Chapter Six: A Lucky Roll
Sitting at the head of the table, Eddie recited parts of the game in front of him.
"The hooded cultists chant, "Hail Lord Vecna. Hail Lord Vecna." They turn to you, remove their hoods. You recognize most of them from Makbar. But there is one you do not recognize, his skin shriveled, desiccated. And something else… He's not only missing his left arm, but his left eye!"
His announcement caused an uproar in the party. Everyone believed that Vecna had been killed a few games prior. Ah, but so they thought! It was fun to add a twist every once in a while, as long as it wasn't overdone.
"You are scared," he continued. "You're tired. You are injured. Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or stand your ground and fight?"
Smirking to himself, he sat back as he waited as the party in front of him discussed. Henderson was the first to speak.
"I say we fight… To the death!" It wasn't much of a surprise to Eddie on that one. Henderson never ran from a fight. The rest of the party agreed, all chanting, "To the death!" It made Eddie laugh at their enthusiasm. How long was that gonna last?
It seemed like it would for a while, all of them pumped and excited. Until they got to the end of the campaign. Marcus called a timeout and the party huddled together off in a corner. Eddie watched; a smirk fixated on his lips. He wasn't really paying attention, catching a bit here and there. Gareth wanted to run with most of the party agreeing except for the lady, Wheeler, and Henderson. Most of the time, Eddie would be agreeing with them, but in this case…
"Hey!" he said. Everyone turned in his direction. "If I may interject, gentlemen, Lady Applejack. Whilst I respect the passion, you'd be wise to take Gareth the Great's concern to heart. There is no shame in running. Don't try to be heroes. Not today, 'kay?"
Henderson nodded and then turned back to the group. They took another minute then turned back to Eddie.
"Let's kill the son of a bitch," Henderson said.
"Chances of success are twenty to one," Jeff said. Henderson lifted a finger.
"Never tell me the odds." He held out his hand to Eddie. "Give me the D20." Eddie grinned, picking up the small object, then tossing it to Henderson. The kid had balls; Eddie would give him that.
His eyes left Henderson and focused on the dice as the kid rolled them onto the table. He watched the dice roll until it landed on the eleven.
"That's a miss!" he said, shaking his head so his hair went wild.
"Damn!" Henderson said, knocking a water bottle of the table.
Next up was Lady Applejack. Sinclair's sister played pretty well but was luck on her side. This time? The girl took a deep breath, shaking it as the rest of the party watched in panic. She let the dice roll and everyone watched, Eddie's eyes wide. He leaned in closer to the table, wondering if they would pass his campaign for the night.
Twenty.
The party erupted in cheers, Eddie cheering with them.
"That's why we play," he said. He gave a small bow to Erica, arms stretched out. The girl grinned at him as the boys around her cheered even louder.
When the cheering died down and the party dismantled, Eddie packed up his things. He was carrying it out of the school and saw Chrissy waiting nervously by his van. He smiled at her, opening the door like a true gentleman.
He drove towards the trailer park where he lived.
"This is, uh, my castle," he said. He didn't really know why he was so nervous. He had done plenty of deals before. Maybe it was because she was sister of the girl he liked? God, that made him sound like he had a middle-school crush.
Leading Chrissy inside, Eddie pushed some stuff into a corner.
"Sorry for the mess," he said. "Uh, the maid took the week off." Chrissy looked around, looking for someone else.
"You, um… you live here alone?" Eddie shook his head.
"With my uncle. But, uh, he works nights at the plant. Bringing home, the big bucks."
Tilting her head to the side, Chrissy asked a question he wasn't expecting.
"How long does it take?"
"Sorry?"
"The Special K. How long to kick in?"
"Oh, uh, well, it depends if you snort it or not. Uh, if you do, then, uh, yeah. It'll, uh, kick in pretty quick."
As he was speaking, he was looking for inside different nooks and crannies for his stash.
"Oh, shit," he mumbled, looking inside an empty pot.
"You're sure that you have it?" Chrissy asked.
"No, no, I got it." He looked around thoughtfully. "Um, somewhere."
Leaving her in the living room, Eddie headed to the back of the trailer where his bedroom was located. He smiled at his electric guitar.
"Sorry I'm late, sweetheart." He walked over to it, kissing the pads of his fingers before swiping them across the strings. "You're beautiful."
Digging through his bedside table, he found a small metal tin. He lifted it up, smirking at it.
"Gotcha." He got off his knees, carrying the tin out to the living room. "Found it!" he called. He opened it, grinning at the contents. "Peaceful bliss, just moments away…" His words trailed off when he saw Chrissy just standing where he left her, not moving. He said her name a few times as he neared her, waving a hand in front of her face. "Chrissy!" he said, trying to scare her.
This was not okay. No way in hell was this okay.
"Chrissy, wake up," he said. "Hey! Hello?" He waved and snapped in front of her face. "Hey, Chrissy!" The lights began to flicker and buzz, much to his fright and confusion.
Grabbing at her shoulders, he tried to shake her awake.
"Chrissy, wake up! I don't' like this, Chrissy! Wake up!" He almost screamed as Chrissy started to levitate and was yanked up to the ceiling. He watched in horror as her bones began to snap. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled. The final straw for him was when her eyes got sucked into her skull. He took off running out of the trailer and down the dark street.
And here's the end of episode one! I haven't seen Pt. 2 yet, but I'm mentally preparing myself for anything happening. I'm working on episode 2 right now and hopefully will have another few chapters out by Monday! Also, sorry that chapter five and six are so short, I'm working on making them longer!
All rights belong to the Duffer Brothers and Netflix!