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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Love Will Find You

Gates Of Hell

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: swearing, violence, graphic horror (?), mentions of death, clutch your pearls for this one huns

A/N: Here it is!!! The final chapter for GOH Part Three! It has taken me 18 whole months to complete part three, so not long at all aha. In all seriousness, I thank you for your patience and support. My job has been sucking the life out of me so in the rare moments I can find myself sitting and writing, whether its good or most likely bad, it's so incredible to know there are people sharing this little corner of tumblr with me x

As for a Part Four, that's entirely up to you! It would leave things on a cliffhanger if I were to end it here but considering I started this fic back in July 2023, maybe you're a little over the story? Feel free to let me know or send anything in my asks, I will now be preparing the final season for my ST reader insert fic :)

Without further ado, here's a messy, heartbreaking, not proofread chapter to... enjoy? We'll see.

Love Will Find You

“RUN!”

A demodog slams into the wall beside him as soon as the words leave Steve’s mouth, retrieving his shotgun from his back with his newly freed arms.

Eddie is slowly but surely regaining his strength, his arm still hooked around Nancy’s shoulders for support. They both heed Steve’s warning, stumbling through the open door and not looking back, following Billy towards the fountain.

Steve backs through the doorway, sending off a blast from his shotgun when another demo tries to pounce. It flew back into another creature, and Steve took the opportunity to swing the door shut.

He eyes a potted plant against the wall, sparking an idea. Hastily throwing the shotgun over his shoulder, he quickly positions himself beside it, throwing his body into it hard enough to send it toppling over. It wasn’t much, but the weight would keep the monsters at bay for just a minute.

A deep sigh leaves his body as he turns back to his friends. They all looked confused at the empty space around them. Where did they all go?

Billy frowns, eyeing the door they had snuck in through. It was covered head to toe in the vines. “Wha-”

“Steve!”

The sound recoils through him, aimed at his chest, heart swelling so much it aches in his chest as he stumbles back.

One word. One word, and he was afraid to look behind him in case it wasn't real. One word and he was ready to cry, laugh, scream about the fact that all of this wasn't for nothing, that his false hope wasn't false after all.

His friends’ eyes are wide with surprise, and that’s how he knows he hasn’t imagined it.

He slowly turns around, feeling weak at the knees with a complete and wholesome rush of relief. He starts searching for your voice immediately, drawn to the balcony in one single tilt of his head. Like he could sense you were there all along.

Everything suddenly felt right. He was trapped in a mall filled to the brim with carnivorous monsters, but all of that paled into a second thought when he finally locked eyes on you.

You. Standing there at the railing; smile bright and eyes wide. Alive.

You were here. Only a staircase away. You were-

You weren’t alone.

He can feel his shoulders tense, mouth parted in horror, wanting to scream and yell. No sound came out. He can just see your face fall as you notice the shadow enveloping you in darkness.

Something big, tall, deadly. Something he’d seen before. Something that had seen you before.

Long claws, sharp teeth.

Green eyes.

Ignoring everything else, Steve’s legs move much faster than his brain. He practically throws himself at the stairs, eyes dead set on you, afraid to look away.

He could feel some kind of vibration below his feet, like a tremor, or a hum of life.

The sound of shattered glass rings in his ears as the ceiling suddenly caves in, watching his friends dodge the shards like their lives depended on it.

A momentary lapse of judgement, and he stopped. Why did he stop?

An intense force threw him off his feet, alongside a blast of fire from the wall behind him. It was so sudden, he hadn’t had time to brace himself, shotgun flying from his grip as he crashed against a railing.

When his hearing faded back to him, he started to acknowledge the fear around him. Shouts and cries, snarls and screeches. But one stood out much more.

“Y/N!”

Someone had yelled out for you, and it wasn’t him. He looks up in fear at the balcony where you stood.

You weren’t there anymore.

He attempted to climb the staircase further, but fate had other plans.

The snarl of a demodog had found him before its form did, his hands flying to his weapon. A weapon that was no longer there, he realises, remembering it had clattered to the ground.

There wasn’t really much else he could do.

Its dagger-donned paws planted firmly on his chest and sent him flying back down the staircase, towards the rubble from a fiery blast. It uncurls its mouth almost instantly, breathing rancid fumes directly into his face while he struggles against its weight.

He yells out as he musters enough force to kick it off, panting as he scrambles to his feet. Every inch of his body burned, aching as the day finally caught up to him. He watched the dog start to circle him, fully aware he wasn’t armed with anything that could help.

At this point, he was praying for a miracle.

When the demodog snarled again, it was suddenly shot through the head, a small yet deadly body collapsing to the floor.

Steve almost smiled, searching for Nancy and her trusted pistol. A miracle, indeed. Or so he thought until he found himself frowning.

A man in a helmet stood there instead, rifle raised as he yelled instructions to the soldiers behind him. Where did they…

A gaping hole sat where the blast had originated. Behind it, trucks and men with guns, a flurry of shouts for direction. If it weren’t for the uniform, Steve might have been more afraid. The military were finally doing their damn job.

The soldier that had saved his life hadn’t even noticed him, head tracking the movement on the balcony, signalling to others where to go next. If anything, Steve was a little more relieved the cavalry were here. Maybe they could do what he couldn’t; find you.

Another burst of screeches and roars. It wouldn’t startle him, but it was much louder than before. More than before.

Demogorgons start entering the room, some landing in the fountain, circling them. A man yells orders to shoot. Steve knows it won’t work. If anything, it’ll just bring more of them here.

“Wait-” He tries warning them, but they don’t listen. Why would they?

He dodges an attack just to watch a claw slice a soldier’s head clean off.

Then it begins.

Bullets fly around him, demogorgons leaping over his head from the balconies. Steve stumbles through the warzone, trying to find his friends.

He can just see Nancy and Eddie, both attempting to escape but the soldiers keep caging them in. But not like they were protecting. No, the guns were pointed in the wrong direction.

Steve can’t even see where Billy is, but he knows he has to get the others to safety first.

Trying to get to them as fast as he can, he’s suddenly winded by the blow of an elbow into his stomach, knocking him off his feet. He looks up to see a gun is pointed at him.

They weren’t here to save them. They’re here to exterminate.

Before the trigger was pulled, the man suddenly flew through the air with a scream. He ended up in a tangle of flesh and blood. Steve turned away when the monsters started closing in on their trapped prey.

More gunfire, bullets that even shot through the humans. He turns his head, shaking.

“Kid? You okay?”

Hopper is kneeling beside him, arm thrown around him as he attempts to lift the boy to his feet.

“What…”

Another body flies and crumples against the wall, a monster this time.

“Wrap it up, we gotta go!” Hopper yells out into the smoke.

A figure emerges, wiping her nose with her sleeve as she nods determinedly.

“El?”

She meets his eyes and offers a timid smile. No one would suspect that shy little girl was a powerful being by just looking at her.

“What the hell is going on?!” Nancy calls out to them as she and Eddie come running to their side.

“Why are they trying to kill us?” Eddie squeaks out when Hopper manages to shoot a soldier before they shoot him instead.

“They’ve got the orders to kill everything on sight.” Hopper explains.. El’s eyes are closed in silence despite the horrific chaos from the fountain ahead. “They figured out the mall is some kind of nesting ground. This is their last ditch effort to eradicate any signs of life in the quarantine.”

“By killing people?” Steve raises a brow, wiping the remains of blood from his hands. The floor here was truly disgusting.

“We’ve seen too much.” Nancy realises, and Hopper’s mouth tightens. “They don’t want any of this getting out, do they?”

“As far as I know, everyone outside of Hawkins thinks we’re dealing with an earthquake." He sighs, glaring back at the trucks currently sending out more soldiers. “The military clearly don’t know what they’re dealing with themselves. They’re gonna lose… and we’re gonna use it as a distraction.”

“A distraction for what?” Steve frowns.

“To get the hell out of here.” Hopper looks at him in disbelief when he starts shaking his head, grabbing onto Hopper’s arm like a lifeline.

“Y/n’s still in here! We can’t-”

If any plan were to be made, none of them heard it.

“GET ON THE GROUND!”

A swarm of military soldiers flooded in, ambushing them in their moment of distraction. Hopper tries to raise his gun, but he’s hit square in the face and dragged back. Steve tries to intervene, but ends up with the same searing pain to his jaw.

“El, run!” Hopper manages to call out. The young girl knows she’s outnumbered, and takes off into the shadows.

They all yell out as they’re being pulled away towards the trucks like prisoners. Demogorgons try to follow, but the armed truck gunned them down before they could get any closer.

“Let go of me!” Hopper puts up a hell of a fight, elbow catching a nose, his head whipping against another. But there were too many for it to be a fair fight. “You don’t understand! My daughters are in there- let me go!”

“Get them in the truck.” One of them ordered. He was older than the others, face uncovered as he observes the massacre inside the mall. “Once the ground floor is clear, I want those explosives set off.”

“No!” Steve cries out. “You can’t! My friends are still in there! You’ll kill them!”

The man raises his hand to the soldiers ready to carry out their orders, and Steve thinks he’s listened.

“On second thought.” He says, looking back at Steve’s distraught figure. “We’re gonna blow this thing sky high while we have the chance.”

“But sir-”

“Right now.”

“You asshole!”

Steve manages to break free, whipping his head back against the soldier restraining him and he charges at the man without so much as a plan. Hurting him wouldn’t do anything but distract them a little while longer.

“Shoot him!” The man roars out.

Steve braced for the bullets, but the air shifted before anyone could even pull a trigger.

The sky darkened behind them, casting them in a black shadow. A few soldiers gaped up at the clouds, catching everyone’s attention.

Steve feels the breath knocked from his lungs.

The Mind Flayer.

The giant spider lets out an earsplitting screech. The men on the trucks fire without hesitancy, the bullets just ripping through dust.

One leg swipes at the row of trucks, colliding them with each other and everyone throws themselves out of the way. Flames burst from the engines.

“FIRE!” The man in charge ordered, but it was useless. What good were bullets against something without a body?

Hopper is back on his feet and ushering Nancy and Eddie away from the trucks, around the building. He motions for Steve to follow, and the boy wishes he could have.

The delivery bay fills with herds of demodogs, taking care of the armed soldiers quicker than expected. It cuts Steve off from the rest, forcing him to move back towards the mall. He’d find another way.

Bodies drop around him, pieces of the blasted wall falling in his path. The Mind Flayer wasn’t here to attack, just to summon. That much was clear when the windows of the main entrance shattered with the arrival of more and more creatures.

A demogorgon grabs Steve’s jacket, flinging him towards the fountain. He barely has a chance to run before a demodog stalks towards him and pounces.

Steve struggles against it, the teeth barely missing his face as he tries to kick it away. It was stronger than he expected, trying everything to bite him.

“Watch out!”

He just manages to duck his head when shotgun bullets bite into the dog, a mighty blow that collapses the hound immediately. Steve breathes in shakily, blinking up at a hand extended towards him.

“This yours by any chance?” Jonathan offers a smile, Steve’s lost shotgun now in his grip as his other hand helps the boy to his feet.

“Holy shit.”

Jonathan is ready to shrug away the reunion when the surprise of a hug caught him.

“I thought…” Steve mutters into his shoulder, and Jonathan gently hugs him back.

“I’m okay.” He offers, pulling away. “I, uh, wasn’t expecting that.”

“Uh, yeah, you know, just… happy you’re alive.” Steve clears his throat. For just a second, they share a smile before Steve sees something stalking them. “Behind you!”

Steve grabs the shotgun hastily and shoots at the sight of a spider-like creature, shivering as it shrivelled up.

“Do you know where Y/n is?” Steve asks as he grabs Jonathan by the arm.

“No.” He shakes his head, making his heart drop. “Something took her. I- I tried following but more of those demodogs kept showing up. Kinda had to hide in a store until it was clear. Billy found me- where is everyone else?”

“Wait, where’s Billy?” Steve frowned.

“Right, here, Harrington.” Billy approaches, a new gun in his hands, clearly swiped from a deceased soldier. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

“Like I care.” He retorts, but he’s relieved. “Everyone’s outside. I just need to find Y/n.”

“Uh, Steve?” Billy is looking in horror at the giant shadow roaming the sky outside.

“Yeah, that’s the Mind Flayer, I’ll fill you in later-”

“No, not that.” He forces the boy to turn around.

Steve’s stomach drops.

Emerging from the fiery fumes of the destroyed trucks outside, was a pair of glowing green eyes.

It barely looked at the soldiers shooting it, claws wrapping around heads and bursting them with just a squeeze. It was moving through them so fast, Steve barely had time to understand what was happening until it was too late.

It was running towards him.

“SET OFF THE FIRST EXPLOSIVE NOW!”

The three boys tried to move as fast as they could, but the bomb was already set.

Steve remembers the image of the monster leaping at him, the cry that came from Billy’s mouth, Jonathan trying to find cover.

Then all he felt was a burning pain in his back before everything went dark.

Bruises were collecting across your body as you slammed into doorframes, the speed of the monster that had your leg in its grip faster than you could comprehend.

It felt endless until you were suddenly rolled out of its claws by the sudden appearance of a demogorgon attacking the thing that was dragging you.

You scramble away as fast as you can, tumbling into another room - where the hell were you? - and trying to outrun the monster before it won the fight.

A set of doors were on the far wall, open to an empty hallway. Considering how silent it suddenly was, you figured that was your best option.

You were only halfway across the room when the doors slammed shut with force, eliciting a pounding in your chest.

“It’s so good to see you again, Y/n.”

The Voice was no longer in your head.

A shadowy figure emerges from the darkness, moving closer and closer as you stumble back. It pauses, hovering over the putrid piles of flesh. You weren’t sure why it stopped until the pieces from broken bodies started to lift.

The gory display slowly starts to form in the shape of a man, knitting together legs, a torse, arms… and then a face.

He was older than you, his 30’s maybe, with slicked back blonde hair and a murderous look in his eye. His entire body was scarred and scorched, but that wasn’t as horrifying as the poisonous grin on his lips.

The lips that now part as he tilts his head, ready to speak, to prove this was all real.

“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

You frown in disbelief and terror. What did he…

“Stay away from my sister!”

Your blood runs cold. “No…”

El emerges from the shadows, a trail of red dripping from her nose as she glares up at the monster.

“El, no!” You cry as she flings her hand out towards him. She was expecting the Voice to be flung far away from you, but his feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.

“It’s good to see you again, eleven.”

Her eyes widen, shock flushing her features as she frowns at her hand in confusion.

And then the Voice makes his play. His own hand extends, and El’s feet leave the ground, gasping in pain as her arms are pinned down to her sides.

“No! Stop!” You cry, heart hammering against your ribcage.

You don’t even search for a weapon. You just charge at him, an incoherent yell bursting from your mouth. You barely make it five steps before his other hand flicks you into the wall.

“It’s time for you to join me.” His haunting voice tells El.

A rift then begins to peel the wall apart behind him, a sharp red glow blaring onto the young girl’s face.

“El…” You try to stand, but the collision has taken its toll on you.

Seventy four days ago, you watched El be pulled into a gate back at the lab. You didn’t know it then, but none of that was real. Just a trick, designed by the real monster of the upside down. Like you were a pawn in his game.

And now you could only lay on the floor, bruised and bloody, as you watched your sister being taken once again, knowing this time was certainly real. and he had won.

“Y/n!” You hear her scream out for you, a tear slipping down your cheek..

No, you think to yourself, planting your hands firmly on the ground, not this time.

You tackle the man to the ground with as much force as you could muster. It caught him by surprise, and his concentration was broken, dropping El out of his mind grip.

With an irritated growl, he wraps his unnatural claws around your throat, raising you from the ground.

You attempt to tear his hand away as you struggle for air, but he smirks at you.

“Such a nuisance.”

“Let her go.” El stares at him with a deadly glare, arm outstretched towards him.

“Don’t fight it, Eleven.” He scolds, “Join me. Make this easy for all of us.”

Something flashed behind her eyes then. A memory, perhaps. For a moment, you were afraid it was indecision. You wanted to tell her it was okay, to save herself and not risk anything to help you. But the claws around your throat were tighter now. You could barely even breathe.

El raises her chin, eyes narrow.

“No.”

The man’s eyes darken. “Very well.”

You’re thrown against the wall and El yells at him, throwing him back through the gate with the jut of her hand. Once he’s down, she runs over to you, staring down with wide eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, I'm okay.” You breathe, holding her hand in yours as the other pushes you from the ground. If you were thrown one more time, you’d need a full body cast.

El’s smile comforts you for only a moment before you notice something slithering behind her, a long shadow on the ground.

“Behind you!-” You try to pull her towards you, but the vine wraps around her body and drags her away.

She attempts to fight it, but it’s pinning her arms down. All she can do is flail, eyes wide with fear. She looks to you on instinct. You couldn’t help her.

Two vines suddenly burst from the wall behind you, wrapping around your arms and pulling you back against the cement. You cry out in pain when your head strikes the wall a little too hard.

The gate emits an eerie glow, forming into the shadow of a returning evil.

“We could have done this the easy way.” He sighs, standing over the young girl writhing in her constraints.

His head turns to look behind him and you redirect your eyes to the vine that emerged from the gate, looking much more terrifying than the ones holding you back.

“I never need you, Eleven.” He kneels beside her as she screams in anger. “I just need your power.”

With a swift flick of his wrist, he grabs the ugly vine by the head and slams it over El’s face.

“EL!” You cry out, legs sliding against the floor as you try everything to escape.

Your eyes catch the glint of a shining rod on the ground not too far from your feet. It looked old, one end warped into a sharp point, like a spire. The vines were too strong, and your foot couldn’t catch onto it no matter how hard you tried.

The Voice stands back, raising his deformed arm while his eyes flutter shut with concentration. That’s when you realise he’s draining her, using the vine to take what you can only assume to be her powers. And it was killing her.

Her muffled screams suddenly go silent, legs and arms limp at her side.

“Mom?” You look up at your mother’s hysterical sobs, unsure why she was crying.

The machine in the corner suddenly drops into a screeching score. You turn your head to the bed where your little sister lay. Her previous smile was now still. Legs and arms limp at her side.

Your father took his wife’s body into his, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of the doctors rushing to his daughter’s aid.

And you just stood there, not truly understanding anything, only ever feeling a heaviness to your heart as you waited for Sara to take another breath.

She never did.

A bolt of rage strikes your spine with such intensity that you rip yourself from the vines, immediately grabbing the spire.

The Voice barely notices you’re approaching him before it’s too late.

You strike the weapon through his extended arm, blood splattering the wall.

A guttural roar rips from his mouth as he pulls the pipe from his arm and flings it across the room. His eyes were wild with anger, but you had already planted yourself between him and your sister, ready for a fight.

“You won’t win this.” He warns, looking down at his hand as he attempts to move it. But it stayed still, and you smirked.

“I might not have powers, but I will fucking kill you.”

He starts stalking closer, chest heaving with rage.

And then he just… stops.

His eyes flicker to something behind you, and he visibly stills. You don’t dare turn around, unsure if it’s just a trick to distract you.

One foot after another, and he does the unexpected. He retreats.

You only truly breathe when the gate finally sews shut, leaving you and El alone.

Or so you thought.

Horrific sounds of heavy breathing lurk somewhere in the darkness behind you. You slowly turn, hand still clasping El’s, silently begging her to wake up.

A pair of piercing green eyes lock onto you.

“Shit.” You breathe, finding what little strength you had left to rise into a crouch, eyes darting to the metal pipe that lay between you and the creature. You didn’t really have another option. Not when El was still unconscious and unable to fight. You needed to protect her.

You’re the first to run, ignoring the ache in your lower back. It does the same, snarling as it extends its claws.

You slide across the ground and, at the last possible second, manage to strike its body as it swipes at your face.

One claw knicks your cheek, but the pipe pierces through its left side, making it screech with a deafening roar. When it stumbles back, you make a run for El, hoping to swoop her into your arms and head to the door, in shock that you were somehow still alive.

You didn’t make it.

It grabs onto your jacket and flings you back, away from the girl and the exit. Your body flies into a stack of boxes and shelves, making you cry out. The landing could have been much worse for you, a sharp metal rod protruding from the ground beside your leg.

Slow and calculated footsteps echo against the walls, creeping closer as a tear slips down your cheek. It stalks straight past El’s body, green eyes only ever looking at you.

The thing clicks its tongue, teeth baring with its snarl.

You weren’t sure you were escaping this time.

“Hey!”

Both your head and the monster’s turn to the sudden noise, your eyes widening when you saw who was standing at the door, a smirk on their lips.

“I’m over here, asshole.”

The creature seems to stall, head tilting in curiosity. You try to keep quiet, your aching skull prohibiting any kind of explanation to what you were seeing. Then again, even without a concussion, you wouldn’t have any answers.

Because the figure that was saving you was…

Yourself?

“You weren’t expecting that, huh?” ‘You’ grin, eyes flickering back to where you lay in the rubble.

When the monster looks back at you, your breath hitches, expecting it to pounce as it remembers its prey.

It never did. Instead, it was like it was looking past you. Like you weren’t even there…

“Come and get me!” ‘You’ suddenly yell, running back through the open door.

To your confusion, the thing follows, ripping the other door of his hinges in a swipe of fury and barreling after your shape down the hallway.

You slowly sit up, staring at the empty doorway in shock.

“Jesus Christ.” You breathe, hand flying to your chest as you try to calm your screaming heart.

“Not quite.”

Your head snaps to the voice somewhere in the corner of the room. A voice you could have sworn you’d heard before.

“Who’s there?”

Assuming your eyes were deceiving you, you watch in mesmerised doubt as the space in front of you starts to glitch into waves of light. It was like an image was being torn down, and behind it stood a young girl, her hands outstretched until she was revealed completely.

You didn’t recognise her. She was younger than you, dark black hair thrown over her shoulder. She wipes at her nose, blood marking her sleeve.

“Who are you?” You ask, and she takes a deep breath.

“My name is Kali.” She nods as she rolls up her sleeve, holding her arm out to show her wrist. “Or as Brenner liked to call me…”

“Number Eight.”

A pained gasp catches in Steve’s throat with the dust coating his lips. He coughs it away, blinking slowly. He wished he didn’t know where he was, just to live in blissful ignorance a little longer.

His trembling hands find the floor beneath him, exercising more determination than his legs could carry. His fingers slip against something wet when he tries to push himself off the ground, a thickness to it that he couldn't find himself to worry about. He was already covered head to toe in the stuff; what difference did it make?

One careful push, and he's able to prop himself up, ears still ringing from the close blast. Steve tries to look around despite his blurry gaze. Nothing seemed to move. That didn't make him any less worried.

He blinks away his spotted vision enough to make out bodies laying around him. Monsters, he realised, relieved.

Another blink, and he sees a hand. A human one. It lay on the ground, unmoving.

His eyes travel further, along their arm to their neck, to their face. He doesn't expect the hurt in his chest.

Billy.

Steve uses his arms to pull himself along the ground, lungs aching with each struggle. His own fingers fumble for a pulse, pressing into the boy's wrist. Nothing.

Steve tears himself away, heart beating faster than his body could take, his chest feeling tighter. In fact, his chest felt strange altogether. Hot, yet too cold.

He rests a hand over his ribcage, wincing at the feather-light pressure. A wave of dread rips through his dazed adrenaline. He was hit.

It started to ache just as soon as he realised it existed, burning a hole into his skin. Something must have sliced through him during the blast, but in his haze of confusion he can't seem to locate a culprit. Perhaps it was debris. Yeah, that sounded right. Debris.

Something shifts in front of him, punching his body into alert. He raises his head, squinting against the cloud of dust.

He watched something start to stand, growing bigger and bigger until Steve knew for sure it wasn't friendly. Long, lanky arms built up the terrifying shadow, slowly turning to where he was laying, a pair of glowing green eyes piercing through the mist.

Looking straight at him.

"Shit." Steve winces, one hand on his ribs while the other helped his legs drive his body backwards, trying to get away. It wouldn't work. It wasn't that easy.

The monster starts to walk, slow and steady, almost mocking him.

Closer and closer. The air was suffocating him with its presence, already seeing the ending before it had even begun. It wasn't as if he had to imagine it. He has watched this thing rip people apart limb from limb with nothing but a bloodthirsty look in its eye.

A loud screech pierces his ears as it rears its ugly head to him, its hands flexing their claws in anticipation. Steve was being hunted, and he had finally been caught.

When it was simply a few feet away from him, it started to speed up. One foot in front of the other until it was running at him, breathing heavy and low with a venomous grin on its face.

Steve's arm slips back and his useless escape becomes impossible. He was going to die.

It snarled as it stared down at him, raising one ugly claw. Spit dribbled onto Steve's clothes, and he can't seem to peel his eyes away from the terrifying green hue of the predator's.

He was going to die.

"STEVE!"

Someone screamed his name, startling the creature. It whips his head behind it, staring out into the fog. Steve tries to slip away, pulling his body back again. His sneakers squeak against the bloody slick, and the creature snaps his head back to its prey.

One moment, Steve was caught under its strength, a heavy hand pushing down on his chest until he yelled out in pain.

The next moment, Steve watched its head explode, blood splattering all over his face as the body slumped to the floor with a sickening splat.

"Steve!"

Someone was running to him, their footsteps echoing louder and louder. He awaits for them to emerge from the dust, squinting his eyes.

Tears hadn't graced his eyes for happier reasons than it did then.

"Y/n." He breathes, a sob caught in his throat.

You kneel beside him, discarding a gun to the ground. One of the military ones, Steve recognised. He didn’t feel the need to ask. Not when you were right here.

Your eyes glitter with tears. Happiness, much like his. Nothing like the tears that would stream down as he stared up the ceiling, the bed cold against his back, an emptiness that curled around guilt every second you weren’t with him.

He had only dreamt nightmares of how he would find you. To see you like this, no black veins, no disfigured mouth… it didn’t feel terrifying enough for it to be the reality he had been haunted by.

"Is it really you?" He asks, tentative fingers brushing against the skin of your cheek. You felt real.

"It's me. I'm here." You sob, smiling down at him, hands curling around his.

That beautiful smile...

It almost made Steve forget everything that was happening.

He watches it fade when your eyes trail down to where his hand pressed against his ribs. Your gaze quickly darts back up to him in panic and before he can protest, you're gently removing his hand to inspect it.

"It's nothing." He wheezes, laying his head back to force away the returning dots in his vision.

"...no..."

It was just a whisper, but he heard it as soon as it left your mouth.

"Just a scratch." He coughs, wincing when the effort proves painful.

"No." Your head and hands are shaking, staring down at his bloody skin with a look Steve has never seen before.

Sucking in a shaky breath, he forces himself to look down and focus...

"Shit."

He had assumed his wound was a result of the explosion, maybe some debris had cut through his torso. But it wasn't debris.

One of those demodogs had managed to sink their teeth into him amidst the chaos of fire and sacrifice, one he didn't even notice from the sheer amount of adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He was bitten. There wasn't much hope for that.

"It's okay." Steve immediately starts to soothe, despite the fact he was the one in danger. But he couldn't get through this if he knew you weren't going to be okay without him. "Y/n. It's okay."

"No. No, it's not." You cry, hands scrambling to pull his shirt higher to inspect it.

Little black lines started to snake their way out of the bite, spreading faster than yours had. Just his luck, he supposed. Normality seemed to taunt him.

"You can't let me turn." He says, and your eyes bear too much of your soul to him; drowning in sorrow and despair.

It was irony at its finest. That little motherfucker. Steve had refused to kill you before you turned when you had asked him to, and now he was asking the very same as if it would retire a different result.

Your face hardens, one of your hands slipping from his cheek as you reach behind you.

His heart races. A knife, presumably. That's what you would use. He hasn't seen another gun on you, but, really, he hasn't even seen you. Until now, you've been a voice through a harsh speaker, and a memory haunting his mind.

To his surprise, the knife he imagined turns into a radio and you ignore his persistent frown for explanation. Instead, you press the button and bring it to your mouth.

"I'm inside the mall at the first fountain." You say, eyes unwavering from the boy's bitten wound. "You have a deal if you can be here in the next two minutes."

And with that, you discard it on the ground and finally meet his eyes, offering a weak smile.

"You're gonna be okay." You whisper, and strangely enough... he believes you.

"What..."

He starts to ask, but the gash in his side is pretty deep, and he is sure he is losing more blood than expected.

Steve's eyes start to drift close just as a rush of footsteps echo in the massacre of the mall, the image of your teary face the last thing he sees before his mind is plunged into darkness, hoping he never awakes to a thirst for murder.

Two days later…

The first thing Steve feels is something warm against his hand.

His eyes gently open, staring at that empty ceiling in his home again. But something was different this time.

Tilting his head, he sees someone is holding his hand, aching his heart with relief.

It wasn’t a touch he’d ever forget.

You’re sitting in an armchair beside his bed, hand resting gently over his as your head is slumped against the armrest.

It takes a moment for him to recognise that you’re here. No vines were coiling around the walls of his room, no growls or glowing eyes lurking in the shadows. You existed. Outside of the Upside Down, here in his house, asleep with such care like you didn’t have anything to be afraid of.

When he attempts to move his thumb, you take in a deep breath, eyes fluttering open.

A frown finds your face first, looking down at his hand. He watches in adoration as your features soften, eyes trailing up to his as a smile graces your lips.

“Hey, stranger.” You manage to whisper, voice catching.

Steve can’t find the words to speak. He doesn’t think he has to.

He tugs your hand closer, making you fall towards him, catching you in a hug that could have been bone-crushing if he wasn’t aware you weren’t just his imagination.

You grip onto him, silently sobbing into his shoulder.

“I missed you.” You manage to say, pulling away. His hands immediately find your face, thumb brushing away the tears that fell. You laugh, a sweet melody he would replay in his mind for years to come.

“You’re okay.” He whispers, like he’s comforting himself.

“I’m okay.” You reassure, hands resting around his neck as you gently play with the locks at the back of his head. You search his face, studying him. Every crease, every mole, every feature. Like you were scared he wasn’t real either.

When you find his eyes, there’s a warmth that you bask in. Finally holding him like this, it wasn’t the emotional mess of a reunion you had imagined. Because you had forgotten what it felt like to feel safe. To feel at home.

It was perfect. This moment. Him.

“Never leave me again.” He says, lips trembling with the memory of your absence.

“Never again.” You catch those lips with your own in a promise of your words.

You end up curled into him on the bed, hands gently stroking his hair, his own holding you close.

The apocalypse outside was far from over. Even the rooms in this house were quiet with sorrow yet loud with fear. A final fight was approaching, plans were being drawn even now, but that reality wasn’t in this bed.

Steve presses a kiss to your forehead. He doesn’t remember much about the mall, or why his stomach slightly aches with the burn of a secret he doesn’t know. It would have to wait.

Right now, it was just you and him.

And he’d like to hold you for a little while, buried beneath blankets, shielded from the apocalypse for just one day.

Part Four: Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Day the Sky Bled ->

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