Chapter 54

Dustin practically slams his finger against the doorbell, jabbing it over and over again.

“Well, that’s less graceful than I was thinking,” Maggie comments.

The rest of the group fans out, shining flashlights across the dark porch and overgrown yard. The light flickers inside the house, but no movement follows.

After the tenth ring, Dustin balls his fist and pounds on the door.

“Eddie! It’s Dustin!” he shouts, his voice carrying into the night.

“Well, I guess that’s settled. He’s not here,” Steve mutters dryly, folding his arms with a scowl.

“Look, we just wanna talk, okay?” Dustin says, ignoring Steve and pressing his forehead against the door, “No cops, I swear. We just wanna help.”

He pounds again, harder this time. Robin and Max exchange a glance before creeping over to the side windows, trying to peer in through the grime-coated glass.

“Reefer Rick!” Dustin yells.

“Don’t scream that!” Steve scolds, “We’re already suspicious enough.”

Maggie tries her turn at calling for the boy, “Eddie, listen it’s Maggie! I’ve missed you, I just wanna talk I promise. I would never turn in my partner in crime.”

Dustin starts knocking again, ringing the bell, yelling names into the air. The only response is a few birds startled from the trees nearby.

“Hey guys?” Max’s voice calls from the side of the house.

The group turns as one and follows her toward the lake’s edge. There, nestled under the shadow of trees and sagging with age, is a weather-beaten shed with a warped roof and a padlock hanging uselessly from the door.

“It’s a boathouse,” Robin says, squinting at it.

Maggie raises her flashlight, sweeping the beam over the windows. Her breath fogs in the night air.

“If I were hiding out from the law, this is exactly where I’d do it.”

They move to the windows, pressing up against the glass. Steve cups his hands around his eyes to peer in while Maggie raps a knuckle lightly against the side of the structure.

“Is anyone home?” Robin calls cautiously, stepping forward and easing the door open.

Inside, the air is musty and thick with mildew. Moonlight filters through the slats in the roof, casting stripes of pale silver over the dust-covered floor. It’s a mess, crumpled food wrappers, a half-empty bag of Cheetos, and dirty clothes strewn across the floor.

“What a dump,” Steve mutters as he steps inside, nose wrinkling.

He grabs a nearby paddle and approaches a canoe covered in a ratty old tarp. Without hesitation, he stabs the paddle into it.

“What are you doing?” Dustin asks, eyebrows raised.

Steve stabs again.

“He might be in there,” he says defensively.

“So…take the tarp off,” Dustin replies, baffled, “You don’t gotta murder it.”

“If you’re so brave, you take the tarp off,” Steve counters.

Maggie smirks, “Ladies, ladies, you’re both pretty. Do you need me to do it for you?”

Steve rolls his eyes and keeps poking.

Meanwhile, Robin and Max are examining the trash on the nearby table.

“Maybe he heard us. Got spooked and ran,” Robin suggests, holding up a crumpled wrapper.

“Don’t worry,” Dustin chimes in sarcastically, “Steve’ll get him with his oar.”

“I know you think you’re being funny,” Steve says, not looking back, “but considering everyone in this room has nearly died a hundred times, personally I don’t find it funny in the sligh—”

Suddenly, a blur of motion, someone launches out from under the canoe tarp. A wild-eyed figure barrels into Steve, slamming him against the wall with terrifying strength. A blade flashes in the dim light, pressed tightly to Steve’s throat.

“WHOA, whoa, whoa, Eddie!” Dustin yells, both hands up in the air.

Steve gasps, his back against the damp wall, body frozen.

“Eddie,” Maggie says sharply, stepping forward, “Hey. Hey. It’s me.”

Eddie’s grip doesn’t loosen. The knife stays right at Steve’s throat. His eyes flicker frantically, scanning the unknown and familiar faces.

“Maggie?” His voice cracks on the name, “No. No, you’re not real. I’m officially hallucinating now. Great, just great.”

Dustin inches closer, palms still raised, “Dude, you are not hallucinating. She’s real. I’m real. Steve is very real and would very much like to keep his carotid artery.”

Steve swallows carefully, “Strongly agree.”

Maggie takes another step, lowering her flashlight so the beam isn’t blinding him.

“Eds. It’s me. Same annoying voice, same stupid jokes. I promise.”

Eddie’s breathing stutters. His eyes lock on her face.

“You— you left,” he says hoarsely, “You moved. You don’t just… show up in sheds.”

“First of all, rude,” Maggie says gently, “Second, I came back for spring break. Third, I heard you were in trouble, and I don’t do well with that.”

Dustin nods emphatically, “She does not. Historically speaking, she does the opposite of ‘well.'”

Eddie’s hand starts to shake.

“I didn’t do it,” he blurts, words tumbling out too fast. “I swear to God, Maggie. I swear on everything. I just…you’re not gonna believe me.”

Try us,” Max replies with a small shrug.

Eddie stares at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if this is all some elaborate trap. But slowly, he begins.

“She just came over for help,” he says, voice cracked and barely above a whisper, “Chrissy. She—she said she was having these awful nightmares. Headaches. Like something was drilling into her skull. Said she thought she was going crazy. She didn’t want to go to a doctor or her parents, she just wanted to buy something off me to take the edge off. You know, just… ease it all a little.”

He pauses, breathing hard like the memory alone is hurting him.

“I don’t know what happened,” he continues, gaze locked on the floor, “The lights started flickering, and she—she just lifted. Off the ground. Like, her body rose up into the air. And she was just… hanging there. Like a puppet. And her bones… God.” His voice cracks. “They started snapping. All of them. Like twigs. And her eyes, man, there was something in them. Something inside her. Like it was dragging her out from the inside.”

Eddie shakes his head violently. His shoulders quake.

“I didn’t know what to do. I just ran. I left her there. I—I left her. You think I’m crazy, right?” He looks up, wild-eyed and broken.

“No,” Dustin says immediately, firm and clear. He leans forward, “We don’t think you’re crazy.”

But Eddie snaps, “Don’t bullshit me, man! I know how this sounds!”

“We’re not bullshitting you,” Max says with surprising empathy.

“We believe you,” Robin adds, her voice soft.

“You’re safe right now,” Maggie says softly. “We’re here. I’ve got you. Six months doesn’t undo that. And we believe you, trust me.”

Eddie lets out a broken laugh, “You always say stuff like that. Like it’s a fact.”

“Because it is,” she replies. “I don’t bail on my people.”

Dustin steps in beside her, “Look, what we’re about to tell you might be a little…difficult to take.”

Eddie nods, “Okay.”

“You know how people say Hawkins is cursed?” Dustin starts, “They’re not way off.”

He glances toward Maggie, who’s unusually still.

“There’s another world,” he says, “One that exists beneath ours. Like a shadow of it. Sometimes it bleeds through. And when it does… bad things happen.”

“A world,” Maggie adds, “where nightmares come to life. And they don’t go away when you wake up.”

Eddie stares at them both, “Like ghosts and shit?”

Dustin hesitates, “Not exactly.”

“Do you remember when we met?” Maggie asks.

“Of course,” Eddie says, “Punched a jock first day back from a coma.”

Maggie nods, “Yeah that wasn’t just a…normal coma. It was a monster from this place. I died and came to life. We fought it and we though it was gone. But now, we think something’s coming back.”

“That’s why we needed to find you,” Max adds, stepping closer, “Because if they’re back, we have to be ready.”

Robin crouches again, “That night, did you see anything else? Anything weird? Like… dark particles? Floating? Swirling dust?”

Eddie scrunches his face, thinking, “No, man. Nothing like that. Nothing you could see or touch.”

“You tried to wake her?” Dustin asks gently.

“Of course I did,” Eddie replies, his voice fraying again, “She couldn’t move. It was like—like she was in a trance. Or like… something had her.”

A thought hits Dustin like a lightning bolt.

“A spell,” he says, “She was under a spell.”

Eddie looks at him, then nods slowly, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

“A curse,” he murmurs, “Like—like a D&D curse.”

“Vecna’s Curse,” Dustin says ominously.

Steve, still shaken but finally speaking, asks, “Who the hell is Vecna?”

Dustin turns to him, “An undead creature of great power. In D&D lore, he’s one of the most powerful liches to ever exist.”

“A spell caster,” Eddie adds darkly.

“A dark wizard,” Dustin finishes.

And for a moment, the room goes still.

“You really came back,” Eddie says quietly, eyes searching Maggie’s face, “I thought… I don’t know. People don’t usually come back.”

Maggie snorts softly, “Please. You think a couple thousand miles and some sunshine could scare me off? I’m harder to get rid of than that rash you got from the Munson trailer couch.”

He huffs out a weak laugh, shaking his head, “God, I missed you.”

Her expression softens, all the sarcasm easing off, “I missed you too. Every stupid day.”

For a second, the world feels smaller. Like it’s just them again, sneaking out of detention, getting into trouble, talking about nothing and everything.

Eddie swallows, “You believe me. Like, actually.”

“I always will,” Maggie says, firm and steady, “You’re not alone in this. Not now. Not ever.”

Behind them, Steve clears his throat pointedly, “As touching as this is, I would like to not be in the murder cabin anymore.”

Robin nods, “Seconded.”

Dustin steps forward, “Okay, Eddie. Plan is this. We’re laying low tonight. We’re gonna think. Research. Do our nerd thing.”

Max adds, “We’ll be back tomorrow. You won’t be by yourself.”

Eddie hesitates, glancing at Maggie. She gives him a small nod.

“I’ll be back,” she says, “I promise. You’re stuck with me again.”

A crooked smile finally pulls at his mouth, “Guess I’ll survive the night then.”

They gather their flashlights, backing toward the door. Maggie lingers a second longer, squeezing Eddie’s arm.

“Try to sleep,” she murmurs, “I know that’s a joke suggestion, but still.”

He watches her go, steadiness settling in his chest.

As the door shuts and the group disappears into the night, Eddie exhales for the first time in hours.

The drive back is quieter than the one out. Headlights sweep over empty roads, the trees blurring together. Maggie stares out the window, jaw tight. Eddie’s face keeps replaying in her head.

“Tomorrow,” she murmurs, mostly to herself, “We’ll fix this tomorrow.”

Steve drops her off last. The Wheeler house is dark except for the faint glow of a lamp in the living room.

She pushes the door open quietly, slipping inside and toeing off her shoes. The house feels wrong.

“Nance?” Maggie calls softly.

She gets no answer.

She follows the light down the hall and finds Nancy in her bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with her jacket still on, notebook resting forgotten beside her. Her hands are clenched together so tightly her knuckles have gone pale.

Maggie stops in the doorway.

“Oh,” she says gently, “Hey.”

Nancy looks up, eyes red, jaw set. The second she sees Maggie, the control cracks.

“Fred’s missing,” she says, voice tight, “He never show up after.”

Maggie crosses the room in two steps and drops in front of her, hands finding Nancy’s knees, “Okay. Alright. Slow down. Tell me everything.”

Nancy drags in a shaky breath. “We went to try and go investigate. And…we were supposed to meet up after, but he never showed up. And the police hadn’t seen him and I just…this is all my fault. I’m the one who convinced him to go.”

“Hey,” she says softly, tilting Nancy’s face up so she has to look at her, “You didn’t do anything wrong. You hear me?”

Nancy shakes her head, “I pushed him. I made him dig into it with me. I didn’t even check on him today, Maggie, I just—”

Maggie pulls her into a hug before the spiral can take hold, arms wrapping tight, solid, unmovable. Nancy clutches at her like she might disappear if she doesn’t.

“This isn’t on you,” Maggie murmurs into her hair, “Something bad is happening here. Bigger than both of us.”

Nancy’s voice is muffled against her shoulder, “I’m scared.”

“I know,” Maggie admits, “Me too.”

They sit there like that for a long moment, the house creaking softly around them. Maggie presses a kiss to Nancy’s temple and pulls back just enough to meet her eyes.

“We’re gonna find him,” she says, steady and sure, “And we’re gonna stop whatever the hell this is. Together.”

Nancy nods, wiping at her cheeks, resolve slowly bleeding back in around the fear.

“Together,” she echoes.

When morning comes, it’s not long before Maggie is dragged from sleep. Dustin had already tried to call her twice, insisting it’s “urgent.” Apparently, urgent to him is buying Eddie snacks.

Thirty minutes later, they’re in Steve’s car with Robin in the back seat, Max squeezed beside her, and Dustin practically vibrating in the passenger seat with a grocery list in his lap.

“It’s not just snacks,” Dustin insists as Steve turns into the store parking lot, “I got real food too. Stuff he can eat without a stove.”

“Like… Spam,” Robin says flatly, lifting an eyebrow.

“Spam’s a survival classic,” Dustin replies defensively.

Maggie, holding the list, reads aloud, “Three cans of SpaghettiOs, two boxes of Pop-Tarts, a family-sized bag of Doritos, and… a single apple?”

“Balance,” Dustin says with a shrug,m “He’s a wanted man, not a health guru.”

Robin laughs as she grabs a cart, “Let’s keep this moving, team. We’ve got one fugitive to feed and zero time to get arrested.”

They split up briefly, grabbing canned goods, a few paper towels, and some protein bars. Maggie tosses a jar of peanut butter into the cart and tries to shake her anxiety of her conversation with Nancy the night before.

The drive to Reefer Rick’s cabin is mostly quiet, broken by Dustin giving them unnecessarily detailed instructions and Robin singing along to the radio slightly off-key. The gravel crunches under Steve’s tires as they pull up, dust kicking up around them in the morning light.

Maggie steps out first, balancing two grocery bags on one hip. The cabin still looks half-abandoned, cloaked in moss and shadows. But the curtain twitches slightly when they approach, and by the time they’re on the porch, the door creaks open just enough for Eddie’s face to peek through.

“Password?” he calls out.

“Eddie, open the door before I eat your PopTarts myself,” Maggie smirks.

Eddie swings the door wider, grinning. His hair is wild and matted, his eyes rimmed with sleepless shadows, but he’s alive and smiling.

“You guys came back,” he says, stepping aside.

The group sits in a wide circle on the floor, lit by golden sunlight slicing through the gaps in the boarded-up windows. Someone’s put on a cassette tapel, but it’s mostly drowned out by Eddie’s enthusiastic crunching as he shovels dry cereal into his mouth straight from the box.

He’s cross-legged on a frayed rug, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, completely absorbed in feeding himself. Max leans against the wall. Robin lounges with her legs stretched out. Steve hovers by her and Maggie, eyes darting between the group.

Dustin clears his throat loudly, bringing a hush over the cabin.

“Alright,” he says, sitting upright, “We’ve got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?”

Eddie pauses mid-crunch, eyes narrowing warily, “Bad news first. Always.”

Dustin hesitates.

“Okay, bad news.” He leans forward slightly, voice dropping, “I tapped into Hawkins PD dispatch using my Cerebro.”

Maggie cuts in, “Which is just a very glorified ham radio he soldered together.”

“Shh,” Dustin hushes, waving her off, “Anyway, I heard them. They’re definitely on the hunt for you, Eddie. They’re convinced, like, full-on, no-room-for-doubt convinced, that you killed Chrissy.”

The box of cereal lowers in Eddie’s hands. His smirk falters and his jaw tics.

A bitter laugh rasps from Eddie’s throat, “Right. Of course. The whole ‘devil-worshipping freak strikes again’ narrative.”

His knuckles tighten around the cereal box until it crinkles.

“And the good news?” he asks sharply.

Robin straightens up, “Your name hasn’t gone public. Yet. So you’ve got a little time before this town starts flipping pitchforks and lighting torches.”

“But if we figured out where you are,” Maggie says, running a hand through her hair, “it’s only a matter of time before someone else does.”

“And once that happens,” Robin continues, her tone grim but honest, “every narrow-minded mouth-breather in Hawkins is gonna want your head.”

Eddie sets the box down slowly. His whole posture changes, shoulders hunching, mouth pressed in a tight line. There’s a familiar fire behind his eyes now.

“Hunt the freak,” he spits, “Isn’t that the slogan of this damn town?”

Robin doesn’t even try to sugarcoat it, “Exactly.”

Dustin jumps in, “Which is why we have a plan. A solid one. We find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.”

Eddie stares, “That’s all? That’s it, Dustin?”

Dustin nods with a bright smile, “Yep. Pretty much.”

The silence that follows is thick. Eddie just shakes his head, disbelieving.

Steve tosses a half-smile Eddie’s way, “Yeah, welcome to the club, man.”

Robin leans in, her tone gentle but firm, “Look, I know that everything Dustin’s saying sounds totally insane. It is insane. But we’ve done insane before. They’ve done it more times than I have, honestly. Especially Maggie, the girl has almost died like 5 times.

Eddie glances at Evie, curiosity sparked, “Maggie?”

Maggie stiffens before she shoots Robin a what-the-fuck-was-that look. She hadn’t wanted Eddie to know about everything, and especially not her powers. She wanted him safe.

Robin raises both hands in surrender sheepishly.

Robin gives a small shrug, “What? I’m just saying you’ve seen the worst of it.”

Steve clears his throat, “We used to have this girl with superpowers backing us up. But, uh… those powers are gone now. Poof. So… now we’ve only got Maggie.”

Maggie’s head snaps around, “Steve.“

“What?” Steve says, raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You basically just told him I’m the last resort!”

Robin offers a helpful thumbs-up, “Technically, he said you’re all we’ve got.”

Maggie throws her hands up in full, dramatic despair, “Oh my God. Do you people want me to start glowing in front of strangers?”

Maggie rubs her palms together like she’s stalling for time, then looks back at Eddie.

“Before you freak out,” she says, “which you will, just know I didn’t ask for this. It came free with the trauma.”

Eddie squints, “That sentence did not help.”

She huffs a breath, “I can take pain. Injuries. I can pull it out of someone and put it… here.”

She taps her own chest, “My problem now.”

Eddie laughs once, sharp and disbelieving, “Nope. No. That’s not a thing.”

Steve clears his throat. “It is unfortunately very a thing.”

Robin nods, “I watched her take bruises from Steve once. Do not recommend.”

Max crosses her arms, “She’s not lying.”

Eddie looks around the room, betrayed by democracy, “You’re all insane.”

“Correct,” Maggie says, “But I’m still right.”

She steps closer to Eddie, careful, slow, “You’re hurt. Not like, bleeding-out hurt, but you’re carrying a lot. Bruises, aches, shock. I can feel it.”

His jaw tightens, “Don’t. I don’t want you—”

“I’m not asking permission,” she cuts in gently, “I’m explaining.”

She reaches out and pauses, giving him one last chance to pull away. He doesn’t.

Her hand closes around his wrist.

Eddie gasps sharply as heat rolls up his arm and Maggie’s veins glow silver, the dull ache in his ribs and the scream in his muscles draining out of him all at once.

Maggie sucks in a breath through her teeth.

“Oh,” Dustin mutters, “Yep. There it is.”

Maggie stumbles back half a step, hand flying to her side. Pain blooms, settling into her bones like it’s always lived there.

Eddie just stares at his arm. He rolls his shoulder experimentally.

“What the hell,” he whispers, “It’s gone.”

“Congrats,” Maggie says tightly, forcing a crooked smile, “You’ve been medically inconvenienced by me.”

He looks up at her then, eyes wide, furious, and terrified all at once, “You took it. You just— you didn’t even hesitate.”

She shrugs, even though it hurts, “You’re my best friend. That’s kind of my whole brand.”

Eddie grabs her wrist, gentler than before, “Don’t ever do that again without telling me.”

She meets his gaze, stubborn as ever, “I won’t promise that.”

He exhales a shaky laugh, “You disappeared for six months and came back telling me this.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs, “Hawkins really brings out the worst in me.”

Dustin’s eyes light up, “Still the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Alright,” Eddie claps his hands once, “So what’s next? When do we kill the wizard and save the day?”

Steve sighs, “You say that like it’s going to be easy.”

“It won’t be,” Maggie says, “It never is. But, as much as I hate it, you’re in this now, Eddie.”

His grin only widens, “Hell yeah, I am.”

The conversation continues in low murmurs, Eddie still reeling from Maggie’s reveal, Robin pacing slightly, Dustin animatedly theorizing as Max tries to keep up, when a sudden shriek of sirens slices through the quiet.