Stranger Things: Strange Encounters - End The Storm

Chapter Ten: Brave The Storm

The amount of blood that had just come out of me; I knew exactly what it meant. The same thing happened to my mother when she was birthing me and it meant it wasn't safe to give birth naturally. So I was born through c-section.
"What do we do!?" panicked Erin.
"I...I don't know." said Joyce.
"Yes. Yes, you do know." I panted. Joyce looked at me with a sorry expression.
"I can't do that, sweetheart." she said.
"Do what? What is going on!?" Erin asked.
"This baby needs to be cut out of me." I said.
"What!? Shit! A c-section!? We can't! We have no medical supplies! Beth, you'll bleed out." Erin said to me.
"This baby needs to live. If I can't defeat Vecna, then this child will." I said, accepting my fate. I was in no state to fight Vecna and I couldn't birth my child naturally. Our only option was to perform a c-section on me, in hopes my child will live on to come back and destroy Vecna.
"Beth, think of Eddie." said Joyce.
"Do you see another way around this? What are my options?" I snapped at her. She looked at me with her lips parted, knowing that there was no other option. I was going to die either way.
"We can't do this, surely?" asked Erin. "Guys!?" Joyce and I kept our eyes locked as she gave me the look of sympathy and sorry.
"It's time." I said as I winced in pain. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the knife I always use to play with, back at the bunker. I held it out to Joyce as she looked at it, hesitant. "Save my child." I said to her, begging. She slowly raised her blood soaked hand and took the knife off of me.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I can't watch this." said Erin, voice trembling as she let go of my hand. She turned her back and placed her hands on her head. Joyce flicked the blade up and looked at me again.
"Beth..." Joyce trailed.
"It's okay." I exhaled. She leant forward and kissed me on my cold sweat forehead before returning to her position.
"Close your eyes, sweetheart." Joyce whispered, tears building up behind her eyes. I nodded and shut my eyes and waited. For a couple of seconds, there was nothing and then suddenly a sharp and deep pain, straight into the bottom of my stomach. I let out a scream as I felt the blade begin to cut along my stomach. I could hear Joyce crying as I kept my eyes tightly shut. The pain was the worst thing imaginable. I felt like I could bare it no longer as I felt my wound being opened and Joyce's hands reaching inside of me. I began to feel weak and tired as the pain consumed me and that's when I heard a sound which made me feel, almost a peace. The cries of a baby. I slowly opened my eyes, having blurry vision and saw Joyce come into view, holding my newborn. "It's a girl." I hear Joyce cry to me. My hearing was echoey as well and I knew I was losing blood. "You've had a baby girl." she said.
"Can I hold her?" I asked, voice struggling. Joyce smiled as me as she cried and placed my baby into my arms. I looked down and saw my beautiful, baby daughter.
"Holy shit, Beth. You're a mother." said Erin as she turned back around. I smiled at her weakly as I fought the urge of my eyelids wanting to close.
"Name her, Beth. What's her name?" asked Joyce. I licked my lips, feeling dehydrated and picked the first name I thought of.
"Robin. Her name...is Robin." I said as I could feel myself fade.
"Beth? Are you okay?" Joyce asked as she noticed.
"Beth, stay with us! Please!" begged Erin. I could feel my arms becoming weak and losing grip on baby Robin. Joyce quickly grabbed her off of me and passed her to Erin. My sights fell past Joyce and over to Eddie, who was now laying on the floor. He had blood on his face and his wings were now broken and torn.
"Eddie." I whispered as my sight began to darken.
"Beth? Beth!" I heard Joyce's voice echo. Suddenly, I didn't feel the need to breathe anymore and everything went black.

"Beth." I heard a voice call out to me. I opened my eyes and found myself laying on a wet floor, staring up into the dark nothingness. "Beth." I heard the voice again. I turned my head to the side and saw young El, sat next to me.
"El?" I questioned.
"You're safe." she said to me. I slowly sat myself up. I looked down and saw I was just in my long, t-shirt which was stained in blood. I also had blood all down my legs but I felt no pain.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You're dying." said El.
"But...how am I here?" I asked.
"You wanted to talk to me, one last time. Your conscious took you here." explained El. I sat myself up so I was sat opposite her.
"Have we lost?" I asked her. She looked at me with a smile.
"No. I can help you. One last time." she replied.
"I'm dying, El. The only hope is my child."
"She may not make it." said El.
"How?" I asked.
"Without you there, your friends will fall victim to Vecna, just as everyone else did. Only you can stop him." she explained. I looked at her with my lips slightly parted. Not even my friends could protect my baby.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Trust me?" she questioned, looking me in the eyes. El was my sister, I trusted her with me life. I nodded my head at her. She then placed her hand on my chest and closed her eyes, focusing her breathing. "Close your eyes." she whispered. I didn't know what she was doing, but I did as she asked. That's when I felt something flow through me. Some kind of energy or force. That's when I realised something. This was how El saved Imogen when she was in void, in her memories, to help her. Even though El wasn't physically there, she was still able to help me.