writing.

long twitter writing posts.

[withswiftieness]

demona relaxes back against eddie, and he relaxes on the wall, one hand in her hair and the other wrapped firmly around her waist. he knows all too well the myriad of emotions running through her at the moment, and while he would have liked nothing more than to let her pounce on him until the sun rose, he knows that now is not the time. now, they need to allow themselves a moment to rest, to settle what they all collectively feel, and when that is done, they can focus on the more pressing matter at hand. after that, well . . .

steve moves, finally, scrambling to cover his bites, and eddie watches him with dark eyes, listening to the pounding of his heart. he's going through more emotions that he'd thought, and likely of a different direction than he'd expected them to go, but he seems to be all right otherwise. he isn't teetering from blood loss, or pale or sick, he's just coming down from the high, and when he asks demona if she's all right herself, eddie readjusts her body, pulling her closer as she tips her head into his neck. he's not so high he allows her to sink her fangs in again, though, gently re-angling her head so she cannot have the chance should the thought cross her mind.

"are you all right?" he asks, still staring with an un-blinking curiosity. the look makes steve swallow as he tugs at the collar of his shirt, and his mouth opens, then closes again as he tries to think of how to answer. he is all right, but he isn't. he's just experienced something that he can't describe, and is watching demona and eddie go through something he feels he shouldn't be privy to, but there is a warmth beneath his skin that he can't ignore, and it's making it hard to think.

'i uh . . . i'm gonna go check on . . . nance.' and then he's gone, leaving the bathroom door partially open as he trots back towards the living room. eddie listens for a moment, then shifts his focus to demona's heartbeat, eyes finally closing as his head leans back against the wall.

"you did good, baby . . . you did good."

[withswiftieness]

reluctantly, demona takes steve's arm into her hands, and eddie's hand drops back to his lap, dark eyes watching her closely. she is still not a fan of the idea, but the longer she smells the blood, the closer she comes to giving in to her instincts, and that, he knows, can be disastrous if not stopped in time. she does not need much from steve, but she will want all that she can get, and she won't be able to stop herself until she's consumed every last drop of blood she can get. that is the nature of what they are, and what has led them to where they are now. she will have to be stopped . . . but first she has to start.

and then he spots it, the animal taking over, and he leans the tiniest bit closer, watching as fangs sprout from her mouth and sink into steve's skin. steve inhales a sharp breath, wincing, and out of either his own instinct or something else he grabs onto eddie's wrist, squeezing tightly. he's uncomfortable at first, almost panicked, but after a moment he settles, and his eyelids flutter; a side effect of the venom eddie now knows their fangs contain. it isn't steve that eddie is watching, though, it is demona. she laps at the blood like she's been hungry her whole life, like she can't get enough, and the veins beneath her eyes begin to darken as they spread, cascading down her cheek bones. she's enjoying it and the effect the blood is having on her body, so much so that she's allowing blood to drip from her mouth and run down her chin. eddie himself almost jumps at the scraps, but he stops himself, shifting somewhat uncomfortably on the floor. admittedly, he thought he'd feel differently about this, but something about it is almost . . . enjoyable. his own heartbeat has quickened, hunger stirring in his veins, but he's quick to tell himself it is nothing more than the fresh blood. anything else would be . . . not a conversation for now, at the very least.

several beats pass as demona laps hungrily at the blood, but when steve's grip begins to ease, eddie knows she has had enough. she is so focused, though, that he knows she doesn't realize it, and he pries himself from steve, grasping at the hair at the base of demona's skull to gently tug her head back.

"hey. that's enough." his voice is barely above a whisper, thick with something he won't admit, and he uses both hands to lean demona back against him, still holding the back of her head. "sit with it now, ride it out. you'll come down on your own . . ."

[withswiftieness]

in truth, eddie does not like the idea of sharing demona anymore than she likes the idea of drinking from steve, but he knows that they are faced with limited options, little time, and do not have the luxury of trying to find someone else she would be more comfortable with. their options are limited to the living inside of these walls, and given the choice of the three, steve is the best option. he won't be happy about it, at least not in a way he would admit, but eddie knows that steve knows he's the best option, and so does demona. none of them would even consider asking eleven, and nancy may have been their friend, but he doubted she would jump at the chance to be bitten into. at least, not by demona. steve is the best choice, regardless of how anyone feels about the situation. if demona does not feed from a human, she will die. eddie can drink from creatures of the upside down, because they are part of the same species and therefore are sufficient enough to satisfy his hunger, but demona is between a state of living and dead, and she needs something alive to feed from, or she is simply prolonging her state of in-between. and that, eddie knows from experience, is not something that needs to be done while vecna is looming over them.

and yet . . . steve's comment does not go unnoticed, drawing a quick side-glance from the vampire. it likely means nothing, but it is still something that will stick in his mind, and he presses his tongue to his fangs in an attempt to keep himself quiet, gesturing for steve to sit. he mumbles a 'yeah i doubt it' as he does, and eddie nods demona towards him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"don't make promises you can't keep." he says quietly, clearing his throat before steve can respond. "and sit still. the more you move, the harder it will be."

'uh. yeah. sure. how do i- how do we . . . do this?'

eyes rolling, eddie snatches steve's hand, turning it over to expose his wrist to demona, who his attention is trained on. his tone is softer, though, not hesitant . . . but not exactly the most thrilled either.

". . . don't think about it. feel your way through it. i'll be right here."

[withswiftieness]

demona is refusing, but not for the reason that most would have. most people, when faced with the idea of having to consume human blood, would have turned squeamish and rightfully so, but demona is refusing not because of that, but because of what it will do to both her and steve. it shouldn't be surprising, but he'd assumed she'd have been . . . almost excited, at the idea of becoming the thing she'd always dreamed of. for as long as eddie has known her, demona has been obsessed with vampires, to the point she'd dressed up as one for halloween almost every year, and had read dracula so many times she could recite it in her sleep. she loved vampires, which was one of the reasons she'd been so willing to accept eddie as he was now, and he thought she'd have jumped at the chance to become one now. though, her reasoning for refusing does make sense, and eddie turns back to steve, staring in silence for a long while. he knows what drinking from steve will do to demona, knows the feelings that it will incite in both of them, and under any other circumstance, he would not have wanted her to do it . . . but they have few choices and no time, and if she has to drink from someone else, he would rather it be steve. steve, at least, eddie knows is not someone that will shrink from the idea of helping someone in need, and if he harbors any of the feelings eddie himself does, then he is the only candidate for this.

besides . . . if demona can open her mind to the idea of eddie feeling something for steve while still being in love with her, then he can open his own to the idea of this. it is the least that he can offer her, after what she has offered him.

"yes, steve. you get a say. but i . . . am asking you to do this for her. for me. please." his gaze lingers briefly, then shifts to demona, who is still clearly set against the way. he can't say he blames her, but she has to do this if she wants to live. sighing, his voice lowers, hands reaching up to cup the blonde's face.

"demona . . . i know what it means. i do. but you mean more to me than that, and if this is the only way to save you, then fuck it." he pauses, thumbs brushing over the darkening veins beneath her eyes. they'd had almost this exact conversation not even an hour ago, but the circumstances of this one were a little more dire.

"it's okay, baby. it's okay."

[withswiftieness]

the guilt that had driven eddie to the ledge has returned ten fold, and the walls of the bathroom are closing in on him, crushing him with the reality he'd tried to run from. he knows by now that running from his problems does not solve them, knows that he cannot continue to hide from the truth, but that does not mean the desire to do so is not still there. he was supposed to protect demona, to keep her safe from harm's way and ensure that she remain uncorrupted, but he had failed that task, and not just once. he'd failed it time and time again since she'd returned to hawkins, and each failure was worse than the last. the first time he'd failed to protect her from kas; steve had done that. this time, he'd failed to protect her from himself; steve had done that too. eddie truly was the anchor tethered to her ankle, drowning her in the sea of darkness he'd been swallowed by years ago . . . but he cannot let her sink alone. he had gotten her into this mess, even if she'd volunteered for it at the start, and the least he could do was try to keep her head above water. if that was at all possible anymore.

still . . . that is easier said than done, and as she speaks, eddie shakes his head, inhaling a shuddering breath. he already knows what needs to be done, but saying it out loud only further cements the truth into his mind that he had done this to her. thankfully, steve does it for him, and tired eyes flicker to the jock, still lingering outside of the bathroom.

"yes . . . she does. she has time before it starts to make her sick like it did me, but the sooner she does it, the better."

'okay, so then . . . i'll leave you to it, then?'

"yeah. that's the problem." steve's brows furrow in confusion, and eddie leans against the wall, gently grasping demona's hand in his own. her pulse is weak and erratic, and her skin is colder than the floor, but at least the pulse is there at all.

"she can't drink from me. after she turns, yes." eddie pauses, turning back to demona. "but for this . . . she needs human blood."

[withswiftieness]

'but i didn't die.'

bile rises in eddie's throat, nose scrunching as he tries to push it back down. demona either doesn't want to believe it, or she truly does not understand just how bad eddie had been, but she will find out soon enough whether she believes it or not. it's not something that even he wants to admit, but it is something that happened. eddie had seen it, had been the one to hold her and beg anything that would listen to give her back, and he'd been there when the life had returned to her eyes. as awful as it was to admit, demona had died, and eddie had been the one to kill her. it was why he'd left, why he'd chosen to sharpen a piece of a tree into a stake, and it was something he would never forgive himself for. he was supposed to protect demona, to keep her far from harm's way and uncorrupted from the evil's of the world, and he'd failed that. he'd failed it, and worse, when it had been happening, he'd enjoyed it. he'd enjoyed every drop he'd taken from her, and if not for steve intervening when he did, there would have been no saving her.

demona lewis had died. and eddie munson had killed her. like everyone said he would.

reluctantly, eddie drops the blonde's hair in favor of combing back his own, dark circles beneath brown eyes even more noticeable in this lighting. he can only stare at her, though, not wanting to have to tell her how he'd done the unthinkable, and in an effort to make her understand, he turns to steve, pleading silently for help, once again. he can't be the one to tell her, he can't.

'. . .i-- i think you did, though. after you passed out, i don't really know what all happened, but i'm pretty sure you stopped breathing. at least for a few minutes.'

please . . . just give her back.

eddie's focus shifts back to demona, even more withdrawn than before. there is a long, sullen silence as she processes, but when she goes to speak again he stops her, feeling the sting of tears brim at his eyes. his voice is weak, though, small and shameful, and for the first time since they've met, he wishes demona would stop looking at him.

". . . i didn't mean to." he chokes out, looking to the floor and wiping at his eyes. "i'm--i'm sorry, i-- i didn't . . . i never wanted to hurt you."

[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]

this is happening much faster than eddie remembers, though admittedly he does not quite remember how much time had passed between his own death and transition. most of that is still a blur to him, up until the point demona's van collided with him in the middle of the road. and what he does remember, he often tries to forget. now, however, he wishes he'd at least been able to remember how long it had been from his death to the point of his rebirth, because at least then, he would know when to expect demona to react certain ways. the threshold should not have had this bad of an effect on her, but perhaps it has because of the circumstances of her transition versus his own. she'd been turned by eddie, and eddie had been turned by . . . something else entirely. that could easily account for the differences, but without an answer, he still does not know how to help her.

and then she is gone, much quicker than any normal person would be able in this state, and eddie can only stare as blonde hair disappears around the corner. guilt is beginning to bubble within him, as he stands there, fully realizing just what it is that he's done to his summer storm, and for a moment, he doesn't even want to follow her, as following her means that he must face the truth head on, in front of both demona and steve, and that is not something he wanted to do just yet.

'what the hell is happening?' steve's voice hits his ears, and eddie sighs, shaking his head before taking off after the blonde, albeit at a normal speed. he rounds the corner into the bathroom as she finishes heaving up the last of the blood, kneeling down beside her so that he can gently move her hair back and hold it at the back of her head, as to keep it out of the way should she get sick again. as expected, steve is right behind him, though he stays outside, staring at the two of them with concern and confusion on his face.

'eddie. dude. what--what the hell?' he gestures briefly at demona, combing his own hair from his face. 'is she like . . . pregnant, or? what's wrong with her?'

"no." eddie glares at the male before returning his attention to his fiancé, shifting slightly on the cool tile. he can't blame steve for the question, but he can't let go of the bitterness of the thought, either.

'then what the hell is happening, eddie?'

eddie sighs, gaze shifting from demona's crimson one and to the floor. his curls cover most of his face, but she knows him well enough to know that he is, once again, hiding something from her, but this time, he is more hiding in his own shame than anything else. he'd done this to her. not vecna, not the demogorgon fight. eddie had done this to her, and he would truly never be able to forgive himself for what he was about to have to say.

[withswiftieness]

as demona steps inside the threshold, eddie's eyes follow her briefly, then shift to steve, skimming him slowly. for injuries, he tells himself, though steve had not been near the fight earlier so he would logically have none. and he'd not been hurt when confronting the vampire earlier in the night, either, so there is no real excuse, but for once eddie isn't trying to find one. he's been through . . . quite a lot tonight, and with what is to come, the tiniest indulgence in something other than stress and panic will not kill him. steve is becoming antsy beneath his gaze, though, looking down at his shoes before back at the vampire, and swallowing a lump in his throat.

'are . . . you coming, or--'

"steve 'vampire expert' harrington, and you forget i have to be invited in now?" eddie's head tilts slightly, amusement finally flickering over his face as steve blinks in heavy confusion.

'i-- what?'

"you have to invite me in, steve. vampires can't cross thresholds without invitation. i figured, since you know so much about what i am now, you would--" eddie's attention snaps to demona, eyes narrowing to pinpricks. she was mid-transition, yes, but he thought she'd still be able to cross without invitation. he'd done it before, back at the cabin the night she'd found him in the woods, but apparently he'd been wrong, and the consequences have hit her. even with her back to the men, eddie can sense her discomfort, her hunger, and as she teeters, he jumps for her, only to collide with the threshold itself as if it is an invisible wall between himself and demona.

"invite me in. now."

'what--what's wrong?' steve turns towards demona, eyes widening slightly as she reaches for the wall to keep herself upright. 'oh shit. demona?'

"steve! now!" eddie snarls, and steve backsteps, turning back to the vampire. he's uneasy, but that is understandable, and after a brief pause, he steps back out of the way.

'come in.'

by the time steve finishes his words, eddie is at demona's side, arms encircling her as she topples into him. this had not happened to him, so he has no real idea how to help her unless he takes her back outside and has steve invite her, but that would take too much time, and by then whatever is happening to her will be finished.

"demona. hey. talk to me, babe. what can i do?"

[withswiftieness]

the drive across hawkins to steve harrington's is both much shorter and much longer than eddie has ever remembered it being. the town itself is not that large, usually traveled by car in a half hour tops if going from one side to the other, but after the night they'd had, eddie finds it to drag on much longer than he'd thought possible. he'd turned on the radio halfway through, opting to let wskq play rather than looking for a cassette tape to put in, but even the music does not ease his mind. though at this point, there is not much that would. vecna is coming to collect what he believes that he is owed, and after suffering two losses already, eddie does not imagine he will be as easily defeated.

and even if they do defeat him, what then? eddie has learned much about the hive mind and its creatures since becoming one, and one of the things he'd never stopped to consider until now, was what became of the rest of the hive when the one controlling it was no more? they'd already seen that hurting one demogorgon could hurt the remainders around them, and hurting the foot soldiers during a fight would weaken their general, but if the general was killed, then what? did the soldiers themselves resign themselves to their own will, freed from the curse, or did they simply drop where they stood and decay into dust? that was a question that no one seemed to have the answer for, and the closer the confrontation comes, the more it weighs on eddie's mind. yes, he had gotten himself into this mess by giving in to his darkest desire at the time, but things had changed since that night. he has demona back now, has a reason to live now, and if they kill vecna, will that reason to live no longer matter? will everything he'd done to get to this point be thrown to the wind without reason?

the van rolling to a stop pulls him from his thoughts, and he shakes his head to clear it, lashes drawing in tired blinks as the blur in his vision clears. the harrington home looms before them, with its heavily curtained windows and single porch light out front, and even from outside, eddie can hear nancy and steve inside, discussing what the next step is. nancy sounds exhausted, but steve sounds more awake than he's ever been, especially given eddie can see his pacing silhouette in the living room window. no doubt he thinks part of this is his fault, too, it's in his nature. it isn't steve that has brought this evil to their door, however, and eddie sighs, turning his attention to demona. she seems just as out of it as he had, though, and he hesitates for a moment before clearing his throat.

"hey, d?" this seems to snap her from her trance like state, and she slides from the van, trekking towards the harrington residence. eddie hesitates a moment longer, tongue pressing against his fangs, until a crackle comes from the van radio. its quiet at first, like it is trying to shut off, but then it grows in volume, echoing in the cab of the vehicle with a voice that makes the vampire's blood run cold.

i will have what was promised to me, one way or another. denying me will not save her. it will not save . . . anyone.

eddie scrambles out of the van, almost tripping over his own shoe laces in an attempt to get away. his breath comes in quick pants as dark eyes skim the surroundings, searching for demona, but she is no longer anywhere to be found. instead, the landscape has shifted from hawkins, to something else. vines crawl up the decayed walls of the harrington residence, curling through broken windows and shattered wood, and eddie backsteps over a vine on the ground, tumbling against the side of the van. his back collides with a thud, and red lightning flickers across the sky, illuminating a spider-like shadow above. the legs stretch over the whole town, its darkness engulfing it, and it turns its massive head towards the vampire. it has no face, no eyes and no mouth, but its voice still rings in his head with a painful volume, reverberating in his very bones.

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

thunder crackles, and suddenly hawkins returns to normal, red skies fading into a pale blue filled with flickering stars. eddie's head snaps in both directions as he spins, searching for the thing he'd seen in the sky, but other than a slow blinking streetlight, he sees nothing, and he lets out a breath of relief, rubbing his eyes. he needs sleep, he thinks, and that's all it is, but the lingering echo of the creature's warning still remains. part of him already knows he's not just overly tired, but he won't admit it to himself yet, and instead chooses to scurry up the front walk after demona, pausing only once to glance over his shoulder back at the forest. there is nothing but darkness, though, and he turns back to the front door, listening to steve's scurrying steps hurry to open it.

'you guys okay?' is the first thing asked when the door is flung open, and eddie nods with exhaustion, pushing tangled curls from his face.

"we will be as soon as you let us in."

'oh. oh yeah.' steve steps to the side to allow them in, turning to glance at nancy over his shoulder as she passes through towards the kitchen.

[withswiftieness]

"no, you're right. it definitely wouldn't. but if i had to guess, hops didn't tell him she was coming over, so he's gonna be pissed when he figures out she's gone. and i don't know why, but i have a feeling i'm gonna be the first person he calls since she dumped wheeler's dumb ass." eddie drops his shoes to the floorboard of the van, leaning back in the seat, but he keeps hold of demona's hand, idly rubbing the pad of his thumb on her skin as she drives. she's given him . . . quite a lot to think about, and she's chosen probably one of the worst times to do so. vecna is hunting them both now, and he will not stop until he gets what he wants. he's already been thwarted twice, and eddie knows that he will not hold back this time. he is coming for what he was promised, but he is also coming to settle a score that he and eleven began long ago. he is angry, and that is where the group's focus needs to be, not on eddie's badly-hidden feelings for steve harrington. of course, that doesn't stop eddie from thinking about it, but before he's had long to contemplate, the walkie-talkie begins crackling from the back of the van.

'--munson. lewis? hello?'

"steve." reluctantly, eddie releases demona's hand, half-crawling into the back to grab the walkie before dropping back down into his seat, one shoe propped on the dashboard. the thing is still crackling, searching for signal, so he extends the antenna, wincing at the whine of electricy.

'come in!'

"you don't have to shout, harrington. pretty sure half of hawkins can hear you."

'eddie! you guys okay?'

eddie's head turns to demona, eyes skimming over her features as a small smile tugs at his lips again.

"yeah, steve. we're good."

[withswiftieness]

eddie settles into the passenger seat of the van, pulling his knees to his chest in the seat as he runs bloody hands through his curls. his head is spinning still, though considerably less than it had been, but the hunger, at least, has been satisfied for the time being. it will return as it always has before, and likely with more a vengeance than usual considering the choice of food, but he can breathe at least, and that is the important thing.

or at least, he could, until demona clarified her earlier statement.

it shouldn't be a surprise to eddie that she'd picked up on what had been going between himself and steve harrington, considering she's always known his preferences, and considering she's always known him better than anyone else ever could, but it is a surprise to him that she is speaking so . . . casually, about the situation. eddie had imagined it would bother her to know such a thing, because it would have bothered him to see her hopelessly in love with someone else, but she seems oddly accepting of the situation, part of which he attributes to her own observation that the steve harrington they know now, is not the same one that had allowed tommy h to torment them on a day to day basis. the steve they know now is far from a high school bully, and eddie has seen up close just how drastically steve has changed since then. gone is the selfish jock that laughed at those he thought beneath them, replaced by one of the bravest, most selfless people that eddie has ever met. time and time again, steve has thrown himself in front of his friends to protect them, and even when it was eddie himself they were fighting, steve had been on the front lines, and had done what demona herself could not. steve had saved his life, whether he knew that or not, and that was not something eddie would ever be able to repay.

perhaps that is what cemented the feelings eddie has been trying to bury these past few months, or perhaps they had been there before. either way, there is no point in denying the obvious, at least not with demona. she deserves better than the truth to be hidden from her anymore. that much, eddie has learned.

"demona . . ." eddie's nose scrunches, right hand twisting rings around bloody fingers. "you make me happy. you. i . . . wouldn't be here, without you. i climbed off that fucking cliff for you, okay? you're what makes me happy." the overhead streetlight flickers as he reaches for the blonde's hand, raising it to his lips to press a kiss to the back, though he holds it there for a moment, just inhaling her scent, and for the first time in months, not just the smell of her blood. it's just demona, and that, for eddie, is enough. his demona. his light in the darkness.

his summer.

"thank you," eddie says after a beat, opening brown eyes to blue. the faintest smile tugs at his features, and the redlight finally flickers onto green. there is a brief pause before eddie clears his throat, free hand gesturing towards the street.

". . . the, uh. the light's green. don't want hopper finding us parked at a green light covered in blood. wouldn't be too fun to explain."

[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]

demona is less hesitant to leave than eddie had expected, but he is hardly upset with this. she is confused by what is happening to her, doesn't quite realize it yet, and while he cannot and does not intend to keep it from her, he also does not intend to explain it to her now. she has gone through enough for the time being, and delaying the truth a little longer cannot do any more harm than has already been done. and besides . . . he is hungry.

the cabin door closes behind demona, and eddie drops to his knees beside the demogorgon's body, inhaling the metallic scent of it's blood. black veins crackle across his face from beneath dark eyes now flickering with red, and his heartbeat quickens in his chest. it's been hours since his last feed, and while that is not long by any standard, it is for an addict that has allowed themselves to get carried away with their addiction. the hunger, the craving, it cannot be ignored no matter how unsightly feeding from a creature from the upside down would seem to most, and the longer that he goes without giving in to instincts, the greater a danger he becomes to his friends. he will kill them if he lets his hunger get the better of him, a fact he is disgusted by, but has chosen to no longer be controlled by. eddie cannot deny what he is and what he will have to do in order to survive, not anymore.

not that the boy has a choice.

he brings the demogorgon's arm to his mouth, nose wrinkling at the thought, and then instinct kicks in, and he sinks his fangs into the flesh with a sick crunching and squelching sound. its black blood runs down his chin as he sucks what he can, as quickly as he can, and his body responds in kind. the weakness that had been fatiguing his muscles fades, the tiredness in his limbs subsides, and a deeper, more carnal instinct is fulfilled as the vampire feeds. to anyone unfortunate enough to witness, it would be sickening, but to eddie munson as he is now, it is an indescribable feeling of euphoria.

finally, when the vampire is satisfied, he drops back onto his haunches in the leaves, a slow exhale leaving him as eyelids flutter, and the rush subsides. when this had first started, the thought of doing what he'd just done would have sickened eddie, and while a part of him is still disgusted by it, he is far too content to care at the moment. his body is tingling from the excitement, heartbeat thudding in his ears, and he's so distracted by it he nearly doesn't hear demona coming back, but the thud of her boots is so loud it would be impossible to miss, and eddie scrambles back to his feet just as she reemerges with her things, wiping the blood from his face as she passes by. he's still so out of it her comment does not register until he's halfway to the van with her, but when it does, eddie pauses in his steps, brows furrowing with a squint.

"my . . . what?" there is a slight rasp to his tone, but he doesn't linger more than he already has, climbing into the van so they can leave this area before more of vecna's minions arrive to finish what they've started.

[withswiftieness]

the demogorgon twitches at eddie's feet, gasping for it's last breaths, and he takes a step back, letting out a heavy breath. it had managed to scratch him several times, but they were not deep, and they were hardly noticeable with all of the dried blood already on him. they sting, but they will heal. there is little time to stop and tend to injuries anyways, as this will not be the last creature from the upside down sent after them, and the sooner that they get moving, the better. as he turns to demona, however, eddie pauses, lashes drawing in slow blinks at the look on the blonde's face. it is . . . dark, and hungry, and black veins have formed beneath her red-tinted eyes. to most, it would be horrifying to see, but to eddie, it is only more proof that demona is now part of the hive as he is. the hunger is awakening in her, and she needs to be as far from this blood as possible when it is fully realized. she lacks impulse control enough as is. if she loses control here, they will be ambushed and overpowered before they even have a chance to defend themselves.

". . . technically nothing. he didn't make them, he just controls them." glancing back at the creature's body, eddie presses his tongue against his fangs, then turns back to demona. "we can't stay here. grab what you need from the house, we need to get moving." but he doesn't move to follow her. she isn't the only one with a building hunger, and while a demogorgon is not his usual choice of . . . sustenance, it is all that he has at the moment, and it will do them all good for him to be fed when they arrive at steve's home.

[withswiftieness]

before all of this had started, eddie would never have considered allowing demona to fight something on her own. it wasn't that he thought she could not handle herself, as that was the furthest thing from the truth, but rather, he did not want anything to happen to her. demona was the only good thing that had come into eddie's life in a very long time, and the idea of losing her had always paralyzed him. she meant the world to him and then some, and losing her would send him into a spiral that could not be stopped, and this was a fact. the last time she'd left, he'd tried to kill himself so that he did not have to live with the pain of it, and since having her back, she'd been the only thing he'd had to live for. without demona, eddie would never have dreamed of trying to navigate life as the creature that he was now. he'd have had no reason to, not really, but her smile, her laugh, had kept him holding on long enough to figure out his own way of dealing with what he is now. demona, whether she knew it or not, was his lifeforce, and letting her face a full-grown demogorgon on her own was not something he wanted her to do. one wrong move, and his reason for fighting would be no more, but eddie also knew demona, and he knew that she would not simply stand by and let him do this alone. he was in no shape to, anyways, and if he tried to step out on his own, she'd have jumped in front of him with steve's bat anyways. like it or not, demona was in this fight, and the only way to win it, was to allow her to fight on her own terms.

so, as demona steps outside, eddie leans back on the cabin wall, running blood-stained hands through his curls. his injuries have healed, but he is still weak, and his head is throbbing from the lack of blood. the hunger in his belly does not help, nor does the metallic smell of blood coating the wood floors, and as he listens to the approaching demogorgon, he closes his eyes, taking several deep breaths in an attempt to clear his head. all he can see is vecna's clawed hand reaching for him, however, and he shakes his head in an attempt to clear it.

i didn't know what to do so i just . . . i ran away. you are too much of a coward to come for them should they need it.

the pained screeching of the demogoron echoes in the cabin, and eddie's head snaps back towards the door, red flickering in brown eyes as he pushes off the wall. demona's managed to wound it, but it won't stay down for long, if it stays down at all. he'd only managed to fight the other one off because it had allowed him to get too close, and if the hive mind truly worked as they believed, this one would do no such thing with demona. she needs him to focus, to get it together, and after a beat, he pushes off the wall, footsteps silent as he moves for the front door. outside, the creature has managed to corner demona without her weapon, but to attack it with no thought will do no her no good. no, this has to be done strategically, or neither of them will make it out of these woods.

quietly, eddie reaches for the empty flower pot outside of the door, chucking it towards the woods and away from demona. the demogorgon swings towards the sound, snarling as it does, and eddie slips out of the cabin and into the darkness, the dried leaves quiet under his shoes. his clothes are still covered in blood, however, and the creature slowly turns back towards the cabin, snorting at the air. it knows he is there, he knows it does, but it does not know where he is. all it knows is that something else is in the woods, which works to his advantage. the scent of blood draws it back from demona a few steps, putting her further from its reach, and it lowers its head, trying to locate the source of the blood.

this is when eddie strikes.

he'd managed to make it to the roof of the cabin, hovering on the ledge, and the moment the demogorgon takes a step towards the woods, eddie leaps, landing on the thing's back. it screeches an ungodly screech, reaching behind it to try and pry him off, but his claws are dug so deep that it cannot, and it throws itself against the side of the cabin. eddie had expected this, however, and as the demogoron hits the wood, he drops, rolling into a crouch beside it. he gives the creature no time to recover, however, launching himself at its underbelly. once again, his claws dig into the creature's skin, and it lets out another pained screech, dropping to its knees.

"send your master a message for me." eddie hisses, fangs glistening in flashes of lightning, before shoving his hand through the things chest and into its lungs. it wheezes, clawing frantically at the ground, but it's dying, and it can do no more damage. as it takes it final breath, eddie steps back, allowing it to collapse into the leaves in a pool of its own blood, which is dripping from his clawed hands.

"don't fuck with my girl."

[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.