The Other Survivor

Almost Home

"There it is!" Steve yelled as he pointed toward Eddie's trailer. He lowered his hand when he saw the place where Eddie died in Dustin's arms. He could never forget the look on Dustin's face.

He brought himself out of his memory as he looked at Alice. She was a little shaky getting off the bike. He stopped next to her and got off his bike. They set them down and walked towards Eddie's trailer. As they got closer, Alice grabbed his hand. Steve looked over and saw the slight sign of fear in her eyes.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "I'm right here."

"I'm not usually like this," she said under her breath.

"That's okay," he reassured. He squeezed her hand and started leading her toward the trailer. They walked in and Steve was hit with a ton of horrible memories of the last time he was here.

"There's really a gate here?"

"Yeah," Steve sighed. "This is where it all started a year ago. This girl named Chrissy was Vecna's first sacrifice. Every time he completed a sacrifice, a gate opened. This is how we got back and forth during it all."

Alice's breath got stuck in her throat when she looked up and saw the gate he was talking about. She subconsciously took a step closer to Steve which he welcomed.

"I'm telling you," came Dustin's frustrated voice from the other side of the gate, "Steve knows what he's doing. He's going to come here."

"You really think. . ." Mike started to say.

"Hey!" Steve yelled up the gate. "Little help down here!"

"Ha!" Dustin laughed. "Told you so!"

"Enough bragging," Steve smirked as he glanced back at Alice. "Get us a rope so we can get the hell out of here."

Alice and Steve laughed as the kids scurried off somewhere to put together a rope. Suddenly, Alice got nervous. She looked down and started playing with her hands.

"You okay?"

"If I'm being honest," she said slowly, "I hate it here."

Steve didn't think about it as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "We're almost home," he said softly.

"You guys ready?" Robin called from above. The two awkwardly pulled away, the tension thick between them.

"Yeah," Steve called out. "Send it down."

The two stepped out of the way as the rope made out of bedsheets came down through the gate. The two looked at each other with relieved smiles. Steve took a step forward and double-checked that the rope was secure. He didn't want to send Alice up it until he was sure it was safe.

"Ladies first," he gestured toward the makeshift rope. He turned around, his heart jumping into his throat when he saw Alice's state. She was frozen.

"Alice?" He asked, struggling to keep his voice calm. He gently grabbed her shoulders, slightly shaking her. "Alice? Wake up! Come on, Alice! Wake up! Don't listen to him!"

~ •~

One minute Alice was standing next to Steve. The next she was back in the last place she wanted to be; the lab. She resisted the urge to run. She took a deep breath, trying to get her nerves under control. Once she was calm enough, she started walking through the lab.