Stranger Than Fiction

Chapter Six

(March 28, 1986)

The sun is peeking through the curtain in my room. I look over to see my brother Dustin on the floor next to my bed. Upon moving around a bit I realize my body hurts everywhere. I look down and see an arm around me, I turn my head expecting to see Eddie, Steve? At that moment the memory of the night before came flooding back, the demobats, the Creel house, Vecna, Eddie..... Eddie, oh my god Eddie's gone, he's gone, Eddie, my best friend, my boyfriend is dead. I tried to get out of bed but I woke Steve up in the process, he realized he had his arm around me and let go.

"Sorry '' he said with a sleepy, raspy voice.

"Steve?" I said sitting up

"Yeah? Are you okay?" he asked, pushing his hair back.

I hesitated, "It wasn't a dream was it?" I was practically praying he'd tell me everything was okay and Eddie was in the other room.

Steve looked down at my bloody hands, "no, it wasn't," he replied. I looked around, my clothes and my bed were covered in blood, my blood, Steve's......Eddie's....

I slid off the bed carefully stepping over Dustin.

"Lizzie, are you sure you're okay?" Steve asked again.

"I.....I don't know yet. I'm going to take a shower and try to process what happened."

Steve grabbed my arm. "Steve, I'm...." He hugged me, I squeezed Steve so tight that he winced from his wounds. I couldn't cry, I couldn't feel, everything was just numb. I looked in the mirror, I had a bloody handprint on my cheek and blood on my mouth.

I carefully took my clothes off, the cuts and scrapes burned with every move. Stepping into the shower, the water was cold, the "earthquake" as the media is calling it, cut off the power in all of Hawkins. As the water hit my face I closed my eyes, there he was. Eddie was on top of his trailer playing the guitar to distract the demobats. His long dark hair, his big brown eyes. He was the sweetest man I'd ever known, he was my world, the love of my life. I closed my eyes again but now I see him cutting the sheet, Dustin and I screaming at him, begging him to come back.

<Flashback>

I grabbed the kitchen table and put it under the hole climbing my way back through the gate. Dustin was fighting with me, trying to get me to stay.

I screamed, "what if it was me?" He was defeated knowing he'd be doing the same thing I'm doing and stopped. He followed me back in, Eddie barricaded the door, but that didn't stop me. It's crazy what adrenaline will do to a person. I blasted through the door and started searching for him, screaming his name. I couldn't see him, I couldn't see anything, there were swarms of bats everywhere.

Then I remember the sound I will never forget, Eddie screaming, screaming in fear...in pain. I ran, I ran faster than I had ever ran in my life. Dodging bats and screaming Eddie's name.

"I'm coming Eddie! Hold on!" Dustin was running behind me, trying to keep up. I saw him go down, the bats were biting him relentlessly, he was screaming to a god he didn't believe in.

The clock chimed as we reached him, the bats flew away at the sound, I scooped him up.

"Dustin, please help me!" I begged.

Eddie cried in pain, "it hurts so much", he said, spitting blood from his mouth as he talked.

"It's going to be okay baby, you're gonna be okay. I need you to get up. We're going to get you back home." I pleaded with him.

Eddie shook his head, "no I'm not. I can't make it that far."

He gritted his teeth and smiled, "I'm sorry..." he said, tears leaving streaks through the blood on his face. He lifted his hand, he was shaking, I grabbed it and put his bloody hand on the side of my face. "I love you Lizzie, I love you so much." He said, his voice breaking.