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See, someone’s got to tell the tale
Whether or not it turns out well
Maybe it will turn out this time
On the road to Hell
-André De Shields & Hadestown Original Broadway Company
Eddie looks him dead in the eye and whispers, “Help me.”
Steve wakes with a gasp. He bolts upright, sweat beading on his forehead. He looks frantically around his room, searching for the vines and pollen of the Upside Down. When he finds nothing but his standard striped wallpaper, he leans back against the pillow.
His gaze drifts to the armchair in the corner of the room, and he half expects to find Eddie curled up there. The chair is as empty as the rest of his room, though, and Steve closes his eyes with a sigh.
These dreams have been going on for weeks now, and it’s driving him insane. Night after night he dreams of Eddie, alive and alone and stuck in the Upside Down. He’s dreamed Eddie in his trailer, at Lover’s Lake, even in Steve’s own bedroom. He’d brought it up to Robin once, but she’d looked at him sadly and said, have you ever heard of survivor’s guilt, Steve?
But this dream felt different. This dream was the first time Eddie had spoken, nevertheless looked directly at Steve.
He scrubs his face with his hands before blearily looking at his alarm clock. 6:45 AM looks back at him, and he decides it’s no use trying to go back to sleep at this point.
Trudging into the bathroom, he spends a solid two minutes trying to put toothpaste onto his toothbrush. This dream has really shaken him, for some reason. It really seemed as if Eddie was trying to speak to him.
As if on cue, the lightbulb above Steve’s head flickers. He stares for a moment, willing for it to happen again, but the light stays steady.
Steve shakes his head. He really needs a cup of coffee. Or four.
In the kitchen, Steve slumps against the counter and breathes in the smell of brewing coffee. He rolls his shoulders, willing some of the tension to ease from his muscles.
The kitchen lights flicker, and Steve whirls around to glare at it. For a few agonizing seconds, nothing happens. Then, it grows brighter and brighter.
He stares at the light in shock. There’s no way it could actually be-
Steve stalks to the living room and throws himself onto the couch. He has to think rationally about this. He can’t- he won’t get his hopes up for nothing.
Eddie was dead, Steve is certain of that. He had checked for a pulse himself.
Maybe your hands were shaking too much , a part of him whispers.
Maybe you searched the wrong spot.
Why’d they even let you check?
Steve shakes his head. Even if Eddie was alive when they left him, there’s no way he could have survived this long with the injuries he’d sustained. This was probably a trap. After all, hadn’t they agreed Vecna wasn’t really dead?
The lamp next to Steve flickers once. He glares at it.
Dustin would know what to do. He looks to the hallway, but immediately ignores the thought. He can’t put the kid through that. He can’t put any of them through that, he isn’t willing to get their hopes up over his stupid electricity faltering.
He pushes all thoughts of Eddie bleeding on the ground eyes staring at nothing away, and gets up to move on with his day.
Steve jerks awake, halfway out of his bed before he even opens his eyes. The sight of his empty bedroom meets him once again, but this time Steve has had enough. He climbs the rest of the way out of bed and throws on the first clothes he pulls out of his dresser.
Next comes one of Nancy’s revolvers out of his nightstand drawer, tossed into his school bag. He grabs his nail bat and stalks down the stairs.
He’s halfway to the front door before he stops himself. He can’t rush into this. If he’s right and Eddie is still alive, he’s going to be hurt. They’re going to need supplies.
He goes to the counter under the sink in a daze, making a list of what he’ll need. More items get thrown into the bag: the first aid kit, food, water bottles, anything he can think of that will help.
Steve looks around his house, deciding anything he could possibly need is already in his bag. Hand on the doorknob, Steve hesitates one last time. He knows this could be a trap, is almost certain of it. In the end, though, there’s only one thing that really matters:
Eddie could be alive.
The sun is just starting to come up as Steve gets into his car. The most feasible gate is at the Munson’s trailer, so that’s where he heads. He’s too tense to listen to music so the drive is quiet, giving him plenty of time to second guess himself. But he knows he wouldn’t be able to live with himself without knowing for sure that Eddie is gone.
He avoids looking at the Mayfield’s trailer as he pulls into the park, desperately trying not to think of Max’s still form lying prone on her hospital bed. Eddie’s trailer looks the same as ever, aside from the yellow police tape still wrapping the perimeter.
Breaking in is easy enough, though. No one is keeping guard, and Wayne hasn’t bothered locking up too tight. After all, who would want to break into the place that housed a Satanist for years right under Hawkins’ nose?
The gate inside is just as terrifying as he remembers, pulsing red and groaning ominously. The bedsheet they’d hung before is still hanging. Steve tosses his bag and bat through the gate before grabbing ahold of the rope.
He takes a deep breath, whispers i’m coming for you, Eddie , and heaves himself up through the gate.
It’s quiet in the Upside Down, but that doesn’t stop Steve’s heart from racing. He quickly grabs his bag and bat and hurries out the door. The less time he’s here is less time Vecna-if he’s even alive-has to find Steve.
Steve sprints for the trees lining the trailer park, hoping the dark shapes circling above don’t catch sight of him. He heads toward the Creel House, the only place that Eddie could be. His dream from that night flashes through his head.
Eddie, in Steve's house.
Eddie, pleading for help.
Eddie, with vines wrapping around his limbs.
He reaches the Creel House in record time, miraculously bothered by anything Upside Down.
The house looks different: there are no more clocks or pieces of debris floating through the air. If anything, it looks even more destroyed.
Steve creeps forward on high alert, waiting for something to leap at him from behind a pillar. He makes it to the front door unscathed and slips inside.
“Eddie?” Steve whispers, but there’s no response. He inches forward, searching for any sign of Eddie. His search finds nothing, though, and Steve braces himself to go up the stairs. Though there are fewer vines than the last time he was here, he isn’t willing to take any chances.
Carefully climbing step by step, Steve reaches the second floor of the house. There’s nothing in the first bedroom, or in the second, or the third.
By the time he reaches the fourth door, Steve is losing hope. Maybe Robin was right, he was just feeling guilty because he couldn’t save everyone. Maybe he shouldn’t have come h-
As he pushes open the door, something comes barreling towards him. Steve tries to swing his bat, but he’s still stuck in the doorway. He’s pushed into the hallway, back against the wall and something shoved against his throat.
His gaze refocuses, and Steve is hit with a sense of deja vu as he finds himself staring into familiar brown eyes.
“I feel like we’ve been here before,” he croaks, grinning.
“Oh my god,” Eddie says. “Oh my god, Steve ?”
“That would be my name,” Steve answers, gently pushing Eddie off of him. He barely has time to brush himself off before the other man is crushing him in a hug.
“I didn’t-” Eddie gasps, and Steve can feel tears soaking into his shirt. “I didn’t think anyone would come. I didn’t think it would work.”
“I’m here,” Steve says, gripping Eddie back just as tight. “I came for you.” Eddie gasps, though, and Steve steps back.
“Shit,” he whispers. “Shit, I forgot. How bad are they?”
Eddie grimaces, lifting his shirt. “You tell me.”
Steve winces at the sight. Eddie’s bite wounds are a deep reddish brown, and they’re slowly oozing fluid down his side.
“How am I lookin’, Doc?” Eddie asks. “Am I gonna make it?”
“I’ll leave that for the actual doctors to decide,” Steve says. “But for now, I have some stuff that might help.”
As he digs through his bag for the first aid supplies, he takes a moment to examine Eddie. He’s still wearing his Hellfire shirt, though the logo has been obscured by dirt and blood. The bandana is gone from his hair, and his face is clean of any blood. Over all he looks much better than the last time Steve saw him. Plus, being alive and all does help.
“Like what you see?” Eddie asks, interrupting his thoughts.
Steve blushes,looking away. “Shut up, man. Just trying to make sure you won’t keel over the moment I take my eyes off of you.”
“Mhmm, sure. I know I look absolutely stunning in this Upside Down chic.”
Steve rolls his eyes, finally finding what he needs. He wipes his hands with a sanitizing wipe before grabbing the antiseptic cream.
“Hang on,” Steve tells Eddie. “This is going to sting.”
Eddie takes a deep breath and nods at him. He can feel Eddie shudder as Steve presses his fingers to his stomach, and Eddie inhales sharply as the cream touches his wounds.
“Sorry,” Steve says. Eddie says nothing, so he continues. When he finishes, he pulls out the roll of bandages. He can feel Eddie’s gaze on him as he works, but Steve keeps his eyes on the task at hand. Now is not the time to address the swirling feelings in his stomach.
When he finishes bandaging Eddie’s torso, he pushes off the ground only to find himself inches away from Eddie’s face.
Eddie stares at him with something unreadable in his eyes. Steve looks back until Eddie breaks the silence.
“Um.” He clears his throat and steps away. “Thanks, man.”
“Of course,” Steve claps him gently on the shoulder. “You want me to do the ones on your neck?”
“Nah,” Eddie says, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. “The sooner we get out of here, the better.”
The Creel House is as empty as it was when Steve first got there, but something feels different. There’s no sign of Vecna and the bats are staying away, but a glance at Eddie tells Steve that he feels the same way.
Steve gestures towards the woods and Eddie nods. Together they takeoff, sprinting towards what little shelter the trees have to offer.
Steve leads the way, glancing back every so often to make sure Eddie is alright behind him. He looks a little more out of breath every time Steve looks back, but he still gives a thumbs up.
When they reach the tree line, Eddie grabs Steve’s arm.
“Can we-” he gasps. “Can we take a breather?”
Steve nods, and Eddie sinks to the ground. Steve kneels beside him and pulls the water bottles from his bag. Eddie takes one gratefully and chugs it, leaning against Steve’s shoulder for support.
Steve is trying very hard not to think about the way Eddie’s hair is brushing his neck.
They sit there for a few moments, letting Eddie catch his breath. Eventually Steve stands up, brushing the dirt from his pants. He looks to the woods, scoping out their next move.
“I think we’ll be okay if we stick close to the trees. You ready to go?”
There’s no response.
“Eddie?” Steve asks, turning around.
Eddie is lying on the ground, unmoving.
“No,” Steve gasps. “No, no no, what-”
He drops to his knees and shakes Eddie’s shoulders.
“Eddie, c’mon, wake up.”
Maybe Eddie bled through the bandages or maybe the infection got worse, so Steve rips Eddie’s shirt up to check and-
There’s nothing. No white bandages, no Band-Aids, nothing that Steve had done earlier. Just the deep, pulsing wounds on his sides.
“What?”
He jams his fingers in Eddie’s neck, desperately searching for a pulse. “Come on, please . Don’t do this to me, man.”
But there’s no pulse to be found. Steve sits back, clutching his hair. His eyes drift to Eddie’s face, staring bloody and lifeless at the sky. That stupid bandana is back in his hair.
It doesn’t make any sense.
He grips the lapels of Eddie's jacket, shaking him. “Wake up, wake up! C’mon Eds, don’t do this, please.”
Eventually he stops, bowing his head, hands still fisted in the jacket. Tears slide down his nose, landing on the denim.
He doesn’t know how long he stays like that, hunched over Eddie’s body. He doesn’t care.
It’s not until he hears the trees rustling behind him that Steve gets up. He’s reluctant to leave Eddie again, but he has to get home. He gently closes Eddie’s eyes, then kisses his fingers and presses them to Eddie’s chest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
He stands up before he can change his mind. He slings the bag onto his back and turns to leave-
Only to slam into something solid. Steve falls backward, landing on his ass. Standing before him, as alive and terrifying as ever, is Vecna.
“Hello, Steven.”
Steve gapes at Vecna. He looks hurt, the vines wrapping his body singed. “You- but we-”
“Killed me?”
“We weakened you,” Steve says. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“And yet I am. How else would I put on this little show for you?” He gestures to something behind Steve, who turns to see that Eddie’s body has disappeared.
“No,” Steve gasps. “You-”
Before he can even blink, vines are racing forward, wrapping around his limbs. Steve struggles, but he’s no match for Vecna. The vines drag him to a tree, wrapping him around it. The forest around them ripples and suddenly they’re back at Vecna’s lair, Steve still bound next to Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick’s broken bodies.
“But the chimes-” Steve starts.
“You really think I have to warn you?” Vecna interrupts. “No, things go much smoother when you don’t suspect a thing.”
Steve closes his eyes. What did Max say to do? Find a happier memory?
A vine wraps around his throat and Steve wheezes, any thoughts of happier times escaping him.
“You were right, by the way.” Vecna says. “About me being weakened. Though your little friend over there provided enough of a sacrifice to sustain me for the time being.”
And there’s Eddie’s body hanging from a pillar, eyes staring lifelessly ahead.
“No,” Steve gasps, struggling against the vines.
“Yes,” Vecna says. “And you, Steve, are about to be the grand finale.”
Vecna steps forwards and Steve struggles harder. He knows should be giving some great retort, a hero worthy speech. He should be stalling, trying to figure a way out of this. But the vines are tightening around his throat and he can’t speak, he can’t even breathe.
“Goodbye, Steven.”
Vecna brings his claws to Steve’s face and pain races through his body. Fire is coursing through his veins, pressure building painfully in his joints. His vision goes fuzzy as he tries to scream, but his lungs remain empty.
Through his fading vision, he sees Vecna’s eyes turn bright blue, turn human.
Everything cuts to black
It's a sad song
It's a sad tale
It's a tragedy
It's a sad song
But we sing it anyway
- André De Shields & Hadestown Original Broadway Company