Chapter Text
Dead grass and leaves crunched under his booted feet, wind brushing through nearby trees and causing some scarce birds to cry out and fly away. Hopper’s grip on his gun was loose, relief filling his veins, letting his muscles relax.
There was a purple-gray vine on the ground, nestled in the dirt, but it was limp, unmoving. Hopper smirks at it, a look of triumph in his eyes.
He stepped over it and walked further into the dark forest, looking around with narrowed eyes. He was supposed to be looking for any signs of upside down still in the real world, just to see if anything was still alive and running. So far, he’s found nothing or the sort, and Hopper would like it to stay that way.
But right as he’s about to call off his walk, he spots something on the ground, just a few meters ahead of him, right in the middle of a clearing. Hopper’s eyes widened.
It was a body.
He rushes over to it, and his heart drops in his chest when he realizes he recognizes the coat the body was wearing, the skin pale in the moonlight, the hair dark as raven feathers. The body was still moving, its chest rising and falling.
“Wheeler,” Hopper whispers in utter horror, dropping to his knees next to the boy, discarding his gun to the side. It was Mike, it had to be, and the boy’s eyes fluttered.
“H…Hopper..?” Mike rasps weakly, his eyes glassy with tears and unfocused from pain. His face was splattered with blood, but when Hopper checked, there weren't any injuries there. It was his dark coat that was ripped and soaked in red.
Hopper starts unzipping the boy’s coat to check the damage. “Yeah, it’s me, kid, don’t worry,” He assures as the boy coughs, blood splattering on his lips. Shit, internal bleeding . Hopper thought to himself. Mike’s glossy eyes followed Hopper’s face as the man opened his coat, and Hopper’s heart dropped to his stomach.
There were three slashes across Mike’s chest and stomach, deep and oozing blood. Mike coughs again, more blood spilling from his lips. “Demogorgon,” He rasps.
“What? How?” Hopper questions, looking at the boy’s face. If Mike had been attacked by a demogorgon, why hadn’t it finished the job? The other attacks never left its victim. Mike’s eyes were struggling to focus on Hopper’s face now.
“Found me.. Didn’t have a weapon,” Mike coughs out, and Hopper starts pulling off his own coat to use as a cover. “But then it… it just ran off.. Don’t know what..”
“Your sister and some others created a distraction. Must’ve been then,” Hopper explains, wrapping the gashes on Mike’s skin with his coat, pressing down as Mike cries out in pain. Hopper swallows hard, trying not to wince at the boy’s cries. “Sorry, I need to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding.”
He tied his coat around Mike’s chest and stomach using the arms, and put pressure on the front. Mike coughs more blood, eyes half lidded now. “It hurts,” He hisses.
Hopper presses his mouth into a firm line. “I know, but help is on the way,” He assures, even if that wasn’t true. He had no back up, but he couldn’t tell Mike that, it would just make the boy panic. “Keep your breathing as stable as you can. In, out.”
“Where’s Nancy?” Mike whispers quietly, his brow furrowed with pain, trying to stabilize his breathing like Hopper told him. Hopper frowns at him. “Is she safe?”
The man nods, and Mike sighs in relief. The pit in Hopper’s stomach grows as he feels sticky wetness well up around his hands, blood already seeping through Hopper’s makeshift coat/bandaged. “We did it, kid, the monsters are gone.”
At Hopper’s voice, Mike’s eyes flutter open again, having fallen shut. “Really?” He breathes out, sounding like a little kid again. Mike’s eyes were shiny too.
“Yup, and the help is coming, everything’s going to be okay now,” Hopper lies through his teeth. Some part of him knew there wasn’t anything help could do, Mike’s already lost so much blood, but he kept putting pressure in hopes it would.
“Is Will safe? El?” Mike whispers, his voice shaking and breathy, eyes still glossy.
“Everyone’s okay,” Hopper assures the boy, who sighs again, just softly, a small breath of relief this time. Hopper frowns at the soaked coat/bandage, and his heart sank. His hands were covered in Mike’s blood, and that’s when he realized.
Mike was going to die.
And by the look on Mike’s face, he knew it too. Hopper turns to face him, guilt crawling up his heart. Mike stares at him for a few seconds, and Hopper stares back. “I’m scared,” Mike whispers, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.
“I know,” Hopper says quietly, still trying to put pressure on the wound. Mike whimpers in pain and fear, tears trickling down his temple. “It’s okay, Mike.”
“Am I dying?” Mike whispers in pure terror, and Hopper squeezes his eyes shut.
He barely was able to open his mouth and reply. “Not on my watch,” He croaks out, opening his eyes again and looking around. Mike takes a shuddering breath as Hopper finds Mike’s spare walkie a few feet away, reaching out to grab it with his blood soaked hands. He turns it on. “Is anyone there? Anyone, someone reply!”
“ What is it ?” A voice replies, and Hopper squeezes his eyes shut for another moment. It was Nancy. Mike’s eyes were barely open, exhaustion pulling at his body.
“We have– We have a code red,” Hopper says into the walkie, knowing that was sure to get everyone’s attention. These were all kids, after all. “Mike’s injured. Badly.”
“ What ?” Another voice questions, terror crawling at their throat. It was Will. Hopper internally cursed, knowing Will is already freaking out. Mike’s eyes fluttered at the sound of Will’s voice, but quickly slid back down. “ Where are you? Is he okay ?”
Hopper looks at Mike’s bloody wound and then at the boy’s face. “No, he’s not,” Hopper tells the radio, and Mike coughs more blood. “He needs medical attention right now— we’re in the forest near-” He tells them their location.
There was a moment of silence. “ Alright, we’re on our way ,” Dustin’s voice says.
Hopper sets the radio down and focuses on Mike again, noticing the boy’ eyes were shut. “Hey, kid, it’s time to wake up,” He says, and the boy blinks awake. He looks up at Hopper, and the man has a strange feeling of knowing what to do now. He sits down normally next to him. “It’s okay, kid, you don’t have to fight anymore.”
Mike’s eyes were dazed, but they locked onto Hopper’s face, grounding him.
“It’s over now,” Hopper whispers quietly, keeping his voice calm and soothing. More tears fall down Mike’s temples, but the boy doesn’t look scared anymore, eyes wide and trusting. “Everyone’s safe, you don’t have to worry. It’s over, it’s all over.”
“It’s over,” Mike echoes, and Hopper finds himself remembering the little twelve year old kid who wouldn’t give up on his friend, child innocence still in his eyes.
Hopper feels Mike’s hand nudge his own, so he takes it and squeezes. “I’ve got you,” He assures. “You did it, kid, everyone’s okay. You’re all done.” More tears trickled down Mike’s face, and Hopper felt tears of his own form. “Everything’s okay.”
He looks up at the sky, and sees all the stars glittering as the clouds part. They were sparkling and beautiful, so he looked back at Mike, who was still staring at him.
The boy’s breath caught and he coughs a little more blood, so Hopper squeezes his hand again. “Breathe, Mike, you’re safe now, just breathe,” He says. Mike swallows hard, eyes becoming more dazed. “Look at the stars, kid. Just focus on them.”
Mike’s eyes flickered from Hopper’s face to the sky, and his eyes widened. They’re pretty. Hopper watches the boy watch the stars, his heart hurting from guilt.
“I had a little girl once,” He whispers, and he knows Mike is listening even if the boy doesn’t tear his eyes away from the beautiful stars. “Her name was Sarah. She was my pride and joy, my everything.” More tears welled up in Mike’s eyes. “She had blonde hair and the brightest smile. She always knew when I was upset.”
Blood slows. Mike blinks slowly, staring at the stars, counting the constellations he could see. “Pretty,” He murmurs. “And.. Sarah?” His grip on Hopper’s hand loosened.
“She was like you,” Hopper says quietly, and squeezes Mike’s hand again. Mike’s eyes were glazed, and Hopper knew the boy had seconds left. “You’ve been so strong, kid, just look at the stars and breathe. Just breathe, kid, you can rest now.”
There was a moment of silence. “Thank you..” Mike whispers, voice barely audible.
Hopper nodded solemnly, and Mike stared at the stars, wonder filling his eyes. He didn’t blink again. A soft breath left his lips, letting Hopper know he was gone.
“I’m sorry, kid,” Hopper whispered to the silence, lifting one of his hands, the hand that wasn’t in Mike’s far too loose grip, to pinch the bridge of his nose, clenching his jaw as he let his own tears fall down his now bloody face.
He sat there with the boy still staring at the stars for ages, muttering apologies every now and then. He couldn’t bring himself to close Mike’s eyes. Not yet .