his shadow | eddie munson

↝ chapter eleven

runnin' with the devil - van halen
12 | burning
☿

eddie snickered as maude waved shyly at him, showcasing the bathroom key as she made her way around the corner of the gas station. he liked her, she was unlike any girl he'd met before. sure, he'd never met a stalker— but it wasn't that. it was her ability to accept and understand things so beyond belief that amazed him. he recognised that he had quite quickly accepted the supernatural and obscure nature of hawkins also— but he hadn't really a choice in the matter, not after he witnessed chrissy's death. and not after everything he experienced soon after.

but maude fitzgerald had witnessed nor experienced anything peculiar or close to the truth. and yet, she had believed everything he had told her. he did consider the fact that she was only humouring him out of pity, but he didn't believe that. she truely did believe him, and somehow, to her it all made plenty sense.

she was weird. he could say that mbecause he was weird himself. he could reach and call her a freak, after she had openly confessed to stalking him, but he didn't feel it was necessary. he had pondered what it was inside him that so-easily became okay with maude stowing away in his van and joining his runaway mission, but he had a talent for picking up lost sheep and shepherding them. maude was another rainbow in the dark.

after eddie filled up the tank, he made his way into the station. there was a pile of things waiting for him with the cashier, and he quickly added some more first aid items before paying for them and the gas. when he was done he threw the bag into the back of his van and shut it, making his way around to the driver's side.

pain rushed throughout his entire body, and he fell against his van, moaning out with agony. his skin felt like it was burning, like it was twisting and tearing from his bones. he hadn't felt this pain before, only the aching and sickness from his wounds— which were now scorching, sizzling and pulsing alarmingly. he doubled over, throwing up black ichor. it bubbled, and he could've sworn he saw his reflection through the puddle— a version of himself that was horrifying.

he spun around and weakly made his way towards the side of the gas station. his mind became foggy, clouded with an overwhelming, wrenching feeling.

"eddie..." he heard vecna call. but when he spun around in a full circle he was nowhere to be seen.

he cursed and threw himself towards the bathroom door, knocking on it as calmly as he could as to not frighten maude. "maude?"

eddie stabiled himself by placing an arm beside the door, trying his best not to collapse, and when maude pulled the door open the overwhelming feeling returned. he struggled to get his sentence out. "hey. sorry to bother you, but i think something's terribly wrong."

"join me, eddie."

he fell forward...

and landed back in the upside down.

he stood on his two feet, and the first thing he noticed was how he felt— strong, healthy, powerful. he shook out his arms and legs, and felt absolutely no pain as he moved, and when he looked down he noticed that his wounds were healed— scarred badly, but healed.

"see, eddie? i can help you," vecna appeared before him. "with my help, you can achieve your truest potential. don't keep running from me, join me."