<the wolf and the bat> (Completed.)

Nightmare world.

Hurt and comfort because, to make up for future angst. (But still, angst and corpse warning)

Steve limped through the upside down, his strengthened wolf-like from, somehow being weak.

Screeches sounded before him, signaling demo-bats nearby. Steve glanced at the small, horrifying creatures.

They were feasting on the flesh of something, likely human. Steve limped forward, and they scattered, chirping with fright. Steve's eyes widened with recognition, then horror.

The four bodies that lay before him.

His friends. The love of his life too.

Robin Buckley, Nancy wheeler, Dustin henderson, and Eddie munson lay, rotting corpses on the ground. Chunks of flesh were missing, from where the demobats had bit into the flesh. Their eyes seemed to be fixed on Steve, although they were glazed over with the look of death.

Blood dripped from their faces and mangled corpses.

Steve began to back away, but instead his legs crumpled and caved beneath him. He felt as if he was suffocating, the thick and dense air of the upside-down seemed to choke him, to scratch at his throat.

Steve's expression was twisted into a disgusted and horrified grimace, four of the people he loved most were rotting before his eyes. Dead. Gone for good.

Then, he realized.

Their clothes were coated with familiar brown fur, the wounds which presumably killed them, were too big to be from the small teeth of a demobats.

These were long, with punctures that matched the teeth of the monster Steve became from that stupid, stupid dog bite.

Steve felt something wet and warm, dripping from his muzzle. He dared to look down.

It was red, warm, and Steve knew what he'd done.

He knew who's blood it was.

Not his.

☆☆☆

Steve woke with a jolt, expecting his long brown fur to still be coated with his friends blood.

There was no muzzle, no blood either. He was lying in his bed, Eddie munson, an accused murderer, who everyone thought was dead, lay beside him.

His breathing was slow, and rhythmic. The fabric of the Metallica shirt that Steve had dug out of his closet, rose up and down as the vampire slept.

Steve got up, limping towards his bedroom door.

He closed the door behind him, silently.

He leaned against the locked door, sobbing quietly.

He held his face in his hands, not daring to look at himself into that goddamned mirror he hated so much. He hated how it reminded him of the monster he was. He was lucky his parents were always away, he constantly cried himself to sleep.

At least it hadn't been hard to keep his curse a secret.

He knew he was lucky that he only turned when he wanted to, or his life would be more of a hell than it already was.

Stephennnn...

The voice rang through his mind.

Let me out... it's no fun being trapped in the lonely hellhole that your brain is.

Let me run free.

Steve grumbled, trying to ignore the voice.

"Steve?" A faint knock on the door startled him.

"Uh, yeah eds?"

"You okay? I thought I heard you crying."

Steve remembered his father's long lectures as a child. "Boys don't cry!" He scolded.

Steve slowly opened the door, hoping his red eyes wouldn't be noticeable.

"Oh my God, Steve. What happened to you?"

They were totally noticeable.

Eddie cupped Steve's face in his hands, leading him back to their dark room, flicking the lights on.

"Alright, what happened?"

Steve began to sniffle uncontrollably.

"Hey its OK if you don't wanna tell me, just..." He pulled Steve closer, into a comfortably tight hug.

Steve was barely audible. "I, it was j-just some s-sick n-nightmare... y-you, Nance, robs and Dustin w-were just..." He cried, staining the band tee with tears.

"It's okay Steve, you're safe, the gates closed. You don't have to go there ever again. Vecna's gone. Defeated." This was a lie. Vecna tried to intrude everyone of Eddie's thoughts constantly.

He only meant to reassure Steve.

"No! I-its not okay! You guys were dead! B-because of me!" He choked out.

"Shh, it was just a nightmare babe, you're safe."

Steve and Eddie fell asleep that night, with no more nightmares. Just comforting hugs.

☆☆☆

Recently, Eddie and Steve had been living through their hunger by eating plenty of meat.

Most of their dinners consisted of; grilled fish, spaghetti with extra meatballs, juicy sirloin steak (seemingly Eddies favorite, Steve noted.) You name it. If it was meat, it was fair game.

But this hunger.

No amount of sirloin was gonna do for Steve harrington.

He was one hungry werewolf.

Very.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

776 words.
Sorry to end on a slightly angsty note, but we're getting closer to the finale. It's not far.

I still apologize for not giving this fic a happy ending.