Chapter Text
It felt like weeks since everything. Dustin knew that realistically speaking, it had only been a few days but he was getting anxious and his legs were bouncing up and down. Being cooped up in that place did nothing for his nerves. They weren't allowed to leave and it's not like he wanted to, all his friends were here after all, but he didn't exactly trust every governement person pretending to be good guys.
Thankfully, Hopper was here. Dustin had felt really happy to see him alive and seemingly in good health. He made a mental note to ask him what he's been up to. Right now however, he was stuck in his room, with Nancy, Robin and Steve, with the last two bickering about who was winning at the card game they were playing. Nancy, visibly irritated, tried to ignore them and continue her reading. Dustin could only focus on the door.
It was almost time for someone to come and get them according to his watch. He had to admit it was driving him crazy to stay there just for “their safety”. Being in the Upside Down had gotten them to be locked in their room like kids until they were given the okay to leave. Whatever lie they had cooked up for their parents, he didn't know but he knew he'd be in trouble regardless.
“Henderson, you good?” Steve asked. He barely registered the question before he received a pillow straight in his face.
“What the hell, Steve?” The man dropped his cards on the ground, shooing Robin away when she tried to grab his discarded cards.
“What's wrong, man? You've been burning a hole in that door from how intensely you're looking at it. So what's up?”
“They're late,” he said, checking his watch again for what felt like the hundredth time. Steve checked over his shoulder to look at the door as well. His face filled with concern for Dustin and he couldn't help to remember how he had found his friend in the Upside Down. He was unmoving and that had worried him, as the kid was leaning foreward, like he was hurt or worse.
He had relaxed when he had seen his shoulders shake but tensed right away after seeing the legs lying next to him. Steve quickly realized Dustin was holding a body in his arms. And the shoes told him it was Eddie. What's more was the blood surrounding him.
He choked on a breath before remembering he was the one who was supposed to keep it together. He was the adult, making decisions for the good of everyone. He jogged to Dustin who was sobbing silently, holding his friend tightly.
Steve had stopped upon seeing Eddie's unseeing eyes. Everything felt like a blur up until that moment. He had pushed Dustin out of the way and he was pretty sure he had heard Nancy and Robin gasped at the sight of Eddie's dead body, surrounded by agonizing bats.
When Steve began chest compressions, he hadn't been expecting much, especially after seeing the gashes all over his body and his neck. He regarded Eddie's still form with wet eyes, blaming himself for telling them to not be heroes. Maybe if he had stayed with them, he would be alive and... No.
There was no point in coming up with an imaginary scenario. The plan needed as much people as possible against Vecna and leaving Eddie and Dustin to be decoys made sense. Steve never actually imagined he would find his teenage friend crying and his new friend dead in his arms.
He had instructed Robin to come put pressure on the worst wounds and he regretted that he had had to yell at her for her to snap out of her stupor. Steve had barely registered it when he had been grabbed from behind and dragged to the trailer. He had fought like hell to stop them from interfering with what could potentially save their friend.
Two of the men had grabbed him too, a trail of blood following them. Before they knew it, they were being forced into separate vehicles, asked to get rid of their clothes to shower and checked out by doctors in an underground facility.
To say Steve had refused to cooperate and go quietly was an understatement. He was pretty sure one of their guards had a black eye to prove it and he was giving him a dirty look every time he would catch Steve's eyes.
Dustin had expected his friend to brush off his worry over the government guys being late, but he truly understood where he was coming from so he tapped his knee and went to knock violently on the door.
After a few seconds, there was still nothing but silence.
“Hey ! We want to see our friends !”
They had seen Max and Lucas a couple times and had even seen Eleven, the Byers, Mike (much to Nancy's relief) and Hopper of all people. He had nodded at them, even though he had been clearly confused to see them here. They knew Max wasn't in the best condition and it was chaos in Hawkins, after the so-called 'earthquake'. People were quick to call it an act from the devil and blame it on the only person that they could think of.
Dustin joined him in banging on the door. Not nearly as fast as they should have, two guards opened the door with begrungded expressions and invited them to follow them finally.
Dustin knew the way already but he waited for Steve when Nancy stopped him for a second and told him that her and Robin would go check on Max. He joined his friend, and spared a glance at the man accompanying them, chuckling when he saw the guard with a beautiful shiner.
As they walked, he wondered how long they would have to be here for. They promised it wouldn't take long and Steve knew that it's not like his parents would care anyways but he also knew being stuck here was taking a toll on everyone's spirits.
They finally arrived in front of Eddie's room just as a bunch of doctors came out, looking worse for wear. Fear spiked in Dustin and Steve's hearts, but the latter tried to stay calm and keep appearances for his friend.
“What's going on? Is Eddie okay?” Steve asked, putting a reassuring hand on Dustin's shoulder.
One of the doctors gave them a tight smile, like a parent ready to share some news but Steve knew somehow that it wasn't bad. He knew Eddie's condition wasn't ideal. He had died in the Upside Down after all, and with the amount of blood he had lost, they just had praying and hoping on their side at the moment.
So when another doctor tightened her hold on her stack of papers, she smiled hopefully at them.
“Perfect timing. Sorry for the delay in coming to get you, we had a situation here.”
“Situation?” interjected Dustin quickly. “What situation? Is Eddie okay?”
The doctor smiled again at Dustin. “He's more than okay. He just woke up. Would you like to see him?”
She opened the door behind her and Dustin stopped breathing for a second. He had been so used to see his friend hooked to so many machines he looked like a fantasy or science fiction character. It was also unusual to see him so quiet and half dead, so pale. It was the complete opposite of his usual bubbly and excited personality.
Now he could see him, lying in his bed, his back raised by pillows and his head turned to the window that was opened on an inside garden that Steve and Nancy would take small walks in. He looked at peace and alive.
Steve and Dustin walked in with large smiles, just as Eddie turned his head towards them with sleepy eyes. His eyebrows frowned like he was thinking hard about what he was seeing.
“Hey, man,” sighed Dustin, clearly happy to see him.
Eddie's frown deepened. “Do I know you?”