Love Is A Battlefield (A Stranger Things/Steve Harrington Fanfiction)

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Because of Me

I clung to Eddie's energy, pulling it forward as hard as I could, only to be ripped out of the vision by the feeling of the ground rumbling beneath me.

My eyes shot open and I sat up just in time to see a bright red crack ripping through the center of the attic. I quickly crawled backwards, looking up in time to see Lucas pull Max out of the way of its trajectory...or rather...

Max's body. Which could be presumed, since this was happening in the first place. I knew this because I had seen it...the crack, it was exactly like the one Vecna had shown me...the one that would rip through Hawkins. It was here, it was happening now...Max had been the final sacrifice. 

Lucas stared at me with wide, terrified eyes, and I shook my head, unable to offer him any comfort or explanation in that moment.

I had an explanation though...the explanation was me. My fault, my doing, my powers, they had caused this.

I have broken everything.

The rumbling stopped, and I stood up, jumping over the crack to drop down beside Max. Lucas was crying, and I lifted my fingers up to the side of her neck, searching for her pulse. 

I didn't find one. 

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at Lucas, "I'm so, so sorry, I-"

I was interrupted by a loud gasp as Max sat up, still heavily leaning against Lucas, but breathing, nonetheless.

"Max!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, thank god." I cried, putting my hands on her face and trying to wipe the blood away. "I am so sorry, I don't know what happened. I should've been there, I am so, so sorry."

"Erica called an ambulance," He said to both of us, "We'll get you to a hospital, its all gonna be ok."

"Eddie..." I remembered, looking up at Lucas. "The others."

"Go, we'll be fine." He said. I nodded, standing up and looking over into the crack. I ran over to the nearest window, ripping one of the planks off of it and rushing back over, stabbing it through the red strings of slime that filled it. Once I could see through to the other side, I laid on the floor on my stomach, slowly lowering myself through the hole head-first.

I came through right side up, pulling my body through the gate and onto the Upside Down version of Creel's attic. Once I managed to get my knee up and onto the floor, I jumped up and ran through the door, taking the stairs two at a time. I was in such a hurry that I tripped on the last one, toppling face-first towards the floor.

Before I could fall completely though, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back onto my feet on top of the last step. I turned around in the arms, looking into the face of who else, but my husband.

"Oh my gosh!" I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as I possibly could. He hugged me back just as tight with his arms around my waist, tangling one hand into the hair at the back of my head.

"Thank God." He said as I looked over his shoulder, where Robin and Nancy were standing.

"Did you do it?" I asked, pulling away from him. "Vecna...is he dead?"

"Not exactly," Nancy said, "He fell out the window...disappeared just before that happened." She gestured to the crack on the floor of the mansion. I nodded. "Max?"

"Waiting for an ambulance," I said, "She was dead...I mean, her heart stopped but then she just...woke up."

"So wait, what are you doing here?" Robin asked. 

"Eddie," I told them, "He got attacked by the Demobats, I saw him, and...he was dying. I don't know if he made it or not."

"Ok, Robin and I will get back to Max, you two go after Eddie and Dustin." Nancy said. I nodded in agreement, grabbing Steve's hand and dragging him towards the front door.