The space between them was quiet, suppose it was a good thing. Dustin wasn't exactly happy that Nancy decided on splitting up in thr same units as usual. It was always Dustin and Steve, never Dustin and Nancy or Dustin and Jonathan. Better yet, how about Jonathan and Dustin teamed up with Nancy and Steve could just go on his own. Since he's so brave and shit.
No, Steve shouldn't go by himself.
"So what's with the shiner?" Steve broke the silence, his voice seemed to echo a little bit in the hallway. Dustin had hoped they could simply look around without the conversation. He didnt want to talk anymore.
"It's nothing." Dustin shrugged, pointing his flashlight down the hall to his left. Steve stops abruptly, pointing his own flashlight at Dustin. He turns only to flinch when the light shone into his eyes.
"Okay, so first you don't show up to the crawl and then when you do show up you look like shit and you say its nothing?" Steve scoffed, he really thought he was hot shit now. Dustin didn't know when it all changed, things were so different now. They were close, he would've gone as far as to say that Steve was one of his best friends but now things were different.
Dustin knew when it changed, he couldn't lie.
"What am I supposed to do? Just forget she exists? I have to take care of her and John." Dustin said sternly, he was getting impatient with everything.
"So that what this is about? Eddie?"
It was, that's when everything changed. Eddie died.
"Don't." Dustin warns him, he didn't want to talk about Eddie. Especially not with Steve, never with Steve.
Everything the guy said these days got on his nerves, Steve always said the wrong thing. Everything anyone ever said is the wrong thing. People hated Eddie, no one knew the truth. No one treated him like the hero he was. He got them all out, he gave his life to protect everyone. Eddie died for his girlfriend and their son, he died.
"She can take care if herself and John just fine, she has Wayne. She doesn't need your help!" Steve argued, he always argued. Dustin couldn't hear anything over the guilt that was loudly gnawing at the back of his head. He lost Eddie, he didn't get him out of there in time. He was too weak, Dustin left him there and now she was alone.
That kid, Eddie's kid. He was all alone.
"I promised him!" Dustin quickly turned, hissing at Steve. The guy looked lost, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Trying to find the right words, Dustin knee he wouldn't.
"I promised." Dustin tried to swallow the lump in his throat, wincing at the sensation. He couldn't do this now, not in front of Steve. Any second the crying will start and the self loathing will come to the surface again. He turned to the left, breaking away from Steve and this conversation.
"Where are you going?" Steve calls after him but Dustin kept walking.
"Henderson!"
He didn't look back, he walked away. Just like he did with Eddie's body.
AN: yes, I'm writing more, contuing from the last part
The storm had been frightening, the cold rain crashing against the stained glass windows. It is loud and exciting, the air is filled with anticipation for what comes next. The hatch was open and the rod was in place, waiting to catch the lightning. Adam stood by the contraption, staring up at the dark sky above. The cold rain on his face kept him in place, knowing he would miss the moment if he moved to the fire. He couldn't miss it, he couldn't turn his back to his companion's birth. The giving of life was about to begin, Victor had argued at first. All those months ago when Adam brought it up again, Victor argued that he might not be able to recreate the circumstances that brought Adam into this world.
"Step away, its dangerous!" Victor cries out to him as he took shelter further away from the giant batteries he had built for this moment. Adam didn't take his eyes off the wrapped up corpse, he wanted to see her. Adam wanted her to know that he was there, that she wasn't alone as she awoke. He would teach her, take care of her. They'll live as monsters together, somewhere quiet and warm. Before he could answer lightning struck the rod and the room lit up in a flash, Adam flinched and closed his eyes as the brightness hurt his eyes. He shielded his face with his arm as the rod was struck again. A few panes of glass that decorated the roof shattered, shards raining down from above.
"Get away from there!"
Adam took two steps back as Victor began spinning the valve that stood close to him, lowering the contraption. Was it finished? Was she alive? He couldn't see her moving or breathing, there was nothing. Just silence.
Nothing...
"You must give it time!" Victor hurries over to where Adam stood. He ran his hand down the body's bandaged hand, the slender fingers looked delicate. Handpicked if you will, Victor chose softness for her. Adam could see.
"How long? Why does she not open her eyes?" He turned to look at Victor, his creator, his father. Adam was grateful that Victor would do this for him, even if it was just this once. Even if this meant that they would never see one another again, Adam was grateful.
"Could take a few hours, perhaps a whole day? We'll see in the morning, get some rest." Victor said, it is funny however. He knew that Adam didn't need to sleep a lot, if at all. The creature was unstoppable, nothing could harm it or kill it.
"I will rest here, I cannot leave her here." Adam looks up at his companion's covered up face, he prayed that she would live.
AN: so it begins, Victor agreed to make Adam a companion.
A companion just like him.
He had been watching Victor like a hawk, that is the saying isn't it? Hawks watch things, they've got good sight. For hunting, they are hunters. Much like humans hunt. Adam stared at the stitched together corpse on the table, Victor said he was finishing up. That there was only a couple of stitches left, Adam found the process gruesome and rather cruel but this is how he was born. This is how Victor gave him life, Adam had been helping. Taking the bones and unused flesh down into the basement to be burnt. Adam felt peculiar, why burn them? He had observed in numerous books that humans prefer burial, it is a sign of respect and love. A ceremony to bid their farewells, there's coffins and fabrics. Something beautiful to house the body, the soul isn't there. Adam knew it wasn't there, it ascends.
"Do you like her?" Victor calls out to him, Adam had been sitting in the corner. Hugging his knees like a child, Victor has grown older. Greyer and thinner while Adam remained unchanged, he couldn't die.
It was his curse.
"I'm certain that I will, she is to be my companion. Of course I shall like her." Adam muttered, he didn't want to see the woman's face. It was enough to know that Victor had listened to his pleas for someone to share his existence with. A companion like him, another monster.
"Nonsense, you ought to have more opinions on beauty. It is human, we all have thoughts." Victor laughs as he stabs the needle through the woman's cheek, sowing the rest of her face together. Adam didn't care, he simply wanted someone to talk to. Her beauty shouldn't be his first priority.
"I will feel her true beauty through gaze." Adam looked up to find Victor wrapping the corpse in bandages, she was almost ready and the storm was coming. It might be tonight, she might live this night. Adam felt his heart beating wildly in his chest, it is an odd thought. It was his heart now though it hadn't been before.
"Let us hope, come help." Victor snapped his fingers, as if calling for a dog. Adam disliked that, he wasn't an animal.
AN: we haven't seen dad!eddie and John for a while
Eddie focused on the road, Jeffrey Osborne on the radio. It's that damn song, the one about wings and love and shit like that. Eddie managed to get one of his cassettes out, popping it in. Baby John in his little seat beside him, babbling away and staring at the ceiling. Eddie smiled as Iron Maiden started oozing out of the player much to John's sudden displeasure. His son starts whimpering.
"What? Oh so you don't like Iron Maiden now? You've changed man." Eddie scoffed, pushing the eject button. The Jeffrey Osborne song came back on and John immediately calmed down. That kid has a weird taste in music, he seems to love everything. Except maybe Elvis, he wasn't a big Elvis fan.
"Your mom likes this one too." Eddie reaches over to John, playing with his little fingers.
There is much to be said about silence and destruction though there might not be any point in doing so. Adam felt much anguished peace here as he lounged on the vintage couch he found in storage. It is amazing what people leave behind. Objects contain a lot memories and depending on its wear, a lot of love or too little. Adam had just taken up residence in one of the many abandoned houses of Detroit. Enamoured with the city's rich history, he's been here before. During the initial economic boom and then the subsequent fall of it. Adam watched as the neighbourhoods slowly rotted, left behind unloved.
"Needs a bit more light don't you think?" Adam turns to look at the skull which he had placed on the shelf behind him, it would give her a spectacular view of the entire room. Sure, macabre decor wasn't out of the question for Adam but she was more than that. The skull contained memories, a love long since gone and yet somehow still lingered in her jawbone. Adam had transported her all the way from Europe, labelled her as a archaeological find in order to smuggle her into America. So she could see the new world with him.
"You're right, too much light might harm my creation process." Adam nodded, as if he had sensed her thoughts within the hollow chamber of her skull. He swore he could feel her there, some parts of her. The ones that loved him still.
"Isn't it beautiful darling?"
The skull sat on the shelf, bone grey and old. The empty sockets forever staring, Adam only smiled.
"I still can't believe you've never seen this movie." Gareth shook his head, there was this distinct sound of disappointment in his voice. Ted snorts and playfully shoves him with her shoulder as she buried herself in the blanket. The two of them jumped on the chance to have another movie night at the radio station, they were still in the middle of looking at apartments off campus.
"Shut up, I just got around to it." Ted leans into him as that familiar Superman intro began playing, the iconic 'S' logo appears on the screen. Gareth always liked this film, Superman wasn't exactly his favourite comic book hero but he was one of them. Used to be obsessed with Superman at one point. The two snuggle up, enjoying the movie and the way the crisp landscape of Krypton lights up the room around them.
"So why do they need to evacuate the planet again? What was it Krypton?" Ted asked but Gareth could tell that she was way too focused on the movie to even hear what he said. Gareth didn't mind, it felt good to know that she was interested in what he likes. Of course he was going to share one of his favourite movies with his girlfriend. Are you crazy? He'd be crazy if he didn't share.
"I think it was something about using too much resources and that the planet was really old, I read some comics way back. They seem to change it around a lot." Gareth shovelled a handful of popcorn into his mouth, eyes glued to the screen as Jor-El placed little Kal-El into his little pod. It couldn't have been easy, sending a literal baby to some strange planet. He was lucky to be found by nice people though.
"I still don't get the whole thing with the glasses."
"What?" Gareth turned to look at Ted.
She starts laughing and shaking her head.
"How do they not know Clark is Superman? All he has to do is take the glasses off!" She snorts.
Gareth shook his head and laughs with her, it does seem very stupid but there's definitely a good idea behind it.
"Set the candle down over here bud." Gareth smiled at his son who held the outdoor candle in his glove covered hands. It wasn't something he wanted to do with his son in tow but Ryan insisted on helping out with his mystery quest. Ryan stared at the headstone, gently placing the candle on the snowy ground. Pushing it in gently so it wouldn't fall over.
"Who is it?" The boy looked over at his father, curious. He had very little understanding of death and where one might go after it other than heaven. Gareth was content with that belief, knowing Ryan wasn't all to bothered by it like others were. He was still just a child, this wasn't a part of his life that Ryan was ready to know about but once he was a bit older Gareth might tell him a thing or two.
"That is my best friend." Gareth smiled, kneeling down and lighting the outdoor candle. It'll burn for a couple of hours, through the night if he was lucky. It's new years eve, Ted and Tyler were back at Steve's who was throwing a party for everyone. Gareth knew his friends were going to stop by with some more candles on the way to the party, Gareth figured he'd get this done whole it was still bright out. He had told Ryan a lot of stories about Eddie, all the fun ones. Like how he manages to shoot milk out of his nose that one time or when he tried to find his car keys only to find them in his pocket two hours later. You know?
The good stuff.
"Is he cold?"
The question took Gareth by surprise, he wasn't sure as to how Ryan came to this conclusion other than the snow and all the cold around them.
"No, he's never cold. He's always wearing his good jacket." Gareth took his son's hand as he stood back up. Ready to welcome in the new year.
"Should we give him a hat? His ears might get cold!" Ryan chirped, trying his best to understand. Gareth shook his head and squeezed his son's hand.
"That's a nice idea Cricket, maybe we'll do that." Gareth felt the urge to pick Ryan up wash over him and he quickly gave in, scooping his six year old son up like he weighed nothing.
They should get Eddie a nice hat to wear, even if it messed up his hair.
