#*hbomberguy voice* foreshadowing is a literacy device in which—

[klausinamarink]

One Kid Gone, Another Up and Vanished (part 11)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 next: Part 12 | ao3

forcing myself to do a smaller chapter this time. Now if some of ya are still interested in this silly au, we’re back with Eddie!

When the haze finally departs from his mind, the first thing Eddie registers is Ronnie James Dio keening softly in his ears about dying young. Then he blinks his burning eyes open, an unfamiliar ceiling appearing from above through the static in his vision. 

He just stares at the ceiling, watching the spores float around in the air. Then he feels the rest of his body starting to wake up and demands movement. As Eddie slowly turns his head, the staticy vision fades in and out. He blinks again, this time figuring out his new surroundings.

He’s in a different house, laying back on a couch. This room doesn’t look like anywhere at the trailer’s or the Byers residence. There’s still a ton of vines sprawled on the walls and furniture. And there’s Will sitting at a small table next to him.

Eddie observes him for a moment. The kid is muttering quietly to himself, sketching something on paper. Their backpacks and spears are carefully placed next to the chair’s feet. There’s one stuffed handbag Eddie doesn’t remember carrying with them, but that’ll be saved for a later conversation.

Eddie opens his mouth, only to shut it when a headache suddenly spikes through his temple. He waits for it to pass, realizing how parched and ashy his mouth is. Against any better judgement, he tries to speak again. 

“Whatcha doing, Little Byers?” His voice sounds rough, just barely scraping itself out of his mouth.

Will stops murmuring, freezing in his chair. He slowly turns, his eyes looking too large for his head with the dark shadows underneath them. It takes another moment before Eddie registers the rest of Will’s appearance. With slightly sunken cheeks, cracked lips, and matted hair, he looks like a flu victim. If he listens closely, Eddie can hear Will’s lungs quietly rattling from every breath. 

Something twists in Eddie’s stomach. It’s close to nausea but he forces himself to just breathe even in the toxic air. But then he’s hyper aware of his own lungs, wheezing out air through his lips with the same rattling effort as Will’s. Another cough is tickling at the bottom of his throat. The goosebumps are still agitating his skin from the ever-cold temperatures.

They’ve been in this hell realm for days and only now did the state of their health just come to Eddie’s mind.  

Before Eddie curses himself further, Will flies out of his chair. His arms wrap tight around Eddie’s neck, almost choking him out. But Eddie stays conscious, hugging Will as tightly as he can. 

Will doesn’t say anything at all, which brings Eddie’s anxiety up. But Will is smiling at him with watery eyes when he pulls away without breaking their hold, “Are you okay?”

Eddie thinks about the vivid echoes of Wayne’s truck blazing out of the trailer park. How his useless wailing for his uncle had just made Eddie sink into whatever place in his brain that makes everything quiet and separated from his body like a marionette its strings cut off the limbs. He gives Will a small smile of his own, “I’m okay now.”

But then Will frowns, though not unkindly, “You weren’t.” 

“Little Byers-”

“You weren’t okay, Eddie.” Will’s lip is wobbling, biting into the skin hard enough that it starts bleeding. “You can’t just say you’re fine when you’re not. You can just tell me that you felt awful!”

Eddie scrubs a hand over his face. He’s both feeling angry and exhausted, the latter winning its favor. He wants to tear his throat out and let every bleeding piece show he’s feeling more than just awful. He wants to go home from this fucking nightmare and hug Wayne again. 

Walk Away’s guitar intro starts playing. Eddie tries to get the headphones off him but Will helps him with it, pausing the album. Not even Black Sabbath can scab over his new emotional pit of misery.  

Eddie doesn’t look at Will or at the ceiling or the room. Just at that black space whenever he squeezes his eyes shut. 

There’s a sniffle from Will before his weight climbs on top of Eddie. It takes a second for Eddie to catch his breath from the new pressure, but by instinct, he’s already hugging Will again.

For a while, Eddie thinks he’s really fine until Will quietly says with puffs of warm air on his bare neck, “You’re allowed to have a bad day. I promise I’m not mad at you for it.” 

If Eddie’s tightening hold and his poor attempts to choke down another sob bothers Will, he doesn’t say it. He only shuffles his position so he’s slightly curled on his side, small hands clutching onto Eddie’s.

God, Eddie doesn’t deserve this kid. 

But the last time he said something like that, it had been about Wayne and look where he is now.

Eddie dry swallows the taste of dirt-tinted salt water, starting another round of silence. Then it breaks by Will’s muffled statement, “I kinda want to punch your uncle’s knees.”  

Eddie emits a tormenting sound out of his mouth, “What?”  

Will has the audacity to shrug. “He left you. Grownups are tall so I can just punch his knees.”

Eddie stares up at the ceiling for a different reason. “Jesus H- Okay, I appreciate your willingness, but Uncle Wayne already has a knee problem. So, don’t like, hurt him.”

“Oh.” Will is quiet for another moment. Then, “I’ll hit his elbow.” 

This time, Eddie can’t hold back the laughter. It’s a wheezy sound that almost breaks his chest. But it’s the first time since he first woke up that he feels a small warmth in his chest. Could just because Will’s on top of him, trying to regenerate their body heat, but whatever. 

It’s really nice not to be alone. Even though Eddie painfully yearns for Wayne’s return.

Eventually, their giggles die down and the basement is hushed. Eddie attempts to stretch his legs out at last, but his left ankle feels weirdly sore. He tries to move it yet it stays stuck in place. With something wrapped around it.

Eddie jerks up, forcing Will off him. He immediately catches sight of one of the vines on the other end of the couch, already traveling as high as his calf.

He throws himself off, screeching as if it’ll scare the vine away. It doesn’t. His vicious kicks prompting it to squeeze tighter and tug firmly. How could’ve Eddie missed it getting him? Had it been limp on the couch until he somehow jostled it? 

Will appears at his feet, a hand outstretched to the vine. Eddie opens his mouth to yell at him to get away, remembering the last time Will tried to stab an hellish organism. But instead of a spear, Will has a Zippo lighter that he flicks open. A small flame manifests and instantly makes contact with the vine. 

It might as well have been a flamethrower because the vine makes a tiny squeeee noise and withdraws from Eddie’s ankle. He’s more quick in scooting away from the couch, taking Will with him by the collar.

They held each other with heavy breaths, staring at the vine. It’s slithering slowly on the ground but soon goes motionless. Eddie looks around the basement and at the dozens of vines on the walls, some of them barely crossing the ground. Then he remembers what Will had said about the vines being a hivemind.

Eddie takes a careful breath, gulping dry air and ashy saliva, “What say, Little Byers, exactly are we?”

Will’s probably shaking more than Eddie in his arms, but he keeps his voice strong, “M-Mike’s house. My best friend’s.” Eddie can see his hand flexing to a paler color, still holding the Zippo lighter. That he will also need to ask about later.

“Agree for a quick retract?”

Will gives a short nod and that’s all Eddie needs.

They’re quick and careful in grabbing the bags and spears, both of them eying the Eddie-Snatch Vine. It stays still but Eddie swears it twitches. There’s a few vines littering the basement stairs that Will easily jumps over. But Eddie sticks to the tiptoes, mainly because his ankle feels like it’s burning. Like something’s been imprinted onto it and he’ll roll the cuff up to find a Mind Flayer seal or whatnot.

He does his best to ignore that.

Once they’re out of the basement, the two make a run towards the front door just as it closes on the Other Side and a woman speaks.

“Nancy, just where on- oh!”

“We’re just going to be in my room, Mom.” So this is Nancy Wheeler. She sounds sullen as her voice carries up the quiet stairs, “Please leave us alone.”

“Oh, alright… But is there any reason why you’re also here, Jonathan?”

Will whirls around just at the base of the stairs. He makes a startled sound like air has been sucked into his mouth. Whatever Jonathan Byers says is too quiet for Eddie’s ears but his answer seems to satisfy Mrs. Wheeler. Their voices almost immediately fade away.

Will stares up like the stairs were the Stairway to Heaven itself. When he drags his eyes away towards Eddie, he knows exactly what they’re going to do.

This is unfair! A part of Eddie’s mind yells at him. Why did Will’s brother have to be here but not Wayne? 

Eddie mentally shuts his question down and silently answers Will’s.

As they diligently trudge up the stairs, Eddie catches Mrs. Wheeler’s muttered complaints about the lights going weird.

-

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