I See You (Please See Me): Chapter 12
A Stranger Things Fanfic
Back in the Upside-Down was the last place Eddie wanted to be, but there he was, reinforcing the wrong version of his trailer with Dustin, screwing in metal plates, propping up ladders, and wrapping wire fencing around it.
He found his guitar (the only good part of this freaky shadow-realm was that it made it even more metal), and he and Dustin carried it and the amp up to the roof.
“She’s in. Move on to phase three.” Robin’s static-y voice cut through the silence around them.
“Copy that. Initiating phase three,” Dustin said into the walkie-talkie. He grabbed the cord and plugged it in. “Let’s hope they hear this.” The amp started humming, and Dustin turned it up, nodding at Eddie.
“Chrissy, this is for you,” he whispered, knowing the kid would never let him hear the end of it if he heard. He pulled off the guitar pick.
It was almost worth being back in this horror show. Even knowing they would soon be swarmed with those freaky-oversized bats couldn’t quench his excitement. It only increased the adrenaline rushing through him, sending his fingers flying over the strings. The air reverberated with music, louder than he had ever dared to play (some of his neighbors were downright terrifying, and the drunks at The Hideout didn’t appreciate them getting too loud), and he knew every time he played after this would only be a letdown. It was almost sad, really, that his best performance would be to only one person and a million bats, in the middle of so much suffering, so much fear.
Except–the fear was gone now. There wasn’t much else but the music, making him feel powerful, the world laid at his feet instead of a trailer park. Even the sight of swarms of black dots on the horizon couldn’t shake the feeling. They were coming because of him. He was drawing them. All of them.
He banged his head, keeping time to the lyrics running through his mind.
Veins that pump with fear
Sucking darkest clear
Leading on your death’s construction
He wasn’t stupid. He knew any error on his or Dustin’s part could mean both their deaths, but for one, blissful moment, he couldn’t care.
“Eddie!” Dustin’s voice broke through his adrenaline rush, and Eddie turned to look at him, fingers still moving with the memory of every Corroded Coffin practice since the day Master of Puppets had been released.
“We gotta lock down in T-minus 30 seconds!” He nodded and kept playing, relying on the kid to keep count. Dustin went back to his binoculars.
“T-minus 20!” He didn’t stop, didn’t slow down. He had to hold their attention as long as possible.
“Five!” His heart raced as he prepared to run.
“One!”
The last note, then they both clambered off the trailer. “Move, move, move!” Eddie shouted.
Dustin ran ahead, scrambling off Wayne’s truck and onto the porch. “Let’s go! Eddie, come on!” Eddie made it onto the porch and slammed the make-shift gate just in time before several of the weird bats flew into it. They made it into the trailer, slammed the door, and leaned against the wall, panting.
“Dude,” Dustin shouted, even though the lack of music meant he didn’t have to. “Most metal ever!” He drew out the last word, jumping up and down and waving his hands. Adrenaline still humming through his body, Eddie couldn’t help but join in until they were both screaming nearly as loud as the creatures outside.
When the banging and screeching came from all around them instead of just the front door, they both stopped jumpng and snatched up their weapons, standing back to back near the hanging rope back home, turning slowly in case of a breach.
The bats slammed against the walls, and Eddie tried to think of any crack they might have left in their defense, any Achilles heel, but suddenly every bit of protection they put up seemed far too little. For just a moment, the noise died down, and Eddie tried to relax, but his mind conjured up a thousand images of the bats finding one crack, one weak link, and slipping through, silently, one at a time, until–
“Give up that easy, huh?” Dustin shouted, and Eddie jumped.
“Shh! Is that really necessary?”
More banging and hissing, and then scratching on the metal above them. “They’re on the roof,” Eddie murmured.
The boys followed the rattling, clacking noise, Dustin cursing with every step, until the bat reached the vent. “They can’t get in through there, can they?” Dustin asked.
Then the cover fell off, and a bat pushed its way in, hissing and screeching. Both boys yelled, shoving their spears in its face. “Die! Die!”
It wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t keep standing there, jabbing their spears. Even if they killed one, another would take its place, like heads on a hydra, and they would never win. They needed something to block it off. Eddie looked around, letting his spear drop.
“Eddie! I need you!”
His eyes fell on his shield. “Get out of the way, get out of the way!” The kid listened, thankfully, and Eddie yelled as he thrust it into the ceiling, blocking off the vent. He held it for a second, making sure the nails would keep it up on its own, then let go.
“Nice,” Dustin panted.
“Thanks.”
Dustin held up his hand, and Eddie gave him a rather limp high-five. Dustin froze. “Are there any other vents?”
Eddie cursed. He grabbed his spear, and they ran to his room right as several bats made their way inside. They flew around the room, and Eddie grabbed Dustin, shoved him out of the room, barely a step behind. He slammed the door, knowing it wouldn’t hold for long. He picked up the other shield as they backed away.
“That’s not gonna hold!” Dustin screamed.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Eddie glanced over at him for a second, then turned back to the crumbling door. He heard Dustin start climbing the rope. “Come on, quickly!”
Thump, and he knew Dustin had made it to the real trailer. “Eddie, come on!”
He dropped his weapons and grabbed the rope. He was halfway up when it hit him: the bats could get through the gate just as easily as he could–easier, even, since they could fly.
“Eddie, you’re so close! Eddie! Let’s go!”
But he couldn’t. The bats were breaking through. They would make their way into Hawkins, and who knew how many they would hurt and kill? He had seen what they did to Harrington, and that was with him fighting them off with his wicked bat.
He dropped back to the ground, almost hearing Chrissy back in the van. Please . . . just be careful?
He wanted to. He desperately wanted to climb that rope, grab Dustin, and run as far away as they possibly could, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let those freaky bats into his town, his home (because it was his home, no matter how it had shunned him). Couldn’t let them tear it apart further, not when he could stop it. He hadn’t been able to help Fred or even Patrick, but he could help everyone else.
He looked up at Dustin, and could see the moment the boy understood. Dustin shook his head. “Eddie,” he said, pleading, but Eddie ignored him, looking for something sharp. Dustin would follow him as quickly as he could, and he wasn’t letting the kid die for him. Only one of them had to die tonight.
“Eddie, what are you doing? Eddie, no!” He cut the rope and pushed aside the mattress as Dustin begged him to stop. He couldn’t stop. He was done running. It was time to fight.
His books, his campaigns, they all talked about heroic deaths, valiant sacrifices for loved ones. He had people to protect now–Wayne, Dustin, Chrissy, Lucas, Max–and he couldn’t let them get hurt, not if he could help it.
“What are you doing?” Dustin wailed.
Eddie grabbed his spear and the other shield, then looked up. “I’m buying more time.”
“No! Eddie, please!” He ran out of the trailer and grabbed the bike. He got on and managed to pedal before the bats noticed.
He couldn’t slow down. He was panting, but if he hesitated even a bit, they would be on him in an instant. He shouted, goading them with breath he couldn’t spare.
One bat caught up and knocked him off the bike. He rolled, then shot to his feet, stumbling away. The bats swarmed around him, and when he saw how far he had rolled from the bike, he was tempted just to let them come, to finally, finally stop running. They were far enough away from the trailer, and attacking him would surely give the others enough time to finish Vecna.
Please . . . just be careful?
He thought of Chrissy, who, for some reason, actually cared if he made it back. He thought of Dustin, shouting, begging him not to go. He thought of Wayne, bringing him to the trailer for the first time, crossing his arms and saying gruffly, “It’s not much, but we’ll have each other, I reckon.”
He wasn’t going to make it. He knew that. There were too many bats, and he couldn’t risk leading them back to the trailer, but he owed it to the people he cared about to try. He wouldn’t retreat, he wouldn’t, but he could still fight to stay alive, couldn’t he? Fight to get back to the people who actually wanted him.
He fought his way through the swarm, swinging his spear. He managed to grab the bike and shove it upright, pushing off again.
Searing pain shot through his leg, and he grabbed his spear, jabbing it at the bat taht had latched on. He kept pedaling, holding on with one hand and swinging the spear in front of him until he got far enough away to tuck the spear away again.
“Eddie!”
No. No, no, no, he couldn’t have come through. He just couldn’t have. Eddie glanced over his shoulder and spotted Dustin limping towards him. Some of the bats trailing at the edge of the group had already spotted him and turned around, choosing the slower prey.
Cursing, he turne the bike around, racing toward the younger boy. As he caught up, he dropped the bike, running. He shoved the shield up right as one of the creatures dove for Dustin.
“What were you thinking?” he asked without looking away from the swarm above them. “I wasn’t going to leave you!” Dusitn insisted, shoving his spear at another bat.
“You are an idiot, Henderson!” Despite his words, Eddie couldn’t stop the broad grin spreading across his face.
“So are you!”
Eddie laughed, knowing it sounded maniacal. “Yeah, but I didn’t run away this time.”
“Is that why you cut the rope? You really are stupid!”
Eddie shook his head, though he doubted the kid could actually see him. “Had to make sure everyone else made it. Including you, until you jumped through that hole.”
Dustin groaned, and Eddie’s stomach dropped, until the kid said, “Well that’s stupid. We’re in this together.”
Eddie shook his head and laughed. “I love you, man.”
“I love you too!” That was probably the most angry expression of affection in the history of the world, and Eddie laughed again.
A bat grabbed his arm, tearing the skin. He screamed.
“Eddie!” Dustin turned around.
“No, don’t stop! Don’t turn around, I’m fine!” His arm was screaming almost as loud as he had, but he could still fight, so he was fine.
The fight became a blur of motion, and he lost track of how long they stood there, just trying to hold the creatures off. He lost track of the injuries too. He was sure Dustin must be hurt too, but the kid hadn’t stopped fighting, so he must be okay. The two of them were getting slower, tired, but the creatures just kept coming, and Eddie knew they could only keep them off for so much longer.
And then . . . it stopped.
There was silence, everything going still for an instant, and then the bats fell.
Eddie hardly dared to breathe, afraid that any move he made would set them off again. Dustin nudged one with his spear, but it didn’t move.
“Dead,” Dustin breathed, and the word rang around in Eddie’s head, not making any sense. Then Dustin pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! Hive mind, yes!” He spun around and grabbed Eddie’s good arm. “They must have killed Vecna, or something!”
Eddie’s mind was still reeling as he stared at the bats around him, feeling in a haze. Dustin kept talking, but he couldn’t hear anything he was saying.
Then the kid grabbed his shoulders, dragging him down to eye level. “Eddie, we need to get back and go to the hospital.”
Now there was a sentiment he could agree with.