✺

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND, YOU'VE seen this before?" Robin questioned Steve and Dustin as the group hurried down the stairs more frantic to leave this time.

"Where have you seen this?" Carly demanded.

"Not exactly," said Steve.

"Then what, exactly?" Robin pushed.

"All you need to know is it's bad," Dustin explained.

"It's really bad," Steve added.

"Like, end of the human race as we know it kind of bad."

"And you know about this how?" Robin questioned.

"Um, Steve," cut in Erica. "Where's your Russian friend?"

Carly's eyes fell to the spot where the guard had been, noticing that he was gone. Above them, an alarm started blaring, alerting them to how screwed they were.

"Shit," Steve panicked, opening the door to see the guards hurrying. They spotted Steve as he was quick to shut the door. "Shit."

"What do we do?" Carly cried out.

"Go, go, go, go," repeated Steve, encouraging them to go back through the other door again.

"Shit," said Dustin.

"Move! Let's move!"

They were quick to hurry through the corridors as Carly's heart thundered, keeping up with the other four. Even with them running, they knew the reality was that they wouldn't get out — not unless a miracle struck with them finding a way back up and out.

As they hurried through a door, Dustin was quick to come to a halt. They had been caught by the scientist within the room that was experimenting with the crack in the wall, doing whatever they were doing.

There were a few more curses from Steve, followed by him motivating the group to keep moving, but they knew it themselves.

Behind them, there were yells in Russian with the guards coming through. They ended up on the balcony, pushing past the men in the hazmat suit with the machine still whirling next to them. Abrupt, the group came to a stop, nearing the edge with the whitish-blue beam blocking them.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

The words were repeated and even Carly was screaming.

"Guards! Go!"

"This way!" Steve shouted.

Turning, there was a stairwell that headed down and away from the machine. Steve pushed a guard down the stairs, giving them the freeway to rush past. Things escalated with the guards closing in on them, where Steve knocked another one with the cylinder containers.

"Come on! Go, go, go, go!"

"Shit!"

"This way!" Robin guided them.

Pushing through a door, the five hurried into the room with the eldest three being last. Behind Steve, he closed the door, but it didn't hold with one man against many. Carly's breathing hitched, not hesitating for a second to help Steve keep the door shut.

"Help me," said Steve. "Come on."

Robin joined them with the three pressing their weight against the door, trying to keep it shut.

"Here!" Erica cried out. "Come on, let's go!"

"Come on!" Dustin told them, ready to follow after Erica.

"Go!" Steve shouted. "Just get out of here!"

"Come on, now," Dustin said.

"No!" Steve replied, voice still loud and pounding, but not loud enough against the body weight slamming against the door. "Just go get some help, okay?"

If either of the three moved away from the door now, then they would all end up captured. Carly's eyes fell on Dustin, relieved that it was the two kids that were getting out. But, even Dustin hesitated, not wanting to leave them.

"What are you doing?" Steve screamed at him. "Go!"

"I won't forget you," Dustin promised.

"Go!" The three yelled.

Dustin was fortunate enough to shut the vent door behind him before Carly, Steve, and Robin were falling. Grunting, Carly landed close to the other two. Then, suddenly, the Russians were rushing through with their guns pointed at the three.

In response, the three rose their hands in surrender.

✺

Carly was crying while her hands were tied together, forced to sit on a chair. The fear was suffocating as Carly's eyes were on the one guard that stayed with Carly and she constantly pleaded their innocence with him.

Then, when two guards came, Carly wailed.

"Please," Carly pleaded. "It's just a mistake. We were just lost!"

Whether the guards understood her or not, Carly wasn't sure. However, her gut was telling her that they weren't listening — they didn't care.

Harsh hands grabbed Carly's arm, forcing her to stand. With wide eyes, Carly forced herself to look at the guard, knowing she looked desperate to be begging for her life.

"I'm sorry," said Carly. "Please, I just wanna go home."

But the man simply shook her, muttering words in Russian. Becoming mute, Carly simply tried to control her crying as she was forced to walk, unknowing of where she was going.

Carly was thrown into a room, finding it awkward with her hands tied together. Already, Steve was on the floor as Carly's heart jolted, but not in a good way this time.

Steve was too still with Carly praying that he was just unconscious. There was so much blood that caused Carly's breathing to tighten.

"Steve," gasped Carly, forcing herself closer to him. "Oh my God, Steve."

Her tied hands touched his face, trying to see if he was conscious or not. When she felt the slight warmth of his breath, Carly let out a long breath herself.

Then, Robin was joining them, putting up more of a fight than Carly had.

"Get your hands off me!" Robin cried out.

Like Carly, she was thrown to the floor close to where Carly kneeled with Steve.

"Robin," said Carly, relieved to see that she wasn't as harmed as Steve was.

"Carly," Robin replied, feeling the same too until her eyes fell on Steve. "Steve?"

But Steve was unconscious, oblivious to Carly's touch as she tried checking his wounds, unknowing how she could help him despite the lingering danger they were in.

"What did you do to him?" Carly screamed at the captain.

In response, the back of the captain's hand smacked Carly's face as she saw stars for a moment. The stinging sensation caused her cheek to turn red and the force of it knocked Carly back to the cold concrete.

"Carly!" Robin cried out, a fiery glare falling on the captain. "Don't touch her!"

Carly heard the smack of Robin being hit too before the captain was barking orders in Russian. Trying not to cry, Carly and Robin were forced to sit in wheelie chairs with Steve close to them. Both Robin and Steve were taped together while Carly ended up being tied to a singular chair to watch them.

"Stop," Carly pleaded. "Please."

"What did you do?" Robin demanded.

Steve's head flopped forward as the captain's hand forced his head to rise.

"Don't touch him," Robin snapped.

The captain clicked his tongue, not listening to Robin.

"Steve?" Robin questioned. "Steve, can you hear me?"

"Please Steve," Carly added.

"I think your friend needs a doctor," the captain told them, pausing before Robin to hold her stare. "Good thing...we have the very best."

Then, the captain's head turned to look at Carly, where he started to laugh. It was far from amusing for Robin and Carly, but the guards around them joined in with the laughter.

Robin spat on the captain.

Carly's mouth parted in shock.

The captain wiped the saliva from his face with a white hanky. But, Robin forced her chin to remain high as she presented her most iciest glare.

"You are going to regret that, little bitch," the captain said.

Though, whatever plan they had, it wasn't starting now. The captain, along with the guards, headed towards the door, leaving them alone in a dark room tied to chairs.

"Bastards," Robin shouted after them. "Let us outta here! Let us out! Let us out!"

Alone, the two found all they could do was shout for help despite knowing that no one would hear them. Even if Dustin and Erica got out, it would still take them a while to bring help. Still, though, they prayed for that small miracle.

"Hey, would you stop yelling," Steve mumbled. 

"Steve!" Carly and Robin cried out, relieved.

Carly found a fresh wave of tears, the last few before she was surely all cried out.

"Steve, are you okay?" Carly asked him as her eyes remained on him, wide with concern.

"My ears are ringing," said Steve, still groggy. "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."

"Oh, honey," Carly sympathised, seeing the pain he was in.

"Well, the good news is that they're calling you a doctor," Robin told him with a chuckle.

"Is this his place of work?" Steve asked, trying to joke. "I love the vibe. Charming."

Even Carly found a small burst of laughter at that.

"Yeah, tell me about it," said Robin.

"Hey, Carly," Steve said, turning his head as his one good eye squinted, trying to see her.

"Yeah?"

"If we survive," Steve started, trying to smirk. "What are my chances of getting that date now?"

Despite their pending doom, Carly laughed. "I guess we'll have to survive to find out."

Steve had a small, hidden smile at that.

"So, okay, if you're both done," said Robin, rolling her eyes. "Do you see that table over there to your right? No, your other right, Steve. Carly, it's in front of you."

Looking across, Carly's eyes fell on the table.

"Yeah, okay," Robin continued. "And do you see those scissors, Carly?"

"Yeah," Carly replied.

"Yeah, well, I think you could reach them," Robin told her. "If you could wheel yourself over and somehow kick the table, then maybe they'll land in your lap."

"And if they don't?" Carly questioned.

"Just make sure that they do," Robin answered.

Carly pressed her lips together, hating the very thought of failing. If she dropped the scissors, and couldn't get them, then their death would be Carly's fault.

"Those morons," said Steve. "They left scissors in here?"

"Yeah, morons," Robin agreed.

"Total morons," Steve confirmed.

"And I'll be the biggest moron if I blow this chance," Carly said.

"You won't blow it," Steve told her.

"You've got this," Robin encouraged her.

Carly sighed. "Okay."

Focusing her attention on the scissors, Carly's feet barely touched the surface of the ground from where she sat. As she scraped her feet, she slowly wheeled herself over to the table, careful not to bump into it and cause the instruments to scatter.

"Good, good," Robin commented. "Now just knock the scissors into your lap."

"Right," said Carly, frowning.

Firstly, Carly tried lifting her arms as much as possible, hoping to reach the scissors, but she could barely touch the top of the table. So, instead, Carly gave the table a little kick as the scissors bounced, but didn't move.

"Again," Robin instructed. "Try it again."

"Maybe a little harder," Steve added.

"I don't think it's gonna work," Carly told them.

But what choice did they have? Again, Carly kicked the cabinet table as the instruments rattled, but nothing fell. Getting frustrated, Carly kicked the table again with it flying backwards into the wall with the instruments crashing. The bowl with the scissors fell with Carly trying to catch them, but they cluttered to the ground.

All three stared at the scissors on the floor.

Carly waited for Robin to get angry with her, but it never came. Instead, to her surprise, Robin made a sound with Carly believing she was crying.

"Robin, I'm so sorry," Carly apologised. "Please don't cry."

But Robin wasn't crying, she was giggling.

"You're laughing," Carly said.

"Jesus," Steve muttered.

"I'm sorry," Robin continued to laugh. "I'm so sorry. It's just I can't believe I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base with an optimistic cheerleader and with Steve 'The Hair' Harrington. It's just too trippy, man."

"We're not gonna die," Steve stated. "We're gonna get out of here, okay? Just — you gotta let me just think for a second."

But even Carly's optimism was wearing out now. Everything that worked out for her was because it was all normal — this was beyond crazy, something from a film, but something they wouldn't survive.

"Steve, do you remember, um, Mrs Click's sophomore history class?" Robin questioned.

Steve shook his head. "What?"

"Mrs Clickity-Clackity," said Robin. "That's what us band dweebs called her. It was first period Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you were always late. 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?"

At the question, there was silence. Carly's heart ached as Robin let out a soft, sad chuckle.

"Of course, you don't," Robin answered for him. "You were a real asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Steve agreed.

"But it didn't even matter," Robin continued. "It didn't matter that you were an ass. I was still...obsessed with you. Even though all of us losers pretended to be above it all, we still just wanna be popular... accepted, and normal."

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

Carly was silent at those words, relating to what they were talking about. Back at home, Carly had thought she had everything through being popular. But, in the end, Carly had never had true friends or had even been accepted for who she was —and there was certainly no normality to her life.

And Carly had messed up. She had shown Justin who she really was just for him to show his true self.

"I hope so," Robin replied to Steve. "I feel like my whole life has been... one big error."

Steve chuckled. "Yep."

"At least it can't get any more messed up than this," Robin said.

"You know, I wish I'd known you in Click's class," said Steve.

"Yeah?"

"Really, I do," Steve insisted. "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 we would have no idea that there were evil Russians beneath our feet," Robin said. "And I would be happily slinging ice cream with Carly."

The three chuckled at that.

"Gotta say, though," said Steve. "I liked working with you both. It was fun while it lasted."

"It was," Robin agreed.

"I never thought I'd like Hawkins, let alone make any friends," Carly smiled at the thought. "And now I'm gonna die here."

With those words, an alarm echoed with the Russians returning. Carly's heart sped up, terrified that they would notice her attempt to escape.

The captain laughed at Carly. "Where did you think you were going?"

He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. Carly felt her own tongue become thick, where she struggled to breathe. A hand fell on Carly's shoulder, pulling her back in the middle for Robin and Steve to see her again.

The captain leant forward, becoming eye level with Steve. "Try telling the truth this time, yes? It will make your visit with Doctor Zharkov less painful."

Steve winced as the captain touch his face. Carly, however, found her eyes darting to the doctor, who had a needle-like gun with a blue liquid. Seeing it, Carly felt the tears prickle her eyes again with her heart thundering in fear.

As the captain looked at the doctor, he nodded his head with a few spoken words in Russian.

The doctor's attention landed on Carly as she shook her head.

"No," Carly cried. "Please don't."

"Hold on," Steve realised. "Wait a second."

Carly pushed herself backwards, but a guard was keeping her chair in place.

"Wait, wait, wait," Steve panicked. "What is in that thing?"

"It will help you talk," the doctor replied.

There was an evil smirk on his face as Carly protested, crying out as she begged for the doctor to not do it. But, Carly had no way to escape or fight, so the needle came closer.

At the burning sting of the needle piercing her neck, Carly screamed.

✺

One moment Carly had been screaming and then she was giggling. The pain had subsided, leaving Carly in a dream-like state of clouds.

"Honestly, I don't really feel anything," Steve confessed. "Do you?"

"I mean, I...I feel fine," Robin said. "I feel normal unlike Carly over there."

"I'm fine," Carly reassured them.

"You're too happy," Robin told her.

"Carly's always happy," Steve said.

At that, Carly giggled. "Do you not feel good?"

"I kinda feel good," Steve confessed.

Then, suddenly, all three were laughing.

"Wanna know a secret?" Robin questioned.

"What?"

"I like it too," Robin told them. "I feel good."

"Morons," Steve decided. "They messed up the drug."

"No, I'm the moron," Carly reminded them, still laughing.

"They're the bigger moron," Robin said. "They messed it up! Morons. Hey, morons!"

The word was repeated by all three as they called for the Russians to come back, insulting them in the process without a care.

"Woah," said Steve.

"Oh, no," Robin said. "There's definitely something wrong with us."

"Something's wrong," Steve laughed.

"No, you guys are normal," Carly told them. "I'm the one with powers."

Hearing that, Steve and Robin were in a fit of giggles again, not taking Carly's word seriously. At this point, neither was Carly.

However, the door opened again with the Russians returning. Their presence caused the three to fall silent with Carly's eyes becoming wide, unknowing what to think with her fuzzy mind.

Even though the captain was terrifying, the real fear came with the doctor as he was placing the torturous instruments on the table which left Carly feeling a little queasy. The sound of a sharp knife sliced through Carly's heart, leaving her petrified.

"Would now be a good time to tell you that I don't like doctors?" Robin said.

"Let's try this again, yes?" The captain said.

In response, Steve could barely even control his mouth.

"Who do you work for?" The captain questioned.

"Scoops," Steve laughed. "Scoops Ahoy."

Robin and Carly giggled at that as it was ridiculous, but it was true — the uniforms they still wore were proof of that.

"How did you find us?"

"Totally by accident," Steve told him, chuckling.

The words were met with Russian which caused their laughter to be silenced.

As the doctor picked up a tool, Carly's heart dropped.

"What is that shiny little toy?" Steve questioned.

"Where you going with that, doc?" Robin added.

"Start with the pretty one," the captain said.

Eyes landed on Carly as if she was the one that would be easiest to break. Already, she could feel the stare of Robin and Steve as her mouth became dry, feeling her own hysteria start to grow.

Carly was pale, shocked to silence.

Until the doctor reached Carly, holding onto her finger with the tool put into place, ready to rip the nail from Carly's bed.

"No, no, no," Carly panicked, voice scratching as she cried. "Please. You can't."

Again and again, the words fell from her lips.

Even the tears that toppled down her cheeks were not enough for the doctor to back down.

And as Carly tried to use the touch of the tool to enter the doctor's mind, the tool did not belong to him, so Carly was stranded.

"There was a code!" Robin shouted over the chaos. "We heard a code!"

"Code," said the captain, walking around to Robin. "What code?"

Carly tried to control her breathing as Robin repeated the code.

"You broadcast that stupid spy shit all over town," said Robin, laughing at him as Carly tried not to whimper at the thought of the captain getting angry. "And we picked it up on our Cerebro, and we cracked it in a day. A day! You think you're so smart, but a couple of kids who scoop ice cream for a living cracked your code in a day, and now, people know you're here."

"Who knows we are here, little bitch?" The captain demanded, starting to panic himself.

"Uh, well, Dustin knows," Steve said.

"Hey, Steve?" Robin turned to look at him.

"Yeah, Dustin Henderson, he knows," Steve confirmed.

"Steve!" Robin and Carly shouted, horrified.

But Steve only laughed, oblivious to the damage he had caused.

"Dustin Henderson," the captain repeated, starting to circle them again. "It is your small, curly-haired friend?"

"Oh, curly-haired," said Steve. "Great hair. Small. Kind of like afro. Yeah."

"Where is he?"

"Oh, he's long gone, you big asshole," Steve laughed again. "And he's probably calling Hopper and Hopper's calling the US cavalry. They're gonna come in here, commando-style, guns a-blazing and kick your sorry asses back to Russia. You're going to be two pieces of toast."

That caused Carly's eyebrows to tighten in confusion.

Steve, however, was laughing hysterically.

"Is that so?" The Russian captain challenged.

"Yeah," Steve decided, still finding it funny.

Over the laughter, an alarm had started to blare throughout the base. For a second, the Russian captain looked afraid with Steve brave enough to smirk in an I-told-you-so kind of way.

The Russian guards in the room left, but the doctor remained with Carly still as his hostage with her fingers trying not to shake. With him still there, the three were silent, praying for that small miracle again that they would be saved.

And then Dustin was there, charging into the room with an electric rod as he rammed it into the doctor. The man's body shook before falling backwards, where he sunk to the floor.

"Hey!" Steve greeted his friend brightly. "Henderson!"

"And Erica too!" Carly beamed.

Ignoring Carly, Erica was rushing towards Carly to help free her from the bonds that were wrapped tight around her body and wrists.

"That's crazy, I was just talking about you!" Steve announced.

"Oh my God," Robin said.

"Get ready to run!" Dustin told them.

Finally free, the five were, in fact, running with their life depending on it. That was until they reached a red truck with Dustin and Erica, pushing the three into the back before they were speeding back down the long tunnel and towards the lift.

"Jesus, slow down," Steve slurred.

"Yeah, what is this?" Robin joined in. "Like the Indy 500?"

"What's that?" Carly questioned before giggling.

"It's the Indy 300!" Steve told her.

"No, dingus," said Robin. "It's 500!"

"It's 300!"

"Can it be 1,000?" Carly suggested, smiling sweetly.

"Let's say a million," Robin decided.

That caused all three of them to laugh with Carly already forgetting what they were talking about. But, it wasn't long before Dustin and Erica were opening the back doors of the strange car again, staring at the three in complete shock, who were lounging and not completely with it.

"Come on," Dustin instructed them. "We gotta go now."

"Come on! Get out!" Erica shouted.

"Let's go!" Dustin joined in.

Then, Dustin was pulling them out by the arm, not giving them much choice. A little stumbly, Carly followed behind the group, already forgetting where they were going.

"Here goes nothing," Dustin said.

"This sucks," Steve decided.

A button was pressed with the lift opening for the five. Dustin and Erica were ushering the three drugged-up teenagers into the lift with the doors closing behind them.

As the lift started to rise upwards, Steve was standing on a trolley as if he was surfing.

"Hey!" Robin exclaimed while Steve was whooping. "You look like you're surfing!"

"Surfing!" Steve said at the same time. "Yeah!"

"You have the hair for it too," Carly giggled.

"Yeah!" Steve agreed, almost falling off the trolley.

"I'm a natural," Steve then decided as Robin pulled back the trolley. "Check it out!"

However, Steve had slipped, falling from the trolley as he crashed into the boxes.

"Wipeout!" Robin cried out.

The three were laughing until Steve started to groan with Dustin checking his head.

"He's burning up," Dustin said.

"You're burning up," Steve told him.

Carly's eyes squinted, not quite sure what Dustin was doing to Steve.

"His pupils are dilated," Dustin said.

"Maybe he's drugged," Erica suggested.

Steve touched Dustin's nose. "Boop."

"Steve, are you drugged?"

"How many times, dad? I don't do drugs. It's only marijuana."

"Did you know I smoked marijuana once," Carly confessed.

"Woah," said Robin.

"I did it one time," Carly told them again before she giggled. "And I wasn't caught."

"This isn't funny, okay?" Dustin told them. "I need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us?"

"Boop," said Steve, touching Dustin's nose again.

"We all die, my strange little child friend," Robin told him. "It's just a matter of how... and when."

"I dream about my death a lot," Carly announced. "And about a shadow monster that's like a spider. I'm terrified of spiders."

"They're gonna be looking for us up there," said Dustin, returning his attention back to Steve, though he looked very confused. "So I need you to tell me where you parked your car."

"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?" Steve asked.

"I would kill for a hot dog on a stick," Robin told them.

"Oh," said Carly. "I want a burger."

"All right, yeah, food," Dustin agreed with them. "Yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell me where your car is parked."

"Uh-oh," said Steve.

"Uh-oh?" Dustin repeated.

"The car's off the board," Steve told him.

"What?"

"They took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys."

Robin and Carly laughed at that.

"Like, forever ago," the laughter continued. "That's a bummer, right?"

"No, no bummers," Carly decided. "Can I show you my magic trick?"

"Oh, I love magic," Steve told her.

"Show us!" Robin encouraged.

Grinning, Carly tried to stand on wobbly legs as she eyed Dustin. "I'm gonna need your hat, Dusty."

"No, you don't," Dustin told her. "You can show us later."

But Carly was determined to get her own way as she snatched Dustin's hat from his head. As she closed her eyes, she tried letting the power take over, but there was only silence.

"Huh," said Carly. "That's weird."

"Maybe it's because you're high," Dustin told her.

"No..." Carly found the word slurring.

Maybe her mind was a little slower, but Carly eventually felt the pull. With her eyes opening wide, shocking Dustin, her irises rolled upwards as she found herself tumbling into the young teenager's mind.

Carly was in the woods with Dustin and a small girl with pigtails that hung low and round glasses. Together, the two were building a metallic contraception together, wearing matching tops for a science camp. There was a sweetness to them, as well as a conversation that only they seemed to understand between just them.

Yet, Carly felt like her mind was clear, finding the brightness of summer a wake up call from the daze of the drugs.

But, just as the light came, the darkness submerged from the shadows. The sun above Carly started to fade with the memory becoming smoke.

"Dustin," Carly panicked, reaching for him.

The teenage boy was oblivious before he was nothing but ash within the black void.

Carly felt the fear return, starting to choke her, just like the darkness.

Turning, Carly came face-to-face with Billy in his tank white top and dishevelled hair. The abrupt presence of him caused Carly to jump, practically feeling her heart jump with her.

His eyes were on Carly with that evil hint of a smirk that made Carly's stomach churn.

"I see you, Carly-Mae," Billy told her.

Carly whimpered at the lingering echo of his voice. "Billy, stop it."

A hand curled around Carly's bicep as Billy held onto her tightly.

"Billy, stop!" Carly cried out.

"This was all for her," said Billy, not blinking, not looking away from Carly. "And then you came."

Fingers rose to gently touch Carly's cheek with the tips finding the saltiness of her tears.

"Carly-Mae."

Sobbing, Carly tried yanking herself free from his hold, but his grip was like iron.

"This is all for you."

Then, whatever hold Billy had on Carly was broken as she fell tumbling backwards, falling into the pits of the shadows. Carly found the air being stolen from her lungs as she screamed.

And then Carly was returning to her own waking mind again.

The blood dripped from her nose, eyes dilated again. Carly's mind had been lost in the endless dark, but now had awoken to the fuzzy clouds once again.

Both Dustin and Erica were watching her with their mouths hanging open.

"Holy shit!" Dustin exclaimed.

Carly was screwed, but all she could do was giggle.

✺

I'm so excited for the next few chapters!! Any predictions?