Robin extends her arms on the shelf, and Dustin holds onto a table. They are all screaming like they are dropping to their death. Dustin started mashing the buttons. "Shit Shit"

Madison panicked, her knuckles turning white as she grabbed Steve's sleeve. "We're going down!" We're going down,"

Robin whipped her head over to Steve; she shot him a quick glare. "YEAH, NO SHIT HARRINGTON,"

Dustin's fingers continued to mash the buttons. This was supposed to be an escape, but it might get them all killed. "WHY DON'T THESE BUTTONS WORK"

Érica had never been so terrified in her life, nothing was making sense. She ran to Dustin, her eyes widened with fear. " PRESS THE BUTTON"

Madison's grip on Steve's sleeve as the panic surged through her, her heart racing every second. The feeling of falling and everything spiraling out of control made her stomach twist in knots. "PRESS THE DAMN BUTTON ALREADY!"

Dustin's frustration increased, it didn't matter how hard or quick he pressed, nothing was happening. His panic is only growing. "What do you think I'm doing."

Steve's hands were shaking as he tried to reach out. He wanted to help. "Come on! Press something Just press the button." Steve yelled out urgently

Erica's voice cut out through the chaos. She was done with the shouting and all the panic. "Press it"

Steve barely had to process what happened as the elevator came to a stop. The world seemed to be in slow motion literally. Madison's legs gave up, luckily Steve was able to cushion her fall, and he lightly pushed her out of the way, just for a bunch of boxes to fall on top of him. He barely had time to register it, as the boxes fell in the worst spot possible. "OW. My groin. It's on my groin," He groaned.

There was a sharp ache in his groin and the weight was pressing on his legs making it impossible to move. " Dustin!. Get this off of me! I can't move." He shouted

Dustin comes over and lifts the box off successfully. Steve let out a groan.

Robin carried her hands to her hair, "Is everyone okay?" She asked, her voice is a little shaky

" YEAH, I'M GREAT, NOW I KNOW RUSSIANS CAN'T DESIGN ELEVATORS" Steve snapped, he pushed Dustin out of the way to go mash the buttons.

Robin's nerves were still shot up "I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work,"

Steve's jaw tightened as Robin started to speak. "They're buttons. They have to do something." Steve said through gritted teeth,

Robin's patience started to wane. "Yeah, if we had a keycard." She shot back

Steve stopped mashing the buttons, he turned to Robin with a furrowed eyebrow. He stared at her like she was talking to him in Russian. "A what?"

Robin's expression didn't change, she was still frustrated.

"It's an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a keycard, it won't operate, meaning..." She explained

"We're stuck in here." Dustin words hung out

"Yeah" Robin points out

Madison lowered her head, She raised her hands in the air, explaining her frustration. "That's just great."

Erica's eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, "Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me. But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow-and my mom finds out-you four are responsible, she's going to hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat."

Steve slammed his hands on the box. The sound of impact echoed around the elevator. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT TINA! OR UNCLE JACK'S PARTY YOUR MOM NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND US IF WE'RE DEAD IN A RUSSIAN ELEVATOR" He shouted in complete anger.

Dustin watched the tension build between Steve and Erica, both of them being angry. His gaze shifts to Madison and then to Robin who has the same wide-eyed reaction. His eyes flicked upwards, spotting the small gap between the elevator wall and the ceiling. A lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey, what if we climbed out."

Steve followed Dustin's lead, climbing up toward the elevator. When they both reached it, they paused for a moment, staring up. The small gap was much less inviting now. He glanced at Dustin, who was in complete awe, Steve just raised an eyebrow. "What were you saying about climbing?

Steve's voice echoed throughout the elevator.

———————————————————-

Madison sat down, her arms on her knees. She was staring at the wall of the elevator. The other fell asleep on the floor, letting exhaustion catch up to them but Madison couldn't rest. She couldn't stop overthinking every wrong scenario. When she heard Steve climbing down from the ceiling. She turned her head towards him, her throat aching as she tried to speak. "So, is there a way out?"

Steve felt his heart ache just looking at her, she looked like she was about to break down any minute now. "I don't know,"

Madison started to ramble, her thoughts rushing in her head. " Great, that's just great, we are stuck in a Russian elevator. My sister doesn't know I'm gone. God, I don't even know what the hell she's doing right now."She continued, her breathing starting to quicken

She let out a slight pause, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid any tears from coming out. "Billy is acting weird. And"

Steve hated seeing her like this. He reached his hand out and placed it on her back. " Hey, Hey, Hey, it's ok," he said softly.

Madison let out a shaky breath, she shook her head, "None of this is ok"

Steve watched her let it all out, he understood how she felt. I get it, you're scared. But we'll find a way out, we always do."

Madison's breath started to steady, the slight calmness cutting through the racing thoughts in her head. It's like the noise in her head disappeared just to be replaced by his reassuring words. Her heartbeat started to slow down. She hated crying in front of people. It made her feel vulnerable like she was losing control in front of everyone she loved. But Steve's presence, his calmness made it easier. Her eyes were still a little watery, Madison gave him a small genuine smile. " Yeah, we always do."

The room grew silent. Her eyes slowly began to shut, and she landed on Steve's shoulder Maybe this wasn't how Steve imagined they would fall asleep together. But it's something. He wrapped his arm around her. He had a slight smile on his face before slowly drifting off to sleep as well.

8 hours later ......

"Code red, I repeat, code red. Does anyone copy? This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. This is a code red, I repeat, a code red. Does anyone copy? We are innocent children-and we are trapped under Star Court Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins, and if we are found, they will torture and kill us."

"Hey. Gotta takes it easy on that thing. Gonna drain the battery."

Dustin turned his attention towards Steve. "The mall just opened."

Steve tilted his head at Dustin, narrowing his eyes as the kid stared back at him. "So?"

Dustin's hands gestured around the elevator. "So, someone could be in range,"

Steve shook his head, as he leaned against the elevator. "What do you think, Petey the Mall Cop is going to rappel down here and save the day?" Steve shot back, sarcastically

Dustin had a smirk on his face, he glanced at Steve, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "All right, why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with Maddie?"

Steve's head snapped towards Dustin. "Shh! Jesus Christ. Will you just give up on your creepy dream already?"

Dustin crossed his arms, the smirk still on his face. "I heard you guys talking all night."

Steve threw his hands up and he raised his voice. "She was scared, Plus, after eight hours, we're still exactly nowhere, which is, you know, probably just a little bit of the reason why I'm feeling just...a tad cranky."

Dustin squinted at him, his head tilting a bit as he watched him stand in the corner of the elevator. "What are you doing?".

He looked over his shoulder, annoyed. He couldn't hold it in any longer. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a leak. Look away. Look away!"

Robin's eyes narrowed in disbelief as she glanced up, her gaze falling on the wall with disgust. "Can you redirect your stream, please?" She called out

Madison couldn't believe it. She rolled her eyes and let out a scoff as the stream went to the side. "Gag me with a spoon"

Robin's eyes widened as Erica started banging the metal crates. She rushed over grabbing the crate from Erica before she could use any more chaos. "Hey, hey! Be careful, careful, careful! We don't even know what that is."

Erica crossed her arms, rolling her eyes in the process. "Exactly. It could be useful."

Robin furrowed her eyebrows, a bit irritated. "Useful how?"

Erica narrowed her eyes on Robin. "We can survive down here a long time without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die,"-

Robin held the green liquid and shook it, the liquid sloshing a bit. "I hate to break it to you, but this is not water. "

Erica crossed her arms and stood her ground. " No, but it's a liquid, and if it comes down to me drinking that shit or dying of thirst." She had a smug smile on her face. "I'll drink."

Madison shut her eyes for a second. She pinched the bridge of her nose as a headache was threatening to happen. She let out a shaky breath trying to control herself. Her eyes opened and she noticed Robin leaning against the wall, her head tilted like she was listening for a sound. Madison furrowed her eyebrows. "What is it?"

Robin could hear the faint noise grow louder. She climbed up the elevator to warn the boys. "We've got company,"

Their eyes are fixed on the two Russian guards, just a few feet away. Every breath felt louder than it should, he held a finger to his lip, silently pleading with the group to stay quiet. His gaze lands on Erica, who clutches into the green liquid. As the guard loaded up and the elevator began to shut, Steve took the opportunity to get down quickly. He grabbed the green liquid from Erica and placed it by the door. He glanced at the group. "Let's go."

Steve waited until the kids and the ladies had crawled out, his nerves were shot up. He crouched down; his eyes landed on the container wedged on the elevator door. It was holding for now but the creaking and faint lines forming on the surface told him it wouldn't last much longer. As he crawled out, he couldn't help but glance back at the container one last time. His stomach dropped when the cracks spread, the green liquid beginning to seep through. The container gave way eventually, and the liquid spilled onto the floor, the glow reflecting off on the floor. "Jesus Christ," Steve muttered.

Robin raised her eyebrows as she gestured towards the green liquid on the floor.

"You still want to drink that?" Robin asked, her tone laced with humor

Dustin turned around; his eyes widened in shock. It was quite a long path like a never-ending tunnel

"Holy mother of God," Dustin whispered

"Well...hope you guys are in good shape. Steve pats Dustin's chest. "Looking at you, roast beef."

Steve cuts in front of the four, adjusting his shirt for a second. Madison let out a loud sigh.

A/ N: HELP I CAN HEAR THE GIF