Eddie Lives

Chapter Five: The End is Near

They needed to act quickly and use their advantage to destroy Vecna and everything he controlled. Eleven had a strong grip on Vecna, but she couldn't finish him alone. Dustin, Steve, and Robin came armed and ready for battle. Steve swiftly tossed Eddie a dagger, "You ready, sweetheart?"

Eddie smirked excitedly, "Ready as I'll ever be."

They charged at Vecna with great force. Eddie led the attack, leaping forward and plunging the dagger into Vecna's left eye. Vecna howled in agony. Dustin, wielding a machete, sliced Vecna's left claw clean off, causing him to topple over in pain. Eleven screamed, tightening her grip, and Vecna's own scream echoed through the attic and into the darkness that was the Upside Down.

Eddie felt the strength of his friends' presence invigorate him. They were here. The tide was turning, and together, they could face whatever darkness lay ahead. They needed to act quickly and use this advantage to destroy Vecna and everything that he controlled.

"Keep him down!" Eddie shouted. Eleven tightened her grip on Vecna as she struggled to contain his power. She screamed, her voice resonating with raw energy, and Vecna echoed her scream, caught in the throes of pain.

Just then, Steve and Robin lit their prepared Molotov cocktails, exchanging a quick glance before clinking the two glass bottles together, they flung the fiery projectiles toward Vecna, who lit up like a Christmas tree, engulfed in flames.

As the explosion of light and heat illuminated the attic, Eddie felt a surge of hope. They could win this battle, and with it, they could reclaim Hawkins from the darkness that had suffocated it for too long.

As the fire engulfed Vecna, his screams pierced the air, a deafening mix of fury and agony. Eddie watched as the flames danced across his twisted form and blackened the vines that had snaked through the attic. The darkness that had clung to the room seemed to recoil, retreating, as if Vecna's hold over it was slipping.

But it wasn't over yet.

With one final, guttural roar, everyone flew backwards. The ground trembled beneath them. Eddie hit the floor hard, the wind knocked from his lungs, but he scrambled back up, faster than he normally would. A painful reminder that he was still immortal.

Vecna's monstrous form crumbled into ash before them. Eddie staggered back, watching in disbelief. This evil creature who caused all of this chaos and death, reduced to nothing but ash in mere seconds. The vines that had overtaken the attic withered and fell away, lifeless. They ran to look out the hole separating the attic from the rest of the Upside Down and the same thing was happening outside.

The gang exchanged glances at one another in disbelief. Then Dustin said under his breath, "We did it. We did it, we killed Vecna!"

Nancy and Lucas ran up the stairs to the attic which startled everyone. "We did it!" Nancy yelled as she ran and leapt into Steve's arms. The gang celebrated and hugged one another and helped Eleven to her feet. She could barely stand.

Eddie stood back from the group of his friends and took it all in with a grin and a glimmer in his eyes. His friends were safe now. His family.

Then, he could barely breathe. Was the reality of survival settling into his bones? He fell to his knees. The fight was over, but something darker loomed on the horizon. Dustin yelled to Eddie and the gang ran over to his side only to feel the shaking of the floor beneath them.

"What's going on!?" Robin yelled while trying to steady her balance.

"It's the Upside Down" Eleven said calmly. "It's crumbling because Vecna is gone. We need to get out here before we all crumble with it."

Eddie yelped, the pain he was feeling throughout his body was unimaginable. He pulled up his shirt to reveal the same wounds that met his fate before. His stomach dropped. Eddie then felt the ground tremble violently beneath him, shaking him from his thoughts. A low rumble echoed in the air, and dust fell like a gentle rain from the cracked ceiling. It was the sound of the Upside Down beginning to collapse, and the realization hit him hard: they had to get out, and they had to do it fast.

"I'm not gonna make it. You guys, go, get out of here quick!" He said between breaths.

"The hell we are!" Dustin and Steve said almost in unison. They picked Eddie up while he screeched and squirmed with pain. Robin and Lucas helped Eleven up while Nancy led the way, jumping over fallen debris and guiding them toward the exit of the old Creel house. Robin let out a startled gasp as a huge chunk of the ceiling crashed mere feet behind them, the ground vibrating with every collapse.. They pushed their way through the house, dodging falling pieces of wood and vines that writhed like living snakes.

"The whole place is coming down!" Lucas shouted, helping lift Eleven as she stumbled.

"Keep moving!" Steve urged, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Don't look back!"

Eddie felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through him, even as his body screamed in protest. Every step felt heavier, and the memories of his last encounter with Vecna flooded back, but he pushed them away. This time was different; this time, they had a chance.

The structure around them began to collapse further. Each step felt like a battle, the energy of the Upside Down crumbling beneath them matched only by the dread in Eddie's heart.

As they hurried toward the exit of the house, the walls around them cracked and split open, revealing more of the dark void that loomed just beyond. The shadows danced in the corners of the room as if they were alive, desperate to drag them back into the darkness.

With a final surge of effort, they burst through the front door and into what should have been the light, narrowly escaping as the house crumbled into chaos behind them. The Creel house was gone, and soon so would be the Upside Down. They had to move, and quickly.

Eddie could feel himself growing weaker and weaker. He was no longer immortal, Vecna had fallen and so had his curse of immortality on him. This feeling felt all too familiar. He couldn't go through saying goodbye to Dustin again, let alone the rest of his friends.

The gang was panicking, yelling at one another the quickest way to get out but Eddie knew that he wasn't going to make it out. He closed his eyes and let the tears roll down his cheeks. Their voices began to fade out and he let his body go limp.

"Eddie!" He heard muffled, for the last time.