CHAPTER THIRTEEN - THE GATE
PART THREE
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JACKIE JUMPED DOWN into the tunnel, her footsteps landing against the ground echoed quietly from around her. Her gaze drifted over the group, taking in the scenery. It was dark, and it was dusty. She tugged up her bandana over her nose, and kept her hands firmly at her sides. It was like being in a subway—she didn't want to touch anything. Steve dropped down next to her, and she handed Max the last gasoline tank. The tunnels were creepy; to say the least. Jackie held back a shiver at the vines on the walls that moved like snakes.
They walked forward, Steve and Jackie leading in the front, seeing how he threw a fit and made Dustin give him the map.
The walk through the tunnels was quiet and they moved quickly, none of them wanting to spend any longer in there than they had to. Jackie coughed suddenly, and Steve shone a light right in her face, her hand flew up to block it from going into her eyes.
"You alright?"
She knocked it down. "Yes, Steve. I'm fine."
"Jesus, I was just asking."
Jackie rolled her eyes at him, not even sure if he could see it due to the darkness of the tunnels. "Didn't have to blind me while doing so."
"God, what is this place?" Max questioned as Jackie positioned her gun in a more comfortable position.
"Let's keep moving," Steve ordered, and they began to walk again. They hadn't made it three feet before Dustin screamed loudly from behind them, and Jackie whirled around, but there was nothing there. She rushed to his side as he coughed multiple times, and wiped his mouth. "What happened?"
He looked up to Steve, then to her. She raised a brow. "I'm okay."
She kicked his leg. "Jesus. Such an asshole."
"Idiot," Max agreed.
"Really?" Steve questioned, disbelief in his voice. "Seriously dude? Let's go." They continued walking, before an opening in the tunnels appeared, entrances in every direction surrounded them. She peered in each one of them to make sure there was nothing lurking beyond their sight. "Alright, Wheeler. I think we found your hub."
"Let's drench it."
So they did, the next twenty minutes were spent drowning the hub in gasoline. Steve was spraying the roof of the tunnel, while the rest of them worked on covering the walls and the floor. Jackie's ankle kept getting caught in the weird vine things, almost as if they were trying to capture her, and drag her beneath the surface. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised. The seven of them gathered together again, admiring their work. "Okay Steve," Jackie started once they were in the clear and a safe distance away. "Let's light this bitch up."
Steve flicked open the lighter, glancing to the girl next to him with a sigh. "Oh, I am in such deep shit."
The flames erupted in front of them, and the vines flared up in response. They took off running back towards the way they came. Jackie's heart raced in her chest, her eyes trained solely on the ground so she didn't trip.
Someone stumbled from behind her, and knocked into her back. She stumbled slightly, regaining her balance before she spun around at the cries of help. "Mike!" She realized, offering her hand. "Hurry, come on!" He continued to kick at his feet, and her head snapped over to the others. "Steve! Bat!"
He swung it down, hitting the vines repeatedly until they let go of Mike's leg. "Thanks," he whispered into Jackie's ear as she yanked him up.
"Yeah," she breathed, staring at Steve. "No problem."
Something screeched from behind them, and Jackie once again felt like she was in a horror movie as she slowly turned towards the sound. A demo-dog stood before them, but surprisingly, it made no move to attack them. She felt the strap of her rifle along her shoulder, and grabbed it as a precaution.
"Dart?" Dustin questioned, and Jackie's eyes roamed the creature's body, landing on the pattern he told her about just a few hours ago.
"It's him," she confirmed, slowly lowering her gun. "Why isn't he hurting us?"
Dustin took a step forward, but Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "Dustin, stop."
"Hey, trust me!" He snapped, before softening his tone "Please." He crouched down in front of Dart, pulling his bag off of his back. Dart made a noise, but Dustin held his hands up. "Calm down buddy, it's just me. You know I won't hurt you. The basement was a douche move, I know. But you ate my cat." Slowly, Dustin placed a candy bar on the ground. "I brought your favorite. Nougat."
"This is insane," Jackie whispered, not realizing her hand was clutching Steve's in fear.
"I know," he whispered back.
Dustin waved them on, letting them know it was okay to pass. Jackie stared at him in shock as she walked by, still holding onto Steve's hand, whose grip was now tighter than hers.
As they continued walking, another high pitched snarl echoed from the tunnels. "What was that?"
"Dart?"
"No way," Jackie said with the shake of her head. The ground vibrated from under them, and another terrified look went throughout the group. "There's more of them, we need to go!"
They took off sprinting, luckily, with no surprises this time, and finally, the rope to outside appeared. Jackie hosted Max up first, who quickly climbed. Mike was next, then Lucas. As Dustin pulled himself up, the stampede of demo-dogs made an appearance.
Jackie screamed for Dustin to hurry up, and the younger boy shakily climbed quicker. If didn't seem fast enough. The stampede of demo-dogs were approaching speedily, and she glanced to Dustin who wasn't even halfway up yet.
"Dustin!" She shrieked, just as Steve grabbed her by the waist, and hoisted the both of them up, narrowly avoiding getting trampled. She clutched him tightly, but watched in astonishment as the creatures rushed right past them, not one even bothered to look their way. "They're not attacking us," Jackie stated, confused, and still clinging onto Steve with all of her strength.
"Eleven," Mike called from above, clearing their confusion. "Eleven did it. She's closing the gate."
As Steve and Jackie finally lugged themselves up the rope, she pulled him into a tight hug. It took him a moment to respond, but at last, he returned the gesture, his arms wrapping securely around her. The embrace made her feel safer than she had the entire night, and she had no intent of pulling away until he did.
"What's this for?" He asked, his voice tickling her neck. She didn't look up from his shoulder.
"For saving my ass more times than I can count."
"I have a confession," he announced to her, pulling away entirely.
"What's that?"
"I, uhm—shit." And for the first time she knew him, he stuttered, his face flushing. Was Steve Harrington nervous? "I really like you, Jackie. And that's been really hard for me to admit but you're badass, you stand up for what's right. You've always been completely and brutally honest with me. I'm like ninety percent sure that you've changed me for the better. Plus, not to mention, you defended me from you jackass of a step-brother, although I know probably wasn't hard seeing as he's such a dick but—"
"Steve," she interrupted. "Shut up before I punch you."
He swallowed. "Do it. That's hot."
Jackie couldn't help but grin. "You're insufferable."
Steve didn't deflate, but she could tell from the way he broke eye contact that he'd lost his confidence. "And?"
"...And I like you too."
"You do—"
She cut him off again with a searing kiss, which was clearly a surprise to him, but he quickly melted into it, and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist once more. Steve's lips were soft, shockingly, all things considered. Not to mention that he'd just been punched in the face. Both of her hands grazed the side of his face as she cupped his cheeks to deepen the kiss before a voice rang out from behind them.
"Hey, lovebirds!" Lucas called, and they pulled apart. "Let's get out of here. This place is creepy."
"Seconded." Mike agreed, nodding.
"Yeah," Max cringed. "You just ate my sister's face. Definitely never want to see that again."
"Well aren't you supportive?" Jackie teased, ruffling Max's hair as they all walked back to the car. Suddenly, the headlights started to brighten on their own, and she had to shield her eyes so she wouldn't go blind.
"What the hell?" Max yelled. "What's happening?"
"Eleven," Mike said simply, and shortly after, the lights dimmed to their normal brightness.
"That was fun," Jackie said, blinking rapidly. As they all climbed into the car, each of them suddenly feeling the exhaustion from the day's work.
She looked to Steve as he hopped into the driver's seat, then to the rest of the kids in the backseat, and as cliché as it sounded, she realized that maybe her family was complete, even without her father.
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authors note
(rewritten as of 3/15/21)
ending was kinda cringe lol but i didn't know how else to close out the chapter. the epilogue will be posted tomorrow! i cannot believe season 2 is over all ready it's been such a fun ride