𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒔 • 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 [2]

33•

I let out a long sigh as I reached for a large drink cup, running my hand through my hair as I picked it up and held it under the tap, filling it up and placing on a lid before setting it on the counter.

"Hey."

Steve's voice filled my ears and I turned, a small smile now present on my features. "Hey. I uh, heard you guys found the basement."

"Oh, yeah," he shrugged before hopping up onto the counter, "there's some really cool stores down there. VIP's only though."

"Oh yeah, of course." I agreed, playing along.

"So on a scale of 1 to 5 how would you rate your night so far?" Steve asked in a mock professional voice as he grabbed a clipboard that was laying on the counter close to him.

I let out a small laugh before cutting myself off to look him in the eye. He was my best friend and I didn't know if we would even make it till tomorrow. This was the first time we got to talk alone since the world started to end and I couldn't guarantee that we'd get another.

"Steve I'm pregnant." I blurted the words out for the second time that night, and they were no easier to say than the first.

The clipboard clattered to the ground and I watched as his eyes widened. The look on his face was indescribable. "So that's a...0 out of 5 then?"

"Steve."

"Sorry," He babbled before jumping off the counter, "Evie, I wasn't expecting that and I don't know what to say."

"I don't need you to say anything." I reassured him as I moved closer. "I just wanted you to know incase... Incase things go bad and- and I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Tears began to form in my eyes and slowly fall down my face as I thought about how horrible this whole situation was. "Evie." Steve's face crumbled as he embraced me in a much needed hug. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you okay, I'm here now and I'm sorry that I haven't been."

"You were fighting Russian's, it's an acceptable excuse." I half choked half laughed through my tears as I squeezed him tighter.

"Hey, did you get the water..." Max's voice broke the silence as Steve and I separated. "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay." I said with a small smile as I wiped my face. "We're coming now."

The three of us left the small store and rejoined the rest of the group in the middle of the mall. I handed the cup to El, who was nestled into Hopper and she gave me a weak smile.

"Alright, now can somebody please explain what is happening." Hopper said with a sigh.

"The mind flyer, it built this monster in Hawkins. To stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." Mike explained.

I stood between Steve and Max as we all tried to bring Hopper and Joyce up to speed with everything that was going on.

"And it almost did." Nancy continued. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

"How big is this thing?" Hopper frowned as he held El in his arms.

"It's big." I sighed in response.

"Yeah, thirty feet at least." Jonathan stated.

"Yeah, " Lucas nodded, "and it sort of...destroyed your cabin."

Hopper let out a long sigh and Lucas awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Okay. So, just to be clear, this... This big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic...weapon?" Steve suggested with uncertainty.

"Yes." Nancy confirmed.

"But instead of like, screws and metal, the mind flayer made it's weapon... Out of melted people."

"Yes, exactly." She stated.

"Yeah, okay. I- just making sure."

"Are we sure this thing is still out there. Still alive?" Joyce frowned.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max nodded.

"But if we close the gat again..." Will suggested.

"We cut the brain off from the body." Max finished.

"And kill it." Lucas voiced, a determined look on his face. "Theoretically."

"Yoo-hoo!" A voice from behind us called, making me jump as we all turned to stare at the man. "Yoo-hoo!" He called again as he waved papers in the air.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled as the man walked over to us and slammed the pages onto a table.

"What is it?" Hopper frowned as he got up from his place beside El.

"Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub.' Now the hub takes us to the vault room."

I moved closer so I could see what he was talking about and folded my arms over my chest.

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper asked, his hands on his hips.

"Right here." the man pointed to the piece of paper in front of him. "I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe 40 feet or so."

"More like 500." Erica contradicted as she stepped forwards. "What you're just going to waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

"I'm sorry who are you?" The man frowned as he looked down at her.

"Erica Sinclair." She stated. "Who are you?"

"Murray...Bauman." The man stuttered.

"Listen Mr. Bunman, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I've been down in that shit hole for 24 hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."

I sent a surprised glance at Lucas and he looked absolutely flabbergasted by his little sister's outburst.

" I'm sorry, why is this four year old speaking to me?" Murray condescended.

"Uh, I'm ten you bald bastard!"

"Erica!" Lucas exclaimed, and I had to hold in a laugh at what she just said.

"Just the facts!"

"She's right." Dustin agreed as he approached the table. "You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me, sorry may I?"

"Please." Murray nodded sarcastically as he motioned to the pages.

Dustin quickly took a seat and began looking at the pages. "Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in her ethst feeds into their underground ventilation system. That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way. "

"You can show us the way." Hopper repeated in a monotone voice.

"Don't worry, you can do all of the fighting and the dangerous her shit, and we'll just be your...navigators."

"No." Hopper nodded. "Nope."