March 22nd, 1986

"Her body, just like…" He mumbled in a low whisper, his voice shaking. Eddie kept looking at the ground like he wasn't there in the boat house with Lorraine, Dustin and the others. His eyes darted from one spot on the floor to another, trying his best to tell them what had happened.

"Lifted up into the air and, uh…" Eddie's lip trembled. "And she just, like, hung there. In the air." His eyes seemed to water, a thin layer of sheen making his eyes twinkle sadly in the dim light of the boat house. "And her bones… Uh, she.." He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly like he was trying to get rid of an image that burned his retina.

"Her bones started to snap." He said furiously, like he couldn't even believe what he was saying. Lorraine covered her mouth, feeling like she could vomit at any moment. She bit the inside of her lips, frowning as she looked at the others who weren't as bothered by what he was describing.

"Her eyes man," He said, not frantically moving his hands, terrified of the thought. "It… it was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling" His voice cracked, like he was about to burst into tears, motioning his hand almost like if he himself were pulling the strings.

"I.. I didn't know what to do, so I…" He trailed off, his voice still cracking at the memories that flashed before him. Staring off into space once more, his lip trembling. "I ran away. I left her there."

Lorraine bit into the skin of her fingers as she continued to keep quiet as the others eagerly listened to Eddie. She couldn't take the thought of seeing poor Chrissy going through that, how scared she must have felt, the pain… She almost let out a whimper, but quickly caught the voice in her mouth, without anyone noticing.

Eddie, as if he had been pulled out of a nightmare, looked up to Dustin quickly before looking over to Lorraine, and once more to the floor. "You all think I'm crazy right?" He asked, fidgeting in place before placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes shut.

"No," Dustin said in a calming voice. "We don't think you're crazy."

"Don't bullshit me, man!" Eddie began to shout, his voice cracking once more. Lorraine winced at the change in tone, he was frustrated and scared. Rightfully so. "I know how this sounds."

"We're not bullshitting you." The redhead said.

"We believe you." Robin followed.

Lorraine wasn't sure what the hell was going on, as she looked onto the others, scared for Eddie and herself at this point. How could they be so calm? How could they feel like this is normal to them?

Eddie sighed and shook his head once again, not feeling like he could trust them. Lorraine was glued to the floor underneath her, not being able to move or speak as the others continued on. She felt like she was living in a book she had read a million times over, by an insane writer who truly wanted their characters to suffer.

"Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little…" Dustin said in his calm voice, hesitating to finish. "Difficult to take."

Lorraine and Eddie both looked at Dustin, as his eyes bounced from the two.

Eddie nodded, softly speaking as he blinked nervously "Okay."

"You know how people say Hawkins is…"

"Cursed?" Lorraine croaked out, uncovering her mouth quickly only to pull the sleeve over once more, trying not to let out a scream of terror. Dustin and the others almost jumped at her voice, as they'd seem to almost forget that she was there.

"They're not.. Way off."

"There's another world. A world beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds… into ours" He said, wincing like he wasn't sure Eddie would believe him.

"Like.. ghosts and shit?" Lorraine said, fully uncovering her mouth, wrapping her arms around her legs. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"There are some things worse than ghosts." The redhead stated once more, a deep fear in her voice.

"These monsters from this other world…" Dustin continued, adjusting his position on the wooden box, preparing for what he was about to say. "We thought they were gone. But they've come back before. That's why we needed to find you."

"If they're back again, we need to know." The young girl added on.

"That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked, also in such a calm tone. Lorraine looked over to Eddie.

"Dark particles maybe?" He shook his head, looking over to Lorraine.

"It would almost look like dust, swirling dust."

"No man, there was nothing you could see or, uh…" He said again with fury in his voice. "Or touch."

"You know, I tried to wake her, man." He said, deeply saddened. "She couldn't move. It was like she… she was in a trance or something."

"Or under a spell." Dustin said.

"A curse." Eddie lifted his gaze to Dustin.

"Vecna's curse."

"Who's Vecna?" Steve chimed in.

"An undead creature of great power." Dustin said, almost in fear as he looked at the floor.

"A spellcaster." Eddie said almost in a whisper.

"A dark wizard."

"Okay," Lorraine shot up suddenly, confusing the others. She placed her knuckles in her eyes, rubbing them furiously. "This isn't one of your campaigns, guys." She spat, frantically. "I'm not saying I don't believe you," She quickly looked over to Eddie, seeing his face drop slightly. "I'm just saying that there must be a logical explanation."

"A girl, floating, in a trance?" Steve scoffed at Lorraine. "Where's the logic in that?"

"I don't know!" She shouted, her body almost shaking in fear.

The group fell silent, as Lorraine paced back and forth in the boat house. Eddie rubbed his face, exhausted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, nor could she believe that the others were so matter-of-fact about the whole situation. There's a dead girl, a monster and a freak. Nothing makes sense anymore.

"Look," Dustin said standing up. "We'll leave and get more information about the situation and we'll come by with supplies." The others began to incorporate themselves, ready to follow Dustin out of the boat house.

"You stay put." Robin said, pointing a finger at Eddie. Still in shock, he just nodded his head quietly.

"I'll stay." Lorraine said, still pacing, without taking her eyes off of Eddie.

"Okay. We'll be back in the morning. Here's a walkie," Dustin said, leaving a walkie-talkie on the floor. He pulled his backpack over his shoulder and hesitated to say something to Eddie, before leaving with the others out of the boat.

They must have been in silence for only a few minutes, still processing everything that they heard. Lorraine could not wrap her mind around the fact this was something that was actually happening. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't even a book.

"We'll figure this out," She said, still pacing the floor. "We'll figure this out and you'll be okay, Eddie."

Her voice cracked in fear, feeling like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. Eddie reached a hand to hers, grabbing her and waiting for her to stop and look at him. His eyes were full of fright, but he smiled forcefully, squeezing her hand.

She finally felt like the rush had left her, sitting on the floor in front of him. Taking his hands in hers, she looked deeply into his eyes, barely visible now that the group took the flashlights. Only the reflection of the moon could be seen in his eyes, dark and saddened.

"And when everything's done." She said, whispering, "We'll hit the road. We'll leave this place. You and me. We'll go wherever, I don't care. I just want you, that's all, Eddie. I want you to be there."

Even though she couldn't see it, he smiled, taking her hands to his lips and kissing them with force. Gripping her hands, Eddie seemed to stop shaking as much as before, giving a sigh of relief.

"Whatever happens," he said against her hands. "I love you, Lorraine."

Her heart fluttered, not just because she had finally heard his soft voice but because he usually never called her by her full name. Usually, they'd call each other by their nicknames. It seemed much more serious. Like he was promising her something. But the dread wouldn't leave her stomach.

"Whatever happens," She repeated back to him, a tear falling from her eye. "I love you, Edward."

She crawled into his arms, as Eddie wrapped them around her, gripping her tighter than before. They both closed their eyes, however their minds were riddled with more questions than answers, more speculation than reason.

Lorraine knew that Hawkins was... weird. But, was it really cursed? Was it really this bad?

What's going to happen to them?