the unknown | steve harrington

chapter sixteen: just drive

"I'm serious, Dustin, who were they?!" Daphne shouted as she swung her car into the trailer park, hiding under an abundance of trees.

"Okay, we just need to think—" Steve tried to mediate, but Daphne shot him a glare.

"Start talking," She ordered Dustin, Lucas glancing uncomfortably between the two.

"Okay, okay," Dustin sat forward, "But you're not gonna like it,"

"We don't know what happened!" Lucas word vomited, sitting forward himself and using his hands to explain. "One minute we were getting the party together to meet at the arcade, the next minute, Hopper was telling us to haul ass and getting out a gun!"

"Woah, woah, you were there?! When this happened?!" Steve turned himself around in the car.

"We think they were more than just the CIA, they found out about El and Will, and took them — they saw us, and followed us, and I think they wanna — they wanna—"

"They wanna what, Dustin?!" Daphne snapped, glaring at him.

"I don't know, alright?! Like, erase our brains, torture us for information?!" Dustin exclaimed.

"I'm going to kill you!" Daphne grumbled, throwing herself over her seat and Steve's eyes were wide, grabbing her before she made it to him as Dustin cowered throwing Lucas in front of him. "Let go of me! I am not dealing with this shit again!"

"Daph, stop it!" Steve yelled, pushing her back to her seat. "These guys aren't someone to play with, we need to figure something out before they hurt us."

"Come on, Steve, how the hell are we getting out of this? Running to Mexico?! Utica?!" Daphne scoffed resting her head on the seat.

"I— they can't just take a bunch of kids from a small town and get rid of us, you know that right?" Steve mumbled, and Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I don't really wanna take that chance, Einstein." She sighed.

"Okay, plan of action," Dustin started, "We get Max, haul ass outta here and spy on them. They gotta be at Hawkin's Lab, that's where Hopper said he was going."

"Just— God," Daphne rubbed her temples as she tried to nurse her pounding head, her eyes clenched shut. "Just let me think, please."

The girl took in deep, shaky breaths, with absolutely no idea what to do and the very fear that their friends are about to be taken by very not-so nice people. They couldn't run from this, they had too many people at stake. Daphne sighed as she huffed, glancing out the window and tightening her grip on her steering wheel as she thought about El, the girl who had quite possibly had the most tragic life she could have ever imagined, and Will, sweet Will. Daphne couldn't bow out; she'd came too far and risked too much already.

"— I think if we just lay low for a few days, this will all blow over, we'll be fine, alright? My folks have this house in the lakes that we can go to." Steve offered, attempting to get out of the impending doom that they now faced.

"Okay, we brainstorm," Daphne ordered as she turned to Dustin and Lucas, "Where do we think they've taken them?"

"What— no—" Steve tried to object, but Daphne just held up a hand to silence him, an irritated huff falling from his lips as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't know, uh, some military place—" Lucas offered, questions laced in his voice.

"Uh, hello?!" Her younger brother waved, "Am I talking to myself? I said Hawkins' Lab is the only place they can be in Hawkins."