Chapter Four
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A World Beneath Hawkins

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The gang was occupied with phones, trying to contact people who they thought might help them reach to Eddie. Olivia and Dustin were sharing a phone, with Dustin leaning in to hear the other end of the phone call. Olivia couldn't imagine how scared Eddie must have been. She knew there was no way that Eddie could have done this to Chrissy. From the few interactions Olivia has had with the older boy, he was very kind and she also trusted Dustin's judgement.

            About 30 minutes later, Olivia let out a sigh of frustration when they seemed to have gotten nowhere in finding Eddie. "Thank you for your time. Sorry to bother you," Olivia sighed, putting the phone down and crossing off another name on their list.

            "Hey guys, I might have a lead," Max informed to the group, grabbing everyone's attention. Olivia was just beginning to loose hope, and to hear Max's words made her feel hopeful again. She was worried for Eddie just as much as Dustin was, and was worried for his safety.

            "Seriously?" Olivia and Dustin chorused, which made Robin form a small smile at the siblings dynamic. Even just from these small little notices, you could easily tell how close they were. Sometimes it was scary just how alike they were. Yet it was also endearing.

            "Yeah," Max nodded with a hint of hope glimmering in her green eyes. "Apparently Eddie gets his drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick and sometimes Eddie crashes there."

            "That sounds promising," Robin piped up. "Where does this Reefer Rick guy live?"

            "See, that's the thing. No one knows. He's more of a legend than someone people actually know," Max tried to explain.

            "Well, what about a last name?" Dustin questioned.

            "Bet the cops know the last name," Steve chipped in for the first time in a while, catching everyone's attention. He was stacking and organizing the video tapes back on the shelf before turning around to face the group. Everyone exchanged looks of confusion.

            "The cops," Steve repeated, walking closer to the others and crossing his arms on the table. "I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick guy is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point."

            "The cops?" Dustin rolled his eyes with slight irritation written in his voice. "Really, Steve? That's your suggestion?"

            "I'm with Dusty on this, Steve," Olivia sided as Steve shook his head in disapproval. "Eddie didn't do this. He would never do something like this."

            Dustin's sent a grateful glance towards his sister. "I mean, I just think at this point they should probably be filled in on what we know, what's going on," Steve argued.

            Olivia took a small step forward and folded her arms. "You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?" She huffed. Everyone widened there eyes in shock, not believing the serious tone that came from the usually soft spoken girl. They knew that Olivia was grieving at the loss of her dear friend and was hurting, and that this was just her way of showing it.

            "Woah, I believe in innocent proven guilty and all that constitutional shit, I just, you know... I just don't think we can rule it out," Steve said taken aback as everyone else was.

            "That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve," Olivia scoffed. In the last couple of years that she had grown close to Steve, this was probably the first time that she was ever disappointed in him. He was judging a book by its cover, just like everyone else was doing in this town. Why was it so hard to believe that Eddie was innocent?

            A grateful smile appeared on Dustin's face. He truly wouldn't know what he would do without his sister, she always had his back and was always there for him. Of course, he was grateful for Max and Robin's help as well, it was just that Olivia was the first one to believe in Eddie with no hesitation.

            "And maybe we'd have a little more luck if you spent less time making googly eyes at my sister, and more time trying to find Eddie!" Dustin sneered while nodding his head at Olivia.

            "Not the time, Dusty," Olivia mumbled under her breath, gently swatting his shoulder. If they weren't in a time like this, she would've smiled at Dustin's comment about Steve. However, her heart was too broken about the death of her best friend and there was nothing that could lift her spirits up at the moment.

            Dustin sighed. He had never seen her sister so heartbroken before, and he wished there was something he could do to help. Olivia was always there for him, but now he wanted to be there for her, as any brother would for his sister.

            "Hey, I wasn't making googly eyes at Liv!" Steve said, waving his arms in the air in defense. "Besides, even if I was, which I wasn't, she's my girlfriend. That's what boyfriends do, right?"

            "Oh, you totally were making googly eyes at her, Steve. I know Liv is a total babe, but you just make it painfully obvious how in love with her you are," Robin grinned, sending him a wink.

            Dustin and Max both hummed in agreement. Olivia shook her head at the three, though their was a visible blush on her already rosy cheeks. Dustin smiled, knowing that if anyone could make Olivia smile, it was Steve— even in the most distressing of times.

            "Hey, not fair. Okay?" Steve groaned, his voice deflating. "I've been the only one attending to the customers, while you guys have been trying to find Eddie. We've got a very big selection in here. It can be super overwhelming for people."

            "Yeah, it can be," Robin said suddenly, her blue eyes lighting up. She shifted towards the computer and started to type something quickly. Everyone shuffled behind the blonde, curious to see what she was up to.

            "What are you doing?" Max asked what everyone was thinking.

            "Maybe we don't need a last name," The blonde answered hurriedly, continuing to type something away on the keyboard. Steve was quick to follow behind Olivia as a list of names appeared on the computer screen.

            "Twelve Ricks have accounts here," Robin pointed out. "So, let's narrow it down."

            "Rick Alderman's latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo. What are the chances our drug dealer has a family?"

            Max shook her head. "Not likely."

            "All right. Rick Conroy. Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, Romancing the Stone."

            "No," Everyone chorused with a chuckle.

            "Okay. Rick Joiner. Mask, Footloose, and Grease."

            "No," Everyone chorused again.

            "Rick Kimbrough. The Blue Lagoon and Splash."

            "Definitely not," Dustin and Max chuckled at the idea of a drug dealer renting The Blue Lagoon and Splash.

            "Okay. Rick Lipton. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cheech & Chong's Next Movie. Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams. Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke."

            "Bingo," Olivia said hopefully. "Lipton?"

            "Spelled like the tea. 2121 Holland Road."

            "That's out by Lover's Lake," Dustin informed.

            Middle of nowhere," Olivia added in.

            "It's a perfect place to hide," Robin finished with a grin. They were finally getting closer to finding Eddie.

            The four of them hurried out of Family Video and hopped into Steve's BMW.

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            Night had fallen when the gang finally reached their destination near Lover's Lake. Olivia couldn't help but feel like she was in an episode of Scooby Doo, it was one of her favorite cartoons growing up as a kid that her and Dustin always watched together.

            They pulled up in the front of the cabin, just beyond the mailbox that read Lipton in faded white letters. As they approached the front door, an eerie feeling flooded through Olivia. She wasn't too fond of being in the woods this time at night, though she was a bit more at ease with Steve by her side.

            Dustin knocked on the door, but nobody answered. They used their flashlights to look through the dark windows, but it looked like no one was home. Dustin and Steve started to bicker when Max called out to them and shone her flashlight over a shed that was just behind the cabin.

            They slowly crept in one by one, with Robin leading the way. The last thing they wanted to do was to scare Eddie away. Olivia wanted to help him. Between what happened with Chrissy and being on the run from the cops, Eddie didn't really have anyone for support, and that broke Olivia's heart.

            Steve kept making sure that Olivia was behind him, just in case anything were to happen. The wooden floors made a creaking sound as they searched through the shed. The shed certainly didn't feel very welcoming and Olivia felt sympathy for Eddie that he had been hiding here.

            Steve suddenly snatched an oar that was hanging on the wall and begin to dig through a piece of tarp, startling both Olivia and Dustin. "What are you doing?" Dustin hissed.

            "He might be in here," Steve shrugged.

            "So take the tarp off!"

            "If you're so brave, you take the tarp off."

            Olivia rolled her eyes at the two, and decided to walk over to Max instead. "Hey, look over here. Someone was here," The redhead observed.

            "Maybe he heard us," Robin said from behind them. "Got spooked and ran."

            "Don't worry. Steve will get him with his oar," Dustin said sarcastically, gesturing to Steve who was still digging through the tarp.

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

            Before Steve could finish his sentence, Eddie came from behind Steve and began to threaten him. Both worried for Steve, Olivia and Dustin both began to call out Eddie's name to stop him, but Robin held them back.

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

            "Steve, w-why don't you drop the oar?" Olivia told him, her voice small out of nerves.

            "He's cool. He's cool," Dustin assured Eddie.

            "What are you doing here?" Eddie quizzed.

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

            "We're here to help," Robin added with a nod.

            "Eddie. You know my sister, Liv, right?" Dustin gestured to Olivia. Slightly nervous, Olivia gave Eddie a tiny wave. "And these are our friends. You know Robin from band," Robin imitated the sound of the trumpet, trying to ease the tension. Next, Dustin turned to Max. "This is my friend Max. The one who never wants to play D&D," Max shifted uncomfortably, but gave Eddie a small wave.

            "We're on your side," Dustin assured calmly. "Liv and I swear on our mother! Right, guys?"

            "Don't bring mom into this," Olivia whispered, but Dustin nudged her shoulder. She sighed and raised her voice. "Yep, we swear on our mother!" She gulped. While she knew Eddie meant no harm and was really more scared than anything, she was slightly intimidated by him at the moment.

            With hesitation, Eddie finally let go of Steve, and sat down. Olivia rushed over to Steve's side to make sure that he was okay and helped him sit down.

            "Eddie, we just want to talk," Dustin said carefully, trying to comfort him but he immediately pulled his hand away.

            Olivia decided to take a seat next to Dustin. "We want to know what happened," She said calmly.

            "Shouldn't you be mad at me?" Eddie asked the older Henderson sibling, slightly confused. "W-with what happened with Chrissy? You guys were best friends."

            Olivia's heart broke as she looked at Eddie. "I know that you would never do something like this," She said soothingly. When Eddie didn't respond, she continued to speak. She tried to form the right words, hoping that she could calm him down. "You want to know how I know? Because you've been looking after Dustin for me and I'll forever be grateful for that. I know you're a good person, Eddie."

            "Y-you won't believe me," Eddie quivered, his voice shaking with fear.

            Everyone exchanged glances with each other. "Try us," Olivia shrugged.

            A few minutes later, everyone gathered around each other, listening intently to what Eddie was telling them. Tears were forming in Olivia's eyes, not sure if she could handle hearing the torture that Chrissy had to go through. Chrissy was her best friend, and had no idea any of this was going on. She wished she could have helped in some way, that she could've been there. The gang, especially Steve and Dustin, were comforting Olivia as Eddie spoke.

            Eddie pulled his knees to his chest. "Her body just like, l-lifted up into the air and uh... a-and she just like hung there. I-in the air. And her bones..." Eddie hesitated, having a hard time to continue. Olivia stood up from her spot and covered her eyes with her hands. She held a deep breath, trying not to break down any moment.

            "Her bones started to snap," Eddie continued. "Her eyes, man. It was like there was something like inside her head, pulling. I-I didn't know what to do so I... I ran away. I left here there. You all think I'm crazy, right?" He scoffed at himself.

            "No, we don't think you're crazy at all," Olivia spoke gently.

            "Don't bullshit me!" Eddie yelled, shaking his head at them. "I know how this sounds!"

            "Olivia walked over to Eddie and sat beside him, putting a comforting hand over his. "We're not bullshitting you."

            "We believe you," Robin nodded.

            "Look. What I'm about to tell you might be a little... difficult to take," Dustin said slowly, glancing at Olivia before continuing. An eerie silence fell over the room as Dustin tried to explain everything. "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 blinked and exhaled, trying to process everything he was learning. "Like ghosts and shit?"

            "There are some things worse than ghosts," Max stammered.

            "These monsters from this other world... we thought they were gone. But they've come back before. And that's why we needed to find you," Dustin explained.

            Olivia gulped at the thought of the monsters being back again. "If they're back again, we need to know."

            Were those deadly monsters ever going to be gone for good?

            "That night, did you see anything?" Robin asked softly.

            "Dark particles, maybe?" Max suggested.

            "It would almost look like dust. Swirling dust," Dustin added.

            "No man, there was nothing you could see or touch. You know, I tried to wake her, man. S-She couldn't move. It was like s-she was in a trance or something," Eddie quavered.

            "Or under a spell," Olivia spoke up, her chocolate brown eyes widening in realization.

            "A curse," Eddie gulped.

            "Vecna's curse," Dustin finished.

            "Who's Vecna?" Steve questioned.

            "An undead creature of great power," Dustin answered with a shiver.

            "A spell caster," Eddie said slowly.

            "A dark wizard," Dustin concluded.