Chapter Text
After a cacophony of rumbling and clock chimes rang throughout the Upside Down
Steve, Nancy, and Robin run away from the Creel house, They only have one thing on their mind: “We have to get back to the Gate.” Steve and the others have horrible feeling that something terrible has happened to Max and they may not have much time. “Do you think Eddie and Dustin are okay?” “I’m sure they made it back through the gate, after all, they were just supposed to be decoys, right?” (Flashback to Eddie and Dustin in their Ewok gear: Steve tells them: “Look if anything starts to go sideways, and I mean anything, get inside and get back through the gate, don’t try to be heroes okay?” Eddie and Dustin look at each other and nod, “Don’t worry, You can be the hero Steve. I mean look at us, we are not heroes.”
Meanwhile back at the Trailer park, Dustin sits alone, crying, begging Eddie to come back. “Come on Eddie, don’t leave me, please…” Dustin starts to feel something wet on his side and he begins to feel dizzy. He has a sneaking suspicion what it is and as he pulled his hand away, he saw that it was soaked, red with blood. “Oh God…No! I can’t go now…I made him a promise!” He remembered Eddie’s last words, “You have to take care of those little sheep for me okay?” “No you’re gonna do that yourself,” Dustin cried, “say it, say you’re gonna take care of them.” Eddie pleaded, “I’m gonna look after them.”Dustin cried, he never thought anything would happen to Eddie. Looking at his body, guilt washed over him as Dustin whimpered “I’m so sorry Eddie, this is all my fault, you never should have been here. (He remembers asking Eddie to go to investigate the Watergate “I think you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor…but the Shire, the Shire is burning so…Mordor it is.”) He suddenly realizes he is feeling less pain, which is definitely not a good sign. Dustin assessed the situation and realized the horrible truth: he knows he can’t get back through the gate on his own, he has no idea if Steve, Nancy, and Robin are okay, or even alive. He knows his leg is shot, he can barely stand and now he’s bleeding out, his vision is fading…and suddenly darkness overtakes him.
As they ran back to the trailer park, they were still reeling from their latest near death experience, they had nearly been choked to death before they could flambé Vecna, they thought, for the briefest moment, that they had won, that Max was safe and that it was finally over. Unfortunately, the earthquake set off by what they could only assume was Max’s death, had set off a chain reaction, causing the upside down to split open. They had to remember to be stealthy, they didn’t take the bikes as they may attract too much attention and it’s too easy to run over one of Vecna’s hive minded vines. “How much further? Robin asked “We’ve gotta be getting closer right? “It’s just up the next hill, keep an eye out for any creatures, we don’t know where Vecna is” Nancy was at the front of the line, shot gun in front of her, eyes wide open looking for any sign of danger (we’re not out yet)
As they made their way to Eddie’s trailer, a feeling of relief started to wash over them, “we’re almost home you guys.” They unlock the door and walk inside, what they find sends Steve spinning, The room was covered in hopefully dead demobats, too many for them to handle on their own…(Don’t be heroes he had said, what did you do!?”) Steve ran outside, looking frantically, hoping to find any sign of them. He called out “Dustin! Eddie, where are you guys?! Nancy followed behind, “Steve, keep it down, we still have to be cautious, Vecna’s still out there’ “I know Nance, but it’s Dustin! He runs his hands through his hair, tears starting to form in his eyes..if anything happened to that kid…I don’t know what I’d do.” As Steve ran from one side of the Trailer Park to the other, he saw something he was dreading…a mound of dead bats and a suspicious pile in the center…a pile with curly hair. “No..No..No! Dustin! Dustin! Oh please be okay…
As Steve made his way to Dustin, his heart broke when he saw Eddie, bloody and dead, in Dustin’s arms. (We are not heroes) Steve tried to get Dustin to let go of Eddie, “Hey Dustin, we gotta go, we gotta get out of here.”
Steve tried and that’s when he noticed an ever growing puddle of blood beneath him
“Dustin!, Dustin wake up!” “Wake up!” “Oh God
Nancy, Robin, get over here! As they came upon the sight, their hearts broke for their friends. Nancy started assessing Dustin, as Steve was on the verge of breaking down. Steve! Steve! Do you feel a pulse? Is he breathing? I need you to focus!” Steve checked Dustin’s pulse, it was slow, very slow and he couldn’t tell if he was still breathing, I don’t know, it’s slow Nance, I…I can’t tell…is he?” We have to stop the bleeding, as she ripped off another piece of her skirt, she folded it and pressed it into the wound on Dustin’s side. Hold it here, put pressure on it, good.
She checked his breathing, very slow breath, slow heart rate, very slow, nothing…”No!” Steve, I need to you to do CPR, his heart stopped, Robin, when I tell you give him mouth to mouth. 123 “come on Dustin, don’t do this!” Steve pumped as hard as he could until Nancy told him to stop. “Come on Dustin, you can’t go…wake up, come on!” At that moment, Dustin woke coughing…”S..Steve…”
“Oh my god! I thought you were dead! Don’t do that to me man!” Dustin could see tears in his friend’s eyes…”S..Sorry” “What happened to sticking to the plan?” “Plans change” Dustin said wearily. He could barely keep his eyes open “We tried but the Demobats…they…swarmed us.” Dustin’s eyes started to flutter. “Hey, stay with me, okay? Dustin!
Before he closes his eyes the last thing he said was “Is…Eddie okay?
“Dustin!” Steve shakes him, “wake up!” He checks his pulse, it’s there, slow but steady. “We’ve gotta get him out of here NOW!” They pick Dustin up and go into Eddie’s trailer, "we have to find some way to get him through"