Through A Glass Darkly | Eddie Munson x Reader

Chapter 22

The overhead lighting of the hospital's waiting room hurt your working right eye. The ER doctor said your left cornea looked burned, yet it didn't respond like a burn. He'd thought it odd you retained your eyelashes.

Naturally, you hadn't explained you'd been hit by a dark wizard's curse.

The doctor had also thought your heart sounded odd. Of course it did, you wanted to say. It had been still for too long. In that time, the fourth gate opened and the earth split. The fissure started under you and snaked through the Creel house, burning Jason Carver alive.

Erica had pulled your lax body away before the fissure burned you, too.

You'd fallen into life with a gasp, eyes opening for the first time since the long silence. You flailed to drag yourself off the bloody thorns. They hadn't been there. You latched onto Erica's arms. Her energy swirled in a confusing vortex of green and gold, red and black. She'd said something to you in a panic, yet you couldn't parse the meaning.

The attic behind her had been lit in blue and orange - the colors of fire.

You hadn't been able to see Lucas or Max, though you could feel them. Something was wrong. You turned your head in their direction. Lucas held a limp Max in his lap and wept. Max's arm hung at all the wrong angles.

You saw the side of your nose and realized your vision had been halved. The Veil of Undeath was gone. You'd exposed yourself and protected Max from Vecna.

If that were the case, why wasn't she conscious?

"We need a hospital!" cried Lucas.

Hospital. Yes. Injured Max. You had a car.

You'd flopped to your side. The fissure's heat blasted your face. The mob returned your screams tenfold. Their faces expressionless, mouths open and eyes seared. The ground trembled before you soared into the air- Erica pulled you away by the shoulder and arm.

Your voice sounded scoured when you said, "Keys."

"You can't drive," she said.

"I'll be okay." You met her eyes. "We'll be okay."

She'd looked as if preparing for an argument.

You put a hand on her forearm.

"I can do it."

There was no alternative. Out of the four of you, three were conscious and only one knew how to drive. Furthermore, if the four gates were open, the fissures had affected hundreds. Ambulances had already been dispatched. Your car was the best option.

She'd helped you lurch to your feet. You swayed for a second, your body not knowing what to do. It had been lifeless for too long.

You couldn't recall much of the drive to the hospital. Lucas sat in the back with Max. Erica gripped the dashboard and gave directions. You covered your cursed eye to help you focus on dodging fleeing wildlife and hysterical drivers. Then you were parking under the porte cochere for the emergency room. Staff rushed out, stabilized Max on a board, and retreated with her into the hospital.

The nurses conducting triage in the waiting room had insisted you and Lucas be examined.

Your tending doctor wanted to admit you to run tests on your heart and call in an eye specialist, but you couldn't be confined to a hospital bed when the rest of the party - Eddie - was still out there. They might need help. So, you refused further treatment, saying you'd make an appointment with your regular doctor because you felt fine.

You did not feel fine.

The stressed staff hadn't argued. A nurse taped a pressure patch over your eye and gave you one with a strap for later. She examined the lump on your head and the bruise on your jaw. She gave you a cold pack, recommending rest and painkillers. You pressed the cold pack to your head, but it hardly dulled the bombardment happening inside your skull.