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"hey, will, are you okay?" he hears mike speak to him and feels the weight of a hand clasping on his shoulder, but when he spins around to look at mike when he speaks, there's nobody there.
the air takes on a chilly underbelly, a layer of goosebumps rising on will's arms before he can stop them. he calls out mike's name once, twice, thrice before switching to jonathan and then to his mother and—hell—even to nancy. nobody calls back to him.
it takes a red bolt flashing and the clap of thunder rattling the rocks at his feet before he truly takes a look at his surroundings and sees the cabin he'd spent the better part of a day restoring with his friends has returned to an old decrepit shack. vines line the walls and doors and particles of what looks like ash dance around in his vision.
he can feel the air turn to lead in his chest, the sting of tears in his eyes when he realizes he's the one place he never thought he'd be again. he'd spent too many hours whether they be in a dream or physically spent wandering this realm that it feels familiar to him, almost as if he'd never left in the first place. he can feel the voices of the vines welcoming him home like an old friend, begging him to spend even just a second snug in between them.
his feet start carrying him before his mind can even catch up, uncaring of any of his surroundings, even less of the vines squelching distressingly under his feet. the thought of anything in the shadows knowing he was here sticks to his skin.
he hauls himself into hopper's cabin, huffing and trying to catch his breath like he'd run the hawkins marathon.
"will come on, come on you've got to think! you've got to be brave-you have to be brave for all of them, for el, johnathon, mom-" he cuts himself off with a shuddered sob. he doesn't know what to do. he never did.
it had to have been just dumb luck in the first place that saved him all the time he'd spent in here and—oh god,—what if nobody had even noticed he was gone, or even worse, he was floating in the air like dustin and lucas had described, and everyone was watching helpless with no way to save him at all.
this is doing nothing to calm his nerves, he thinks. if he's going to die here—and he most likely will—he needed to at least make an attempt to get home, and the gates that had been opened just recently might be his saving grace.
it's colder here than he remembered, and there are sounds of chittering and calls of things he can't recall ever hearing. the place has changed, not the same hell he had experienced previously, and certainly not the same place eleven had described after pulling her out of the tank in pizza place.
he shakes his head, willing himself to focus and move on to the task at hand.
he moves to the kitchen, going through all the drawers and cabinets looking for something, anything really, to defend himself with in case the door is burst down by something probably watching him from the treeline if the goosebumps down the back of his neck are anything to go by.
he comes across a dull chef's knife, probably hopper's attempt to get some tools to create a real homemade dinner for him and el, and it has to do for the task at hand. he doubts a couple dirty spoons in the sink will do anything, but he shoves one in his pocket nevertheless.
he comes across another drawer that seems to be left clean of the vines, and pulls out what looks to be a makeshift first aid kid mostly consisting of some cloth gauze and some string and a needle. he debates on whether or not it's worth taking, considering if he's injured he probably won't last long enough to use it let alone escape, but he decides it can't hurt, and grabs a backpack from hopper's room and stuffs it in.
after looting the cabin for anything of use—which turns out to be very little at all, but a flashlight as well, and he figures he'll take what he can get—he steps out the front door, sighing quietly and rubbing his nose from where it started running due to his crying. the trek to the nearest gate home couldn't be too far but there was no telling what or who he could run into on the way.
he tries to stay alert, scanning his surroundings every time he hears so much as the wind brush through the rotting dead leaves left behind on the trees, but finds himself getting distracted by the constant contact of cold air on his skin and red flashes in the air. he hears commotion up ahead and stops, crouching behind what's left of a boulder he vaguely remembers playing around with his friends when they were kids.
his friends. he's tried to stop his mind from wandering to them while his life is on the line, but the task is better said than done. however, he would be disingenuous if he tried to convince himself that he thought of anyone more than mike. it seems silly, and will barely stops himself from shaking his head and slapping some sense into himself before it's too late.
is mike scared? is he worried will won't make it home or is already dead? or is he more worried about who could possibly be next.
this time he actually does shake his head to dispel the thoughts. it works just slightly, shifting his thoughts over to his family. they were just all together again, how is this fair? and why him? hasn't the upside down taken all he'd have to offer and then some?
once the noise up ahead quiets, he starts a trek slightly right from where he was initially heading, turning the flashlight on from where he held it in his hands, bobbing and weaving between trees. he doesn't know exactly where he's going, not having been in hawkins long enough at all to tell or find out where the gates were at their biggest and strongest, but he figures the centre of town where the most damage was done seems like a good idea.
he can't tell how long he's been walking, and even if he could, time moves differently here. it could've been minutes in the other world or hours or even days. for a minute he wishes his watch worked, but decides it doesn't really matter anyways.
he just knows he's making good ground, almost coming up on a road, until he hears a noise he should've noticed had been absent for a suspiciously long time.
the shrill screech of a flying monster echoes throughout the vastness of the forest mostly behind him, cutting through the air like a knife much sharper than the one in his right hand.
he starts to pick up speed until he's in a sprint, just trying to make it to the other side of the road where he can maybe, hopefully, disappear in between the trees and confuse the creature before it can rip him to pieces.
the bat of sorts seems to be alone, and will realizes if he wants to quiet it and come out alive, he has to kill it.
this, of course, is easier said than done.
he thinks about it and decides that he would go down fighting, just like he promised he was going to.
he's about to turn around, face the hellish creature head on, when he realizes he no longer hears the air being dispelled from it's massive wingspan, nor the breaking of branches it pays no mind to as it guns for him at full speed.
he stops, in case it may be above and following him, and when he turns around, he sees something that draws all thoughts from his mind and almost every molecule of oxygen from his lungs.
it's sitting there.
the bat squeaks quietly.
he's unsure of what to do next. surely he can't approach it, but this little bat is acting in such a peculiar way it's almost drawing him closer.
he feels vecna coming from this—thing, whatever it is—and if he hadn't he would be more convinced it was a normal forest animal despite it's looks.
to hell with fighting, he thinks. he was never much of a fighter anyways. he knows this is a dumb idea, but at this point he's more entranced than anything.
he takes a tentative step. then, another. he's maybe three feet away from the thing when it moves and he can't help the horrible flinch he gives when it does. he grasps the knife tighter, eyes moving wildly along everything in view.
"hey-hey don't be afraid okay? just-just let me come a little—um, oh god—a little closer."
he doesn't know if the gentle, hushed tone of voice is to not scare the bat or himself.
he comes close enough to touch it, unsure of how to commence next. does he pet it? it isn't a dog, would it be upset and lash out? is this all a plan to lower his guard and take him out swiftly without much effort?
his question is answered when the bat pushes it's head against his hand. it's warm to the touch, like there's life inside it. the warmth mimics that of something with blood pumping within it's chest, circulating like any creature he could've met in his world.
the connection is short lived, as the bat makes another otherworldly noise, and taps it's leg rather impatiently.
"what are we—i'm talking to a god damn bat what do i think its gonna s-" he's cut off by the bat taking off, flying low to the ground and slowly, as if trying to get him to tag along and see what it's trying to show him.
he looks towards the bat soaring just above his height, and then to the path he was planning on taking. he thinks for a moment, before deciding the bat could've already killed him fifteen times over, and this is probably a better way considering the lack of vines.
he walks slowly behind the bat, taking turns between warily eying the creature and his cold and dark surroundings. he tries to keep himself a distance away enough that he could have a head start if it turns around and decides it's had enough of playing this game with him, but they trek and trek and trek and it never seems to change it's mind.
at some point he figures it must have a destination in mind. they pass a video store, a church, a library, and yet the bat doesn't stop, doesn't get distracted.
will doesn't think it knows that he doesn't have the stamina to keep up. he's woefully out of shape, which has become awfully apparent. he can feel the wheeze forcing itself out of his throat and he stops to cough.
he guesses it was his mistake, taking his eyes off the thing in front of him that was not quite a friend but not quite a foe either. the moment he's finished coughing, forcing any air he can get into his lungs, he feels his feet lifting off the ground and his body being tugged up, as if he was weightless.
he begins to fight it, to grab at the claws holding him in the air. he grumbles and cries out and even begs it to just let him go.
and, to his surprise, it does.
he falls maybe ten feet, maybe more, and in his mind he begs and pleads for his death to be as painless as possible. he thinks of everyone he's leaving behind, and how disappointed they'd be when they find out this is how will the wise met his end.
dustin would laugh, he could hear his 'seriously, dude?' clear as day in his head. mike and lucas would just scoff, not even dignifying it with anything that resembled words.
just as soon as he's falling, however, he's being hoisted up again. air swooshes around him as he struggles to catch his breath or understand what's going on even in the slightest.
and just as quickly, the bat chitters what seems like happily—mockingly, almost—and moves on. they continue soaring, and will can't help but let a grumble of 'really?' move past his lips. the thing doesn't respond.
its not much longer until they're lowering and he's being dropped on the ground rather unceremoniously. he falls on his ass, rubbing it softly once he stands, knowing he's going to feel it tomorrow—if he lives long enough.
he stops wallowing in his slight pain to look up at where he's been dropped, and takes a deep inhale at the sight of hawkins high.
this is the school his friends go to. that mike goes to.
he shudders when he opens the door and a gust of warm air hits him, feeling like someone breathing hot all over him. it's a stark contrast from outside, but feels nice and almost comforting nevertheless.
without the presence of the odd disharmonic tune and the writhing vines taking space on the walls, you would think it's just a regular highschool in a regular city in a regular world.
the bat takes his stupor as an opportunity to pass him, moving on and walking on two legs in a way that's completely unsettling and odd, moving almost as if it was a human.
it passes a couple doors, sniffing and making noises as it gets closer to the end of the hallway, near a door he presumes leads no another corridor.
at almost the very last door it stops, waiting for him to enter.
he stops warily, eyeing the door like it was on fire. does it really expect him to trust it so blindly that it is just waiting for him to waltz in there? any number of things could be in there.
as if sensing his uncertainty and wariness, it moves forward again, moving his head under his hand, nuzzling in and moving back and forth, simulating being pet.
he decides to say fuck it, moving towards the door and twisting the knob.
what he finds inside is surprising, to say the least.
there's a man in there. definitely not his age but not far off. the hair on his head is a shaggy mop, blood crusting on the wispy frizzy ends and all over his face. he's laying in the middle of a cleared out classroom, nothing but a book and a guitar lying next to him in his pool of blood on the floor and a space heater powered on in the corner.
the wire is frayed, and if will had to guess he would say the bat currently chirping and gurgling at the man's side drug it over here with it's teeth by the wire.
the man sighs in relief at the door opening and the bat tumbling through, will himself feeling like a bit of an afterthought.
seeing the man on the ground, will stumbles over and falls to his knees, thankful to have decided to bring the first aid kit anyways.
"the-the bat drew me all the way over here i uh-uh i don't know why but if you'll let me i can-i can try and fix this."
the man grunts in response to him, and while will is taking out the supplies he needs, he finally speaks.
"she's really something, isn't—fuck—she?"
the sentence is slow and drawn out, pain laced in the underbelly of every word spoken.
"how do you know it's a she?"
the question seems arbitrary and unimportant, but the identity and the reason behind the supposed compassion of this creature of the upside down has been bothering him since he'd met it. or now her, he thinks.
the man doesn't offer a verbal reply, just taking a hand and pointing roughly to the book splayed open beside him.
the pages are smudged in red, but the contents are still legible enough that when will squints to read it, he can see the name chrissy cunningham circled with the same crimson covering the floor below him.
he doesn't have time to dwell on it, because now there's work to do.
he takes the gauze and starts wrapping it around the gashes and cuts that seem to have bled the least, figuring those are the smaller and less bloody are the less serious of wounds.
after a moment spent digging around in the first aid kit will was desperately wishing was bigger, he finds a needle and some thread and dreads like hell what he knows is going to have to come next.
"this is gonna hurt, okay? i-i'm gonna go as fast as i can."
he now notices the bat next to him, watching curiously as he tries desperately to thread the needle properly.
"what's your name?" is all the man offers in response, and i guess will thinks there have been more awkward conversations that he's had, and so he moves forward.
"will byers. and yours?"
"munson. eddie."
he remembers vaguely seeing that name on the same page as chrissy's, and maybe that's how he could tell who had somehow taken up space inside this bat.
the next few minutes are spent alternating between stitching fast and slow, will being unsure of which is better and eddie saying nothing to help him discern an alternative.
as he finishes up, and hopes to god the sewing techniques his mom taught him and el over the winter to help her patch up some old clothes held up, he sits back and finally asks the question sitting on the tip of his tongue.
"how did you get here?"
his voice is shy and meek, like he's embarrassed to be asking. he says the words as if they're taboo to even be thought.
"that piece of shit vecna and his stupid fucking bats," he pauses when the one currently next to will shrieks as if in offence, then continues, "sorry. it's a long story and shit, i can't even remember half of it."
eddie munson. eddie munson. he lets the name knock around in his head a little longer before it finally clicks to him. this is the guy everyone's been talking about. mike, lucas, dustin, and even steve in the few minutes will spoke to him.
this is who ran the club that got mike back into d&d. the game will begged and begged to play and was shot down every time. he tries not to let the bitter feeling spread from his heart up his throat but it persists nevertheless.
"i think we're done."
there's an underlying tone of animosity will hopes eddie doesn't notice, but the look on his face after the words leave will's mouth tell him that his tone wasn't undetected. he's grateful eddie chooses to ignore it.
he scoots so his back is against the wall, sighing and laying his head in his hands.
"what should we do now kid?" eddie croaks from where he lays.
will stops to think, he's never been in charge of the plan, never even come close. he always wished someone would let him decide what the fate of the party was, what they should all do together.
now that it's up to him however, he doesn't understand how people don't crumble under the weight of decisionmaking.
he rubs his palm across his face, noticing afterwards that there was still eddie's blood on his hand, which causes him to grimace and wipe it away with the bottom of his shirt.
"you don't gotta bring me with you, y'know. i can-i can figure something out."
eddie says this like he's resigned to his fate of dying here, with whatever the hell that bat is, and something about this lights a fire in will's belly.
"no. we're gonna let you rest, and then we're gonna go together. the ba-chrissy too if she wants."
he turns to chrissy as if waiting for an answer, and if she's planning on giving one she takes a long time to decide before will just sighs and lays his head back.
"you can rest kid. she'll let us know if something's coming."
"thanks." if eddie heard him, he doesn't acknowledge it, continuing to hum a tune quietly to himself.
will closes his eyes, and is greeted by flashing images of mike, el, his brother and the rest of the party.
—
when he awakes, it's not by his own choice. there's a nagging pulling at his shoulder that makes him mutter 'just ten more minutes mom' before he's pulled completely from sleep by eddie's high toned whispered voice.
"we gotta go will. like, right now."
his eyes creak open and until he rubs them he only sees vague shapes and colors, but eddie, alive and standing to the best of his ability while hunched over in pain floods anything he could see. eddie reaches behind will and he can hear him slowly opening the window behind him, throwing the backpack will stole from hopper's onto the pavement behind them.
the cold wind envelops them both like an unwanted hug, slithering it's way across will's skin and giving him goosebumps. will climbs out first then waits for eddie, helping him through trying to make it as seamless as possible. it seems to be too slow, however, as halfway through the unreasonably small window he hears banging against the door will presumes to be locked, and the panicked chattering of chrissy.
they make it out of the building and onto the street, eddie hobbling as fast as he can and will desperately trying to hold him up, though they can hear the door about to be ripped off it's hinges. the school is far enough away from any other buildings that will can feel the fear prickling his skin, worsening the cold by mixing it with dread.
to add insult to injury, will can barely remember his way around town. it's been eight months, and he surmises he spent so long trying to put hawkins in the rearview he must've finally been successful.
"you're gonna have to tell me where to go, i-i don't know!"
he's yelling now. the bats have caught up with them and are making quite a bit of distance, hellbent on catching them. he knows chrissy is in the mix somewhere, and just prays she has some sense of herself in the hivemind going after them.
eddie shakes his head, eyes frantically searching the upcoming terrain as they begin to move faster, pain starting to fray at the edges and being replaced with adrenaline.
"i-uh-fuck! i think there should be something up here!"
will's thoughts are disorganized, images and words moving a mile a minute trying to decide the next course of action and pressuring himself not to jump to the worst case scenario.
they continue forward—mostly unchallenged minus a few stray rocks eddie almost trips over—until they hit the trailer park and eddie's pants of excursion turn into something jovial, something almost akin to a boisterous laugh.
"what's funny?" will manages to squeeze out, still listening for the bats or the demo-dogs or anything that could harm them.
"the jackpot, my friend."
he watches as eddie steers him past a motor home, turning to the back to the open window, and checks to see if the coast is clear.
"you want me to boost you?"
will gets on his hands and knees, letting eddie step on his back and somersault into the back through the large window.
after a few expletives and some crashes and the rocking of the house on wheels, eddie shouts for will to go to the door, and he moves so fast he thinks there might be skidmarks where his feet once were with the speed at which he ran to the front.
the door unlocks to eddie with his arms held out, a boyish smile on his face.
"welcome to our humble abode. i'm totally getting deja vu."
will doesn't ask about the last part. he figures the joke will be lost on him.
it's refreshing, will thinks as he passes through the door to hide in the back, to see eddie more akin to the person he was told about and not the one with the life sucked out of him on the floor of hawkins high.
they sit there for a long time, having found food and water in the back of the RV, sitting and talking.
will's never been this social, but surviving death with someone brings people together. at least that's what he's heard. last time he was here, he was alone, young and petrified and thinking there was no possible way out.
a part of him wishes eddie was here the first time. then maybe things would he different, maybe he would he different.
maybe he'd be confident like mike, or funny like dustin or cool like lucas.
being here, and being here especially now, makes him feel even more the effects of his youth being prematurely stolen from him.
who knows what he could be doing if the upside down had never chosen him.
he's cut off by eddie clearing his throat and speaking.
"hello? earth to will? don't tell me my story bored you that much."
will feels his lips twist into a grin, chuckling softly.
"no. i-uh-was just thinking."
eddie smiles back, grabbing will's knee in what he thinks was supposed to be a gesture of goodwill, but instead makes will feel more melancholy than anything.
"ooh do tell. i love a good teen angst story."
he smiles again, dropping the cracker he was eating into his lap and looking up at eddie from where his gaze was trained in his lap.
"just thinking about a friend."
it wasn't a lie, his friends were in his mind, the thought of them a constant hum that never went away. some times he thought of them more than others, and now was one of those times.
eddie lets go of his knee in favor of crossing his arms in a way will feels is trying to convey mischievousness.
"what kind of friend? a girl friend?" the end of eddie's sentence is punctuated with kissing noises and with a singsongy voice, and will thinks if the bats don't get to him he hopes the ground can just swallow him whole.
the blush on his face gives him away, and eddie wastes no time pouncing on it.
"it is! please will i need gossip things have been so boring since i got here! chrissy wasn't exactly the best company currently."
will clears his throat, looking around the RV nervously to see if there's anything he can change the subject to.
in lieu of that, he decides to take a risk—something he's been doing a lot of recently. maybe it's the adrenaline of running for his life, or maybe it's how comfortable eddie's gaze is, but the words tumble out one after the other.
"i have this friend. and i-i really like them, but i'm worried if i say it, they'll think i'm like, a super weird freak or something and we'll never talk again."
will can feel the weight of the confession lifting off his shoulders after it tumbles past his lips. it felt nice to say it to someone—anyone really—but it also gave him the nagging feeling that eddie might discern what he's implying and run away too.
if eddie knows what will is trying to say, he doesn't let on about it, just choosing to sigh and put his hands behind his head.
"y'know, people think i'm a super weird freak. i don't think that title is all that bad. just means nobody will fuck with you. but either way, if 'this person'," eddie removes his hands to make air quotes, then puts them back in their original spot, "thinks you're a freak, then they're not cool enough for you to like them anyways. lame ass people will come up with lame ass excuses not to like you. ignore 'em."
and even though will doesn't think this advice was very helpful at all, he feels tears well up in his lashline, and his lips quiver into a smile.
all he can manage back is a watery 'yeah', and all he can think is that it feels nice. getting advice from someone on mike. someone he barely knows, it's almost as if they're talking about it like it isn't will's most kept secret.
a tear falls, and eddie is quick to notice.
"hey! hey don't cry! not that boys can't cry because i mean it's totally metal and boys should cry more i just mean you shouldn't-"
he cuts himself off when will starts to laugh, first a few giggles and then it forms into a boisterous full body laugh, and soon eddie is laughing along with him and despite the fact they're in the upside down, alone, and facing their imminent deaths, will feels happy.
not the kind of happy where he's watching someone else be happy and he's happy for them, and not the kind of happy where he knows he should be excited but can't find it in himself to be so he pretends. he's actually happy and laughing and having fun.
all it took was mike's new friend and an RV in the upside down.
after a while, their chat calms down, and the adrenaline wares off and the situation seems to kick in.
"el told me something, before i was here."
eddie rolls over from where he moved onto the couch.
"mike's girlfriend? dude i totally thought he made her up."
will snickers, then continues.
"she said, when henry kills, he takes part of the person with him, and if he killed chrissy like everyone said, that means she's part of the hivemind, which is how she became the bat. maybe something kept her here."
eddie pauses and mulls it over, and smiles from the couch.
"maybe. i don't really care how it happened. i'm just glad she was here."
a comfortable silence falls over them, and will let's himself take solace in it, mulling everything over in his mind.
"tomorrow we'll go and get you home." there's a sense of resignment in eddie's voice, though will can't place exactly why.
he just lets himself close his eyes and move to a comfortable position on his side. his sleep is dreamless—absent of anyone and anything. he figures that's much better than thinking of all the possible ways he could die tomorrow, and he'll take any solace from this place he can get.
when he awakens again, eddie is already up and sorting through the backpack, throwing small things in that'll still fit in the limited space.
he seems to be moving well, more limber and self assured than just hours ago, fewer expletives and grunts of pain leaving his lips.
will thinks about commenting on this, but chooses to move on and think of something else, fearing a conversation he doesn't eant to have at all, his worst fear having it about mike.
when eddie starts the motorhome, it's a roar and hum that makes will sink comfortably in his seat, the cold shiver of vecna's eyes removed for the time being, almost as if he gave up on the both of them.
will, for once, lets himself imagine an escape. in his mind, it's grandiose and heroic until the end, not the kind he knows has to happen. in his mind, he's a real and a true hero, telling even eddie what to do and moving them along at a fast pase.
he knows it's his imagination, but he figures there's nothing wrong with imagining, pretending he's more strong and agile and has more of a leader complex than he could ever imagine.
as they get closer and closer to the centre of hawkins, will feels the pit in his stomach grow deeper and deeper, and this time there's no voice accompanying his worst thoughts, moving on to strictly playing them before him, images flashing of the death of eddie, himself, chrissy—who he's felt himself become extremely attached to—and everyone in between.
can he even be trusted with such a mission?
he remembers playing d&d with mike and lucas and dustin, and remembers being a support character. he remembers healing them and working from the background. this isn't d&d, but even so, can he be relied on to make the tough decisions?
as they get closer and closer to hawkins city centre, the ball tightening in will's belly gets tighter and harsher, threatening to suffocate him here and now.
eddie tries to make small talk, but will is hardly paying attention. his whole body is tensed, and he's sure even someone not looking at him would notice.
"so, do whatd'ya like to do for fun?"
eddie's eyes don't leave the road, but he holds out a granola bar with a chunk missing out of it to will. (he assures him later he didn't bite it, but also insists will was just as gross as he was for taking a bite nevertheless.)
"i used to be really into d&d. like, really into it."
"no fucking way. you're fucking with me right?"
will feels his legs release their pent-up tension as he starts to smile and huffs lightly.
"who do you think got mike into it?"
a grin spreads across eddie's lips, toothy and bright.
"you know, when we get out of here, you're playing with us."
"as long as it has nothing to do with vecna."
eddie almost giggles, snickering slightly to himself, finally looking over at will.
"you know kid, you're pretty funny."
will smiles, breaking eye contact to glance out the window and watch their decrepit surroundings fly by.
eddie continues then, tacking onto his last sentence words that send a sucker punch to will's gut.
"dustin and mike told me you were, that you were smart too, but i couldn't really believe them when they're as smart and funny as a bag of rocks."
will doesn't know what he would even say if he was capable of responding to that, so instead he opts to just hum.
the rest of their journey is rather unremarkable, which scares will more than it should.
surely they've been sensed in this place, with who knows how many active deadly threats constantly waiting to feast on whatever unfortunate souls end up here. where are the bloodthirsty killing machines?
eddie seems to notice this as well, his face contorting to become more and more serious as they get closer and closer to their destination.
"d'you think they're waiting for us?"
will breaches the topic slowly, the elephant crushing the atmosphere of the driver and passenger seats slowing becoming a heavier and heavier weight on his shoulders.
"we'll just have to be ready. 'member what i told you. things get all fucked up, you run."
this causes will to sit straight up.
"no, i can't just leave you."
eddie sighs, knuckles tightening to an angry white on the steering wheel.
"i don't have anything to go back to. people'll do better without me."
there's a few beats of silence before will speaks again. he's trying to craft his words of choice eloquently, but the way they rush past his lips gives more the impression he has rocks for brains as well.
"we're both going back whether you like it or not. now, are you going to give me another bite of that granola bar?"
"dude that's gross." despite his words, muffled by another bite of the communal snack, he hands him the wrapper with the rest snugly fit in it.
(will takes a bite.)
when they reach the centre of hawkins, the streets are lined with jagged lines cut through the concrete as if something desperately reached through seeking the light of the right side up indiana. which, will figures, is exactly what happened. there's no end in sight of fractures in the pavement and sidewalk, cracks and crevices lined with a harsh red glow. will wonders what it looks like top side, not having gotten much of a look during the day.
when they come to a stop, eddie moves to the rear of the RV to grab something he had stashed in the cupboards which had been cleaned out. he comes to find out it was a couple baseball bats will hadn't seen in the RV before.
at his quizzical look, eddie responds swiftly.
"before you woke up i did some good old fashioned hunting and gathering. more gathering than hunting but you get the picture."
eddie hands him one of the bats and uses his other hand to clasp will on his shoulder.
"we do this together. you watch my back i'll watch yours. and when we're home we totally get to tell everyone how metal of a team we were."
will nods simply, feeling the weight of the wooden bat in his hands. he seriously doubts the damage this'll do to anything supernatural, but he figures it's the best he has for slightly more ranged attacks.
the knife he'd swiped required him to be up close and personal, and despite his rapid growth as a person in the last 48 or some odd hours, he doubted he could stomach close combat.
"you ready to kick some ass?"
eddie has the baseball bat swung over one shoulder, and as will goes to agree, the ear-splitting shriek of what he assumes can only be more god foresaken bats, and sends his stomach flipping in anxiety.
eddie flashes a grin.
"they're gonna regret ever fucking with us."
he counts down from three, and on the final number, shouts with a battle cry as will follows silently behind, walking almost backwards with how often he turns to check for something coming behind them.
they seem to have gotten lucky, the small pack of bats having maybe only three or four members, all diving and baring harsh fangs he thinks he can feel tearing into his skin already.
"eddie, do you see the portal?"
he doesn't answer a moment, and will has another shout on the tip of his tongue, saliva collecting in his mouth and heart racing too fast to be healthy.
if the bats don't get to him, a heart attack just might.
"i got it! i got it! just give me a second okay?" eddie's voice strains as his head whips in all directions trying to find a fold in the ground wide enough for them to reach through.
"we have about three until i'm torn to shreds!"
will starts to feel the miniscule bead of hope in his chest sink into the gravity of what's about to happen, and he has to force his eyes not to clench shut and accept what he's almost certain is about to go on.
"i need help here now!"
eddie turns and almost simultaneously the bats attack.
will can feel them scratching and clawing and biting at him, but he starts swinging with reckless abandon and it's oddly somehow working.
the bats feel heavy against the wooden tool in his hands, and he can hear their screeches turn from cries of hunger and bloodlust to ones of pain and agony.
he doesn't quite feel bad.
eddie dispatches the one's closest to him with accuracy and speed, almost as if he'd done this a couple times before.
will makes a mental note to ask him about it later.
he manages to take down one of the bats himself, eddie having helped with the other one, and then they're sprinting down the crevices of pavement.
everything seems to be moving and changing too fast for will to comprehend everything, objects moving as blurs of colors and movement, and he's not sure he's being helpful in the search of a hole big enough.
until he hears eddie yell from his left.
"i think i got one! i just gotta clear all this shit out of my way and we're golden!"
will takes his spot as lookout and huffs quietly to himself, finally having a moment to catch his breath and decide he's totally taking up cardio when they get home.
while he's thinking of that, a black speck starts moving directly towards him with speed that has it from a far distance to almost in front of his eyes, and he doesn't have the reaction time to call out or duck or do much of anything.
he can only let out a pained yell of horror when it's a ball of claws and teeth and sharp edges ramming itself right in his face.
he tumbles to the ground, hands dropping the baseball bat and coming up to desperately try and grab at the thing. it's attacks on his forehead and cheeks and chin are less put together, more desperate lashes and seizing of its limbs.
it feels as if it's trying desperately to get away from him, but can only seem to sit there and lash out.
he barely feels it being ripped off by eddie, and he's just thanking his lucky stars he can still see. everything takes on almost a reddish hue, undoubtedly from blood falling into his eyes. he registers the bat previously striking him be thrown to the wayside by eddie, it continuing to convulse and move itself in a way he can't really comprehend but chooses to pay it no mind.
he can feel eddie shaking his shoulders and screaming at him to respond, but he's not watching him.
he's watching another lone bat, diving straight for them, and he knows he needs to warn eddie and let him know of the threat rising behind him, but can't seem to get any words out.
they stay lodged in his throat, choking him up and making him gasp for air. he's entirely overwhelmed but knows that when this thing takes eddie by surprise, it'll be will's own fault.
he was right. he wasn't cut out for this. look at him now, sitting here as if frozen in ice and paralyzed with fear. he was never meant to be a leader. being here with eddie almost convinced him differently, almost made him feel like he could've done anything.
the bat dives closer, maybe ten feet away when the most peculiar thing happens.
a different bat, one stained red which will vaguely realizes is the one which attacked him earlier stained with his own blood, suddenly gets up from the ground and flies right into the path of the other, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
eddie has since gone back to moving debris from the portal, and is completely missing the wrestling match between these two things that will cant seem to tear his eyes from.
he watches them roll around and soon realizes they're fighting, growls and claws and teeth being exchanged and it's just so odd that will cant decipher what exactly is happening at all.
until, something leaves his lips in the faintest whisper, so quiet he's not even sure he said it audibly at all.
"chrissy?"
somehow, over the noise of the debris and wrestling match, or maybe just being sensed, eddie hears him and turns, just in time to watch three more bats fly over and join in. they pick so ferociously at who will assumes is chrissy, he almost has to look away in horror.
hearing eddie's soft gasp, will feels the numbness in his whole body start to fade, instead being replaced with a red hot anger he hasn't felt in a long time.
he leans down to grasp at the baseball bat on the ground, and turns to eddie.
"get it open. i'll cover you."
and with that, he moves forwards, both hands clenching around the baseball bat will thinks it'll splinter under his grip, but he doesn't care.
he wasn't cut out to be a leader. that much is certain. but maybe, just maybe, he could be some damn good backup.
he moves with little grace in his steps, feet thumping loudly against the ground as he raises the weapon and brings it down repeatedly onto the pile of monsters at his feet, losing track of just how many times he swings.
for a moment, he doesn't care, so caught up in making something pay for all the things he's felt and had to do to survive and he doesn't stop swinging until a hand is rested on his back softly.
it's a remorseful eddie, face twisted into a grimace but eyes fluttering about with panic.
"we gotta leave her, come on."
will moves back, turning so as to not have to survey the damage he did to those things, and the damage they did to chrissy.
they move as swiftly as the newfound pounding of will's entire body will allow, and despite everything that happened, it almost feels a little too good to be true when he steps off the pavement into the hole and feels a burst of pressure.
all the air in his lungs is pushed out, and when he can breathe again he heaves and heaves and then it hits him.
the sky is bright.
his surroundings are damaged and worn down buildings but he's heaving fresh air and eddie is coughing next to him and they're free.
he turns to eddie who seems to have realized this himself and has a cheek splitting smile on his face. he's huffing and dirty and has blood all over him but he looks like someone just gave him a billion dollars.
"we fucking did it."
will feels his legs give out and he lays down against the ground, breathing in long breaths through his nose.
"that was so-" eddie starts talking but will knows what he's about to say and finished what he was going to say for him.
"-metal."
the trek to somewhere familiar is long and hard, the adrenaline starting to wear off and leaving it it's wake a mind numbing pain that has him being held up by an eddie who definitely pulled his stitches open.
on the way, despite his newfound ailments and the comfortable silence of slinking around so as to not get eddie 'caught' (what he's wanted for, will doesn't know and felt it was rude to ask), will speaks again.
"when we see everyone, and i'm okay, i'm gonna tell them i like them."
will wouldn't be surprised if eddie had no recollection of the conversation, but he's making a promise to himself that now that he did all of this, he could really do anything.
realistically, as soon as they make it to hopper's cabin, he knows he's going to regret it and want to never speak to anyone again. but he knows eddie will hold him to it.
"maybe i'll give someone a confession of my own."
will laughs, and eddie continues.
"who knows, if we both get rejected then we can wallow in our sadness together. maybe over ice cream."
the rest of their trek continues in silence only broken up by coughs and sputters and expletives of pain.
limbs ache and will is sure there's blood all over his face and he contemplates stopping and taking care of it, but he just wants to be home where he feels semi-safe.
they get there and it seems as if nobody's home. they walked all the way here in a covert operation and nobody is home. he realized it was a bit of a longshot that everyone would just be here, waiting for him to return, but he can't help the slump in his shoulders and the disappointed sigh that passes his lips.
he sits eddie and himself down on the porch, his shaking legs finally getting a break.
"they're gonna be happy to see you."
he turns to eddie, a tired smile tugging at his lips in response.
"they're gonna be happy to see us both."
they talk a bit longer, discussing a range of topics like where everyone all is and what they're gonna do when they put this all behind them. eddie says he's going to smoke and sleep for two days straight, and despite the fact will doesn't smoke, he surmises it doesn't seem that bad of an idea.
they talk a bit longer, until they're cut off by a voice calling out.
the car hadn't made it all the way down the unpaved path leading up to the cabin, having stopped at the turn off of the road, and he'd assumed his mom had jumped out of the car and run all the way down to him and he guesses he didn't hear her at all, too enthralled with the conversation with eddie.
he stands up rather slowly to meet her, and her embrace is tight and warm. tears fill his lashline and he tightens his arms as much as possible, the tension of his whole body melting away in her arms.
"i searched for you. i-i didn't give u-"
"i know mom."
he sees el behind his mom, and jonathan behind her.
they reunite similarly, but there's an odd shake and waver in jonathan's voice as they embrace that doesn't go unnoticed by will. his face contorts in confusion.
before he can ask anything, he's ushered inside and the wounds on his face are being poked and prodded at by an unsure jonathan and his mother.
at some point hopper himself stumbles in, and that's when his medical care takes a step up from everyone just wiping antiseptic roughly on his face.
once everyone is sure he'll live (he was sure the entire time), he's left mostly alone, people moving onto checking the awful job will's sure he did stitching eddie.
his mom tries to make him feel better, but then ruins it all when she says they looked like 'he was a little unsure of himself', and he feels his cheeks light up in shame.
eddie doesn't seem to mind much, joking it's going to leave a one of a kind scar, but the forgiveness in his eyes tells will exactly how he feels.
a while after that, everyone else seems to show up, and will figures out quickly the memo wasn’t passed on that eddie was home and alive, not a random body somewhere in the upside down. he’s quickly showered with hugs and words of relief by everyone except Steve, who looks confused and stands off to the side.
will regards this as odd, but says nothing nevertheless. it’s a little confusing to him, since steve has always been so social and outgoing, he figures they must not have talked that much. will doesn’t feel bad however, since dustin is sobbing so loud and clinging to eddie so hard he doubts anyone could talk to eddie even if they wanted to.
a little while later, after everyone wanders off to talk a little bit amongst themselves before leaving, will’s standing alone until he hears someone walk up alongside him. he doesn’t see their face (he’s too busy looking at mike to bother), but he can tell it’s eddie by the way they don’t immediately ask him what’s wrong.
“i seem to recall a promise that was made on the walk here. you done it yet?”
will freezes and his eyes widen in what can only be the terror of a prepubescent boy about to be forced to talk to their crush. well that and a prepubescent boy who’s about to be forced to talk to and to tell they’re gay. (and that they’re in love with him, and probably have been for years, but that’s beside the point and he really hopes he doesn’t bring the latter up.)
will sighs, and realizes there isn’t much he can do, since what he’s gathered from eddie so far is that he wouldn’t give up on something like this. he’s praying he’s wrong, but what else seems to go his way?
his brain breathes a sigh of relief when he notices how close mike is to where eddie and himself are standing, so he won’t have to go so far into the crowd and draw more attention to himself.
he walks up slowly and the closer he gets the more anxiety he feels, he feels like everyone’s looking at him, everybody knows exactly what he’s going to do, and is just waiting to laugh and sneer and gawk.
“holy shit.” he hears eddie mumble when he taps mike on the shoulder, asking if they can talk quickly.
mike obliges, and as they walk past eddie, will whispers a quick, “your turn!”
he turns around slowly, and lingers just long enough to see eddie push himself off the wall, and briskly walk to a group consisting of steve, nancy, his brother and a girl he thinks he recalls being named robin.
of all the people he though eddie was going to grab by the arm and almost roughly pull to the side with a yell back of ‘i’m talking to him’, he might’ve been willing to bet it would have been jonathan before he would’ve considered steve.
steve’s legs twist awkwardly as he tries to keep pace, but the slight tinge of embarrassment on eddie’s cheeks tell will he won’t be slowing down.
“holy shit.”
“what?” mike asks, immediately moving to check if there’s something wrong.
“nothing, nothing. sorry.”
he really hopes he doesn’t have to go out for ice cream with eddie after this.