Eddie couldn't keep running forever. He wanted to, but his body was giving out on him. His lungs ached and his legs had started to wobble. Besides, he thought he might be going in circles. He needed to find shelter. Stopping, he leaned forward with his hands on his knees and heaved like he might vomit, but nothing came up. Small mercies. He needed a plan. Nothing elaborate, just a simple, "what next" plan. Eddie willed the gears in his brain to turn, and after a few rusty seconds something churned out. He was by the lake, so Rick's place was close. It was an empty house, and Eddie could get into it. Good enough for now.
Eddie walked toward the fish smell and soft splashing sounds until he was at the lakeside. He didn't want to look at the water, that black expanse filled with living things he couldn't see. Focusing on the shoreline, he waited for his eyes to adjust in the dark and began to search for familiar shapes. The hard part was orienting himself, and he spent a few minutes worrying that he was at a completely different lake before the patterns clicked into place. Once he figured out where he was standing, it was easy enough to see Rick's house. Destination in view, Eddie set off at a quick jog, wondering, as he went, if anyone would think to look for him there. He gave up trying to guess pretty quickly. There was no more gaging possible and impossible. Anything was possible now. It seemed likely, though, that the cops would start looking for him soon. They'd probably go to Wayne first. One more shit way that Eddie would repay Wayne for just being a decent guy. Eddie should have been watching the path, focusing on his surroundings, but his mind wandered.
When was the last time he saw Wayne, anyway? His uncle was usually drowsing in an armchair when Eddie headed out the door for school in the mornings, but sometimes he was already in bed. Had Wayne been awake to ask what time Eddie would be home, or to tell him to eat something for breakfast? He couldn't be sure. All those mornings seemed the same. It hadn't occurred to Eddie that one morning might be more important than the others, that one morning would be the last good one. He should've known better. How had Eddie gotten so complacent? The rug had been pulled out from under him before.
When his dad got put away all those years ago, Eddie ended up in a "home." He didn't have to stay there long, just long enough to develop a major problem with authority. The first thing they did there was shave his head. They claimed that he probably had bugs in his hair, even though Eddie swore up and down that the didn't. He'd squirmed under the electric clippers, watching his curls drop to the ground and get swept into the trash. He'd never particularly cared much about his hair before, but now he vowed to grow it back twice as long. There weren't any bugs on him after all, but they scrubbed his scalp anyway with chemicals that stung his skin and burned his eyes. His face was pink and teary when they showed him to his dormitory. It was a bad way to meet anyone, and some of the other boys there were a lot bigger and meaner than he was. That was when Eddie learned how to hide. Like most of his education, Eddie learned it the hard way, so that was also when he learned how to fight. Defensive stuff mostly, just enough to give him time to get away, or, in a pinch, to scare the other person bad enough to get them to back off. He never fought if he wasn't forced into it, though. Sometimes he felt a guilty tug to intervene on behalf of some of the boys who were even smaller than he was, but it was every neglected child for himself around there. The small ones needed to learn to survive, too, anyway. At least, that was what he told himself back then.
Eddie had been informed when he arrived that his uncle would come to collect him soon. He didn't know or care all that much about Wayne at that point. All he had were some blurry memories of an older man who had given him a baseball cap at Christmas a few years ago. They weren't bad memories, but they weren't particularly great either. Still, anyone who could spring him from this fake-juvie dump was more than welcome. When Wayne did show up, though, Eddie had a moment of worry at the mean set of his uncle's jaw, and what looked like anger flashing in his eyes. He sounded angry when he spoke, too.
"Sorry, kid. Tried to get you sooner. Goddamn red-tape paperwork."
Eddie shifted the trash bag full of his belongings over his shoulder and didn't comment.
"That all your stuff?"
"Yeah," Eddie answered, unsure whether or not to be on the defense.
"Alright. Let's go," Wayne said, and pointed to a car with his lit cigarette.
"Where are we going?" Eddie asked as he dropped his bag of stuff into the back seat.
"Hawkins."
"Never heard of it."
"Small town. Tried to get your dad to move there once, 'round the time you were born. Plenty of jobs over at the plant. Wasn't exciting enough for him though." Wayne slammed his door as he sat behind the wheel.
Eddie slouched into the passenger's seat and almost slammed his door as well, but backed off the impulse at the last moment.
Wayne didn't start the car right away. Rolled down his window and took a long drag on his cigarette instead.
"I knew something like this would happen," he said grimly, shaking his head and blowing out a long stream of smoke.
Eddie shifted in his seat, rubbed the prickly top of his scalp, and considered making a run for it.
"Look, kid." Wayne said into another cloud. "I never had children of my own. I probably won't be much of a parent to you, but better me than the state, right?"
Eddie rolled down his window and hooked one of his elbows over the outside of the door.
"I won't give you a hard time," Wayne went on. "Just go to school, and don't get into trouble, okay? And we'll make do."
"Sure," Eddie said, picking at his fingernails. Where else did he have to go, anyway?
Apparently, that was good enough for Wayne. He started the car, and off they drove to Hawkins, which, turned out, was in more or less the middle of nowhere. Wayne drove down Main Street to show him the town, and then circled around to the school so Eddie would know where it was. He didn't even bother turning into the suburbs. Got onto a country highway instead, and straight on to the trailer park. It wasn't that bad, really. Nicer, actually, than the apartment building he'd been living in with his dad. Definitely quieter. Lots of fresh air, which he had heard was a good thing.
Wayne took him to a diner that night.
"Don't expect to eat out like this all the time," his uncle warned, giving a critical eye as Eddie scarfed down a burger. "You don't have any meat on your bones. Didn't they feed you in that place?"
Mouth too full to speak, Eddie snorted. The burly guy filling Wayne's coffee cup shot him a menacing glare before walking away. Wayne chuckled under his breath.
"You'd best mind your manners in front of Benny."
"Or what, he'll sit on me?"
"Hey." Wayne pointed a finger into Eddie's face. "Watch your mouth. This isn't the city. Being a smart-ass can get you into trouble around here. And what'd I say about trouble?"
"Don't get into it," Eddie replied grudgingly.
"Right." Wayne leaned back in his chair and drank his coffee while Eddie cleaned his plate.
Eddie had tried. He really did, and for the most part everything was okay. Maybe his definition of "okay" wasn't the same as it was for the other kids in Hawkins, but that was because most of them didn't know how easy they had it. Some days, though, it just seemed like he couldn't not get into trouble, no matter what he did.
Speaking of…
He was close to Rick's house. Maybe he should have tried to be stealthy, but he was too depleted to control his movements with any sort of finesse. He took the last few yards with a rush and flopped his weight against the door. It didn't budge. Thankfully, Eddie's multitool was always in his pocket. The lock gave him some trouble, not because it was complicated, but because his hands were shaking. Once he was through, he closed and locked the door, then sat of the floor with his back against it, breathing heavily. He'd made it. Now if he could just stay hidden here for long enough, maybe he could figure out what to do next. He tilted back his head, resting it against the door, and blinked up at the ceiling.
Chrissy hung there, looking down at him with white eyes and gaping mouth. Her arm snapped. Eddie passed out.
