Chapter Seventeen: The Boathouse

"Honestly? I thought reefer Rick was a myth."

"A myth?"

"You know, like Big Foot," Lydia elaborated, parting the low hanging leaves in her path so she could move through.

Steve reached his arm over her head to hold the branch. "Big Foot? Really?"

"Uh, Big Foot is not a myth," Robin spoke up from behind them. "Like, I've heard people's stories. There is some weird shit happening in these woods."

Max scoffed. "Big Foot definitely isn't real. It's just a stupid–"

"Will you guys shut the hell up?" Dustin snapped, casting a stern look at them over his shoulder.

Lydia and Steve shared a glance, half in amusement, half at the audacity. Steve briefly placed a hand on her lower back as he moved past, catching up to Dustin. Lydia continued walking alongside Robin and Max. She wrapped her navy blue jacket tighter around her body. There was an unsettling chill in the air.

The boys led them across the driveway to house 2121, Eddie Munson's suspected hideout. It had taken most of the day to track down Reefer Rick's address – which they had only found after sleuthing the video store's rental records. Lydia really hoped it wouldn't be a wasted effort.

The girls approached cautiously. Lydia kept her flashlight low on the ground, watching where she was stepping and intending not to shine it through the windows to alarm any potential occupants.

It was dark, but the glimpses from their flashlights suggested the house hadn't been attended to in a while. Overgrown plants and weeds snaked up the front, the windows were covered in dirt, the wooden panels were plagued with rot.

Steve stared up at the front door, hands on his hips. "I don't like this."

Lydia stood beside him. "Yeah. This is literally the scene every horror movie warns you about."

Dustin released a heavy breath of exasperation, barging through the middle of them. He leaned closer to the window, pressing his forehead against the class to scour through the partially opened blinds. The rest of them shone their torches inside.

"See anything?" Lydia asked.

Dustin shook is head. He moved back to the door and prodded his finger against the bell. Once. Twice. Three times. Rapidly.

"Okay. Well, that's settled," Steve said sarcastically, flashing his torch in Dustin's face. "I guess he's not in here–"

"Eddie!" Dustin hollered, hammering his fist against the door. "It's Dustin!"

"Great."

"Dustin, if we get picked off by an axe wielding murderer out here because of all this noise you're making, I will personally hunt you down and kill you again myself," Lydia warned.

Dustin ignored her. "Look, we just wanna talk, okay?" He called out to the door. "No cops, I swear. We just wanna help. Eddie!"

"Shh" Robin hushed him.

Lydia swore she heard a rustling in the trees. She swung around, moving the torch in the same direction. Something moved on the edge of the woods. Lydia started to creep closer.

"Rick!" Dustin shouted, aggressively ringing the bell. "Reefer Rick!"

"Don't scream that," Steve scolded.

"Rick!"

"Dustin, he's not there!"

A hand clasped on Lydia's shoulder. She jolted, surprised gasp escaping her lips as she whirled on the person. Robin stood there with a frown. "Lydie, what are you doing?"

Her eyes darted from her best friend to the trees. Something didn't feel right. "I swear I saw movement in there."

Robin stared at her unsurely, then her eyes widened. "Holy shit. Big Foot?"

Max brushed past them. "You guys watch too much shit on TV."

Lydia and Robin exchanged wounded looks. "We do not."

The girls returned to the door, Lydia checking over her shoulder a few times. Weird. Max moseyed around the other side of the porch.

"Reefer Rick!" Dustin yelled. He finally stopped pounding on the door and turned to the others, shining his flashlight over them. Lydia automatically held a hand up to shield her face. "He could just be really high."

Steve peered closer through the window. "Is that a foot?"

"No," Dustin dismissed. "That's a shoe."

"Hey, guys?" Max called out.

Their flashlights flitted back and forth across the grounds until they eventually landed on the exact same thing. A boathouse.

Shrouded in the dark, the rusted shed might have been well disguised if it hadn't been for the lone light flickering above.

The group approached cautiously, treading back over damp leaves and mossy ground. Lydia noticed that the door had been cracked open just a few inches. Max shone her torch at the window, which was almost covered entirely in dust. Robin snuck towards the door, slowly and carefully pushing it open.

It squeaked.

She winced.

"Hello?" Robin called out. "Is anyone home?"

The floorboards creaked as Lydia took a step inside. Her flashlight drifted around. There were oars leaned against the walls, fishing rods hung up, tools scattered on the table – oh, potential murder weapons? 

Yeah, no, Lydia didn't like it.

Steve walked a few paces ahead of them, surveying the room. "What a dump."

He reached for an oar and inched closer to the boat in the middle of the room. Lydia quickly understood why. The blue tarp covering it seemed like a great hiding spot.

Steve stopped and glanced back at her for assurance. Lydia nodded. He tightened his grip around the oar, leaned back and then whacked the tarp.

"What are you doing?" Dustin hissed. Steve jabbed it again. "What are you doing?!"

"He might be in here."

"So take the tarp off!"

"If you're so brave, you take the tarp off," Steve retorted. He took a step back, gesturing towards the boat. Dustin didn't move. Steve continued prodding the tarp.

"Hey, look over here," Max said. Lydia headed over. Max pointed to the open wrappers discarded on the table. "Someone was here."

"Maybe he heard us," Robin suggested. "Got spooked and ran."

"Don't worry," Dustin snarked. "Steve will get him with his oar."

"I know you think you're being funny, but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slight–"

Suddenly, a figure burst from underneath the tarp, a blur of unruly hair and black leather. Lydia's heart leapt. The girls jumped back. Dustin screamed.

Steve was tackled against the wall. Lydia rushed over to him, then skidded to a stop. The attacker's hand was clutched around the neck of a broken beer bottle, knuckles turning white. The object was pressed to Steve's throat.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait–" His startled eyes pleased with Eddie Munson, whose lip curled as he pushed the jagged glass closer to his neck.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Eddie!" Dustin hurried forwards. "Eddie, stop! Eddie! It's me. It's Dustin."

Slowly, Eddie turned to face the group. His eyes darted around the room. His chest heaved. He was scared. Fucking hell, so was Lydia – the lunatic had a broken bottle against her boyfriend's neck!

"This is Steve," Dustin said calmly. "He's not gonna hurt you, right, Steve?"

Steve nodded rapidly. "Right. Yeah."

Lydia considered what she could do to help, but she was afraid any sudden movement would scare Eddie into doing something stupid. The glass wasn't enough to break Steve's skin. Yet.

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?" Dustin suggested. Nodding in compliance, Steve opened his palm and let the object clatter to the floor. Eddie's grip on his shirt tightened. Lydia instinctively took a step forwards. Dustin held out a hand, giving her a warning stare. She hesitated, but backed up. "He's cool. He's cool."

"I'm cool, man. I'm cool," Steve assured.

"What are you doing here?" Eddie demanded.

"We're looking for you," Dustin explained.

Robin took a step forwards. "We're here to help."

"Eddie, these are my friends," Dustin gestured around the room. "You know Robin, from band."

Eddie tore his eyes away from Steve, allowing them to drift around the occupants of the room. Robin attempted to ease the tension by imitating playing the trumpet.

Dustin indicated to his left. "This is my friend Max, the one who never wants to play D&D," he continued. "And you know Lydia, right? She's Steve's girlfriend.

Eddie's brown eyes flickered to them each in turn. Lydia might have offered him a reassuring smile under a different circumstance. Right now, she was concentrated on her boyfriend.

Dustin held his hands out in surrender. "Eddie, we're on your side," he promised. "I swear on my mother. Right, guys?"

They all nodded eagerly. "Yes."

"We swear," Robin assured.

"On Dustin's mother," Max agreed.

"Yeah, Dustin's... Dustin's mother," Steve stammered out.

Eddie waited a moment. Then he took a step back, lowering his arm.

Steve immediately doubled over, gasping for air. "Jesus Ch...fuck."

Lydia was in front of him within seconds, cupping either side of his face as she checked him over. She gently moved his hand away from his neck so she could see any injuries. "You okay?"

Steve gulped and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Lydia held onto his forearm, carefully guiding him towards a wooden stool. He sat down, hunching over. She crouched in front of him, a hand resting on his knee.

Eddie had shrunk back into the furthest corner of the room. He slid down the wall, muttering under his breath. His hands trembled, still clutching onto the bottle. He hung his head. Lydia watched him through narrowed eyes.

"We just want to talk. Okay?" Dustin said, approaching carefully. Eddie flinched. Dustin got the hint and backed up again.

Robin knelt a short distance away. "We want to know what happened."

Eddie sniffled. He raised his head, briefly glancing between them. "You won't believe me."

Max stepped closer. "Try us."

Eddie's eyes travelled over the group. Lydia tried to soften her scowl into an expression of encouragement.

He drew in a slow, shaky breath. "Chrissy...she came into my trailer to buy drugs. And she–" Eddie paused, eyes downcast. "She said she wanted something stronger so I went to get it a–and when I came back..." he trailed off, swallowing thickly.

"What did you see?" Dustin prompted.

"She– she was just standing there," Eddie's voice quivered. "And her eyes were like– like completely white. I tried to wake her up but...but then her body just, like, lifted up into the air and, uh..." He took a deep breath. "And she just, like, hung there. In the air. And her bones..."

Eddie closed his eyes, a stifled whimper escaping his lips. "Her bones started to snap. And her eyes, man. It...It was like there was something, like, inside her head, pulling." His voice cracked. "I–I didn't know what to do, so I...I ran away. I left her there."

A heavy silence hung in the air as the group digested the information. Lydia couldn't imagine – in fact, didn't want to imagine – the horrific pain Chrissy went through. Or the terror of witnessing it, memories that would no doubt haunt Eddie for the rest of his life.

Eddie scoffed, turning away. "You all think I'm crazy, right?"

"No," Dustin dismissed. "We don't think you're crazy."

"Don't bullshit me, man!" Eddie snapped. He moved his hands to his head, clutching at his dark hair. "I know how this sounds."

"We're not bullshitting you, Eddie," Lydia said gently. His eyes flickered over to her. "We believe you."

"Look," Dustin began. "What I'm about to tell you might be a little...difficult to take."

Eddie glanced back at him unsurely. "Okay."

"You know how people say Hawkins is...cursed? They're not way off. There's another world. A world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

Eddie leaned forwards. "Like ghosts and shit?"

"There are some things worse than ghosts," Max said softly. Lydia's attention lingered on her for a moment longer.

"These monsters from this other world," Dustin carried on. "We thought they were gone. That's why we needed to find you."

"If they're back again, we need to know," Robin said. "That night, did you see anything?"

"Dark particles, maybe?" Max added.

"It would almost look like dust, swirling dust," Dustin tried to explain.

"No, man, there was nothing you could see or, uh...Or touch," Eddie answered. He pressed his hands together. "You know, I tried to wake her, man. She couldn't move. It was like she...she was in a trance or something."

"Or under a spell," Dustin said quietly. He straightened up. "A curse. Vecna's curse."

"Who's Vecna?" Lydia and Steve asked in unison.

Dustin's gaze lowered. "An undead creature of great power."

"A spell caster," Eddie muttered.

"A dark wizard."

Lydia blinked, getting to her feet. "Yeah, no, what?"

Dustin's eyes snapped up at her. He huffed exaggeratedly. "I am not explaining D&D to you again."

"Hey, lose the attitude, man" Steve scolded. "It was just a question."

"I'm stressed, Steve!" Dustin burst out, arms flapping dramatically.

"Just...just chill out, dude. Jesus." Steve came to Lydia's side, his arm brushing against hers.

"You chill out!" Dustin shot back.

"Hey, Eddie," Robin started, interrupting their bickering. "Does anybody else know you're here?"

"Uh..." Eddie hesitated, eyes skimming over them all. "Yeah, uh...Betty. Betty knows."

"Betty?" Steve questioned. "As in–"

"Betty Angel?" Lydia finished with a frown. Eddie nodded in affirmation.

Robin spared a glance at the others. "Just so we're clear, this is Chrissy's best friend Betty?"

Eddie nodded again. "Yeah."

"And you can see how this might be a...slight problem?" Robin asked.

"She won't tell," Eddie assured them. In fact, it was the most confident he'd been about anything all night.

"And you're sure about that?" Dustin pressed. "I know you–" he stopped himself when Eddie glowered. "Dude, her best friend got killed and you're the prime suspect. That's kinda screwed up."

"Her friends have called you freak through, like, the entirety of high school," Robin reminded. "Like, they hate you."

"But she doesn't," Max spoke up. Everyone's attention fell on her. "I mean, I saw you guys after school yesterday. It didn't exactly look like she hated you."

Lydia's eyebrows raised in intrigue.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember," Eddie said. He focused back on the others, particularly Dustin. "You can trust her. I trust her."

"Okay. So, where is she now?" Dustin asked.

"She went home," Eddie replied. He fiddled with the rings on his fingers. "Didn't want her friends to get suspicious. Said she'd come back in the morning with supplies."

"Well, uh, we can get you some things too," Dustin offered eagerly. "I mean, who knows how long you'll have to hide out here." Noticing Eddie's alarmed expression, he quickly doubled back. "But we'll figure this out. Don't worry. Just...hole up here until we get back tomorrow. And if anything happens whilst we're gone–"

Eddie nodded in assurance. "I'll run like hell."

A/N

Eddie hath arrived!! Once again, this story is connected to my Eddie fic Died In Your Arms, which is where the character Betty is from – I'm looking forward to introducing her here properly!!

What do you guys think Lydia and Eddie's dynamic will be like?? They haven't exactly got off to the best of starts but there's time to fix that lmaoo