CHAPTER 027. PLANCK'S CONSTANT
STEVE'S KNUCKLES ARE TURNING WHITE WITH HOW HARD HE'S GRIPPING THE STEERING WHEEL.
Laurie is suddenly aware of how humid it is, the wind blowing across her face and she can feel a flush spreading from her cheeks and down her neck. She can feel the adrenaline too, pumping through her veins like the drugs the Russians have given them earlier as Steve drives impossibly faster.
She's been trying to pull her hair into a ponytail for the past 20 seconds or so, the hair band fraying at the edges where a good portion of the elastic is showing, thanks to Robin's nervous habit of stretching it more than necessary. It hasn't arguably even been that long, but Laurie's hands won't stop shaking and she has to keep biting her tongue to stop herself from groaning with frustration — at her messy hair, or this entire scenario, she isn't sure.
Laurie has no right to complain, not really. She knew what she was signing up for the moment she decided to grab Steve's hand and follow him back down to the Toddfather. His eyes, briefly flickering down and back up again like they always do when he's thinking, told her that enough; that he was determined to get Griswold's Family out of that goddamn mall no matter the cost.
It doesn't mean that it still isn't shocking, though. Laurie doesn't know these people — well, sure, she knows of them, but she doesn't really know them — and yet here she is, risking her life mere seconds after their distress call came in. Even for such a sporadic decision, Laurie can't help but to worry about every possible thing that could go wrong.
"So.. what's our plan, exactly?" Robin asks, breaking the uncomfortable silence, her eyes darting between Laurie and Steve frantically.
Part of Laurie wants to be angry with Robin, upset that she followed her and Steve in tow without an ounce of hesitation because this eerily feels like a suicide mission. But the freckled girl knows her better than anybody, and before Laurie could even open her mouth to argue, Robin reminded her that it's "Us against the world," before scrambling into the backseat.
"We get to Starcourt and make sure they're okay," Steve says matter-of-factly, fingers drumming against the steering wheel with impatience. Laurie only wishes it were that simple.
Laurie's gaze meets Robin's then, and the girl situated in the back seat widens her eyes, a silent plea for Laurie to coax Steve out and away from his reckless tunnel vision. She swallows harshly, before saying, "We get that, Steve, but.. then what?"
Steve pauses for a moment. "Then we head back to Weathertop and they head to Murray's,"
"And if the Mind Flayer is at the mall?" Laurie quickly follows, somewhat feeling guilty for even entertaining the idea.
The smell of burnt rubber fills Laurie's senses as Steve makes a tight turn on the pavement. "Then.. we'll distract it," Steve breathes out. "Make sure Nance and Jonathan and the kids can get the hell out of there in one piece,"
Getting from point A to point B is a much easier pill to swallow in theory rather than in practice. Laurie knows that the odds have been stacked against them all night long, and even with Steve's profound level of confidence, she can't ignore how impossible it all seems that they're going to be alive by sunrise.
"And how exactly are we gonna do that, dingus?" Robin inquires, popping her head back between the two in the front seats. She turns to her coworker and snarks, "You gonna charm the Mind Flayer with your perfect hair and boyish smile?"
Steve shoots her a glare through his peripheral. "Your loud mouth might do the trick,"
"Okay, asshole—"
"Would you two stop?" pleads Laurie, voice bubbling and boiling with nerves. "Can we just stay focused? Please?" she says, and the two of them cease their erupting argument before it's even begun.
"Look— I don't have a concrete plan, alright?" Steve lets out a huff, forehead creasing with his admittance. "We just.. I just gotta get them out of there, okay?"
The distinction between the "I" and "we" is something that goes unnoticed by the freckled girl, who sinks back into her seat and starts fiddling with the unfamiliar walkie in her hands. Laurie, however, does notice, and she stares at Steve longer than she probably should.
He's protective, she knows that better than most, but it's starting to frighten her at how far he's willing to go to keep his friends and the people he cares about safe. Throwing himself into the crossfires without a second thought, without an ounce of worry for himself or his well-being— Steve has seemingly become content with toying the line between life and death and it makes a pit form in Laurie's stomach at just the mere thought.
"We can't just go in head first without a plan, Steve. It's not safe," Laurie tells the boy sitting in the driver's seat, trying her best to seem calm despite feeling like she's about to implode with anxiety. What part of any of this is safe? "Plus, what if they're already out? Maybe they're on their way to Murray's right now and we're risking our lives for nothing,"
The Harrington boy spares Laurie a glance, much kinder than the one he gave Robin previously. "Mike's a little shit, but he would've answered Dustin's call,"
Laurie bites the inside of her cheek. "Maybe he doesn't have signal or something,"
Steve shakes his head, dismissive. "Those walkies can go for miles before losing signal, or whatever the hell it's called,"
"Before they're out of range?" supplies Robin, and Steve hums, clearly far too distracted — rather, focused — on getting to Starcourt as soon as possible.
Maybe kissing Steve has made her think she's more entitled than she is, but Laurie feels the need to reel Steve back in a little, help him make sure he's thinking with his head and not his heart. Of course, she doesn't like knowing that the rest of the group could be in danger, but they can't exactly help anybody if they're killed by the Mind Flayer because of an impulsive decision.
As Laurie opens her mouth to speak, the walkie in Robin's hand cracks to life, causing both girls in the car to flinch at the sudden intrusion.
"Scoops Troop, what's your twenty? Over,"
Robin fumbles with the walkie again, muttering curses to herself because why the hell does it have so many buttons to press? She passes it to Laurie frantically, who just ends up tugging at the antenna before Steve eventually mutters instructions on how to get it to work properly. If they weren't in a life or death situation, Laurie would tell him how it's cute that he took the time to learn how to use the gadgets and gizmos the kids frequently use.
"Dustin? Erica?" Laurie says into the walkie, hand still shaking with pent-up anxiety. "Is this thing working? Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, over,"
"Listen, we're almost at the mall," Robin's voice erupts, the girl leaning against the headrest behind Laurie. Steve sharply turns another corner and suddenly the Mall is coming into view. "We're about to— ow! Jesus, would you warn me before pulling an insane turn like that, dingus?!"
"Are you guys there yet? Do you see anything? Is Griswold's Family okay?"
As Steve slowly cruises into the parking lot, Laurie's eyes squint as the mall's neon lights, shades of fuchsia and neon green and yellow and electric blue flicker like none other. The windows and the concrete shimmer against the moonlight and the bright sign above the entrance, a faint reminder that it had been drizzling for the past 10 or so minutes.
The mall looks just like how they left it, perfectly designed and far too fancy to be in a place like Hawkins. Laurie can't tell which is worse, though. Seeing it after it had been ransacked by a monster, or it looking perfectly intact, just waiting to fall victim to the Mind Flayer.
But the worst part? Nancy's station wagon is still parked near the entrance of the mall, totally abandoned. It's almost as if Griswold's Family had left in too much of a hurry, too, because the car doors are wide open and the hood of it is still popped.
No, that can't be right, Laurie thinks to herself. They should've left by now. Why are they still here?
Steve's squinted eyes linger on something across the parking lot before he yanks the walkie from Laurie's hands and holds it close to his mouth. "Henderson, we're gonna have to call you back,"
"Steve, wait—"
Dustin's voice crackles into nothingness as Steve shoves down the antenna before chucking it onto the centre console. Laurie's eyes dart between the walkie and Steve, confusion washing over her features as she tries to figure out why he'd turn off their only means of communication.
But then the sound of an engine revving in the distance steals her attention. Laurie's eyes snap over, and her gaze lands on the thing Steve hasn't been able to pull his eyes away from. It's a familiar blue Camaro, something only one jackass in Hawkins would own, and her stomach drops.
"Is that—"
"Hargrove?" Steve grumbles before Laurie can finish her sentence, jaw ticking. His grip tightens on the wheel of the Toddfather. "Yeah, it is,"
Laurie knows about Steve's history with Billy. It was one of the few things she knew about him before becoming friends— more than friends with him. And sure, Laurie doesn't like Billy as much as the next person, but something about the way Steve's eyes flash with a level of anger she's never seen before tells her that his distaste for the Californian cuts deeper than one scuffle a few days after Halloween in '84.
"Isn't he.. didn't Nancy say he's like.. flayed, or something?" rambles Laurie, eyes unable to pull themselves away from Billy and his shiny blue car. Her stomach is in knots. "That he's working for the Mind Flayer?"
Steve mutters a reply but it's not much help because his eyes are still focused on Billy much like her own. But, before Laurie can even begin to think of what to do next, what their next move should be, Billy's car springs to life.
High beams illuminate the dark expanse of the parking lot as the engine roars, slicing through the previous silence like a sharpened knife. And, almost if on cue, Nancy, Jonathan, and the kids are bursting from the entrance of the mall and sprinting towards the station wagon with heaving chests.
"Did he do something to their car?" Robin asks as Jonathan heads for the hood of the car whilst Lucas and Will jump into the backseat. Nancy heads for the driver's side of the station wagon, and Laurie's eyes widen as she lifts her arms, showcasing the item in her hands.
"Wait— is that a gun?"
The tires of Billy's car screech as his car lurches forward and starts racing towards Griswold's Family. Laurie quickly realises why Steve hadn't put the Toddfather into park the moment they stopped cruising in the parking lot, because the sound of the first gunshot going off has him pressing his foot against the accelerator, and suddenly they're in motion again.
"Holy shit!" Robin exclaims, body slamming back into the upholstery at the sudden movement.
"Steve!" Laurie whips her head around to the boy. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm improvising!" Steve cries out, sneaker pressing harder against the accelerator.
"What?" Robin's voice cracks. "Steve— you're gonna hit him!"
"That's the plan!" shouts the Harrington boy, voice barely audible over the loud sounds of the engine and the gunshots.
Laurie's mouth drops open. "What?!"
They're narrowing in on Billy and his Camaro as Robin booms, "We're dead!"
Laurie grabs Steve's arm. "Steve, stop! This isn't funny!"
Robin is shaking her head rapidly. "We're so dead!"
"Hold on!"
Laurie's heart is in her throat. "Steve—"
The impact of the Toddfather crashing into the Camaro has all of the air trapped in Laurie's lungs forcing out in one fell swoop. Her ears are suddenly ringing, too, and a dull ache is pulsating in her hip, presumably from when she slammed into the centre console as Steve abruptly yanked the wheel of the car to narrowly miss swerving into Nancy and the rest of the group.
Laurie's eyes are still screwed shut when she hears the blazing sound of a fire starting, and when she finally manages to peel them open, it's revealed that Billy's car has been set alight. The Toddfather is steaming, too, a low hiss fizzling from the collision point at the front of the car, and Laurie wonders how much longer it has before it sets on fire, too.
But she's too exhausted to care, too sore and achy. Her muscles are contracting and she hasn't had this bad of a headache since.. God, she can't even think of when. All of her morals must've flung from her conscience the moment they crashed, too, because Laurie can't even bring herself to care that Billy is unconscious in a burning car.
Steve's chest is rising and falling with short inhales and long exhales as he asks, "Are you guys okay?"
"Ask me tomorrow?" Robin replies, equally as out of breath, running her ring-cladded hands through her messy hair. She's putting on a brave face as if she wasn't screaming bloody murder a few seconds ago.
With a labouring breath, Laurie squeezes Steve's arm, hard, and whether it's to ground herself or to silently let him know how livid she is over his decision to crash the Toddfather, she isn't sure.
"Don't you ever pull that shit again, Harrington," she mutters, barely able to pull her eyes away from the flaming Camaro a few feet away. "You hear me? Or I swear to God—"
Steve's face twists into an amused expression, but before he can crack the joke Laurie is already expecting, a loud snarl echoes from the roof of the mall. She knows in her gut the source of the sound, what kind of creature could have made such a bloodcurdling noise, and despite not wanting to, she can't stop herself from turning her gaze to look at the culprit.
The Mind Flayer is hunched over the roof of the mall, like an animal stalking its prey — which, morbidly enough, is exactly what it's doing. Blood and thick black goo are oozing from everywhere and nowhere, rows and rows of sharp teeth are shining against the moon's glow, and its jagged edges cascade shadows onto them from above. It looks like a pile of rotting dead bodies.
Its heavy contorted legs cause cracks to break through the side of the building, and only then does Laurie really comprehend how big the Mind Flayer is. Sure, she knew in theory, but it didn't feel real. But now, seeing it stare down at them has a chill running down her spine.
Its serrated teeth protrude more from its mouth as an even louder roar escapes its confines and it's an ungodly sight; something so sinister and petrifying that it steals Laurie's breath and has tears brimming in her lash line.
Laurie would've stayed frozen and stared at the Mind Flayer for God knows how long if it wasn't for the sound of a loud car horn breaking her out of her trance. She, alongside Steve and Robin, looks to their right to see Jonathan abruptly stopping the station wagon a few feet away.
"Get in!" Nancy shouts from the passenger's side, and the trio do exactly that.
TIME SEEMS ENDLESS WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE.
Jonathan is speeding down a highway on the outskirts of Hawkins, and Laurie can't tell how long she's been cramped in the back of Nancy's station wagon. The Mind Flayer has been on their trail ever since they made a break for it from the mall, and she hasn't been able to pull her eyes away from it since.
As horrified as Laurie is, she's at least thankful that they're miles away from Starcourt, from the Fourth of July celebration that's booming at the fairgrounds, their neighbourhoods. Because, even if a giant monster is chasing them, at least their families are completely unaware and safe from this mess.
Laurie's muscles have been aching ever since she pulled her legs up, knees pressed to her chest, thighs burning. She had no other choice, not when Steve and Robin share a likeness with how their height mostly comes from how long their legs are. But even so, there's something comforting about having her body tightly knit together during the chaos.
Her eyes haven't left the rear windshield. She doesn't want to see it, the Mind Flayer. But she can't stop herself from staring at it, almost as if she's afraid that the one time she looks away might be the one time it strikes. Even the few tears that fell from her eyes couldn't stop her from holding her gaze.
Laurie hadn't even noticed she was crying, not until Steve's thumb wiped away the tears. He's been trying his best at distracting her, bless his heart. Squeezing her hand, cupping the side of her face to pull her gaze away from the hideous monster and to him, instead.
But Steve's attempts are no use. The Mind Flayer's roars and snarls are too loud and keep drowning out his voice and the ground beneath them has been rumbling with every step it takes. Laurie couldn't ignore it. She can't ignore it, because how can she?
Laurie's other hand, with apparently a mind of its own, grabs onto Robin's shaky knee as the Mind Flayer picks up its pace. Her best friend is quick to place her hand over hers, almost as if it were on instinct, and for a short, fleeting moment, Laurie feels okay.
She's silently cursing herself for telling Robin to put a pin in on her Operation Croissant plan all those years ago. Being two teenagers low on cash in Europe suddenly seems a lot more appealing than it had when Robin initially brought up the idea.
But, no. They're crammed in the back of Nancy Wheeler's station wagon as a monster made of melted people is chasing after them. It feels like they're cheating fate, in a way. Because, realistically, how long can they flee before they're forced to stop running and bite the bullet?
Suddenly, Dustin's walkie, the one that had been sat between Robin's thighs, hisses with static, and it causes the girl to jolt with a new wave of energy. But, before she can press her thumb to the talk button, an unfamiliar voice pours out of the not-so-small device.
"Dusty-bun, do you copy?"
Who the hell is that?
"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks,"
"Holy shit!" Steve snatches the walkie from Robin's grasp, a childlike grin growing over his busted lip. He breathes out a laugh. "No goddamn way,"
It takes Laurie a second, brows knitting together, but it clicks. This must be the girl Dustin wouldn't stop blabbing about, the genius teeth-free kisser that he met at science camp. Laurie turns to Steve, her face much closer than she'd expected but neither of them seems to care, let alone notice, and through an exhale, they exclaim in unison, "Suzie,"
Robin's brows furrow. "Who the hell is Suzie?"
"Okay, so listen," Dustin's voice steals back the group's attention before either Laurie or Steve can explain the whole Suzie debacle to Robin. "Do you know Planck's Constant?"
"Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?" Is she.. flirting?
There's a snicker from Dustin's end. "Okay, so, I know it starts with two sixes, and then a.." the boy trails off. "What is it?"
Suzie sighs. "Okay, wait.. let me just be clear on this. I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can.. save the world?"
It's a gross oversimplification of everything, but God, doesn't it just sound ridiculous? Besides, Laurie can't even blame Suzie for sounding sceptical, because she, too, was in the same shoes not that long ago before her naïveness was stolen from her.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry I've been MIA. But Suzie-poo, I promise I will make it up to you as soon as possible,"
There's a pause. "You could make it up to me now," Suzie says in a sing-song voice. "I want to hear it. Please, Dusty-bun?"
Robin looks up from the radio and her eyes flicker between Laurie and Steve. She points a finger towards the pair of them and moves it back and forth before motioning it back down at the walkie. "If you two ever act like this, I swear to God, I'm killing you both and then myself,"
Dustin stammers, "Not right now,"
"Yes, now, Dusty-bun!" Suzie's voice crackles at her sudden rise in volume.
"Suzie-poo, this is urgent," the curly-haired boy pleads.
Suzie lets out a scoff, then, before snapping, "Yes, yes, you're saving the world. I heard you the first time,"
Steve looks over at Laurie with wide eyes and he leans in, just a little, just enough that she can hear him above the chaos of two preteens arguing and a monster chasing after them. With a low voice, he says, "Please tell me we won't act like this,"
Laurie can't quite distinguish whether Steve is referring to Dustin and Suzie's bickering or the grossly romantic pet names littered between every sentence. But either way, Laurie let out a weak, soft, almost forced-sounded laugh, before replying, "I hope not,"
"—but Ged is also saving Earthsea and he's about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie, signing off!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" yelps Dustin. "Okay, okay!"
There's another pause, one that hangs in the air for far too long in Laurie's opinion and she goes to open her mouth, to ask if they'd lost signal or something, before the walkie springs back to life. There's a deep breath, then a steady tune being hummed, and then a— wait, what?
"Turn around.. look at what you see.. In her face.. the mirror of your dreams,"
Maybe this is hell. Maybe Laurie died the second Steve crashed the Toddfather into Billy's Camaro because there is no way in hell that this is actually happening right now. Dustin Henderson, singing for the infamous Suzie, while she and everybody else in the Wheeler station wagon are being chased by the Mind Flayer?
No, this can't be real. It's too ridiculous.
To Laurie's dismay, Suzie starts harmonising alongside Dustin. "Make believe I'm everywhere.. given in the light.. written on the pages is.. the answer to a never-ending story!"
But, unfortunately, no, Laurie comes to realise that she is very much alive when she feels Steve's arm brush against hers as he lunges forward and takes the walkie from Robin. He cranks up the volume and blinks, an expression painting his face that Laurie can only assume is shock.
"Reach the stars.. fly a fantasy!" Dustin and Suzie vocalise and Laurie can hear the smiles on their faces. "Dream and dream, and what you see will be,"
Her mouth feels dry and she's suddenly aware of how long her jaw has been hung open for. Laurie glances across the backseat and locks eyes with her best friend, before uttering, "Is that..?"
"The Never Ending Story theme song?" Robin finishes her sentence, pure amusement littering her freckled face. "Yes, Laurie, it is,"
Letting out an awkward laugh, Laurie's eyes flicker back to the Mind Flayer and she grimaces at how it's still on their tail. This seems oddly.. intimate, all things considered, and Laurie feels strange listening in on two 13-year-olds singing to their heart's content when they're being chased by a 30-foot-tall monster.
"Maybe we should turn this off," Laurie says as she leans forward to take the walkie from Steve to turn it off. However, Robin lurches forward and pulls it out of arms reach. She snorts, a shit-eating grin tugging at her lips as she explains how this is the comic relief she's been so desperately needing.
"Rhymes that keep their secrets will.. unfold behind the clouds,"
Lucas and Will, the two boys sat in the seat in front of them, twist their bodies and crane their necks towards the walkie in Robin's hands. The Harrington boy only shrugs when his eyes meet theirs, totally at a loss for words, and a tinge of pink shades his cheeks because this is just embarrassing. Laurie can barely make out the way Nancy is shaking her head against the palm of her hand.
"And there upon a rainbow is the answer to a never-ending story!" both Suzie and Dustin's singing slowly fade into an eventual silence — an awkward, uncomfortable one at that — as they conclude their performance. Suzie, finally, tells Dustin, "Planck's constant is 6.62607004,"
Dustin lets out a relieved sigh. "Suzie, you just saved the world,"
"Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun," Suzie coos, and Laurie can't stop her face from twisting with discomfort.
"I miss you more, Suzie-poo," replies Dustin, and now it's Steve's turn to grimace.
"I miss you more, multiplied by all the stars in our galaxy,"
"No, I miss yo—" suddenly, the line goes dead, and static hissing fills the absence of Dustin's voice.
It's safe to say that Laurie has a lot of questions. But, before she can ever begin to question what this impromptu karaoke performance was for, the Mind Flayer halts in its chase and shrieks into the night sky. Laurie feels her stomach drop and a wave of nausea washes over her as it turns around and starts stomping back in the direction they came from.
"Steve," his name comes out through an exhale, one laced with disbelief because Laurie hadn't imaged the Mind Flayer would unexpectedly lose interest in them. She grabs his shoulder, shaking it a little. "It's turning back around,"
"What?" his brows knit together before he turns his head towards the window. "Oh, shit," Steve curses under his breath after catching a glimpse of the Mind Flayer stomping away through the thick fog. He whips around in his seat before shouting, "Guys, it's turning around!"
Nancy swivels in her seat towards them, eyes wide. "What?!"
"It's turning around!" Steve exclaims again, his voice louder and more frantic. Panicked tension is starting to rise in the car, suffocating them all one by one as they all start to quickly realise what he had just said.
"Maybe we wore it out," suggests Lucas, twisting in his seat to peer through the back window. He doesn't even sound like he believes himself.
"No, I don't think so," Jonathan shakes his head, eyes flickering from the road ahead to the rearview mirror. "Hold on!"
After the tires screech and Laurie slams into Robin, the station wagon is suddenly speeding after the Mind Flayer and back towards Starcourt Mall, and although Laurie isn't sure what to expect once they arrive, she's determined to make it out of this night alive.
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authors note!
me? actually writing? and updating? how very!
sorry for the wait my friends. i've been whittling down and planning what season 4 will look like bc this season has been such a chore to write. i'll simply never do it again if i can help it TBH (until i force myself to rewrite the first half of this act bc it's so horrifically bad and i need to fix it 💀)
anywho, it's 3am my time and i'm about to go to bed, but i promised y'all it'd be out, so enjoy!! let me know your thoughts, i'd love to hear them when i wake up :)
WHEN HE SEES ME © austrxlians, 2023.