Chapter Seventy-Seven: Ready For Anything

Steve helped me push the coffee table out of the way and drag our mattress into the center of the living room so that we could at least attempt to get some sleep, but also be aware if and when the police scanner went off, alerting us of Fred's death. 

I finished my tea and then took a long, hot shower before changing into my pajamas. Steve was making the bed when I came out, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. I leaned against the doorframe of our bedroom, layin my head against it as I watched him set up my pillows just the way that he knew I liked them. Once he was satisfied, he stood up, putting his hands on his hips and blowing out a breath as he surveyed his work. It wasn't until he seeminly decided that he was satisfied that he looked up at me. He smiled, crossing his arms and turning to face me.

"Feel better?" He asked. I nodded, using the towel around my neck to squeeze the excess water out of my hair.

"I always do after a shower." I moved over to stand in front of him. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I remember...when they're not giving you third-degree burns, that is." I bit my lip.

"I still have a scar from that." I pointed out. He raised his eyebrows.

"Seriously?" He asked. "How have I never noticed that?"

I shrugged and he came around behind me, lightly pushing up my pajama shirt to reveal the round, jagged burn scar that still resided there. He reached up, lightly running his fingers over it, prompting me to close my eyes. He let my shirt fall, trailing his fingers down my sides just as he had when he was attending to that very same wound last year. This time though, he wrapped his arms around my waist, hugging me from behind. I wrapped my arms around his, leaning my head back against his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry I've made your life so crazy." I whispered. He shook his head.

"My life got crazy before we got together, remember?" He asked, pressing his lips against my jaw. "And if you recall, I signed up for this. You're worth that to me." I smiled, remembering the last time I'd said those words. 

"I know," I said quietly, "Its just...sometimes I wonder if maybe your life wouldn't be so complicated if you'd just...ended up with Nancy."

"What?" He pulled back, turning me around to look at him. "You want me to have ended up with Nancy?"

"No, of course not," I answered, "But you know...she's going to college soon. She'll get to escape of of this and with me...there's always going to be something that lingers. It'd be easier, that's for sure."

"Do you honestly think I care about 'doing what's easier'?" He asked. "Do you have any idea how many monsters I would take on if it meant just one second with you?"

"Steve-"

"I'm serious, Riley!" He said sternly. "Don't get it twisted, you are easily, no contest, the best thing that has ever happened to me. You...you made me feel ok working a minimum wage, dead-end job, and not being able to give you a big house because the only thing you cared about was me and building a life with me. What makes you think that you and your monsters are any different? I don't care about any of that, I just want you, however I can get you. I wouldn't change anything about our life, if only that I would've gotten to know you a long time ago."

"I love you." I said quietly, "So...its only natural that I would want what is best for you, but what if...what if that's not me-"

"It is!" He replied, grabbing my arms. "Now please, stop talking like this, you're freaking me out!"

"Ok, I'm sorry," I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to freak you out, its just...its been a long, exhausting, and emotional day, that's all. I'm sleep deprived."

"You better be." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my shoulder. "Let's get you to bed, yeah?" I nodded, pulling back and putting my hands on his face. 

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed me briefly before walking to the bed and pushing the blankets and sheets back for me. I climbed in, and he climbed in next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me so that my back was against his chest. I sighed, putting my hand over his arm. 

~~~

Surprisingly enough, I actually managed to fall asleep, and by the time I woke up in the morning, there hadn't been a call on the scanner, making me wonder if I was wrong and Fred was still alive. 

I hoped this was the case as I dethatched myself slowly from the still-sleeping Steve and walked into our bedroom to get dressed. I changed into a pair of jeans and a white tank-top before making my way towards the kitchen to make myself some coffee. I paused as I passed the box of my Dad's belongings, bending down and picking up his uniform shirt, which Joyce had given me the day that they left. I pressed it to my face, inhaling the still-lingering scent of cigarettes and cheap beer. I used to find that smell disgusting but now...it was comforting to me.

An idea popped into my head and I walked back into the bedroom to stand in front of our full-length mirror. I slid the shirt over my shoulders, pulling it up so that it sat just above the waist of my jeans and tying the two sides in a knot. It was still a little two big, but I didn't really mind, leaving it unbuttoned and adjusting his little gold name tag. I lightly ran my fingers over it before deciding that I was happy with it. If I was going to do this, I needed a piece of him with me...if for no other reason than to remind me who exactly I am.

From there, I turned on the coffee maker and headed outside to my truck, where I pulled out my emergency Upside-Down duffle bag. From now on, this bag and I are attached at the hip. That way...

I'm ready for anything.

~~~

After breakfast, we picked up Dustin, Max, and Robin and hit the grocery store for Eddie before heading back to the boat house. He was standing at the window when we got there, and jumped away from the door, looking terrified as we walked in armed with plastic bags.

"Delivery service." Dustin called. He let out a sigh of relief and Steve waved at him with a wiggle of his fingers.

Several moments later, Eddie was sitting in the middle of the boat, going to town on a box of Honey Combs while we told him all the information we'd managed to gather that morning. 

"So, we got uh...some good news and some bad news." Dustin told him. He and Max sat on stools on either side of the boat while Robin leaned against a support beam beside Max, and Steve and I leaned on one behind Dustin. "How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always." Eddie said, taking a swing of his Yoohoo.

"Alright, bad news. Riley has been keeping tabs on the Hawkins PD Dispatch, and they're definitely looking for you." He explained. "Also they're pretty convinced you killed Chrissy."

"Like, 100% kind of convinced." Max chimed in.

"And the good news?"

"Your name hasn't gone public yet," Robin told him, "But if we found out about it, its only a matter of time before others do to, and once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak, right?"

"Exactly."

"So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence."

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie asked skeptically.

"Yeah, no that's pretty much it."

"Listen, Eddie," Robin spoke, "I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before. I mean, they have a few times," Eddie looked at Steve and I, and we both nodded, "And-and I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, and theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this."

"We usually rely on Riley's sister, this girl who has super powers, but uh, those went bye-bye, so uh..." Steve trailed off.

"So we're technically in more of the-"

"Kinda-"

"Brainstorming phase."

"Brainstorming."

"There-There's nothing to worry about." Dustin stammered. Eddie looked at all of us, doubt filling his eyes.

"I know that wasn't very convincing," I said, drawing his eyes to me, "But we really do know what we're doing. I mean, I've been dealing with all of this since day one, I lived in Vecna's world for a year so...we've got this. I promise."

"A year?" He asked. "So when you went missing..."

"I was in the Upside Down, yes." I confirmed. "So trust me...and I trust them so..."

"Trust by association." Robin finished. I nodded in agreement, only for our conversation to be interrupted by the sounds of police sirens. We all shared nervous looks. "Tarp! Tarp, tarp!"

Eddie laid down in the boat, throwing the tarp over himself and we all flooded to the windows to check out the situation. 

Dozens of police cars and ambulances drove past, none of them coming in our direction. I nodded, standing up straight and crossing my arms over my chest.

"My guess...they've found Fred." I stated. "Come on."

I led the way out to the car, Steve tossing me the keys over the top of it as we all piled inside and pulled away from the Boat house, following after the emergency vehicles. 

When we arrived at the seen, it was already filled with cars, barricades, civilians, and crime scene photographers, but despite all of that, I still recognized the area from Fred's dream sequence, which means that unlike Chrissy, he was actually in the same, physical location as his vision. 

We pulled up behind one of the police trucks, getting out of the car and standing in the open doors. My eyes combed the scene until I spotted Nancy, standing in the center of a group of cops. She spotted us, and an expression of relief spread across her face. 

She lifted her hand ever so slightly, offering us a discreet wave. I waved back, offering her a comforting smile. She glanced back at Powell, who waved her off, seemingly clearin her to go. She looked at us before hurriedly making her way over. I met her halfway, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as she crushed me into a hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." She said. I smiled, pulling away from her. 

"Come on. We have a lot to catch you up on." I said, wrapping an arm around her and leading her back in the direction of her car. 

~~~

We reconvened at the trailer park, which I guess was where Nancy had been, investigating with Fred when he disappeared. She explained all of that, and we explained everything that we'd been through in the past couple days. We were all sitting at one of the picnic tables, with Nancy, Robin, and Max on one side and Steve, Dustin, and I on the other.

"So you're saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, Its from the Upside Down?"

"If the shoe fits." Steve told her.

"Definitely." I added.

"Our working theory is that he attacks with...a spell or a curse." Dustin threw in. "Now whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know."

"This doesn't feel like the Mind Flayer," I said, pushing my hair back out of my face, "Something about this thing feels different, more...complex, if that's possible."

"Doesn't make sense." Nancy stated.

"Its only a theory."

"No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense." She elaborated. "I mean, why them?"

"Maybe they were just in the wrong place." Dustin suggested. "I mean, they were both at the game."

"And near the trailer park."

"We're at the trailer park." Steve pointed out. I shook my head.

"Unlikely," I corrected, "The way this thing talked to them, he targeted them specifically. He said he wanted their suffering to end, and he wanted them to join him."

"Their suffering?" Robin asked. "What 'suffering'?"

I thought about this.

"Chrissy was suffering from an eating disorder," I remembered, "And Fred, he...I think he accidentally killed a kid in a car accident. Those were a big part of these...scenes that he created."

"But I think there is something about this place. Fred started acting weird the second we got here." Nancy told me.

"Acting weird as in..." Robin prompted.

"Scared, on edge, upset."

"Max said Chrissy was upset too." Dustin confirmed.

"Yeah, but not here," Max corrected, "She was crying in the-"

"School bathroom?" I asked. She nodded, and I did too. "Yeah...I think that was the beginning of the end when it comes to Vecna and whatever he's doing to them. That was the firs thing that I saw, and I got chills when it happened, just like..." I trailed off as images filled my head, "Nancy, when you and Fred first got here, were you stopped by Officer Daniels?"

"Yeah, he let us in." She confirmed. I nodded.

"That's when he saw it," I said, "These attacks, they start with smaller, less immersive visions. Chrissy saw her Mom in the bathroom, critizing her about her weight and Fred...I think Fred imaged Officer Daniels calling him a murderer for what happened to that kid."

"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?" Robin asked. "So maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman-"

"Vecna."

"They definitely did." I agreed.

"I don't know about you guys, but If I saw some freaky wizard monster I would mention it to someone." Steve theorized, scratching his face.

"Maybe they did," Max replied, "I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley's office. If you saw a monster, you...you wouldn't go to the police, they'd never believe you. But, you might go to your-"

"Your shrink." Robin finished for her. Max nodded in agreement.