Morning came slower than any of them would've liked, the sun peaking over the horizon, a literal light in the darkness.
Steve and Eddie had spent the rest of the night prior waiting in anticipation for another attack, Steve explaining more of the Upside Down and his adventures with it. Eddie seemed spooked by it all, but after the night they had and the day before, he seemed to understand what they were up against, and was ready to face it, even if it was in the nervous way he approached everything.
But now they were both silent, waiting for Robin and the kids to get back, waiting for news. Steve hoped that they had managed to contact El, after the Demodogs, talking to One…they needed her. As much as he hated to put a young girl like her in the hero position again, they really had no choice.
"Shouldn't they be here by now?" Eddie asked, curling in on himself, sitting far away from the dead demodogs on the floor. "It's been 'morning' for hours."
Steve nodded, not letting the fear that built up in his stomach affect him. "They should be, but they might just be running late."
"Or, they could be dead. If these…dog things…attacked them, too, they're probably long gone!" Eddie exclaimed, clutching his hair. "Separating was a bad idea, Harrington!"
"I'm sure they're fine, Dustin would've radioed us if something was wrong. He uses that thing for everything."
"Radio? We had a walkie-talkie this entire time? Why didn't we radio them?" Eddie's voice was becoming hysterical, and Steve sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"We handled it, didn't we? There was no need to call them."
A loud bank came from outside, and both of the boys jumped, Steve instinctively reaching for the oar-spear that was still covered in blood. Dustin's head poked through the door eyes wide, getting even wider when the kid took in the monsters lying dead all around them.
"What? Demodogs? What happened?"
Dustin rushed into the room, kneeling in front of one of the corpses and poking it, glancing at Steve and Eddie in question.
"Three of them." Steve stated. "Middle of the night."
"Why didn't you call me? We have radios for a reason!"
Eddie scoffed. "Exactly what I asked, Henderson."
"As if things couldn't get more crazy." A new voice said, and Steve looked up to see Jonathan walk in, holding a bag full of groceries, followed by Will and Max. Steve stood up and greeted them, taking the bag of food and clasping Jonathan on the back.
"Thanks, dude."
Jonathan nodded. "No worries. And, I drove your car, I hope you don't mind."
"As long as Max or Dustin wasn't behind the wheel, I'm fine with it."
Steve glanced around, seeing Eddie and Dustin already in eager conversation, Will and Max standing by awkwardly, and he realized that people were missing.
"Where's Nancy? Robin? The other kids? Are they okay? Did One一"
"They're fine. Why don't you guys eat up and then we'll talk."
Steve nodded hesitantly, sitting back down, and he took a box of cereal from the bag, tossed it to Eddie, and took out a bag of chips for himself. He didn't eat many, and then turned his gaze back toward Jonathan, who found another clean spot on the floor to sit on.
"Nancy called me. She said that her friend…Fred, I think his name is? Anyways, he went missing last night, and the police found him dead this morning. Twisted up like…"
"A pretzel." Dustin finished, his mood now sober, and Steve sighed. He knew that Fred must've been the death that Robin felt.
"So, I went to meet Nancy at the trailer park, where he died, but Robin called me before I got there and explained what happened to you guys, and Munson. We all met at the park, and talked about everything. The deaths, Munson's situation, One, er, Vecna…everything."
"So, did you guys come up with any answers? Are you guys sure that One that killed Fred?" Steve asked, and the three of them nodded.
"No doubt. Nancy didn't see anyone around when the murder happened." Max said, crossing her arms. "We think that One had been terrorizing them, slowly making them more scared over time, like a curse, and chose to kill them when they were super distressed. Or, something along those lines."
"Chrissy was distressed." Eddie interrupted, taking another handful of cereal. "Like, super distressed."
"Apparently, Fred was too, according to Nancy." Jonathan added. "And, we were thinking, wouldn't they have talked to someone about the fear? Like a school counselor?"
"That's why I'm going to talk to Ms. Kelly, my counselor at school." Max said, "We think that she might have some answers."
Jonathan nodded. "And Nancy and Robin are going to the library to research Victor Creel."
"Who's Victor Creel?" Eddie asked, and Will spoke up.
"He's been accused of murdering his entire family. Nancy has a feeling that he might be involved somehow. Mike went with them."
"And then we came here, to tell you guys and get you food." Dustin finished, and Steve sighed, taking a moment to dissect what was said.
Nancy, Robin, and Mike were looking into this Victor Creel guy. Another teen was dead. Both victims were distressed, so somehow talking to a counselor would give the Party the answers they needed? Even though it was One, someone that was far above a regular counselor? How would talking to this Ms. Kelly help?
Steve tried not to question it. He wasn't the smart one, not usually. And, it sounded like a Nancy plan, so it was a plan that he could trust.
"Okay. So what do you want us to do?" He finally said, his voice strong and sure.
"Eddie needs to stay in hiding." Dustin explained, "The police are sure that he's behind the murders."
Max crossed her arms weakly. "And the rest of us have to go see Ms. Kelly. I'll talk to her, but I'll need a ride."
Steve glanced at Eddie, who seemed to have gotten paler in the morning light. His eyes frantically darted across the room, no doubt trying to take in the extra information that had been piled on him, and Steve found himself feeling bad for him. Steve still remembered the overwhelming, suffocating feeling of first learning of the Upside Down, of the monsters, of the death…he couldn't imagine how Eddie felt now.
But, Eddie was still doing well. He hadn't given up yet, he was still going strong, and Steve was thankful for it. He knew that calming Eddie down would be a big task. Steve wouldn't blame him if he did begin panicking, though. If it weren't for his powers and experience, Steve knew that he would be freaking out, too.
"There's one more thing." Steve said, and everyone turned their attention to him. "I talked to One last night."
"What?" Jonathan exclaimed, jumping to his feet, and Steve stood up with him, nearly tripping over a demodog corpse. "And you didn't call us? What were you thinking!"
"Venca talked to you? What did he say?"
"You talked to the guy that killed Chrissy? Are you crazy?"
"Well? What did he say?"
Steve raised his hands, silencing all of the voices around him, and Will weaved his way through the people and to Steve's side, giving him a sympathetic glance, as if he knew how overwhelmed Steve was getting, even though he didn't feel it himself. Steve gave him a thankful smile, and took a deep breath.
"He told me that I would get an opportunity to save his next victim, that if I saved her I would suffer a horrible death. Then the Demodogs attacked us. That's all I really know. And, you know." He moved his hands around vaguely, a frown on his face. "The whole villain monologue he's done before. Stopping the cycle and all that."
Eddie shifted where he sat, and Steve realized that he hadn't explained that part to the metalhead. Or the part where he could talk to One, that he did talk to One. A sudden burst of guilt swelled up in his chest, because how could Eddie trust him to protect him if he wasn't honest? He willed it to go away, there was no time to feel guilty. There was only time to move forward.
"Wait, he confirmed that the next victim is a girl?" Jonathan asked, and Steve nodded. "That doesn't really narrow it down, but it helps."
"No, it does narrow it down, it's perfect!" Dustin explained eagerly. "If Steve is going to get an opportunity to save her, he has to be close to her, right? Everyone in Hawkins is hiding in their homes, so it can't be a random person. It has to be someone that Steve knows well, that hangs out with him a lot. It has to be someone that Steve's close to, like…" As Dustin spoke, the energy behind the words died, Dustin no doubt realizing what he was saying.
Steve inhaled sharply, because Dustin was right, it had to be someone that he knew well. But, that meant that…
Don't panic. Don't panic.
He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, willing the emotion to go away. It did, but barely. Steve could still feel it simmering under the surface, waiting to break him into a million pieces. He just hoped that his powers would be able to hang on to his feelings for a bit longer.
He couldn't lose anyone close to him. He wouldn't let anyone close to him go through all of that pain, all of that suffering, he couldn't let them die. He couldn't. He refused to.
And, if it leads to his horrible, horrible death? He'd still do it, a million times over.
Yet, his thoughts didn't make the situation any better. He might lose someone that he loves. He might lose someone that he loves. He might not be able to save them. Whoever it was may not get a future. May not live until tomorrow.
Will spoke up beside him, no doubt voicing everyone's thoughts. "So, that means that the next victim either Robin, Nancy, Mom, Erica, or一"
"Or me." Max said softly, and Jonathan patted her shoulder awkwardly.
"We're going to figure this out, okay? No one is going to die."
"Jon's right. We're going to figure this out." Will said, his hands forming fists with determination.
"But, how soon? When will one of us die? Robin or Nancy could be dying right now!" Dustin explained, but Steve rushed to reassure him, with lies or truth Steve didn't know.
"Stay calm, dude. It'll be fine. I promise. Robin would contact us if anything went wrong. All we can do is go with your plan, and go meet with the counselor, and figure this out."
"Steve, I think that you should go with them." Jonathan said, and Steve shot him a glance.
"What? What about you?"
"As much as I hate to say it, you need to be with the kids more than I do, especially since you talked to One. You might have more insight into what's going on, and you'll be able to jump to anyone's aid if need be."
Steve may not have been the mind reader of the group, but he knew exactly what Jon was saying Just in case someone is murdered. Just in case One tries to kill someone. You'll be one of the few people who can help them.
"I'll stay with Eddie." Jonathan finished, but Eddie shook his head, pointing to the dead Demodogs on the floor.
"What if those things come back? What if something worse comes here?"
Jonathan gave him a small smile. "We…sort of came prepared. Max?"
Max reached behind her and clutched a long object that had been resting against the damaged door, and Steve smiled.
"No way. You found her?"
Max rolled her eyes when she handed Steve his bat full of nails. "It was literally just in your trunk."
Jonathan chuckled as Steve took the knob, gripping it, and gave it a testing swing.
"I didn't forget, I just thought that I hid her well."
"Did you give her a name, Steve?" Dustin asked teasingly but weakly, a small attempt at humor in such a dire situation, and Steve shook his head, partly thankful for the distraction.
"Not yet. Ideas?"
Eddie couldn't keep his eyes off the bat, and Jonathan pointed to it.
"This is how we'll fight any more monsters, Eddie. With those…oars, and the bat, if Steve will let me."
"Dude, it was your weapon before it was mine. Take it." Steve said, handing the bat to the oldest Byers, and Jonathan took it.
"Go talk to the counselor, and don't hesitate to radio us for anything." Jonathan said, serious once again, and Steve nodded. "Mom is trying to call Hopper and El, so if you hear anything from her, let me know."
"We'll do, Jonathan. Thank you." Steve then turned to the kids, his eyes lingering on Max for a second longer than the rest, making sure that she was okay, and herded them outside. Dustin gave Eddie a quick hug, and Will hugged Jonathan, as if this was goodbye. But Steve would make sure that it wasn't.
"Hey, you two?" Steve said, pointing to Jonathan and Eddie, "Be careful. Make sure that the police don't find you. Move locations if you have to."
Eddie gave him a weak sault. "Aye, aye, Captain!"
Seve rolled his eyes, and, after giving Jonathan a quick nod in thanks, made his way out of the building and to his car, hoping that the two of them would stay safe, and that the rest of the Party would stay safe, too. Yet, most of all, he hoped the next victim wasn't one of the people close to him. He hoped that their suspicions were wrong.
Max met his eyes when he sat in the driver's seat, her blue eyes showing fear, so, so much fear, too much fear for a young girl her age to experience. He squeezed her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way, and began driving, letting her tell him the way.