This is Home

1

Prologue.

Edward "Eddie" Munson wasn't a hero.
He was just a kid, in a lame band that people barely remembered the name of. He was held back two grades because "he didn't apply himself." But in reality, people just thought he was dumb. They judged him for the games he played and the hobbies he had. His mental issues and his home life. He didn't plan to have curls down his back, he just couldn't afford to go to the barber. And he never meant to be the town freak. He just wanted to be himself.

The truth is, he was just a dude. Just a plain human being, who happened to become friends with a group of not so plain people. People who would admire him and look up to him. People who would treat him like a friend and not a weirdo. People who would prove to the cops that he wasn't a murderer and they would believe those people.
But these same people would end up unintentionally betraying him.
Eleven, Lucus, Ericka, Dustin, Max, Steve, Robin, and Nancy.
These people would inevitably lead to the death of Eddie Munson.

Hawkins morgue, 1986.

As the young mortician looked down at the body of "Eddie Munson" lying on the autopsy table, he noticed two things. One of which being the story the children gave the police couldn't be true. This man looked dead. Like deader than dead. But He was covered in blood. There was no way he just fell.
"Knocked down in an earthquake." The mortician whispered into a voice recorder.
"Although," he ran his gloves fingers against Eddie's side.
"These bites..." blood oozed from the many wounds as he gently pressed the skin. "Still bleeding... must be fresh" he mumbled.
Then he noticed something, dirt and pieces of rock in his hair, cuts on his scalp, and drag wounds on his upper back and shoulders.

"It appears he was dragged to where he was found. He didn't fall there. Why would they lie?" He thought for a moment.
"That Harington kid should know better. Steve, I think his name is. And those two girls, Nancy Byers and Robin Buckly, I think they're older too. They were all crying just as hard as Mr. Munson. Geez- For a freak he sure had a lot of friends." The mortician rolled his eyes.

The upside down, 1986.

"Eddie!!! Don't do this!! Eddie!!" Dustin frantically screamed, gripping the now cut sheet that led them from Hawkins to the upside down. He tried as best he could to get back into the portal. Jumping on chairs and falling again and again.

Meanwhile Eddie, Scared out of his mind, rallied up all the bats swatting as they swarmed around him. Circling, ready to kill. He knew it was stupid and he regretted doing it from the second the idea popped into his brain. But he knew it was the right thing to do. They were never gonna make it out alive. He knew that for sure. He didn't want to end up killing both of them. So he decided.. he would be the one to go.

The whole thing was a blur. Clanging metal and pain. Screams coming both from the bats and his own mouth. His hair soaked with sweat.
There was a moment when he thought he was actually going to kill them. He was gonna beat them all.
But then another swarm came.
And another.
They were endless, vast and hungry. They wanted him dead. He wouldn't give up. He fought best he could, but he was exhausted. This wasn't like in his tabletop game. He was terrified. He wasn't allowed to call timeout, to take a break. To change the channel before he got nightmares. The red sky thundered in his ears and reminded him, that wasn't possible. He had made his decision.
He made his bed.
Now he had to lie in it.

It never slowed, he couldn't remember when it ended, it just abruptly stopped.
When he regained his senses, he just remembered the pain. The pinching, scaring, nagging pain. It was everywhere. There was blood in his throat, the metallic taste reminding him of the paper cuts he would get from page turning in the 'player's handbook', his vision going black and tears came to his eyes as he heard the screaming voice of Henderson. He hoped he was hidden amongst the tendrils and debris. He prayed the boy wouldn't see him like this. He knew Dustin admired him. He didn't want to ruin that image.