Vecna's Pawn || Eddie Munson

~Worth the Chance~

Pain.

All I feel is pain.

The vines wrap around my torso so tight that I can hardly breathe. My insides feel like they're being set on fire yet I see no flames. I see nothing.

Am I blind? I must be; that's the only explanation.

While my insides are burning, on the outside I feel cold. I can't stop shivering.

The pain is so unbearable that I convulse. My breathing is rapid, my shaking won't stop and I am in unimaginable pain.

The pain never stops.

I don't think it ever will.

•••••

My nightmares have been getting worse.

Instead of watching Aaron in pain, this time it's like I am Aaron and I feel every ounce of pain that he feels.

I'm starting to doubt my sense of what's real and fake.

I'm not saying that Aaron is alive because that's just crazy...but if he is and he's in pain then I wouldn't want to just leave him like that.

As much as I don't want to ever have to go back to the upside down, it's worth the chance that Aaron's still alive and needs me.

I pack everything I'll need. I gather my makeshift weapons and head over to my old trailer. It's trashed and completely inhabitable but it's where the closest gate is.

I hop inside with my bag of weapons and climb through the gate.

Once I'm on the other side, I cautiously make my way out of the trailer and into the forest.

I remember seeing a makeshift fort by the tree where Aaron was tied to. There was a sign that said 'Fort Byers' on it so I'm assuming it's close to where they live.

I stumble through the forest, mentally marking each path I take.

I stop when I hear a sound.

I hear his familiar screams of agony as they ripple through my ear. He's close.

I run towards the noise and I don't stop.

Eventually I find him and it's exactly like my dream.

I let out a choked sob before rushing to his side.

"Aaron!" I shout but he doesn't acknowledge me, either too lost in his pain to care or he can't hear me at all. "Aaron, please!! It's me, Eddie!!!"

He stops screaming for a moment but continues to whimper. "E-Eddie, it hurts." He cries.

"I know, I know but I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" I say through tears.

He nods a little.

I reach into my bag and grab the axe I brought with me.

I start to hack away at the vines as Aaron tries his hardest not to cry for me.

"It's okay, baby." I tell him. "You can let it out."

"B-but I don't want t-to be weak." He says through the shivering.

My heart cracks at the heartbroken sound of his voice.

"You are not weak, Aaron. You are the strongest person I know." I tell him while cutting. "Your allowed to be in pain."

He looks like he's about to say something but he gets cut off by his own cries. They're so full of anguish that it break my heart.

I finally break through the last vine and pull him into my arms. "I-it hurts" he cries into my shoulder while placing a hand on his chest.

"Alright, I'm gonna get you home, okay? And then we're gonna figure out how to make the pain go away."

He nods in understanding. "Okay, let's go." I say while picking him up in my arms.

We make it to the trailer and I carry him through the gate.

Once we're on the other side, I don't hesitate to gently place Aaron inside the van and drive off to the cabin.

I park my van outside and carry Aaron inside the house. Joyce and Hopper look up from their morning coffee and I swear they almost have a heart attack at the sight before them.

Ignore their questions as I rush to the room I've been staying in. I lay Aaron down on the bed.

"Are you still in pain?" I ask. He nods. "Can u tell me what hurts?"

"M-my chest a-and my head. T-They feel on fire." He manages.

My heart breaks for him. "Describe everything to me." I tell him with determination in my eyes.

"I-I can't see." He tells me even though I figured as much. His pupils and irises are gone leaving only whiteness.

"Do you know what's causing your pain?" I question but before he can answer, Joyce, Hopper, Eleven, Jonathan, Will and Argyle all burst into the room.

"What the actual fuck, Eddie?!?" Jonathan practically screams. So...Jonathan's definitely sober.

He goes on a huge rant about how dangerous it was to go back into the upside down by myself and how I should've told someone, blah, blah, blah.

Meanwhile, all I'm focused on is Eleven who's been quiet this whole time and has her hand placed on Aaron's chest.

Will seems to notice too because he walks over to the other side of Aaron's bed and holds on to his hand. "I'm here, Aaron." He says and that's all he needs to say.

"Aaron has vines." El tells us.

We all look at her in confusion.

"Vines are choking his heart. They wrap around his head too." Her gaze lands on me. "Aaron is dying."

I shake my head in denial. "No. Not this time. There has to be a way to save him." I beg her.

"I can try." She tells me. "But it could not work."

I nod my head repeatedly. "I'll try anything." I say as a tear falls from my eye.

El places her hand, once again, firmly on Aaron's chest. It only takes a few moments before he's screaming out in pain.

Every part of me wants to go to him. To stop El from causing him this pain but I know I can't, not if I want him to live.

"EDDIE!!!" He screeches. "MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!!"

I turn my head away, unable to watch and Argyle hugs me for comfort. Whether it's for my comfort or his I'm unsure of.

Suddenly the screams stop and I turn my head to look at a peacefully sleeping Aaron.

El turns to face me once more. "He will be fine." She tells me and I let out a relieved sob.

"I killed the vines but sight will stay gone." She informs.

I run up to her and crush her on a warm embrace. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I repeat breathlessly.

"Anything for friends."

I smile warmly at her and she returns the gesture.

Everything is going to be alright.