If there was anything to know about Olivia, it was that she, no matter her condition, was always worried about everyone else's state and wanted to make sure they were stable first. Olivia has always hated the fact that she couldn't care about herself like she could her friends and family, and despite trying to fix that problem, it always stayed the same. Now, despite being shot in the shoulder, she was still, concerned for Alexei.

"Olivia, it's okay." Murray muttered as he breathed heavily, Olivia whimpering as she stumbled onto the back of one of the carnival rides, her shoulder filled with pain, and she could feel it slowly jolting down to her arm. "Stay here, okay? I'm gonna get help, stay here. Watch Alexei." He muttered, Olivia watching as Alexei fell down next to her with a pained grunt, his hands weakly holding onto Murray's shirt to stop the bleeding.

"Don't leave." Olivia choked out with a cry, her arms reaching out to Murray drowsily, tears rolling down her eyes. "Please."

"It's okay, uh, stay here. Stay here, Olivia." Murray muttered frantically before running off in front of the carnival ride they were hidden behind, Olivia reaching for Alexei's hand. She felt as he squeezed hers tightly, the pain unbearable but she let him anyway, knowing he needed the support. She sat up in pain as she held the shirt down with her free hand, knowing he was too pained to actually put pressure on his wound.

"Alexei, Alexei, stay awake." She cried out softly, shaking his shoulder barely. She shook her head as he grunted, trying to keep his eyes open. "Come on."

"I'm sorry, Olivia." The curly-haired man said in Russian, despite the teenager only recognizing 'sorry' and her name, she nodded.

"It's okay. I'm sorry, too." She looked down before wincing, the pain of holding onto his hand unbearable. She tried containing her reaction so he didn't fell sorry, but it didn't matter as tears rolled down her face at the sight of Alexei. "Hey, no, stay awake." She shook her head at the sight of his hand slowly falling down off of his wound, Olivia shaking him slightly.

"Come on, come on." She cried. "Just... S- Stay awake." As she watched his eyelids slowly shut, she shook him harder, her tears uncontrollably falling out of her eyes. "Don't do this, man." She choked out, watching as he clearly began going unconscious, falling in and out of life. She didn't know why she was always the one in the type of situation where she lost someone, but it only made her cry more. Suddenly, she began sobbing loudly, but moving her hand to her mouth, blood smearing on her cheek. She had every right to cry, but she knew she would be killed if she was found by any of the Russians.

"I'm sorry." Alexei whispered in English, Olivia's exhaling shakily as she looked up, his final words being spoken to her out of everyone else he knew.

"It's okay." She muttered back through pain and sobbing. "You can go." Olivia cried with a nod, Alexei's eyes then finally shutting, causing the girl to cry loudly again, and once again bring her bloody hand to her mouth, only putting more blood to her cheeks.

Olivia suddenly felt her eyes, too, falling shut, the girl pulling her head up quickly and looking down to see her pale hands, although it was all seen through a harsh blur. The dark-haired girl tried sitting up, but she cried out quietly as the pain only made it worse. She didn't know how many times she had to try and pry herself awake, but she quickly shot her head up at the feeling of two hands touching her shoulders frantically.

"Liv!" Joyce shouted, the teenager looking up to see the mother shaking her shoulders slightly, but pulling her arm away from the girl's right shoulder when she noticed the large bullet hole. "Oh, my God..."

When Olivia turned her head away from Joyce and Murray to Alexei, she heard the mother gasp before moving over to the Russian. "Alexei!" Joyce shouted quietly, holding the Russian's shoulders.

"I... I just left for a minute... for a corn dog." Murray looked down at the grass, Olivia shaking her head as she watched him blame himself. "A stupid corn dog." He muttered through Joyce's cries. After looking away and down to the floor, Olivia found her eyes closing again, but quickly opening as Murray grabbed her left shoulder and pulling the jacket she was wearing, which was Steve's, down her arms to look at her wound. He grimaced at the bullet wound in her shoulder before pulling the crying girl up, Olivia whimpering out in pain.

Murray held her up by her left arm, holding an aid kit he found in the bathrooms in his other hand. Olivia winced every time she took a step, the vibration of her movement shooting pain up her arm and shoulder. She had paid no attention as Joyce stopped at the sight of Larry Kline, the mother turning around while Murray gently helped Olivia in the backseat. She cried out as she fell onto the leather seats.

"Okay, okay. Stay still, this might hurt." Murray warned before he grabbed a large patch and surgical tape, gently pressing it to her wound and taping the gauze down. Olivia whimpered at the pained feeling, dropping her head back as her eyes grew heavy and her arm and shoulder grew numb. She thought she was going to die, and if she did, she would never get to see her family or friends ever again.

After what felt liked ages, since the level of pain, Murray had finished taping the gauze to the front and back of her shoulder. He had let the girl lay down on the leather seats slightly, but leaving enough room for himself to sit down, Olivia breathing rather heavily, her exhales as shaky as ever.

She felt like crying, but then she remembered that she had cried all of her tears for Alexei, and she felt like this was only the beginning, and she would have many more tears to cry. But then she remembered the pain, and it reminded her that it was too overpowering, and she continued to find herself fighting to stay conscious with the help of Murray. She heard the driver's seat open to see Joyce sitting down and quickly putting the keys in the ignition after frantically glancing back to check on the state of Olivia, who was shockingly breathing slightly normal and touching the dry blood on her cheek bones.

She didn't know when the car had started or when they had began driving away, but she looked up slowly at the sound of someone yelling. "Hey! Hit it!" She turned to see Hopper jumping into the passenger seat his face beat red and a gun in his hand. "Hit it! Go! Go!" He shouted, looking back to see Olivia's face as pale as ever, her lips dry and white.

"Hey, kid." He said urgently. "Are you okay?" He questioned, the girl assuming Murray had told him that she had been shot.

She nodded with a deep breath through her nose, her body too drained and weak to form any words yet after what happened, and understandably, the girl felt like throwing up whatever she had in her system considering she hadn't eaten a whole lot in the past 24 hours.

"Alexei?" Hopper questioned, looking around as the car grew silent and everyone looked down in sadness. The chief quickly sighed, closing his eyes in anger as he watched how upset everyone had looked. They all suddenly turned at the sound of a man speaking hoarsely in Russian on the radio.

Hopper turned around in his seat, holding the radio out of Murray frantically. "Hey, translate." He urged in a rushing manner, Olivia turning to Murray as she continued taking deep breaths through her nose.

As the man continued to speak in Russian, Murray held it up to his ear. After only a few seconds, Murray turned to look at Olivia, then back at Joyce and Hopper.

"He says the kids, they're at the food court. Starcourt Mall." Olivia exhaled, shaking her head in worry as she thought about the kids, and Steve. The radio then began making static noises, Murray cursing under his breath as Olivia whimpered, the car jumping slightly from a pot hole in the ground.

"Still nothing?" Joyce questioned after a few minutes of only hearing statics.

"Nothing."

"Food court? You sure they said food court?" Hopper questioned, looking back at Olivia and Murray.

"I'm sorry, have my translation skills been letting you down?" Murray questioned with a disbelieved glare, looking forward at Hopper. "We don't know it's your kids." Murray tried claiming Hopper, Joyce and Olivia down.

"Yes, we do." Joyce and Olivia both spoke in unison as the mother turned the wheel sharply, Olivia grunting at the pain as she held herself up, the large movements not helping her calm herself down.

After only minutes of Joyce's impeccable driving, they had gotten to the large building known as Starcourt Mall. Olivia looked up at her work place before without hesitation, getting out of the car despite the complaints of Hopper, Joyce and Murray. She ignored their calls as she sauntered weakly into the entrance of the building. "Hey, hey! Hey!" She turned around to see Hopper calling after her, the man walking up to her and putting her good arm around his shoulder to hold her up, her shot shoulder burning with pain, but it had gotten slightly better.

"Food court. Can you lead up to the food court?" Hopper questioned the teenager, who nodded as she clutched Steve's grey jacket in her hand that was swung over Hopper's shoulder, the girl knowing a short cut from all of the times she had snuck the kids into the movie theater.

Olivia led them down into the halls only for employees and delivery services, the group quickly walking together in a small huddle torwards The Gap store, Olivia not needing to process her still slightly blurry sense of direction since she knew the mall like the back of her hand. Hopper smiled as she opened the backroom door to The Gap store, Joyce holding it open as Olivia and Hopper walked through together, the chief still holding the injured teenager. She winced as she walked, the two quickly stopping at the sound of a far too familiar scream, which they widened their eyes at. The two both knew it from anywhere, Hopper and Olivia picking up their pace as the scream got louder.

She got to the center of the mall, leading them over to a corner where they heard the scream grow louder, Olivia stopping in her tracks as she heard a shatter. She then flinched, holding Steve's jacket in her hand tighter as a small slimy, red slug flung in front of the group, Hopper quickly smashing it with his foot.

"Liv?" She heard a few voices speak in unison, causing the pale girl to look up to see a group of Steve, Robin, Mike, El, Max, Will, Lucas, Dustin, Jonathan, and Nancy all standing and sitting on the ground, a large cut on El's leg. She smiled widely despite the pain shooting through her arm, looking around in the group to find him. Her heart dropped as she spotted Steve, the brunette covered in bruises and blood running up to her. Olivia weakly ran to him, the two smashing together as his arms wrapped around her figure, a relieved exhale leaving his lips.

"Oh, my God... I'm so sorry." Steve muttered, pulling away as he looked down, one of his hands laying on her left shoulder and the other on her waist. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything I said." Olivia smiled at his words, the girl quickly shaking her head.

"It's okay." Olivia smiled before pressing her lips to his, despite everyone looking at her in confusion as to why she looked so different, and not in a good way. When Steve pulled away, he quickly frowned.

"Are you okay? Where were you? What happened?" He spat out, looking around Olivia to make sure she had no injuries, when he noticed the dried blood on her cheekbones, blood covering her shirt and taped gauze on her shoulder, he immediately frowned.

"She was shot." Murray, who was not familiar with any of the kids or Olivia's other friends spoke up, looking over at her shoulder.

"What?!" Steve, Max, Nancy, Mike and Lucas all spoke in unison, the teenager turning to see the kids all looking up at her in complete confusion.

"Hi, guys." Olivia muttered with her pale pursed lips, Max, Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will all quickly jumping up from their spots and running to her, Max the first to reach her sister. Olivia grunted in pain as they attacked her with hugs, trying to ignore the pain she had. She sighed, laying her forehead on Max's head her arms wrapped around all of the other kids. Murray, Hopper and Joyce all watched, now realizing why she was so eager to get home, and they all realized how much people loved her.

Max pulled away, Olivia noticing the tears in her eyes, along with Lucas. "Hey, what's wrong?" She questioned, holding her sister's face gently.

"I missed you." Max muttered softly, Olivia smiling before hugging the girl once again, tears forming in her own eyes. Once Max had pulled away, she frowned at her sister's shoulder. "How did you get shot?"

"Russians." Olivia looked down in sadness, the topic only reminding her of Alexei and how much he meant to her over only the course of a few days.

"Russians?" Dustin questioned, looking over at Steve and Robin, clearly the three knew something they didn't.

***

"The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." The group was all formed together in a circle, Olivia sitting down on the bench where El and Hopper were sitting, Steve standing above her with his hand on her left shoulder, while Max stood next to the other side of her sister.

"And it almost did. That was just one tiny piece of it." Max added on.

"How big is this thing?" Hopper questioned.

"It's big." Jonathan nodded once. He hummed, shrugging. "Thirty feet, at least." Olivia sighed at the thought, knowing this was nothing compared to Demo-dogs or Demogorgons.

"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "It sorta destroyed your cabin." Lucas muttered nervously, looking over to the chief of police. Hopper gritted his teeth as he looked down, Olivia snorting a laugh slightly, but quickly stopping when Hopper gave her a warning look.

"Sorry." She muttered, pursing her lips. "Not funny."

"Sorry." Lucas whispered, nodding nervously.

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this... this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El," Steve pointed to the pale girl laying down on her father, her eyes droopy and her leg propped up on Olivia's lap. "It's some kind of gigantic... weapon?"

"Yes." Nancy nodded.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon... with melted people." Steve questioned again, Nancy nodding once more.

"Yes, exactly."

"Yeah, okay. I- Yeah, I'm just making sure." He nodded, pursing his lips as he looked down to see Olivia smiling up at him.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce cut in, turning to all of the kids and teenagers.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max nodded with wide eyes, standing above her sister with crossed arms.

"But if we close the gate again-"

"We cut the brain off from the body." Max finished for Will, who nodded.

"And kill it." Lucas added on. "Theoretically."

They all turned their heads at the sudden yelling coming from behind them, everyone looking behind them to see Murray speed walking up to them with papers in his hands. "Yoo-hoo!" He waved his arms around again. "Yoo-hoo!"

"We hear you!" Olivia shouted back, watching as Murray waved her off before moving over to a table, then turning back around and calling everyone torwards him eagerly. Everyone let out annoyed sighs before walking over to him, Steve and Max helping Olivia over to the table.

"Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub.'" Murray pointed to a room on the map, Olivia looking down in sadness, trying to block her expression. "Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper questioned, hovering over the balding man, Joyce on the other side of him.

"Right here." Murray pointed to another spot on the map. "I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe 50 feet or so."

"More like 500." Everyone turned to look at Erica Sinclair, the cocky girl walking up to the three adults with her hands on her hips. "What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?" She questioned, looking at the utterly confused expressions on the adults' faces.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Murray questioned in disbelief.

"Erica Sinclair? Who are you?" The young girl said in a matter-of-factly tone, her face formed in a grimace.

"Murray... Bauman." He said nervously, looking at Erica in confusion.

"Listen, Mr. Bunman, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I've been down in the shithole for 24 hours." She raised her tone, everyone turning to look at her in a mixture of shock and confusion. "And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die." The dark-skinned girl then turned to everyone as she pointed to them sassily, Olivia frowning in confusion. She had known Erica ever since she knew Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will, and she always knew the girl could be a smart mouth, but she didn't think she was that bold.

"I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?" Murray questioned, looking over at Olivia then back at Hopper and Erica.

"Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!" Olivia's mouth dropped, along with Murray's and Lucas' before the brother yelled at his younger sister.

"Erica!"

"Just the facts!"

"She's right. You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me. Sorry, may I?" Dustin reached for the papers, looking up at Murray with a questioning look, the man looking at the kid as if all of his buttons were being pressed at once.

"Please." Murray said with a wide, sarcastic smile before stepping back and letting Dustin sit down with the map, the curly-haired boy pulling a pencil out of his pocket, which he somehow had.

"Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility." Dustin directed, circling a small room to the left of the paper. "There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. That leads you to the base of the weapon." He explained, drawing a line from the room he circled to the room containing the gate. "It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way."

"You can show us the way?" Hopper repeated in disbelief, Dustin nodding.

"Don't worry, you can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be your... navigators."
He proposed.

Hopper nodded with a smile before his face quickly fell. "No." When Dustin and Erica both looked at the chief with dissapointed glares, Hopper then shook his head. "Nope."