CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: DEATH SENTENCE
99 RED BALLOONS — NENA
Ninety-nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
——————
Fear.
A sharp pain across my cheek.
"Beth? Hello?"
"Jesus, would you stop slapping her? It's not gonna work."
"You figure that, Mr Lightswitch?"
"That was perfectly logical." A blur passes across my vision as I open my eyes, someone grabbing onto a hand. "Stop it!"
A groan passes my lips.
"I knew it would work, you nerd."
"Just shut up, would you?"
Shuffling footsteps. A hand at the back of my head, lifting it. Leather brushes against my nose. It smells of cigarettes and coffee and brings a warmth to me that nothing else can. The touch brings a dazed smile to my face and I lean into it, waiting for Eddie's voice to come, for his face to appear in my vision.
The eyes above me are not his dark brown, though. They are hazel and frantic. "Hey, there. How're you feeling?"
Nothing comes.
My surroundings gradually come back into focus. I'm lying on the floor of a much messier version of the storeroom. Boxes are loose, shelves knocked away from the walls. And my friends surround me.
Erica's face scrunches up in disgust. "What's wrong with her face?"
"It's just a nosebleed. She does that sometimes."
The fingers still supporting my head move slightly and I mumble a complaint at a tickle by my earlobe. "Yeah, Henderson, but not like this."
"Holy shit."
I manage to sit up, feeling a trail of something from my ear. Blood. My eyes sting, too. Ignoring the others' panicked warnings, I stagger to my feet. "Everyone good?"
They just gape at me. "You're kidding, right?"
"Huh?"
"What the hell was that? Should we even be letting you stand?"
"Best not to ask questions, Robin," I quietly reply, wiping my face as I push myself towards the sealed exit. "Seriously, though. Is everyone okay?"
Scoffing, Steve still looks at me like I've risen from the grave rather than what I figure was a rather un-miraculous wakeup. His fear pushes over into frustration and he snaps, "Yeah, I'm great, now that I know Russians can't design elevators!"
He pushes past Dustin to get to the hatch. Robin sighs, "I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work."
"They're buttons! They have to do something!"
"Yeah, if we had a key card."
His frustrated attempts to free us cease and he slowly turns. "What?"
She gestures awkwardly to it. "It's an electronic lock, same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a key card, it won't operate, meaning—"
"We're stuck in here," Dustin concludes.
"Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me. But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you four are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down one by one and slit your throat."
أنت تقرأ
No Surrender | Eddie Munson
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