his shadow | eddie munson

↝ chapter sixteen

the four horsemen - metallica
17 | paranoia
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dustin was silent during the walk back to eddie's van. maude had told him everything she had already told the others, her voice wavering as it became harder to repeat it all, and to have everyone's attention on her. dustin frowned when she described how eddie had looked in those short days, his mind travelling to the sight he'd just witnessed— she'd seen the transforming stage, the process, the pain he was in as he had to go through it.

he's been alive, or undead, this entire time, and they hadn't known. he hadn't known.

when dustin told them about eddie's visit, and tried his best to describe what he'd looked like, and how unlike eddie he'd been, he almost broke down. maude did start crying, but she hid it well from the others, who didn't have any reason to pay her much attention as they all listened to dustin.

when they reached the van, dustin froze, hesitant to enter it. steve stood beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "it's okay, buddy. we're going to find a way to help him."

dustin nodded, sniffling back tears. "yeah."

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they were back at the cabin. everyone besides lucas and max— maude felt like asking where they were was an intrusion, and possibly would sound stalker-like, as she was still a stranger. the adults were outside talking; joyce, hopper, nancy, steve, jonathan, robin— maude was the same age as most of them, but she didn't feel it was her place to join them.

will, eleven and mike had disappeared into a room, which maude assumed was one of theirs. it remained open slightly, and their voices, despite hushed, were serious and plotting. but maude didn't stare or listen for too long.

maude looked over to her right and glanced at dustin, who sat on the opposite end of the same couch as her. the couch was small so they weren't too far away from one another. she thought back to when she'd seen him walking out in the street, his pace sluggish and head bowed to the ground. and she thought of his face when they found him in the woods at skull rock— how terrified he was, but behind it all he almost seemed relieved. because eddie wasn't fully gone, and there was hope of being able to save him.

"he adores you," maude spoke up suddenly, her voice soft. dustin's head snapped up and he looked at her, his head tilting slightly. "eddie... in those few days we spent in his van, he mentioned you often, told me about the adventures you went on together. he loves you."

dustin almost smiled, but his lips twitched instead and remained in a line. "it was him, but it wasn't... he spoke a little different, looked at me with cold eyes. he's still in there, but it's not eddie who's in control."

"vecna," maude whispered, her tone light enough to sound like a question. "you said that he's cursed by vecna... was this what happened to the other victims too?"

dustin shook his head, "no... no, that curse was different— he murdered them, made them see things, manipulated them by entering their minds, consumed them. and when he was done with them... he—he snapped their bones... took their eyesight."

one of maude's hand flew to her mouth to suppress her gasp, but she couldn't hold black the few tears that slipped from her eyes. "and...and the town believes that eddie was the one who murdered them? who did that?"