"I don't understand. You've seen this before?" Robin asked as they hurried back down the stairs, Christine heading the bunch.

"Not exactly." Steve answered, the girl quick with another question.

"Then what, exactly?"

"All you need to know is it's bad." Dustin said, rushing past her to get to the bottom faster.

"It's really bad." Steve said, emphasizing with his hands.

"Super bad." Christine said, nodding her head for her own emphasis. Robins eyebrows furrowed as the girl said it, confusion covering her face as she looked down at Christine.

"You know about this too?"

"Like end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad." Dustin said, looking a bit worried as they all reentered the comms room.

"And you know about this how?"

"Um Steve? Where's your Russian friend?" They all collectively looked down at where the man had been laying, the alarm blaring overhead just as they said it. Steve seemed to correlate the man and the alarm, the boy cursing and running towards the door to look out. He ripped the door open, his face contorted into one of hopelessness as he looked out. The guards caught sight of him, all of them shouting and starting towards the door. He slammed it back, cursing again and then urging them all to run up the stairs. They sprinted for their lives, going through the door at the top of the stairs again and then Dustin running to open the one they had been peeking through. He stopped for a second, looking at all the scientists who saw them, Christine pushing past him to go through a different way.

"Go! Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Steve yelled, backing the group as Dustin ran out onto the platform the big giant light ray was on. The Russians yelled after them, Christine running as fast as humanly possible to get away. Dustin screamed, pushing a hazmat suit clad man out of his way. They stopped by the ray itself, Christine staring into the light as the wind blew her hair back, almost amazed at the sight.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" Dustin screamed, the guards seeing the five of them and getting closer.

"Guards! Go!" Erica yelled, Steve shouting at them to follow him in a different direction. He pushed a guy off the stairs, running to the bottom and pushing over some huge metal barrels onto a few other men. Finally they escaped through a door, Steve closing it and pressing his back into it to try and keep it shut.

"Robin!" He yelled, trying to get the girl to help him hold it shut. "Help me! Come on!"

"Here! Come on! Let's go!" Erica shouted from the other side of the room, Christine standing in the middle as she looked between the door and Erica and Dustin who were lifting the grate.

"Come on!" Dustin yelled to Steve and Robin and Christine, Steve answering him quickly.

"Go! Just get out of here!"

"No come on! Now!"

"No! Just go get some help okay?" Steve yelled, holding the door closed. Christine felt a bolt of fear run through her as Dustin begrudgingly jumped into the grate, the girl realizing the decision she had to make now.

"I won't forget you!" Dustin yelled, Robin and Steve both screaming for him to go. Steve's eyes fell on the indecisive Christine, the boy shaking his head at her in panic as he pointed towards the grate.

"Get out of here! Nows not the time! Go!" Steve screamed, Christines eyes widening at this terrifying choice. She felt her breathing start to pick up, her head going to the grate and then to Steve and then back to the grate. She couldn't do it. Christine ran towards the door, pushing against it with all her strength and making Steve yell out at her.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?! Get out of here!" He said, shaking his head in utter disbelief at what had just happened.

"I'm not leaving you!" Just as she said it the door flew open with insane force, throwing the three teens back. When they scrambled into sitting positions they were met with a bunch of guns, all three of them lifting their hands in surrender. The soldiers screamed at them, Christine shuddering in fear as they yelled. The only thing that was keeping her from going full blown freak out was Steve's leg that was pressed against hers, keeping her semi grounded.

The Russians rushed forwards, grabbing Steve first and then Christine and finally Robin. They all fought against their grips, Christines feet dragging across the floor as the men carried her out. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her eyes wild and frantic as she realized she lost sight of Steve and Robin.

"Let me go you piece of shit!" She yelled, flailing her body and getting out of the grip of one the guards. She brought her leg up as she was thrown into a room, kicking one of the men in the groin and scrambling to get past him as his grip loosened. Before she could get too far she was ripped back by her hair, the girl letting out a pained scream as one guard held her in place, the two of them sharing a Russian comment before the other one sent a punch right into her stomach. She doubled over, the guard holding her dropping her and both of them exiting quickly. Christine laid on the floor, trying to find her breath again as her arms wrapped around her stomach. She finally caught her breath, the girl coughing as she pushed herself up from the floor. She hurried to the door,  frantically turning the handle and trying to open it before giving up and just beating on it.

"Help me! Help! Steve! Steve! Robin! Help!" She screamed, her voice echoing through the hallway and into Steve's room where he had been thrown. He hurried towards his own door, his heartbeat pounding in his chest as he heard Christine calling out for him. He panicked, the boy beating on his own door and yelling.

"Christine! Christine I'm here! I'm here!" He yelled, trying desperately to get out of the room and to her. His concern for himself had completely diminished, Steve struggling with the door as he realized she must have needed help. The small window on the door made his breath quicken, the boy breathing heavily as he thought about how to get out of the cell. He lifted his hand, punching the glass as hard as he could, his knuckles cutting as the tiny window broke. Before he could even think to push his arm through the door lock clicked open, and Steve was no longer alone in the room. 

"Where's Christine?!  What'd you do to her?!" He shouted, the Russian man who seemed to be in charge shaking his head at the boy.

"That is not how this works.  I ask the questions here. Now...who do you work for?" Steve's eyes widened in some kind of fear as another guard entered the room, pushing him back and onto the bench.  He bound his hands, Steve struggling to fight back as he was easily overpowered by this man.

"I work for Scoops Ahoy!"

:::

Christine was sat in her cell for awhile, her hands bound in front of her as she awaited whatever horrid torture she would endure. A chill ran down her spine when her door opened, a man in a red hat and what she would presume as general clothes making his way inside with another man.

"Please! Please! I didn't do anything!"  She pleaded, hoping that she could get her point across. The other guards knuckles were red with blood, Christines entire body running cold as she realized it was probably Steves. "What did you do to him? Is he okay? Is he okay?!"

"It is like broken record no? I hear the same thing from your sailor friend.  He ask 'is she okay?! is she okay?!'. The answer is no. Neither of you are okay." The man said, Christines heart palpitating as he said it. She assumed the worst of the situation, the girl shaking her head as she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening right now.  The guard with the bloody knuckles walked towards her, grabbing the girl by the collar and looking back at the general for instruction. Christine felt terror run through her as she looked up at the man, her eyes briefly closing as she tried to remain at least a little bit calm.

"Who do you work for?" This was a tough question, Christine knew she couldn't answer honestly at all. If she said Hawkins PD she could possibly condemn not only herself but Steve and Robin as well.

"I-I work for Scoops Ahoy." She stuttered out, the General clicking his tongue at her as he shook his head.

"You work at ice cream place? Then where is your little sailor costume?" The General asked, Christines face flushing as she looked down briefly at her grey t-shirt and shorts. She looked back up with a  sheepish look, giving the General a guilty smile and replying.

"It's my day off?" She said in more of a questioning tone,  the man squinting his eyes at her for a second before sending a nod to the man holding her by the collar.  She started to protest but she couldn't stop what was going to happen,  the man pulling his arm back and punching her right across the face. She felt the burn in her cheek, an unfamiliar one that she hadn't felt before. When Billy had hit her it was right in the nose, this one was different.

"Who do you work for? It's simple question really." Christine thought for a moment,  the pain distracting her from being able to come up with a viable lie. Instead she looked at the man who had just hit her, her teeth gritting as she shook her head at him. The General clicked his tongue again,  letting out a disappointed sigh before watching the girl get punched again.

"We don't like to hit women. This could all be over if you would just tell the truth." Christine stared down at the floor, the blood filling her mouth from the punches. She slowly looked back up, a menacing look in her eyes as she spit the blood from her mouth out onto the floor in front of them. The guard took this personally,  punching her in the stomach and then backhanding her, the girl crying out as he did this, her body slumping to the side as she groaned. She gasped for air as the guard pulled her up from the bench by her restraints,  Christine wishing she could just lie down  for a moment as they carried her out into the hall. She couldn't tell what they were saying because  they were speaking Russian, but halfway through struggling to get her footing she decided to just get dragged across the floor.  Another door was opened, the guard throwing her into it and making her groan. Christine looked up, her eyes widening as she looked at a bloodied and shaking Steve,  this giving her enough motive to get onto her knees.

"Steve." She said, the boy looking at her with wide eyes, hurt and worry and anger coursing through him as he looked at her bloodied mouth.  He struggled against his restraints, trying to do whatever he could to get to her, to keep her from  getting hurt anymore. He jumped up from the bench, his hands pulling back against him as he tried to get to her, the girl shaking on the floor in front of him and making him want to die. His entire body felt like it was burning with anger, the boy feeling his chest start to physically hurt from seeing her injured like this. He tried not to freak out completely, praying for the downfall of every man in the room for hurting his Christine. Tears spring to his eyes as she grimaced in pain, Steve  opening his mouth with a trembling lip and screaming at the men.

"You pieces of shit! What did you do to her?!" He yelled, his tone angry and filled with pain as he looked back at the struggling Christine. "It's okay. Are you okay? How hurt ar- don't you touch her! Don't touch her!" Steve yelled as a guard approached the girl on the floor, lifting her by the back of her shirt and  holding her in place. The General walked into the room again, looking between the two of them before looking back at Steve, who he believed  to be the ringleader in all of this.

"Let's try this again, shall we?"