“It’s like they were destined for an alternate dimension.”

Divider Credit Masterlist

The door slammed as Nancy entered the house, equipment thudding to the floor as she shed her battle armor on the way to the kitchen. As soon as she entered, she headed straight to the sink to wash her hands before pulling the bottle of iodine and packs of sterile dressings from the first-aid kit.

Steve swallowed thickly, dread settling in his chest as he desperately fought to think of an alternative. He felt his breath coming shorter and shorter, panic starting to settle into his bones as he looked down at the pale form of Eddie. Steve set the bundle of ice aside and lifted the towel.

Steve mumbled reassurances to Eddie that they were almost there, that they had him, that they needed him to hold on just a little longer, to stay with them, to stay awake, to keep breathing. Steve's thumb skimmed back and forth across Eddie's pulse point on his wrist, seeking comfort. He was just one big, open wound, patched together haphazardly with gauze and tape, heart kick-started with Steve's own bloody hands.

Steve grasped Eddie by the chin, tilting his head slightly up before pinching his nose shut, trying desperately to breathe life into him. Eddie's chest rose with the action, two full breaths before Steve resumed compressions. There's blood on Steve's mouth now, where the crimson liquid had run down Eddie's face into his mouth. Steve felt it on his lips, tasted the iron on his tongue. "Shit, shit, shit." He fought back a gag as he felt the warm blood in the back of his throat.

"We have to take him to the hospital!" Robin shouted at Nancy, who notably drove in the opposite direction. "Absolutely not! You know as well as I do that they would kill him," Nancy snapped, and while Steve couldn't see it from his place in the back, he knew the determined look that was currently on her face.

As soon as Steve was out the door, the ground quaked. He fought to stay upright, Eddie on his back, Nancy immediately there to keep him stable, one hand grabbing Steve's jacket, the other flat on Eddie's back. The inside of the trailer began to glow brightly, lights blazing stronger and stronger before, one by one, they burst with a loud POP!

Halfway to the trailer, Steve had to stop, taking deep breaths that strained the wounds on his abdomen, the lacerations burning with each inhale. He shifted Eddie, ensuring his heart was still beating, took as deep a breath as he was able, and continued trudging onward.

"Dustin! We need you with us," Nancy snapped, working to break him out of the stupor he had fallen into. "Grab some of those gauze pads and put pressure on his left; we need to stop the bleeding."