𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harrington

ᶠ ᵒ ᵘ ʳ ᵗ ʸ ⁻ ⁿ ⁱ ⁿ ᵉ

March 25th, 1986

STEVE WAS GONE. HE HAD offered to search for the gate in the middle of the deserted lake, and after finding it, he swam back up. One minute he was clinging onto the edge of the small, metal boat, casually chatting to Aven whilst the other's conversed about the mysterious opening beneath them, until he was gone. He was sucked back under.

"Steve!" Aven screamed, watching as his hand was drawn into the dark, murky water until it was no longer visible. Ripping off her jacket, the girl dived into the water, ignoring the pleads and shouts of the other three people on the boat. She swam down, pushing the burning of her lungs away as she made her way towards the bright red gate. She could only imagine what Steve was going through in there, and she knew it wasn't good.

Once through the opening to the other world, she glanced up to find her boyfriend getting mauled by the bats that'd chased her to the gate a few days beforehand. Grabbing an oar by the boat, she whacked the two by his stomach away, only for one to crawl back over and begin to gnaw at her ankle. Luckily, the other's had followed after her, Nancy yanking it off her by the tail.

"I hope you fucking missed me, you little shits!" Aven shouted as she pounded the bats around them with the wooden oar, watching as the black goo oozed out of it's inflicted wounds.

They worked together as a team, tackling and thumping the interdimensional creatures until none of them were left. As soon as the air went quiet, Aven dumped her oar to the side before running over to Steve, pushing her lips up to his with her hands oh his bloody cheeks.

"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, taking a step back to examine his horrific injuries. He was completely covered in his own blood.

"Never better. Feeling a bit lighter though, which probably isn't a good sign," he joked, causing him to lightly hit him on the shoulder. He laughed, but ended up wincing with pain, sucking in a breath as his eyes caught sight of the bloody holes on his lower abdomen.

Aven, who wasn't paying attention to Robin's rant about Rabies or Steve's look at his wounds, was too busy looking at her surroundings. Her eyebrows were deep, thoughts running wild, as her pupils gazed over all the slimy vines and dead trees surrounding them. She never thought she would be back - she never wanted to go back. It was always in the back of her mind, lurking - telling her to come back. There she was, succumbing to the voices.

Her thoughts were broken, however, when creatures sounded through the air.

Quick, move before even more get here!" Aven shouted as she sprinted towards the woods, gesturing for them to follow after taking Steve's hand. They ran - as fast as they could with an injured man hanging from some of their arms - through the dead trees before hiding beneath a rock.

"Okay, that was close," Robin announced as she watched the bats fly away, Steve's grip on Aven's hand instantly loosening as he let out a breath of relief.

"Yeah, too close," Eddie added with a shudder before climbing out from beneath the fallen boulder.

"Oh shi-shit," Steve mumbled as he let go of Aven's hand, falling against the rock with his hands flat on it's surface.

"Nancy! Nancy, give me something," Aven asked her as she helped Steve kneel on the ground, the girl immediately knowing what to do before she started to rip at her clothing. "You're alright, love. Just take a deep breath," Aven comforted as Nancy handed her the material, one hand wrapped around the clothing as the other held his shoulder for balance.

"In and out," she whispered as she leant closer, pushing the fabric against his wounds to wrap it around his back. She heard him let out a wince, which made her squint with worry. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay, you're fine," Steve muttered as he lifted his arms into the air, allowing Aven to tie the material around his waist as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. Robin, who was watching the whole ordeal from the sidelines, bit her nails as Eddie climbed a fallen tree behind her.

"You all good, big guy?" Aven asked as she pulled away, resting her hand back on his shoulder as Robin let out a breath of relief. The short-haired girl turned away from the two with a hand on her head, thankful that her friend was okay, before her eyes landed on the boy balancing on the end of a tall log.

"Perfectly fine," Steve answered with a tight-lipped smile, lifting the hand on his shoulder up to his plump lips.

"So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?" Eddie asked from his high position, Aven immediately widening her eyes at the sight.

"Pretty much," Nancy nodded softly with a subtle shrug.

"Hey, be careful of the vines! Don't you dare touch the vines!" Aven shouted as she moved away from the boy against the rock, hands up with caution as she yelled up to the long-haired boy on the fallen tree. Everyone jumped back at the sound of her voice, their eyes blowing wide upon hearing the typically quieter girl lose her calm.

"Why?" Eddie asked with a hand on his chest, his eyes darting between the others to hopefully find an answer.

"Everything's connected, it's a hive mind. Just- don't step on the vines, alright? Trust me," she sighed as she sucked her head, Steve watching her with a pang to his heart. Eddie nodded almost immediately, gulping with a frown, feeling slightly bad for the girl - for whatever reason that might have been.

"I don't know how you survived here for eight months," Robin muttered as she shook her head, Eddie jumping down from the log behind her before picking up on what she'd said.

"Wait, you were here?" He asked incredulously, the girl only nodding in response. "Jesus Christ, how are you still alive?"

1057 words