𝑩𝑳𝑼𝑬 - Billy Hargrove [1]

THIRTEEN

THIRTEEN|THE TUNNELS

Bernadette slammed her foot down on the accelerator, the engine roaring with life as she flew out of the Byers drive way, following Lucas's directions. She drove carefully, trying not to kill everyone or damage Billy's car in anyway.

"Hey, buddy." Dustin shushed, his voice breaking her away from concentrating on the road as she glanced back, noticing her brother slowly gain consciousness. "It's okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a fight. You're okay."

"Okay, you're gonna keep straight for half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai." Lucas informed the driver, following his finger along the road on the map.

"What's going on?" Steve questioned, his voice croaky as he looked around at everyone in the car. He paused, noticing Birdie was the one driving. "Oh, my God."

"Steve, just relax. She's driven before." Dustin reassured him as he began to freak out.

"Did she not mention the part where she crashed the car?" He looked over at Dustin, wondering what she had told them.

"Irrelevant." Birdie waved off the memory of when their father had taken her out in his car to practice her driving.

"They were gonna leave you behind." Dustin explained, adjusting the ice pack on Steve's head. "I promised that you'd be cool, okay?"

"What's going on?" Steve yelled, panicking as Birdie put her foot down on the accelerator. "Stop the car! Slow down!"

"I told you he'd freak out!" Mike argued, trying to hold down Steve's flailing arms.

"Everybody shut up!" Birdie screamed, looking at the three in the back seats. "I'm trying to focus. Don't make me purposely crash the car."

"Oh, wait, that's Mount Sinai." Lucas jumped into the conversation, gesturing at a side road. "Make a left."

Bernadette quickly turned the corner, three of the boys screaming as she accidentally hit a mailbox.

"I meant that." She said, silencing their screams. She slammed her foot on the brake, stopping in the middle of a field before patting her back for managing to get them all to their destination safely. "Damn, I could totally get my license tomorrow."

One by one they grabbed their supplies from the boot of the car, ignoring Steve as he stumbled out from the back seats. Birdie kneeled down beside him, checking over his injuries and making sure he hasn't opened any of his fresh wounds.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Steve yelled, trying to stop them from walking towards the tunnels. "What are you, deaf? Hello? We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear. Hey, there is no chance we're going to that hole, all right? This ends right now."

"Steve, you're upset, I get it." Dustin tried to calm the angry boy. "But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance."

"Look, Steve, I know you promised Nance that you would keep them safe." Birdie said calmly, grabbing the bag from the boot that they had packed for Steve. "So let's go and keep them safe because we both know that they will go down that hole no matter what you try and do to stop them."

Steve reluctantly took the bag from his sister, climbing down the hole first to scout the area. One by one the others followed, looking around at the perfect tunnel under Hawkins.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's this way." Mike announced, reading a basic map they had made to avoid getting lost in the hive.

"You're pretty sure, or you're certain?" Dustin questioned his choice of wording as they slowly followed Mike's direction.

"I'm one hundred percent sure." Mike argued back, spinning around to convince the group. "Just follow me and you'll know."

"Okay, let's go." Birdie placed a reassuring hand on the worked up boys shoulder.

"Woah, woah, woah." Steve stopped the pair from walking any further. "I don't think so. Any of you little shits die down here, I'm getting the blame. Got it, dipshit? From here on out, I'm leading the way. Come on, let's go."

"I was perfectly okay leading the way." She sighed with frustration, making sure each of the children had followed Steve before going last, keeping an eye on behind them. Her hazel eyes bounced around the dirt tunnels, looking out for anything that moved or looked deadly.

"What the hell?" Dustin stopped, glancing up at a strange organ like thing above them. Birdie stopped beside him, tilting her head as she mentally questioned what they were looking at. Suddenly, it fired out strange particles, aiming at the frozen pair.

"Shit, help, help!" The boy screamed as he ran over to the others. "Some got in my mouth." He lowered his mask and spat out whatever he could.

"Shit, Dustin." Birdie followed after him, rubbing his back as he had a meltdown. He went quiet, startling her before he lifted his head and mumbled a small "I'm okay".

"You serious?" Steve huffed, rolling his eyes in response. "Very funny, man."

"I hate this place." She shivered, regretting not grabbing a coat as she glanced down at her skimpy dress, her evening plans taking a full one-eighty.

"All right, Wheeler." Steve stopped at a large opening, shining his torch around. "I think we found your hub."

"Let's drench it." Mike said with determination, splashing his canister of flammable liquid around.

The group worked together to soak the entire area, making sure the didn't miss anything. They stepped back, hiding at the entrance of a tunnel as Steve ignited his lighter and threw it into the flued area.

"I am in such deep shit." He breathed out, watching as the entire area lit up in a blazing fire. "Let's go, let's go."

They ran away, desperate to escape the tunnels before the Demo-dogs got to them. Steve led the way, reading the map as he shined his torch around the different entrances.

"Help!" Mike called out as he stumbled, a vine wrapping around his leg. Steve slammed his bat down on it, everyone helping Mike to his feet.

A familiar roar startled the group as they spun around, coming face to face with a Demo-dog.

"Dart." Dustin greeted the monster, standing in front of everyone protectively. "Hey, it's me. It's just your friend, it's Dustin. You remember me? Will you let us pass?" It snarled in response, baring it's teeth defensively. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do."

"Is he actually speaking to it?" Birdie stared at the back of Dustin's head with wonder, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing loudly as she witnessed something she never thought she would see.

"You hungry?" The boy pulled a chocolate bar out from the side of his bag. "I've got our favourite. See? Nougat." He placed it down on the floor, letting the Demo-dog eat it as everyone snuck around the pair. "Goodbye buddy."

Just as they neared the exit, a pack of Demo-dogs roared behind them, the sound of footsteps growing closer. They ran to the rope, Steve and Birdie helping each of the children up first.

Steve placed a protective arm around Birdie, hiding her behind him as he raised his bat, prepared to protect his younger sister with his life. The pack of Demo-dogs raced towards them, passing by and completely ignoring the pair.

Steve helped Birdie out of the tunnel before following behind her closer, both quickly checking the children were safe as a sudden silence filled Hawkins.

"She did it." Birdie announced, looking down at Mike with a proud smile. "I can feel it."