Chapter Text
He woke up frightened, taking a sharp breath in. His eyes flattering open with fear. As his Consciousness regained, he tried to understand the sensations that ran through his sore body, but all he could smell was ashes, burnt and infiltrating his nostrils.
His body felt frantic as he tried scanning the environment around him. All he could recognize is nothingness, stretched as far as the eye can see. It felt weird. Like he knows this place. Like he should run, or fight. But the silence was inevitable, and there was nothing to fight, and nothing to run from. It was so quiet. So incredibly quiet.
The next thing he noticed is the fact that he was alone. Not hearing a single voice other than the ever-growing rambling of the upside down. His heart felt as if it was mirroring the rambling, the ever growing whispers of hell itself. It almost felt like he belonged. No. Wait. What is this? Why would he even think such a thought? How is he even here?
He remembered dying. He remembered being bitten. He remembered Dustin crying over his dead body as his eyes went glassy, not being able to see anymore. He remembered the immense pain. He remembered the smell of blood. He remembered being proud, finally, He didn't run. He was a hero. And now... Now he was alone.
He took a look at his aching body. No, actually… Aching is not the right word. He felt hungry, tired, out of it. First, his eyes landed on his feet. They were bare, no sign of his shoes. Then they wandered to his ripped jeans, and eventually, his torso. It was still covered in his Hellfire club t-shirt. It was ruined, completely ripped by the demobats.
His eyes grew wide. He couldn't believe what he previously suspected. The only signs of the demobats' attack were angry, red scars, spread across his torso, and the faintest remains of dried blood. His blood. That's not possible. He was dead. He was supposed to be dead. Those scars are supposed to be bleeding, not healed. Was he in hell? Was this the afterlife? The thought filled him with dread. The last thing he wanted is to spend an eternity in this shithole. Great. At least his wit is back.
"Hello???" he screamed "Can anybody hear meee?"
Nope, there was definitely no one here.
"Alone, whether you like it or not, alone will be something you'll be quite a lot" he recited under his breath.
He must be insane. To talk to himself like that. A complete freak. He laughed at himself. That's the moment it had hit him. The weird sensation in his mouth. Fuck. Fuck no. No way. He raised his hand to his face, scared to even bring it closer. But he had to. The curious little shit he was. Always had to to the outrageous thing in any kind of situation. Some might call him a drama queen. He kind of was.
Maybe he lost some teeth in the fight. So what? But no, he had to touch them, didn't he? Had to bring his fingers, still decorated by silver rings, to his fangs. Once, not so long ago, they were completely normal. Apparently, not anymore. They were definitely larger. Shit, they were fucking sharp. A vampire? For real?
"This is so fucking stupid" he muttered under his breath, slightly panicked.
It felt like a joke is being played on him, on his very existence. When he dared thinking he's getting used to the obscene idea, a grumble ran through his belly. He went completely still, not moving an inch. No way. No fucking way. Toast, honey combs, steak, roasted chicken, ice cream. He tried frantically, naming every good food he had in his life. He was too young for this. Dying is one thing, but having images of blood when hungry is completely fucking different, and he was not ready. He was too fucking young. He probably had so much more food to try and eat. Why. Fucking why. He groaned in frustration. Why him.
For Chrissy, he reminded himself. For Dustin. Yeah, okay, the little shit owns him big time. Like, super fucking big.
Right. There was no point in staying still if he's alive. And he hoped he was. He should probably try and find the others, maybe find some answers. At the very least he really shouldn't be staying here. Anywhere but here. He started making his way towards his trailer, hoping the gate there is still open. As he walked he noticed that walking felt easy. It almost felt as if he was hovering above the ground, like he was faster.
Despite that, he was still dizzy, sore and hungry. He had to find something to eat soon, the thought pierced his mind. That didn't make it any less terrifying. He tried shaking it off and getting to the gate as fast as he can. When he got there, he was relieved to see that the gate was still open. Yet, there was a sunken feeling in his stomach. Did their plan succeed? Was everybody still alive? Is Hawkins okay?
He shook those thoughts as he made a jump through the pulsing gate, shining bright red in the dark trailer. That wasn't supposed to be that easy, he noted to himself. They needed the rope last time. Apparently his new body is quite improved. He fell on his back with a dull thud. That's supposed to hurt, he noted again, feeling tears coming to his eyes. Why were all those changes so frightening to him? It's almost as if he wasn't himself anymore.
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to get up from the floor of his living room. He just stayed there, wide eyed, as if he was fighting the open gate above him. Who will blink first. Well, god, he didn't fucking need to blink, now, did he. Great. Apparently, that was it. Since he woke up, dazed and confused, he just kind of accepted it all. But now, now he really needed to cry. Tiny tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision. Looking at the gate like that, it almost looked alive. He closed his eyes sharply, breathing heavily and feeling more lost than ever. Lost in this universe, lost in his own body.
That was a stupid idea, coming here. He couldn't possibly think he could go back to normal, to seeing his friends, his uncle. No way, they will never let him back in. And even if they do, what if he'll hurt them? He didn't fucking know how those things worked. He didn't know if he could trust himself. As far as he knew, he didn't know anything anymore. He was just lost.
~~~~~
The next thing he knew, he heard quiet footsteps making their way towards his trailer. His body jolted into awareness. His instincts took over as he rose to his feet, cursing at the strange feeling. He wasn't used to being barefoot, but mostly, he wasn't used to being that sensitive. Everything felt stronger and more intense. His ears tingled with every little sound that came from the outside world. He could also smell fucking everything. A corpse of a bunny that's 3 days old, the ants picking at it furiously, and finally, a human standing at his doorstep.
Without thinking, he ran to a corner in his room, hiding behind his desk as if he was a young child hiding In a stupid game. He took his knees in his hands, curling his lanky body and stoping his breath entirely. Why was he so scared? He was terrified. Images of his previous hiding adventure flashing in front of his eyes. He forced them closed as he heard the door open with a faint creak.
The smell was intoxicating. There was nothing blocking it, and Eddie imagined it as if it was a thick mist floating through thin air. It was musky, manly, it smelled of wood and fresh deodorant. It smelled worried, hopeful, tired. It smelled like Steve. Steve and his million thoughts ran through his head. Steve and his beating heart, pulsing veins, hot blood. Eddie cursed under his breath, unable to contain his awful thoughts. He immediately regretted it, because the next thing he knew, Steve's footsteps were shifting and getting closer to his room.
"Hello?"
Shit, this is far from being good. The footsteps got closer and closer, and now Eddie could hear the slight buzzing of the flashlight Steve was holding directly towards him. Shit, shit, shit!
"Fuck!" he heard Steve curse, almost above him.
He sounded scared, like he couldn't believe what he saw. Eddie lifted his head a bit, opening his eyes and squinting them as they met the harsh flashlight held towards him.
"Shit, sorry" Steve said, almost shaking, and immediately moving the annoying light from his face.
"Eddie? Is that really you?" he looked directly at the vampire, but his face was plastered with disbelief.
Their eyes met, brown meeting hazel, and they were both so fucking scared. Steve looked tired, dark circles that almost touched his cheekbones. He wore clean clothes, no sign of the tactical gear they wore when they roamed the upside down. The only sign of battle that Eddie could see was an angry scar spread across Steve's throat. Images of him suffocating under the slimy tentacles of Vecna infuriated something in Eddie, something he didn't know existed.
Eddies' eyes finally reached the floor beneath the man. And Steve being Steve, fucking got closer. As if it wasn't hard enough to contain the million thoughts and sensations that ran though Eddie, he had to add physical contact. Steve's hand grabbed Eddie by his shoulder, almost as if Steve needed to be grounded, to believe he's real.
"We thought... We thought you were dead" Steve whispered, lowering himself into sitting on the floor next to Eddie.
The vampire couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.
"So did I" he lowered his head, looking at his hands, but mostly, hiding his teeth.
There was something melancholic in every thought he had, every move he made. Like he knew that soon Steve would learn what happened and leave, screaming and confirming that indeed, Eddie was once again alone in this world. Left to deal with this new condition on his own. A part of him wanted to delay that moment as much as he could.
"I'm so sorry" Steve whispered, interrupting his trail if thought.
"Don't be" Eddie simply stated, looking at the human directly now.
"I did this because I wanted to" he finally rasped.
He could feel that his voice wasn't used for far too long
"Is everyone okay?" He dared to question.
Steve shook his head slowly, eyes sad and apologizing still.
"Don't look at me like that, man, I'm just glad that everyone's okay"
Steve ran a shaky hand through his perfect hair, it was such a Steve thing to do, and Eddie found himself grinning at the little gesture. A shaky breath escaped Steve's mouth, and he closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"I have so many fucking questions" he breathed out.
Eddie shook his head, he didn't want to answers any of them. This, this is enough for now.