Would you love a creature? - Eddie Munson x Y/N

Chapter 1

Y/N

The alarm pounds through your skull. The high pitched wailing ripping through your brain so loudly it felt like your head was going to burst in two.
You'd witness the fight start in the playroom, hushed whispers at first that turned into loud shouts before 009 was thrown against the farthest wall of the room. The lights flashed and the alarm sounded, signalling to all personnel that they were needed.
Your heart raced as the room filled with white coats, urging 002 to calm down but he held her against the wall regardless, a look of fear spread across her young face as her body felt like it was being crushed under an invisible weight holding her captive.

You hold your hands to your ears, trying to regain control of yourself as you start to panic. The onslaught of noises and chaos around you was so overwhelming you felt a burning in your skull as your own powers threatened to overflow.
You try and concentrate on your breathing, leaning back against a nearby bookshelf and falling to the floor, hugging your knees close to your chest.

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm

You repeat it in your head over and over but to no avail. You scream as the burning becomes more intense and a large wave of pure energy pulses out of you, knocking all the bodies in the room backwards and onto the floor.
Adrenaline fires in your veins as you see your chance. All the personnel on the floor, incapacitated as they try and work out what had just happened. You had a brief window and you had to take it.

Run

You bolt towards the door, jumping over anyone lying in your path. You spring through the winding corridors, the Green floor and dirty white tiles flashing past as you run, as fast as you can. You run through each open doorway and race up flight after flight of stairs, natural light flooding the upper floors, letting you know you were close to the outside world.
Nearing a large corridor, large windows covering the walls, a glimpse into the world you'd been kept from for 18 years. An orderly appears from a corridor to the left and stands in front of you, blocking the large door with EXIT above it in red.
"003 wait" he soothes, holding his hand out in front of him, the gesture silently asking you not to come any closer.

You hold your own hand up and allow the burning to consume your mind. He's lifted from the floor and thrown back down the corridor he had appeared from with a flick of your wrist.
Your heart races as you realise freedom is so close. You bolt towards the door but it's locked. You shake and push but it doesn't give.
Frustration takes over and you scream, another pulse of energy, so strong it blasts the door from the doorframe, falling to the floor with a loud crash. You look up and see green, a large expanse of open field in front of you with trees beyond.

Freedom.

You several hear pounding footsteps on the stairs behind you, warning you your window of opportunity was closing in on you. You take off, clearing the field in minutes and into the cover of trees.

**********

Finishing the last of the battery change, Eddie closes the hood of the van and wipes his hands on the old t shirt sat nearby. He pats the old van tenderly.
"Hopefully no more issues" he whispers to the vehicle.
She'd been a costly thing to run but he loved her, he just wished she wouldn't break down quite so often.
He looks up at the sky and sees it's dusk, finished just in time before it gets dark. He picks up his tools from around his feet and as he bends to reach for a wrench he hears rustling in the bushes behind him. He stops moving as he reaches down, unsure if it's an animal he wouldn't be able to take down and not wanting to startle it.
For a moment all he can hear is his own heartbeat. Satisfied whatever it was has probably gone now he reaches down completely and grabs the wrench and stands up straight again.

There's another rustle in the bushes. Closer this time.

His heart pounds, whatever it is didn't sound like a rabbit or something of equal, smaller size, it sounded bigger.
He slowly turns, looking towards the rough area it had come from. He braced himself for something big with teeth, something that would have no problem ripping his windpipe out for a snack.

Instead a girl walks out from the woods. She was filthy and had a terrified look in her big eyes. She was wearing what looked like a hospital gown that was now covered in dirt and rips where she had obviously gotten caught on something. Her feet were bare and red from the cold and the rough terrain of the woods. He studied her face for any sign of madness, her buzzed hair allowing him to see her full face.
Her eyes gave away nothing other than fear and exhaustion.
He approaches her slowly, unsure if she's even taking in that he's there as her eyes dart around the trailer park behind Eddie, frantically searching for any other signs of movement.

Her eyes fall on him as he slowly moves towards her and she backs away, her left hand out in front of her.
"Don't" she croaks, her throat sounded dry. "I don't want to hurt you"
He stops moving. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to see if you're ok" He keeps his voice quiet and low.
Her chest moves quickly and her raised hand starts to shake, he can see how terrified she was, he just wanted to help.
"I'm not going to hurt you" he says again.
She doesn't falter, her stance holds and her eyes don't leave him.
He starts to approach again. "It's ok, I'm not dangerous" he tries to soothe.
This time she doesn't back away.

"I'm Eddie. Are you ok? You look cold. I live just there" he says as he points to the trailer next to them. "If you want you can get cleaned up? I can find you something warmer to wear? I can call someone to come and get you?" The last sentence brings a new level of terror into her gaze. "Or we don't have to call anyone, that's fine too" he finishes quickly.
He approaches further, now only a few feet between himself and her outstretched hand.
"I don't want to hurt you" she whispers.
"Good, because I don't want you to either" Eddie smiles, an attempt to show he's no threat.
She slowly lowers her hand, as the movement catches his eye he notices a tattoo on her inner wrist.

003

"You must be freezing, please let me help you" he asks, pointing to his trailer again. "We only have to go in there"
Your eyes flit between him and the trailer. He can see you working out what to do.

I don't have any other choice. It's cold and it won't be long until they find me. I have to get inside and hidden.

"Ok" you say.
Eddie breathes in relief, glad the stand off has reached a conclusion.
He reaches out to you but you flinch away. You'd been told so many things about the world outside of Hawkins Lab from Papa. He told you how dangerous people were out here, you didn't know if Eddie was one of the ones he spoke about but he didn't seem bad. His smile was warm and he looked like he genuinely wanted to help you. In the minutes you'd been in his presence he had shown you more warmth and concern than you've ever experienced before.

He backs away a bit, giving you space to walk out onto the grass and towards what would, hopefully, be safety...