#outofrhythym

[withswiftieness]

'you know something, don’t you?'

the words echo with such volume in the small space that eddie winces, almost shrinking into himself. he's known something since the moment he'd stepped foot back into the cabin tonight, known something far longer than he'd wanted to, and while he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it from her forever, he'd wanted to keep it from her just a little longer. demona was the one thing left that eddie had, that hadn't been fully corrupted by the horrors that he'd subjected himself to, and without her as she was, what would then happen to him? she'd been his only anchor in the storm of his mind, his only guiding light in the darkness, and if she was also swallowed by that darkness, how was he supposed to continue to navigate it? it wouldn't change her, he knew that she would say, but that was not true. eddie knew from experience, that being what he is changes everything about you, down to your very dna. it takes everything good that there this and purges it from you in an attempt to create a vile creature of legend that can be used to wage war against those it was meant to love. it twists your insides to the point nothing is recognizable anymore, to the point one does not even recognize themself in the mirror. it kills you, over and over again, until nothing is left but the cold shell of darkness that can be twisted and manipulated.

'you know something, don’t you?'

the screeching of bats echoes in eddie's ears as his eyes slip closed.

'eddie, what are you doing?' 'buyin' more time.' 'eddie! eddie no!'

'you know something, don’t you?'

you cannot hide from me. i see . . . everything.

'you know something, don’t you?'

". . . she didn't get an invitation." eddie finally says, voice so low he's not sure if anyone can hear. he knows demona can, though, her slow blink of confusion confirming, and his gaze drops back to the tile.

'wait . . . what? what do you mean she didn't get an invitation? an invitation to what?'

"steve." eddie's focus lifts to the jock, fangs glimmering in the yellow of the bathroom lights. "she didn't get invited in. vampires have to be invited."

[withswiftieness]

sirens blare inside of the lab, flickers of red light accompanying each burst of sound, warning what is left of the umbrella crew working here that they need to evacuate. most of them made it out when the containment breach alarm had first sounded, but those unfortunate enough to be left behind, or even sealed into their sectors, lay dead on the floor in pools of their own blood. most of those working here were scientists, and had no weapons at their disposal when the creature had escaped, and even if they had, they had no knowledge of how to use them. the few soldiers umbrella had sent to secure the facility had abandoned them, leaving the doctors and field officers to fend for themselves.

one such unfortunate soul has managed to keep himself hidden as the creature, or creatures, ripped though his colleagues by hiding in the air ducts that travel between sectors, but he's gotten lost in the darkness, and has found himself inside of a circular room filled with cryo-chambers, containing both creatures from this realm, and those umbrella has created. sweat beads on his brow beneath shaggy blond hair as he tries his badge, but the central power to the hub had been cut, and only an error sound echoes in the room. in his panic, the sound is amplified, and he spins towards the chambers to see if it has woken the creatures, but it has not. he breathes a sigh of relief, pushing his glasses back up his nose, and tries again, though he is met with the same. with no power, he is trapped here, and after a moment he slumps forward against the door, cursing under his breath.

'those sons of bitches . . .' he shakes his head, and from the corner of his eye catches movement behind one of the chambers. he spins, pressing his back to the door as he squints into the darkness, but he sees nothing. he cannot shake the feeling of being watched, however, and gooseflesh prickles across his skin, heart beat quickening. it could be his imagination, he thinks, telling him there is a predator in the darkness, but he knows it is not. something is watching him, and in a panic, he sprints for the air duct, hoping to find another way out of this hell. he almost makes it, but something springs from the shadows just as he reaches the opening, and in flickers of red light, he sees shreds of a hellfire club logo and the glimmer of fangs. his scream is covered by the blaring of the alarm.

. . . and the distant sound of boots, approaching the cryo-chamber room.

the creature's head whips to towards the sound, eyes flickering in the lights, and then darts back into the darkness behind one of the chambers. the creature inside stirs slightly, but not enough to be of concern, and the thing settles itself into a crouch as it waits for the sound of boots to approach. there are several sets at first, but they break into separate teams, and only one continues towards where the thing lies in wait. this pair of boots is slower than most, almost cautious, as if the wearer is trying to be more careful than those who had come before it, though that will not save them. they enter the chamber and pause, and the creature shifts its weight slightly, head tilting as blood-stained curls fall into its face. a single umbrella soldier, surveying the damage done to the room, but something about this one is . . . different, almost familiar in a way. though why that is, the thing cannot determine, especially with the pang of hunger still in its belly. it shakes its head to clear it, claws curling into its palms, and it holds its breath as the soldier steps closer, flashlight flickering across one of the empty chambers.

the creature strikes now, leaping from behind a cryo-chamber with a bat-like screech. it moves with such speed the soldier would not be able to see it until it is too late, and its claws grasp onto the soldier's arms, shoving it back against the wall between two of the cryo-chambers. the mask they all wear conceals its identity, but not the soft grunt they make as their back collides with the wall, and the creature snarls, fangs that are dripping with fresh blood glistening in the overhead lighting.

[withswiftieness]

EDDIE MUNSON: A COMPLETE GUIDE

NAME: edward "eddie" munson

AGE: twenty (09/18/2006)

HEIGHT: 5'10"

BIRTHPLACE: hawkins, indiana

MOTHER: elizabeth munson (deceased)

FATHER: al munson (alive)

eddie was raised primarily by his mother, elizabeth munson, until the age of six, when she passed away due to an illness, after which time his uncle, wayne munson, assumed custody of him. eddie's father, alan munson, was in and out of the boy's life until alan was arrested for drug possession when eddie was twelve. he was sent to prison, and eddie turned to music as a way to cope with both of his parents being gone. due to his interests being different from those of most in hawkins, he had few friends, most notably one of his trailer park neighbors by the name of savannah richards. they played together daily, and were almost always seen together. during one of eddie's father's visits, he insisted that they were dating, which they denied. however, they each had an unspoken crush on one another that was clear to everyone but the two of them.

when savannah was fifteen, her family moved to racoon city so that her father could join the police force there. eddie and savannah kept in contact, and her family would return to hawkins for a week each summer to vacation.

during this time, eddie began struggling in school due to issues at home. his uncle was struggling to pay the bills, and eddie picked up a job bussing tables at a bar in town. he also began selling weed to his classmates, unbeknownst to his uncle. eddie's schoolwork continued to suffer, and he ended up failing a grade and being forced to repeat it.

in may of 2026, eddie brought a senior by the name of chrissy cunningham back to his trailer to sell her ketamine to help with the nightmares she'd been having. while there, she was attacked and killed by something otherworldly, and in a panic, eddie fled. when wayne discovered chrissy's body the next morning, the town assumed eddie had killed her, and began calling his dungeons and dragons club, dubbed the hellfire club, demonic, and began a witch hunt for him. he was later found by steve harrington and his friends, and learned of the upside down and its horrors. looking to avenge chrissy and clear his name, eddie joined them on their quest to kill what they dubbed vecna, an undead creature of great power.

during the final battle, eddie sacrificed himself to save one of his friends, and was killed by bat-like creatures. the group was forced to leave his body in the upside down. eddie, however, was soon after resurrected from the venom in the creature's bites, becoming what most would refer to as a vampire. he stayed in the upside down for several weeks, trying to find his way back out, but he was discovered by a team of umbrella biohazard countermeasure response team soldiers, a subsidiary of umbrella, who owned the hawkins lab responsible for all of the strange happenings in the town. the ubcs captured him and placed him in a stasis tube inside of their new base in the upside down, planning to experiment on him to see if they could use his dna to create more like him, or a new species all together.