in striking back, stabbing at it with their spears. But as soon as one seemed to be defeated, another took its place. Bat blood rained down, splattering against their faces and weapons, but the horde was relentless.
"Move out of the way!" Eddie yelled suddenly, dragging a chair over below the vent. He stood on it and slammed his spiked shield over the hole, stopping the bats in their tracks. He'd used enough force that it actually stayed when he took his hand away.
"Nice," Dustin said breathlessly, raising his hand for a high five.
Beth grabbed her shield. "How many more vents are there?" she asked Eddie, and he pointed down the hall towards his room. Ignoring his pleas to slow down, she charged towards the door, hoping the bats hadn't figured out there was a second way in. Beth burst through the door, and for a split second she thought she'd made it in time.
A screech and a flurry of wings made her shriek in fear, and in moments Eddie pulled her back out of the room by her waist, slamming the door shut.
"Okay…that was way too close," Beth panted. She turned to Eddie. "We have to call it. We have to go back through the gate."
"Has there been enough time?" Eddie asked. "The Vecna crew needs us to hold them off-"
"Eddie, the bats are inside the trailer," Beth reiterated. "Shit has officially gone south. We did what we could and hopefully it was enough, but we have got to go."
Beth pushed Dustin towards the sheet rope and gave him a boost to get him started on his climb. The sound of the bats crashing into the bedroom door echoed through the trailer, Beth and Eddie watching for a breach with bated breath as Dustin made slow but steady progress. She resisted the urge to yell at him to hurry, her entire body bouncing with anxiousness to get to safety.
"Hey." Eddie caught her gently by the back of her neck, kissing her deeply. Beth pulled away in surprise. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, their heads touching. Above them, Dustin hit the landing pad and yelled for them to come through. "Go."
Beth turned and quickly pulled herself up the rope. She reached the divide between dimensions and started to turn in a flip when she felt the rope go slack. She looked back through the gate as she fell.
Eddie had his spear raised. His eyes were steeled, his lips moving in silence.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
"No, no, no, Eddie, what are you doing?" Dustin yelled, his voice cracking as Beth hit the mattress, looking up in shock. Her fists clutched the sheet rope, now frayed where it had been sliced. Her heart broke at the realization: He doesn't plan on coming back.
"Buying more time," Eddie shouted back. Dustin wailed at him to stop as Beth stood slowly, watching Eddie pull the mattress away before disappearing from view. Fear suddenly gave way to something else.
Rage.
This isn't happening.
"Dustin," she barked, grabbing him and holding his face to look at her. "I need you to focus, right now. You're going to toss me."
"What-"
She took his hands and lifted her right foot, showing him how to cradle it properly—strong enough to withstand her weight, but not so closed that her foot would get trapped. "I'm going to say 'one, two, down, up.' When I say 'down', you squat, like you're a spring. And when I say 'up,' you let that spring go, and you use every muscle in your body to throw me straight up, understand?"
"I can't-"
"Yes you can, Dustin, you have to. If you don't do this, Eddie will die." Beth roughly wiped his tears. "And once you do, you get to Creel House as fast as you can to meet up with Max and Lucas. This gate is useless now, so we'll head the Vecna crew off before they get here. We'll all meet up at the second murder site gate, do you understand?"
"That's not the plan-"
"The plan changed the minute he cut that goddamn rope," she yelled. "Now get ready. We have one shot at this." She looked up briefly, psyching herself up. Chrissy and Beth spent the last summer perfecting this move, Chrissy flipping Beth into her pool over and over again until she'd perfected the back tuck flip. One less revolution this time, so I land on my feet. Asshole couldn't even leave the mattress behind.
Beth looked back at Dustin, his face trying to look brave. "I'll bring him back. I promise." She took one last deep breath and braced her hands on Dustin's shoulders. "No time for doubts. One, two, down, up!"
Dustin let out a warrior's cry as he launched her, Beth pushing her foot against his hand to propel herself upwards. She tucked her knees to her chest as she felt the shift of gravity, turning herself in the air. There wasn't a single moment of doubt in her mind—just her body defying the laws of physics.
Beth landed, feet first, stumbling backwards only slightly. She sucked in air, the adrenaline now fully coursing through her veins. She looked up at Dustin, and they shared a delirious smile of relief. "Okay, Creel House. Go," she said, sprinting to the trailer door.
"Eddie?!" she screamed, crashing through the porch gate and looking around the trailer park frantically. She spotted him, speeding into the distance on a bike. A flock of bats trailed him. He was too far for her to catch up. Beth's mind scrambled to form a plan on the fly. She sprinted for the truck, clambering back up to the roof.
Eddie's guitar sat leaning against the amps. Beth hoped there wasn't significant damage done to the equipment and spun the dial on the main amp as loud as it would go. Feedback greeted her, all systems go for an encore. All you have to do is make noise, she told herself. Enough noise to lure the bats back. Beth looped the guitar strap around her shoulders and clumsily strummed at the guitar. It created an awful sound, terrible and frightening and deafening. Her hair had fallen out of its bandanna twist, and she shook it all the way free, desperately thrashing her fingers against the strings, feeling her fingernails crack. Below, she saw Eddie fall off the bike, rolling before getting back to his feet. "Come on, you shitty little rats with wings, come get me!" she screamed. Slowly Beth saw the flock turn to the noise. "Yes, yes, yes, this way, come sink your fangs into me," she taunted them, strumming faster.
Beth could hear Eddie screaming her name, sounding scared and angry. Let him be mad. It's his fault I'm up here. As the bats drew closer, she stepped back, trying to figure out an exit plan. As she backed up, the feedback whined loud and high-pitched. The lightning illuminated the winged monsters as they descended on the trailer, and in seconds she had figured out a course of action. Beth ditched the guitar in front of the amp, the feedback still going, and rushed to the back edge of the trailer. She estimated fifteen seconds before the bats landed. She considered the steep drop for only a second before swinging her feet over the edge and lowering herself until she had no choice but to freefall. Ten seconds before contact.
Beth landed hard, grabbed the biggest rock she could spot on the ground, and sprinted to the generator. She lifted the rock above her head before slamming it down, praying she had enough force to break those safety guards.
Above her, there was sizzling and unearthly screeching. She backed away from the side of the trailer to watch the bats fall, sparks flying from the amps. One giant bug zapper. Beth exhaled for what felt like the first time since she'd gotten onto the roof alone.
"Beth!"
She turned to see Eddie running towards her. She sprinted in his direction, determined to stop him before he accidentally got too close to the trailer.
"What the hell were you thinking," Eddie was yelling at her, grabbing her shoulders tight. "You were supposed to stay where you were safe—"
"What about you?" Beth screamed back, slapping at his chest. "You were supposed to come back through the gate. I agreed to visit you in prison, not a goddamn cemetery. You don't get to make me fall in love with you and then take on a suicide mission." Her anger dissolved into tears. "Don't ever scare me like that again, ever." She grabbed him tight around the waist and buried her face in his chest, her sobs shaking her body as he held her, his own breath ragged.
Beth and Eddie ran together through the woods, hands clasped together. They shouted for the three members of the Vecna crew, desperate not to miss them. They finally reached the Creel house, where Steve, Nancy, and Robin were gathered out on the front porch, staring down at a scorched spot on the front walk.
"What the hell?" Steve was not happy to see them. "What are you two doing here—where the hell is Henderson?"
"The plans changed. Dustin's fine—I think he's fine—he should be at the Creel house. The regular one," Beth panted.
"What do you mean, you think he's fine? Did you send him off by himself?!"
"I didn't have a choice, Steve," Beth argued. "We're meeting him at the second murder site gate. Did you get Vecna?"
"We…We did. Or we think we did," Robin said uneasily.
Eddie looked horrified. "You're not sure?"
"We hit him with two Molotov cocktails and five bullets," Nancy said. "His body should be right here." She indicated the scorch mark, her face a frustrated grimace. "Where the hell did he go?"
The ground suddenly rumbled violently, throwing the five of them off their feet. Beth looked up at the Creel house, a sickening split going down the middle. They dove out of the way as the split traveled down across the ground into the woods. They all looked at each other in fear. Another gate.
"Max."
The night became a blur of moments. Steve slicing through the newest gate with his axe, everyone emerging into Hawkins as quickly as possible.
Lucas, his face bloodied and screaming. Max in his arms. The smashed Walkman on the floor next to them.
"She has a pulse!" Steve gathering Max's broken body in his arms to carry her out. Everyone else lifting Lucas to his feet to follow.
Beth saying, "Use the Jeep." Everyone turning to her in confusion.
Her hard swallow as she fished a set of keys out of a Letterman jacket pocket. Tossed them weakly towards the group. "Jason's Jeep."
Jason's body lying on the floor. A shiny revolver inches away from him. The gate had cut him in half. Melted his torso. A grotesque mask of pain was left on his face.
Chief Powell found her there, kneeling next to his body after everyone else had left. Beth had chosen to stay until help arrived. She looked up at Powell, watching him take in the otherworldly horror. She only had one question.
"Do you still think Eddie Munson is capable of this?"