a/n: Thank you, Aina, for beta reading this and making sure it was good to post! I can't wait for your feedback on Chapter 4.

CHAPTER THREE

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

Fall 1986. At least, Eddie thought it was fall. He'd been mentally counting the weeks that they had been waiting. Until he was able to move around with no pain. He finished packing up the duffel they'd found.

"You ready?" He threw it over his shoulder.

Billy nodded, "As I'll ever be. Let's get this shit over with."

They left the trailer park, following the slash of red through the woods toward Randall Road. Neither of them had wanted to try the gash in the park. They didn't want to show up right where people were living. Neither did they know what time of day it would be when they surfaced. It was perpetually twilight here. They'd lost track of time pretty quickly.

"This looks like a good spot….." Eddie pulled the strap around his waist tight. "You want me to go first, or do you wanna do the honors, big boy?"

Billy growled at him and leaned over the rough red patch. It looked like it was pulsing. There was no telling what was on the other side and it actually made him a little nervous to go into it. He took a deep breath and stuck his head through. It was tough at first. There was almost too much resistance in the goo to let him pass through, but he managed.

"Eddie, it's the middle of the fucking night…." Billy dragged the rest of his body out, grunting at the force necessary. It shouldn't have been that difficult. He looked around the area, not really recognizing where they were. He hadn't really explored much of Hawkins when he was technically alive. Billy tended to stick to the semi-affluent neighborhood he lived in. "Where the hell even are we?"

"Uh…." Eddie stuck his head up through the hole and looked around. "Deredrum Road. Fred Benson got killed not too far from here. Probably a hundred yards down that way."

"And how do you know that?"

"I was running from that fuckhead, Jason Carver, and his band of baboons." Eddie pulled the bag through and looked around. If he was remembering correctly, Skull Rock wasn't that far away from here. No one would be looking for them there. He glanced around to see if there was anyone around. "I think I know the perfect place to go. We'll be pretty hidden there…"

Billy nodded. Right now all he wanted was just somewhere to sleep that wasn't infested with mold or those bats. He'd take anything. He followed Eddie into the woods.

Eddie followed the old trails through the forest. He had been a little wrong about just how far away Skull Rock was from where they were. He glanced around the area, then started up over the hill.

"Where are you taking me?" Billy was getting frustrated following him all over the woods. It reminded him already too much of that fucking place. Dark, dank, and just a rotten forest. Billy was starting to think they hadn't actually left. That it had been a trick. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Eddie scoffed, "Of course I do. I spent a week out here. I know where I'm going. It's just a little further than I remembered. We'll get there before sun-up. Swear it."

"Uh huh." He followed the brunette, half considering just walking away and finding his own temporary shelter. He'd never gone up into the woods here. Billy had avoided them as much as he could. He'd never understood the appeal of a forest.

Eddie led him up a path and toward what looked like a pile of boulders. Just out in the middle of the forest. It stood out to Billy. It just appeared out of nowhere, as if it was planted there as they were walking toward it. He stopped to stare.

"Here we are."

"Where are we exactly? I didn't think 'shelter' meant 'middle of the woods' to you." Billy looked at the stones then at Eddie. This was his great plan?

"What did you think? We were just going to waltz into town and ask for room somewhere? Billy, you died a year ago. Probably more by now. I 'died' back in March. If we walked into Hawkins right now and just said hello, we'd be shipped off to that Lab. Where Jane got fucked up by Brenner."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Jane? Brenner? The fuck are you on, Munson?" Billy looked into the sheltered space under the stones. "You want us to sleep here? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Do you have a better idea? Please. I'm all ears, Hargrove. If you can tell me right now where two dead boys can sleep in the middle of Hawkins, I will happily follow you." He cocked his hip out, hand resting just above his jeans. Eddie knew full well what would happen if they went into town. The townies would go absolutely ape shit. There was no way they wouldn't. Two of them, the town pariahs, magically back from the dead? "Also, as I have previously stated….I'm wanted for murder."

"Fuck, that's right. I keep forgetting about that. Since it happened a YEAR after I DIED." Billy grunted, pulling the blankets they'd scrounged out of the pack. He found the driest spot he could under the rocks and spread them out. "I'm getting some sleep. You can stand out there all you want, but we will have to be up and moving at dawn. I'm going to try to sleep now."

"I'll be there in a minute. I wanna look around a bit." He walked to the other side, stopping short at the sight. There, half tucked behind another large stone was what looked like a little grave marker. Eddie wasn't sure if he was looking at it right. E. Munson - March 27, 1965 to March 27, 1986 was scratched onto it. He stared hard at the handwriting, trying to figure out why it was familiar. He had seen it before. It warmed his shriveled heart to know someone cared about him enough to have left him a gravestone. Probably Henderson. The kid had taken to wearing a denim vest after they'd met. That must have been who had done it.

He walked a little more around and stumbled across something he knew could not have been Dustin's doing. Hidden behind the memorial stone, in a little baggie, was a joint. And a book of matches. Eddie picked it up and examined it. He didn't know who had been behind that, but it couldn't have been a fourteen-year-old. It looked like one of the joints he'd rolled. It should have been impossible to tell, but Eddie always twisted his in a certain way. And this one had that unique Munson twist. Had he given anyone one of his pre-rolls? He didn't think so. Eddie pulled the joint and matches from the bag. It had been so long that he wondered if his lungs would even be able to take it.

Eddie struck the match and lifted it to the end of paper. He inhaled, drawing the smoke. His immediate instinct was to cough. He'd been right. It had certainly been too long. Eddie took another drag and held it. His lungs burned, but it was so good. He sat on the stone bearing his name and looked around the forest. Someone was making regular trips out here. He was curious who and figured he wouldn't have much longer to wait now. The joint was fresh. It couldn't have been here more than a day or two. The mystery person would be showing up within the next few days.

He stubbed it out, wanting to save the rest for another time. Eddie made his way into the alcove and curled in the other blanket. He lay there a few minutes, not tired enough to sleep but too tired to stay awake. He closed his eyes and it was like a switch being flipped. Just like that he was asleep.

Eddie's eyes opened. It took him several seconds to remember where he was. He had not been ready for the dawn light. He'd grown used to the twilight dark of the Upside Down. Sunlight filtered through the trees, making everything look like a fantasy novel. Billy was still snoring. He didn't know what had woken him so suddenly.

Crunching from nearby drew his attention. Someone was walking around in the forest not far from where they were. He reached out slowly, making as little noise as he could, and grabbed a large stone. He stood. Whomever this was would not get the drop on him. He brushed the leaves from his clothes and crept out, looking around for the source of the noise. He couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. It was everywhere at once. He stopped when he saw legs on the other side. The person had come up from behind Skull Rock.

Steve stopped short. He hadn't known why exactly he'd come back out. He felt, he felt like he had to tell Eddie how he felt. Even if it meant just talking to a rock in the woods. A rock that wouldn't hear him. But there was someone there. Someone was lying under a blanket. He crept around slowly, looking for the person's face. He almost screamed when it came into view. His fist in is mouth the only thing preventing any noise from escaping. There was no mistaking it, but he had not seen it in a year and a half.

"Billy?" He couldn't believe it. Had he lost his mind? There was no way Billy Hargrove was laying in the leaves and dirt right there. He'd just been out here yesterday. He'd walked all over the woods. He'd have seen if anyone was there. Fuck, he'd been there when Billy had died. He remembered it as clearly as anyone drugged with a severe concussion could. Everything was watery and vague, but definitely there. He'd never scrub the sound of Max's scream from his memory.

"Steve? Is it really you?"

His eyes snapped up, feet taking him back a step or two. The voice. No. Not possible. There was no way. He was there for that death, too. He had struggled with this one. He shook his head, vision wavering.

"Eddie?"

"Yeah. Fuck. Yeah, it's me." He lowered the rock, letting it drop out of his hands. The last person he'd been expecting to see out here so early was Steve. The relief almost brought him to his knees. It took what little will he had left to not rush over and pull the brunette into a bone-crushing hug. "Are you good, man?"

"I…no, I can't. You're not here. Eddie." He shook his head again, trying to process. Eddie was standing right across from him. "You're dead."

"No. At least, not as far as I can tell. Feel pretty alive. In spite of Vecna trying. Got some gnarly scars on my sides now." He would have raised his shirt to show Steve the twin starburst scars on either side of his stomach, except his arms were suddenly pinned to his sides. Eddie found himself wrapped up in strong arms surrounded by the scent of Farah Fawcett hairspray. Something warm and wet hit his neck. Eddie tried to crane his head to see. "Harrington, are you crying?"

"Fuck you."

"Now is certainly not the time for that."

"What?"

"I don't think Billy would want to wake up to my pasty bare ass in his face." Eddie grinned. "Maybe another time, when we aren't out in the middle of the woods and it's not fucking freezing. What's the day anyway?"

"Wednesday."

Eddie rolled his eyes, "Okay. Wednesday the….?"

"Twenty-ninth of October." Steve still couldn't believe they were both here. He was struggling hard to wrap his mind around it. "1986. It was your year. You were right. You came home. Dustin's gonna fucking flip when he hears your back."

"Can we keep that quiet for now?" Eddie pushed Steve back to look at him. His eyes were red and wet. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. "Is there anywhere out of the way we can lay low? Some place the feds won't catch wind of us miracles?"

Steve sniffled, trying to blink away the shock. He stood for a few seconds before it clicked. "Loch Nora."

"Come again?"

"My house. Up in Loch Nora. No one would even think to look for you there. It's big. Plenty of rooms. Yeah. Yeah, you can stay there. We should get moving now though. It's barely eight-thirty. People are gonna be leaving for work and school soon." He shook himself out of the funk. Steve went to the pile of leaves and shook him. "Billy. Get up."

"Fuck off, Harrington." He pulled the blanket up to his chin and turned over. He shot up, nearly hitting Steve in the process. "Harrington? What the fuck are you doing out here?"

"Getting you out before some First Baptist nut finds you. Or worse, Hop. He was patrolling out here the other day. Since the gates opened up. Come on." He started out again, heading toward home. Steve didn't stop or wait for them. He knew they would follow. He was confident that the idea of warm food and a soft bed would lure them. He nodded to himself as he heard the crunching of the leaves.