Downside Up [W.Byers]

048

The five of them sneak through the base, trying their best not to be caught. "Clear. Let's go." Steve whispers. "Okay, that was close." Robin sighs. "Too close." Dustin nods.

"Relax. Alright? Relax. Nobody saw.." Steve trails off as they reach a larger part of the base, where multiple Russians traverse. "Shit." Steve mutters. They all quickly hide behind a large red box, peering over. "Red dawn." Dustin says.

"I saw it. First floor, northwest." Erica whispers. "Saw what?" Ruby asks curiously. "The comms room." She responds. "You saw the comms room?" Steve asks.

"Correct." She nods. "Are you sure?" Dustin speaks up. "Positive. The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there." She explains.

"That could be a hundred different things." Dustin argues. "I'll take those odds." Robin states. "Alright. We're gonna move fast, we're gonna stay low. Okay?" Steve whispers.

"Okay." They nod. They follow behind Steve, crouching down behind boxes and running across the room. Suddenly, a door opens, giving them the chance to go inside.

Once they make it in, they find a russian seated at a desk ahead of them. The man quickly turns around, wide eyes.

He reaches for his gun, but Robin speaks up, using part of the code. He doesn't seem convinced and reaches for his gun once again. Ruby holds up her hands, preparing for any chance that'd she'd have to fight.

Before she could do anything, Steve jumps at the Russian, knocking over. They fight for about thirty seconds before Steve manages to knock him out. "Dude! You did it! You won a fight!" Dustin's exclaims.

"Against an evil Russian with a gun!" Ruby adds. Steve laughs softly, proudly looking at the man on the ground. Dustin runs over, reaching for the keycard.

"What are you doing?" Erica asks. "Getting us our ticket out of here." Dustin responds. "You want to walk all the way back?" She says in disbelief.

"Well, we can hang out for a little bit, relax, have a picnic maybe." Dustin says sarcastically. "Have a picnic? We came here for the radio." She argues.

"Well, this plan is way better. If I knew Steve could knock out a Russian, that would've been our plan in the first place."

"Will you two stop? Come on." Ruby sighs. "Guys." Robin quickly runs over. "There's something up there." She points at the stairs behind her.

They follow her up the stairs, then into a room. They peer through the glass windows in the doors. Ahead of them, a large electrical machine pointed at a goo like substance.

The portal is opening again. "This isn't good." Ruby mutters. "Yeah. No shit."
Dustin responds.

"The gate." Steve, Ruby, and Dustin say in in unison. "Let's go." They all run back down the stairs. "I don't understand. You've seen this before?" Robin asks.

"Not exactly." Steve responds. "Then What, Exactly?" She asks again. "All you need to know is it's bad." Ruby states. "It's really bad." Steve repeats.

"Like, end of the human race as we know it kind of bad." Dustin adds. "And you two know about this how?" She turns to look at Ruby and Dustin.

"Um, Steve? Where's your Russian friend?" Erica asks as she glances at the floor where once lay a Russian man.

As soon as Steve looks down, an alarm blares. "Shit." Steve runs to the door, throwing it open. Once he does, the Russians spot him. He slams it closed.

"Go, go, go, go!" He shouts, leading everyone up the stairs and into the other room. As they barge in, all the scientists turn around. "Go! Shit! Shit!" They run to the side and down the stairs, pushing through the workers.

They reach a dead end. "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" Dustin screams. "Move!" Ruby yells, stepping in front of everyone, flame brightly lit.

Once the Russians reach them, they run off to the side, where they find more stairs. "Ruby, come on!" Dustin shouts. "I can fight them off!" She replies. "Not if we have another option!" He grabs her wrist, pulling her away.

They finally manage to make it into another room, where Steve and Robin hold the door closed. "Come on!" Erica calls, opening a door in the ground.

"Come on!" Dustin calls to Steve and Robin. "Go! Just get out of here!" Steve responds. "Go, come on. Now." Dustin repeats. "No! Just go get some help, okay?" Steve yells.

Dustin sighs, jumping in. "Ruby, come on." He says. "I have to stay with them. They need my help." She shakes her head. "No, Rube, I'm not letting you die." Dustin argues. "I won't die."

"Go!" Steve and Robin yell as they struggle to hold the door any longer. "Go, Dustin." She pushes him lightly. "I won't forget you!" He yells to Steve and Robin. "Stay safe, Rube."

"I will. Now go!" She shouts. He finally leaves, causing the door to be swung open and Robin and Steve to fall to the ground.

Ruby lights her fire, approaching the soldiers. "Stay away from them!" She shouts. They quickly point their guns at her. She nervously glances at Steve and Robin. "Put the guns down." She says calmly. "I'm not afraid to use this." She says, motioning at her fire. Truth is, she's deathly afraid to use it. She's never hurt anyone and never planned on doing it. Even evil russian. After all, she's only a fifteen year old girl.

A guard says something in Russian, then two large men approach her. Before she could do anything, they stab her with a needle, knocking her out.