CHAPTER TWENTY
THE GATE

        "I mean, you have to admit, as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive," Dustin comments.  His voice bounces off of the walls of the hallway as the five make their way down the impossibly long hallway.  Every time Abby thinks that they're finally coming to the end, it only seems to stretch farther.  It's like something from a dream, the more you run from the monster that you've manifested in your mind, the longer the hallway gets.  It's a never ending cycle of torment. 

Abby's pretty sure she feels her heart stop in her chest when her thoughts travel to her parents.  She knows that ever since they had picked her up from the hospital that night in November that they worry for her far more than they had before.  She has noticed the way they visibly relax every time she tosses the keys onto the nearest surface of their house seemingly unscathed.  It's not that they don't trust her, she knows this, one incident isn't always enough to sever trust completely, but it had been enough for her parents to fill what little space they had left with concerns for her safety.  She knows that when they don't find her in her bedroom that the perturbing thought that she's in danger will only strengthen.

"It's nice to see that you've found your silver lining, Curly-cue," Abby says with a smile that does not reach her eyes.  Not even close.  She's too plagued with the thoughts of her parents and the people who do not know that they dwell several miles underground to keep the calm facade.  Steve takes notice of this, as he always does, and nudges her with his shoulder.  She only returns his gaze with a half-smile before she turns her attention to her beaten and worn Converse.

"What do you mean?" Steve asks as if he has just registered what Dustin had said.  "It's a total fire hazard.  There's no stairs, there's no exit, there's just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell."

"They're commies," Erica replies.  "You don't pay people, they cut corners."

"To be fair to our Russian comrades, I don't think this tunnel was designed for walking," Robin interjects.  "Think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo."

"It all comes to the mall like any old delivery ..." Dustin adds.

"And they load it up onto one of those trucks and nobody's the wiser," Robin finishes.

"You think they build this whole mall just so they can transport that green poison?" Steve wonders.

"I very seriously doubt it's something as boring as poison," Dusting responds.

"Well, then for the love of god, let's hope it stays as boring as poison for us," Abby says with a sigh.

While she knew that poison wasn't exactly a good prospect, she knows that there are worse things that they could be facing.  At least green poison isn't armed with rows upon rows of teeth (though she knows that the poison could devour just as much as the Demogorgons).  At least the poison is not an organism of its own violation.  At least the poison was something that they could run from.

"It's gotta be much more valuable, like promethium or something," Dustin says.

"What the hell is promethium?" Steve fires back.

"It's what Victor Stone's dad used to make Cyborg's bionic and cybernetic components," Robin answers.

"You're all so nerdy it makes me physically ill," Erica remarks.  She clutches her stomach for dramatic effect and pretends to gag.

"No, no, no.  No, don't lump me in with them," Steve protests.  "I'm not a nerd, all right?"

"Why so sensitive, Harrington?" Robin teases.  "Afraid of losing cool points to a ten-year-old child?"

"No, I'm just saying I don't know jack shit about Prometheus," Steve answers.

"Really?  Because that's not what it sounded like to me," Abby responds teasingly.  "Besides, we weren't talking about Prometheus, Prometheus is one of the Titans.  We were talking about Prometheum."

Dustin nods.  "All I'm saying is, it's probably being used to make something."

"Or power something?" Robin suggests.

"Like a nuclear weapon?"

"Totally."

"Walking towards a nuclear weapon, that's great," Steve grumbles.  "That'd be great."

"But if they're building something, why here?" Robin wonders.  "I mean, Hawkins.  Seriously.  Of all places.  At the very best, we're a toilet stop on your way to Disneyland, but maybe that's it."

Out of the corner of her eye, as Robin continues her thought, Abby notices Steve and Dustin separate from the rest of the group.  She hopes that Robin is right, that the Russians had only chosen Hawkins because on the outside it was a place where nothing happened, where the community was tight-knit, where everybody knew each other.  Surely, it was the best disguise, the best place to commit acts in complete secrecy that were not normal.  But Hawkins wasn't a normal town, there were abnormal things that had happened there, things that others had turned a blind eye to for the sake of their own sanity.

"You think the Russians know ..." Dustin starts.

"About the—" Steve doesn't need to finish his sentence.

"I mean, it's entirely possible," Abby answers.

"So it's connected?" Steve asks.

"Maybe," Dustin replies.

"How?" Steve wonders.

"I don't know, but it's—"

"Possible," the boys finish in unison.

"Shit," Abby mutters.

Robin who has traveled further down the hallway with Erica at her side whirls around then to face them.  "I'm sorry, is there something you guys would like to share with the class?"

The three exchange a silent glance.  They all know that the same question is running through the others' heads.  Do they tell Robin and Erica about the threats that had loomed over Hawkins?  Or do they keep them in the dark for their own safety?  Before either of them can open their mouths, though the sound of static fills the air, and snippets of Russian can be heard from Erica's backpack.

"Walkie," Steve and Dustin murmur in unison once again.

The three dash toward Erica who is quick to swing off of her backpack.  Together, the three huddle on their hands and knees in a circle around the backpack as Erica withdraws the radio.  Robin takes it in her hands and pulls out the antenna.  The Russian seems to grow louder as the signal grows stronger.

"Поездка в Китай звучит неплохо. Если вы ступаете осторожно," Robin repeats as the code continues.  A trip to China sounds nice.  If you tread lightly.  "It's the code."

"Wherever that broadcast is coming from—" Dustin starts.

"It's close," Robin finishes.  "And if there's one thing we know about that signal ..."

"It can reach the surface," Dustin says with a wide grin.

"Let's go."

And with a renewed determination, the group jumps to their feet.

✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*

Abby isn't sure how much time has passed before they finally hear the voices.  Her calves ache and her eyes droop from the fitful sleep she had gotten on the elevator floor the previous night.  They've run out of the food that they had packed in Erica's backpack sometime before.  She knows that her companions are beginning to feel the same fatigue, but none of them voice the complaints that have to rest on the tips of their tongues.

They duck behind the nearest wall just before the hawk-like gaze of one of the guards lands on them.  Abby holds her breath as she presses herself flat against the cool metal.  After a few tense moments, Steve slowly and cautiously pokes his head from around the corner.

"Okay, clear," Steve whispers as he steps out from around the corner.  "Come on, let's go."

"Okay, that was close," Robin voices.

"Too close," Dustin agrees.

"Relax," Steve responds.  "All right?  Realx.  Nobody saw ..."

Steve trails off as their eyes land on the main hub before them.  A voice is broadcasted over a PA system in Russian as scientists dressed in white coats move about.  There are Russians dressed in red padded suits and deep blue hazmat suits.  Another red cart loaded with boxes passes by while guards dressed in their uniforms march past, armed with guns.  They patrol the main hub and walk along the balcony that rims the second story.

A guard's head turns in their direction and the group is quick to duck behind the nearest bright red structure and safely out of sight.  For the next few moments, they waited silently, hoping that they hadn't been caught so quickly already.  When no shouts of alarm are raised by any of the Russian guards, Abby allows herself to take several deep breaths, even if they aren't quite out of the woods just yet.

"I saw it," Erica whispers.  "First floor, northwest."

"Saw what?" Steve whispers back.

"The comms room," Erica answers. 

"You saw the comms room?"

"Correct."

"Are you sure?" Dustin asks.

"Positive," Erica affirms.  "The door was open for a second, and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there."

"A glimpse that lasted a few seconds isn't exactly promising," Abby responds.

"Yeah, that could be a hundred different things," Dustin agrees.

Robin turns to Steve and Abby and tells them with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "I'll take those odds."

Steve only lets out a weary sigh and shakes his head.  Together, the five peer out from behind the red structure that they have taken shelter behind.  The hub has cleared of the activity and Abby can just barely glimpse the window of the comms room that Erica had seen.  She hopes that the girl is right and they're not about to walk straight into a mousetrap.  The game of cat and mouse has to end at some point, and though the Russians are not yet aware of their presence in the base, it's inevitable that they will.

"All right," Steve whispers as they duck back behind the structure once more.  "We're gonna move fast, we're gonna stay low.  Okay?"

The others whisper their agreement.  Steve takes a deep breath, steadies his nerves, and darts across toward the line of water tanks on the opposite side of the hall. The others trail behind him like ants, down low to the ground, eyes, and ears alert for any possible danger.  They crouch behind the tanks, do a quick headcount before darting forward toward another set of metal containers.  Steve peers around the rim of the containers at the comm room just in time for another scientist donned in a white lab coat to exit the room.

"Let's go," Steve hisses.

He darts out from behind the containers and catches the door just before it closes and they slip in quietly one-by-one.  Abby's eyes widen as her eyes land on the person sitting in the swivel chair.  He spins around to face them as he removes his headphones.  For a few tense moments, the six inhabitants of the room freeze and stare at each other, hearts pounding and eyes wide.  Then the man reaches for the gun at his side.  Abby instinctively shoves Erica behind her as Robin steps forward, throwing her hands out.

"Ступай осторожно!" She exclaims.  The guard furrows his brows in confusion, which Abby supposes would be the appropriate reaction if someone dressed in a Scoops Ahoy uniform were to tell her to tread lightly.  Robin doesn't back down at takes another step forward, repeating, "Ступай осторожно."

"Кто ты?" The man replies.  (Who are you?)

Abby chews down on her lip as Robin says, "Серебряный кот ... серебряный кот." She first points to herself and then waves a hand behind her, miming a tail.  (Silver cat ... silver cat).

"Я не понимаю," the man responds with a shake of his head.  There are beads of sweat forming above his eyebrow as he continues to stare at the five people who have gathered before him. (I don't understand).

Robin glances back at her companions before she takes another step forward and says, her voice now an octave higher, "Китай?" (China?)

The man lets out a scoff and reaches for the gun on his belt, but before he can, Steve lets out an almighty war cry and charges at the man.  Caught off-guard by his sudden act of aggression, Steve is able to slam the man right into the control panel with a loud thunk.  The man recovers quickly and shoves Steve across the room and into a collision course straight for another control panel.  The man throws a punch but with a loud yelp, Steve is able to quickly duck under it.  His momentary victory doesn't last for long as the man grabs Steve by his collar and shoves him into another control panel.

There's a victorious sort of gleeful grin that spreads across the man's face as he grabs Steve by the back of the shirt, but the latter is quick to retaliate by shoving an elbow into the man's gut.  The man lets out a loud groan and stumbles backward into the control panel had been sitting in.  Steve's hand shoots out and grabs the metal phone from its holder and turns to hit the man on the head.  Abby watches with wide eyes as the man collapses and his head hits the table with a loud, painful thunk and crumples to the ground, unconscious.

Steve runs a hand through his hair as he stands over the man's body, panting and out of breath, but victorious.

There's a wide grin across Dustin's face that reaches his eyes as he points excitedly.  "Dude!  You did it!  You won a fight!"

"Yeah, good work, Steve!" Abby agrees.

Steve continues to stare down at the collapsed Russian guard with a look of pride on his face as he lets out a small chuckle.  Dustin dashes across the room to the unconscious body and yanks the man's keycard from his belt.

"What are you doing?" Erica demands.

"Getting us our ticket out of here," Dustin answers.

"You want us to walk all the way back?" Erica questions skeptically as she points out the door.

"Well, we can hang out for a little bit, have a picnic," Dustin responds sarcastically.

"Have a picnic?" Erica repeats, disregarding the sarcasm that's laced in Dustin's voice.  "We came here for a radio."

"This plan is way better," Dustin replies.  "If I knew Steve could knock out a Russian, that would've been our plan in the first place.

They continue to argue, voices overlapping, masking the low frequency of the pulsing that flows down from the nearby staircase.  They don't notice as Robin wanders away as if in a trance as she mounts the blue staircase to their left.  They don't even notice that she's left until she's back again.

"Guys," she says.  Their heads snap towards her.  She's panting.  Her eyes are wide.  She's scared.  "There's something up there."

Shoes squeak quietly against the ground, hearts beat, breath paths softly like a whisper on the wind.  The door swings shut softly behind them.  A blue light pulses with the rhythmic synchronization of a faint pulsing that Abby can feel reverberating in her head.  They gather around the windows in the nearby double doors and stare at the sight before them with wide eyes.

"Shit," Abby whispers.  "Shit.  Shit.  Shit."

Past the observation room that sits just beyond the double doors and through the glass windows, past the crackling energy giant metal machine that shoots a bright beam of light forward sits something.  It's bright orange, glowing in the middle where it seems to start to rip apart ever so slowly as if it were stitching come undone.  The farthest edgers are still a bleeding black that stretches towards the bright rip like dark veins. 

Abby shakes her head in denial.  It can't be.  But she knows that wishing it away won't cause it to disappear.  The Russians were opening the gate.

author's note: i'm so sorry, i completely forgot to update for the past few days, i've been dealing with some stuff so i might not be super active.