teenage tragedy (Max Mayfield)

3. eight

"Code red, I repeat, code red. Does anyone copy? This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. Does anyone copy? 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," Dustin said again into his radio.

Cammie groaned and pulled her jacket over her ears to try and stay asleep. He'd been blabbing into his radio for the past twenty minutes and she wanted to smash it into pieces to get him to shut the fuck up so she could sleep.

"Hey. Gotta take it easy on that thing. Gonna drain the battery," Steve said.

"The mall just opened," Dustin said.

"So?" Steve said.

"So, someone could be in range," Dustin scoffed.

"What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?" Steve said.

"Shut up!" Cammie shouted, pulling the jacket tighter over her ears.

"Sorry," Steve said.

They whispered the rest of their conversation, letting Cammie get a bit more sleep.

For a minute, anyway, until Erica started banging the cylinder against a box.

"Hey, hey! Be careful, careful, careful! We don't even know what that is." Robin snatched it from Erica.

Cammie huffed and sat up, pulling her jacket on. She picked her mirror out of her pocket and started fixing her hair and makeup as best as she could.

"Exactly. It could be useful," Erica said.

"Useful how?" Robin said.

"We can survive down here a long time without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die," Erica scoffed.

"I hate to break it to you, but this is not water," Robin said.

"No, but it's a liquid, and if it comes down to me drinking that shit or dying of thirst, I drink," Erica rolled her eyes.

Robin scoffed. Cammie frowned when she heard something. She crawled to the door and put her ear to it.

"We've got company," Cammie said.

Robin and Erica turned to her with wide eyes.

The elevator door creaked open. The five of them were hiding on top of the elevator roof with baited breath, praying these Russians didn't see them. The men started speaking in Russian and Steve held up a finger.

The door started moving again and Steve jumped down, shoving the cylinder under the gap to keep it open.

"Let's go," he grunted.

Erica chucked her backpack under the gap and crawled out, Cammie following. Dustin wriggled out next and then Robin. Steve wriggled out as the glass started cracking and Cammie ran forward. She grabbed the bottom of it and pulled it up as much as she could.

She waited for Steve to get out and let go. The doors slammed back down, shattering the cylinder. The liquid fizzed out and dissolved holes in the floor.

"Holy shit," Cammie whispered.

"Ooh!" Erica winced.

"You still wanna drink that?" Robin turned to Erica with raised eyebrows.

"Holy mother of God," Dustin said.

They turned and saw an enormously long hallway up ahead of them.

"Well... hope you guys are in good shape. Looking at you, roast beef," Steve pat Dustin's shoulder and started walking ahead. "Let's go, come on!" he motioned for the four of them to follow.

They started following, Cammie letting out the first yawn of what she knew would be many.

"Why me?" Dustin mumbled.

"I mean, you have to admit, as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive," Dustin broke the silence a while later.

"What are you talking about? It's a total fire hazard. There's no stairs, there's no exit, there's just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell," Steve scoffed.

"They're Commies. You don't pay people, they cut corners," Erica said.

"To be fair to our Russian comrades, I don't think this tunnel was designed for walking. Think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo," Robin said.

"What, jumping instead?" Cammie smirked at Steve and Dustin, who laughed.

"It all comes into the mall like any old delivery," Dustin said.

"And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody's the wiser," Robin said.

"You think they built this whole mall so they could transport that green poison?" Steve asked.

"I very seriously doubt it's something as boring as poison," Dustin said.

"It's gotta be much more valuable, like promethium or something," Cammie said.

"What the hell is promethium?" Steve said.

"It's what Victor Stone's dad used to make Cyborg's bionic and cybernetic components," Robin said.

"You're all so nerdy, it makes me physically ill," Erica muttered.

"Hey!" Cammie whined.

"No, no, no. No, don't lump me in with them. I'm not a nerd, all right?" Steve said.

"Why so sensitive, Harrington? Afraid of losing cool points to a ten-year-old child?" Robin smirked at Steve.

"No, I'm just saying I don't know jack shit about Prometheus," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Promethium. Prometheus is a Greek mythological figure, but whatever. All I'm saying is, it's probably being used to make something," Dustin said.

"Or power something," Robin said.

"Like a nuclear weapon?" Dustin said.

"Totally," Robin agreed.

"Walking towards a nuclear weapon. That's great. That'd be great," Steve said sarcastically.

"But if they're building something, why here? I mean, Hawkins. Seriously. Of all places. At the very best, we're a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland, but maybe that's it. Maybe it's our very..." Robin marched on ahead with Robin but Cammie grabbed Dustin and Steve, pulling them in to whisper.

"You think the Russians know?" Dustin whispered.

"About the-" Steve whispered.

"They could," Dustin agreed.

"And me, then, and El," Cammie whispered.

"They could," Dustin nodded.

"So, it's connected?" Steve asked.

"Maybe," Cammie said.

"How?" Steve said.

"I don't know but it's-" Dustin started.

"Possible," the three of them sighed.

"I'm sorry, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Robin turned back to them with a glare.

They heard some static and then a man started speaking Russian over the radio.

"Walkie," the three of them ran to Robin and Erica.

Erica handed the walkie to Robin while the man continued talking.

"It's the code," Robin nodded.

"Wherever that broadcast is coming from-" Dustin started.

"It's close. And if there's one thing we know about that signal..." Robin looked around them.

"It can reach the surface," Cammie said.

"Let's go," Robin said.