Steve nodded along to Holly's ramblings beside him on the couch, excitedly showing him the small Lego car she had managed to build with Mike's help. The teddy bear sat firmly on the coffee table as if watching over Holly.
The three teenage boys were downstairs, having rolled their eyes at Steve when he had asked if they wanted to play card games.
Apparently, Steve wasn't privy to their gossip sessions or whatever the hell it was they were doing.
Steve couldn't hear much of it anyway. Nor, he realized, did he probably care to.
"And then..look!" Holly leaped, jumping right over the arm of the couch, landing with a thump on the floor, scrambling toward the box of Hot Wheel cars only to freeze in her tracks, head tilted up toward the ceiling. Steve lifted halfway off the couch in alarm, only to freeze as the sounds finally registered in his mind.
There was a click, then a slow whir before the house fell deadly silent.
No buzz from the lights.
No hum from the fridge.
No clicks from the ceiling fan.
No gentle vibrations from the television.
No music floating down the stairs to cover up Eddie's noises.
"Steve?" Mike called up uncertainly.
Steve sprang up, snatching Holly around the middle who had begun to shake in fear, and hurried toward the kitchen, crying out as he knocked his hip harshly against the counter edge. Holly turned in his arms, latching her arms around his neck, and buried her face there, whimpering.
"I'm scared." She mumbled, and Steve tightened his grip on her.
"Steve!" Dustin called out in higher desperation.
They didn't have electricity. No electricity meant no lights. No cooking. The food was going to go bad. If the food went bad, they didn't eat. If they didn't eat, they'd die. They needed electricity.
"Upstairs, now!" Steve shouted through the silence, finally finding his way through the kitchen. He slid his hands along the counter until he landed on a duffel bag. His hands fumbled along the fabric until he found the zipper.
"That was my toe, Dustin!"
"Sorry, Michael! I can't see fucking shit in the dark!"
"Guys, please!"
Steve clicked the flashlight on just as the three boys appeared in the doorway, Mike's face relaxing upon spotting Holly now on Steve's hip. Arms deflating by his side as Dustin finally pushed through, clearly having been shoved back by the taller boy.
They stared at each other before Dustin perked up in surprise at a noise floating down the stairs.
"Harrington!" Came a panicked shout.
"Shit." Steve breathed.
"Let me go, Harrington! I swear to fucking god!" Eddie shouted, followed shortly by sounds of struggling and hitched breathing.
"There's a zombie!" Holly screamed, tightening her arms around Steve's neck, and clambering over his shoulder until she was practically perched upon his head. Steve winced as her small hands curled in his hair, tightening her grip on him. Anchoring herself up on his shoulder.
"He can't come downstairs, he's-" Steve was cut off by the distinct sound of something crashing, and toppling over.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Dustin rambled, then dove for the duffel bag himself. Hands scrambling over zippers and pockets.
YOU ARE READING
Let's Burn Down Our Hometown
FanfictionThe earthquake that ripped Hawkins in two brought so much more than destruction. It brought disease. As the gates pulled open, splitting the plane between the real world and the decayed land beneath, the poison bled out. Infecting the once-sleepy to...
