ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜʀɴ

It was almost time to attack Vecna and from that moment out, this was going to be down to the wire and if they couldn't at least injure Venca now, then all would be lost.

They had to at least hold out for the battle, at least that was what was detailed in Adelaide's plan which only Sol knew the full extent of. That was even more reason to go through with joining the fight.

At first, after they had dropped Lucas, Erica, and Max off at the boarded-up Creel house, which looked straight out of a horror movie, an unsure feeling that lasted for just a minute ran through Soleil's mind as she had imagined it may have done to everyone else.

Her moment was thinking about everything that could've gone wrong with the plan. If someone died or got hurt, if Vecna wasn't as weak as they thought in his traveling state, there were just too many factors to take into account and not enough time to count them all. That was the worst part of all of this, the fact that they may not get the satisfaction of winning from Vecna as he had inflicted on them—that would've been their ruin.

But Soleil wasn't gonna let that happen, not while she was still kicking and not burning to nothing. Everyone there had someone they would put their leg out for, they each had their own special reason for gaining the courage to look deep into the many, beady, and shifty eyes of the Upside Down. So they couldn't be unsure of anything they were doing because if they didn't act someone was bound to get hurt.

It wasn't in anyone's right mind to leave Hawkins without defense.

Now, the remainder of the group stood together one more time in the stolen trailer to go over the plan before execution.

"Okay. I wanna run through it one more time." Nancy stood up with her arms folded. "Phase one."

"We meet Erica at the playground. She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."

"Phase two."

"Max baits Vecna. He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance. We pray that Adelaide can hold him off enough so that Max won't get hurt too much."

"Phase three?"

"Me, Eddie, and Soleil draw the bats away."

"Four."

"We head into Vecna's newly bat-free lair, and..." Robin shook one of the Molotov cocktails, the volatile liquid sloshed around in the glass bottle. "Flambé."

"Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied. Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

"Got it." Everyone spoke in unison. Then, all of them took their last trip out of the trailer, with new weapons and body armor, the group set out for Eddie's trailer. Steve opened the door and soon was the first one going back into the Upside Down.

"Be careful," Dustin told him.

"Yeah, thanks, buddy." He held onto the makeshift rope. "Here goes nothing." He waved up to them on the other side, Robin put her hands up.

"Ooh, what does he want us to do? Applaud?"

Soon enough everyone took their turn in dropping down into the Upside Down. Just before Soleil went, Eddie gave her a look, a sort of "you don't have to do this" look but that wasn't true, nor could it have ever been because no matter what this part of Soleil's destiny couldn't be changed. Not even if she wanted to.

There were just some things in life that you had to face and this? This was going to be her defining moment.

Soleil climbed up the rope with ease and landed on her feet on the other side. Eddie wasn't too far behind her and so was Dustin which they both helped up. Everyone started to walk out of Eddie's trailer in the Upside Down and just before he left, Steve spoke to the three.

"Hey, guys, listen. If things here start to go South, I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just—"

"Decoys." Dustin and Steve spoke together.

"Don't worry. You can be the hero, Steve."

"Absolutely. I mean, look at us. We are not heroes."

"You got nothing to worry about Steve, everything is going to go how it needs to. Just do me and my sister a favor and light his ass up."

Steve squinted his eyes at Soleil's coded words but this wasn't the time to pressure her about it. Instead, he started to walk away.

"Hey, Steve?" Steve turned back to Eddie. "Make him pay." Finally, Nancy, Steve, and Robin departed for their part of the mission. Once they were gone, the three piled back into Eddie's trailer and got to work.

Dustin and Eddie got to sealing off the trailer and anyway, the bats could enter through while Soleil prepped weapons. She tightened spears and made sure that she had all the mags she brought with her at easy disposal. Then she placed her gun on the kitchen table, right alongside the ammo.

Dustin soon joined Soleil in the kitchen while Eddie finished sealing up areas that Dustin couldn't reach.

He took a seat next to her. "Hey, Soleil."

"Dustin," She stared at the gun she had placed in front of her. "Are you ready?"

"No, but it's now than never right?"

"Right."

There was a bit of silence between them before Soleil looked up to see a nervous Dustin. She spoke. "What's this about?"

"What's what about?"

"Y'know Dustin, if you have a question for me, you can just ask me, I don't take offense."

He exhaled. "Okay, you got me. I do...have a burning question."

"Say it."

Dustin looked around to make sure Eddie was nowhere near them but he was still outside setting things up, he leaned in to speak in a more gentle tone of voice. "Why are you doing this? I mean, I know your sister been fighting Vecna and whatever the hell else here maybe even long before us but why? Why risk the life you still have?"

"Okay, now I take offense." Dustin gaped a little. "I'm just kidding."

"Oh, for a second there you got me." He gave an awkward laugh.

"Well, I'll go back to the start with my siblings. Almost all of us, as far as I know from what people have told me, basically lived in fear and only lived to entertain. Adelaide made my father too scared to let us do anything else and we started to slip into his...madness. Then I found out that Adelaide, the one who defied everything, had been looking out for us this entire time." She leaned forward a bit. "My father was young, and I mean young when this circus started and now, I think he has still failed to see the humanity in me and my siblings. He doesn't see nor do I think he's ever really acknowledged that we had things we liked to do, we had our feelings, we had people that we loved, we were human and I don't know if I'll even live to see him realize that but, I still love him."

Dustin clasped his hands together. "So, you're doing this because you're...human?"

She laughed and shook her head to the side. "Dustin, I am well aware of my humanity in the same way El is, though she and I have been treated like centerpieces and showboats and experiments for most of our lives you know, somewhere in you, you know you are more than that. You know that you have a purpose to find. I'm saying Dustin that, this thought I've held onto, the one that says I must find what drives me and fight for something that I love—is making me stay here with all of you."

"...And what you do love? What dives you?" She grinned, showing her teeth.

"Thrill mainly, life being a thrill makes it all the better. But in all seriousness, only a certain kind of love and care could make anyone come back down here out of their free will and I've found where to put mine." She looked up at the ceiling and back down at Dustin. "I've found a love worth it all and you will too or maybe you already have found it."

Dustin gave a little gasp, almost seeming like he could explode with words at any second but he didn't get the chance to as Eddie called them both.

"Henderson! Sunny! Come out here for a second."

The two went outside to join up with Eddie with Dustin still withholding some sort of blissful thought then, they all stood back and watched the trailer in all its glory.

"Not bad," Eddie said.

"Not bad at all."

"Good for the first time." The three looked at each other. The best part was yet to come, drawing the bats out was going to be one for the books.

"Now for the fun part." They headed back into the trailer, Eddie busted the door down to be greeted with his prized guitar. It looked even more beautiful in the Upside Down than in regular old Hawkins. "Jesus Ch...it's like she was destined for an alternate dimension. What do you say Henderson? Soleil?" He picked up the instrument.

"Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?"

"That a rhetorical question?" Eddie slung the guitar around his body.

"I think all the metalheads that have come before you are about to be really, really proud." Soleil had grabbed her gun and a few mags from the table, shoving them into her waistband.

Eddie couldn't withhold his gigantic smile, he was just like Dustin at that moment, antsy. "Let's do it."

They started to climb to the top of the trailer, hooking Eddie's guitar up to an amp when Dustin received the go-ahead. Now, it was time for the best thing that would ever come out of this twisted, distorted, version of the town of Hawkins.

Dustin nodded to Soleil who then turned to Eddie. "We're good."

Eddie ripped his pick from around his neck. "Chrissy, this is for you." Soleil felt nothing but pride for him come over her. He always thought he was too scared, too much a coward to face the situation at hand but right now, he was fighting for the ones he cared for.

And there was nothing that could make her more proud at that very moment.

Eddie took a deep breath while strumming the chords of his guitar, he started to play one of his favorites, Master of Puppets. He played with such passion, a passion that could only be seen from the greats of Rock N' Roll and Metal. Soleil looked on at him in admiration while Dustin looked through his binoculars before he passed them to Sol, the bats were on their way.

"Eddie! We gotta lock down in T-minus thirty seconds!" He nodded and kept playing, Soleil pulled her pistol.

"T-minus twenty!" Eddie rode into the solo part, shredding it on the guitar. Soleil would've had her eyes glued to him if she didn't have bats to shoot.

"T-minus ten!"

"Five!" The bats flew closer and closer. "One!" They were now barreling toward the three with great speed. As Sol, Dustin, and Eddie hurried down, back into the trailer, Soleil left off a few shots, hitting the bats that started to get way too close for comfort.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Shit! Shit!"

"Get inside!"

"Hurry! Eddie shut it!" Eddie locked down the gate that surrounded the trailer. Soleil moved in front of him.

"Cover your face!" Her eyes lit a flame once again as she started to solder the gate, just enough to keep the bats in for a while but, good enough so that they could make a quick exit if needed. Eddie didn't even get the chance to gush about how cool it was before Dustin pulled him and Soleil in.

Soleil looked at her hand when they got inside and of course, it was slightly burned and pained her but now, that was the last thing she was focused on.

Soleil turned to Eddie, unable to fathom what they had just done. "That was..."

Dustin started to jump up and down and Soleil joined him. "Dude...most metal ever!" The three screamed in excitement, feeling the adrenaline rush of their lives. There it was, there was a thrill.

"That was fucking amazing!" Soleil had acted as if she had just met her favorite artist in the world and they had just performed a personal concert for her. Well, that had just happened and it was at least one positive thing that came out from all of this but if anything, if there was any time to be nervous it'd be right now because their jobs weren't done.

The bats started to bang against the guards they had set up and eventually, they would fight their way in. Soleil, Eddie, and Dustin covered each other from all sides, waiting to strike.

The bats would screech, then they'd stop, then they screech again then stop. It was an effort to confuse them but they weren't going to let up their guard, not for one second.

"Hey, dipshits!" Dustin yelled. "Give up that easy, huh?"

"Shh!" Eddie and Soleil shushed him. Eddie spoke in whispers. "Is that really necessary?"

The bats clattered against the trailer. "They're on the roof."

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

"Get ready." Sol raised her pistol at the roof, ready to fire at whatever came through. The three followed the bats' noises as they hurried along the outside of the trailer.

"They can't get in through there, can they?" As soon as Dustin spoke, the bats shoved themselves through the holes that they made in the roof and shrieked a battle cry at them. Soleil imminently dumped a mag into the bats that tried to get in, messing some as bursts of light illuminated the room. More bats started to flow in as she inserted a new mag into her gun. Eddie and Dustin speared the ones that she couldn't shoot while she ejected the empty mag.

The bats started to get out of hand, there were more and more coming through by the second. Soleil still fired at them while Dustin speared them. Eddie stopped all of a sudden.

"Eddie! We need you!"

"Get out of the way!" Eddie shoved one of their spikey shields over the hole in the roof, he yelled as the sounds of the bats became muffled.

"Holy shit. Holy shit."

Dustin and Soleil panted from the continuous flow of adrenaline. Dustin looked up at Eddie from the floor. "Nice."

"Good thinking."

"Thanks." They high-fived then Eddie took a look at Soleil, biting the inside of his cheek then Dustin asked what should've been the first thing they should've considered.

"Are there other vents?"

"...Oh shit."Eddie sprung to his spear and ran. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit." But he was too late, by the time they had gotten to his bedroom, the bats had floored the area. He closed the door with a slam. The three quickly backed away from the door with their weapons in hand.

"That's not gonna hold!"

"We need to go! Dustin, you first!" Dustin hurried and climbed the rope to the other side.

"Come on Sunny, quickly!" Soleil made it up the rope with ease, leaving the rest of her ammo except one mag on the table, now, all they had to do was wait for Eddie.

Dustin yelled for him. "Eddie c'mon!"

Eddie started to climb the rope then, but he didn't move and then, it struck Soleil that Eddie was about to do the stupidest thing in the history of stupid actions that would get someone killed. Here he was telling her not to try anything heroic and now he was about to do the same thing he hadn't wanted her to do. Be a hero.

"Eddie, come on! Let's go! Eddie, you're so close! Eddie! Let's go!"

"The hell are you doing Eddie? Climb the damn rope." Soleil felt her eyes go big with urgency and anger. "Now!"

Eddie seemed to ignore the two cries as he went back down the rope, looking around the trailer. Dustin and Soleil looked at him in disbelief.

"Eddie." It was like was contemplating the meaning of life as he knew it and his purpose, and lead him there today and in that moment, he had found it. He looked back up at Soleil and Dustin once more and then he jumped down. "Eddie!"

"Eddie Munson! Get your ass back here before you get yourself hurt!" She pleaded.

"What are you doing?" Eddie took up his spear and cut the rope. "Eddie no!" It fell into Dustin's hands, he was begging Eddie not to do what he was about to do. Soleil couldn't even speak anymore.

"Eddie, what are you doing?"

"I'm buying more time." He directed an apologetic look to them both before finally running off.

"Eddie please!"

Soleil stood there, scared shitless of what would become of Eddie but quickly, but once the thought hit her, she acted quickly.

"Goddamnit Munson—Dustin, get that chair, stand on it, I'll need you to boost me. You're gonna need to use all your strength." Dustin stood like a statue until she shook him."Dustin!"

"Wh-what?"

"Get the chair, stand on it, and boost me, do it, we don't have time!"

Dustin wasted no time in getting in the chair, placing it underneath the gate, and standing on top of it.

Soleil quickly paced back to prepare herself for a running start. She put her gun in her waistband with only a mag left. She spoke a million miles per second as she nervously tucked her gun. "Put your hands together and raise them with as much force as you can when I step onto them. Then, you stay here, don't come after me, radio the others and tell them about this, got it?"

"Got it but, will this work?"

Soleil looked up at the gate. "I'm a damn acrobat, of course, it'll work. I'll get him back Dustin. Here goes nothing."

Soleil ran had high speed towards Dustin as he put his hands out and in front of him. She jumped into his hands and he valued her up with everything he had into the air. Soleil grabbed onto the edge of the gate and used her momentum to flip and swing herself over to land on her feet. She could hear Dustin muttering about a stupid idea this was before she rushed out of the front door, in the distance she saw all the bats racing towards Eddie who was on a bike. She picked up one of the other bikes and raced right after him. It was getting worse by the second.

The wheels rattled on Eddie's bike like they were about to fall off. She heard Eddie yell as she followed him through the broken version of Hawkins. "Come get me, you sons of bitches!"

The bats were gaining on him and soon, they had knocked him off the bike. Soleil dumped her bike as well, reaching for her firearm as she saw Eddie start to run, he was under too much stress to even notice her behind him. As she ran after him she noticed he stopped, he stopped again. Why? Why was he doing this? She just couldn't get it.

Why wasn't he saving himself? She needed him to save himself, why wasn't he doing it?"

Eddie then started to turn around and unsheathed his spear and shield. He had an almost Rambo-like glare as the bats rushed him, some impaling themselves onto the spiky shield. Soleil let out quick breaths.

She knew what she would probably have to do, if that would be it then, she had to prepare.

Soleil felt her blood pound against her skull as she stripped herself of any remaining jewelry, she removed her headband which let her hair fly into her face, and then she took off her socks and shoes. She didn't need anything more melting into her skin.

When she looked up, she saw Eddie facing off the bats, the job was getting much harder. "Come on!" That's when she started to shoot the ones that were encroaching on Eddie's space. That was when he saw her and when he saw her, his face shot up in dreadful surprise. Then, her gun clicked.

That was it.

If she wanted him to live, she was going to have to do it.

Eddie faced her through the swarm of bats as he was knocked down by them. He was able only to get out a few audible words. "Sunny—don't do it! It's not worth it, I'm not worth it!"

Soleil faced him, taking in shaky breaths. She just had to have the courage, she just had to remember why she even stepped foot in that horrible place, why she had been so set on fighting Vecna, why she had even made all that effort to spend time with him and it wasn't just because she wanted to have a memorable few last days of her life.

Soleil closed her eyes and opened them again, she looked at Eddie with no fear in sight when a bat took a bite into him. "It's okay Eddie, it's gonna be okay. Everything will go how it needs to."

"Soleil!"

She spoke with her heart. "Thank you for everything." Soleil felt warmth growing within her like fire was about to perforate through every pore. This was it, this was the end and she knew it was. Memories came flooding back to the older teen, her father during happier days, Cassie, Eddie, everything. If that got to live on, in her mind, that was worth dying a dirty death for. At least it wouldn't be senseless like her sibling's death, at least that would mean something.

She approached the bats, ignoring Eddie crying out for her to stop and he sure wailed.

She walked toward the bats, they started to acknowledge her presence and they darted toward her. "Come on you assholes."

They started to attack her, and one of them managed to bite a large chuck out of her shoulder. Soleil yelled out a shrill cry. She extended her arms to the side and bit her lip to exert the pain till blood was drawn. Soleil yelled a great cry, one of what could be considered a great warrior and like someone had lit a flamethrower deep within her—flames erupted from her body, and what an inferno it was.

The fire traveled upwards like a tornado and one by one, the carcasses of the demo bats fell out of the sky.  Eddie watched in terror, clutching his own deep wounds, seeing Sol in the middle of it all, he could only imagine her eyes being as fiery as what she had conjured.

He felt like he failed her, he couldn't save her, and all he could do was watch as she burned herself to ashes.

To see the one person who cared, the one he had grown feelings for, ones even he didn't quite understand ripped away from him just like that.
That was worse than death he had wished Soleil let him have.

All the bats burned easily, the fire killed them all. She did it, she did it.

When the fire dispersed, Soleil stood in that same spot, her whole body shook and she looked at her burnt hands. From her feet to her head there were fresh, third-degree burns, her clothing was black and charred, not even resembling the brilliant, bright, blue they once were. Her face was covered with ash that still fell from the sky, and her hair smelled of smoke and fumes from whatever hair products she had used. She wasn't quite dead yet, and she nor Eddie could believe that she was still standing.

That didn't last for long, Soleil felt her knees buckle and her head got light. The pain was too much to handle, she figured that would kill her if anything. Eddie got off his feet and scurried to her, he knelt and rubbed the ash off her face. Then he sat next to Soleil, cradling her head in his lap, holding her burnt body not caring how hot she still was. Eddie started to cry, he wasn't gonna let her go, not even for a second.

She was shaking, wishing the suffering would end already. Her breathing was heavy but slow. Eddie felt her pulse, it was quickly slowing. This was truly it.

She lifted her head slowly and in the quietest voice Eddie ever heard, she spoke. "Ed-Eddie?" She held onto his hand, he kept a strong hold on her.

"I'm here, Sunny I'm not gonna leave you okay?"

"Okay." She groaned, Sol was slipping out of consciousness but Eddie kept her in check.

"Hey, hey, don't go to sleep. Stay awake for me—I'll get you out of here."

Eddie mustered all the strength he could to pick Soleil up, he hurried back in the opposite direction, not knowing how he would save her but he just...had to, he had to save her.

Sol tugged on his jacket. "Eddie, I gotta tell you something before I go." Her words slurred.

He stopped in his tracks. "Don't you dare leave me alone Sunny..."

She coughed. "You don't need me to live Eddie, you were doing that before you met me."

"No—Sol! I do, I do need you."

"Funny, I think the same way about you, Eddie. You made this the best damn month—no, time of my life and I can't thank you enough for it."

"That's not fair Sol, you can't give up now when you wouldn't let me give up."

He pressed his lips together till they turned white, his chest was a vessel filled with emotion that was yet to burst. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't. He wouldn't be able to take it.

Her strong grip on his hands started to weaken as more scalding, bubbling, red-hot, third-degree burns appeared across her skin. Her hand started to lose its strength and even though her body got hotter, Eddie wouldn't let go, even if he gained a few minor burns himself.

Soleil's smile never faltered. Even though her body was shutting down, even though her gift was turning on her and burning her from the inside. Even though she was dying her life was not lived in vain, completely spent locked up in a white and red tent putting on a show for others no, she went out, she did things she wasn't supposed to do, and she was able to be a teenager and start adulthood. And it was to her delight that the last thing she would ever see was the face of the man who helped her do it, the face of a man who had as much love for her as she did for him.

Now she could rest and meet the brothers and sisters that she had only ever heard of in stories and photos. But she couldn't go without saying one last thing.

"Eddie, I think I love you."

"Wh-what?" His breathing hitched. "Soleil you don't have to say that, don't you dare say that—"

"No, but I do, all this time I was confused but I know now." Her voice shook. "I'm sorry."

Eddie couldn't walk anymore, he just got down to his knees and wailed, he shouted. This was all he ever asked for and now it was being ripped away from him.

He had then realized too, he felt something for Sol that was deeper than friendship. Maybe it was the shared trauma or just how they instantly connected but Eddie had felt he found his other half.

He looked at her lips, she looked at his. Their faces moved closer and closer to each other and in a flash—they kissed. Eddie's heart grew full then it deflated, how he wished he could enjoy the moment in full as Soleil rested her forehead on his. This was supposed to be their happy ever after but alas, life didn't work like the fairy tales.

All it did was take until it couldn't take anymore, till your death and they knew it'd be a mistake not to say how they felt before life took whatever that was left.

"Eddie, don't cry, it's okay. It'll be okay."

"No Soleil it won't be because I love you too. I don't care if it's too soon to say, this is now or never so you gotta hold on for me, please."

"Eddie I wish I could."

"Soleil..."

"Promise me you'll move on."

"What? I just told you I loved you and now you want me to move on? That's fucked up"

"Don't let me drag you down Eddie, get out of this town, and live your dream, I know you can do it." Her eyes struggled to stay open. "I know... because you didn't run."

"Sunny!"

She managed to give one last weak smile. All the muscles her in face relaxed. Soleil's hand released Eddie's and he couldn't believe it.

Her body had started to cool down till she was stone cold, she was dead.

Eddie's heart couldn't take it anymore he started crying, bordering hysterical. He shook her again and again like it would wake her up from death's eternal rest but his efforts were in vain.

"No, no, no, no Sunny, you have to wake up, you have to! I love you too, you have to wake up you have to" He gripped Soleil in his arms and cried to the heavens, pleading that something or someone who could do something would hear his cries. He didn't care what he'd have to give, what he'd give if she would just come back. And that was his only thought. "Wake up, wake up...."

If his light, his special person, if she could just come back, he would do everything right. He wouldn't let her give herself up like this, not for him. He'd swap places with her if he could. Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be Soleil Alastair, everything he had ever wished for, have to die?

"Eddie! Soleil!" Eddie's head was buried in Sol's neck when Dustin approached him. He didn't understand what happened till he saw Sol's body and he crouched to a weeping Eddie's side. His newfound friend was gone.

"She saved me, me of all people. She died to save me. Why'd you do something dumb like that Sol? Huh?!"

They didn't move for a long time, hours it felt like till wind stirred in the Upside Down. Dustin and Eddie immediately took note of this, they looked around for the source of the wind. Eddie still held Soleil as if he could still protect her.

"What the hell?" Dustin questioned. When the two weren't paying attention, someone crept up on them. Heavy boots hit the ground to alert them. The two yelped and scurried back, expecting to be met with some beast but instead, it was the unexpected.

A woman, around Eddie's age, stood before them. Her skin was the color of raw sienna but her Cognac eyes reminded Eddie of Sol's. The woman was fairly tall, dressed in heavy black heeled boots, a blazer that fitted like a dress completed with a tie, and black gloves. Her was fixed in curls, a shorter style women may have worn back in the fifties. Her lips were painted with a garnet red color but despite that, everything about her seemed grayscale just like the environment around her. She had come out of nowhere.

"Who the fu-who are you?" Dustin pointed.

"We don't have much time, let me see her." The woman walked towards Soleil's body but Eddie held her away. She stopped. "This is of the utmost importance that you let me work and I'm risking a lot showing myself like this."

"Who are you?" He repeated Dustin's question.

The woman sighed, looking at Soleil sadly. "Her sister."

"Your—"

"Adelaide now please, let me help her before she's too far gone."

Fully convinced and without a second thought—with only the desperation to help Soleil to fuel him, Eddie held out Soleil's body to Adelaide.

"Eddie wait, you're just gonna give her up to this lady, what's if it's Vecna in disguise?"

"I can assure you, I hate Vecna with every bone in my body and for her, I would spend the last of my energy saving her. Give me her."

Eddie handed Soleil over to Adelaide. Adelaide looked at her shoulder to see a bite mark, she frowned, her face held a million secrets it seemed. Her eyes glossed over as she put a hand on the side of Soleil's head, almost like they had just frozen over like car windows in Canada deep into winter. Like magic, skin started to grow over most of Soleil's burns, like they were never there at all but even Adelaide had her limits.

Eddie and Dustin could only mutter amongst themselves as they watched her work. Adelaide snapped out of her trance-like state and felt Sol's pulse. A faint beating was present but that was only going to buy them a little time.

Adelaide looked over at the boys with the utmost seriousness. "Listen closely, you need to take her to a hospital right away. If she wakes up, if she ever does you need to prepare yourself because she might not—" Adelaide paused, rethinking her words. "Tell nobody you saw me, don't even speak of me doing this, or else I won't be able to protect Hawkins. I'd like to keep Vecna off my radar as much as I can."

"Protecting Hawkins from Vecna? We're gonna kill him."

"Even if you did, I'm afraid there is much worse on this Earth than the Upside Down." She swallowed her and looked around before facing them again, sensing movements through the two worlds. "Be well...take care of my sister."

Just as fast as she had arrived, Adelaide was gone, like she hadn't even been there at all. As if he couldn't believe what Adelaide did, Eddie lowered his head, and sure enough, he heard a heartbeat. He sprang up and scooped Soleil up—looking at Dustin.

"Henderson, we need to go—now!"

There really was no rest for the weary.

A/N: Any thoughts?
-Rose ♡︎