CARRY ON
"You fucking got this, Riley."
—

IT WAS NIGHT NOW, meaning it was time for the campaign. Eddie, Riley and their friends were busy waiting for Dustin and Mile to arrive with their sub.

"Why are they so fucking slow?" Riley asked no one in particular with a sigh, clearly getting impatient.

The boy didn't get a response as the door flew open which revealed Dustin and Mike and their sub. Erica Sinclair, Lucas's sister.

"Erica?" Riley asked in disbelief, moving slightly closer to the younger girl. "That's right." She said with a small smirk on her face.

"Absolutely not." Eddie told Dustin and Mike, not moving his eyes off the small girl. "You asked for a sub, we delivered." Dustin shrugged.

"This is Hellfire Club. Not Babysitting Club." The Munson boy reminded the two making Riley nudge him on the shoulder. "Yeah, might wanna be careful. Learned that the hard way." Ri muttered the last part but still loud enough for him to hear.

"Or what?" Eddie asked with a chuckle as he looked the girl up and down. "I'm eleven you long-haired freak." The girl sassed making Eddie's eyes widen.

"My, my, the child speaks." Eddie's comment made his friends chuckle, minus Riley who didn't want to risk Erica coming after him, again.

Eddie stood up and moved towards the girl who had yet to move from her spot. "So, what's your name, child?"

"Erica Sinclair." The older boy chuckled at the name as a small smirk appeared on his face. "So this is Sinclair's infamous sister." Erica rolled her eyes and turned back to the two who had dragged her along, "He's sharp."

Everyone began chuckling at the girl's comment, causing Eddie to snap his head around making them all immediately stop.

"What's your class and level? Level one dwarf?" It was now Eddie's turn to make everyone laugh and it was also Erica who made them stop.

"My name is Lady Applejack. And I'm a chaotic good half-elf-rouge, level fourteen. And I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow agonising death. So, we gonna do this, or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?"

The room went silent as everyone looked at the youngest Sinclair with wide eyes, Riley bit his lip to prevent a laugh from escaping his mouth.

Eddie smirked at the girl and put out his hand for the girl to shake, "Welcome to Hellfire."

—

The members of Hellfire had set up everything and were now gathered around the game nervously. "The hooded cultists chant, 'Hail Lord Vecna.'" Eddie spoke lowly as his eyes roamed everyone's faces.

"Hail Lord Vecna."

"They turn to you, remove their hoods. You recognise most of them from Makbar. But there is one you do not recognise, his skin is shrivelled, desiccated. And something else. He is not only missing his left arm, but his left eye!" Everyone, including Riley, began yelling in disbelief.

"What? No!" Riley yelled as he slammed his head down onto the table. "Vecna's dead!" Gareth yelled at the Munson boy. "He was killed by Kas!" Mike added.

"So it was thought, my friends. So it was thought. But Vecna lives." Eddie slammed down the small figure of Vecna onto the table as the rest continued yelling.

"You are scared. You are tired. You are injured. Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or do you stand your ground and fight?" Eddie asked making Riley sigh.

"I vote fight." The Blood boy raised his hand confidently as Dustin nodded his head. "To the death."

"To the death." The others began chanting with grins on their faces making Eddie laugh.

The game continued and was full of cheering, yelling and anger. "Time out, time out!" Jeff yelled, making the group, minus Eddie, all gather around into their own circle.

"Guys, I hate to say this, but we've got to flee." Gareth said as only three of them were still alive. Dustin, Erica and Riley.

"Didn't we just agree 'to the death'?" Erica asked as she looked at the boy oddly. "Yes, Erica, we did." Riley nodded his head towards the girl.

"That wasn't literal." Gareth told the two who just rolled their eyes at the boy. "Vecna just decimated us. We can't kill him with two players." Another one of the members told them.

"You too? He only has fifteen hit points left." Dustin then told the two who were totally against the idea. "Exactly, don't be pussies." Riley agreed with the Henderson boy.

"Pussies? Really? 'Cause, we're not delusional?" Gareth scoffed. "Delusional? How about not cowards?" Erica then scoffed.

"Hey!" Eddie's voice made the group turn back and face him. "If I may interject gentlemen, Lady Applejack. Whilst I respect the passion, you'd be wise to take Gareth the Great's concern to heart. There is no shame in running."

"Too bad I hate running, isn't it?" Riley crossed his arms as he spoke making Eddie turn to look at him. "Don't try to be heroes. Not today, 'kay?"

Dustin put his finger up to the boy before speaking, "One sec." The group turned back around into the small circle before letting out a sigh.

"What do you think?" Dustin asked his teammates. "How many hit points do you, Ri and Applejack have left?" Mike asked.

"Twelve." The three all responded in sync.

"It's risky as hell." Mike told his three friends, "But you're the ones on the battlefield. So it's your call."

The Blood boy just shrugged his shoulders and looked between both Erica and Dustin, "Well, I just so happen to love risks. So, what do you say?"

"Do you really gotta ask?" Erica questioned with a smirk before they all looked at Dustin. "Screw it." The group turned back to face Eddie who just stared at them.

"Let's kill the son of a bitch." The Henderson spat. "The chances of succession are 20-to-1." Jeff told the three making Dustin point his finger at him. "Never tell me the odds. Give me the D20." Dustin instructed the Munson boy who gladly passed it over.

Dustin began shaking the dice in his hands before throwing them across the table making it clatter. It landed on an eleven, which only meant one thing.

"That's a miss!" Eddie yelled dramatically making the group yell in frustration.

Up next was Erica who did the same thing, she shook the dice before throwing them across the table. Another miss.

The group yelled once again before Riley picked up the dice in his hands. "You fucking got this, Riley." The boy muttered to himself before closing his eyes and shaking the dice.

After a few seconds, he threw them across the table and he opened his eyes when he heard the sound of cheering. Opening his eyes, he saw the dice had landed on a twenty meaning, they won.

"Let's fucking go!" Riley yelled as the group began jumping up and down in celebration. "What? What?" Eddie yelled with a smile on his face as he flinched back.

"That's why we play." Eddie told his friends before hovering against the game and opening his arms across it.

Riley smiled proudly at the Munson boy who did the same back.

—

The members of Hellfire walked out of the school, still cheering happily for the Blood boy. Eddie and Riley had linked arms as they walked through the doors. "Let's go, Blood!" Eddie cheered for him.

"Thank you, thank you." Riley bowed at the group and wiped away fake tears from his eyes.

Riley turned his body and saw Lucas standing on the other side. The curly-headed brunette stared at the boy before placing down his skateboard and skating home.

—

Just like in the morning, it didn't take long for the boy to arrive. Opening the door, he was his mother sitting at the table.

"Where have you been?" Aspen asked the boy as soon as she heard him walk in. "I told you, I had that stupid game club as you put it." Riley responded before closing the door and walking further into the house.

"And I told you to he home immediately, Riley." Aspen raised her voice slightly at the same time she stood up from her seat.

"Yeah, but reality check, mom, I'm eighteen. So you can stop acting like you give a shit." Riley stopped walking and turned to look at his mother.

"Why do you say that?" Aspen's voice broke, slightly, as she looked at her son sadly. "Because it's true." Riley stated before walking away and to his room.

—
alex speaks

hope you guys are enjoying this story so far!!<33

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word count: 1489