the view between villages // a stranger things choose-your-own-adventure

PAGE 9: Tell the General the truth. Again.

Ivan punches you again, and you let him. You feel the wind knocked out of your sails.

Ozerov lets him knock you around for a few more minutes before motioning him to grab you and bring you to another room.

Inside, you're horrified to see Steve and Robin tied up back-to-back. Steve is badly hurt, unconscious with a bloodied face. Robin looks more like you—scared and a bit roughed up, but not as visibly injured as Steve.

"Let us out!" Robin shouts, glaring at Ozerov.

"Not a chance," he says silkily. "I'm just here to drop Big Stupid off while we decide what to do with you three."

He snaps his fingers and Ivan shoves you into your own torture chair, tying you to Steve and Robin.

You wriggle, uncomfortable, and Ivan tightens the bonds. You scowl.

"Thanks for that," you snap. Ivan, the sick bastard, smiles serenely.

"Do you get off on torturing people?" you add. Ivan says nothing, but the evil glint in his eye is answer enough for you.

The men disappear from the room again, leaving you, Robin, and Steve in a tight situation—literally.

"Are you okay, Robin?" you ask, turning your head as far as you can and catching a glimpse at her side profile.

"As okay as I can be," she says with a deep sigh. "I'm worried about Steve, though. When they brought him in, he wasn't moving. At first I thought..."

You can hear the way her voice falters.

"He's going to be fine," you say. Maybe you're lying, but you can't think about that right now.

Eventually, he rouses to your and Robin's shouts for help.

"My ears are ringing," he says, "and I can't really breathe, and my eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull, but apart from that, I'm doing pretty good."

Robin hatches a plan to escape. She wants the three of you to hop toward a tool table behind her and Steve to grab a pair of scissors. You can't see it since you're facing the door, but you follow along, pushing yourself backward when Robin tells you to.

Unfortunately, the third hop is your (literal) downfall. The three of you crash to the ground. You feel a bit like a beetle that's stuck on its back as you face the ceiling, legs dangling in the air.

"Not our most graceful moment," you sigh, trying not to let the sinking feeling in your stomach overwhelm you.

Robin begins to sob—no, wait! She's laughing. She laughs and laughs about how ridiculous this whole situation is, how she's going to die with Steve "The Hair" Harrington and his bookstore crush, who's way out of his league.

Steve, focused on trying to think of a way out, doesn't seem to notice the crush comment. He rushes to assure her that you all won't die, unaware that the mention of his possible crush is making you feel warm from head to toe.

Robin tells a story about being in history class with Steve, how he used to be such an asshole.

"What?" you interrupt. "Steve was an asshole?! I don't believe that for a second. You're so nice!"

"No, she's right," Steve says, words painted with shades of regret. "I wasn't a great guy back then."

"You know the sad thing?" Robin says. "It didn't matter that you were an ass. I still wanted to be like you. Even though all us losers pretend to be above it all, we just want to be popular. Accepted. Normal."

"Having popularity isn't all that great," Steve admits. "It baffles me. Everything people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just bullshit. But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?"