CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AM(ERICA)
Erica stands at the top rung of the ladder, in her hands she holds a flashlight as she peers into the depths of the air duct. Behind her, Abby, Robin, Steve, and Dustin wait patiently on the ground along the opposite wall. Abby taps her foot anxiously as she watches. Despite her protests against bringing another person into the tricky web that they had found themselves in, Dustin and Steve had agreed to consult with Erica. Once satisfied, Erica clicks off the flashlight and hops off of the ladder.
"Yeah, I don't know," Erica tells them as she rests her hands on the table.
"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin asks.
"Oh, I can fit," Erica answers with oozing confidence that Abby wished she could have. "I just don't know if I want to."
"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin suggests.
"Yeah, if you feel unsafe, please tell us," Abby adds. "You don't have to do this."
Erica only lets out a scoff and rolls her eyes. "I don't have any phobias."
"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve questions.
"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica," Erica responds. She puts a finger down on the table as she says each word for emphasis.
The remainder of the group all let out collective sighs and exchange glances.
Abby didn't know that it was possible for somebody to like ice cream as much as Erica Sinclair does. The table is covered in different deserts, all topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, and fudge. The sweet aroma is almost sickening, as Abby continues to stare at the tumultuous amount of ice cream Erica had order, but Erica doesn't seem to be too affected as she shoves spoonfuls of the sickly sweet dessert into her mouth. Steve arrives with the last dessert in his hands and slides it across the table toward Erica. The girl only looks down at the U.S.S. Butterscotch in distaste before she glances back up at Steve who sits expectantly with his arms folded on the table.
Erica slides the U.S.S. Butterscotch back across the table to Steve. "More fudge, please."
Steve stares back unimpressed but Erica only smiles smugly and shoos him away with a wave of her hands. She's clearly enjoying the amount of power that she holds over the group of four. She knows now that they depend on her and she's going to be taking complete advantage of this. Abby just hopes that the girl doesn't get too in over her head. Steve lets out a small sigh and picks up the U.S.S. Butterscotch and ambles back to the counter.
Robin reaches back for the blueprints and holds them before Erica. "All right. See this? This is the route you're going to take." She traces her finger along the red lines of the blueprint. "Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, and open the door."
"And you find out what's in those boxes?" Erica finishes.
"Exactly," Robin hums.
"Mhm," Erica nods. "And you say this guard is armed?"
"Yes, but he won't be there," Dustin answers.
"And booby traps?" Erica asks.
"Booby traps?" Robin repeats.
"Lasers? Spikes in the wall?"
"This isn't exactly Indiana Jones. I think you'll be okay," Abby assures her.
Erica rolls her eyes. "Well, think isn't good enough. You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me? Child endangerment."
"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time—" Robin starts.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica interrupts. "Child endangerment."
Abby lets a defeated sigh escape from her lips as she rests her forehead in the palm of her hand. As much as she really does not want to admit it, she knows that they depend on Erica going through with their plan because if she doesn't, they'll only reach another dead end and they can't afford to circle all the way back to square one once again.
Dustin takes a deep breath and begins, "Erica? Hi. Uh ... We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"
At this, Abby shifts uncomfortably in her seat and averts her attention to the surface of the table. There had been plenty of times when Abby questioned whether or not she would be safe out in the world once she had gotten to college. It's already unsafe here in the small town of Hawkins. The country that she lives in has not been kind to people with her color of skin, and still, even centuries later, prejudice lies within many of those who dwell there. And of course, that's not all. There are the people shamed for their practices and their beliefs, there are the people whose land had been stolen from them by the people who had built the country up, there are the people shamed for not wanting to give up their culture, for being anything other than American.
"You can't spell 'America' without 'Erica'," is Erica's response as she takes the nearest soda cup and twirls the red straw in between her fingers, and slurps loudly.
Dustin stares forward and blinks silently. "Uh, yeah, yeah. Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. So, so, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America ... Erica."
"Ooh, I just got the chills!" Erica exclaims as she finally sets down her float. Dustin wears a proud grin as Erica turns to him and she is quick to clarify, "Oh, yeah, from this float, not your speech." Dustin lets out a dejected sigh as Erica glances around the table and continues, "Know what I love most about this country? Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"
Abby blinks but nods as she, Robin, and Dustin answer, "Yeah."
"It means this is a free market system," Erica continues to explain. "Which means people get paid for their services depending on how valuable their contributions are. And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable for you all. So, you want my help? This U.S.S. Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life."
And with that proclamation, she picks the red cherry off of the top of a nearby sundae and eats it all the while, a smug smile on her face.
✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*
Soon, night falls over the mall and once again, Abby, Steve, Robin, and Dustin are left alone in the dimly lit mall. As the night air settles around them, they make their way to the rooftops. The night air is still cold despite the sweltering heat of the day, but Abby supposes that it's better than being stranded in the rain once again. Erica is poised in the backroom of Scoops, they've made sure that they have sent her with everything that she needs; flashlights taped to a helmet to light her way, knee and elbow pads, Dustin's headset, and the other supplies they had packed away into her backpack. Now all Erica needs is the green light.
"Erica, do you copy?" Robin calls into the radio.
"Mhm, I copy," comes Erica's response. "You nerds in position or what?"
"Yeah, we're in position," Robin responds. "It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light."
"Greenlight. Roger that," Erica responds. "Commence Operation Child Endangerment."
Robin bites back a sigh. "Can we maybe not call it that?"
"See you on the other side, nerds," is Erica's reply.
The next few minutes are filled with silence as they anxiously await Erica's report. Abby finds herself biting down on her lip in anticipation, waiting for something to go horribly wrong. They were dealing with foreign politics. They should have put more thought into their plan. Abby should have insisted on calling until Hopper was available, but alas, here they were, depending on the safety and survival of a ten-year-old.
"All right nerds," Erica's voice cuts through the silence. "I'm there."
Abby breathes a sigh of relief as Robin raises the radio to her mouth. "Do you—do you see anything?"
"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about."
"Any guards?"
"Negative."
"Booby traps?"
"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"
"Thank you for that."
A few moments passed and then: "I'm in."
Steve lets out a groan and rests his face in his hands as if he is only now realizing how dangerous their plan was. "Oh god."
A loud beep rings throughout the loading dock and Abby watches with a grin as the doors swing open. There under the fluorescent lights stands Erica with her hands proudly on her hips. She'd done it.
"Free ice cream for life," she calls up to them.
Steve runs a knife through the packing tape while Abby glances anxiously over her shoulders every few seconds. The hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up as she waits for some sort of shout to break through the silence, for someone to come hurtling towards them. Surely there's been some alarm that they've triggered, some person hidden in the shadows that they had managed to carelessly glance over.
They've gathered in the room and circled around one of the many boxes that line the small metal room. The doors have closed behind them and shrouded them in dim light. There isn't anything too special about the room itself, the walls and floors are metal. Boxes upon boxes are stacked haphazardly on top of one another and under the only table in the room.
Steve pulls open the box to reveal a smaller container within it. It's rectangular, beige in color slightly smaller than the box rimmed with silver shining metal, and in the center of the top sits a silver handle. Steve glances up at them before he reaches and latches onto the handle. Abby clutches tightly to the rim of the table as Steve turns the handle and air hisses out from the container.
As they peer over the edge of the box, a small cloud of smoke rises from the depths of the container. Sitting in the container are four circular metal containers.
"That's definitely not Chinese food," Steve murmurs. He tosses the lid of the container onto a nearby box and reaches down to grab one of the handles that stick out of the circular containers. He looks back up at his companions and pushes out a hand to shoo them away. "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."
Abby, Robin, and Erica comply instantly, stepping back a few feet away from the table. Whatever is in those containers cannot be good, and Abby certainly does not want to be the closest to the volcano when it inevitably erupts. Dustin, however, does not share the same inhibitions as Abby, Robin, and Erica and remains stubbornly beside Steve.
Steve lets out a sigh and attempts to push Dustin away. "Just step back, okay?"
"No!" Dustin protests, stepping forward again.
"Step back. Seriously!"
"No!" Dustin repeats as he fights against Steve and steps back up to the box. "If you die, I die."
"Or we just don't open that, put the lid back on the box and take it with us," Abby suggests.
Steve only shrugs at Dustin's proclamation and opens one of the containers. It detaches from its holding place with another hiss of air and another wisp of smoke. Abby stares as he lifts the cylindrical container from the box. Through the glass, a glowing, green, translucent liquid shines underneath the dim lighting.
"What the hell?" Steve murmurs.
"What is that?" Robin asks.
Before anybody can answer, the floor beneath them gives a shake, and a loud rumble as a mechanical whirring fills the air. Abby's eyes widen considerably at the sound as she glances around at Erica, Robin, Dustin, and Steve.
"Was that just me or did the floor just move?" Dustin questions with a slight tremble in his voice as he looks around the small room.
Abby shakes her head. "It definitely wasn't just you."
"Booby traps," Erica whispers.
Another rumbling fills the air and the room shakes once more as Robin dives forward and takes the canister from Steve and shoves it into Erica's backpack. Dustin dashes over to the keypad by the door and starts to frantically press one of the buttons but to no avail. Abby soon joins his side and frantically scans over the other buttons hoping to find some sort of override option.
"Which one do I press, Erica?" Dustin calls over his shoulder.
"Just press the damn button, nerd!" Erica shouts back.
"Which one? I'm pressing the button, okay?"
"Press 'open door'!"
Voices overlap as everybody starts to fill the air with their own shouts. Steve pushes past Abby and attempts to press the button himself but nothing seems to change, if anything the atmosphere becomes more frantic as the doors remain stubbornly closed tightly. Abby watches with wide-panicked eyes as the whirring sound fills the air once more and another door, bright red and just as dense as the walls around them slide into place over the doors.
"Shit," Abby whispers, but her voice is barely heard over the sudden rumbling that fills the room once again.
Erica lets out a scream as the floor buckles beneath them. A yelp escapes Abby's lips as she stumbles backward only to stable herself against the nearest wall. Her eyes trail to the walls to see lights flash past them as the floor continues to rumble. And that's when she realizes that they are plunging down, down, down.