To Hell and Back Again

Chapter Fifteen

Steve woke up and stretched. He looked around to see Robin and Dustin still under the massive mound of blankets. Eddie was asleep on the couch behind them. Steve stood up and walked into the downstairs bathroom. He pushed his hands against his face and rubbed to hopefully wake him up a little bit. He felt a cold hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Eddie. "Jesus Christ, you scared me."
"Steve, I'm d-dead." Eddie choked out. That pit had formed in Steve's stomach again. He blinked a couple times.
"How are you standing right in front of me and dead?" Steve laughed nervously and saw how serious Eddie was.
"Feel my pulse. Do it, there's nothing there." Eddie moved his hair off his shoulder so Steve could touch his neck. He reached up a hand and put two fingers against Eddie's cold skin.
"M-maybe I just need to find a different spot," Steve panicked and touched Eddie's neck in a different place. He felt around and tried to find his pulse. He grabbed Eddie's wrist and felt around with two of his fingers. "Maybe it's just weak right now..." Steve started to frantically feel around Eddie's arms and neck to try and find a pulse. He put his hand against Eddie's chest hoping to feel the slightest heart beat.
"I don't have a pulse." Eddie started to lift his shirt. "And this happened while I was asleep. Wicked right?" Eddie exposed his chest. Each vein in his chest was visible and black. He had black spider webs spread across his chest. Steve gulped and ran his finger against them.
"What the... fuck..." Steve felt dizzy. He leaned against the sink to prevent himself from falling. "I need to call someone." He pushed past Eddie and walked over to Robin. She was still asleep. He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her away. One of her eyes cracked open to see Steve sweaty and breathing heavily. "Robin." He mumbled. She opened her eyes and looked around.
"Are you okay?" She stood up and looked at Eddie who was still standing over by the bathroom.
"N-no..." Steve closed his eyes and fell over.

Steve shot awake. He looked around. Trees passed by his eyes in almost a blur. "Steve." Eddie whispered. Steve forced his eyes away from the trees and looked at Eddie. He forced his eyes open and he put his hand on Eddie's neck. The black veins had spread to his neck and shoulders. Steve felt his heart form a pit. "Hey. I'm okay." Eddie smiled. Steve looked around disoriented. He looked in the front seat where Robin was driving. Dustin had a book open on his lap and he was ranting about something. Steve didn't pay attention to what he was saying.
"What happened..." Steve touched his head and winced.
"You hit your head on the coffee table. You're okay. It was nothing too bad." Eddie took Steve's hand. Eddie's arms were pale and covered in black spiderweb like veins. Steve turned pale and gulped.
"Where are we going?" Steve looked back out the window of the moving car and felt his throat get bubbly. "Pull over." He looked up at Robin who was driving. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Pull over, Robin!" Steve shouted as he started to open the door.
"Okay! Okay!" She got over and pulled over on the side of the road. Steve threw open the door and stumbled out. He bent over and threw up in the grass. He turned and looked at the car.
"Okay I'm good." He stood up and wiped his mouth. He walked back over to the car then turned and vomited again. Eddie got out of the car and pulled his hair back. "I'm fine. I'm fine." Steve put up a hand. He stood up and started to walk back to the car. "I'm sorry." He muttered, he grabbed onto Eddie's arm and Eddie lead him back.
"You don't need to be."
"So where are we going?" Steve buckled his seatbelt and looked at Robin. Robin smiled awkwardly.
"Um... Maury?"
"Jesus Christ, our only option now is Maury? The man is clinically insane." Steve leaned forward and gave Robin a dirty look.
"Well, he's kinda an expert at this stuff." She looked both ways then turned a corner. "By this stuff I mean Eddie being a zombie."
"Vampire." Dustin corrected.

"You know I'm not going to die right?" Eddie paused. "I'm not going to be not alive... stop living?" He looked over at Steve who had this hands on his face. "Well I'm dead currently so I don't know how to say it. I'm not going to disappear." Eddie smiled and grabbed Steve's hand.
"But you're dead." Steve looked back over at Eddie. He leaned over and put his head of Eddie's chest, hoping to hear the slightest bit of his soft heartbeat. He pushed his forehead against Eddie's chest. "I'll never be able to hear your heart beat again."
"But I'll be able to hear yours." Eddie ran his fingers through Steve's hair. He looked at the road and smiled. You have my heart played through Steve's head on what felt like repeat. It was almost like a broken record.
"I'd give you my heart just to hear yours beat again." Steve muttered back to the voice in his head. A sorrowful face was stamped onto Eddie's face. He looked down at the top of Steve's head.
"As long as I am here, with you, with Robin, with Dustin, I am alive. As long as I can still walk and breathe, I am alive. As long as I am still able to touch your face or feel your hand in mine then I'm alive. I don't need to have a pulse." Eddie smiled and looked out the window. "I'm not going anywhere, lover boy."