They had about twenty minutes left and although it wasn't their preferred time limit, they knew that they had to be thankful they made it at all. Despite how much of an idiotic decision it was, Steve had sped all the way to the WarZone. The streets were almost completely empty, and the only obstacle was the casual pedestrian or construction zone. Fate had truly been on their side in that moment because if they had been stalled any longer, they would not have been able to arm themselves.

In the matter of minutes they were driving, Emelia had managed to bite off all of her nails. The soil that stained beneath them had etched itself between her teeth, leaving a griddy texture to mark territory in her gums now. It seemed the closer they got to fighting Vecna, the more her body reacted. Regardless of how much effort she put in, she was not able to fight off the anxiety of experiencing the creature's power again. No amount of weaponry could prepare her. No amount of anything could.

Dustin volunteered to stand guard while the rest of them shopped for their right to bear arms. He was the closest with Eddie and after his assistance with Emelia's escapade in the woods, the two of them now shared a humble respect for each other. The bus was quiet, not so much as a twitch of metal making a noise. The three of them kept to themselves in the beginning, seeming to be lost in their own thoughts.

Emelia pulled her knees up to her chest, taking refuge in the small bit of isolation the bench next to the wall offered her. She began to recollect the events that she had undergone the last time she came in contact with the supernatural realm, searching for any sign of weakness she could use to fight with. Unlike the others, she didn't have much knowledge of the Upside Down. There was nothing she knew – no weakness – that would be able to get under Vecna's skin. Without a gun, she was defenseless.

"Where did you see my uncle?" Eddie blurted, turning his head towards her immediately after he began to speak. Based on the quickness of his inquiry, he had been pondering this thought for a while. He began to ramble shortly after, trying to clarify his question, and his words forced the breath that he had in his lungs to dissipate. "I mean, what happened?"

It was just now dawning on her that they never got to talk about what happened in the trailer park. Everything was happening so fast and just as they had gotten out of that horrendous situation, they were thrown directly into the center of yet another problem. A pang of apologetic guilt struck her chest once she realized he had probably been thinking about this ever since.

"After I got separated from you guys, the cops managed to corner me," Emelia began, tracing her tongue over her chapped lips in an attempt to transfer moisture. "I don't know exactly when I got there, but it wasn't even close to his trailer. He had to have been listening."

A mixture of hope and pity shimmered in Eddie's eyes. If Wayne had been watching, that meant he more than likely saw Eddie. They were only seconds away from seeing each other and although it was probably for the best, it was clear there was a part of him that regretted not being the last in the pack.

Choking back a sob, Eddie trailed off, "He didn't . . . "

"No, Eddie," Emelia interrupted, leaning forward and placing a hand on his knee for reassurance. Eddie diverted his sight away from Emelia to try to shove all the displayed emotion back into his body again. "He's safe."

Eddie nodded, trying to take the words that she was saying to heart. There was no way of actually proving that his uncle was truly safe until he saw it for himself. Eddie was a very visual person. He liked to see things unfold in front of him and if he didn't, it was unlikely that he would truly believe they were so.

In an attempt to change the subject, Emelia began to search the premises for food. There was no way she was going to miss the opportunity at a good meal, especially when the chances of finding one were so low nowadays. Her body was working off of a very unreliable eating schedule, and she knew that it would probably wreak the effects later on. She tried not to worry about herself, though, and instead, she worried about Eddie.

"Ah-ha!" Emelia exclaimed, tearing a box of half-eaten pizza from the fridge beside her. She practically drooled over the box, the smell of cold marinara seeping through the cracks of the box and invading her senses. Setting the box down on the floor between the three of them, Emelia wasted no time in digging in. She took a stale slice in each hand and began chowing down, quiet moans escaping her mouth with each bite. In that moment, nothing tasted better. Rotating her head towards the ceiling, "Oh, if there is a god, 'thank you!'"

Dustin was just as hungry as the two of them. He spent the majority of his time making sure they were well cared for, and it had gotten to the point where he had forgotten to take care of himself. Every so often, he would glance over at Emelia, and his lips would part as if he was going to say something to her. Every time he seemed like he was going to speak, he stopped himself as if there was a barrier stopping him abruptly in his tracks. Emelia turned a blind eye to the situation, knowing that whatever was trying to breach the boy's lips would probably strain her.

"Do you think they have a shower in this place?" Eddie uttered, standing up and beginning to investigate the grounds on his own. He lifted up couch cushions and peeked under furniture, scrambling for a way to make the others laugh. Once he had achieved this goal, he began to actually use logical means of searching. He peeked his head into a room on the right side of the home, emerging with a mischievous grin on his face. A high-pitched squeal sounded throughout the hallway followed by a rush of water, and a wave of relief washed over Emelia's body.

"Hurry up now," Emelia called out, glancing back at the light that now pertruded from underneath the door. "I want to take one before they get back!"

Eddie's response was muffled but based on the shortness of his speech, she figured he got the message. She began to pick at her fingertips again, trying to find a way to waste away the time until she could finally feel clean again. It didn't even matter that she had to put on her dirty clothes again. All that she cared about was getting the grime that had been coating her skin and hair off.

"I don't mean to intrude," Dustin began, lifting his eyes from his lap and catching Emelia's glance. Based on the pity that soaked his orbs, Emelia knew that she was not going to particularly enjoy this conversation. She couldn't avoid it forever, but she would have liked to try. "But why you? Vecna only goes after people with trauma."

"Damn, Dustin," Emelia whistled, shaking her head in shock. No one had actually ever asked what happened to her. The people she hung around already knew, as did most of the town. Although her parents did a good job at keeping the identity of her assaulter quiet, they did not succeed in sheltering the event. Within a few days, all of Hawkins had heard about what hadhappened – at least, she thought. "Right to the point, aren't you?"

He apologized quickly after, making sure that she only had to tell him if she felt comfortable. The boy cared for her, that much was clear, and all he was trying to do was gather information. That being said, finding the words to explain what happened was especially hard for Emelia. Although she had restated her experience hundreds of times to different police officers, it still remained hard to talk about.

Just when she finally found the words to reply to the boy, she sat up straighter. The same high-pitched tone that she previously found horrendous sounded like music to her ears. She thrust her body upward, thankful to be released from the conversation, and shot Dustin a pitiful look.

"Let's just say my life isn't all picket fences and apple trees," Emelia spoke, taking one more glance over her shoulder at the boy before cutting through the small space between Eddie and the doorway. Eddie raised his eyebrows and lifted his arms in defense as he stepped into the hallway, taking in the atmosphere of the previous conversation. Emelia shut the door soon after his exit and closed her eyes.

"You may feel lonely, Emelia, but you are not alone." Dustin offered up his assurance.

As much as she wanted to spend all day in here, Emelia knew that she only had a small window. Stripping down, Emelia wasted no time in hopping into the fogged up shower and turning the faucet all the way to the right. She shrieked as the water hit her, her back arching slightly at the temperature. Her vein's valves flipped at the touch, sending blood pumping more freely now. She reached down and admired the assortment of body gels decorating the shower's interior. There had to be at least one-hundred dollars worth of scrubs and shampoos in here, and she was determined to try every single one of them.

Emelia's lips parted into a grin as she began to clean herself up, using every material accessible o pamper herself. As she stepped out of the shower, she felt better than she had in a long time. The condensation that covered the mirror collected on her hand as she wiped it across it.

It only took one glance to notice how much her complexion had changed in the time she had been away from civilization. Her skin was tattered and dry, and the color in here eyes was emphasized by the purple bags that engraved themselves beneath her bottom lashes. She was skinnier now, the constant running and lack of nutrition catching up to her. She tore her eyes away from her reflection, refusing to look at herself any longer. She knew that the more she looked at herself, the worse she would feel. The last thing she wanted was to see herself as the pitiful basketcase like everyone else saw her.

Taking a deep breath, Emelia wrapped a towel around her hair and prepared herself for her exit. The moment she left this door, everything went back to normal. She would go back to living her life as a criminal, doing what she did best – hiding.

In one swift motion, Emelia slid open the door. The motion provided her with the scent of peonies, more than likely sourced by one of the many cleansers she had used. She forced a smile on her face, expecting to be met with the same silence she had left. Instead, she turned to face a room of pure panic. Her friends were shuffling quickly into the bus, their voices shouting a jumble of words at each other in a volume Emelia couldn't comprehend. Her eyes were bolting around the room, trying to determine the reason for their panic.

"Steve, drive!" the group shouted, tossing themselves into a stable position and preparing for take off.

Emelia turned to face the back window, her heart dropping back into the deepest part of her stomach as she witnessed her worst nightmare. The two figures stared directly back at her, gluing her feet into the floor with a force that even Steve's slam on the gas couldn't move.

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