CHAPTER SEVEN: the bite
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SALEM THORN WAS DRIVING THE CART, NOT TRUSTING ANYONE ELSE TO DRIVE. Steve and Robin were drugged, and then there was Dustin and Erica. He believed the second they were out a this Russian danger, Erica would crash them purposely.
"Jesus, slow down!" Steve says.
"Yeah, what is this, like Indy five hundred?" Robin asked.
"We are being chased by Russians. And you two are drugged." Salem pointed out.
"It's the Indy three hundred," Steve told Robin.
"No, Dingus, it's five hundred!" Robin argued.
"It's three hundred!"
"Let's say a million."
Then they both started to loath loudly.
"What is wrong with them?" Erica asked.
"I don't know," Dustin replied.
"They are drugged," Salem tells the younger ones, ending up in accidentally crashing into barrels. "Everyone alright?"
Dustin hoped out, unlocking the back to get Steve and Robin. "Come on. We gotta go, now."
"Come on! Get out!" Erica yelled when the two weren't fast enough. Well, they hadn't moved at all.
Salem walked to the back, leaning forward and pulling Steve's legs. Steve laughed, pulling Salem down to him.
"Okay, okay," Salem removed Steve's arms from from neck, as the other had also tried to wrap his legs around Salem's. Salem pulled Robin's legs down, who ended up hitting her head on the floor. "Sorry. Sorry."
"Steve, just wait a second," Salem told him when Steve swung his arm around Salem's neck again. Salem pulled them both out of the back as Dustin brought up the elevator.
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Steve's balanced himself on a moving cart, as Robin pushed it. "Hey! You look like you're surfing!" Robin laughed.
"I'm a natural! Check it out!" Steve cheered, but flew off the moving cart. Salem caught him, but fell to the floor as Steve was thrown off from how much little balance he had, and the fact that the elevator was still moving.
"Wipeout!" Robin laughed.
Salem placed his hand on Steve's forehead. "He's burning up."
Steve tried to grab Salem's hand. "You're burning up."
Salem shifted to check Steve's eyes for a concussion. But, Steve kept moving. "Ow!"
"His pupils are dilated."
"Maybe he's drugged?" Erica suggested.
Steve reached out, tapping Salem's nose and taking a hold of his hand, trying to pull Salem to him.
"Steve, do you know how many times they drugged you?" Salem asked.
"I don't do drugs. It's only marijuana," Steve smiled, placing a hand on Salem's cheek, and gently pushing his head to the over side.
"This isn't funny, okay? I need to know what happened."
"Is he gonna die on us?" Dustin asked.
"We all die, my strange little child friend. It's just matter of how...and when." Robin speaks.
"Yeah. Never leaving you guys alone again." Salem says.
"They're gonna be lookin for us up there," Dustin speaks to Steve. "so, we need to know where you parked your car."
"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?" Steve asked, but looked at Robin.
"I would kill for a hot dog on a stick."
"All right. Yeah. Food. Yes, you can have as much food as you want," Dustin told the two. "but only if you tell me where your car is parked."
"Uh-oh." Steve says.
"Uh-oh?"
"The car's off the board."
"What?"
"They took the keys," Steve informed them, pulling his pocket's inside-out. "The Russians, they took the keys. Live, forever ago. That's a bummer, right?"
"Alright, Steve, do you care if I hot-wire your car?" Salem asked.
Instead of answering, Steve stopped laughing, grinning at Salem.
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They finally exited the building, Steve trying to grab both of Salem's hands, walking backwards at first before Salem pulled him to his side because he could barely walk regularly.
"Oh, my God, that taste so good." Robin exclaimed when she breathed in, sticking her tongue out and licking the air. "Steve can you taste the air?"
"Oh Jesus," Salem muttered.
"I taste it!" Steve laughed.
"Shit!" Dustin cursed when two guards appeared in front of them. He immediately turned around, as did Salem, as Dustin and Eric pushed Robin to run.
"Come on!"
"Why are we running?" Steve asked.
Robin laughed again as they closed the door.
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"Where are we going?" Erica asked.
"Just trust me!" Dustin replied.
Steve laughs as they continue to run.Dustin opens the door to the movie theaters, turning and opening a double set of doors. A movie was playing.
"What did I tell you? Eighty-eight miles per hour!" The man on the screen exclaimed.
"Come on," Dustin ordered
"Steve, where did you get that?" Salem asked, seeing the popcorn in his hands.
Steve laughed. Salem removed the popcorn from his hands.
"You two sit," Dustin harshly whispered.
"These seats are too close!" Robin complains, despite her listening.
"Dude, these seats blow," Steve says.
"Then don't watch the movie," Dustin says.
"We wanna watch the movie," Robin tells him.
"Then watch it!"
A man behind Steve and Robin hushes Dustin. Which Robin and Steve turn around, hushing him.
"Sorry. Whatever you do, don't...go...anywhere."
"Fine, dad," Steve mocked, causing Robin to snicker. Steve moved to take the popcorn out of Salem's hand, who immediately moved it back.
"How about I get you your own popcorn? And candy." Salem smiles, pulling the popcorn back behind his back.
Steve smiled widely at Salem, leaning forward. Salem immediately dunks, looking around to see if anyone was watching before gently messing up his hair.
Salem snuck out again, cursing himself when he remembered that he had his gun. Instead, hiding it in the side of his pants, sighing in relief when his jacket hide the gun.
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Only, Salem found both Robin and Steve outside of the room they were supposed to be in. Both were looking at the ceiling.
"Hey," Salem harshly whispered, when both ran into the bathroom. "Oh, Geesh,"
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Salem walked into the bathroom. "Steve? Robin?"
"The ceiling stopped spinning for me," Robin says. "Is it still spinning for you?"
"Holy shit! No. Think we puked it all up?" steve asked.
"Thank God," Salem sighs, standing in front of the two stalls.
"Salem," Steve smiled.
"Ask me something." Robin demanded. "Interrogate me." She said with an Russian accent.
"Okay. Interrogate you. Sure. Um, when was the last time, you, uh, peed your pants?" Steve asked, much makes Salem look at him in disgust.
"Today," Robin says. Which had Salem turn his disgusted look to her.
"What?" The two asked.
"When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw. It was just a little bit, though," she laughed.
"I'll find another pair of pants for you, what size are you?" Salem asked the girl, before she shrugged.
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Salem came back into the bathroom, holding up a pair of sweatpants to see that Steve and Robin were in the same stall.
"Oh, well, I'm dating Salem," Steve tells Robin.
"No! I- didn't have a crush on you. She wouldn't stop staring at you." Robin replied.
"Mrs. Click?" Steve asked, confused.
"Tammy Thompson." Robin laughed lightly. "I wanted her to look at me. But...he couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag. And-'and you didn't even like her and...I would go home...and just scream into my pillow."
Salem wanted to leave, thinking that, maybe Robin wouldn't want him to hear this. The two weren't close. Or, weren't friends like Steve and Robin were. He sat down on the floor, unsure of to do.
"Tommy Thompson's a girl," Steve says.
"Steve," Robin says softly.
"Oh."
"Oh."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah. Holy shit," Robin repeats.
"Hey, Robin," Salem speaks, holding up the pair of pants. They were sweatpants, he had brought multiple, unsure of what side Robin was.
"Tammy Thompson is a total dud." Steve says.
"She is not." Robin denies.
"Yes, she is. She wants to be, like, a singer." Steve argued. "She what's to move to, like Nashville and shit."
"She has dreams." Robin says.
"She can't even hold a tune. She's practically gone-deaf. Have you heard her?"
Robin laughs. "All the time."
Steve then mocked her singing. "You can see me now tonight."
"She does not sound like that." Robin denied.
"She kinda does," Salem speaks.
Robin looks at him, disbelief. "I thought you were the nice one."
"I brought you, like, five different sweatpants to change into. I am the nice one." Salem says, handing the bag to her. "Also brought water bottles.
"You are the best," Steve leans forward.
"You just threw up," Salem lifts his hand in front of his face. "You are not kissing me until you brush your teeth. Also, got some mints and gum for you guys. No, offense to your taste in girls Robin, but she sounds horrible. All offense to your taste in music if you think she sounds good."
"And how do you sound singing?" Robin tells Salem.
"Wow, wow, no. Salem can actually sing, unlike Tammy, who sounds like a muppet." Steve defends.
"You sound like a muppet."
"She sounds like a Muppet giving birth," Steve laughs, then mimicking Kurmit singing.
The door burst open, and immediately Salem is in his feet, in front of the two and pointing a gun at the door. Dustin cursed, dunking out of the way. "Shit! What the hell?"
Steve and Robin laugh again.
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Dustin carefully opens the door, examine the crowd walking out of the movies. "And blend." Dustin says, rushing into the crowd.
"We'll, shit, that worked," Erica says.
"Course it worked," Dustin replied. "We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come."
"Uh, Dustin," Steve speaks.
"What?"
"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house."
"Why?"
"Well, I might've told them your full name," Steve admits.
"What is wrong with you?" Dustin whispered back.
"Dude, I was drugged."
"So?"
"So?"
"So, you resist. You tough it out. You tough it out like a man."
"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say."
"Guys?" Robin spoke up, staring to see the Russian men in front of them.
"Abort! Abort!" Dustin says before they turn back around and run. The escalators were shut down. They slid in between the two sets.
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"Shit," Salem cursed when he heard the man say that he had found them. "He found us."
"Salem, don't-" Steve starts as the other takes his gun, but, before Salem can peek out of the counter a car goes off.
They then heard screaming, a loud crash. All five slowly peek out of the counter to see the four men lying on the ground. The model car had been thrown at them.
They looked up to see Eleven, and the others. They ran to meet up with them. Dustin laughed. "You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Then immediately hugged Eleven.
"Lucas?" Erica asked.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked back.
"Ash them. It's their fault." She pointed the ones behind her.
"True, yeah. Totally true. IT's absolutely out fault," Steve admits.
"I don't understand what happened to that car," Robin announced.
"El has superpowers," Dustin quickly summed up.
"I'm sorry?"
"Superpowers. She threw it with her mind." Steve says. "C'mon, catch up."
"That's El?" Erica asked.
"Who's El?" Robin questioned.
"She is," Salem pointed at Eleven. "Short for Eleven."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked Robin.
"I'm Robin. I work with Steve."
"She cracked the top secret code with Salem." Dustin informed.
"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians." Steve says.
"Russians? Wait, what Russians?" Jonathan questioned.
"The Russians!" Steve gestured to the dead bodies.
"Those were Russians?" Max asked.
"Some of them," Erica says.
"What are you talking about?" Lucas inquired of.
"Did you head our code red?" Dustin asked.
"Yeah. Couldn't understand half of what you were saying," Mike replied.
"Goddamn low battery," Dustin yelled.
"How many times do I have to tell you with the now battery?" Steve told him.
"We'll, everything worked out, didn't it?"
"Steve and Robin were drugged. And Steve beaten. And almost tortured," Salem jumps in.
"Worked out?" Erica asked at the same time. "We almost died."
"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?"
"It was pretty damn close," Steve says.
"Okay, Russians?" Lucas asked again. "As in there working for the Russian government?"
"What are you not comprehending?" Dustin asked his friend. "Am I not speaking English? We have a full-blown Red Dawn situation."
"So this had nothing to do with the gate?" Max asked.
"Oh, the Russians opened the gate," Salem quickly says. "Eleven?" He asked then running forward
"El! El!" Everyone ran forward when the girl collapsed.
"What's wrong with her?" Erica asked.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Mike asked, rushed, worryingly.
"My leg. My leg." Eleven repeats.
Which makes everyone to check it, I my to see it bleeding through the bandage. They room the bandaged to see part of the bone sticking out. Everyone exclaimed in disgust. The bone moved. Eleven grunted.
"El! El! El! Are you okay? El!" Mike yelled.
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{2220}