𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐂, 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 | 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

chapter ten; the russian vs harrington

The five of them fall into a chorus of curse words as Steve ushers them back up the stairs, their legs moving as fast as they can. Though they're so consumed with panic that without realising they run right into the station filled with scientists, all of them squeaking around in their chairs as they come face to face with the American teens.

Dustin leads them out the side door and down a small staircase, pushing aside the men in hazmat suits all whilst letting out a string of shrieks. Unfortunately for them, the way he had been running lead them to a dead end with nowhere to go but down the giant hole of nothingness at the edge of the walkway.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" Dustin pauses, gasping for air before letting out one more. "Holy shit!"

"What do we do?" Summer yells, barely able to hear her own thoughts over the noise radiating from the laser.

The guards start to close in on them, all of whom were holding some type of gun or weapon as they angrily chased after the group.

"Guards! Go!" Erica shouts.

"This way!" Steve yells and runs down another small set of stairs, throwing the scientists out of the way as he does so. Though his escape route is cut off as another group of guards come running in from a side entrance.

"Steve! The bins!" Summer calls out and the two of them shove a pile of metal bins over at them, knocking them to the ground long enough for the group to get passed.

From behind the rest of the guards migrate together, only a few steps behind as Robin wrenches open a door and they all make it inside. Steve slams himself back into it, trying to hold it closed as best he can but the soldiers push back harder. Robin and Summer join his side, the three of them pressing as much strength as they could possibly conjure up against it.

Meanwhile, Erica and Dustin had found a trap door that leads straight to the air vents. "Here, come on let's go!" Erica calls out.

"Just get out of here! Find Hopper, he'll know what to do!" Summer shouts, fighting to hold the door closed.

"Sum, you need to go with them!" Steve shakes his head, tensing as the door opens a little bit more.

"What? No! I'm not leaving you!" She retorts.

"They need-"

"I said I'm not leaving you!" There's a hint of anger in her voice when she speaks this time and even though Steve seems disappointed by her choice, he nods in defeat.

The curly-haired boy stops as he watches the interaction between the couple knowing that there was no prying them apart.

"Just go, Dustin! It'll be okay!" She turns to him, trying her best to reassure him but the smile she gives him falters for a second as her eyes tear up.

"I won't forget you!" He calls out to them as he lowers himself into the air duct, guilt washing over his features. Though his words were taken more as a joke she knew he meant it in the most sincere way possible.

"Go!" The three older teens yell in unison and he quickly closes the grate just in time.

The guards throw open the door, the impact sending them to the floor with a hard thud, and they hold the three at gunpoint. One by one they're wrenched up by the clothing on their backs and though they tried to resist it they were no match for the ten soldiers surrounding them. The fear that had been coursing through them the past twenty-four hours was nothing compared to what they were feeling now.

"Get off of me!" Robin yells, fighting against the grip of the Russians but instead gets shoved harder as they're led towards a narrow hall.

"Just do what they say," Steve whispers to Summer as they get pushed together. Earning himself a shove as one of the soldiers chastises him for speaking but he needed to ensure that Summer wasn't going to do anything drastic and get herself hurt.

As they reach the end of the hall they come to three doors, one having a small window and a lock that requires a security code. At first, the three of them are shoved into the room with the lock, and thrown onto the floor as four guards armed with large guns stood by closely, watching their every move and threatening them each and every time one of them made so much as an utter.

After a few minutes, another guard enters the room and speaks to the other men, looking back at the trio every few seconds, and then yanks them up to their feet. The guards speak for another second, one of them gesturing to the door and then begins to pull Robin along with him.

"Where are you taking her?" Summer shouts and the guard holding onto her arm clenches his fist in her face. Summer winces at the gesture before looking at Steve, his eyes a mixture of anger and fear as he eyes the closeness of the man's fist to her face.

"Stop! No! Let go of me!" The couple hears from outside as their friend is led into one of the other rooms, her voice disappearing as the door is shut.

The new soldier looks between the couple, his hand scratching the hairs on his chin and then points to Steve, gesturing for him to be brought along with him.

"No!" Summer screams, tears filling her eyes as Steve is forced to move. "Leave him alone!" She cries out and the guard behind her grabs her by the face, forcing her to look at him. His eyes are wide with anger and his jaw clenched tightly, the mere sight of him had Summer trembling with fear.

"Get off of her!" Steve yells, trying to get free as he's dragged out of the room. "Don't you fucking touch her! I swear to - get your hands off of her!"

A single tear rolls down Summer's face and the second the door is closed again she's thrown back down to the floor, her body landing with a thud on the metal beneath her. She scurries back against the wall, her body slinking against it as two guards stand by, watching her intently.

Not only was she terrified about what the Russians were planning on doing with her but now her mind was racing with what horrible things they were doing to Robin and Steve in the other rooms. The only thing she could hope for now was that Dustin and Erica had found a way out and were getting them the help they so clearly needed.