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“Come on, let’s go, let’s go!” Steve yelled from behind his bandana, usering the kids to the rope that would lead them to safety.
Mike limped by weaky, no doubt hurt from when the vine had grabbed him, and Steve took him in his arms, basically carrying him out of the tunnels. Lucas and Max had already begun to climb out, and Steve lifted Mike up, so Lucas could grab his arms and pull him out. Steve could feel Dustin beside him, breathing heavily, and they both froze as they heard something too close to an earthquake head towards them, and they both instantly knew what it was.
The demodogs. They were coming.
“Up the rope!” Steve screamed. “Up the rope, now!”
“There’s not enough time!” Dustin exclaimed.
“Go! I’ll be right behind you!”
Steve helped him grab the rope, barely staying standing as the earth shook under his feet even more. Dustin scrambled up to safety, reaching for Max, who took his hand and helped him up.
“Steve! Come on!” Lucas yelled, and Steve nodded.
“I’m coming!”
His hands grabbed the rope, but as soon as he began to go up it, something reached behind him and wrapped around his chest, pulling him back and slammed him against the wall. Steve’s head hit the hard dirt, and he groaned, falling to the ground as soon as he was let go.
His ears were ringing, his vision blinking in and out of focus as he tried to breathe steadily. But he could feel the vibrations of the earth under his fingertips, getting stronger and faster, and he knew that there was no time. The demodogs were coming. He was as good as dead.
He instantly knew, though, that he may still have time. He just had to get to his feet. His limbs felt like weights as he tried to get up, only to fall back down, collapsing back onto the infesting ground, his body finally deciding that enough was enough. His head fell to the ground, his eyes fluttering shut, all of the strength leaving his body. and he could soon hear screams coming from above him, muffled but still there.
Right. The kids. He had to save the kids.
He tried to get up again, and took the bat out of his bag and used it as support, managing to get to his feet, but very shakily. His legs felt like they were going to give way at any second, and he knew that he had to hang on, just a little bit longer.
“-eve! Come on!”
Steve looked up to see Dustin coming down again, but he held up his hand, bile rising in his throat.
“No! Get back up! I’ll…”
His eyes widened as he saw a flood of demodogs race towards him, and he lifted his weapon, struggling on his feet, and prepared for the worst.
He knew that he couldn’t climb up the rope fast enough, so he planted his feet and brought his bat above his shoulder, ready for a swing.
Most of them began to rush past him, disregarding him standing right in their path, and they all ran around him, focused on something beyond him. He could hear Mike say something softly above him, but Steve didn’t relax.
This didn’t seem right. Something wasn’t right here.
Or, maybe, something wasn’t wrong. Maybe this was how it should’ve gone. It just didn’t feel like it should’ve been.
“Steve! Look out!”
Steve refocused his eyes on a demodog jumping towards him, and he swung the bat, missing, and being pushed to the ground, the demodog landing on his chest and jumping off of him, as if he was just a ramp to propel itself forward with. Steve held back the scream that built up in his throat, cuts burning on his chest from its long claws. He could feel warm liquid seep out of them, soaking his shirt, but he knew it could’ve been worse. At least it didn’t turn back and finish the job.
As he felt more demodogs running around him, some over him as he laid there, he curled up into a ball, tucking his head into his chest and covering it with his hands. He could hear snarling and growls and footsteps and screams, and he curled in on himself tighter, whimpering as he felt more claws dig through his clothes and into his skin. He didn’t know where he had dropped the bat. And for once in his life he didn’t care.
His ears were roaring as the sounds around him bored into them, closing his eyes, his head pounding as he waited for it to be over. He could smell the stench of burning vegetation, a rotten stench that made him want to gag, and he knew that the fire was spreading. Yet he couldn’t move. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t get up, he was being trampled alive by a bunch of monsters from another dimension.
What a way to die. First Billy Hargrove and now this.
His breathing was heavy, and, as the tremors in the earth died down, he could feel the flood of demodogs trickle down to the remaining stranglers, many of them running around him as there was more room for them to go without running into one of their buddies. As soon as the last one passed, Steve could hear something drop down beside him, but he didn’t have the strength to get out of his position of safety.
His head pounded, like a million fireworks going off in his brain, and he could feel sharp pain nearly everywhere on his body. It wasn’t long until a soft hand touched his shoulder, making him flinch, and Steve knew that it wasn’t a demodog.
He weakly opened his eyes and turned his head, seeing Lucas kneeling down beside him, frowning.
“Are you okay?”
Steve nodded, groaning as more pain flared up, and he took Lucas’ outstretched hand, the younger boy helping him to his feet. His legs began shaking, and his nail bat was passed into his hands, now with more cuts along it’s slender shape, but Steve didn’t comment on it. He used it as a cane, holding himself up as Lucas got Dustin and Max to reach down into the tunnel as far as they could, no doubt preparing to carry Steve out.
Lucas wrapped his arm under Steve’s shoulder, leading him to the rope, and, when Steve was standing on his own, held his hands out as a stepping stool, lowering himself closer to the ground.
“I’m not…I…” Steve tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat, and another headache burst forth in his skull. He groaned, rubbing his sore eyes with his hand, the bruises flaring up with pain.
“Please, Steve? We need to get out of here.” Lucas said, nodding down to his hands. “I don’t care if I get dirty, or if you’re heavy. Let me help you for once. Please.”
Steve wasn’t really in the mood to argue anymore, so he gripped the rope, painfully lifting his foot and placing it into Lucas’ hand. He held back a scream as agony rippled through his leg at the movement, and quickly took Max’s and Dustin’s outstretched hands, letting them lift him up. It was clear that they were struggling, but Steve wasn’t able to help them , no matter how hard he tried. Mike soon joined in, a bit pale from the pain in his leg, but he managed to grab Steve’s elbow and drag him up.
With a lot of effort from everyone, Steve managed to make it to the surface, rolling onto the ground with a whine. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool, fall breeze on his skin, but he was soon poked in his shoulder. He groaned, opening his eyes to see Dustin sitting beside him.
“You can’t rest now, buddy. We have to get back to the Byer’s.”
He sighed. “Right. Just one more second.”
He tried to even out his breathing as he watched Max pull Lucas up to the surface, the cuts burning from exposure to the wind, and, with Dustin’s help, got to his feet.
“Max?” He asked, his voice hoarse, and she turned to him.
“Yeah?”
He couldn’t believe he was saying this, but they had no other option. He couldn’t do it, especially not in his condition, and if he did…he could hurt everyone. He wouldn’t risk it.
“I can’t drive, so you have to. But, promise me you’ll go slow. Please.”
She nodded solemnly. “I will.”
He let out a sigh of relief, and let Dustin help him to the car, setting him in the backseat like before. He let his head rest against the seat, nausea and shock setting in, and tried to keep his eyes open.
He watched as Mike hobbled into the vehicle, sitting beside him, and he vaguely realized that he should probably splint his leg. Steve didn’t even know how, though.
“Hey.” He said, weakly reaching his hand to Mike’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I will be, don’t worry about it.” Mike responded, turning to the window. Steve didn’t bother saying anything more to that.
Dustin was soon sitting beside him, and Steve finally let himself breath. As long as Max got them back safely, it would be okay. The kids were going to be safe. The demodogs were gone, and hopefully, if the plans they made worked out, everyone else would be safe, too.
They still weren't back to safety, though, yet he knew that he had to trust Max with that.
Steve let his eyes close, knowing that he hadn’t completed his task yet, they weren't home safe, but he couldn’t keep on going, no matter how hard he tried.
“You did great, Steve.” He heard from beside him. “It’ll all be okay soon.”
He let the words follow him into unconsciousness.