CHAPTER 015. UNFORTUNATE DEVELOPMENT

THEY'RE BOUND TO GET CAUGHT.

Laurie doesn't mean to be so pessimistic, but they've almost been caught numerous times during their journey down the not-so-endless passage way, narrowly dodging the passing guards as they followed Steve's lead and hid behind one of the carts the Russians have been using to transmit their cargo.

At the end of the long hallway was the main headquarters of the Russian base, Dustin coining it as "The Hub" and Steve seemed to grimace at the name for a reason Laurie is unsure of.

For a moment the girl was stuck in place, almost like a deer in headlights as she finally came to realise just how many Russians were in Hawkins after all, scientists hauling the acidic green liquid and soldiers with large guns following them with every step.

Steve had to grab at her hand and yank her down with the rest of the group, and Laurie was far too entranced by the alarming amount of guns she'd just seen to listen to their scolding whispers about how someone could've seen her.

Her heart is racketing against her ribcage, so much so that she's certain Steve can hear it because of the way he turns his head to look at her, lips turning down slightly and gaze softening.

God, she hopes they make it out alive. She needs them too, because how are the cops going to stop this? And what would her parents think? Or her brother? Laurie is almost certain that if she were to die down here, her family would be left in shambles trying to figure out where she "disappeared" to and why she never come home.

Her mom would probably be left an empty shell of the woman she once was, far too broken to have the energy to cry after some time. Her father would probably never stop weeping because his little girl is gone. And her brother, James, would probably find himself going insane because he's barely getting by whilst trying to pick up the pieces of his barely there parents.

Laurie can't think like that. She just can't. Not when they're on the cusp of making a break to get out of here, not when Dustin and Erica and Robin and Steve share worried glances between one another as her eyes brim with tears. She needs to pull it together and she has to believe that they'll make it out of here for them, if not for herself.

"I saw it," Erica's voice brings Laurie out of her thoughts as her small hand shakes Robin by her shoulder, causing the rest of the group to bump against one another in their cramped space. "First floor, northwest,"

Laurie blinks away her tears. "Saw what?"

"The comms room!" Erica whispers loudly, causing the rest of the group to hush her in unison.

Steve shifts slightly, leaning his chest further against Laurie's side as he cranes his neck to look at the Sinclair girl. "You saw the comms room?"

"Correct!"

Robin shares a glance with Laurie before turning back to the younger girl. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Erica nods sternly. She points a finger to her left, and Steve instinctively peaks his head around the corner to check. "The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there,"

"That could be a hundred different things," Dustin huffs and Laurie can't help but to agree. It's dangerous, way too dangerous, and she isn't sure if she's brave enough to take that risk when they have an easier option readily available.

"I'll take those odds," Robin tilts her head and Laurie furrows her brows. She's always been the braver of the two of them, and Laurie is starting to notice how much she's reevaluating her life when there's still a chance - regardless of how small - at getting out of here unscathed.

"I don't think this isn't a good idea, guys," Laurie moves her eyes to the boy beside her, nerves far too focused on the fact that their one octave away from being caught, otherwise she'd be completely and utterly panicking over how close her and Steve's faces are. "It's too risky. We should just go back,"

"Go back?" Erica repeats, hushed voice tinged with something sour as if she's offended by the mere suggestion. "You wanna walk all the way back?"

"What if we're like.. ambushed, or something?" She proposes, head snapping back to look at the Sinclair girl.
Laurie pushes a stray piece of hair behind her ear and Dustin nods beside her, obviously thinking the same thing she was. "It's the safest option. We can hide in the elevator again and wait for it to go back up,"

"Nothing about this is safe. It's child endangerment," Erica snaps back. "And I am not waiting in that damn elevator for another 12 hours,"

Steve quickly peaks around again, eyes searching for an easy path they can take to reach the comms room without being noticed. He nods to himself after a few seconds before turning back to Laurie, "Look, we're gonna move fast, and we're gonna stay low, all right?"

Laurie frowns. "Steve-"

"It's gonna be fine," He quickly says, and Laurie is reminded that her hand is laced with his when he gives it a reassuring squeeze. He moves his gaze over at the rest of the group, "Just follow my lead, okay?"

Hands lacing with hands or gripping at shoulder sleeves, the group move across the main floor towards the apparent comms room. At some stage during their venture, Laurie almost tumbles over from her crouched position as Steve hastily tugs her to dive behind one of the cargo transferring carts.

Laurie barely catches her fall, however, because Steve yanks her with him behind a large steel compartment she can only assume is harbouring the green chemicals that burnt through the floor. She feels queasy at the thought.

After a moment or two, the comms room door swings open and a man in a lab coat exits, far too interested in whatever is written on his clipboard to bother making sure the door closes behind him. With a wave of his hand that isn't occupied with Laurie's, Steve beckons the group to follow him as they make a break for the door.

Only then does Steve let go of Laurie's hand, snaking it through the gap between the door and the wall just before it closes. He slips through the crack effortlessly before quietly ushering the rest of them in, too.

Laurie's eyes naturally follow the expanse of the room, her gaze landing on a flight of stairs to her left that ascend to God knows what. Quickly, her eyes find purchase on a large desk at the centre of the room. It has the flashing lights and buttons Erica described earlier, in addition to the headphones and microphone plugged in, too.

She doesn't get much time to celebrate their narrow escape, nor fascinate over how the Russians even managed to have such advanced tech, because her body stiffens when her eyes meet with the ones of a Russian guard.

He rises from his seat after pulling off his headphones, quizzical expression lacing his face and Laurie can feel her heart in her throat. Eyes glued to the Russian in front of her, she blindly reaches for Steve, the guard going unnoticed to the boy as he's focused on slowly closing the door.

She grabs at his sleeve and tugs it roughly, voice cracking when she whispers his name. "Steve,"

It doesn't help that when Steve finally turns around, he seems just as frightened as Laurie does. It's a silent stand off, a group of kids staring blankly at a confused Russian guard who's reaching for his gun-

Oh my God he's reaching for his gun.

That's when Robin suddenly steps forward and blabs something in Russian. Laurie is flinches at the intrusion of her voice breaking the silence, but more thankful than ever because her eyes that are fixated on the weapon holstered on this man's hip notice how his hand retracts ever so slightly.

Robin continues, and Laurie finally realised that she's saying the code they translated a few days ago - although, it feels like a lifetime. Breaking it up, separating it out, the code probably doesn't make much sense, but Laurie's willing to ignore that fact if this somehow works.

Her best friend even mimics a cat tail with her hand when repeating 'Silver cat,' in Russian. Eventually, Robin motions behind her, and Laurie quickly realised she's motioning at her. The taller girl whips her head to look at her, eyes flashing with panic as she mouths, "Help me,"

It takes Laurie a second, but she's suddenly letting go of Steve and stepping forward. "Menya zovut Laurie!" Laurie sputters, catching the man off guard by telling him her name, or what she hopes she's saying, anyhow. She had no idea she even had this kind of bravery inside of her.

The guard tilts his head and says something to her directly, probably asking who the hell she is and why he's never seen her before. Hesitantly, she says the only other thing she can apparently remember at this time, "I'm Russian, my friend!" but even she can admit that it's unconvincing because of how much she butchered the pronunciation.

He says something again, his tone telling her it's some form of a question, but she's blanking. She's entirely blanking and she's forgotten everything she practised because she's about to die because the guard is clicking off the safety and pulling out his gun-

Laurie flinches as a pair of hands grab at her waist and pulls her backward. Then, Steve's hoarse scream echoes in the room as he launches himself forward to tackles the Russian guard. Laurie shoots a glance at Robin who's now standing in front of the kids, arms stretched out as some sort of barrier.

Laurie let's out a loud gasp, hands flying up to her face when the guard throws Steve against the comms desk. The Russian throws a punch, and the boy only just misses it by leaning backward against the array of buttons behind him.

The solider grabs Steve by the front of his shirt and flings him across the room and Laurie cries out his name. He goes to grab at the back of Steve's collar, but Steve quickly retaliates by shoving his elbow right into the guards chest. Sending the Russian tumbling backwards with a groan, Steve is given enough time to pick up one of the phones wired to the control panel.

After throwing the phone to his dominant hand, Steve turns on his heels and swings it, smashing it across the guards face and sending him crashing to the ground. He hits his head on the desk with a loud thump before collapsing to the ground. Laurie averts her eyes immediately, already feeling lightheaded from the blood that's beginning to ooze from his head due to the collision.

When Steve stands upright, Laurie can't help but to stare on, her mouth dropped open and her pupils dilated. Dustin and Erica snicker at her cartoon-like expression - Robin is too busy checking if the guard still has a pulse, otherwise she'd grimace at her best friend - but Laurie is far too distracted to care, let alone even notice. Chest heaving and face still red, Steve runs a stray hand through his now messy locks and away from his forehead.

"Dude! You did it!" Dustin cheers. "You won a fight!"

Laurie can't even seem to get her feet to move so she can check if Steve's okay, her body seemingly stuck in place, much like the way her mind is stuck on how his muscles tense under his sleeves and how he sends her a half smirk when their eyes meet. Her cheeks burn.

That might just be the hottest thing Laurie has ever seen.

"What are you doing?" Robin voice whines, watching as the curly-haired boy runs over to the guard and crouches beside her.

He grabs the keycard from the Russian's belt, smiling to himself. "Getting us our ticket out of here,"

"You want to walk all the way back?" Erica asks, brows bumping together in a scowl. The girl motions her hand towards Laurie. "You're gonna follow her dumbass idea?"

Laurie's just about had it with this kid. She's hungry, she's tired, she's thirsty, and she was almost just shot. Her thoughts feel like they're going 800 miles per hour, and yet Erica seems perfectly content in poking fun at her like usual.

"Hey! It wasn't a stupid idea!" Laurie barks, shooting a glare at the girl stood in front of her. Erica seems unfazed, brows raising at the sudden change in volume of the older girls voice. "If we had just followed my suggestion to begin with, Steve wouldn't have had to-"

"Well, apparently she wants to hang out for a bit," Dustin interrupts, pointing a stern finger towards the Sinclair girl. He turns to her, sarcasm dripping from his tongue and Laurie much rather prefers him to be a dorky, nerdy preteen instead of acting like a snarky, entitled one. "You wanna relax, Erica? Have a picnic, maybe?"

"Have a picnic?" Erica repeats, eyes rolling skyward and she lets out an irritated huff. "We came here for the radio!"

"Yeah, but this plan is way better!" Dustin rebuts, dangling the keycard from his fingers. "If I knew Steve could knock out a Russian, that would've been our plan in the first place!"

Steve our an exasperated sigh, stepping toward the group. "Guys-"

"That was our first plan!" Laurie reminds the curly-haired boy, frustration rising in her voice as she folds her arms across her chest. She raises her brows when Dustin gawks at her. "What? You were the one who objected that idea, remember?"

Dustin sputters. "I had perfectly good reasons to doubt his fighting capabilities, Laurie. I mean, he got his hand absolutely handed to him when Billy-"

Laurie let's out a laugh. This is positively ridiculous. "Are you serious, Dustin? Steve just threw himself into harms way without a second thought to protect all of us and you're still trying to-"

"Why are you getting so defensive?" Erica suddenly pipes up. "He's not your boyfriend, Priss,"

If her cheeks weren't already flushed with anger, her skin is definitely a bright shade of pink now. Laurie shoots a momentary glance and Steve, and she comes to notice he's sporting a similar expression; wide-eyed and cheeks tinted rouge. She turns back to Erica, stammering, "I'm not- I'm not getting defensive!"

"Sure looks like you are to me," Dustin quips and Laurie sends him a glare. He quickly mutters an apology under his breath.

"Look, I'm just.. I'm simply being cautious, okay?" Laurie moves her hand to grip at her satchel bags strap. "The fact is, if we had just followed my idea of going back to begin with, Steve wouldn't have had to fight that guard!" Her heart is beating unbearably fast. "So, instead of bickering like sitting ducks, can we please just cut the bullshit and get out of here?!"

Laurie lets out a loud huff and places her hands on her hips to help her catch her breath she hadn't noticed she lost. Her chest heaves as she glances between the Steve, Erica and Dustin, all of them staring at her with various shocked looks on their faces.

Dustin leans into Erica's shoulder, whispering, "Did she just swear?"

It's only then that Laurie realises Robin hasn't said a word since their failed attempt at calming the situation when the comms room was revealed to be occupied. And, much to her surprise, Robin isn't crouched beside the guard like she was a few seconds ago. Before she even has the chance to panic over her best friend's whereabouts, swift metal thumping sounds across the room.

Laurie looks over to see Robin quickly descending down a flight of stairs, chest heaving and forehead puckered. Her best friend looks at them, panic yielding in her expression. She points her thumb behind her, and Laurie comes to notice the flashing rays of light peaking through the door at the top of the staircase.

"I think there's something up there," Robin says, and Laurie frowns.

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authors note!

it's my birthday and im having a life crisis (i bought four pairs of shoes today. FOUR.) but here's to a new chapter! yippee!

also y'all better appreciate me writing and editing this whilst not only on the drive to my current destination, but also on my birthday. my notes app is a total mess.

anyways steve and laurie holding hands for the millionth time? slay. steve protecting his future gf? slay. laurie defending her future bf with her life? slay. #staurie going into parental mode? slay.

EDIT: hi it's futurue alisha and i'm a TEENSIE bit tipsy rn from celebrating my birthday but i needed y'all to have this chapter 🫶 consider it my birthday gift from me toyou.. have a great day y'all thanks for being so patient ugh slay

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