My Number One (001/Henry Creel/Vecna x Reader)

Set in Stone

"What?" I asked. Was this some sort of ploy to distract me and have attacked from behind? I whirled around to check; nothing was there. I turned back towards Eleven.

"This is no life, Twelve," she whined helplessly, in defeat.

"Yes it is. No life is what I'm protecting you from. Mr Ballard and his monsters would have killed you by now if it wasn't for me keeping you here."

"At least I wouldn't be suffering." Then she coughed.

"You would have suffered a painful death."

She still spoke slowly, like it was a struggle for her to get the words out. "I'm sure you two are working quickly. It would've been quick, I know it."

"You should be grateful," I said. Was this a way of guilt tripping me so that I'd give her an inch and she'd take a mile? So that she'd take advantage and kill me and Henry to escape and save the world? "I'm not letting you go, if that's what you're hinting for."

Eleven shouted now, but her voice was croaky. "I'm not asking you to let me go! I'm saying, since you clearly aren't, just kill me! Give me some dignity!"

I looked down at her curled on the mattress. She was right—she deserved dignity. Whether this was for her safety or not, it was inhumane. She hadn't showered since she'd been here—the mattress was beginning to take on a yellow-ish stain from her sweat and oils. Her skin was shiny. Her hair looked almost wet with grease. Now that I looked at her hands closely, through the gaps in the vines, I could see they were losing colour from the lack of circulation. Her voice sounded weak, even when she shouted. I had been placing in her meals while she'd been sleeping for a while, just popping in and out, so I hadn't spoken to her to hear how bad it had become, and I hadn't stayed long enough to notice the mess she was in.

"...I can't," I said quietly.

"Why not?!"

"I can't kill you, Eleven. As bad as this looks, it hurts less than letting you die. I still love you, even if you hate me."

"What about what hurts less for me?"

"I can't help but be selfish right now. I'm sorry."

Eleven was silent for a moment, before saying timidly, "...Just help me, then."

"I won't be guilt-tripped into letting my guard down. I haven't done all of this for nothing."

Eleven shook her head. "So, what's the plan, then? Keeping me here forever? Because I can't see any scenario where you'd feel safe enough to let me out. I'll end up dying anyway, from lack of movement, anything. And, if I don't, I'll find a way to kill myself, no matter how gruesome it may be."

"Once our plan is finished, once we've killed enough people, I'll find somewhere for you. An empty zoo. A prison—"

"I'm not an animal and I'm not a criminal!"

"Really? If I recall correctly, you did try to kill Henry, but you ended up sending him here, to the Upside Down, instead. You basically caused all of this! It has lead to your own karma!"

"Karma? He killed a whole room of children in the lab! Me trying to kill him would have been preventing further damage!"

"Either way, in the terms of the law, he was running away. He wasn't a threat anymore. So it wouldn't have counted as self defence anymore, and you would have got jail time!"

"So you're the one and only judge now?"

"Well, yeah, Henry and I are in charge. There aren't going to be any other judges left living."

"So why do you let Henry roam free? Doesn't he deserve even more jail time than me based on his kill count? That doesn't sound very just."

"I never said I was a fair judge."

There was a pause. Then, Eleven shook her head and laughed in absurdity. "So, what's it going to be, then? A zoo or a prison?"

"You can laugh, but tell me if you come up with anything better."

"Maybe just letting me out?"

"Eleven, you know that's not on the table. Why would I let you out just for you to kill me and my boyfriend?"

"I won't."

"I don't trust you," I said. "I have to go."

*

When I reached the kitchen, Henry entered from the garden, his clothes covered in blood. He walked towards me confidently, placed his strong, cold hands on my face, and kissed me. He smelled masculine, with a hint of blood, which I supposed was our victims'. As we continued to kiss, we moved towards the couch, and I flopped back on it, with Henry over me, pressing his stained shirt against mine, until we took them off. He entered me, and held onto my waist with the hands he used to kill others. I was all his, and he was all mine.

Once we'd finished, Henry started to discuss the progress of our plan. "We've probably killed about one fifth of the US now. It's all over the news. People have been building underground hideouts. The country, and soon to be the world, is in panic mode."

"I told you. We're not going to have time to kill the rest off before they come after us, or get their defences up."

"No, it's okay. We're on track, we're moving fast. They won't have time."

"One in five people, though, that's crazy." I stared into space for a moment, just thinking about it. We were the biggest serial killers in existence. I started to feel nervous; there was no going back now. One in five citizens of the US had lost their lives already. The world would never be the same. I hoped it would be worth it. I hoped I would enjoy the outcome more than what the planet used to be.

"I think we should start collecting babies for you to take care of," Henry suggested.

My heart lit up. This was the part of the plan I had been looking forward to most. I was ready to be a mother. A mother of hundreds of little babies. Raising them all in the perfect world.