ACE OF HEARTS
CHAPTER NINE: DON'T MOVE
STICKING A SMALL NEEDLE into Will Byers' arm, the boy was out like a light. Mrs. Byers' sighed, taking a step back as she watched her son's eyes fall shut. Not even a moment later, Hopper and Doctor Sam burst through the door — monster growls sounding behind them.
"We gotta go," Hopper muttered, frantically turning to Will Byers and scooping him in his arms. "We gotta go!"
Not wasting any time to think, Mike grasped Cassie's hand and yanked her into a full sprint out the room. As they left, they could see the door behind, chewed off by monsters.
Screams echoed throughout the halls as rapid gunshots pounded in their ears. Stopping in place, they watched a monster topple over a man, blood splattering everywhere.
"Oh my fuck!" Cassie shouted, immediately pushing her way to an empty room — away from the gory scene.
As the group filed into the room, Doctor Sam quickly shut the door and locked them in. Panting, Cassie placed her hands on her knees as she repeated, "Oh my fuck, oh my fuck, oh my fuck!"
Glancing up, she realized that this was the room she had passed earlier — the one with the two men and the screen monitors. Now, the two men were gone, only to leave two empty chairs and a dozen security cameras.
The lights above flickered as the group stared at the monitors, which showed every hallway in the building, now scattered with dead bloody bodies and dog-like-demogorgans.
Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, the lights went dark — Hawkins Lab's power completely shutting off.
As growls sounded through the hallways, Cassie slowly backed from the door, running into a human figure. Letting out a sharp gasp, Cassie turned — not being able to see who it was.
"Cass, it's just me," Mike spoke softly.
Letting out a deep breath, Cassie spoke, "Can we get any light in here?"
"I think there's a few flashlights in one of the drawers," Doctor Sam informed the group.
Everyone then blindly began to search the drawers, shuffling through scraps of paper and medicine bottles.
Finally, Hopper shouted, "Here!"
Pulling the item out, he turned it on — a beam of light illuminating the dark room. Doctor Sam stepped towards Hopper, placing a large map on the table.
"Look, this is us," said Doctor Sam, placing his finger on a red dot marking their position in the building. "And this is the nearest exit."
Taking a deep breath, Doctor Sam finished, "But even if we get there, there's no way out."
Lifting herself to a standing position, Cassie started to panic, "Great! Just great! We're all going to freaking die!"
"Cassie, relax," Hopper insisted, turning back to Doctor Sam and asking, "What do you mean we can't get out?"
"The locks are fail secure," the doctor spoke.
"Fail secure?" Mrs. Byers asked cluelessly.
"If there's a power outage, the building goes on lockdown," Doctor Sam explained.
"Aren't you supposed to be like geniuses or something?" Cassie butted in, scoffing. "You have been holding these monsters here for who knows how long — this was bound to happen eventually."
"The kid is right," Hopper agreed from beside her. "You guys should have developed a better escape plan."
Bob paused in thought, then spoke up, "Can it be unlocked remotely?"
"With a computer, sure," The doctor began. "But somebody's gotta reset the breakers."
"Where are the breakers?" Hopper asked.
Doctor Sam bent down to the map, circling a point, "Breakers are in the basement, three floors down."
"You're not going down there," Cassie protested, grabbing Hoppers arm.
"Someone has to," Hopper spoke, shifting his gaze down to hers.
"Then I'm going with you!" Cassie insisted, grabbing a gun that lay sprawled on the floor. "I can help!"
"There's no way on Earth I'm going to let you do that, kid," Hopper spoke, taking the gun from her. "I'm going to reset the breakers so we can get the hell out of here."
Bob shook his head in disagreement, "No, then the power comes back on."
As Hopper furrowed his eyebrows, Bob continued, "If you wanna unlock the doors, you have to reboot the computer system, and then override the the security codes with a manual input."
Hopper took a deep breath, "Fine, how do I do that?"
"You can't!" Bob exclaimed. "Not unless you know BASIC."
"I don't know what that means."
"It's a computer programming language," Mike explained from behind the group.
"Teach it to me," Hopper insisted.
Bob scoffed, "Shall I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim? How about a little German?"
Turning to the doctor, Bob asked, "How about you, Doc? You speak BASIC?"
Mike awkwardly scratched his head and shook it, while the doctor beside him replied, "Uh, no."
Bob took a deep breath, "Okay, I got this."
"No," Mrs. Byers protested, her voice silently breaking. "Bob..."
"It's okay," Bob spoke as he scooped Mrs. Byers into his arms — embracing her in a hug. "It's gonna be okay. Bob Newby, superhero."
Mrs. Byers chuckled softly as the two detached from each other. As Cassie watched Bob nearly leave the room, she whispered, "Wait, Bob!"
Turning, Bob watched as Cassie grabbed a walkie-talkie out of a drawer and tossed it to him. Nodding in thanks, Bob quietly left the room.
Doctor Sam shifted on his feet, turning to the programming table and taking a seat next to an intercom. After a small beep, the doctor spoke, "Okay, Bob, can you hear us?"
After a moment, Bob responded, "Loud and clear, Doc. Can you hear me back?"
"Yeah, we hear you alright."
"Okay, gimme a minute," Bob spoke, the frantic type of the keyboard sounding through the intercom. Shortly after, Bob called, "Open sesame."
Cassie raised her eyebrows in shock, "Wow, he is good."
"Only the best," Mrs. Byers replied, her shaking hands signaling her nervousness.
"The son of a bitch did it," Hopper breathed, a smile forming on his face.
"Right, I'll meet you outside," Bob spoke, the group watching as he left the room on the security cameras.
Smiling, the group walked towards the door — the utter excitement of leaving the building falling upon them.
That was, until Doctor Sam spoke, "Hold on a second, Chief."
Turning with alert, Hopper spoke, "What is it?"
"West stairwell's not clear anymore,"
Pressing the button on the intercom, the doctor informed Bob, "We got some company on the west stairwell."
After a moment, Bob spoke, "I've got an idea."
"What the hell is he doing?"
The group watched as he jogged back over to the computer, typing in a few extra things. Then, after a final push, the sprinklers turned on, just the level above.
Switching its gaze, the monster ran to the opposite direction. Letting out a breath, Doctor Sam spoke, "Okay, okay that worked! Now get outta there!"
Hoisting Will Byers on his shoulder, Hopper sped towards the door, only to be stopped again by the doctor.
"Wait a second, Chief," Doctor Sam muttered, handing Hopper a walkie-talkie.
Hopper furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you doing?"
"Any more surprises, I'll let you know,"
Hopped continued to stare at the doctor in confusion, causing him to plead, "Go! Go!"
Sighing, Hopper pulled the door open — Will dangling on his shoulder as he held the machine gun in his hands.
As the group silently shuffled through the halls, they passed the dead bodies scattered over the floor. Hopper led the group — the flashlight on the gun leading the way.
Cassie trailed behind the group, her converse squeaking as the blood on the ground painted her shoes crimson.
The group had almost made it — almost got out without an encounter with one of the monsters.
But things were never as good as they seemed.
A sudden click caused Cassie to whip around, only to see nothing but darkness — a light yellow beam flashing every other second.
Narrowing her gaze into the darkness, she heard another click, this one louder than the last.
"Hey...guys?" Cassie asked, turning to face the group in front of her, only to find that they were gone.
As panic started to rise, she raced forward, only to find four hallways leading in different directions. Cassie had no idea where she was, and that frightened her most of all.
Cassie's heart pounded in her chest as she turned behind once more, this time hearing a low growl from down the hall.
Eyes widening, the girl's breath hitched as she scurried towards the small cart full of medical supplies — forming a barrier between her and the hallway behind.
As she sunk to the floor, Cassie hugged her knees to her chest — fearful tears spilling from her eyes. Desperately trying to quiet her sobs, Cassie took deep breaths.
The girl then felt a body lay next to hers, causing her head to turn. To her dismay, it was a dead worker that lay perched up on the wall beside her — blood pouring from him.
She tried her best not to scream, because the growling grew closer and closer every second. Now half covered in blood, Cassie lifted her gaze to the ceiling, silently praying for her life.
Feeling the presence of the monster sneak behind her, Cassie had truly thought that this was the end. Her lips quivered as she shut her eyes, the monster just a few feet away.
A sudden crash followed by shattering glass was what caused the monster to forget about the girl's presence and look away.
That was when something grabbed her.
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cliffhanger oooo!!!!