the chain

damn your love

The sound of the creatures screeching as they whip through the air is almost like a taunt. You're all cowering underneath Skull Rock, watching the sky with fearful eyes. There's so many of them, flying around in swarms. You can't help but feel as though they're searching for you, waiting to strike once more and finish the job.

You hear Eddie panting from beside you and you let out a whimper when a bat flies too close before soaring higher into the sky. Everyone's huddled together as the dark clouds grow heavy with spine-chilling, ear bursting cracks of blazing red thunder.

The swarm leaves suddenly, you can't see them anymore. Robin stands, crouching her way from beneath the rock, "O-Okay," she mutters, "that was close."

"Yeah," Eddie sighs, following her steps, "too close." He reaches a hand out towards you and you take it gratefully, using it to steady you as you stand.

"Oh, s-shit," Steve breathes, blinking as he begins to feel dizzy. You look over to him just as he leans against the rock, panting heavily. His face is paper than usual and he closes his eyes for a moment, hand stretched out towards the rock for stability.

"Steve?" Nancy looks back at him, rushing up to him when he sinks lower against the rock, "Jesus!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he mumbles absentmindedly. He doesn't look fine at all.

"No, no, no," Nancy answers, looking down at his shirtless form, "You're not. You're losing blood. Come on, sit. Sit."

You watch as Nance helps Steve sit on the ground, letting out a painful grunt as he screws his eyes shut. Biting the corner of your mouth, your head begins to throb with pain. Screwing your eyes shut, you press a hand to your forehead as you look at the pair. When Steve removes his hand from his lower belly, you see the deep bite marks from the bats and you let out a wince, your face contorting with pain. Robin lets out a breath, her eyes wide as she looks at Steve.

"Jesus, Steve," you grimace at him, only meeting his eyes for a moment before he looks away, "they really got you good."

"Okay, so the good news, uh, here is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a common symptom of rabies," Robin kneels down beside Nancy who begins tearing the bottom fabric of her shirt off, "but, um, if you start having hallucinations or-or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive like you wanna punch me, or something then you should totally let me know."

You stand behind the girls, throat dry and eyes panicked as you watch. "Robin," Steve lets out a grunt, a permanent frown on his face.

"Yeah?" She asks expectantly.

"I kinda wanna punch you," he admits honestly, eyes barely opening as he winces through the pain.

You smile lightly. Robin lets out a laugh of relief, beaming at Steve, "Sense of humours still intact. That's a good sign."

Nancy holds the fabric in her hands, looking up at Steve. "Okay," Robin lets out a hasty breath, rising to her feet before turning around and walking away. It's too much for her. Eddie, seeing Robin give Steve privacy, turns around too.

Steve looks up at you, "Might not wanna watch this."

You wince, "Yeah. Yeah, probably not. Only if you promise not to watch my eyes rolls into the back of my head."

Steve lets out a hum, a small smile gracing his tormented lips, "Not gonna happen. Don't worry."

You look down at your feet, shaking your head, "You stay alive and so will I."

"Okay," Steve pants, watching you turn and walk to Robin and Eddie.

You look at Robin, who stares at the ground with a vacant expression. Hearing Steve grunts in pain isn't easy. Luckily, the loud thunder covers the quiet noise.