▸Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money

T  H  E    M  A  S  S  A  C  R  E    A T     H A W K  I  N  S   L A B P T . I I I

The five of us were in Nancy's bedroom. We knelt on the ground to so we could all see the Lite Brite. Nancy held the Lite Brite, waiting for Dustin, Erica, and Lucas to put the pegs on their side. Our end of the board was dark and was filled with the colored pegs.

As we had waited for the others to finish their Lite Brite, Nancy had filled Steve and I in on how we're technically in the past. The Upside Down was still in 1983 when Will had disappeared all these years. So, technically, we're now time travelers.

"Come on. Come on." Steve whispered.

The red particle cloud appeared above the board. A smile grew on my face. They did it. Nancy propped the Lite Brite on the bed.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Dustin asked.

Nancy lifted her hand and put it through the cloud.

"Holy shit!" Erica said, Dustin's laugh in the background.

"We're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it. Stand by." Dustin informed us. The particle cloud shimmered away. "Okay, try it now."

The red particle cloud popped up above the Lite Brite. Eddie tapped Nancy's shoulder in excitement. I grabbed a hold of Steve's hand and anxiously bit the inside of my cheek.

"Okay." Nancy muttered. "Uh..."

Nancy used her finger to spell the letter "H" in the cloud. I heard Dustin read the letter aloud. She then spelt out "I". Dustin read it aloud as well before he came to the conclusion Nancy had spelled out "Hi".

"Hi!"

"Hey! Hi!"

"That worked!" Dustin laughed.

"Yes!" The five of us cheered.

"Yes!" I hugged Steve in joy. "We did it."

"Hi!" Eddie enthusiastically stated.

Robin released a chuckle as she wore a big smile. She reached her hand over Nancy and Eddie to high five me.

"Okay. Um...um..." Nancy hesitated on writing, not knowing what to spell out next. "S.T.U."

"Stupid?" Dustin guessed. "Stupid?"

"Did he just insult us?" I blinked in confusion.

"C.K." Lucas finished reading.

"Stuck." Erica put together.

"Yeah, we are." Robin said as Eddie hummed in agreement.

"Okay, okay. They're stuck in the Upside Down." Lucas comprehended.

"I'm so glad they're smart or else this would take forever." I sighed, fighting back a laugh.

"Uh, you can't get back through the Watergate?" Dustin asked us.

"What the hell is Watergate?" Steve looked at me in confusion.

"Is that whats he's calling the gate in Lover's Lake?" I raised a brow.

"Because it's in water and it's a gate." Robin explained as if it was self explanatory.

"Oh." Steve and Nancy said in unison.

"That's cute." Eddie commented with a tilt of his head.

"Right." Steve agreed.

"Uh, no. It's..." Nancy shook her head at Dustin's question. She started to spell out more words.

"G.U.A.R."

"Guar? Guar?" Dustin trailed off, knowing there had to be more letters. Nancy finished a writing out the word. "Guarded."

"Guarded?" Lucas guessed.

"Okay. Uh, Watergate's guarded." Dustin stated.

"I told you he's the genius of the family." I nodded along. Some of the others clapped at Dustin for catching on so quickly.

"Perfect." Steve said proudly. "Yes. Yes. Yes."

"We think we have a theory that can help with that." Dustin informed us.

"Yes."

"Genius child."

"That's my baby brother." I beamed.

"We think Watergate isn't the only gate. That there's a gate at every murder site." Dustin explained.

"Does anybody understand what he's saying?" Nancy asked us.

"No."

"No idea."

"Yes. Just like how the Demogorgon broke through to our world," I quickly faced Nancy and Steve, "whenever it smelt blood it would break through and it would leave a gate of sorts. That's how Nancy and I were able to go into the Upside Down the first time. So, whenever Vecna killed someone, a gate was opened where he can come in and out."

They all stared at me with blank faces.

"I think at least." I nervously chuckled.

"I'm just going to have him explain it." Nancy said as she drew a question mark in the particle cloud.

"Okay. Seriously? Not even Dawn?" Dustin exasperated. "How many times do I have to be right on the money before you trust me?"

"Jesus Christ." Steve placed his hands on his hips. "This kid's gotta get his ego in check. Dawn."

"I've tried. Danny had more of an impact than I did." I crossed my arms.

"It's his tone." Eddie leaned forward to look past Nancy to tell Steve and I. "Right?"

"I know." Steve agreed.

"Okay. So...so how far is your trailer?" Nancy turned to face Eddie.

"Seven miles." He responded.

"Nancy?" Robin called her name.

"What are you thinking? We kinda want to know, too." I perked my brow before processing and putting together what my brother and Nancy said. "There's a gate at Eddie's house. We can leave through there."

"Uh, I know your house is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?" Robin asked.

We all turned to face Nancy she thought about it. She smirked and gave us a nod.

▷

The five of us rode our bikes down the road. Eddie was leading the way to his trailer. Thunder crackled above us, a red hue lighting our way. I peddled faster when I heard a faint shriek.

"Pick up the pace." I told them, glancing over my shoulder. "I have a feeling we may have company soon."

"That's great. That's just great." Steve grumbled under his breath.

"Just peddle faster!" Robin picked up speed.

We didn't need much encouragement to ride faster. A couple of minutes had gone by as we neared Eddie's place. I kept a sharp ear for any monster shrieks or cries. Steve would glance at the sky every now and then.

Thunder boomed. We all glanced at the sky to see a swarm of the bat creatures circling a tall house. It was Victor Creel's house where Vecna took up residence. Fear spiked in my heart. In unison, we peddled even faster.

A mile later, we turned down the road into the trailer park. We strolled passed trailer homes. I frowned when I saw Max's trailer house, which in 1983 wasn't hers.

"Right here." Eddie nodded his head toward the trailer a few feet in front of us.

We pulled up to the trailer and jumped off our bikes. They crashed to the ground as we started to make our way to the trailer.

"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record. Most miles traveled interdimensional." Robin said.

"I just inhaled a bunch of that crap." Steve coughed into his fist. He held the flashlight and lit the way for us. Eddie opened the door. "It's stuck in my throat."

We entered the trailer home a red light catching our attention. I looked up to see the gate. There was a red skin like barrier with what appeared to be veins. It looked similar to how your finger would look like when you placed it onto of a flashlight. Shivers ran down my mind at the similarity.

"Goddamn." Steve muttered, flashing the light at the gate.

"This is where Chrissy died." Eddie mentioned. "Like, right where she died."

"I think there's something in there." Robin grimly noted.

Something started to web from the gate. It was almost as if something was trying to break through.

"What the hell is that?" Steve questioned.

Suddenly it popped. Liquid and flesh like material fell to the ground. We all jumped backwards. Robin let out a shriek. I unclipped my machete and held it at the ready. However, I noticed the end of a broom poking out of the gate.

"Is...is that a broom?" I furrowed my brows, slightly lowering my machete.

Nancy and Steve looked at me with a mixture of confusion and fear. A few more drops of fleshy liquid fell to the floor. I started to inch closer, Steve following beside me. When we stood under the hole I gasped. The others walked over to see.

"No way." Steve breathed out in shock.

Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Erica were on the other side of the gate. They appeared to be upside down. My brother was the one holding the broom. He let out a laugh. A smile grew on my lips.

"Hi there." Dustin and Erica waved, Max and Lucas doing the same.

"Hi." We replied back.

"Holy shit." Robin muttered with a smile. "This is trippy."

"Bada-bada-boom!" Dustin laughed

"Okay, genius," I chuckled with a large grin, "how are we doing this?"

"Easy. We'll tie some bed sheets together to make a makeshift rope and have a mattress for you guys to fall on." Dustin explained with a shrug. "Simple."

"Yeah, yeah." Steve nodded.

The kids went to work. Dustin started to tie bedsheets together while Lucas and Max brought a stained mattress. Max and Lucas dropped the mattress under the gate.

"Those stains are, uh..." Eddie trailed off. I raised a brow at him. He glanced back at us momentarily before looking back up. "I don't know what those stains are."

Robin let out a small sound of disgust as she eyed Eddie. Dustin and Erica grabbed the tied bedsheets, the later letting it go when she saw Dustin had it. He walked onto the mattress, looking up at us.

"I'm not quite sure how these physics are going to work. But uh...here goes nothing." Dustin threw up one end of the bedsheets into the gate. It fell down our end. They held it securely on their side of the gate. Dustin smiled up at us. "There we go. And if my theory is correct..."

Dustin let go of the bedsheets and held his hands up. It was, in a way, hanging on both sides of the gate. The gate was the one holding the bedsheets I place with gravity working in both ends. The other kids joined Dustin on standing on the mattress.

"Abracadabra." Dustin stared at the bedsheets proudly.

"Holy shit." Lucas uttered, analyzing the bedsheets.

"Alright, pull on it!" Dustin screamed, looking up at us. "See if it holds!"

Robin looked at us. Steve gave her a nod to try it. Robin wrapped her hands around the sheets and gave it a tug. She let out a grunt when it didn't move. I breathed out a chuckle. Dustin laughed once again.

"This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life." Erica stated. "And I've seen some crazy shit."

Dustin raised his hand up for a high five. He still looked up into the gate as Erica slapped her hand against his. Robin stood closer to the sheets.

"Guess I'm the Guinea pig." Robin jumped, wrapping her legs around the sheets with a grunt.

She started to climb up. Nancy and I held our hands out in case she fell. The kids on the other side stepped off the mattress to clear it for Robin. When Robin made it to the gate, her hair started to float upward.

"Oh my God. Whoa!" Robin fell onto the mattress. She sat up with a smile. "Oh, thank God. That was fun."

Dustin extended his hand out to her. Robin grasped it and allowed Dustin to help her up. Steve, Eddie, Nancy, and I all looked at each other. Who's next?

"Alright, I guess I'll go." Eddie shrugged, heading to the bedsheets. He grasped the sheets. "Alright."

Eddie climbed up the sheets just like Robin had. He fell backwards onto the mattress when he reached the gate. Eddie sat up with wide eyes.

"That was fun." Eddie said with a smile. Dustin helped him up. "Shit."

"Okay, Nance, you can go next." I said, still looking up at the others. When I didn't hear anything, I glanced at Nancy to see her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Just like Max had when Vecna was in her mind. "Shit. Nancy?"

I quickly went to her, Steve right behind me. The white of her eyes were shaking. Nancy was frozen.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Nancy? Come on."

"Nance?" Steve shook her shoulder with no response. "Hey! Hey! Stay with me. Nancy!"

"Nancy, wake up!" I screamed. "Come on, wake up Nancy!"

"Wake up, Nancy!" Steve continued to shake her shoulder.

"Nancy!"

Well, that wraps up season 4 volume 1

What do you guys think so far?

Also, was it just me or did vol 1 feel darker than usual? S3 had a lot more humor.

I just feel like it was harder to put humor into this Act with how vol 1 is. Hopefully vol 2 will have a bit more and that there will be more action (I love writing action scenes).

I personally feel this Act isn't my best work so sorry bout that