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[satanicpanics]

surprise me.

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[wonafight]

[ There's a part of Steve that's a little relieved he'll be swinging the bat again. It's weight and presence has become something of a comfort, weirdly, through all of this. A constant reminder that he's capable of fighting back and not quite as helpless as he feels most of the time. He nods at Eddie's decision and then opens the bag a little wider for him to see the other supplies.

Some food stuff, a few knives, the materials for a few Molotov cocktails, some heavy-duty flashlights and Steve's radio. It's light on weapons, which he's acutely aware of. I was going to try to grab some guns, but you know how Nancy is with the ammunition. She would've said something.

[ He gives Eddie an apologetic look. There's also the fact that they're both lousy shots, but that's not important when you're headed into the Upside Down. He reaches up and pushes his hair out of his face. ] Did you tell Wayne?

[satanicpanics]

Oh, yeah. One bullet out of place and she’d be down here in about ten seconds flat. I get it, man.

[ He snorts as he digs through the bag, trying to parse what might be missing. Weaponry, obviously, but there’s only so much that can be done there. Eddie isn’t confident that he wouldn’t put a bullet through Steve on accident with a gun in his shaking hands anyway, so this is probably better.

Then Steve asks about Wayne, and…Eddie isn’t a very good liar. The long stretch of silence and the way his shoulders tense and he avoids eye contact all speak volumes, and his short response says even more: ]

I left a note.

[ He hates how much of a burden he’s become to his uncle. He hates that he can’t do anything about it when he can’t even leave town—or even exist in town without someone hurling abuse at him for a crime that he should be free of. He knows it’s not right to keep Wayne in the dark, but he doesn’t want to add another weight of worry to the old man’s shoulders, so his note was short, sweet, and contained absolutely no information whatsoever: With Steve. Be back later. With any luck, the fact he’s with a friend will soothe any immediate concerns and the second part won’t be a lie. ]

We could use a rope. An extension chord will do the job, though, so—

[ As if to avoid discussing the manner in which he let his uncle in on this entire thing, he suddenly walks away from the conversation entirely, slipping into the back room without a word. The whole store has basically been gutted of anything worthwhile, but he still returns to Steve a few minutes later, winding an orange extension chord around his arm. ]

Check.

[wonafight]

[ Steve winces when Eddie says he left a note. If things do go wrong, that's going to be something that he's going to regret, but they're already here and they both know if he tried explaining anything to Wayne he'd stop them, or worse, try to join them. Besides, it's not like he left his parents anything at all.

Eddie is moving away before Steve can ask him anything else about it, though, and Steve lets him go. He nods when he returns. ] Yeah, good idea.

[ He takes a deep breath and shrugs.] All right, lets do this.

[ The plan goes off almost too easy, which really should've been a sign that they were screwed, but it seems that Steve still hasn't learned his lesson about his luck yet. They manage to hop onto the second truck in the convoy, after watching Hopper sneak into the first. He just hopes Mike and Lucas weren't watching the second truck from the clock tower as they pull through the gate to the Upside Down. They'd be able to know for sure if they could switch on the radio, but he doesn't want to take the risk of the driver hearing anything.

He can almost feel the air thicken as they pass through the gate, the cool November air dropping to something several degrees cooler. He nudges Eddie, his voice barely a whisper.] We've got to jump early or Hopper might see us. Aim for the grass, tuck and roll. [The driver slams on the brakes and the truck lurches, sending Steve stumbling into the wall and then stumbling into Eddie. He reaches out and grips his shirt with both hands, trying to stay upright, his eyes wide.

Shit.]

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie knows he could have done better. He knows his uncle deserves so much more than a vague note, more than non-explanations, and more than a nephew who’s always sneaking around, but all he can do is hope that he and Steve come back from this and he can finally begin to do better. For now, he’s just glad that Steve doesn’t try to draw him back to the topic to chide him, but merely lets it go.

When the first step of their plan goes off without a hitch, Eddie is immediately suspicious. His stock of good luck has always been in short supply, like the batch allotted to him at birth was spoiled. The truck rolls smoothly along for a time, and Eddie bites his nails, his stomach in knots and his heart in his throat as he waits for the other shoe to drop. That’s exactly seems to happen when the true comes to an unexpected and rocky stop. ]

Shit, shit, shit—

[ Eddie hisses under his breath as the two of them careen into one another. Steve’s hands gripping his shirt, Eddie scrambles for purchase, struggling to keep the two of them upright, but he only stumble back against the wall, pulling Steve with him. And sure, maybe he’s had a particularly good dream or two that began something like this, with the two of them pressed into impossibly close quarters for one reason or another, but those had been nice scenarios. This scenario leaves Eddie horror-stricken, unsure of what to do next. Do they hide? Look innocent and come up with their best excuse when the back of that truck opens? Bolt?

Eyes wide, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, he stays put, not wanting to call even more attention to the back of the truck. He whispers: ]

That’s…not our cue, is it?

[wonafight]

I don't think so. [ His mouth is suddenly bone dry and he flinches at the sound of shouting and gunfire. Hopper. Was that Hopper? Steve's heart jumps into his throat, choking him.

Then he hears it. A screeching kind of chittering followed by screaming, and all the color drains from Steve's face. He bunches his fist into Eddie's shirt and yanks him down behind the crates, already reaching for the bag.] Fuck. [ His voice cracks on the word.] It's a demogorgon.

[ He should've grabbed the fucking guns. What the hell had he been thinking? Nancy might have caught on and been pissed, but she wouldn't have wanted them out here against a demogorgon with an axe and a spiked bat. ] Grab the axe! [He's reaching for one of the bottles with one hand and digging into his pocket for the lighter with the other when the truck suddenly roars to life and then shifts into reverse, sending him crashing back into the side of the truck again.

Good, at least their driver had some kind of sense. The right wheel shifts, and they spin around, speeding back towards the gate. The relief only lasts a minute, though, because there's the sound of another screech and the sound of something huge hitting the side of the truck, it's claws scraping against the metal.

Steve is scrambling to try to find the lighter that he dropped, already smelling gasoline from the smashed molotov soaking into his jeans when he hears the door being ripped off and the scream of the driver abruptly cut off and then fade away.[ Shit, shit, shit! [The lighter's gone. He grabs Eddie's arm instead, pulling him to the opening of the truck bed.] We have to get out of here. Run!Now.