Chapter 8

A/N: surprise update! please enjoy 🙂

“The gate” Steve and Dustin say at the same time looking at each other.

“I don’t understand. You’ve seen this before?” Robin asks, as the group walks down the stairs.

“Not exactly” Steve responds.

“Then what, exactly?” Sofia asks, wondering how and why her brother seemed to know about this.

“All you need to know is it’s bad” Steve says.

“It’s really bad. Like, end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad” Dustin adds.

“And you know about this how?” Robin asks, starting to freak out.

“Um, Steve? Where’s your Russian friend?” Erica asks, noticing that the Russian man is now gone.

An alarm starts blaring and a group of Russian military starts running after the group.

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Steve shouts, as they make their way up the stairs. They ran past the group of scientists and the big weapon trying to open the gate, to an empty door. Then, they entered the room and Steve held the door, blocking the Russians from coming in.

“Robin!” Steve shouts, and she runs to the door, helping Steve by holding it.

Sofia looks around frantically for an escape and quickly finds a vent on the floor.

“Here!” she shouts, motioning Dustin and Erica to run to where she is. She looks back to Steve and Robin, who are struggling to keep the door closed. Sofia opens the vent and sprints to the door to help Steve and Robin. 

Sofia wasn’t stressed about her. She was stressed about keeping her brother safe, because if something ever happened to him, she would never forgive herself. So, she had to protect him at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing herself. She made that promise to herself when their father wasn’t present anymore, and for sure she wouldn’t break it now.

Although it seemed very dramatic for her, thinking of protecting Dustin at all costs, because she never thought she’d be in that type of situation. Now here she was, living the moment vividly.

“Sofy, what are you doing!?” Dustin yells at his sister.

“Go! Just get out of here!” Sofia shouts back, struggling to keep the door closed. She just wanted him to leave. Please, please leave.

“Go, come on, now!” Dustin shouts at the trio.

“No! Just go get some help, okay?” Steve shouts. 

“What are you doing?!” Sofia yells at her brother when he stops to look at them.  “Go!” Sofia and Steve shout.

“I won’t forget you!” Dustin says, looking at the trio.

“Go!” they yell.

Once Dustin closes the vent, they let go of the door and get thrown across the floor, hitting the wall. As a line of Russian guards with guns forms in front of them, they put their arms up and hope for the best.

“Who do you work for?” the Russian man asks Sofia, for the millionth time.

“I’ve told you, I’m unemployed” Sofia says, and gets slapped right across the face again. “That one was softer, thank you” she smiles sarcastically at the two men, and gets punched on the face. 

Sofia groans in pain. It’s been 10 minutes since the interrogatory started, and she’s been slapped and punched too many times. She was still a bit thankful that was all they did since she could think of worse things.

“How did you get in?” the Russian man asks, with a serious face.

“God, I already told you! Are you deaf or something? Do you think I’m here for fun? Do you think this was my main plan for summer?” she yells, desperately wanting them to stop.

The two men just look at each other and say nothing. “What are you doing with the others, huh?” she asks, getting nervous by the sudden silence.

“Just… the same” the Russian man says, and Sofia’s heart feels shattered.

“I swear to god if you touch her, I’ll slaughter each one of you” Sofia yells at them.

“Aw, scared for your little girlfriend?” the Russian man asks, grabbing Sofia’s chin.

“You son of a bitch-” Sofia yells, trying to kick the man, but he hits her head into the wall and leaves her unconscious and tied to the chair. The other man unties her from the chair, leaving her knocked out body on the floor.

Meanwhile, in another room, Steve and Robin get thrown to the floor.

“Hey… Steve?” Robin asks, bending over to look at him. “Steve? Steve? Steve? What did you do to him? What did you do?” Robin yells at them and gets slapped.

“Don’t touch me! Steve… Steve, wake up. Steve? What did you do?!” Robin yells, while being tied up to the chairs.

“Where is Sofia? Why isn’t she here?” Robin yells, as her heart starts beating even faster.

“She’s sleeping” the Russian man smiles at Robin who, even though wasn’t hit, felt like she was hit by a truck by hearing those words. “I think your friend need a doctor. Good thing… we have the very best”

As the man starts laughing, Robin spits on his face. “You are going to regret that, сука.”

“Bastards. Let us outta here! Bastards! Let us out! Let us out!” Robin yells, as the men start to leave the room.

“Help!” Robin yells, after being in the room for a long time.

“Hey, would you stop yelling?” Steve asks with a tired voice.

“Steve! Oh, my God! Steve… Are… Are you okay?” Robin asks, relieved he’s okay.

“My ears are ringing, and I can’t really breathe, my eye feels like it’s about to pop out of my skull, but, you know, apart from that, I’m doing pretty good.” Steve says.

“Well, the good news is that they’re calling you a doctor” Robin says.

“Is this his place of work? I love the vibe. Charming” Steve jokes.

“Yeah, tell me about it” Robin says, chuckling.

“Wait, where’s Sofy?” Steve asks, looking around the room.

“I don’t know, they said she was asleep…” Robin responds, feeling suddenly more nervous. All the possibilities were running through her mind, making her feel insane. She just felt the natural need to protect Sofia. Well, Robin wouldn’t use the word «protect» since it sounds too serious, but that’s how she felt.

“Shit, I hope she’s okay. Henderson would be heartbroken if he sees her beat up” Steve says, with a sad undertone.

“That’s why we need to do something. So, okay, do you see that table over there to your right?” Robin asks, and Steve looks to the other side. “No, your other right”

“Oh” Steve says.

“Yeah, okay. And do you see those scissors?” Robin asks.

“Uh-huh” 

“Yeah, well, I think that if we move at the same time, we could get over there, and then maybe I could kick the table and knock them into your lap” Robin explains.

“And I could cut the binds” Steve concludes, getting a bit excited over the plan.

“Yeah, and we could get out of here” Robin says.

“Gotcha. Okay, yeah, we can do that” Steve says, letting a smile escape from his lips.

“Yeah” Robin scoffs. “Those morons. They left scissors in here?” 

“Yeah, morons” Steve laughs.

“Total morons” Robin laughs. “Okay, so, on the count of three, we’re gonna hop”

“Okay, good, hop on three. I gotcha” Steve says.

“All right. One, two, three” Robin counts, and they hop in sync.

“Okay, that worked” Steve celebrates.

“All right. Uh, let’s try again. One, two, three” Robin counts, and they hop in sync again, moving forward. “Holy shit, this is gonna work!” 

“We’re close. Ready?” Steve asks.

“Okay, one, two, three” Robin counts, but this time they fall to the ground.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry. Robin” Steve says, hearing what seemed like Robin crying. Are you laughing?”

“Yeah” Robins responds, between laughs.

“Jesus!” Steve sighs.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. It’s just… I can’t believe… I’m gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve “The Hair” Harrington. It’s just too trippy, man” Robin laughs.

“We’re not gonna die. We’re gonna get out of here, okay? Just… You gotta let me just think for a second” Steve says, starting to feel desperate.

“Do you remember, um, Mrs. Click’s sophomore history class?” Robin asks.

“What?” Steve asks, confused.

“Mrs. Clickity-Clackity. That’s what us band dweebs called her. It was first period, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you were always late” Robin tells Steve. “And you always had the same breakfast. Bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel. I sat behind you two days a week for a year. Mister Funny. Mister Cool. The King of Hawkins High himself. Do you even remember me from that class?”

Steve stays in silence, so Robin keeps talking. “Of course you don’t. You were a real asshole, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know” Steve responds, with a disappointed tone.

“But it didn’t even matter. It didn’t matter that you were an ass. I was still… obsessed with you” Robin admits. “Even though all of us losers pretend to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular… accepted, normal” 

“And then there was Sofia. She was friends with the popular kids, but she wasn’t popular. It’s like there was something about her that drove people away. Like, she’s different. And she has so many good qualities that the popular kids should have-” Robin says.

“If it makes you feel any better, having those things isn’t all that great. Seriously. It just baffles me. Everything that people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it’s all just… bullshit” Steve says. “But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?”

“I hope so. I feel like my whole life has been… one big error” Robin chuckles.

“Yep” Steve says in agreement.

“At least it can’t get any more messed up than this” Robin says.

“You know, I wish I’d known you in Click’s class” Steve says, truthfully.

“Yeah?” Robin asks.

“Really, I do” Steve says. “Maybe you could’ve helped me pass the class. Maybe instead of being here, I’d be on my way to college right now”

“And I would have no idea that there were evil Russians beneath our feet, and I would be happily slinging ice cream with some other schmuck” Robin says. 

“Gotta say, though, I liked being your schmuck. It was fun while it lasted” Steve says.

“It was” Robin says. The sound of a buzzer fills the room, as the Russian man come in.

After getting injected with the wrong drugs, the Russian men come back again and start the same interrogatory. Suddenly, a blaring alarm starts playing.

The general leaves the room, and a few seconds later Dustin comes in, screaming, and attacks the doctor.

“Hey! Henderson! That’s crazy, I was just talking about you” Steve says, while Dustin unties him, and Erica unties Robin.

“Where’s Sofia?” Dustin asks, feeling adrenaline course through his veins.

“We… don’t know” Robin says, being reminded again of Sofia’s absence.

They run towards a second door inside the room, opening it and seeing 3 more doors. One led to some stairs, another to the big hallway and the one in the middle led to a room similar to where Steve and Robin were.

Entering the room, they see Sofia’s unconscious body on the floor, her face facing the ground.

“Holy shit, Sofy” Dustin says, as the group run to her. They roll her body and see she has a swollen lip and some cuts on her cheeks. Dustin ignores the urge to cry and tries to think of a way to carry her.

“Steve, pick her up” Dustin orders.

“How, man?” Steve asks, confused and clearly high.

“I don’t know!” Dustin shouts. “Come on, get ready to run!” 

Steve picks Sofia up and carries her over the shoulder, as they run to the cart.

They enter the cart and Steve and Robin sit on the back with Sofia. They lay Sofia down, with her head on Robin’s lap and Dustin starts driving.

Halfway through the bumpy ride, Sofia wakes up and sees Robin. She feels her hair being played with as she rubs her eyes.

“Hey! The princess woke up!” Robin says, chuckling. Sofia, embarrassed, gets out of Robin lap and sits down, next to the girl.

“Sofy!” Dustin says in relief, feeling his whole back loosen up. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my face is about to explode” she says, feeling the cuts on her face. “Why do I have such a punchable face?”

“You have a pretty face that really shouldn’t be punched” Robin says, smiling. Sofia looks at her, trying to ignore her red cheeks, and realizes something is up with Robin and Steve.

“Jesus, slow down!” Steve shouts.

“Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?” Robin asks.

“It’s the Indy 300” Steve says.

“No, dingus, it’s 500!” Robin says.

“It’s 300!” Steve insists.

“Let’s say a million” Robin says, and she and Steve start laughing.

“What is wrong with them?” Erica asks, looking back.

“I don’t know” Dustin responds.

“I’m pretty sure they’re high” Sofia says, confident.

“And you know that how?” Erica asks her.

“I know I seem boring, but I’ve been to a few parties” Sofia says, knowing damn well she was only telling half of the truth.

“Dustin, watch out!” Erica shouts, and they’re about to hit some metal barrels.

“Shit!” Dustin shouts and takes an unexpected turn.

Steve and Robin fell against the metal divider and Sofia fell on top of Robin. Locking eyes with each other, Sofia felt the urge to kiss Robin right there, but she knew she couldn’t. Even high, Robin felt the same urge. Well, it seemed that when high the urge was bigger.

“Come on. We gotta go, now” Dustin says, opening the doors to the back of the cart. Sofia gets up from being on top of Robin and gets out of the cart. 

Dustin immediately pulls his sister into a hug, and she hugs him back. “I’m glad you’re alive” he says, still hugging her.

“Yeah, me too” she whispers, holding her brother like he’s a precious thing that she can only cherish over.

Erica gets Steve and Robin out of the cart, Dustin walks over the elevator and opens it with the keycard. “Here goes nothing” he says.

Inside the elevator, Steve and Robin don’t stop laughing together, which makes Sofia jealous of Steve.

“Hey! You look like you’re surfing!” Robin laughs, as Steve is on top of a trolley.

“Surfing! Yeah!” Steve laughs.

“They seem drunk” Erica says.

“Why would they be drunk?” Dustin asks.

“I told you, they’re high as fuck” Sofia says. Now she wants to get high with Robin.

“I’m a natural! Check it out!” Steve says, falling on the ground.

“Wipeout!” Robin shouts.

Dustin walks over to Steve, who’s lying on the floor, and checks his temperature. “He’s burning up” Dustin says.

“You’re burning up” Steve says.

“One sec, one sec. Steve, Steve” Dustin says, trying to check Steve’s pupils. 

Sofia walks over to Robin and looks into her eyes, holding her face. “Her pupils are super dilated”

“Maybe they’re drugged” Erica says.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Sofia says, frustrated that she wasn’t being heard.

“Ugh. Boop!” Steve says, touching the tip of Dustin’s nose.

“Steve, are you drugged?” Dustin asks.

“How many times, Dad? I don’t do drugs. It’s only marijuana” Steve laughs.

“This isn’t funny, okay? I need to know what they gave to you” Sofia says.

“Are you gonna die on us?” Dustin asks Steve.

“We all die, my strange little child friend. It’s just a matter of how… and when” Robin says, holding her hair.

Dustin turns back to look at Sofia. “Where did you park your car?” Dustin asks his sister.

“Oh no… they took the keys” Sofia says as she checks her pockets. Dustin asks Steve the same, but they also took his keys.

The elevator door opens, and they rush out of there, and it’s already nighttime.

“Sofia, can you taste the air?” Robin asks, putting her tongue out. Sofia just smiles at the girl and takes a deep breath.

“I taste it! I taste it!” Steve shouts.

Two guards start running towards the group, so Sofia grabs Robin’s hand and they run into the mall. Sofia tried to convince herself she only grabbed Robin’s hand so she wouldn’t get lost or behind, but unfortunately, she knew the real reason and hated it.