Come Back (Sequel to Hell & Back)

Chapter One

"Harrington, what the hell are you doing?" Eddie asked walking into his oldest daughters room. Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to calm the little girl down. Eddie had heard her crying and came as soon as he pulled his jeans from yesterday on. "Heard her crying." Steve said still half asleep. "Go back to bed man, I got this." Eddie said chuckling as he watched his friend pet the blanket instead of the little girl.

Begrudgingly Steve got up and made his way back to his own room across from Eddie and Chrissy's. Eddie made his way over to his daughter and knelt down beside her bed. She was still whimpering in her sleep. He shook her arm to wake her while softly telling her that it was okay. After a few minutes the little girl calmed down and returned to a peaceful sleep. Eddie waited a few moments running his fingers lightly through the little girls dark curls before heading back to bed.

Most days he still couldn't believe that this was his life. He had a wife and two daughters. An actual house where he wasn't ashamed to have people over. He had a real job that didn't involve  illegal activities. He worked in an office with Steve. Since the time they spent in the Upside Down, the two boys rarely separated for long periods of time. Steve moved in with him when they still lived in the trailer and continued to live with him and his family.

Walking down the hallway Eddie seen a tall male figure standing in the hallway. The blonde curls and buff build gave away who it was. "B....Billy." Eddie stuttered stopping in his tracks. He hadn't seen the other boy in almost five years. Billy turned around and locked eyes with him before speaking. "He's coming." Billy said, his voice straining heavily. Billy let out a loud scream of pain before falling to his knees. Eddie ran over to him but as soon as he knelt down and reached the boy vanished. "Billy? Billy!" He shouted over and over as if the boy would reappear.

Eddie stayed there muttering the name over and over until he finally heard a familiar voice "Thought you would get away that easy?" The voice that had haunted his days and nights for two years came ringing in his ears. "We are connected. You and I are one." The voice continued. Eddie let his head fall into his hands and let out a low scream. The visions of his nightmare came back.

"Get up babe. Come on, you told the girls you'd take them to school." He heard Chrissys voice say. Why was she here? He opened his eyes to see her smiling down at him. She looked older but still breathtaking. He smiled up at her and than noticed that she was clearly pregnant. "What? What's going on?" He asked alarmed. "Another bad dream?" She said turning to see who had come in the room.

He looked over to see two little girls standing there. One had dark curls around her face with brown eyes, she had to be at least seven while the other looked to be around five. The younger girl had light brown hair but it was straight her eyes though were like looking into a mirror. He seen both himself and Chrissy in the little girls. It was all a nightmare than...Vecna was a nightmare, this was his life. His family.

"Come on you two, let's give your father a minute to get dressed." Chrissy said ushering the girls out the door. "Chrissy, I love you." He said and watched as she turned and smiled at him one last time before leaving the room. Eddie jumped out of bed and riffled through the clothes picking whatever was on top to throw on. He wanted to see his... his kids again.

He looked in the mirror quickly. He had clearly aged and his hair was pulled back into a low ponytail while it was shoulder length now. His bangs had grown into his hair so they no longer fell into his eyes. He was still thin and his style seemed not to have changed much, he thought looking at the Ozzy shirt he wore.

He walked out of the room and into the hallway. This house was big and he actually owned a house, a nice house. He started walking down the stairs, looking at all the pictures on the wall. Family pictures, him holding a little baby with Chrissy beside him, them together at their weeding, holiday photos, parties with all their friends. He smiled to himself as he finished walking and entered the kitchen calling out to Chrissy.

When he walked into the kitchen he let out a scream. The girls were sitting at the counter with their limbs broken and faces down in bowels of cereal but he knew what they looked like, the others Vecna had killed. Chrissy stood pined to the wall as Vecna stood in front of her laughing as he hoisted her into the air and Eddie watched as her bones snapped and she died begging him for help.

"You can't escape me." Vecna said laughing as he let her fall to the floor. Eddie ran over to her with tears in his eyes. He held her as the seen changed and they were inside the Creel house. "Kill me." Eddie said in a broken voice. Vecna laughed as he repeated it over and over. "Just kill me you bastard." Vecna walked over to him and knelt down meeting his eyes "Now where's the fun in that." He said and laughed again

"Get the fuck out of my head." Eddie said for the millionth time. The sound of Vecna's laugh rang through his mind. "Eddie?" He heard Chrissy's voice say. He pulled away as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't. Don't touch me." He said in a shaky voice "I need.....I need my...my guitar." He got up and walked into the living room. He picked up the guitar sitting beside the couch and started strumming.

He looked around his house and seen the similarities between the house in his nightmares and the house he lived in. He strummed the guitar and hummed along feeling his mind clear slightly. He couldn't get the thought of Stevie and Annie's contorted bodies out of his mind.

"Couldn't stand not being a freak any longer?" Steve's voice rang through his thoughts. "Cant let you have all the attention, Harrington." Eddie said lighting a cigarette. "I seen Billy. He told me Vecna was coming." "We seen him die." Steve said running a hand through his hair. "No we didn't." Eddie said leaning back and looking up to the ceiling "We just trusted El. Max and I didn't see it." Steve looked at him and nodded "I think it's time for El to answer some questions than." Steve said to which Eddie only nodded "Long overdue."