Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 43

"Alright," Steve takes a deep breath, "We're gonna move fast, we're gonna stay low. Okay?"

"Okay."

They follow Steve's lead slowly and as quietly as they can.

"Shh, move it."

They watch as a scientist leaves the room they assume is comms and rush to catch the door before it latches.

"Let's go."

"Come on."

As they turn to actually look into said room, they notice a Russian posted inside.

He reaches for his gun, and each of them can hear their hearts pounding in their ears as the moment seems to last forever.

Robin quickly yells, "Tread lightly!" In Russian, "Tread lightly!"

He speaks more of his native tongue with a questioning look.

It would've been a lot easier if they knew Russian...

"Silver cat... silver cat." She gestures, unsure.

Angie resists the urge to face palm. Robin speaking bits of the code were only gonna help them for so long.

The officer continues to question them... well, they assume he is because– oh, yeah! They don't speak Russian!

Robin tries to deescalate the situation, but before she can inevitably fail, Steve launches at the guard.

"Steve!" Angie yells in surprise and terror.

She's pretty sure she stops breathing for at least 30 seconds as they brawl across the computers.

"Dude!" Dustin startles her enough to restart her breathing, "You did it! You won a fight!"

Steve stares down at the fallen Russian, finally realizing what he's done, "Jeez..."

They all chuckle quietly to themselves; the only normal thing that's happened in the last week.

Dustin struts up to the unconscious body and fiddles with his belt.

"What are you doing?" Erica questions him.

"Getting us our ticket out of here."

"You want to walk all the way back?"

"Well, we can hang out for a little bit, relax, have a picnic, maybe." He responds, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Have a picnic?" She fails to catch his tone, "We came here for the radio."

Steve and Angie drown out the kids' argument as she approaches him.

She inspects him slowly, and he silently allows her to. Noticing a small cut, she flips his arm over so she can get a better look.

"You're hurt."

He follows her gaze, "I'm fine. It's just a little scratch."

"Why did you..." She pauses, searching for the right words, but she doesn't find them, "That was stupid."

"I won though, didn't I?"

"But what if you didn't?"

"Let's not focus on the 'what ifs', okay?" He hugs her close, "If we keep focusing on those, we'll be drowning in them."

Angie wants to say something but is interrupted.

"Guys." Robin approaches the group, "There's something up there."

They sneak their way back up into the next room, following Steve's lead.

"Holy shit."

Before their eyes, is what they assume is a generator that's powering through a layer of ground.

Angie was right... the Russians are opening another gate.

"I don't understand. You've seen this before?" Robin rambles quickly.

So... maybe Angie didn't actually tell her the whole story. She really wanted to, but she chickened out.

"Not exactly."

"Then what, exactly?"

Dustin jumps in, "All you need to know is it's bad."

"It's really bad."

"Like, end-of-the-human-race-as-we- know-it kind of bad."

"And you know about this, how?"

Erica interrupts, "Um, Steve? Where's your Russian friend?"

"Shit." Angie mumbles as alarms ring out, "Steve? What do we do?"

He peaks out the door, "Go, go, go, go, go!" He quickly rushes them along, "Move! Let's move!"

Unaware of where they're going, they dash into a room full of more Russians.

"Go! Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

He grabs Angie's hand and pulls her along, knowing that her leg tends to hurt her more during any harsh exercise, "Let's go!"

They sprint down the metal pathway, shoving through men and women in hazmat suits.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" They abruptly hault as they come face to face with the beam blasting into the gate.

Dustin continues to scream on a loop, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

Erica yells, alerting them of the approaching guards.

Steve and the others dash once again down the industrial stair case, still with no idea where they're headed.

The Russians corner them after a fight with flying hazardous waste bins. For only a short period of time, Robin and Steve hold off the guards.

Erica and Dustin move further, still trying to escape, "Come on!"

"Go! Just get out of here!"

"Go! Come on, now!" Dustin urges them again.

"No! Just go get some help, okay?" Steve grunts, using all his strength to hold the door, "You too, Ange. Get out of here."

"No, I–"

"Please, Ange. This is no time to be stubborn!"

"I'm not leaving you guys!" She sheds a small tear but wipes it quickly, "Dustin, go! Go find some help!" Angie joins the other two at the door so the younger ones can escape.

He still doesn't want to believe them, "Come on, guys! Hurry! We can still–"

"We'll never make it if we let go of this door!" Robin yells, "If two of you escape, there's hope for us too!"

"It's okay, Dustin." Angie tries to soothe him. He's their best chance at making it out alive.

"I don't wanna leave you guys!"

"Just go! It's gonna be okay!" She yells again, more so trying to convince herself than him.

"I won't forget you!"

"Go, Dustin!"

He takes one last glance at them before ushering Erica on through the tunnels.

"Why wouldn't you just listen?" Steve gazes at her sadly, "What if that was your last chance to get out of here?"

"Let's not focus on the 'what ifs', okay?" If we keep focusing on those, we'll be drowning in them." She attempts a smile, watching Dustin and Erica slip to safety.

Their grip slips as the Russian guards come barreling in through their poorly attempted barricade, and they're thrown into a nearby wall. They're swarmed in seconds, surrounded by guns pointed directly at them.