Lily wasn't quite sure when she finally managed to fall asleep.

It wasn't before Eddie's hands finally stopped moving through her hair as his breathing evened out below her, sometime around when the clock on her dresser read two in the morning. It wasn't before the sound of Steve lightly snoring cut through the air from the other side of the room a little before four. It definitely wasn't before she heard her mother getting up to leave for work the next morning, the sound of the trailer door shutting soon followed by Nancy sneaking out of the bedroom for their friends in the living room after a night of tossing and turning on the floor, careful not to wake anyone who had somehow managed to lose consciousness for a little while.

When Lily finally opened her eyes again, she became aware of Eddie's arm still wrapped tightly around her to keep her close, and she lifted her head from his chest to study the room around her. Max's bed on the other side of the room was vacant, with Steve and Nick nowhere to be found. Debbie was also missing from her spot on the floor, but Robin and Sarah were still fast asleep, curled up against one another.

"Good morning," Eddie whispered softly, causing her to look down to where he watched her with a tired smile.

"Hi," she said, groaning softly as she shut her eyes tightly, leaning back against him. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," he said, glancing over at the digital clock sitting on top of Lily's dresser.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked.

"Living room," he explained. "Did you get much sleep?"

She shook her head. "Can you blame me?"

Eddie simply shook his head in response, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her forehead. "Come on," he said, shifting them until he could climb out of bed and holding a hand out to pull her up, which she accepted.

Lily let Eddie pull her to her feet as they tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake up Robin and Sarah as she shut the door behind them. In the living room, Nancy sat in one of the chairs while Debbie and Max were in the kitchen, the eldest Buckley sibling scrambling a pan full of eggs while Max made toast, Steve, Nick, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica already picking at their own breakfast plates.

"Hope you guys are hungry." Debbie said as they wandered into the living room. "Everyone's going to need to keep their strength up, and I don't think anybody here's had a real meal in days."

"Thanks, guys," Lily said as Debbie passed her a plate filled with food, and she took an empty seat on the couch, Eddie soon taking the seat between her and Steve as they began to dig in.

Lily had just finished her breakfast when Sarah and Robin shuffled out into the room to join the others, and Debbie set their plates down in front of them before taking a seat of her own. As the two girls began to eat, Nancy cleared her throat, pulling everyone's attention to her as she began to speak.

"So about last night," she said, her voice still shaky as her eyes stayed glued to the floor. "We were wrong about Vecna."

"Wrong?" Sarah asked. "What do you mean wrong?"

"He's not a creature from the Upside Down." Nancy explained. "He's... he's from here."

"From here?" Lily asked.

"His name was Henry." she said. "Henry Creel."

"Creel?" Robin asked. "Victor's son? The one who died in a coma after the murders?"

"That's just what they told Victor." Nancy explained. "He's the one who murdered his mother and sister, but he was too weak to finish off Victor, so instead he let his father take the blame. They told Victor that Henry died, but instead he was taken to the lab by Brenner. He became an experiment, like Eleven. But he was the experiment. He was number One."

"Eleven?" Eddie asked. "Your friend with the powers? She's like Vecna?"

"She's nothing like Vecna." Max explained. "El's good, she's not like him. But if he was an experiment too, then their powers would be similar, yes."

"He's the reason there aren't any more of them." Nancy continued. "He killed them all back at the lab, all of the kids, the scientists, the guards, until El opened a gate and sent him to the Upside Down. And it... it did something to him, turned him into a monster. He's like a skeleton, made up of the vines that are all over the Upside Down. He doesn't look human anymore. But now he's back, and he wants revenge. And he... he showed me things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things."

"What kind of things, Nance?" Nick asked in a soft voice.

"I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins." She spoke slowly, and Lily's stomach began to turn at her words as she watched Nancy intently. "Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this... this giant creature with a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters, an army. And they were coming into Hawkins, into our neighborhoods, our homes.

"And then," she continued, a tear beginning to roll down her cheek. "He showed me my mom, and Holly, and Mike. And they were all..." Nancy's voice cut off as she began to whimper slightly, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Okay, but he's just trying to scare you, Nance." Steve tried to reassure her. "Right? I mean... I mean, it's not real."

"Not yet." Nancy whispered back. "But there... there was something else. He showed me gates. Four gates spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer, but they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home."

"Four chimes." Max said softly, and Lily's head quickly turned to where her sister leaned against the wall.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Vecna's clock." Max explained. "It always chimes four times. Four exactly."

Nancy's eyes widened slightly. "I heard them too." she said, causing Lily's blood to turn to ice in her veins.

"He's been telling us his plan this whole time." Max said.

"Four kills." Lucas concluded, and Lily's hand grabbed Eddie's as unshed tears began to cloud her vision. "Four gates. End of the world."

"If that's true, he's only one kill away." Dustin said solemnly.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Eddie murmured, burying his face into his other hand as he held on tightly to Lily's, her eyes trained on the floor. "Jesus Christ."

"Try 'em again," Steve said adamantly, looking over at Max before gesturing to the phone on the wall behind her. "Try 'em again."

Max walked to where the phone hung on the wall in the kitchen, picking it up as she punched in the familiar number to the Byers' house in California. The group waited with bated breath before Max let out a frustrated sigh and returned the phone to its spot on the receiver.

"Anything?" Dustin asked, and Max shook her head.

"No," Max said. "Rang a few times, then went to busy signal."

"Maybe you punched it in wrong." Steve suggested. "Try it again."

"I didn't punch it in wrong." Max insisted, though she picked the phone back up, trying the number again.

"Well, I don't know." Steve said.

"Dude, I think she knows how to use a phone." Dustin pointed out.

"I'm just saying, she could've typed it in wrong." Steve defended as Max hung up the phone again, nearly slamming it into the receiver.

"Same shit," She huffed, turning back to the group.

"How is that possible?" Lucas asked.

"I told you, Joyce has this telemarketer job." Dustin explained. "She's always on the phone, Mike won't stop whining about it."

"Yeah, but this phone's been busy for what, three days now?" Max asked. "That's not Joyce. No way. Something's wrong."

"She's right," Nancy spoke up, rising from her chair as she crossed the room to look out the window. "It can't be just a coincidence, it can't be. Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this, I'm sure of it."

"How?" Lily finally spoke up, her eyes moving away from the floor to her friends. "I mean, this stuff's never gone beyond Hawkins as far as we know, so why start now?"

"Vecna can't hurt them." Nancy said adamantly. "Not if he's dead. We have to go back in there," she said, turning around to face the others. "Back into the Upside Down."

"Whoa, whoa, no no no," Steve said. "What?"

"Nope." Eddie said, shaking his head. "Nope."

"Let's think this through." Steve suggested.

"What is there to think through?" Nancy asked.

"We barely made it out of there in one piece." Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, because we weren't prepared." Nancy retorted. "But this time, we will be. We'll get weapons and protection. We'll go through the gate, we'll find his lair, and we'll kill him."

"Or he'll kill us." Steve said. "The only reason that you survived is because he wanted you to. He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason." Robin finally spoke up, rising to her feet. "We were wrong about Vecna." she stopped, short, correcting herself. "Henry. One. Sorry, what are we calling him now?"

"One," Dustin said.

"Vecna," Erica insisted.

"One," Lucas and Debbie said.

"Vecna," Nick and Lily chorused.

"Henry," Nancy said.

"Right," Robin said. "We've learned something new about Vecna, slash Henry, slash One. He's a number, like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin, but my point is that he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers, it's not a fair fight."

"So then why fight fair?" Dustin asked. "You're right, he's like Eleven, but that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths, and her weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica asked.

"When El remote travels, she goes into this sort of trance-like state." Dustin explained. "I bet the same is true of Vecna."

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic." Lucas added.

"Exactly!" Dustin exclaimed. "When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless."

"Defenseless?" Steve asked incredulously. "What about the army of bats?" he asked, gesturing to the red cuts circling his neck, courtesy of the creatures the night before.

"Right," Dustin said, "True. We'll have to find a way past them. Distract them somehow."

"And, uh, how do we do that exactly?" Eddie asked, beginning to rise from his seat.

"No idea." Dustin admitted, causing Eddie to sit back down, defeated. "But once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying sleeping Dracula in his coffin."

"That all sounds good in theory, but there is no pattern to Vecna's killings." Robin pointed out. "I mean, at least not one that I can decipher. We don't know when he's going to attack next, we don't know who he's going to attack."

"Lily, you still haven't had any symptoms, have you?" Nick asked. "Any signs we should be worrying about?"

"No," Lily said, shaking her head. "Not that I'm aware of, anyways."

"It's not Lily." Max spoke up, causing Lily's eyebrows to furrow as she looked back at her sister. "It's me. I can still feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed." she said, Lily's stomach dropping at her words. "I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me." she suggested.

"Max," Lucas said softly.

"Absolutely not," Lily said adamantly, rising to her feet as she crossed the room to stand by her sister. She'd already lost Chrissy and Patrick to Vecna, and she wasn't about to willingly hand her sister over to him a second time. "You're not doing this."

"You can't." Lucas added. "He'll kill you."

"I survived before." Max insisted. "I can survive again. I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. Then you can chop his head off, stab him in the heart, blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooks up, I honestly really don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just... whatever it is, whatever you do... try not to miss."

"Max, I don't like this." Lily insisted. "There has to be something else we can do."

"I don't think we have a choice, Lils." she said. "I have to be the one to do this. I'm the only one who can escape him again."

"In that case, the rest of us need to be prepared to take him down as quickly as possible." Lily said then. "Where can we stock up on supplies?"

"I may have an idea on that one, actually." Eddie said, standing up from the couch as his eyes began to dart around the room, in search of something. "Where do you guys keep your phone book?"

"It's over here," Lily said, pulling it off the rack where Susan kept her magazines, and Eddie flipped through it quickly, finding the page he'd been searching for in the back of the book and slamming it down onto the dinner table while everyone crowded around him.

"Check this out," Eddie said, pointing to an advertisement depicting a shirtless man brandishing a gun, with an American flag in the background behind him. "The War Zone. I've been there once, it's huge. They got everything you need for, well, killing things, basically."

"You think fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Robin asked, studying the advertisement picture with a look of disbelief. "Is that a grenade? I mean, how is any of this legal?"

"Well, lucky for us it is, so..." Eddie trailed off. "This place is just far enough outside of Hawkins. As long as we steer clear of the main roads, we oughta be able to avoid cops, and uh, angry hicks." he said, giving them an uneasy look.

"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn't go to some store called the War Zone." Erica pointed out.

"Normally I'd agree, but we need the weapons, so I think it's worth the risk." Nancy said, her eyes still studying the picture in the phone book.

"Me too," Lucas agreed.

"Yeah, but is it worth the time?" Dustin asked. "It'll take all day to bike there and back."

"Who said anything about bikes?" Eddie asked.

"What, you got some sort of car we don't know about?" Steve asked, his eyebrows pinching together.

"Where is your van, anyways?" Nick asked.

"It's safe," Eddie explained. "And it's not exactly a car, Steve." he said, giving the boy a shit-eating grin. "And it's not exactly mine, but uh... it'll do."

"I don't think I like where this is headed." Debbie whispered to Lily.

"Hey, Little Red," Eddie said, looking over at Max. "You got a ski mask, or a bandana, something like that? Either of you?" he asked, his gaze wandering to Lily. "Something where the two of us won't instantly be spotted?"

Max and Lily exchanged a look, a slight smirk crossing Max's face. "Well, there is something." Max suggested. "We do have masks, of sorts."

Lily's eyes widened as the pieces fit together. "It's better than nothing." she agreed, heading for the bedroom. "I'll grab them. I want to change before we leave, too, just a second."

Lily shut the bedroom door behind her, quickly peeling out of her grimy clothes from the Upside Down and burying them in the bottom of her laundry hamper. She quickly pulled on a new pair of jeans, her eyes falling on where she'd set her old Hellfire shirt on top of the dresser the night before, and she pulled it on. As she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she smoothed out the shirt before pulling open the door to her closet and pulling out the two masks she and Max had worn when she'd taken her sister trick-or-treating in the fall of 1984 as two of their favorite movie characters.

Lily left the bedroom, the masks held behind her back, and Eddie waited in the hallway, his eyes moving down to study the Hellfire logo on her shirt as a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "There you are," he mused, eyes still on her in the shirt for a moment before he noticed her hands held behind her back. "Whatcha got there?"

"You might not like it," she said, tossing the Michael Myers mask at him as he caught it, studying the object in his hands in disbelief. "But it'll do."

"This is the best you had?" he deadpanned, his gaze moving from Lily back to where Max still stood in the kitchen, who gave him a shrug in return. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me," Lily said, moving the Jason Voorhees mask from behind her back and putting it on, shielding her face from view. "I've got it covered."

"Well shit, alright then," he said, an expression of disbelief on his face as he pulled his own mask on and turned to face the others. "Follow me,"

"I'll be honest, it's really hard to take you both seriously like that." Sarah spoke up.

"She's right." Nick said.

"It's a little difficult," Dustin added.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Lily reminded them, turning to Eddie. "Ready?"

"Yeah," he said. "I just need to grab something from the trailer quick, give me a second."

Eddie pushed open the door to the mobile home, looking around to make sure the area around them was deserted before making a run for his trailer and disappearing inside. When he came back a minute later carrying a brown bag, he surveyed the area once more, gesturing for them to follow him as soon as the coast was clear.

Lily stayed close behind Eddie as the group ducked and weaved through the mobile homes of Forest Hills Trailer Park, careful not to be seen by anybody lingering outside on the spring Thursday morning. Eddie ran around the back as they headed for a white Winnebago RV covered in red and orange lines, the owners sitting outside on lawn chairs in front of a television while they ate their breakfast.

Eddie reached up for the back window, pulling it open before jumping up to hoist himself inside. As soon as he was through the window, Lily followed suit, pushing herself through the window and landing on a couch in the back of the RV.

"That was suffocating," Eddie mumbled as he pulled off the mask, Lily letting her own fall to the couch next to his as Steve climbed in the window after them.

Lily followed Eddie to the front of the RV as the group continued to climb into the window one by one, the Munson boy reaching forward to lock the front door in case the owners heard any of the commotion inside. As soon as the door was locked, Eddie plopped down in the driver's seat, unzipping the brown bag as Lily crouched on the floor next to him, sitting on the steps by the door. Eddie pulled out a pair of wire cutters, placing them in his mouth to free his hands as he pulled the wires out from under the wheel. Steve stood behind Eddie as the boy cut the wires, studying his movements as he attempted to start the RV.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" Steve asked.

"Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball," Eddie explained, still focused on the wires. "My old man was teaching me how to hot-wire. Now I swore to myself I wouldn't wind up like he did, but now," He chuckled humorlessly, "I'm wanted for murder, and soon, grand theft auto. So, uh, I'm really living up to that Munson name."

"You're doing it wrong," Lily noted, studying his movements as he glanced over at her in disbelief.

"Damn it, woman, would you give me a minute?" Eddie deadpanned. "You know, patience is a virtue, Mayfield." he scoffed. "Doing it wrong," he murmured, his focus shifting back to the wires.

"Hey, Eddie?" Robin asked, standing next to Steve. "I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving." she said nervously.

"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker." he explained, looking from Robin to Steve as he began to smile teasingly. "Harrington's got her, don'tcha, big boy?" Eddie grinned as he turned back to the wires, flicking them together as the engine sputtered to life.

"What the hell?" a voice roared from outside as the owners began to pound on the side of the Winnebago. "Hey, open this door! They locked the door!"

"Shit," Steve muttered as Lily jumped up from the stairs, running towards the back as Eddie hopped out of the driver's seat, quickly moving behind her with Robin in front of them. "Go!"

As Steve jumped into the driver's seat, Lily dove into an open bench at the dining table, scooting in as Eddie sat next to her, everybody's eyes trained on Steve as he looked over the controls of the vehicle.

"Everybody, hold onto something!" Steve shouted.

"Oh my god!" Lucas yelled, taking a seat across from Eddie and Lily next to Sarah. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Drive, Steve, drive!" Dustin exclaimed from the couch in the back.

"Go, go, go!" Robin yelled as Steve planted his foot on the gas, the Winnebago breaking free from where the awning was tethered to the ground as the vehicle began to move.

"Shit, they look pissed." Dustin said, watching where the owners had begun to chase after the vehicle.

"Well, it's not every day you lose your house and car in one fell swoop." Robin pointed out as Eddie looked over at Lily, a look of surprise evident on his face.

"Where did you learn how to hot-wire?" he asked, his voice low as he stared at her intently.

Lily shrugged simply. "You thought my dad taught me how to fish or play ball?"

Eddie began to grin, but it was soon cut off as Steve began to yell. "Hold on, hold on!" The boy shouted as he took a sharp turn around a trailer, Lily soon squeezed between Eddie's shoulder and the wall of the Winnebago before the vehicle steadied itself, and Lily looked out the window to see the sign for Forest Hills pass by as Steve turned the RV onto the main road. "Everybody okay?" he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror for the rest of his friends.

"We're alright," Debbie spoke up, the others nodding in agreement.

"Good," Steve breathed, "Good. Next stop, the War Zone."