Chapter Text
Eddie feels himself sinking, the warm red water around him. The sounds of muffled screaming and urgency in the distance. Some of the voices come through a bit clear. Others come through and make no sense whatsoever. “We're losing him!” Followed by muffled screaming and back to. “You're going to be okay.” Each time he hears them he feels himself floating towards the surface. Have you ever seen the commercials where people mess up the easiest of tasks? That's basically how everything feels right now. Eddie didn't listen to the one rule Steve set. “Don't be the hero.” it still echoes around in his brain. Even now.
Eddie's eyes snap open abruptly and he lets out a pained scream, feeling his body drag against the ground, blood leaving a trail behind him. “OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK?!” he screams, Steve still dragging him, his blood smearing along the way. “Oh good you're awake now, you were just kinda mumbling for a minute there about not being a hero.” Robin says trying to bring comfort to the taxing situation they're in. Jonathan rushes over, grabbing Eddie's legs to place him on the table. Letting out pained grunts as Steve begins restraining his hands down to the table to keep him still. “Listen man, I've been here before. Well not exactly this particular situation but you're going to try and fight this and I am going to give you the best care we can right now okay?” Eddie just nods, head falling back against the table with a thump, his face scrunching with agony. He just wanted all of this to be a bad dream, a nightmare he can wake up to and run into Wayne's room for help.
Once Nancy and Robin start working on the bites Eddie immediately tries to break free of the restraints he's in. Back arching off of the table he's on as he lets out pained cries. Steve just holds him down while Nancy and Robin work on him. “Oh my God this is awful!” Dustin yells, Steve keeping Eddie pinned to the table in his trailer not hearing Dustin speak as he tries to help the other. “Would you just hold still Munson for Christ's sake we're trying to help you!” Eddie feels like his whole body is on fire, the blood pooling underneath him, the flesh around his sides hanging on loosely. He can't stop letting out pained groans, Nancy working tirelessly to get him cleaned up. “Can we please take him to get rabies shots after this! He literally was eaten alive by bats and I don't know if you know how dangerous rabies is.” Robin asks in the middle of trying to clean the bites. Eddie lifts his head trying to look at the wounds but Steve blocks his view. “I promise you don't want to see that.” Steve exclaimed, Eddie just laying back down so he can stare up at the ceiling in his trailer. “Are we free ……did we win?” He asks, closing and opening his eyes slowly.
Steve glances back to see Nancy removing demobats teeth from Eddie's wounds. “Yeah man…we got him…thanks for buying us some time…”Eddie nods, blood spilling out onto the carpet underneath the table. “I feel really tired guys.” Eddie says, Steve looking a little nervous. “Guys seriously get that bleeding under control.” Dustin watches from the corner in horror, Steve glancing up to see him for a brief moment. “GET HIM OUT OF HERE JONATHAN!” Steve yells, Robin dropping the antiseptic alcohol bottle on Eddie's wounds, making him scream out like he was being tortured. Steve shoots a glare behind him, Robin just mouthing the words ‘oops’ to Steve.
Johnathan grabs Dustin who protests in leaving. Hitting him in the arm and trying to hold onto the doorframe. “Why can't I be in there?! He's my friend! You guys didn't even like him!” Jonathan hugs Dustin who is uncontrollably sobbing. “It's alright Dustin, Steve's got this.” Dustin keeps protesting but Jonathan is able to pull him outside into the cold night air, shutting the door behind them.
Steve has all of his weight sitting on Eddie's chest, keeping his arms pinned so they can stitch him up. His legs move and shake constantly showing how uncomfortable he is. “I want to live...” Eddie says through his gritting teeth. Steve staring at the other with eyes of desperation and sadness. Nancy taps Steve's shoulder who glances over, she shakes her head and Steve looks down to see the blood filling up the bandages. “JONATHAN COME BACK!” Jonathan comes rushing inside, locking the door behind him so the kids can't see Eddie. “I need you to hold him down.” Steve switches places with Jonathan, hopping down from the table and removing his jacket so he can move more freely, he immediately douses his hands and arms in alcohol before grabbing a towel. “Eddie, Eddie listen we can't get the bleeding to stop I gotta apply pressure another way. Nance I need you and Robin to hold his legs this is gonna hurt.” Steve takes a deep breath in, Eddie shaking his head with little energy, talking hoarsely. “No…no…no don't…” Eddie tries to protest, Steve giving a small nod to Jonathan to hold him still, both Nancy and Robin grabbing a leg.
He immediately presses the towel to Eddie's side, he screams in protest trying to pull away from them, unable to move with everyone holding him down. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!” His hands begin to get soaked with blood as he applies the pressure. He holds the towel there as hard as he can, Eddie letting out grunts of pain. “How long will this take?” Jonathan asks, Steve shaking his head. “Until the bleeding stops. Five or ten minutes? Give or take.” Steve answers.
Eddie blinks a few times, looking around the room in slow motion. Is this what it feels like to die? Why is everything getting cold? Maybe He was just tired, he needed to close his eyes. He stops moving, head lazily falling to the side, Steve immediately clocking on what's happening. “Eds?” Steve yells, no response. “Jonathan, wake him up now. Tilt his head back to check for pulse on his artery. ” Jonathan shakes him, no response. He tilts the others head back, placing a hand on Eddie's neck feeling for a pulse. “i got nothing.” Jonathan says, Steve's eyes widen. “Switch! I was a life guard. I can do CPR.” Jonathan hops down, placing his hands where Steve's were. Steve hops up on the table legs straddling Eddie so he can perform CPR. “Whatever happens, do not let pressure up. He's going to squirt blood and bleed while I do this. Keep that pressure as much as you can. We don't want him to bleed out.” Steve says, immediately putting his hands on Eddie's chest. “If he's going to bleed out should we really be doing CPR?” Nancy says, Steve just taking in a shaky breath. “If we wait too long he'll be brain dead.”
Steve puts all his weight into CPR pushing hard into Eddie's sternum. Steve counts out loud, pushing into his chest. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.” Faint cracks and snapping bones making everyone wince and turn their head, Steve keeping the pace. “Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty one.” Steve says to the tune of staying alive by the bee gees as he goes, keeping a steady rhythm. The crunching and bouncing made Robin nauseous making her leave to go throw up.
Robin opens the trailer door, Dustin catching a glimpse of Steve performing CPR. “What's going on?! Is Eddie okay?!” Dustin asks, scared for his friend's life. Robin slams the door shut, running over to the nearest bush to throw up into. “ROBIN IS EDDIE OKAY?” Dustin yells again, Robin just continuing to throw up. “Does he fucking look alright Dustin?!” She snaps in-between Gags. Dustin sitting on the ground in a full meltdown, Mike trying to help him calm down.
“Is he going to be okay?” Nancy asks, watching Steve put all of his energy into the chest compression. Jonathan feels the towel soaking with blood each time Steve presses into Eddie's chest, the blood finally dripping through the towel. “I NEED ANOTHER TOWEL!” Jonathan yells, Nancy running to grab one. “Come on, Eds. Come on….” Steve says while he continues the compressions. He pulls his hands away checking for a pulse. Looking at his watch and counting silently while Jonathan places a towel on top of the already soaked one. Steve immediately begins doing compressions again, starting over his count. “Come on Eds don't do this to me…” Steve felt his chest getting tight, a lump in his throat as he kept doing the compressions. Nancy and Jonathan holding the towel tight to his side. “thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.” He keeps cycling through the numbers, his voice dripping with desperation as he counts.
Steve's hands were sticky with Eddie's blood, the chest compressions starting to make him tired. He was the only one certified to do this though, nobody else here knew how to do compressions so there was no switching with anyone. “Steve, is he okay?” Jonathan asks, Steve just counting silently while working. Why did he have to sacrifice himself like this? Why did Eddie have to do this?! Why would he put Dustin through something so traumatic? Steve was beginning to feel anger, a deep anger in his chest. If Eddie dies here he'll never forgive him for doing this to them. But part of him is begging, praying that he'll be okay. Steve wants to hear Eddie's stupid quips and remarks. He wants to hear those God awful jokes and learn more about him. He judged him most of high school and throughout this entire adventure. But here's Eddie, dying for a town that hated him….no he's dying for the friends he loved. “Steve?” Jonathan snaps him back into reality. “Ye-yeah?” He asks because he wasn't paying attention. “How long can you do this for?...” Steve shuts his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Hopefully not long…in extreme cases an hour…” Steve keeps up the compressions Nancy and Jonathan exchanging looks. “Come back to me Eddie…come on..” Steve says practically breathless.
Eddie doesn't feel anything at all, he's standing by himself in a dark red room, the sounds of drips echoing around him. Eddie walks around, the floor just a large ankle deep puddle of blood. He has no idea where he is, he has no idea what's happening to him. A door on the other side of this room slowly emerging from the shadows. Eddie walks towards it, reaching his hand out to touch the handle. “Come on Eds…” he hears cutting through the drips, stopping him from touching the black door. “Steve?...” He asks back quietly. His voice came through again. “Don't do this to me eds…” Eddie doesn't touch the handle, instead looking around for Steve's voice. “Where are you?” Eddie called out again, walking back to the center of the room. “Come back to me Eddie…” he hears again, his body immediately feeling agony. Eddie collapses into the puddle underneath him, holding onto his chest as it begins to snap. All of the pain he was feeling happening all over again.
After a solid five minutes of compressions Eddie's eyes slowly open, he's gasping out a pained breath, coughing and wheezing. Steve breathes a huge sigh of relief, as he lets his tired arms lay next to his sides. “Oh my God…oh my God you sacred the fuck out of me Eddie.” Steve says while trying to catch his breath, his arms tingling from doing compressions for so long. “How are you feeling?” Steve asks, Eddie just blinking slowly. “I honestly think it's just allergies Harrington…” Eddie says with a small laugh that makes him cough, Steve feeling grateful he can hear these stupid jokes again.