Hell & Back

Chapter Twelve

One Year Later

Steve and Eddie were heading over to the grocery store downtown, they had been making trips once every three weeks in order to stock up. They stayed in Steve's house since Eddie's was more of a dump than usual. They spent the first few months going to Nancy and Chrissy's house trying to talk to them through the lights but they never heard anything back.

"Alright let's get this shit and go." Eddie said as the snuck up to the store. The bats were gone from this part of town. Steve and Eddie would take turns watching when they came for a few days before chancing a run to the store. When the door shut they were sure they would die but whatever made the door close hurt Vecna enough to make them all run to his aid. 

With the distraction Eddie and Steve were able to get out of the trailer and make the two day walk to Steve house, mainly it took that long due to the fact that Eddie could barely walk. Steve half carried him to the house. They spent days trying to figure out how they would get water or any drinkable liquid, plus food. They would build fires when the sky was red and only used things that would make white smoke so it wouldn't stand out as much. 

They had encountered Vecna but he was to weak to really fight and it normally ended with each of them going their separate ways. When he felt stronger he would invade their dreams, making them see horrible things, followed by sending the bat monsters to attack them and than finally appearing. If he was able to catch on of them and use their trauma he would be strong enough to reopen the door. Here lately though the attacks had been far and few in between. 

"Are we feeling adventurous today?" Steve asked standing over by the chips. "For the hundredth time I am not eating those nasty barbecue bacon chips." Eddie said questioning Steve's taste, not for the first time. The selection was limited due to the fact they had no refrigeration but they managed well enough. They wouldn't be here much longer, at least that's what Eddie kept telling himself. 

"Do you hear that?" Steve asked startling Eddie from his thoughts. When the door first sealed they both thought they could hear their friends trying to get them back but it was just Vecna in their minds. Eddie shook his head and let the disappointment show in his expression, it was just them, the monsters and Vecna. "He's just messing with you." Eddie said "Let's go before those nasty bastards start up." Eddie said shoving more snacks in his bag. "It sounded so clear." Steve said still hopeful. Eddie sighed and met his eyes "It always does." was all he could think to say.

For the past year Chrissy and Nancy had spent countless hours going over the notes from both abandoned labs. From deciphering Russian to piecing together torn pages, they still couldn't figure out how to open the door. Eleven wouldn't open it without assurance that both boys were alive. She didn't want anything else getting out. 

Chrissy had to repeat her senior year, she had failed every final and refused to do any cheerleading activities this year. Actually any activity this year. Chrissy barely stayed home though she was usually with Nancy, and sometimes the others. The rest it seemed had gradually moved on from the consistent disappointment but Chrissy couldn't accept they were dead. She still watched the lights in every room she was in and silently begged them to flicker.

"Ms. Cunningham, are you going to join us?" Her math teacher asked. It was the same thing everyday. Her grades were good as always but she didn't care, all she wanted was for Eleven to open the damn door and bring the one person she wanted home. 

The rest of the day went by in a blur, she went and sat by herself at the bench in the woods where they first met. She was sitting there picking at her lunch, lost in memories of Eddie's smile, when she heard someone walking towards her. Chrissy turned around expecting to see Nancy, hoping to see Eddie, dreading to see any of her classmates. A boy stood over by the entrance. 

He was starring at her but she had never seen him before. His hair was dirty blonde and pushed back, he looked about her age, tall and rigid but she wouldn't necessarily call him attractive. She was trying to muster up the strength to ask what he wanted but she couldn't find the words. Suddenly though he turned and walked away. Chrissy felt relief as she watched him go, it hard felt like his eyes were looking through her. 

As she walked back through the woods and over to the school, she idled with the pick necklace she never took off. Her hair was pulled back today, when the door closed she had ran in and taken every T-shirt from Eddie's room, that was all she wore now. She was to small for anything else. Her mother looked disapprovingly at her daughter every time she walked down the stairs but Chrissy barely had the energy to get out of bed, she cried herself to sleep most nights while waiting for the light to flicker just once. 

Eddie and Steve were on high alert walking back to the house. They could hear the screech of the bats around them. They were playing with them now, soon they would corner them and attack. Eddie knew that Chrissy's house wasn't to far from this place. He grabbed on to Steve's shoulder and nodded in the direction they had gone a hundred times. He only nodded and they ran towards the house. 

The bats followed behind them now striking at their ankles, trying to trip them and swarm. This was all just a game so Vecna could make his entrance. He would get inside their heads and try to feed off their trauma to regain his strength. They ran upstairs and into Chrissy's bedroom, they had just enough time to close the door and push the dresser in front of it when they heard the hammering of the bats. It ended to abruptly and Eddie heard a voice in his mind

"Please come back." She said, he could tell she was crying. Instinctively he called out "I'm trying." but he knew that the voice was only in his head. He heard nothing else as the bats slammed threw the window. The glass shattered and they both stood their ground, Vacna appeared behind the bats and threw out a vine striking both of them. They flew over the bed and expected to crash into the wall but something stopped them. 

Chrissy was laying on her bed when she heard a loud screeching sound. She threw her hands over her ears and sat up looking around wildly. She couldn't see anything but she could swear she heard the whisper of Eddie's voice say "I'm trying." and than she saw something slam into her wall. 

"You really have to stop landing on me, dude." Eddie said groaning as Steve slowly rose off of him. He sat on the ground for a moment looking around, the room was bright pink and the vines were gone. He slowly looked over to the window and noticed it wasn't broken than he looked onto the bed and seen her. Like every other time Vecna had made him dream, there she was.

Her hair was down, it had grown since he last seen her coming down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a mix between startled and ready to cry, she was wearing a Motley Crue shirt that was his. He felt his face get hot as he realized that was all she was wearing. Vecna was having fun with this one, he thought to himself. 

"It's all in my head." Eddie said low and more to himself than anyone else but she heard him and looked over with a shake of her head. "I don't think it is." She said, her voice was so real. Every time he let himself believe and walk over to her she would turn into a monster and attack him, every goddamn time regardless he would walk over. 

Chrissy stared in shock at the boys standing in her room. Steve and... Eddie were both there. They looked at her as though she would attack them but instead she just sat there wondering whether or not she had fallen asleep. Both boys were filthy and thinner, their hair had grown and the dark hint of a bread showing. Blood and dirt made their clothes stick to them. She wanted to walk over and throw herself at him but she knew he would disappear before she made it over.  

Eddie looked around and seen his guitar over in a corner. He tapped Steve on the arm, signaling him to watch the girl on the bed, he would not call her that name until he knew for sure, and walked over to take it. He took a deep breath and looked at the girl one last time, fixing her in his mind before this perfect image went away. He dropped his gaze and began to play. 

Normally by the time he reached the second verse the image would fade away but this time he had finished the whole song and they were still there. Steve looked at him and dropped to his knees. "We're back." Steve said baffled. Eddie looked at him and than at her and felt his own legs give out. They were back, finally they were back. He couldn't do anything but laugh hysterically, until everything hurt.  Everyone joined in, Chrissy was starring at him with tears in her eyes. "Your back." was all she said and he smiled at her.