✓ | 3. soldier, soldier, spy [STEVE HARRINGTON]

seventeen.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
REUNIONS

[ THE BATTLE OF STARCOURT ]

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Okay, I've had to rearrange the canon scenes a little bit. They have removed the monster from Eleven's ankle, but Hopper and Joyce haven't arrived yet. Sorry for the confusion, it was just the easiest and kinda only way for me to be able to work is plot point. Remember, by now, Eleven has lost her powers. Thanks :)

After re-bandaging Eleven's wounded leg, Steve watches the continued flurry of hugs, which admitted are definitely needed, with a numb stare. There's an air of mourning, and everyone is quiet, hugging as if for the social gesture rather than in actual relief. With one of them gone, there is no relief. Dustin is hugging Will, face set sadly. Robin's sat down on the floor, elbows on her knees, stunned. She's looking at him every now and then, as if to figure it out. Nancy and Jonathan are stood together, not speaking.

As Mike nurses Eleven on the ground, the whole group assemble again around them, forcing themselves through grim determination to carry on, despite the loss, and Steve trudges over to join them, but he knows that whatever they might say, it's all meaningless to him now. There's only white noise in his head now, like static, and static makes him think of Thomas.

Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. All he does is think of Thomas.

When he'd been unconscious in the Russian base, he'd only been able to dream of Thomas in such vivid detail, it'd been like he was there. And he'd convinced himself, it's because he could save you. It's a coping mechanism, he had thought.

But here he is, safe (mostly), and he still dreams of Thomas. There are no feelings to accompany the thoughts. He is numbed by it, and views his memories of Thomas as if down a long, dark, empty tunnel.

"The MindFlayer, it built this monster in Hawkins to stop El, to kill her, and pave a way into our world," Mike is explaining when Steve manages to zone back in.

"And it almost did," Nancy adds. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

"It's big. Thirty feet, at least," Jonathan says, looking around at the group, and Steve supposes this should scare him, and somewhere deep down he reacts, but now, he hears the information, understands it, and swallows it like a pill. Tasteless, without feeling. Nothing can kick him in the gut anymore.

"Okay, so, just to be clear," he says blankly, holding out a hand as if to say, Let's level here. "This big, fleshy spider thing that took Tommy and hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic weapon? But instead of, like, screws and metal, the MindFlayer made its weapon with melted people?"