MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR NEW SUSPECT IN HAWKINS MURDER CASES; MUNSON VINDICATED

"Wow," Eddie mused, studying the Hawkins Post article sitting on the table in front of them, a photograph of their new suspect taking up the majority of the front page along with the article in question. "I thought my picture would be bigger, honestly."

Lily followed Eddie's gaze to where a much smaller image of him sat at the bottom of the paper, the tagline detailing Edward Munson as the original suspect in the murders shocking the people of Roane County, cleared of any and all charges during the police conference the week before. "You want to be front and center after being the target in their last manhunt?" she teased, eyeing him suspiciously.

"No publicity is bad publicity, babe." he pointed out, and she rolled her eyes as she picked up the newspaper, beginning to read the article out loud.

"Due to new evidence recovered in the case of the Devil of Hawkins, responsible for the brutal murders claiming the lives of three Hawkins High School students, the Roane County Sheriff's Department has issued a warrant for a new prime suspect." Lily began to read aloud, Eddie watching in awe as he processed the words printed in the newspaper. "Due to evidence gathered in an eyewitness testimony, a manhunt is underway for Hawkins High senior Jason Carver, 18. Carver was seen by the people of Hawkins as a leader in its initial manhunt for Edward Munson, 20, after the body of Carver's first victim, his girlfriend, 18 year old Christina Cunningham, was found in Munson's trailer the morning of March 22nd. Other victims include Carver's best friend, Patrick McKinney, 18, and fellow Hawkins High senior Fred Benson, 17. Sheriff reports detailed Carver's accusations of Munson, saying Munson was 'a vessel for Satan,' and 'a brutal killer.'"

"Ouch," Eddie interjected. "Words hurt, man."

"Munson was missing during the manhunt for nearly a week until an earthquake struck the town of Hawkins, where authorities apprehended Munson at Hawkins Memorial Hospital. Munson was in police custody for nearly a week until evidence came forward of a failed attack on the night of the earthquake by Carver on Hawkins High freshman Maxine Mayfield, 15." Lily cleared her throat slightly as she felt her voice faltering. "Following the arrest, Sheriff Calvin Powell later cleared Munson of all charges. Eyewitness accounts detailed Carver's brutal failed attack, which resulted in him fleeing the scene, and Carver has evaded police custody ever since. Tips received by the sheriff's office detailed witness accounts of Carver spotted fleeing Hawkins after the earthquake, leading a county-wide hunt for the suspect. Any tips regarding this case can be called into the Roane County Sheriff's Office."

"Do you feel bad about it?" Eddie asked as Lily set down the newspaper, and she shook her head.

"No," she said adamantly with a sigh, thinking back to the guy that used to drive her, Chrissy, and Patrick all out to dinner after a long night of basketball and cheer practices, but was now just the one who interfered and nearly got them all killed in the process. "Maybe I did, at first. There was nothing any of us could've done to save Chrissy, not when we didn't know what we were up against. But Jason had so many chances to learn the truth, and he didn't want to see it. He watched you save me that night, in the water, and he still told Powell that you killed Patrick. I tried to tell him the truth when he found us in the woods, and he told me I was brainwashed. And when Lucas tried to explain everything to him at the Creel House that night, Jason tried to kill him and almost killed Max in the process." Lily wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, angry tears that had begun to fall in her frustration. "So no, I don't feel bad in the slightest."

Eddie reached out, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers together as she smiled softly back at him. "Well, on the bright side," he began. "In about two minutes, I'm free of this place."

Lily's smile widened, taking in the faded t-shirt and jeans adorning his body that she'd managed to salvage from the wreckage of his trailer, the first time she'd seen him in actual clothes since the night of the earthquake; the one exception being the Hellfire shirt he'd worn during their campaign. Her gaze moved to the now vacated bed that she was more than ready to get far, far away from, though she knew they'd be back again to visit Max, before long.

A knock at the door pulled their attention to where a nurse waited with a wheelchair, smiling politely down at the two of them. "Mr. Munson, are you ready to get out of here?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." he assured her, and Lily grabbed his crutches while the nurse helped him into the chair.

The two of them bid a much-needed goodbye to the room, following the path that would take him out to be discharged. When they caught sight of his van waiting for him outside, Eddie's smile widened, an excited expression crossing his features.

"There she is!" Eddie announced. "There's my baby! Did Lily take good care of you while I was gone?"

Lily rolled her eyes as Eddie got into the passenger seat, and she climbed into the front seat, turning the key in the ignition as the vehicle sputtered to life. "What do you say, baby?" she asked, looking back over at Eddie. "What would you like to do first?"

"I'd like to go home," he admitted. "I mean, I know there's not much left, and staying there isn't much of an option, but maybe I can get all those things you saved of mine and, I don't know. Maybe make a small home in here or something." he gestured around at the van, still littered with empty aluminum cans and music equipment from Corroded Coffin's last gig. "Nick's been staying either with you or at Harrington's, and Wayne's at a friend's house, so I know they're okay until that fancy government lady gets the trailer replaced."

"Eddie," Lily deadpanned. "I love you, but you're out of your mind if you think I'm going to let you live out of your van by yourself. You're staying with me, remember?"

"I know, I know, but I also know your mom doesn't like me very much." he pointed out. "After she thought I kidnapped you and everything, I don't think she's actually okay with letting me stay with you."

While he was right that Susan hadn't been overly thrilled when Lily brought up the idea in the first place, the older Mayfield woman had eventually come around when she was reminded of everything Eddie had done for her two daughters in the past, back in their house on Old Cherry Street. She may not have been fond of the troublemaking boy her oldest daughter had chosen to date, but she wasn't about to make the boy live out on the streets, either.

"Which she now knows you didn't." she reminded him. "But she knows this is just for a little while, until you guys get back on your feet."

"Poor choice of words, Mayfield." Eddie pointed out, eyeing the cast still adorning his leg.

"Sorry," she retorted. "Regardless, you're coming home with me, end of story."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he said, leaning back in his seat as she switched the gear into reverse, backing out of the parking spot and driving out of the hospital parking lot.

Eddie stared outside as Lily drove, rolling down the window to feel the breeze against his face. Luckily, the roads on the outskirts of town had been untouched by the earthquake, but, where graffitied signs had once been stuck up in the ground by Jason and his followers with demands to bring Eddie to justice, proclaiming the young metalhead to be a vessel of the devil, they were long gone after Robin and Debbie had cleared them all out one night, allowing the boy to experience the drive in blissful ignorance while Lily's hands still clenched against the steering wheel from the memory.

Eddie grew quiet as Lily pulled the van off the road and onto the drive leading into Forest Hills Trailer Park, the only sound over the roaring of the engine that of the crunch of the gravel under the tires. As they slowly rounded the curve to the Mayfield and Munson trailers, Eddie craned his neck to get a good look at the place he once called home.

He was still staring at the trailer long after Lily killed the van's engine, the roar cutting out and bathing them in silence. Long after Eddie memorized the image in his head of the four walls housing his troubled childhood now fallen into ruin, he looked back at Lily, a small smile painted on his face now as he stared at her.

"You know," she reminded him as he continued to stare in her direction, changing the subject to a much more lighthearted tone. "I've still heard pictures last way longer."

Eddie's smile grew as he quickly leaned forward, capturing her lips with his in a brief peck before pulling back, the maniacal smile once more on his face. "C'mon, roomie." he teased, opening the door as she jumped out of the driver's side, grabbing his crutches from the backseat and meeting him at the door.

Eddie followed Lily inside the trailer, glancing around at the scene before them. Before she'd gone to meet him at the hospital that morning, she'd made sure to tidy up the place, all of the aluminum cans that littered the floor now in the dumpster out back. Although, one new addition to the room sat on the end table next to the couch, where an old picture of Eddie and Lily taken by Gareth the night of the Hellfire Club bonfire now sat amidst the other pictures on display of the Mayfield family.

"Well, would you look at that?" Eddie mused, taking a seat on the couch and reaching for the photograph, holding it gingerly in his hands as Lily rummaged through the VHS tapes under the small television. "It's me."

"It's you," Lily agreed, putting the movie on before taking a seat next to Eddie, leaning her head against him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Welcome home, Eddie."

Eddie smiled, pulling her close and giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "Welcome home, Lily."