Chapter 24, Confinement
(Ep. 5: The Flayed)

Everything that could go wrong was officially happening.

The room had been dropping for what felt like an eternity. Gwen was holding on for dear life onto the metal table with her eyes squeezed shut as she worried that opening them would be one trip to barf town.

She could feel the metal digging into her hands from how tight her grip was, but Dustin stumbling against her caused her to release her hold. The wall collided against her back, but she still kept her eyes shut past the rushing speed.

"We're going down! We're going down!" Steve yelled in a panic and tried maintaining a steady balance.

"Yeah, no shit, Harrington!" Robin snapped.

"Why won't these buttons work?!" Dustin's loud shrieks soared through the room, making Gwen's ears pound against her skull and causing her to nearly be on the verge of asking him to shut up.

Erica shoved past everyone to reach the control box, "Press the button!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Dustin argued back and started to frantically fight with her over the control box.

"Push it!" Erica yelled, now pressing a random button when seeing Dustin's panic controlling him now. Maybe it was her luck or maybe she pressed the right thing, but the room came to an abrupt halt, sending them across the room.

Steve tripped over one of the boxes and fell backwards. He braced himself for the harsh impact, but was surprised when he landed on something soft. He sighed in relief and leaned his head back, "I'm okay! I'm all good!"

"Yeah, but I'm not!" Gwen tried shoving him off, but all his weight had fallen over her, which made it incredibly hard to move. "Get your ass off me!"

Steve immediately stood up and offered his hand, "No wonder I was so comfortable."

She rubbed her temples soothingly, wincing slightly, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Robin cradled the back of her head after hitting it against the shelves. She quickly looked through the room for Daphne, who somehow ended up upside down with her legs against the wall and head pressed against one of the boxes.

"Shit," she rushed to help her up, offering a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"

Daphne softly laughed, "No. Most definitely not."

"Yeah, me neither," Robin then scanned the room to make sure no else was harmed. "Is everyone okay?"

That simple question was enough for Steve to lose his last bit of patience.

"Yeah, we're great!" Steve dashed to the control box and shoved Dustin out of his way. "Now that we know that Russians can't design elevators!"

Fully convinced the buttons would do something, he pressed anything just in case the others might have missed it.

"We've already tried. They clearly don't work," Gwen hung her head low, already resigning to the fact that they'd be stuck here.

"They're buttons!" Steve raised his voice unintentionally, his hands flailing all around in a panic. "They have to do something!"

"Yeah, if we had a keycard," Robin pointed out.

Steve narrowed his eyes with confusion, "A what?"

Daphne groaned in frustration, not understanding how he didn't comprehend something so simple. "Dude, haven't you noticed it's an electronic lock? We snuck here without a keycard, which means we can't get out without it."

"We're stuck here then," Gwen sighed in defeat and slid down the wall, settling into a comfortable spot now that it was settling they'd be staying for a while.

Robin ran a hand through her hair and nodded, "Precisely."

"Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's and Tina always covers for me," Erica spoke up, her stance just as sassy as her tone.

The group didn't say anything and only glared at her.

Erica continued, "But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you five are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat."

Something snapped within Steve.

Maybe it was the fact that they were trapped or that those Russians could appear at any second now, but hearing about a lame party that was unimportant compared to this, made him officially lose his patience and become consumed with irritation.

"I don't care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack's party!" Steve slammed his hands against the boxes for emphasis and then gestured to their confinement. "Your mom's not gonna be able to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!"

Gwen felt her face turn a blushing pink. She had never seen him this way before -- stressed, angry, frustrated. She observed how he ran a hand through his silky locks and how his chest raised up and down with haste. It was wrong to view him as attractive when he was clearly upset, but it was inevitable like a night fall.

"You guys?" Dustin shook her on the shoulder and pointed up to the roof. "What if we climbed out?"

(It was important to note that Gwen was a realist. She was slowly becoming a glass-half-full kind of girl thanks to Steve, but in spite of that, she knew her brother's suggestion wasn't plausible. With how fast and long the elevator dropped, climbing didn't seem like a possible escape.

But she didn't say anything.

She would let them figure it out by themselves.)

Steve moved the table underneath the emergency door and helped Dustin up. He expected her to want to climb up, but was surprised when she remained in her spot uninterested. "Aren't you coming?"

She shook her head, "I'd rather stay here, get comfortable."

"Don't," he argued, shaking his head. "We're getting out of here, so don't be making yourself all comfy."

"Steve!" Dustin called him over.

"He sounds angry," Gwen clicked her tongue, refusing even more to head up there knowing her brother was starting to lose his patience. "Better listen or we'll be dealing with an insufferable Dustin."

"I heard that!" Dustin popped his head down, glaring at her so heavily.

She raised her hands in surrender, "I'm just stating the facts."

Steve sighed heavily and had no other choice than to climb up. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn't the sight in front.

The elevator dropped for what appeared to be miles underground, which crossed out the possibility of climbing up. To make matters worse, there wasn't a single emergency exit anywhere, which meant they would trapped for evermore.

"What were you saying about climbing?"

__________________

Hours have gone by and they were still trapped.

When Dustin's plan didn't work, the group settled on waiting in hopes the elevator would miraculously start functioning. Daphne suggested for the kids to get some sleep while the rest tried to come up with a plan to get them out of there, but she and Robin began dozing off minutes into the conversation, leaving Steve and Gwen with the task.

But then, Steve fell asleep as well.

Gwen wasn't claustrophobic, but staring at the thick walls and feeling the air getting hotter was making it harder to remain calm. She tried not making much noise, but her footsteps grew heavier as she paced back in forth. The silence was a storm instead of the calm, which definitely worsened the situation when making her thoughts louder.

Knowing she was bound to lose her mind, she settled on climbing up in hopes it would offer some alleviation.

Upon the semi-fresh air, Gwen laid down on the roof and stared up at the elevator shaft. The dim lights and confinement made her miss stargazing with Steve. They would climb up the roof whenever he stayed over at her place or she stayed at his, and they would spend hours sharing the longest conversations.

But she was now moving to New York in the next month.

It never occurred to her that they wouldn't be able to do it again. The distance would be hard and it was terrifying not knowing if becoming long distance would work. Many argued against it, claiming it was like dating a ghost. She tried not pondering on the negatives, but it was inevitable not worrying about the worst possibly unfolding.

What if they already used up all of their happiness?

If only she could talk to him about this, but he always seemed scared to have this conversation whenever she'd try to bring it up. He would change the subject or just nod along, forcing her to move on and hope the right time would come, but it never did.

Now it was July and time was quite literally running out.

The thought of losing him because of something ridiculous as long distance brought tears to her eyes. She couldn't envision not being with him -- not having their nightly phone calls, not hearing his laugh, not getting to touch him, and not telling him how much she loved him.

Gwen was beyond worried as to what the next few months had entailed, and now that they were stuck underground, everything was a million times worse.

A loud thud was suddenly heard, offering a needed interruption.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked in a low voice, as if not to awaken anyone. He took the spot next to her and laid down, their shoulders brushing against the other and hands interlocking. "Everything okay?"

Gwen slowly nodded, "Yeah, just couldn't sleep."

He noticed the unshed tears in her eyes and his heart clenched at the sight, "You're not okay. What's wrong?"

It was now when she considered having this conversation. They were trapped, so it was the perfect place to discuss the future.

But why did she feel so nervous?

"I'm leaving in less than a month and I don't know how you feel about it," Gwen blurted out, and turned to him, noticing his eyes slightly widen. "Whenever I mention it, you always find a way to change the subject to avoid talking about it."

Silence filled the empty shaft, only the sounds of the others snoring being heard.

Steve swallowed thickly as he reluctantly turned to her, but seeing her soft gaze and the worry in them made him hesitant to continue. He couldn't admit the truth when it would only worsen everything. She was leaving to pursue her dreams, but what if her dreams didn't include him?

"It doesn't seem right to talk about this when we're stuck in an elevator," he vaguely said.

"It actually seems like the right time," she argued. "We have nowhere to go, so it's the perfect place to discuss this."

Steve refused, afraid she wouldn't like what she'd hear. He hastily stood up and approached the emergency door to climb down, "I'm not doing this. I'm not sharing my feelings when we're in the middle of a possible death trap."

She scoffed in disbelief, "Now you're using this as an excuse. That's not new."

He halted, a sudden anger gathering in his chest, "It's not an excuse. It's a valid reason to not talk about this stupid topic, so let's not."

Gwen considered she was going insane. She replayed his words to ensure what she heard had been right, which only made things worse. "So, me moving away is stupid now?"

Steve's jaw dropped, "That's not what I said!"

"Yes you did!" Gwen took a step closer to him and began putting on her most Steve-like impression, "It's a valid reason to not talk about this stupid topic!"

"Okay, first of all, that's not even how I sound-"

She scoffed, "It's what you sound like to me."

He shook his head, offended at her terrible impression and proceeded to mock her now, "It's what you sound like to me."

Gwen ran her hands through her hair, her frustration becoming greater by the minute, "I'm dating a complete idiot!"

"And I'm dating an inconsiderate fool!"

"Inconsiderate?! Says the one who won't even do this for his girlfriend!"

"You're not considering how I feel!" Steve raised his voice much louder now, both of them appearing as if they were having a yelling contest.

Gwen clenched her jaw, "Because you refuse to talk about your feelings!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this a therapy session I'm not aware of?" Steve jabbed a finger at her face, to which she smacked away.

"Maybe you should get one! Maybe you would actually speak to them about it!" Gwen officially had enough and shoved past him toward the small door, now regretting having considered having this conversation.

"I don't need one," he bitterly spat, his arms now folded across his chest. "It's you that does."

"You know what? I'm done. We're doing this now," she finalized, now approaching him. "We're having this conversation whether you like it or not."

"You always do this," Steve argued, and paced back and forth. "You decide everything without even asking me what I want! Just like when you chose to include Robin in this mission when Dustin and I didn't want to!"

"Oh, come on! That's something entirely different."

"It's the same thing! If I don't want to talk about it then I'm not going to," Steve started getting ready to climb down, but that's when he heard her laugh in such a condescending way. "Why are you laughing?"

"You used to give me shit for always running away when things got too complicated, and now look at you!" Gwen crossed her arms over her chest as she walked closer to him. "You're being a coward!"

"I'm not a coward!" he pouted. "You're the coward."

She let out a genuine laugh, "How mature."

He nonchalantly shrugged, now hanging halfway down as he sent a dismissive wave, "Have fun talking about it by yourself."

And just like that, Gwen was left alone in the roof.

She refused to let this go and popped her head inside, "I just wanted to have a mature conversation! Is that too much to ask?!"

Steve groaned, "I'm not doing this!"

"Coward!"

"You're the coward!"

The others had woken up from the very moment they started yelling. The right thing would have been to let them know they could hear them, but since when have they done the right thing?

"Thank you so much for involving me in this," Daphne whispered to Robin.

"Believe me, I'm glad they involved me," she admitted.

Erica had grown incredibly irritated from being woken up from her needed nap. She didn't see the fun in this considering the situation they were in, but she was still oddly interested in the couple's bickering. "Do they always argue like this?"

"Sometimes, but not like this. I think the confinement is getting to them," Robin replied, wishing she had her whiteboard to place another tally on the 'You Suck' column.

Dustin rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples to soothe his headache. He didn't understand why Steve was adamant on not being honest when he had all the time in the world. Instead of admitting to the truth, the secrets kept piling up and even Dustin knew it could wreck everything.

"Can you children stop?!" Dustin yelled, glaring at them as they managed to stand face to face to yell at each other more. "Your problems are the least important thing right now, so just shut up and try coming up with a plan!"

Gwen let out an aggravated sigh and walked to the opposite side of the room. As she leaned against the wall, she continued to piercingly glare at her boyfriend, who was doing the same.

He then noticed everyone was still looking at them, "Show's over. You can look the other way now."

"Idiot," Gwen muttered under her breath, but not low enough since Steve was able to hear her.

He shot her a look, "Something you want to say? Louder this time?"

Gwen dismissed him with a simple shrug, "Just shut up, Harrington. It's what you do best, anyway."

"You know what, Henderson?" Steve began, but was then interrupted when Dustin kicked his foot while making his way up the roof. "Dude, are you blind? Watch where you're going!"

Dustin flipped him off and acquired his walkie before climbing out. He clearly lost all of his patience and couldn't stand the tension in the room that he figured trying to contact someone was a better plan than just staying put. "Code red, I repeat, code red! Does anyone copy? This is a code red, I repeat, a code red!"

"Does he seriously think anyone is going to listen?" Daphne muttered, already having lost hope of getting out of here.

"We are innocent children and we are trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins, and if we are found, they will torture and kill us!"

Refusing to stay put any longer, Steve climbed up to join his friend as it seemed like a better option than having his girlfriend's piercing eyes on him. He rested his arms against the top of the roof, annoyed that the kid wasn't thinking rationally that his radio could lose battery if he continued.

"Hey," he called out, "Gotta take it easy on that thing. Gonna drain the battery."

"The mall just opened," Dustin pointed out.

"So?"

Dustin narrowed his eyes, growing more frustrated, "So someone could be in range."

"What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?" Steve bitterly snapped as he climbed out.

"Stop being such a cranky pants. Just because you're angry at my sister doesn't mean you can take it out on me."

"Really? I'm taking it out on you? Says the one who was being a complete ass earlier."

"You deserved it!"

Steve headed in the opposite direction to try to regain composure. He tried to focus on finding a way out of here, but all he could think of was Gwen and how once again he failed to be honest.

Arguing with her was just a distraction. It was just another excuse to escape the unavoidable. Maybe if they got angry enough to hate each other again, it would make her move less harder. Perhaps it'd be easier.

Whenever he'd hear her talk about her plans to explore the city, study in the college of her dreams, and meet new people, he refused to admit how terrified he was of losing her. She would live the life she deserved and eventually, she'd forget about the one left behind.

"And also, I'm not being cranky because I'm angry at her," he bitterly pointed down, frowning as he walked closer to the edge. "I'm feeling just a tad cranky since after eight hours, we're still exactly nowhere."

"Uh huh," Dustin frowned at him.

Back in the elevator, Erica was starting to slam the container with the green substance against the shelves. Annoyed, Gwen pushed herself off the wall and approached her, "What do you think you're doing?"

Erica rolled her eyes, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get it open."

Daphne was quick to snatch the vial from her hands, "Are you crazy?! We don't know what this shit is, so we have to be careful!"

"Exactly!" Erica said. "We don't know what it is, so what if it's helpful?"

Robin then took the container from Daphne, "Useful how?"

Erica stood on her tiptoes to try and regain control of it, "Just give me that!"

Starting to find entertainment in this, Robin raised the cylinder into the air and watched as the young girl attempted to jump as high as possible.

"Look, we can survive down here without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die," Erica eventually said.

Gwen let out a laugh, "And you think drinking some unknown substance will keep you alive? If anything, it'll kill you faster because it's probably something poisonous."

(Erica did have a point though. Surviving without the needed resources would become a million times harder and it wasn't like they could ask the Russians to hand them supplies.)

Robin agreed, "She's right. Hate to break it to you, but this is not water."

"No, but it's a liquid," Erica stated the obvious, once again attempting to steal the container back. "If it comes down to me drinking that shit or dying of thirst, I drink."

"You won't be dying of thirst then, that's for sure," Gwen pointed out as she leaned back against the shelves and glanced up at the roof.

"We got company," Robin suddenly said, and began climbing up to inform the others.

Gwen wasn't surprised at their terrible luck anymore, "That's just great."

Steve quickly popped up from the roof. His eyes were filled with panic as he looked to the door and proceeded to extend his hands out to them, "What are you guys still doing there? Come on!"

Erica didn't have to think twice as she dashed to the table and began climbing up. Of course, that green cylinder was still in her hand since she refused to lose her only source of fuel. Daphne was quick to follow, her black boots pressing against the cardboard boxes and leaving behind a detailed print that would raise suspicion.

Gwen hurried in placing the box somewhere behind some boxes just to keep their cover. There was no use hiding if they were going to leave evidence behind. She could hear voices getting closer along with footsteps, making her take a giant leap upwards that managed to get her up quicker. Steve pulled her up like a bolt of lightning and embraced her once she was finally safe and sound.

They turned silent when hearing the door open. All of them were pressed together as they tried holding their breaths, worrying anything would set them off.

Gwen could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she feared this could be the end of them. This was definitely not the way she envisioned dying. With everything that happened between dealing with alternate dimensions and monsters, she figured dying in the Upside Down seemed more likely to happen. Not here.

In a Russian elevator.

She heard them say something in another language, Russian, probably, and caught a whiff of their disgusting cigarettes as the men shared a few laughs and carried a few boxes out.

Steve took a discreet peek through the grate, looking up at them and gesturing to them to be very quiet until his eyes suddenly landed upon the vial in Erica's hand, which indicated he had come up with a plan on how to get out of here.

The Russians turned silent and walked out. The group remained quiet as they heard the door start to close. Right away, Steve grabbed the container and jumped down, "Come on!"

Everyone followed as they made their way back inside. Even more distressed, Gwen helped her brother and Erica down, receiving a harsh stomp from the youngest Sinclair when she jumped off the table.

Gwen let out a frustrated sigh. She was extremely tired, hungry, and annoyed to argue with a ten year old that she simply ignored it and looked down to the door that was starting to lower.

Her heart thumped against her chest much rapidly. It felt like it was about to jump out from her chest. Time appeared to be going in slow motion, making the anticipation much deadlier. The door inched closer, nearly closing until Steve slide against the floor and placed the cylinder under it, stopping it from trapping them once more.

"Let's go!" he waved at the group to hurry and tossed Erica's backpack underneath.

"I'm going!" Erica slid down against the small gap, skidding as quickly as possible until it was Dustin's turn.

Steve pushed him and frantically waved at the others to rush. Robin and Daphne jumped down at the same time, bumping into each other once the vial started to crack.

Horror overwhelmed Steve as he reached out to hold Gwen. Never once letting go of their hand, they felt the time start going faster. The cracking sound filled their ears as the fear of getting crushed by this door ran through their minds. It sure didn't help that the viscous substance started leaking out and all the glass was getting everywhere.

Barely making it out, both were spread out across the floor watching the substance sizzle louder. The material burned the floor, emitting smoke that made them hold their breaths from the burning smell. Their chest heaved in complete shock and utter fright they were nearly about to lose their lives at the hand of this metal trapment and sizzling chemical.

Gwen nervously chuckled as she grabbed his sleeves and helped him up, "You okay?"

Steve merely nodded.

The rest of the group came closer and hovered over the sizzling puddle.

Robin snickered as she turned to Erica, "You still wanna drink that?"

"Holy mother of God."

Erica couldn't even provide one of her snarky remarks once Dustin's interruption made everyone turn around.

There was a long corridor that appeared to be endless. Metal bars lined the walls and the ceiling lights were a bright shade of blue that gave out an ominous and cold feeling.

"Well... hope you guys are in good shape," Steve mumbled as he started leading the way. He patted Dustin's shoulder while shoving past him, "I'm looking at you, roast beef."

Author's Note

5k reads?! Never thought this many people would be reading my story! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story!

(Update: It's now 2025 and this story has reached over 500K reads... I am still shocked and amazed by how far this story has come! Seeing the 5k above makes me so emotional, cause what do you mean so much changed in such a short time? 😭)