From the light of his flashlight, Dustin Henderson could barely make out the words splashed across the X-Men comic he'd begged his mom to buy him the day before. The batteries were on their last leg, however, and he had to keep turning it off and on again each time the light started to dim. When he was on the final few pages, the light dulled and went out completely.

"No, no, no - awww, come on." He huffed and smacked the flashlight, trying in vain to get it to work.

After a few failed attempts, he groaned and peeled himself out of bed, making his way downstairs. It was well after his bedtime, so he had to be quiet in order to not wake his mom. He may or may not have promised her that if she bought him the comic, he wouldn't stay up all night reading it… She should have known better, in all fairness.

He quietly crept over to the miscellaneous drawer in the kitchen and started rifling through it in search of spare batteries. After a moment of searching, he changed them out and flicked the flashlight on to test it. Suddenly, he heard a shuffling noise across the room. Startled, he shined the flashlight in that direction.

Only to find a figure, hunched over and leaning against the wall of his living room. The figure had blood dripping down his chin and smeared all over his torso and hands.

Dustin would have screamed, had he had any air in his lungs. Instead, he sputtered uselessly, shaking his head, and backing himself against the wall.

This was a ghost, a demon, something . Because what it most certainly couldn't have been - what it was not, because if it was, that would mean Dustin had gone crazy - was Eddie Munson standing in his living room, bleeding all over the carpet.

His eyes glowed like a cat under the light. Eddie held out a shaky hand and - god, it looked… monstrous. Claws stretched from his fingers, which were black and veiny, fading off into his hands. He pushed himself from the wall and took a step towards the boy.

"Dustin," he rasped. "Hey... It's me."

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck…" Dustin whimpered. He reached blindly for a weapon, anything, eventually finding a spatula and thrusting it forward pathetically. "Don't come any closer!"

Eddie continued forward, and in a panic, Dustin threw the flashlight at him, his only source of light. It smacked Eddie in the gut and clattered to the floor, the light flailing wildly as it spun around and died at his feet. Eddie held both hands up now, he was still weak, but now he just looked annoyed. "I'm not gonna hurt you, dipshit."

Dustin's arm lowered slightly and his eyes widened. He stared at him for a few moments. "... Eddie?"

Dustin stared down at Eddie as he sat, fully clothed, in the empty bathtub. He still had his spatula, which he hadn't stopped pointing at Eddie for even a second. Eddie was washing the blood from his mouth with a wet towel. It was only just now that Dustin realized he was in the same clothes he'd been in the night they entered the upside down together. The night he… died.

"Can you put that thing away? Please?" He glared up at Dustin.

Dustin shook his head. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

"I told you! I have no idea-"

"Shh, you're gonna wake my mom."

Eddie could kill him. He rolled his eyes and held up his hands. "Look, I'm… I'm fucking confused. Okay? The last thing I remember is fighting off the bats and… and then I thought…" He clenched his jaw, his brows furrowing slightly. He shook his head. "I don't know, I… I thought I was gone. I didn't feel… anything actually. It's like I was alive but not. Like I was in a void."

Dustin held the spatula higher.

"I'm telling you the truth!" Eddie bared his teeth at him, reflexively. That's when Dustin noticed the sharp canines protruding from his gums.

His jaw dropped. "Holy fucking shit, dude. You're like- You're like a monster or something."

Worry suddenly filled Eddie's eyes. He swallowed and looked at his trembling claws.

"Why - " Dustin found his voice faltering with the rush of adrenaline, "Why are you c-covered in blood? Huh? Explain that."

Eddie looked up at him, his eyes flickering with realization. He grew a little pale.

"… The next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of nowhere. The woods, I don't know… There was a deer, and…" Images flashed through his mind. Blood everywhere, on the leaves, his face, his hands; slashing, flesh tearing, thrashing. He swallowed, "I was so hungry… I…" He shook his head and pressed his palms into his eyes as if trying to block out the memory. "After a while I kind of… wandered to Wayne's trailer. Saw him through the window. He was just sitting there like usual… Asleep at the tv, beer in his hand. I should have been relieved to see him but I couldn't stop thinking about how… hungry I was. It… It almost got bad, Dustin." He looked up at the boy and Dustin realized he was beginning to tear up. Dustin had never seen him get this upset. Not even when they played D&D and a character died, or a campaign ended. He wasn't sure it was possible, but Eddie Munson looked small, afraid.

"Then the neighbor's dog started barking and making all this noise and I… I panicked… I don't know what's wrong with me." Tears ran down his cheeks and he was shaking more than ever.

"Okay, okay, don't cry. Um…" Dustin set down the spatula and ran to the sink to wet a washcloth. "Let's just… get the blood off of you." He moved to wipe his face, but Eddie recoiled.

"D-Don't."

"What?"

"Don't get near me." Eddie turned his head as far away as he could, pressing his forehead into the tiles. "I'm… I'm not myself right now. The smell…" He covered his mouth.

"Okay, alright…" Dustin mumbled. He looked around for a moment and then cursed under his breath. "Stay here. Don't you dare move, okay?"

All Eddie could do was nod. Dustin got up and walked to the door very calmly, trying to show Eddie that everything was going to be a-ok. The moment he shut the door, however, he sprinted to his room and threw it apart trying to find the walkie talkie. When it was finally in his hand he turned on the receiver.

"Code Red, everybody, we've got a Code Red!"

There was only static.

"Hello?!"

After a moment, Mike answered on the other end. "Dude… What?" He mumbled, still half asleep.

"Code Red!"

Mike winced on the other end, "God, okay, I heard you... What's going on?"

"Dustin?..." Lucas's voice came through the receiver. He sounded just as sleepy, if not even more annoyed.

"You guys need to get over here right now. It's an emergency."

Nancy's voice suddenly piped up on the line. "As in: Vecna emergency?"

"Nancy?" Mike blurted. "What are you doing on our frequency?"

"I've got to know when upside down business is happening and I'm not letting you guys keep me out of the loop ever again."

Mike groaned. "Nancy - "

"Can we talk about this later?" Dustin interrupted. "Come to my house, now. Bring everybody."

"On it." Nancy shut off her walkie. There was a groan or two before the line went silent. Dustin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was going to have to figure out what exactly to do about Eddie. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved to see him, or afraid.

He was leaning towards afraid.

Steve and Nancy were the first to arrive, along with Will, Eleven, and Mike in the back seat. Jonathan, Argyle, Robin, and Lucas were second. Dustin stood outside waiting for them as they pulled up.

"What happened?" Steve asked, getting out of the car.

Nancy ran up with her shotgun in hand. "Is everything okay?"

Dustin threw his hands up in shock. "What the hell did you bring a gun for?!"

"You said it was a code red."

Jonathan walked up with Argyle and the rest of his passengers and nearly leapt back in shock. "Jesus, Nancy!"

She rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for being prepared."

"Oh my god, enough! Listen. We have a major fucking situation right now." Dustin lowered his voice and looked around before continuing. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Before they could protest, Dustin had disappeared into his house. Steve sighed and put his hands on his hips and Nancy reluctantly lowered her shotgun. After waiting for what felt like forever, Dustin finally emerged and held up his hands cautiously. "Okay… Whatever you do, do not freak. Got it?"

Steve raised a tired eyebrow and nodded. "Got it." He doubted this would be anything really worth a code red. Dustin had been known to be overdramatic at the best of times. Dustin gestured towards the door and stepped aside. None of them were prepared to see Eddie Munson walk out, pale, soaked in sweat, and shivering in the middle of summer.