Chapter Twenty-Seven

Dustin screams, really loudly, and bursts through a door. It took us a couple of hours to get here, but we eventually did it. He charges at a Dr looking person, and jabs the electroshock prod into his chest. The man collapses, a smouldering hole where Dustin stuck him in the heart.

"Hey! Henderson." Steve smiled. "And my beautiful girlfriend!" I quickly lose the traps that were behind Steve and Dustin does the same for Robin, they were tied up to a chair. "That's crazy, I was just talking about you guys."

"Oh, my God!" Robin exclaimed.

"Get ready to run," Dustin tells them.

We are now on the truck, the same positions as before, me driving, Dustin and Erica squeezed in next to each other. But, Robin and Steve are sitting in the back, acting like they were drunk or something.

"Jesus, slow down!" Steve exclaimed drunkenly.

"Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?" Robin asked.

"It's the Indy 300." Steve tried to correct her.

"No, Dingus, it's 500!" Robin groaned.

"It's 300!" Steve fought back like a child.

"Let's say... A million." They both laughed at that like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"What is wrong with them?" Erica asked, frowning.

"I don't know," Dustin replied.

"I might have a clue—"

"Juno, watch out!" Erica yelled. I accidentally crashed the mini truck into steel drums and comes to a complete stop. Loud moans and groans come from the back.

"You guys all right back there?" Dustin asked the other two. There was no answer and Dustin turns to me. "They're fine."

Dustin, Erica, and I hop out and opened the back. "Come on. We gotta go, now." I instruct them but they barely move.

"Come on! Get out!" Erica snapped harshly.

"Let's go!" Dustin tells them. Steve and Robin roll themselves out, Steve clutching onto me as he could barely walk. Dustin walked over to the metal panel over the wall and uses the keycard to open the secret elevator doors. The panel's red light becomes green.

The elevator opens in seconds. We all climbed in, I mostly helped Steve and Robin helped herself, they seemed okay in the meantime. However, once we started to go up, they looked like kids on a rollercoaster, enjoying the ride.

Steve his mountains a wheel handcart for moving boxes, climbing on top of it. "Hey! You look like you're surfing!" Robin points at Steve.

"Surfing!" Steve says at the same time. "Yeah! Woo! Jun, look at me!"

"I'm looking, Steve," I respond nervously.

"They seem drunk." Erica pointed out.

"Why would they be drunk?" Dustin asked and I frowned.

"I'm a natural! Check it out!" Steve called out. "Juno, look! Look!" I looked away from the kids and looked at Steve. "You're not looking, Jun!"

"I am!" I promised him. I didn't like the beaten-up look on his face. Robin yanks the cart away from under Steve, he falls to the floor.

"Wipeout!" Robin exclaimed, laughing hysterically like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Dustin walked over to Steve and kneels beside him. Steve's visibly sweating. "He's burning up," Dustin informs us and I began to worry.

"You're burning up." Steve slurs back. Steve tried to bat Dustin's hand away.

"One sec, one sec," Dustin tells him. "Steve, Steve." Dustin pries open one of Steve's eyes.

"God, no. Owe!" Steve whined. He tries to resist, but it's futile.

"His pupils are super dilated," Dustin says. They did look incredibly red, too.

"Maybe he's drugged?" Erica suggested.

"No, he is drugged," I confirmed.

"Boop!" Steve boops Dustin's nose.

"Steve, are you drugged?" Dustin tried to ask him.

"How many times, Dad?" Steve retorts. "I don't do drugs. It's only marijuana." He boops Dustin's nose again.

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

"Boop," Steve responds.

"We all die, my strange little child friend," Robin says, completely out of it. "It's just a matter of time how... And when."

Dustin ignored her and turned back to Steve. "They're gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you parked your car."

"Oh, can we make a pitstop at the food court?" Steve asked, his eyes widening.

"I would kill for a hot dog right now." Robin groaned out.

"Ooh!" Steve glees.

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

"Uh-oh," Steve mumbled.

"Uh-oh?" Dustin repeated.

"The car's off the board," Steve tells us.

"What?" Both Dustin and I asked.

"They took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys like forever ago." Steve responded with a laugh. "That's a bummer, right?"

"It's okay, we have mine," I say, and Dustin turned to me with a dumbfounded look.

"You're telling me that I could've saved a whole ass conversation with this dumbass?" Dustin asked, looking annoyed.

I shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"Juns... I told them about your mad driving skills and where your car is parked. Sorry." Steve pouted and Dustin groaned.

"You're kidding me!" He throws his hands up in the air.

︾

The doors swing open to the fresh air, and I had to admit, I missed it. Erica, Dustin, Robin, Steve, and I walked out. "Oh, my God, that tastes so good." Robin moans. "Ah! Steve, can you taste the air?"

"I taste it! I taste it!" Steve exclaims.

Just then, two arm guards, including a ponytailed man, walk through the loading door gate. Approaching quickly, they readied their pistoles.

"Shit!" Dustin yells. "Come on! Come on!" We ushered them in and go back inside the mall.

"Where are we running?" Steve whined behind me.

When we're in the mall, the two security agents are still chasing after us. The ponytail man with the walkie-talkie. The other leads with his pistole raised.

Erica, Dustin, and I lead the way. Steve and Robin, unsteady on their feet, giggling and getting pulled along like one would tow a reluctant child who'd rather be somewhere else.

"Whoa!"

"Where are we going?" Erica asked Dustin, who seemed to have a plan right now.

"Just trust me." Dustin insisted. We swung open some doors. Dustin looked left then right. "All clear."

Me and the rest of the group file through the door and then sneak into Cinema 1. We pass a glass-framed one sheet. It's back to the future. I loved this movie. Steve grabs a discarded popcorn bag through the trash can and a lid.

I scrunched my nose up. "Steve, that's disgusting."

"We can't go on a date without some popcorn." Steve insisted to me.

"We're not on a date, we're—" I sighed, giving up. If he thinks this is a date, then okay. I can't stop him from thinking that.

The doors at the back of the cinema swing open. The darkened theatre, lit only by the movie's glowing screen, is full of patrons.

We follow Dustin down a few aisles, and to the front row. "You two, sit." Dustin instructed the high teens.

"No, no, no!" Robin whined. "These seats are too close!"

"Dude, these seats blow." Steve pouts.

"Then don't watch the movie," I tell them.

"We wanna watch it." Robin retaliates.

"Then watch it!" Dustin hisses at them.

"Shh!" A person shushed us.

"Shh!" Robin shushes back, giving the person a nasty look.

"Sorry," Dustin whispered, apologising. He turns back to the high teens. "Whatever you do, don't... Go... Anywhere."

"Fine, Dad." Steve sarcastically says and just as I was about to move out of the way with Erica and Dustin, Steve pulls me back. "Woah, where are you going? We're on a date, remember?"

I sighed. "Wait, you guys are on a date?" Robin's eyes widen. "Oh, shit. Should I move?" She looked around anxiously.

"No, no. Robin, stay." I instruct her and she nodded. "Steve, Steve." I made him look at me. "I'll be right back, okay? I'm just gonna talk to Erica and Dustin."

"Okay... Don't leave me hanging, though." Steve slurs out, trying to give me a smile.

"Okay, I won't. I promise." I promised him before kissing his cheek and ducking down, making my way to Erica and Dustin who were at the opposite end of the theatre. I sat down on the spare seat next to Erica.

"Okay, it's official. I am never having kids." Dustin informed us.

"What are we doing here?" Erica asked.

"We're laying low," Dustin tells us. I nodded. That's smart. "Cooling off. Like Oswald."

"Oswald was found in a theatre and shot to death." Erica pointed out.

"A week later," Dustin responded snarkily.

"The point is, his plan didn't work." Erica lightly argues back.

"Only because it was a setup." Dustin defended.

"What?" Erica whispered.

"He was just a patsy."

"Tell me you're joking."

"Shh!" Another bystander tells us and I rolled my eyes.

"Shh!" Dustin, Erica, and I shushed back.

"We need to get out of here." I lowly said to them, sinking back into my chair.

"All right, you guys watch tweedle-dee and Tweedledum," Dustin advises us. "Make sure they don't go anywhere."

"Where are you going?" Erica asked.

"To find us a ride," Dustin says before sneaking out of the movie theatre. I glanced over at Steve and Robin, feeling an anxious pit in my stomach.

"You're really in love with that thing?" Erica asked lowly and I turned to her.

"What?" I say, eyes widening. "I—I mean... Yeah, I think I am. I've never actually experienced true love, I've only ever watched it burn. But... I think, Steve and I... We could be—"

"Endgame?" Erica suggested and I nodded.

"I mean, with everything going on, I think it's a little selfish for love right now," I admit, looking down at the ground.

"I don't," Erica responds, watching the movie. "With everything going on, it's better to live for someone you love." What Erica said makes sense. I smiled a little and paid attention to the movie. I've previously seen it in theatres with Steve before he got a job. That's probably why he thinks we're on a date, because at the time back then, it was a date.

I noticed Dustin running down the aisle and sitting back in his seat next to Erica. "Do any of you have batteries? Double-A?"

"Why would we have batteries?" Erica asked, looking at Dustin.

"I always carry batteries," Dustin speaks.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked.

"I need eight," Dustin admits and my eyes widen.

"Eight?" Erica and I asked at the same time.

"Shit." Dustin curses. "Guess we'll have to go to plan B."

"Plan B?" Erica questioned. "What's plan B?"

My eyes looked down at the long row of people to find empty chairs at the very end where Robin and Steve were. "Where... Are they?"

︾

After avoiding everyone and running around trying to find them, we eventually found Steve and Robin in the bathroom. I come marching in, seeing them on the bathroom floor. Erica and Dustin are right behind me.

"Okay." I'm mad. "What the hell?"

Steve and Robin locked eyes, then burst out laughing. I heaved a sigh and Steve scrambled towards me, smiling widely. The others were filed out of the bathroom while Steve kept me behind.

"Hey," Steve tells me gently and he sounded soberer.

"Are you sober now?" I asked him quietly and he nodded.

"Yeah, me and Robin puked it all up." He informed me and I sighed with relief before hugging him tightly.

"Don't do that ever again, you asshole."

"I promise." Steve laughed lightly before giving me a soft and gentle kiss. "And I really meant what I said back there, Jun. I do love you, probably more than I should."

"That's dangerous." I joked, grinning. "I lo—"

"Guys, come on, seriously!" Robin comes bursting through the door, eyeing us. "Dustin is about to throw a fit if you guys don't hurry up."

"Okay, we're coming," Steve spoke, incredibly annoyed. I was slightly annoyed too.

Robin walked out, but paused and grabbed my elbow as soon as Steve left. "Wait, I need to talk to Juno. I'll be two seconds." She looked at Steve pleading eyes, and Steve rolled his eyes before walking off. "Okay, so... I need to tell you something, and I've kind of already told Steve. But, like, you're one of my best friends right now, and I also want you to know I never intend on liking Steve because... Well, let's just say I play for the other team, if you know what I mean."

"Play for the other..." My eyes widen in realization and I quickly hugged her. "Oh, my God. I love that for you, Ro." I pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes. "Seriously."

"Seriously?" Robin smiled. "Man, you and Steve are like the only good people with this shit, I swear."

"Guys! Seriously!" Dustin comes back in with an annoyed look. "Time is ticking people! Time. Is. Ticking!"

"Okay!"

We successfully blended into the group of the crowd, other than Steve looking like he got beat up (which he technically did).

"Well, shit, that worked," Erica tells us happily.

"Course it worked." Dustin rolled his eyes. "We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come."

"Uh, Dustin?" Steve called, sounding guilty.

"What?" Dustin looked at Steve as we walked through the crowd's people.

"Yeah, we might not want to go back to your house. Or Jun's." Steve started and my eyes widen.

"Why?" Dustin and I both asked at the same time.

"Well, I might've told them your guys' full name," Steve announced and that made my blood boil.

"What is wrong with you?" Dustin hisses, incredibly angry as well.

"Dude, I was drugged." Steve defended himself and that made me calm down a little bit. He was drugged, and probably couldn't help but say stupid things.

"So?"

"So?"

"So, you resist," Dustin tells him off. "You tough it out. You tough it out like a man."

"Oh, yeah, easy for you to say," Steve scoffed.

"Guys?" Robin asked. She stops walking, as we do as well. There were two security guards that were chasing us earlier, they were checking IDs at the exit.

"Abort. Abort. Abort." Dustin whispered harshly.

The ponytailed man and I make eye contact. My eyes widen slightly. Shit, fuck. Dustin, Steve, Robin, and I turned around and run for the escalators. The suited-up men followed us.

But the escalators are locked for the evening. Now what? We're screwed. Totally screwed.

"Shit." Steve curses.

"Okay," Robin says and she takes the lead. She slides down the centre of the two escalators and I took no time and followed after her. We all slide down, one by one.

Once we were down, Steve told us to follow him and we did. We're crouching behind a counter in a shop, scared. Steve and I clutched onto each other, my hand holding his tightly.

We knew the security men were down here with us, we can hear their light footsteps as they walked carefully around, looking for us.

Suddenly, an alarm blares, and there was some crashing heard. My heart thumps widely in my chest. Oh, my God.

Steve, Dustin, Robin, Erica, and I peek over the counter. We were stunned by silence as the security men are dead. Their twisted and bloodied bodies scattered around the food court. A spinning Chrysler hubcap noise comes to a stop beside the shattered body of the ponytailed man. Blood flowed from his fractured skull. I grimace.

In unison, the five of us look over at the Chrysler, and then over to where it was just a few seconds ago. That's when I noticed on the second level, El, Jonathan, Nancy, Mike, Max, Lucas and Will looking down below.

El saved us.