Beth endured the questions Powell had for her. I heard Jason got a gun. I heard he was going to the Creel murder house. I was scared that he would hurt someone. That he'd hurt himself. I don't know why he wanted to come here. I don't know what happened to Max Mayfield.

"And that's when the earthquake hit?" Powell asked.

Beth looked at him, expressionless. "Yeah…the earthquake."

If Powell hadn't been inundated with radio calls from dozens of emergencies across town, Beth might not have been able to escape to the hospital. She took the bike Dustin must've ridden over to the house from the trailer park, left on the ground in front of the steps. As she pedaled away, it occurred to her that Powell never asked her where Eddie was. Maybe he'd given up. Maybe the opening of the gates finally meant Eddie was no longer a murder suspect.

Or maybe the cops already found him. Beth pedaled faster.

The hospital was already beginning to be overrun with people suffering the effects of what everyone assumed to be an earthquake. Beth zipped her jacket up over the Hellfire tee and fought through the crowd, calling out for her friends. She finally spotted Nancy, standing with Robin near a pair of doors leading to another hospital corridor. She hurried to their side. "Is Max…?"

"Breathing," Nancy said. "But just breathing." Max's eyes had looked white and glassy, blood seeping from the sockets. Her limbs were all broken. But she was alive.

"But I don't understand," Beth said. "If she's not dead, why did the gates-"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know. I don't understand either. Lucas was trying to explain but…" She didn't have to finish her sentence. Lucas had barely been coherent; it would take time before any of them knew exactly what happened in that attic.

"Where are the others?"

"Lucas is getting treated for his wounds. Erica's with him. Steve's going back and forth between Max and Lucas's rooms and trying to get their parents on the phone." Nancy pulled Beth in for a hug in order to hide the words whispered in her ear. "Dustin took him to a safe place. I can bring you there."

After making sure Robin was okay to wait there alone, they made their way out to the jam-packed hospital parking lot. Though most people were trying to enter the hospital, there was a small group gathered around a truck, its apparent owner holding court from the pickup bed.

"...Munson put this curse on Hawkins, and the best we can hope for is that the damn earthquake swallowed him whole!" Nancy circled her arm around Beth's, urging her forward.

"Prison would be too good for him," another added. Beth bit the inside of her cheek.

"If I ever lay eyes on that freak boy again-"

"You'll what?" Beth finally challenged, turning to face the men. "Add another teenager to the morgue? If you care so much about Hawkins, why don't you go do something useful instead of running your dumbass mouth from your redneck chariot?"

"Ignore them," Nancy whispered, pulling her away before she could argue more. They found the bike and rode off, Nancy steering and Beth riding the back pegs, towards the woods.

"I was ready to die tonight." Eddie said it calmly, almost laced with surprise.

Beth swallowed hard, curled up at his side. She had to ask, even if the answer terrified her. "Did you…want to die?"

His steady heartbeat under her hand marked the moments before he answered. "No."

They were in a cabin deep in the woods that had seen much better days. The roof was partially caved in, but there were beds and running water and even some canned food in the kitchen cabinets. Dustin had thought to bring one of the large lanterns the Creel House team had used, so there was at least an ambient glow. When they'd arrived, Dustin told them Eddie had been silent most of the time, deep in his thoughts. Beth had left Nancy and Dustin in the front room (Nancy arguing that Dustin should go home, Dustin insisting that he stay) to find Eddie lying on the bed contemplating the ceiling. She'd pushed the door closed and silently climbed in next to him, waiting for him to speak first.

"No, I didn't want to die," Eddie confirmed. "You called it a suicide mission, but it wasn't like that. I didn't do it because I wanted to die. I just felt…resigned to it? The bats were swarming, the Vecna crew needed more time, and I just thought, shit, alright, I guess this is it. I got you and Dustin out—or I tried," he amended, giving her the slightest of scolding glances, "because out of the three of us…I had the least to lose."

Beth thought back to the assholes in the hospital parking lot. "Hawkins doesn't deserve the sacrifice you were willing to make," she said.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Eddie sighed. "Not that it mattered in the end. The gates opened. Vecna might not have been defeated. Everything is chaos. Max-"

"Max is alive," Beth reminded him.

"But for how long?" Eddie wondered. "And what kind of life will she have if she lives? Christ, she's just a kid…" His voice broke. Beth stretched her arm across Eddie's chest to hold him. They lay in silence for a few minutes. "And now, I feel like I'm treading water again. I meant it when I said I didn't want to die, but damn…what now?"

I wasn't ready for you to die, Beth thought. She took a deep breath, searching for words. She found them in an unexpected form. "If you leave, don't leave now. Please don't take my heart away…" she whispered. "Promise me just one more night…then we'll go our separate ways. We always had time on our sides, now it's fading fast…"

Eddie turned his head, curiosity and amusement on his face. "Are you singing to me right now?"

"So what if I am?" Beth asked him. "Their band name may be stupid, but their lyrics are perfect." She sighed. "I…I always wondered. What would happen if I tried to talk to you again. If I tried to apologize. If you would have forgiven me. If we could have been…something. Friends. I don't know. But it was easier to just keep distance between us. Tell myself it was too late. That you'd always hate me. That there was no going back."

"I always wondered what I did to make you hate me," Eddie murmured. "Everyone else, I didn't give a shit what they thought. But you…I held onto this secret hope that there was some tangible reason. I was never brave enough to ask. It was easier for me to keep my distance, too."

"If only we'd gotten our shit together before the end of the world," Beth said.

"Ain't it always the way?" Eddie smirked.

Beth asked quietly, "Do you really think you've got nothing to lose?"

Eddie shrugged. "I'm staring down a prison sentence. My uncle probably skipped town. You know, I actually expected to find him in the trailer, when we first went back there?" Eddie chuckled. "We never really had a warm and fuzzy relationship, but…he's been there for me since I was ten. More dependable than my old man ever was. I guess I finally pushed things too far…"

"Maybe he's just staying somewhere else for now," Beth said. "The police probably don't want people living in a crime scene."

"He's one of those gruff, stoic types, my uncle. Works his shifts at the plant, enjoys a beer or two, lather, rinse, repeat. Nose to the grindstone. Believes in an honest day's work. Tried to undo the wild, rambunctious influence my dad had on me. Never really took." A smile crept onto his face. "Jesus, he was pissed when I walked into the trailer with my first tattoo-"

"The bats," Beth interjected.

"…Yeah. Damn. You were paying attention."

"You were the only fifteen-year-old at school with a tattoo, Eddie."

"I thought Wayne was going to take a vegetable peeler to my elbow. Managed to take his anger out on the guy who gave me the tattoo instead. He made sure I cleaned that thing every night so I wouldn't end up losing an arm to infection." Eddie chewed his lip. "He took in a kid when he had no intentions of ever having kids. Tried to raise him right. He probably deserves a break from that thankless job anyway."

Beth shook her head. Granted, she had very little experience with functional families, but Eddie's description of Wayne Munson wasn't that of a person who gave up on their kids. She rolled off the bed abruptly, heading to the door. "Beth?" Eddie called after her. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should've done much earlier." She found Nancy and Dustin sitting on the broken down couch, their earlier discussion at a stalemate. "Nance, up for a field trip?"

Beth's assumptions were correct: Among the throng of people gathering at the police station, jockeying to file reports of missing loved ones and damaged property, was Wayne Munson, uneasy in the crowd. Nancy pointed him out to Beth, walking slowly away from the station towards his truck. "I think we should figure out now what we're going to tell him-"

Beth ignored her, jogging to reach the truck. "Mr. Munson?"

He turned to her warily. Beth wondered how many snide remarks he'd endured this week. If Jason had harassed him. "Please," he warned her. "I'm in no mood for accusations or taunts—"

"Neither am I." Beth unzipped her jacket, the Hellfire shirt underneath a silent sign of alliance.

Wayne's eyebrows rose in recognition. "Who are y—why—"

"He's safe. I can take you where he is. We can take you," she corrected, as Nancy finally caught up.

The man's worn face was a mix of relief and worry. "Where has he been-"

"We'll explain as much as we can," Nancy promised. "We should go now."

Once inside the truck, Beth in the front seat and Nancy in the back, Wayne turned the ignition. "I don't understand why that boy didn't just stay. Why he put me through this hell-"

"We were scared," Beth said. "We knew it looked bad and we couldn't explain what happened-"

"I would have believed Eddie," he said with conviction. "He's family."

Beth looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. We should have tried to reach out sooner. I didn't want to take any risks."

"Did you know?" Wayne asked Nancy, peering at her in the rearview mirror. "When you cornered me for that interview?"

"No, I swear. I didn't know where Eddie was then."

"Well?" Wayne asked as he turned where Nancy indicated. "You two said you'd explain. So I'd appreciate it if you would start."

Beth turned to Nancy, silently willing her to agree that they should tell the whole truth. Nancy looked unsure. "Well," she said slowly. "First, I have to thank you. For telling me about Victor Creel. That helped a lot."

"Did he have something to do with it?" Wayne asked, confused. "Did he escape from Pennhurst?"

"No," Beth said. "It turns out, Victor was just like Eddie. Innocent."

"It's kind of a complicated story," Nancy said, watching Wayne's face as he took in this unexpected element. "If you'll just give me a minute to figure out the best way to simplify-"

"Nancy, come on. Do we really need to simplify things at this point? After that 'earthquake'?" Beth asked. "And the thing at the trailer? Wayne must know on some level that things aren't...normal."

"What thing at the trailer?" Wayne's voice was getting more annoyed by the minute.

"On the ceiling?" Beth clarified. "When did you move out of the trailer, anyway? Did the cops relocate you?"

Wayne exhaled. "Neither of you are actually explaining what happened to my nephew. But to answer your question…about three, four days ago. It wasn't the Hawkins police though…government types."

Beth's eyes widened. "Government? Like federal government people came to your trailer? And told you to move?" She turned to Nancy. "You're hearing this, right? Tell me you got a name," Beth pleaded, turning back to Wayne. "What were they looking for in your trailer?"

"They seemed to take an interest in a leak in my ceiling-"

"Holy shit." Beth couldn't believe it. "A leak? It's not-"

"Beth, we are really getting ahead of ourselves," Nancy said in an attempt at reeling her in. The look on her face clearly said stop scaring this man.

Beth forced herself to take a breath. "Okay, yes, sorry, it's just—this is really important for Eddie. For clearing his name."

"Turn here. Into the woods," Nancy told him. "Forgive Beth. She's just…really invested in Eddie's safety."

"Beth," Wayne repeated. He cast a look over to her. "You wouldn't be Elizabeth Forrester, would you?" Beth blinked in surprise. "The police asked me if I knew who you were. They thought—"

"I wasn't kidnapped," she told him. "Or brainwashed or anything. I just…care about Eddie. And please, just call me Beth." Her full name made her itch.

"Mhm." He was still looking at her curiously. "So how did you become so…involved?"

Beth sighed. "The girl they found in your trailer…she was my best friend. I was there when she died. I've been hiding out with Eddie ever since. Looking out for him."

Wayne nodded slowly. Nancy directed him the rest of the way to the cabin. When they finally pulled up in front of the cabin, Wayne turned to look at Beth again. "You know...grief can be tricky," he told her slowly. It left her unsettled.

"I'm sorry. We never really got to explain anything," Nancy said.

"I think I'm better off trying to get a clear answer from Eddie himself," Wayne said with a sigh. "And that's saying something." He walked off towards the cabin door.

Nancy shot Beth an annoyed look. "Thanks a lot. Why couldn't you just let me do the talking?"

"I didn't want to lie to the guy," Beth argued. "He's been through enough." She'd have to wait a bit before grilling Nancy about how she got her exposé to happen; let her cool down from Beth's botched attempt at explaining the past week to Eddie's uncle.

Wayne was hesitating at the door; Beth opened it for him. Eddie was inside, pacing and voicing his worries to Dustin when he saw Wayne step inside. His face became a storm of emotions—defiance, fear, relief, sorrow—as Wayne walked up to him and engulfed him in a strong embrace. Beth pulled Dustin off the couch and made him follow her out of the cabin.

"We need to give them some time," she told him. "He'll be fine. He's with family now. I'll check on him later." The three walked the long way to their houses, their conversation sparse. Dustin's house was the first stop, followed by Nancy's. Beth approached her own house just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, vaguely thinking about where she'd left her spare car key, wondering if the cops had impounded the car or if it was still where she left it at the church. The spare house key was right where it always was, under the planter on the stoop. She unlocked the door and drowsily wondered if three hours would be enough sleep to function the next day. She wondered if Wayne would bring Eddie back to wherever he was staying now. She hoped not, only because she didn't know where that was. She closed the door behind her and locked it, already dreaming of a shower and her bed and—

"Elizabeth." There was a stern voice behind her, dripping with disappointment.

Shit. What day is it again?

Beth turned slowly, lips pursed, eyes drifting up from the floor to two pairs of infuriated eyes. "Hi...how was Europe?"