Steve thought they'd finally done it. Figured they'd finally won. But his luck ran out once he saw only an outline of where Vecna's body once lay. He turned to look at Nancy and Robin when suddenly-

Clang… Clang…

The hell…?

The trio ran inside and stared at the old grandfather clock.

Clang… Clang…

"Four chimes," Robin muttered.

" Max …" Nancy whispered.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Steve shared a mortified expression with the others. Had they lost? Was Max…

The ground below them started to shake abruptly, and they hung onto the stair-rails for dear life. This time was far worse than any of the others.

Suddenly, a bright red light glowed above their heads and quickly moved towards them. Looking up, Steve's heart dropped.

A massive gate was spreading throughout the house, ready to consume them.

"Go!" he screamed, grabbing both of their hands.

Trying to keep steady feet, the group sprinted outside to just nearly dodged the grotesque gap in the universe.

They all fell to the ground and watched in horror as it sped down Hawkins.

All the portals are opening up, aren't they?

It suddenly occurred to Steve that Dustin and Eddie were at the other gate. Shit, was Dustin okay?

They wouldn't be able to go back into the house and cross the gate to Max. No, the house might very well collapse on them. Besides, the original plan was to meet up with Dustin and Eddie.

Once the rumbling had ended, Steve quickly stood up and grabbed the radio out of his backpack.

"Dustin, do you copy?" Steve tried.

They were met with meer static.

"Dustin, do you copy ?"

The group waited silently for any signs of life, but no peep came back from the microphone.

"We need to go; now ," Steve uttered.

They were dashing into the woods within a matter of seconds.

What if something happened to Dustin? What if he was hurt? Or worse….

He felt a little wrong for not even taking a moment to consider if Eddie was alright, but did it matter?

Something terrible may have happened to Steve's kid.

Plus, Dustin always picks up the walkie. Always .

He attempted not to stumble over any vines, though it wouldn't matter if he did. It didn't seem like the hive-mind was currently functioning.

Behind him, Steve could hear Nancy calling his name. "Steve! Slow down!"

He ignored her. He ignored his injuries.

He couldn't slow down. Not if he wanted to find Dustin.

They sprinted for nearly twenty minutes until they reached the trailer park.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Steve came to a stop once he reached the edge of the forest. Gazing out, he immediately noticed the giant gate that had opened from Eddie's trailer, stretching from the top to the ground. Inspecting a bit more, he saw a string of bats lying on the ground. Following them with his eyes, his heart stopped.

There, in a circle of dead bats, lay two bodies. One was strewn over the other.

"Dustin?" he whispered, and then a bit louder, "Dustin?!"

He picked up his feet and hurried toward the bodies.

Please don't let it be Dustin. Please don't let it be Dustin.

"Dustin!" Steve screamed at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, a little head popped up.

It was Dustin . He looked as if he were in pain. He looked as if his world had been shattered.

Face blotchy and mind a wreck.

"Dustin!"

Once Steve was close enough to see what was going on, he wanted to vomit.

Dustin was holding Eddie's dead body, which was covered in demobat bites.

Steve practically barrolwed into the younger kid, scooping him into a gratefully reciprocated embrace.

Steve attempted to comfort Dustin as the boy sobbed into his shoulder. "You're okay; I got you."

Admittedly, he wasn't very good at it.

Dustin didn't seem to notice.

"He didn't- he didn't run…."

"I know…" Steve hushed, not daring to ask questions about how they'd landed in this mess.

As Robin and Nancy examined Eddie's lifeless body, Dustin remained crumbled into Steve.

Wounds covered his skin, blood oozing out of each one. He was doomed to die by bite number ten.

It was a gruesome sight.

And to think Dustin had to sit alone with Eddie's body for god knows how long…

"He didn't run…" Dustin repeated, his words hanging on chokes.

"He was brave, buddy. He was brave."

Steve didn't really know what happened here, but Eddie definitely hadn't listened to Steve's 'don't try and be a hero' shit. And now… now he was dead.

Goddamnit, Eddie!

Pulling Dustin a little closer, Steve sighed long and hard. Eddie was dead. And Max…

Max…

They needed to get back to Max.

Gently pushing Dustin away, he said, "We have to go. Max is in danger, bud."

Nodding, he asked, "Are Nancy and Robin going to help you carry him? Your side is injured."

Steve's heart panged.

Oh god.

Oh no.

Dustin thinks that Eddie's coming with them.

Steve shared a sad look with the girls as if to say, 'what do I do?'

Crouching next to Dustin, Nancy put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We can't take him. We need to get back."

He feverishly shook his head. "No! No, Nancy, we need to take him with us! We can't just leave him behind-"

The earth suddenly rumbled in an after-shock, and Robin kneeled to join the group as they huddled onto one another. The crack in the universe crumpled away just a little more.

"Dustin, we don't have much of another choice," Robin responded softly, gesturing to the gate. "How will we be able to carry him out of here?"

"And what will we say to the police? How will we say he died?" Steve added.

God, how selfish he sounded to the kid.

Steve knew just how important Eddie was to Dustin. He'd been the one to take him under his wing.

Large tears built in Dustin's eyes. "So what?! We'll bury him ourselves!"

"We can't, Dustin. We can't ."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not leaving without him! I'm not doing it," he cried, his voice cracking.

Steve wanted to break down. There wasn't any way they'd be able to convince Dustin. No, they'd have to use force.

As the world shook, Steve whispered, 'I'm sorry ' and began to tug Dustin off the ground.

"No! No! No, Steve!" Dustin screamed, thrashing around. "Let go, you son of a bitch; let go!"

It felt nearly impossible getting the kid to his feet as he threw a fit, but just once Steve thought he had it, Dustin let out a new scream. A pained scream.

Dustin lost all his balance and fell back into Steve, who caught him in his arms.

"Dustin?! Dustin, what happened?!" he yelled, laying the kid back down.

"I- I fell on my leg when I was coming back through the gate…." he replied through gritted teeth.

Staring at the leg Dustin had pointed to, only then did he realize the giant bruise.

He'd probably sprained it.

Steve hastily nodded his head. "Okay, okay, okay, uh, I'm going to lift you."

He probably still had the strength left in him. Probably.

"But Eddie-" he wailed.

"Dustin, please ," Steve pleaded. "We need to get out of here. But, listen, if it's safe after all of this, I'll come to retrieve his body."

That seemed to satisfy Dustin.

Steve was lying, of course. There wasn't any way that he'd be able to come back.

As long as Dustin could stay calm for a few minutes.

They just needed to escape.

They needed to leave Eddie behind. Leave his lifeless eyes behind. Leave his soulless smile behind.

He watched Dustin take Eddie's necklace off him: a small guitar pick on a chain.

Steve carried Dustin in his arms, using every last ounce of adrenaline left within him. Nancy and Robin followed him to the gate.

The trailer was completely and utterly destroyed. The once quaint portal was now one massive gash in existence, and it had been a completely different story managing to get through it.

Since they had to use something other than bedsheets due to Eddie cutting them, a very broken chair had been their second option. Nancy had gracefully climbed through first, sticking the landing much nicer than Dustin. Recentering the mattress under the gash, Robin squirmed through next. Then came Dustin and Steve.

It took everyone to maneuver Dustin into the other side without hurting him, and when Steve came out of the other side, he fell directly onto one of his own wounds.

Ouch.

Nevertheless, they made it.

The trailer park was crowded with confused people, but they succeeded in averting everyone's attention from them as they snuck back to the RV.

Steve helped lay Dustin on the couch, where Nancy and Robin helped patch him up. Hopping into the front seat, Steve could hear Dustin's whimpers and sobs from the back.

It hurt like hell not to help the kid.

Still, they needed to get to Max.

Starting the engine, Steve backed out from their hideaway and onto the road.

He hadn't even stopped to think about how busy it'd end up being. Seriously, it was a shitshow.

Cars lined the streets in desperate attempts to get loved ones to the hospital or find friends.

Steve just wanted to get to his kids. That's all he wanted. All he needed.

Find Max.

Find Lucas.

Find Erica.

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw Nancy join him in the passenger seat.

"Robin's helping him right now," she clarified.

Steve nodded. "Anything broken?"

"Don't think so," Nancy replied. "But he's shaken up."

Steve felt guilt wash over him. Poor kid….

"Do you think Max is…" Nancy mumbled.

Steve gloomily shrugged. "I don't know."

About twenty minutes of traffic later and they pulled into the Creel House to find police and a portal that resembled the one at the trailer park.

"Let me do the talking," he told Nancy.

Getting out of the stolen RV, he planned to make this conversation speedy so that the officer wouldn't catch on to anything.

Steve almost immediately got stopped once he was within ten feet of the crime scene tape.

"You can't be here," the officer told him.

Putting on his best 'I'm a very normal person' act, Steve asked, "Have you seen a group of three kids?"

"Yeah, got into an ambulance about forty-five minutes ago."

Steve's expression must've changed because the officer said, "What, do you know them?"

"Something like that," Steve whispered. Then, before the police could ask any more questions, he was already running back into the RV.

Slamming the door shut, Steve shoved his foot onto the gas pedal, and the vehicle began to speed away.

The trip took even longer this time. There must've been a plethora of people rushing to get to Hawkins General.

The parking lot was too full for them, so they were forced to park on the side of the road.

After a lot of convincing, Steve let Dustin walk by himself. With much supervision, of course.

Together, the group headed inside the insanely crowded hospital.

In any other circumstance, a group of smelly, dirty, slime-covered teens probably wouldn't pass at a hospital.

Nobody seemed to care right now, however. Nobody.

Not amidst the chaos.

It had only been a few seconds when Steve suddenly saw a light pink dress. He focused on it a bit more and realized it was Erica's light pink dress. Next to her sat Lucas, who seemed utterly distraught. Not only that, but his face had taken quite a beating.

"Lucas! Erica!" Steve called over the craziness. He was loud enough so that they could perk their ears up.

Steve saw Lucas turn his head, and the kid's expression turned to a mix of relief and sadness.

Getting up out of their only chairs, Lucas and Erica ran to join the group.

It was quite the tearful reunion. Steve had never seen Erica cry before, but here she was. Face full of snot. He watched as she plowed into Nancy and Robin, who received the eleven-year-old's hug.

Lucas, on the other hand, collided with Steve and Dustin.

Steve was careful not to touch any parts of his swollen face. He knew how much that could hurt.

Someone was still missing from the hugs.

"Where's…."

Lucas pulled away and let out a small cry. "Max…"

That's when Steve knew.

Knew they'd lost.

Lucas shook his head. "I tried… I tried to help her- but Jason, he…."

Steve smoothed out the younger boy's back, allowing him to get some air. "Jason… he attacked me," Lucas whispered to the group. "He broke the walkman… he broke the whole thing. And then Max… Max started floating…. Her bones started to snap…." Lucas cracked. "Max. She died… for over a minute before well… she didn't…."

Max had died ?

Steve felt a tear fall down his cheek while his breath hitched.

The others seemed to be having the same reactions as they listened to what had happened. Nancy looked on edge while Robin was frozen in place. Dustin appeared to be hung on every word Lucas said.

"She just- started breathing. Her heart restarted by itself. I held her the whole time. From the second she died to the time she started breathing, I was there… holding her…." he choked out.

Jesus Christ.

"Where is she now?" Nancy asked.

"Surgery," Erica replied. "Last time, they told us she was in critical condition."

"Her eyes were full of blood… she… she didn't want to die," Lucas began to wail. Steve's heart shattered. "She wouldn't stop telling me she didn't want to die!"

Steve held the bridge of his nose and paced the room.

All he could imagine was Max being held as she died, pleading for her life as if Lucas could do anything about it. Steve thought about how Lucas must have felt. How helpless he must have been.

Shit, these were just kids. They shouldn't be dealing with this.

Max shouldn't have had to go through what she had.

Another hour must've passed before the nurse came to update them.

"Family of Maxine Mayfield?"

Steve stood up at once and nearly fell on his hurry to the nurse.

"Are you family of Ms. Mayfield?"

"Her brother," he said. Steve turned to the others. "And these are… extended family…."

The nurse rolled her eyes, clearly not buying the 'extended family' bit, but she seemed to believe that he was her brother.

"This way, sir."

Showing him down a crowded hallway, she led the group into a small briefing room.

"Please, sit," she said.

Steve sat next to Nancy and Lucas on an uncomfortable plastic chair. Dustin sat on another chair in the corner of the room while Robin and Erica stood.

"Ms. Mayfield is currently out of surgery. She suffered four complete fractures, one on each limb. She also suffered a minor spinal cord injury. I'm also sorry to inform you that when the debris fell," the nurse said, and Steve figured that the 'house falling' must have been the coverup story, "her eyesight was lost, though we aren't entirely sure how."

Steve swallowed, and he heard Lucas whimper.

Max is… blind?

"Although Maxine is currently alive, she's in a coma. We don't know when she'll wake, if ever."

He had to cover his mouth to stop the gasp from coming out his mouth.

Max might not wake? Ever?

" When she wakes," Nancy clarified for Lucas's sake, "what will she be like?"

"We aren't sure. She could be fine, or she could have some complications."

Steve shook his head. "Complications? What do you mean 'complications?'"

"She was clinically dead for over a minute, meaning she was without oxygen. Most people are alright without air for a minute, but there can still be issues with things like talking. And due to her breaks, movement will be a problem in the future. She'll have to start physical therapy."

"But… she'll be able to get better, right?" Lucas questioned.

"We can only hope."

The room was quiet for a minute before the nurse offered to show them to Max's room.

Steve followed directly behind Lucas as her door opened, and he overheard the younger boy wail.

Steve understood why a moment later.

Max lay on the hospital bed with white casts all over her body. She looked miserable with all the IV tubes piercing through her skin. A brace supported her neck. Steve was glad that he couldn't see her dull grey eyes. He couldn't bare to see them.

Steve took a seat on the different side of the bed than Lucas did, and he cupped her hand. It was cold.

This is why he was the babysitter. This is why he was in charge. Because look what happens when he isn't.

Max had died because Steve hadn't been there.

God, how stupid Steve had been. Why'd he think this would work?

"I'm so sorry," he breathed as he brushed the hair away from Max's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Max…."

A few hours later and Mrs. Henderson and Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair arrived. They'd been notified at the same time once half of the phone lines came back.

"Dusty!" Mrs. Henderson cried, who had got there first. She looked absolutely distraught. Dustin had instantly embraced her once she called his name through the doorway, limping as he made his way toward her. Steve had noticed the tear stains in his eyes, and he realized just how much the kid had lost that night.

When she noticed Max, Mrs. Henderson hugged her son even tighter than before.

When the Sinclairs arrived only a few minutes later, they looked terrified and relieved to see their kids.

Mrs. Sinclair had only muttered, "Erica… Lucas…." before wrapping them in her arms. Lucas had clung to her coat, sobbing into its cotton.

A few hours later, the three parents had forced their kids to go home, even if it was to get food and a shower. Lucas would be back as fast as he could.

That left just Steve, Robin, and Nancy to watch Max.

He'd held her hand the entire time, not letting go for a second.

Max was like his little sister. Spunky and sarcastic, she'd always stood out from the other party members.

But now, she was quiet. Too quiet. And Steve hated it.

Sniffling, he stared at the ground in shame.

"This is my fault," he said aloud.

"Steve, stop it. None of this is your fault," Robin snapped. "This is nobody's fault."

"I'm in charge. These are my kids, Robin. I should've been there for her."

Nancy walked over to where he sat and squeezed his shoulder. "We did what we could. This isn't your doing, Steve."

He shook his head, not saying a word.

Robin sighed. "Nancy and I will get some food from the vending machine and bring it back here. We'll let you have a moment with her."

After they left, it was just the two of them and the beeping of her machines.

Steve remembered Max had given them letters in case anything happened to her. So even though she wasn't dead, Steve thought it was probably an appropriate time to read them.

Coma's were called sleeping deaths, anyway.

Grabbing it from his backpack, he opened the small brown envelope and unfolded the sheet of paper.

Dear Steve,

If you're reading this letter, it means I'm dead. Or at least, something like that. Or who knows, maybe you're just really nosy. Regardless, you're still reading this.

Ever since you defended me from those demodogs and Lucas from Billy, you've proven to be the best babysitter in the world.

I know you don't feel like it right now, but I promise you are.

Whenever danger comes my way, you've always been there to help me. No matter what.

You're like my older brother in that sense.

So thank you for all the times you snuck me into the movies or all the times you let me make fun of that stupid sailor outfit. Thank you for letting me use you as a chauffeur, and thank you for letting me complain about the silly things. Thank you for buying me my walkman. Lord knows I didn't have enough money for it.

Thank you, Steve.

Thank you for being the best babysitter I could have ever hoped for.

-Max

P.S. Give Mike shit for me, would you?

Steve folded the letter back up by a tear dripped off his nose.

"Thank you for being the best shithead in the world, Mayfield."