Chapter Text
The trailer park comes back into view, still dipped in the eerie blue glow of the Upside Down, but the screeching sounds of the bats can no longer be heard. The gravel crunches under their shoes; Nancy and Robin talk to each other under their breaths. It is concerningly peaceful, now that they’ve defeated Vecna, hopefully getting rid of the Upside Down once and for all.
Steve simply cannot trust the quiet, continuously speeding up to get back to Dustin and Eddie so they can then check on the rest to make sure everyone is safe.
He hears it before he sees it – wailing sobs and sniffles with a constant flow of desperate pleas.
“Eddie, come on. Please... You can’t die. Eddie!!”
Steve’s body reacts before he fully comprehends what’s happening. He’s on his knees besides Eddie’s bloodied body.
No! Oh no no no! This can’t be happening!
Dustin is curled up besides Eddie, holding his upper body close. His hands are stained red, his cheeks blotchy and tear streaked.
“Eddie... The bats... ‘nd I was through the gate but then he climbed down and cut the rope and… and I came back but he... he...”
Another sob rips through Dustin, shaking his body. Eddie, in Dustin’s arms, is still. Only shaking with the movements of the boy holding him tight. He looks pale, even more so than usual, his limbs slack.
Steve stares wide eyed at the image before him. They just defeated the great evil. They were supposed to be safe now.
“Don’t be heroes”, he’d said but of course they didn’t listen.
Pain is coursing through his body. Steve can feel the burning rage bubbling up inside him. The blood is pumping, he can feel the hammering heartbeat echo in his ears. He wants to scream at Dustin, scold Eddie for not listening, and wants to cry. It’s so much. Too much!
He rips up his shirt sleeves, covered in blood and upside down grime, to check at his inner arm.
It’s still here!
His soulmark is still in place. The black ink is fading though. It’s already a prominent gray, meaning it’s continuously getting lighter. But it’s still there. So Eddie is still alive!
Nancy and Robin finally catch up and flank behind him. They can definitely see what Steve is staring at, if the sharp gasp from both girls is anything to go by.
“Is this- -“
“Now is not the time Robin! We need to get him out of here. Now!”
Steve doesn’t mean to sound as harsh as it comes out, but they really don’t have time to chit-chat. Eddie needs to get to the hospital right away.
“But Eddie... He is... He- - I..”, Dustin still sobs.
Steve instinctively lays his hand on Dustin’s arm to calm him. Then he turns to the girls. If they want a shot at saving Eddie they need to act fast. His mind is reeling.
The trailer gate is too high. No way we can heave an unconscious person out there. Most wounds seem to be at Eddie’s upper body so lifting him there would also be counterproductive... What options are there?
“Nancy, you go through the gate. Get the car to Fred’s gate,” Steve points in the direction of the bushes, where, not far behind, the second gate is in the middle of the road, “knock over the roadblocks if you must, but pick us up there! Robin, get me a sturdy plastic chair from the camper over there. Hurry!!”
The girls stare at him, frozen, as seconds tick by. Then they simultaneously sprint to their designated destinations. Steve focuses back on Dustin and Eddie. They still need to stop the bleeding. When he worked as a lifeguard Steve got special training for emergencies and somewhere in the back of his mind there is a faint recollection.
“We need to take care of his wounds!! Dustin, give me your shirt!”
Steve is already at his own shirt, ripping it in long strips. He has to tie a few bits together, but it works well enough. Dustin sits there, teary eyed, staring at Steve like the man has finally lost his mind. The corners of his mouth are turned down, a few whimpering sobs escape his pressed lips.
“He’s dead, Steve.” He whispers it, like it’s less true if the universe doesn’t hear him say it.
Steve catches Dustin’s eyes, conveying how much he means the next thing he’ll say. How serious he is about this.
“He’s not. At least not yet”, Steve’s voice is surprisingly leveled, even though he feels himself shaking all over with the adrenaline coursing through his body, “but if we don’t get him out soon, he will be.”
The second part of the sentence is emphasized as Steve raises his voice, enough to spur Dustin into action. He sheds the camouflage battle dress, tucks the shirt out underneath of where Eddie’s upper body is leaning against him, and hands it to Steve, who squishes it into a bundle. Steve presses it against the most wounded area on Eddie’s torso, where the grimy demo-bat gashes glisten with blood.
“Hold down here,” he curtly instructs Dustin, who automatically follows Steve’s order. Steve scoots closer and brings the bandage under Eddie’s perched up body. He pulls tightly and knots it in place, then wraps it around two more times and secures it, effectively keeping Dustin’s shirt in place which is already staining red with blood.
“What do we need the chair for, dingus?”
Robin comes running, white plastic chair in hand, and Steve feels some tension drain from his body.
I’m not alone in this. We’ll get him out! We’ll get you out Eddie!
He motions Robin to come closer. She places the chair down near Dustin and Steve.
“We can’t carry Eddie out like that. It’ll strain his wounds even more. We’ll perch him on the chair and carry him out on it.” Steve hurriedly explains as he gets up. He steps over Eddie.
“You take this side, I’ll lift here. Dustin, help us as much as you can. Ok?”
They both just nod. Steve is in problem solving mode.
There is no point in arguing anyway. It’s the best solution they have.
Eddie is effectively blacked out and doesn’t even flinch when the trio heaves his limp body into the garden chair.
The three of them should be able to make it work: Steve and Robin each can grab an armrest, carrying most of the weight, and Dustin can hold up the chair legs.
That plan flies out the window when Dustin gets up and Steve sees him limp. Steve raises an eyebrow at him, looking down at Dustin’s legs in disapproval.
“Shit! What happened?”
“Jumped down the trailer gate after Eddie removed the mattress.”
“Fuck.”
Okay, Dustin can’t carry shit right now. What now?
“Ok man, can you clear us a path?” Steve pointedly looks at the direction where the other gate is located. He feels bad asking a hurt child to hobble through the bushes and trees, but there aren’t many options right now.
Dustin grabs the knife-spear in one hand, the flashlight in the other. He gives an affirmative huff and determinedly limps ahead, using the spear for support.
In the meantime, Robin made good use of the rest of Steve’s shirt-rope and tied Eddie’s upper body to the chair with a cheap excuse of a seatbelt.
“Just you and me now, dingus. Let’s get this self-sacrificing idiot out of here.”
They nod to each other and get to it. Eddie is still a heavy lift, even if the guy is basically a twig, but with all the adrenaline left in their system, they manage to carry their weird construction through the woods. They have to take short breaks every now and then, setting the chair down to shake out their arms. Their muscles are screaming, but they can’t give up. The bandages on Steve are slowly turning red, the strain probably re-opened his own demobat bites, but if they don’t pull through, it would be a death sentence for Eddie.
Steve checks his soulmark once, just to be sure, and it’s still gray, lighter than before, which spurs them on to get the metalhead out.
They follow down the small path Dustin cuts out for them, trailing behind the flashlight marking their way. By the time they near the clearing, Robin and Steve found the perfect way to hold up the chair without agitating Eddie – slightly tilted back, one arm under the seat, one on the armrest. It physically hurts by now, and their limbs are sore, but they made it!
Nancy is already on the other side, spurring them on.
Dustin, Robin, and Steve get the unconscious Eddie back on the ground, against the cold paved road. It’s not a pretty solution, but they need to act fast, so they decide to roll Eddie over the gate edge closest to the car. Nancy lets out a relieved breath when it works. Steve notices he does the same. Finally knowing Eddie is safe, for now.
Their weird maneuver has worked, so the trio effectively does the same: laying down, rolling over and emerging on the Right Side Up.
The three older kids wrangle Eddie into the backseat. Steve slips in first, pulling, while Nancy and Robin, each grab a leg, pushing. Dustin worriedly hobbles behind them, slipping in under Eddie’s legs. Steve holds Eddie’s upper body in place, steadily putting pressure against the largest wound. Whenever he presses hard enough, and in the right place, he can feel a very faint heartbeat, the only indication his soulmate is still alive.
Nancy gets in the driver’s seat while Robin slips in beside her at the front.
“Drive! Drive!! We need to get him to the hospital!”
They speed down the road like crazy, breaking any and every speed limit on the way.
Luckily there isn’t much traffic. The street lamps lowly illuminate the extent of Vecna’s catastrophic attack. Broken windows, houses missing a wall or a roof. Here and there are a few rifts in the concrete of the street. Water is pouring from a hydrant.
It’s bad, but it could have been way worse.
Steve doesn’t care. He cradles Eddie against his chest. Every bump in the road shakes his frail body, every corner rustles the limp limbs Steve is holding tight. Steve’s torso is screaming in agony. The pain is constantly coursing through him but the concern about his soulmate is keeping him alert.
“You think- -“, Dustin’s voice breaks. He stares at Eddie’s bandage wounds, “Will he make it?”
“Yes.”
Or at least I hope so.
Time is moving slowly, like they are trapped in honey. Gooey and viscous and all so slow. Minutes feel like hours, and Steve tries to focus his every fiber to feel Eddie’s light heartbeat.
When they finally make a screeching halt at the hospital, Robin rushes out of the seat and bolts through the hospital doors only to emerge seconds later with two nurses and a wheelchair.
Dustin scoots out, and with the combined effort of the medical personnel and Steve, they get Eddie out of the car. Nancy glances ahead to the road and makes no attempt to leave the driver's seat. Seems like she already made plans with Robin, Steve realizes belatedly. Probably went over his head on their way here.
“I’m gonna check on Lucas, Max and Erica. You guys stay here.”
Steve just nods at her, his eyes fixed on the back of dark curly hair, currently being wheeled away. In a trance, he follows his soulmate in. The two nurses exchange glances and whisper to each other. Robin drags the injured Dustin towards the hospital too, as Nancy speeds away.
They enter the brightly lit foyer. After all the darkness and dim blue of the Upside Down it physically hurts. It takes a few moments for Steve’s eyes to adjust. Medical personnel murmur to each other. A doctor emerges and stares at Steve and Eddie, flanked by the nurses. They probably look horrible, covered in grime and blood. But no one makes a move to help them.
The automatic doors behind them open and close as Robin and Dustin enter as well. For a moment that’s the only sound, then the whispering continues.
Steve can only make out bits and pieces but he’s sure he catches “isn’t that the Munson kid?” “... the one that murdered that cheerleader” “should we even..” “what are we supposed to do?”
Then it clicks in place.
Are they seriously debating whether or not to treat Eddie?! The guy nearly gave his life saving this whole damn city!
So much for innocent until proven guilty!
Steve is about to lose it right then and there. Can feel the hot rage burning deep inside him.
He hates pulling this card. Hasn’t done it since his falling out with Tommy. If they don’t voluntarily treat Eddie, he’ll make them.
He gathers up all his strength, puffs out his chest. Head high like the good old days, wandering the halls of Hawkins High. Pulling out his best impression of the famous ‘King Steve'’ persona. His voice booms through the white tiled hallway.
“Do you know who I am?? I’m the son of Richard Harrington.”
A few heads snap up. Eyes bright with recognition. The whispering dies down.
“If you don’t treat this man right now and give your utmost best to keep him alive, I’ll personally make sure this hospital will be sued. To. The. Ground.”
Steve punctuates the end of his sentence with such intensity it rips a nurse from her stupor. She instantly hurries over and carts Eddie towards a door with a bright “Emergency” light. Medical terms are being thrown back and forth, and the doctor and two more nurses rush after them.
Dustin and Robin both share a shocked glance before they fix Steve with a wide eyed stare. They probably think he’s possessed or something.
Steve can see Robin’s mouth move, but the sounds don’t reach his ears. Packed in cotton wool, the world around him is muffled. He turns back to make sure Eddie is being taken care of. The edges of his vision begin to get fuzzy. He faintly decerns his soulmate being carted into OR.
Then the tension snaps.
The energy leaves Steve’s body and he slumps down on the ground, like a puppet with cut strings. He can’t even feel it when his knees hit the tiled sterile floor. He slumps over and everything turns black.