Lily woke up with a crick in her neck and a bad taste in her mouth.

She lifted her head from the floor, almost forgetting what had happened last night before it all came rushing back to her. She felt herself gag, and she'd throw up again if she had anything left in her stomach. She swallowed the bile and quickly got up from the floor, heading to the bathroom to clean herself.

Rubbing her eyes and stretching her neck as she headed toward the bathroom, she stopped when she noticed a note on the kitchen counter. Picking it up, it read: "Headed into town. I'll be back this afternoon. You better be too."

Lily sighed and put it back down. She didn't even know what time it was. She figured it was early, as small amounts of light beamed through the windows. Her grandmother must've just left. She continued for the bathroom, quickly shedding her clothes and putting them in the dirty laundry basket. She paused when she got to Chrissy's necklace, fiddling with the charm before taking it off and carefully placing it on the bathroom counter.

She quickly scrubbed her body and hair- like she was trying to scrub away her memories of the previous night. Yet, they were still there, the images of Chrissy's body appearing every time she closed her eyes. She sped up her pace, not liking the thoughts the warm water brought to her mind. She shut off the spigot, twisting the knobs and hopping out from behind the curtain. After brushing her teeth, she went back to her room, her hair thrown up in a towel and her body wrapped in a robe. Chrissy's necklace was cold against her skin.

She grabbed the first outfit she could find and put it on, as well as a pair of thick socks. She would need them to get where she was going. She fished under her bed for a certain shoebox. Her hand hit the dusty lid, and with a grin, she reached to pull it out. Wiping the dust from the top, she flipped open the lid and grabbed the pair of rollerskates her parents had bought her for her 13th birthday.  She prayed they would still fit as she stuffed her regular shoes into her backpack. She also grabbed her walkman and her favorite cassettes, in case the journey was longer than expected. Her head shot up as she heard police sirens getting closer and closer.

Someone had found Chrissy.

Lily wasn't sure why she didn't call the cops herself, though she found her answer when she tried to think of what she would tell them. She would sound absolutely crazy; they would send her to Pennhurst in an instant. She got up to look out her bedroom window,  seeing Eddie's uncle biting his thumb outside of their trailer, the cops peeling into the gravel road that led to the trailer park. It looked like her plans of getting an early start searching for Eddie were foiled. Since her grandmother's trailer was the closest, they'd want to question her about this.

She set the rollerskates down and hurriedly went to the front door, causing her to slide on the linoleum tile. She peeked her head out the door, looking at Eddie's uncle, Wayne. Lily bit her lip as she realized what she needed to do.

She would have to lie.

Lily was never keen on lying, as she was quite terrible at it. The guilt ate at her insides until she eventually confessed the truth. It was a sin after all. She closed her eyes a moment, letting out a breath. The man stood, his arms crossed in front of him, continuously tapping his foot against the rocks.  Lily called out, "Mr. Munson, what's going on?"

The man turned to her with a distant look in his eyes, "Lily, sweetheart," he said after a moment, "You just stay inside, alright?" Despite her grandmother's attitude towards his nephew, Eddie's uncle had always been kind to Lily.

Lily nodded, bringing her head back in and closing the door. She gritted her teeth, shaking her hands out in front of her in a panic. She didn't know what to do. Her head told her that it was never good to lie to the police. But her heart was telling her otherwise. Her heart screamed over the clamoring reprimands in her head, "Find Eddie and help Chrissy!"

She let out a noise of aggravation, flopping her body down into her grandmother's chair. She stared at the door for what seemed like hours until the knocks she was waiting for came. She stood and opened the door, coming face to face with an officer. She put on a smile, "Uh, hi Officer..." She paused, stopping to read his name tag, "Callahan. How can I help you?"

"Yeah, is there an adult present that I can speak to?" He asked her, looking behind her into the trailer.

"No, sir. My grandmother left earlier to meet with her church group for coffee," She rocked back and forth on her toes as she continued, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The officer furrowed his brow, looking her once over as she felt her nerves increase, "Yes. Did you see, or hear, anything strange last night? Anything suspicious or alarming?"

"Not really," Lily shrugged her shoulders as she gripped the doorframe from the inside, holding herself up, "I was asleep for most of the night. The noise from Eddie Munson's van woke me up around nine o'clock, but that's fairly normal. I fell back asleep shortly after that," Her fingernails dug into the wooden frame as she felt her knees get weak, yet she continued to try and look as normal as possible.

"So, you heard Eddie come home at around 9 pm. He was here?" Shit. She hoped what she said didn't implicate Eddie even more.

"That's correct," she peeked outside once more as if she was checking for the van, "Though it looks like he left. I have no idea what time that would've been."

"Was anyone with him?" The officer asked her, writing something down on his notepad.

Lily grabbed the charm of Chrissy's necklace, running it along the band as she crossed her other arm over her stomach, "Not that I'm aware of," she furrowed her brow in fake concern, "Why, what's going on? Did something happen, is Eddie okay?"

The officer lifted a hand to stop her questions, "Don't worry, ma'am, we have everything under control."

Lily watched as the paramedics lifted Chrissy's body out of the trailer on a stretcher, a white sheet covering her mangled corpse. Lily could still see one of her twisted hands poking out from under the sheet. She turned her head quickly to look away, "Oh my," she said as she brought her hand up to her mouth, "Who was that, what happened?" Lily asked, but she already knew the answer.

The officer stepped back from the door, "Thank you, ma'am. I think that's all we need from you," Lily's wide eyes looked from the officer to the retreating ambulance.

"Can we leave our homes?" Lily quickly asked the officer, and offered up a quick explanation, "I need to go talk to my grandma."

The officer nodded, "Just stay away from the crime scene, alright?"

Lily quickly nodded in response, closing the door and letting her tears fall. She leaned against the door, covering her mouth to muffle her sobs- afraid the officers outside might hear her. She had to figure out what had done that to Chrissy. It certainly wasn't God's doing, but why would he allow something like this to happen. And the Devil couldn't possibly do that, could he?

_

Lily zoomed down the highway on rollerskates that were slightly tight on her, she'd definitely have blisters after this. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she knew that she'd better start with Eddie's friends. Headphones on and knees bent, she skated as if lives depended on it- which technically, it did. However, it was getting later in the day, and her search had proved fruitless. 

Heading towards downtown Hawkins, she nearly fell flat on her face as she skidded to a stop. From a distance, she saw Max and Dustin entering the family video. At that moment, there were three things she knew she had to do.

One: She needed to talk to Max to get an idea of how much she saw.

Two: Get information from Dustin that might lead her to Eddie.

And three: Make them believe her, and get their help.

She changed her course for the Family Video, nearly crashing into a punk-looking customer, "I'm so sorry!" She let out a quick apology before bursting through the door.

Four sets of eyes were on her, waiting for her to say something. She held up a finger, letting out a wheeze as she skated for the counter, "That's the girl, I saw," she heard Max whisper to Dustin as Lily set her bag on the counter, pulling out her inhaler.

She took in a deep breath as the inhaler puffed, paused a moment, and then let it out, "You have no idea," she said, waiting to take a breath, "how glad I am to see you two," she pointed her fingers at Dustin and Max. She then offered a silent wave to Robin and Steve with a pained expression on her face, as it hurt just to breathe.

She set a hand on the counter for balance as she began to take her skates off. Dustin approached her cautiously, "Lily," he began, waiting for her to respond.

Lily's socked feet hit the floor and she wiggled her toes in relief. She looked to Dustin, then the whole group, "I need to talk to you," she told them, and Dustin nodded.

"We need to talk to you too," he told her before asking cautiously, "Tell us, what did you see in Eddie's trailer?"

Lily thought a moment, how could she put this without sounding utterly insane? She opened and closed her mouth, furrowing her brow when she couldn't think of anything, "I don't know what I saw," she told the group as they watched on.

Telling them what happened was easier said than done. She felt her bottom lip quiver and tears prick at the corners of her eyes, "Chrissy..." she said in almost a whisper, "I can't," she told them, feeling the lump swell in her throat as she tried not to burst into tears for the second time today.

She watched as the group exchanged glances before looking back at her. Dustin began to ask her another question before she blurted out, "Only Eddie knows what happened. I was just an outsider looking in, but I swear to the lord above...," she swallowed the lump in her throat. This time her voice came out cold, stern, "I need to find him. We need to find him before anyone else does."

Dustin nodded, "We'll find him, Lily. We'll find him," he told her before launching himself over the counter, ignoring Steve and Robin's protests.

The group quickly began calling around, asking all of Eddie's friends where he possibly could've gone. The name Reefer Rick came up, so they searched in the video store's system and found a possible place. Lily looked out the store's window, the group quickly packing their things as Steve and Robin started to close up. 

Her grandma would be furious, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon and she still wasn't home. She couldn't even imagine the lecture her grandmother had in store for her once she got back to the trailer. She swallowed thickly, trying to ease her encroaching nerves, "Lily," Dustin said suddenly, snapping her out of her daze, "Are you coming?"

Lily let out a shaky breath, ready to say no, but the voice in the back of her mind was screaming out once again, "Find Eddie; Help Chrissy!" 

Lily nodded, slipped on her shoes, and followed the group out the door.

-

It was dark when the group made it to Reefer Rick's house. The group searched around the house as Dustin pounded and shouted at the door. Lily shown her flashlight into the windows of the home. The beam of light caught cobwebs and moths, but not much else, "I don't think anyone's been here for a while," Lily muttered to Robin, who nodded in agreement. 

Suddenly, Max called out to them, "Hey, guys?" She glanced back at the group, then to where her flashlight was pointing. As the group got closer to Max, a rusty old boathouse came into view. The light above the door showed that it was slightly ajar- as if someone had slipped in.

Cautiously, the group approached the building, "Hello, is anyone in here?" Robin asked as the group shined their flashlights in different directions, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that would lead them to Eddie. Lily jumped as Steve began hitting the tarp over the small boat with an oar. Dustin and Steve began to argue as Lily turned to check for other clues. It was as if she and Max saw them at the same time, the glint of empty beer bottles and shiny foil cigarette cases, "Hey," Lily motioned for the girls as she and Max approached the barrel.

"Looks like someone has been here," Max said, lifting one of the empty cigarette cases. 

Lily's mind lit up as she pointed at the garbage Max was holding, "Those are the kind Eddie smokes," Lily told them, "He had a ton of these cartons on the floor of his van." 

Robin shrugged, "Maybe he heard us, got spooked, and ran?" 

"Don't worry," Dustin said flatly, a sarcastic smile on his face, "Steve will protect us with his oar!"

"I know you think you're being funny, Henderson," Steve began, still jabbing at the tarp with his oar, "But considering most of us in this room have nearly died over a hundred times, personally, I don't find it funny in the slightest-"

Lily barely had any time to be confused about the almost dying comment before Eddie leaped from underneath the tarp, lunging at Steve with a broken beer bottle. Lily let out a scream, holding out both of her arms to shield Max and Robin, "Jesus Christ!" She shouted before holding a hand up to her mouth. With wide eyes, she quickly muttered Jesus an apology before going to Dustin's side, Robin and Max following quickly behind her. 

Dustin held out his hands cautiously, "Eddie! It's me. It's Dustin," the curly-haired boy then gestured to the man Eddie was holding by the throat, "This is Steve. He's not going to hurt you, right, Steve?"

Steve nodded slightly, careful not to cut himself on the jagged edge of the glass, "Yeah, right."

"Steve, why don't you drop the oar?" Dustin suggested, and Steve did as he was told. This, unfortunately, only put Eddie more on edge. He pressed the bottle closer to Steve's neck, there was a wild look in his eyes as the two were nearly flush against each other and the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Eddie asked, his eyes not leaving Steve as Dustin tried to calm the situation down.

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

"We're here to help," Eddie turned his head to look at the group as Robin piped up and Lily nodded fervently in agreement. The blonde felt her heart racing in her chest, she'd never been in a situation like this before, and she didn't know whether to talk or freeze. She watched as Eddie's eyes flitted from person to person as if he was an animal sizing up his prey.

"These are my friends," Dustin gestured to the group of ladies behind him and Lily felt a small sense of belonging in her heart, though it was quickly overwhelmed by fear, "You know Robin, from band," Dustin told Eddie and Robin awkwardly made clarinet sounds, "And this is Max, the one who never wants to play D&D," He then turned to Lily, "And Lily! You know Lily." 

Lily lifted a hand and gave a small wave, "Hi, Eddie," She knew he wasn't a killer, but when Eddie's eyes landed on hers, she felt that oh-so-familiar feeling. As if she was a doe in the middle of the forest, blissfully unaware of the bobcat that was about to strike. 

"Eddie, we're on your side," Dustin told him, "I swear on my mother. Right guys?"

After they all took turns swearing on Mrs. Henderson, Eddie slowly relaxed his grip on Steve. He walked away from the group, slinking down a wall. His eyes still had that wild look in them, a mixture of shock and fear. As Max and Robin went to attend to Steve, Dustin and Lily slowly approached Eddie.

"Eddie," Dustin said slowly, "We just want to talk," He reached a hand out for the busted beer bottle, but Eddie flinched when he got too close, "Okay..." He nodded, pulling his hand back. The group paused a moment, letting Eddie calm down for a second.

"We want to know what happened," Robin told Eddie.

The man let out a sniffle, wiping his nose with his jacket sleeve, "You won't believe me," He told them and truthfully, if it was any other group, he would be right.

"Try us," Max probed.

Eddie shook his head, "No," he said shakily but then he cleared his throat, "No, you'll think I'm crazy."

"Eddie," Lily began, and he whipped his head in her direction. Lily licked her lips as she felt her throat dry up, "I-" She looked down, blinking her eyes a moment before letting out a sniffle herself. She looked back up at Eddie, her eyes misty, but she went on, "I saw what happened."

She watched as Eddie scanned her features for any signs of lying as she continued, "I saw you and Chrissy going into your trailer last night. I was confused," she told him truthfully, "Chrissy looked nervous, and I was worried. I just wanted to make sure she was okay... so I went to eavesdrop," She watched Eddie's brow furrowed at her confession, "And I'm so sorry about that, I am. But, I was halfway out my window when I heard you yelling. I looked in your window and I saw Chrissy..." She paused a moment, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She looked to Eddie, who looked as if he was going to start crying as well, "I know you tried to help her," Lily nodded, looking him in the eye, "I know." 

Lily watched a tear fall down Eddie's cheek as he looked down at the broken bottle in his hand. He passed it to her gently, trying not to cut the young woman as he did so, "Thank you," Lily nodded, handing off the bottle to Steve who quickly threw it into a barrel of trash, "Now," Lily gently grabbed the mans hand, causing him to look back up at her again, "You need to tell them what you saw."

Eddie nodded, wiping his eyes with his unoccupied hand and letting out a soft "fuck," before nodding once more, clearing his throat, "Chrissy, uh- She came by my trailer to buy, said she wanted something stronger than weed. She'd been on edge the whole time, something was freaking her out. So, I go back to get some of the stuff and-" He paused, his tongue darting out to lick his lips, "She was just standing there. She wouldn't respond to anything, and then her body just uh, lifted into the air. And she just, like, hung there, in the air."

The group continued to listen as Eddie told his side of the story, "And her bones..." He paused, closing his eyes and letting out a pained whimper as if he could still see it as he spoke. Lily knew exactly how he felt, she placed her other hand on top of the one that held his, She looked away, holding her eyes shut and bracing herself for the words that were coming, "Her bones, started to snap," He told them through gritted teeth, "And her eyes, it was like something was inside her head, pulling," He shook his head, his voice wavering a moment, "I didn't know what else to do... so I- I ran away," He paused, a faraway look in his eyes, "I left her there."

The group was silent for a moment, staring at the two witnesses sitting on the floor. Lily wiped her nose with her sleeve as Eddie let out a scoff, "You all think we're crazy, right?" 

"No," Dustin shook his head, "No, we don't."

"No!" Eddie let go of Lily's hand as he went to pinch the bridge of his nose," Don't bullshit me, man, I know how this sounds!"

"We're not bullshitting you," Max told him calmly

Robin nodded, adding, "We believe you two." 

"Look," Dustin began and Lily turned to face him, "What I'm about to tell you might be hard to take," He prefaced, but continued, "You know how people say Hawkins is... cursed?" Lily furrowed her brows, looking to Eddie who held the same confused expression, "Well, they're not way off. There's another world, a world underneath Hawkins, and sometimes it bleeds into ours."

"Like hell?" Lily asked.

"Like ghosts and shit?" Eddie asked at the same time.

Max looked at the two of them, "There are some things worse than ghosts, worse than demons."

"These monsters, we thought they were gone, but they've been back before. That's why we needed to find you," Dustin explained.

Max continued for him, "If they're back again, we need to know."

Lily tuned them out, her mind racing with thousands of thoughts. Something worse than demons? A place worse than hell? That simply wasn't possible, it couldn't be.  But she remembered what happened to Chrissy, watching her life get taken from her in an instant. Lily began to question everything she knew. She felt her breath quicken as she put her hands on either side of her head. She stood quickly, nearly knocking Eddie over as she quickly made her way towards the door, "I need some air," She excused herself, "Just a moment, please."

She felt herself begin to hyperventilate as she left the boathouse. Once she got a fair distance away she began to pace, wringing her hands in front of her as she bit the insides of her cheeks to attempt to slow her breathing. 

It didn't work.

She continued to pace letting out breathy complaints, "How could you let this happen?" She asked the sky, "Why, why would you do this? Why!" She shouted.

She stopped, staring at the starry night sky. Her normally cheerful face was contorted in anger, "Answer me, you coward," She seethed into the dark. Letting out deep breaths as she waited for an answer, only to grow angrier when an answer didn't come, "Answer me!" She screamed to the sky.

Her whole life was a lie.

She felt hot tears stream down her cheeks as she scanned the sky for a sign. Falling to her knees, Lily took in a deep breath, "Fuck!" She yelled out, falling completely to the ground and curling herself into a ball. She sobbed into her chest, muttering out for answers. 

Her tears had dried on her cheeks by the time she felt strong arms scoop her up and carry her back to the boathouse, "I've got you," She heard Steve say, though his voice was muffled and distant. Lily felt helpless, like a burden. All she'd been doing is crying, she was barely any help at all. As Steve set her down on the wooden floor, she wished she could curl into herself and disappear.

She heard the group of teens whispering to each other, "If I were her, I'd be freaking out too," she could make out from Robin's whispers, she wasn't very quiet after all. 

Lily quickly felt the events of the day wash over her, leaving her completely exhausted. She fell asleep on the floor for the second night in a row. She only stirred slightly in the night when she felt the cool feeling of a plastic tarp being draped over her, and a hand brushing her hair from her face.

_

The ending feels rushed I'm sorry :\