CHAPTER 22
ZOOMER

FROM the moment Hopper pulled into the parking lot of Hawkins' National Lab, roars from inside could be heard. Edward found himself shivering, almost wishing that he actually hadn't gone with them. Although, when he thought about it more, he knew he had to. He didn't know if this thing would be destroyed or if it would come back again. Edward was in too deep now, and he needed to see the truth beneath Hawkins through his eyes.

Hopper parked in front of the building, which ignited with flashes every few seconds. Roars echoed from the walls of the once bustling lab. He got out as Edward did, and both strode to the back of the truck. Hopper handed his partner a rifle, and Edward stared at it with interest. He had expected to use his pistol, but with the way it worked out the last time he was here, maybe it was better to shoot with a rifle. Hopper pulled out another for himself before they met back with Eleven, who was staring at the building with fear.

Edward hesitated before patting Eleven on the shoulder. She jumped the slightest bit and looked to the officer. Edward immediately retracted his hand. "You're gonna do good," he assured.

Hopper cocked back his rifle, turning to Eleven. "You let me do the heavy lifting up front, alright? You save your strength." He noticed she wasn't answering. "You okay?"

Eleven nodded, a scary look engulfing her eyes. She stalked towards the building, even as the growls of Demodogs echoed through the air. Eleven had gone through so much worse, and she wouldn't let herself be scared again. Edward understood this, and he only had to look at her once.

•••

It had been a struggle to get Veronica in the backseat of Billy's car. The kids bound her wrists with duct tape, and put it over her mouth too. Veronica now realized how durable duct tape was. She tried biting through the tape as Max sped down the back roads of Hawkins, but it was no use. Lucas directed Max in the passenger seat, while Mike tried his best to hold Veronica down in the back seat. Dustin sat beside her, cradling a bruised Steve Harrington in his arms, and holding an ice pack to his forehead.

Veronica tried wiggling in her seat, but it didn't do anything. She tried screaming through the tape, but it was only muffled. Almost thirty minutes after the fight at the Byers' home, Steve began to rustle in his seat. He fluttered his eyes open, first looking to Mike holding a can of gasoline. "Nancy?" He asked through dizzy eyes, earning a glare from Mike.

His eyes then slid to Veronica in the middle seat, taking in her crazed expression and several red marks on her face. Her mouth was taped closed. Steve's brow furrowed as he went to touch his head, but already a pain was surfacing. He saw Dustin sitting above him with a smile.

"No, don't touch it." Dustin instructed, prying his hand away from his face. "Hey, buddy! It's okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight. You're okay."

Veronica struggled to make her voice known: "MMM – HMM –"

Mike slapped his hand over Veronica's taped mouth, as if that would help the muffled noise. She only got louder, which caused an even worse migraine in Steve's head. "Okay," Lucas was saying in the front, "you're gonna keep straight for half a mile and ... make a left on Mount Street."

Mike removed his hand then. Veronica managed to bite back on tape encasing her mouth. She pulled with her teeth, which began to make the tape peel off from one side. She kept pulling.

"What's ..." Steve paused, releasing a groan. "What's going on?" Max met his eyes, and he finally realized what was happening: the kid was driving.

The tape was off half of Veronica's mouth. She blew it out of the way, sending spit out of her mouth. As Steve was about to ask another question, she exclaimed: "THE KIDS FUCKING KIDNAPPED US!"

Mike's hand flew to her mouth again.

Steve's panic began to come out in heavy breaths. "Oh ... Oh, my god," he said, drawling out the first word. "Oh, my god. Oh, my –"

"Steve, relax. She's driven before." Dustin replied soothingly.

Mike removed his hand from Veronica's mouth as he became distracted by Dustin's response. "Yeah, in a parking lot."

"That counts!" argued Lucas.

Veronica kept peeling off the tape with her spit, but a part still stuck to the left side of her mouth. "That does not count!" She debated loudly.

Steve shook his head rapidly. "Oh, my god –"

"We were gonna leave you two behind," Dustin explained, "but just promise you'll be cool."

They all started to talk at once. Max was now speeding down the abandoned road. Veronica leaned back in her seat, feeling the rush of the car take over. "We gotta get out of here –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Steve interrupted in a louder voice.

Max suddenly pressed hard on the gas pedal.

Veronica screamed, "WE GOTTA FUCKING GET OUT OF HERE!"

"STOP THE CAR! SLOW DOWN!" Steve reiterated.

"I told you they'd freak out!" Mike yelled at Dustin.

"STOP THE CAR!" Veronica repeated.

Max hit the steering wheel. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO FOCUS!"

Lucas pointed to a sudden curve in the road. "Make a left! Make a left!"

Max didn't have time to notice the stop sign as she took the sharp turn. It rocked the whole car, sending Steve on Veronica's lap as she shrieked. Max hit the sign during the turn, and the puddles from the recent rain caused her to swerve. They were screaming. They were all screaming.

Trees whipped past the car like they were moving. The car's headlights were the only lights ahead of them. Screams continued amongst the car, with Veronica trying to rid herself of the duct tape on her wrists to take the steering wheel away from Max. It didn't work.

They hit a dirt road, and rocks could be heard rotating beneath the tires. There was caution tape surrounding the area Max was driving to, and she drove right through it. The tape hung on the roof of the car, flailing in the wind. Max drove into a sign, which told Veronica that they were at Merrill's farm. Max drove across the dead grass at full speed before coming to an abrupt stop in front of the Merrill's field.

"SHIT –" Steve was screaming as he grabbed for Veronica's leg. He immediately took it off when the car stopped.

Mike breathed heavily, but found himself grinning. "Incredible!"

"I told you," Max said as she took the key out of the ignition, "Zoomer."

All the kids jumped out of the car at lightening speed, causing Steve to physically roll out of the car and onto the dirt. Veronica slid out the car on Steve's side, turning to Mike when her feet hit the ground. She stuck out her arms behind her back. "Take these off, squirt!" Mike groaned before lugging himself over and ripping the duct tape off her wrists. Veronica wheezed in pain.

When Steve and Veronica turned to find the kids, they saw that they were grabbing objects from the truck. They put on goggles, bandanas, and suits over their bodies. The teenagers' eyes met in confusion. Steve almost fell to the ground again before Veronica caught him. She held him up by wrapping her arms around his torso. They watched Mike walk around to the front of the car with a can of gasoline. "Hey!" Steve called. "What ... Where do you ... think you're going?"

None of them answered.

"What are you? Deaf?" Steve coughed loudly, knees buckling. Veronica held on tighter. "HELLO?!"

Veronica sighed in an annoyed tone. "Steve, shut up –"

"WE ARE NOT GOING DOWN THERE RIGHT NOW! I MADE MYSELF CLEAR! HEY, THERE IS NO CHANCE WE ARE GOING TO THE HOLE!"

"STOP SCREAMING IN MY EAR!" Veronica exclaimed, shoving him out of her arms.

Steve fell back to the dirt as the blue-haired girl growled with irritation. He spat soil from his mouth and began to get up by climbing the car. He finally gripped the top of the roof, sending Veronica a glare before another pain emerged in his forehead. Veronica looked around at the kids beginning to descend into a hole, and she hesitantly walked forward. "What ..." Her mouth went wide. "What are they doing?!"

Steve then moved fast to the end of the car, reaching the trunk as Dustin was grabbing something from his bag. Steve tore it out of his hands and threw it to the ground. "THIS ENDS RIGHT NOW –"

"STEVE!" Dustin screamed, and when Veronica turned around to look, she saw the kid was wearing a bandana around his mouth and swimming goggles on his eyes. "You're upset. I get it."

Veronica stalked over to the two boys, pointing to Lucas jumping into the large hole in the ground. "Why are they going into a fucking hole?!"

Dustin put out his hand, as if just that gesture would calm down the two bruised teenagers. "The bottom line is a party member requires assistance and it is our duty to provide an assistance. Now, I know you two promised Nance and –" he glanced at Veronica "– your police dad to keep us safe." Dustin grabbed Steve's bat and hockey stick from the trunk. "So keep us safe."

The two teenagers took their weapons with a sigh, and Dustin happily sprinted away to join his friends in the tunnel. Veronica glanced to Steve, who was shaking his head while slinging his backpack on his shoulders. His eyes then met hers, and he huffed, allowing his breath to be seen in the cold air. "Did you fight Billy after I was out?" He asked, to which Veronica nodded slowly. "I thought I heard something like that going on. Nice."

Veronica shrugged, "No pain, no gain." She then began to grin, pointing her hockey stick in his direction. "I know it was really scary and everything," she continued, "but you fighting Billy kinda made me want to kiss you."

Steve's head perked up as he exclaimed, "What?!" But even before he could reply, he realized Veronica Moreda was running away with a smirk spreading from ear to ear.

( made by JustSav )