↣ 𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥

The party paused their journey back to Hawkins to organize their weapons, They ensured they located a site that was not easily discoverable, ultimately arriving in an open field encircled by trees.

Bailey sat with Steve and Robin, honing the knife he had acquired, pleased with his new possession, while observing Dustin and Eddie engage in a brief wrestling match nearby.  It was pleasant to observe, serving as a valuable reminder of the enduring positivity throughout adversity.

"I'm relieved he finally found someone he could spend time with without feeling judgmental."  Bailey looked at Eddie and said.

"Dustin's a nice kid."  Looking over at them, Steve says.

"Give me your word on this." He then looks over to Steve, who, like Robin, twisted around to face him.

"You won't be the ones to lament my demise if I pass away.  You need to get over it."  Bailey claims that he knew he wouldn't die because he looked ahead.  That remote possibility, though.  "God, I pray that it's true; I know I won't perish; I know none of us will.  However, I simply wish to make that known.

"We will all survive."  With a firm grip on Bailey's hand, Steve spoke.  "Let me assure you, none of us."

They were all heading back toward the creel house in the camper van. Bailey halted Max in his tracks the second he attempted to exit the van with Erica and Lucas.

"If he shows up, I need you to stay alive. Just put those headphones back on. I will not let you go too." Bailey pleaded. In an instant, Max encircled Bailey in an embrace, and Bailey returned the gesture. Planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

They watched as they were led by Steve toward the trailer park, and then they saw them go. They finally halted close to the trailer park after a considerable distance. "Okay. I wanna run through it one more time." Nancy stated. "Phase one."

"We meet Erica at the playground." Robin responded. "She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."

"Phase two."

"Max baits Vecna. He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance." Steve said.

"Phase three?"

"Me and Eddie draw the bats away." Dustin responded proudly.

"Four"

"We head into Vecna's newly bat-free lair, and..." she trailed off, holding up the bottle in her hand. "flambé."

"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied." Nancy demanded. "Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what."

"Got it?"

"Got it."

Bailey went into the Munson van as they arrived at it and saw the big gate again. As he turned to face the ordinary-looking Van, he saw that he was holding the key to the upside-down world. Returning took too much out of him.

"Here goes nothing." Steve said,
he started to pull himself up the rope and managed to land upside down. He smiled slightly and turned to look at the ceiling since it was easy.

Clearly unimpressed by him, Robin rolled her eyes. "What does he want us to do, applaud?"

Steve vanished briefly before returning with Eddie's mattress. "All right. Let's go."

Slowly but surely, they started making their way over. Assisting Nancy, Robin got down on one knee. Bailey slid to the opposite side, allowing his back to press against the mattress for a second time.

"Hey, guys, listen." Steve made a comment as he turned to look at Dustin and Eddie, who were simply standing there smiling. "If things here start to go south,I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just..."

"Decoys." Dustin shrugged. "Don't worry. You can be the hero, Steve."

"Absolutely. I mean, look at us." Eddie said. "We are not heroes." Bailey could tell by the expression on Eddie's face that he would give his life for them, even though they had only known him for a short time.

Bailey moved closer to the group as they began to distance themselves from the trailers. Eddie advanced as soon as he called out Steve's name. "Make him pay."

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𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀

- Three more chapters left to go.

To all the people that have supported me closely- Tags: @norasnetflix @wrensofvizla @KleeAlise11 @kiesluverr

𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵e