YOU GUYS ARE MY BEST FRIENDS !

☀︎

IT WAS MORE URGENT THAN IT EVER WAS TO ESCAPE THE UNDERGROUND BASE. Rejoining the group, Steve and Alex raced down the stairs hand in hand while everyone was struck in complete awe by the reopening of the gate.

Completely baffled to see before her everything Alex Henderson had told her, Robin just couldn't wrap her head around it. "I don't understand. You've seen this before?"

"Not exactly. I've been inside there, but never the actual gate. I mean. This is... this is really bad. With the gate opening, all hell is about to break loose," Alex explained.

Jumping in, Dustin explained in the simplest ways how truly bad this was going to be. "It's like end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad."

Off the stairs and back into the room, they had all kept their eyes on each other, unaware of their surroundings. With everything happening around them, it was distracting enough to pull them away from the current threats that surrounded them now. That was until Erica Sinclair had dismissed herself from the craziness that could happen to focus on the now. What she had noticed had failed to be seen by everyone else. "Um, Steve? Where's your Russian friend?"

All four heads had shifted, turning down to around their feet where Erica had been looking. Just as she had said, no man had laid and all that was left behind was a bloodstain from where he had been bested by Steve Harrington. On cue, the alarms had gone off, flashing red to alert the others of their intruders. Racing towards the door they had come in from, Steve stuck out his head long enough to see that their way in was no longer accessible. However, when the Russian guards spotted him, he had only given away that they were still hanging around close by. Slamming the door shut, he formulated a plan that seemed to be their only option.

Rushing over, he had taken the gun out of Alex's waistband while wrapping her hand around it with another. "Start shooting at them if they start shooting at us."

"What if I miss?"

"Then try not to." Grabbing her, he pushed her forward towards the stairs along with the rest. Using her other hand, Alex grabbed Erica's hand to keep her close. Being the youngest one here, she did not want to leave her behind to the enemy.

Up the stairs, they had burst through the doors that lead them towards the eye of the storm. Panic had taken over as all the Russian scientists came to their feet from the arrival of the group. Taking no time to give them a reason to attack, they had raced through another set of doors and out onto a ramp leading to the very eye of the storm.

With a shrilling shriek, Dustin had knocked over a man in a hazmat suit to give them enough room to run by. All had come to a stop when they had stood face to face with the opening to another world. It had been a nightmarish stop that caused the group to take that moment and truly see their nightmares face to face.

Alex's eyes had traveled along the break in between worlds. A high-pitched ringing encapsulated her ears, sending her hunched over as she covered them in a panicked scream, eyes squeezed tight to block out the rest of the world for a sense of calm. Dark red blood had begun to pour from her nose as a battle between good and evil fought for the inner workings of her mind. A red spark had ripped through her mind, followed by the darkness as a hand had wrapped around her waist, pulling her along before the Russian guards had caught up to them.

Panicked and looking behind him, Steve had watched as Dustin guided his sister along with the group as a bundle of curse words had erupted out of Dustin's mouth from the sheer panic. Knowing there was no time to slow down, Steve had hurried the group along, throwing down barrels behind them to slow down the guards the best that he could.

Taking lead for the other four, Robin ushered everyone towards a door that would have to be their best bet as a means of safety. Holding that door open and with a quick peek inside, there were no guards and truly the only option that they had left. Erica raced in with Dustin tumbling after, a hold on his sister before Steve had come in last, slamming it closed behind him.

Alex took her hands off her ears as the shrill of the screams had subdued. Breathing heavily, she had looked around the room, wide-eyed and struck with a bone-chilling fear. However, there was no time to stop and question the blood that stained under her nose as the Russian guards began to bang on the door that Steve had put all his weight against to prevent them from tearing inside.

Thinking quick, both Robin and Alex had held themselves against the door all the same while Dustin and Erica had searched for a way out. Erica's eyes had traveled the room before they had landed on a vent that was big enough for all of them to be able to fit. Calling over Dustin, she had instructed him to help get it off. On their knees, the youngest ones of the group had used all the strength they had combined, lifting the vent cover up and off.

Ready to finally reach safety, Erica threw her backpack in first before she started to climb in after. As she did so, Dustin hurried over to the group, "Come on!"

With each thud of the guards throwing their weight against the door, they knew walking away would result in their entrance. Holding out the gun, Alex gave her brother clear instructions she needed him to follow. "Go! Get the hell out of here and get help! Get Hop!"

Taking the gun in his hands, he had tried to refuse, but with the demands of his sister yelling over him and Erica calling for anyone to come with her, Dustin began to walk back towards the event. He didn't want to bring himself to let her stay behind when she had already survived so much. Had she died on this adventure, he would only ever be able to bring blame onto himself knowing he was the one that intercepted the Russian code that lead them all the way here. But she was tough and he knew that the Russians would have a hell of a hard time if she had been around. Not to mention she had Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley willing to fight right alongside her.

Holding that gun tight in his hand, his knuckles turned white with the vent just in front of him. Climbing into the vent, he had paused, raising a finger at the three and giving them one final message he hoped would stick with them. "I'll never forget you!"

"Go!" The three had screamed together as they forced the younger Henderson to his safety. Letting his hand drop back down, Dustin had crouched down into the vents, closing the cover right after himself.

Looking beside him, Steve had looked over at Alex Henderson in disappointment. The blood from her nose had raced down and spilled over her lips as it had begun to dry after the sudden threat to her mind. "You should have gone with him," he called over to her.

Keeping her eyes forward, Alex had swallowed hard. She knew who she was fighting for whether or not she had died in the process. "You guys are my best friends," she stated confidently. "I'm not leaving you guys behind."

Looking over Alex, Steve and Robin had met each other's eyes. Her willingness to fight for her friends should have been heartwarming but given the life-threatening adventure they were on and what they had witnessed with her being close to the gate, they were anything but warmed by her words. Just as she had wanted to protect them, they wanted all the same for her.

However, the three were just not strong enough to hold back the guards much longer to work out another plan that could save them all. With a hard force to the door, the three had stumbled forward when the door had flung open. Guards began to flood the room, guns were drawn while the three had fallen beside one another.

There had been no savvy way to escape the mess they had now found themselves in. No way to take on all the guards at once and no backup coming to rescue them any time soon. They were left to surrender-- Robin Buckley, new to the horrors of Hawkins after being stuck slinging ice cream with a schmuck she swore she wouldn't like, Steve Harrington, new to adult life, working a minimum wage job just to find himself throwing himself in harm's way for the Hendersons once again, and Alex Henderson, a now-failed babysitter that was stuck battling herself within her mind after the Mind Flayer had left a mark that may never be washed away when all she wanted was a summer of love with no one other than Steve Harrington.