[ 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚜 & 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚜 ] ~ 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

XXI - So Close

"I don't understand. You've seen this before?" Robin rushed the words out as they all ran down the stairs that led up to the observation room they'd been in.

"Not exactly." Steve said at the same time Lucy said "Yes."

"Then what, exactly?" Robin scoffed.

"All you need to know is it's bad." Dustin shook his head.

"It's really bad." Steve nodded.

"We need to get out of here- Find El, or Hop or-" Lucy panicked, her breaths growing shaky. Russell put a hand on her shoulder, noticing the immediate relaxation of her muscles. 

"Like end of the human race as we know it, kind of bad." Dustin huffed with wide eyes.

"And you know about this how?" Robin asked, clearly in disbelief. 

"Uhm. . .Steve?" Erica looked between his and Russell's feet. "Where's your Russian friend?"

"Shit-" Russell breathed out.

Alarms started blaring through the announcement system, blue and red lights flashing on the ceiling. Steve ran to the door, pulling it open and looking out to the main room. "Ah, shit-"

"Halt! Halt!" One of the soldiers demanded as soon as they saw Steve.

"Shit." The brunet slammed the door shut, looking at his friends."Go, go, go, go, go!" He urged, running toward the stairs. They made it to the top, entering the room they were previously in. Dustin opened a door out into the control room the scientists were sitting in, stopping in his tracks when they all turned to look at the six.

"Shit!" Dustin hissed, darting to his left, taking Lucy's hand and dragging her down a set of stairs with him. Dustin yelped, shoving a man in a hazmat suit away from both him and Lucy as they rushed past. He stumbled back, yanking Lucy with him, when they stepped up to the blue beam that the machine was shooting out. "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"Steve!" Russell yelled, "What do we do?'

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"Guards!" Erica called.

"Go!" Robin shouted.

Steve panted, grabbing Russell's hand and giving it a squeeze, even in the panic. "This way!" 

Everyone's voices were jumbling together in Lucy's ears, she couldn't tell who was saying what, everything was too loud. Steve ran down another flight of stairs, shoving a soldier off of the flight and running toward a door in the wall. "Oh shit! Oh shit!" 

"Woah!" Robin yelled.

"Steve!" Russell pulled him out of the way as he almost tripped on a box.

Lucy stumbled into Dustin's back, her nose hitting his shoulder. Steve threw a set of barrels into another group of guards with a grunt.

"Come on! Go, go, go, go, go!" Steve urged, pushing Russell forward into a dark, short hallway. 

"Come on!" Robin yelled.

"Shit!"

"This way!" Russell pushed into a door, holding it open for everyone to run through before slamming it shut behind them.

Steve rammed his body into it, holding it shut with his weight. "Get something to hold the door!" Russell laid against it as well, keeping her back against the door and her feet planted into the ground. 

Lucy was panicking, looking around the entire room for something heavy or something to jam into the handle. She couldn't find anything at all.

"Help me!" Steve called. Russell was holding her weight as best as she could, Robin running over to do the same.

"Here! Come on, let's go!" Erica yelled, pulling open a vent. Russell watched as Lucy fought against Dustin's hold on her shoulder. He was trying to bring her toward their exit, but she wouldn't let him. Why wouldn't she let him?

"Come on!" Dustin called from behind her.

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

"No! Come on now!" Dustin shouted to Steve. 

"No! Just go get some help, okay? Get Lucy out of here!" Steve demanded, staring straight at Dustin as he made the order. Dustin grabbed Lucy by her biceps, dragging her back into his chest. He led her into the vent before dropping in himself.

"Go!" All three older teens yelled at Dustin as he just stood there.

"I won't forget you!" He pointed at Steve.

"Go!" They ordered once again. 

He pulled the vent shut over his head just as the soldiers broke through the door, knocking Robin, Russell and Steve to the ground. They all held guns on the three. Russell immediately froze, only holding her hands up because Steve pulled them up and away from the floor. Russell could barely breathe as she stared down the barrel of one of the guns. They were almost there. . .so close to being free. 

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Word Count - 778

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Published - February 2, 2024

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