It's been a very long time since our regular monster battles. The youngest of us are in our mid-30s - but Erica only recently joined the 30 club. It's weird how things turned out for us. If we told anyone the story of our lives, well, they'd think we were insane. We were fighting monsters from another dimension when we were teenagers. - that's far from sane.
Over the years, most of the group moved out of Hawkins - but not too far that they don't come back regularly. Joyce and Hopper may be old now but they've been together since things ended. The old cabin is now mainly used for storage or somewhere to stay if people visit. We're still the only ones who know about it. Murray tried to fade into obscurity but that failed. He now lives next door to them. He's still as bitter as the day we met.
Mike and El live not too far out of Hawkins with their daughter. El wanted to stay close on the off chance that something could happen with the upside down. It remains a mystery whether their daughter has powers.
Will eventually found love. I'm really happy for them both. His boyfriend is a perfect fit for Will. They live a few miles outside of Hawkins so that Will can still be close to Joyce in case she needs anything. They've even adopted a little girl - they're great dads. Will is also a best-selling author now. Naturally, his books are about what we had to go through with demogorgons and stuff. His hit series feels like a new Harry Potter or something. He wasn't sure on a main title for a while - eventually he landed on Stranger Things.
Jonathan and Argyle moved in together because they're painfully single. They live further away than his brother - but he can drive a couple hours to come back anytime. Jonathan is having a mid-life crisis and Argyle is there for the ride - high as ever.
Robin married Vickie. Steve cried out of joy many times - especially when Robin made him her best man. They've always been scared about everything that goes into adopting a kid - so they got a couple of cats. That doesn't stop them from fiercely protecting any queer kid they come across. They are without a doubt the favourite aunts.
It took a long time but we finally got to meet the infamous Suzie. Dustin has been passionate about improving Hawkins since everything went to shit. This was something Suzie and I admire. She moved to Hawkins to help achieve his dream. They currently run Hawkins with Suzie as mayor. She truly is a genius - Hawkins has never flourished like this. Of course they got married. They have plenty of kids running around - the eldest being their son Eddie. It's almost like they're in a weird competition for who has the most kids with the Harrington-Wheelers.
Yep, Harrington-Wheelers. After years of being in a damn love triangle, Steve and Nancy tied the knot. I still don't know how but Steve managed to convince her to have 6 kids. After the last one, Robin and I dragged Steve to the hospital to get the snip - there's no way Nance was gonna let him try to make it 7. I feel so bad for Nancy having to give birth that much - especially with the twins. Their first daughter was named Barbara without hesitation. A couple of them are LGBT - which really helps Robin's favourite aunt status. Steve became the new Chief of Police with a recommendation from Hopper. Even now, the ladies love him. They still live in Steve's old house.
Max moved back to California a little while ago with Lucas. She needed to be away from Hawkins for a while after everything she went through when she got here. They keep in touch a lot though. She comes to visit once or twice a year now that enough time has passed. Lucas moves around a lot for work and stuff, so I see him a lot more than you'd think. If Max didn't want kids before, all the trauma she has definitely made her want to avoid bringing a kid into something like that. They did get a few dogs though.
Erica Sinclair. Perhaps the most successful of us all. She's a well-respected businesswoman. Since embracing her inner nerd, Erica has become very involved with the further development of D&D. It's never been so popular. We help her a lot with recalling experiences and giving ideas - though Will is key to the writing of lore.
I was one of the few who stayed behind. I have a few reasons. For one thing, this place will always be my home no matter how fucked things get. I'm a teacher now. I took Mr Clarke's old job actually. Dustin comes in sometimes when the lesson plan goes over some stuff we've been through. The kids love him.
I even started an after school D&D club because some people showed an interest. Those kids really remind me of us when we were younger. Yes, I named it Hellfire club. I of course got permission from the founder. Yep, I asked Eddie. Even though we all thought he was a goner, he did the most metal thing he could ever do. He became a vampire - the ruler of the upside down.
You may wonder how I went about getting his blessing. As the new ruler of the upside down, Eddie can do whatever he desires. Not only are all the monsters under his command, but he found a way to open gates without killing anyone. He made a single gate far from the public. The gate is in the same area as Hopper's old cabin since we're the only ones who know it's there. Even so, we made sure it was well hidden so that any wanderers couldn't find it.
Since we know how to communicate between dimensions, Eddie talks to me using the lights every day. I have letters set up in the basement like Joyce did when Will was missing. But for simple yes or no questions he uses any light he can find. He always asks how the others are - especially Max since he rarely sees her. They have a soft spot for each other and have done since the Michael Myers incident. He's really happy knowing that things are going better for her. Every time I talk to her, she gives me some kind of message for him. Dustin's been trying to make something to allow a phone signal to carry from the upside down to California - maybe then we'll buy Eddie a phone.
Sometimes he just fucks with my lights out of boredom until I threaten to go down there and fight him. It's not always bad when he does it though. Dustin and I figured out that Eddie will follow us and basically spy on us during busy days. There's been a few times where I've had rough days at work - the worst it's got is literally crying in the classroom at lunch from stress. In situations like that. Eddie lets me know he's there with the lights - I bought a lamp specifically for him to keep at my desk because he thought it looked cool.
I made a promise to keep him up to date with the best music and anything else he wanted to know. To this day, I haven't let him down. With as busy as I am, I tend to only see him on weekends. I make special deliveries for him though. He reshaped the upside down. It's quite pleasant now - a lot more real and homely but still metal as fuck.
Remember how I said the monsters are under his command? They don't try to kill us - the bats are like your common pigeons or something. Demogorgons roam freely. The biggest reveal was the upside down version of man's best friend - or should I say, vampire's best friend. Turns out Dustin's old friend D'Artagnan didn't die like we thought. In fact, he's basically become Eddie's pet - he is a demodog after all. Every time Dustin and I visit, we make sure to stock him up with three musketeers bars. The kids at school think I love them so they're always giving me them.
Once Eddie got a grasp of his control there, he faced a tough decision which he consulted us about. We decided that, since the danger was gone, that we could tell the rest of the original Hellfire guys. Somehow none of them are in jail - I feel like Steve has let a couple things slide.
At first they were confused - rightfully so. When I first took them through the gate, they thought I drugged them. It took a while for them to adjust - now they go to jam with him every week. Luckily, they haven't told a soul about this whole thing.
Being able to see Eddie and play as Corroded Coffin again wasn't the only reason we told them. Every couple of weeks, we get everyone we can from the Hellfire class of '86 - and Will - meet up in the upside down for a session of interdimensional D&D - Hellfire shirts and all. Eddie has way more time than ever to come up with his campaigns. It's epic. Instead of using miniatures, he can actually put on an immersive show.
After a long year, it's finally summer break. I've been able to spend way more time with Eddie. I even stayed the night in the upside down once just to see how staying there so long would affect my body. There wasn't any change which was slightly disappointing. It's just another day without any plans. I guess that's a good thing since I woke up late.
"Hey, Eddie! You accepting visitors today?" I call out as I make some pancakes. Like clockwork, my kitchen lights up indicating a yes. "Cool, I'll be there soon. You want me to pick up some beer?" Another yes. "Thought so. I'll see you in like an hour."
I quickly eat the pancakes, grab my leather jacket and my wallet and head to the best store for alcohol for a vampire. By that I mean Gareth's store - he always has Eddie's favourite and gives me extra for free. After about an hour, I head through the gate.
Normally, a demodog charging at you would be terrifying and mean instant death. Not now though. I quickly pet Dart and toss him a three musketeers before hearing the vampire's voice.
"Ah, Y/N the Brave." He greets me with a smile.
"Eddie the Banished."
"Good boy, Dart."
We head over to the other version of my house whilst asking the usual questions of small talk. He helps me set up the booze and snacks before taking a seat and talking about other stuff.
"Please don't tell Nance I brought Tommy here."
"How many of them have you brought at this point? I've lost count."
"At least 1 from each family." I laugh. "Well, not Sarah because El's worried about powers and shit. Also, Will wants to keep Alice away for a long time considering, you know, being trapped here for a week when he was 11."
"What about little Eddie? How's he doing?" He moves on.
"He's not so little now, man. He's 14."
"God, we're old." We laugh.
"He's turning into you."
"Oh, really? What did he do now?"
"That little shit stole your Dio vest. We were at Steve and Nancy's place for Lucy's birthday. He decided to explore the house and found the vest. Thought it looked cool and tried it on. I caught him but said I'd keep it a secret. It was a lie but that didn't matter because the others saw him and let it slide. It suited him though."
"That kid is awesome." He chuckles proudly.
"He saw your picture and decided to grow his hair out. It's already at his shoulders, so it's a good start. With stuff like that and the fact I've been educating him on the best metal, he's literally turning into you."
We continue talking about the insanity that is the kids and our plans for a while. Eventually, a comment about Jonathan and Argyle being an old married couple changes the topic.
"You seriously need to get a boyfriend."
"You know, it's pretty hard to find someone with the same life experience." I laugh.
"What about me?" He laughs and pretends to be offended.
"I'm nearly 38. I'm a bit old for you now, love. It's like they say, always bridesmaid never the bride. Literally - for Nancy and Suzie."
"I may be immortal now, but I was still born before you. We could have the most metal upside down wedding and have a half human half vampire baby - can't say that wouldn't be awesome." I sigh and sit quietly as I contemplate bringing up an idea I've had for a few months.
"Hey, I've been thinking..."
"That's dangerous." He scoffs with a goofy look before taking a swig of beer.
"I'm gonna die one day-"
"Y/N, please don't talk about that. Please don't remind me of your mortality." He interrupts me as his mood changes.
"Just bare with me." His eyes plead me to stop. "Once we're all gone, you won't have anyone. Sure the kids know about you but it's complicated and risky how much they know."
"Y/N/N, what are you getting at?"
"What if you made me a vampire too?" I don't look in his eyes in fear of his reaction.
"What? No, you don't want that. You'd have to watch them all die too. I've already had to watch my uncle die and it hurt like hell. Trust me, you don't want this." He tries to warn me against it.
"I'd be watching everyone die anyway. At least you wouldn't have to go through it alone. And who knows, maybe we can convince the others to join us." I try to reason.
"I don't know, Y/N. You wouldn't be able to change your mind later. Besides, I've never done that - I don't know if it even works like the media says it does. I could kill you." He continues to try and convince me to change my mind.
"I'll take that chance."
"Y/N..."
"Eddie... Think about it. I never got married. I don't have kids. I'm just a lousy middle school science teacher. I've been wanting to quit for a while now but I've been too scared to do it and I have no clue what I'd do. It's been way too stressful. The only thing keeping me there is my mini Hellfire club. Even with everything going on, my life is so lonely. My parents died a couple years ago and I talk to the vampire in my wall more than my other friends a lot of the time. Sometimes I wanna die because of everything. If I did, they'd soon move on - they have families of their own now."
"Y/N, please."
"I'm the perfect candidate. If it works, we can talk to the others. If it doesn't, oh well thanks for having me. But I'd much rather spend eternity with you than let you be alone forever watching the people you love die."
"Y/N, I can't let you risk everything for me like that."
"Don't give me that. We all remember the sacrifice that got you here." I fire back before glancing away. "You can't change my mind, Eddie." He stays quiet for a minute or so as he sits in deep contemplation.
"Are you absolutely sure you wanna do this?"
"Positive."
"Jesus christ, Y/N." He mutters as he runs his hands across his face. "Fine, I'll do it." He sighs as he gets ready. I take a deep breath and close my eyes and wait for him to stop hesitating.
"Ow! Dude, do you sharpen those things? What the fuck?"
"Sorry, that's just how they are."
"If this doesn't work - get the bats on me."
"They don't tickle."
"I can handle it."
"This better work."
2 years later
It worked eventually. We started doing some tests. I can live in either dimension - though there's a few things stopping Eddie from leaving. The sun doesn't actually affect me more than it already did - even though I usually hide inside. Though hesitant, the others eventually agreed to be vampires too - wanting us to be together instead of losing each other. However, they decided the kids would get to choose when they're old enough which none of them are yet.
After about 7 months, Eddie and I had the most metal wedding in the history of the world. Who needs doves when you have demobats? Corroded Coffin was obviously our wedding band.
Now I finally know Nancy's pain of having twins. She had 2 boys whereas I had a boy and a girl. Wayne Dustin Munson and Chrissy Maxine Munson. We're not sure what is gonna happen when they grow up since they're full vampires but I'm excited to see. We're the most metal family around.