Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[52] LONG HALLS

"Code red, I repeat, a code red." Dustin says into the walkie talkie, his voice echoing throughout the dark void.

Nori lies exhaustedly on the roof of the elevator while he paces around. "Does anyone copy? We are innocent children and we are trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins, and if we are found, they will torture and kill us." The boy continues.

"Dustin, that sounds like a prank call." The blonde groans, sitting up.  "Hey." Steve calls. "Gotta take it easy in that thing, okay? Gonna drain the battery." He pulls himself up.

"Tiny, can't you try your walkie?" Dustin asks. "I left it back at Scoops." She responds. "Why would you do that?" He raises his voice.

"I just— I don't know.. I didn't want Mike to try and contact me again because it was stressing me out." She mumbles.

"The mall just opened." Dustin points out. "So?" Steve asks. "So someone could be in range." He explains.

"What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?" Steve remarks in a sarcastic tone. "Alright, Steve. We get it. You're on your period." Nori rolls her eyes, standing up beside Dustin.

"Yeah. Why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with Robin?" Dustin whispers. "Shh! Jesus Christ. Will you just give up on your creepy dream already?" Steve shakes his head.

"I heard you guys talking all night." Dustin adds. "Yeah. We were trying to figure out a way to open up the door. While you children were sleeping." Steve explains. "And that would lead us where, exactly? To fall to our deaths?" Nori crosses her arms.

"Well, Ellie. I don't know if you've noticed, but, after eight hours, we're still exactly nowhere, which is, probably just a little bit of the reason why I'm feeling just...a tad cranky." Steve steps you to the edge of the elevator, unzipping his pants.

"What are you doing?" Dustin asks. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a leak. Look away." Steve responds.

Nori groans, turning around, pulling Dustin along with her. "At least you can pee."

You could hear his pee hit the wall, which caused Nori to contort her face into disgust while she leans her head on Dustin's shoulder.

"Can you redirect your stream, please?" Robin calls from inside the elevator.

After a few moments, Robin climbs up. "We've got company." She warns. They share a worried glance. "Alright, get Erica up on the elevator." Steve instructs, earning a nod.

"Hold on, we might be going down." Steve says. "Oh, great." Nori sighs. Erica and Robin make it up, then sit beside the three.

Soon, the elevator slowly comes down, before stopping much less abruptly than before.

The door opens, they hear footsteps, and two men speaking in Russian. Steve peers down to check if they were still there, then holds his fingers over his lips to assure everyone remains silent.

He glances at Erica, then at the green liquid she held tightly. "Okay, come on. Give me that." He reaches for the tube, then climbs down.

The door begins to shut, lowering itself near the floor, but Steve manages to stop it just in time, using the tube to hold it. "Let's go." He says in a hurry while the tube struggles to hold.