Angelica "Freak Two" Munson

Chapter 41

The group of teens is scattered across the elevator, most likely accepting their fate... except for Dustin.

"Code red, I repeat, code red. Does anyone copy?" He repeats the phrase over and over again.

"Dustin, there probably isn't even service down here. We're too far from the surface." Robin argues from her stance against a shelf.

The older three stop, thinking they were successful, but he only pauses for a moment before continuing again, "Code red. Does anyone copy? We are innocent children, and we are trapped under Starcourt Mall. The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins, and if we are found, they will torture and kill us."

"That's super comforting." Angie mumbles, folding more into Steve's side.

He smiles down at her, happy to be in close proximity. She closes her eyes sleepily.

"Ah ah ah," He gently tilts her head up by her chin, "You could be concussed, so no sleeping."

She groans in protest, "But I'm so tired."

Without thinking, he presses a kiss to her forehead. Unsure of what to do, he waits for a reaction. When she doesn't give one, he continues, "I'm tired too, but we can't risk it."

Angie nods and opens her sleepy eyes. She isn't sure how to keep herself awake when there's not much to do in a secret Russian elevator, so she lazily draws shapes on Steve's thigh.

Steve tries to seem unbothered, but his heart rate is rapidly increasing with her touch.

"Code red, I repeat, code red."

She sighs loudly, "How long is he going to do that? It's getting on my nerves."

He stares down at her annoyed expression and sighs, rising from his spot on the floor.

"Steve? What are you–"

He turns and shushes her with a simple motion before climbing up into the hatch, "Hey! You've gotta take it easy in that thing. It's gonna drain the battery."

"The mall just opened."

"So?"

"So someone could be in range."

"What do you think, Peter the Mall Cop is gonna rappel down here and save the day?" Steve questions sarcastically.

"Alright, why are you such a cranky pants after getting to spend the night with Angie?" Dustin whispers a little too loudly.

He shushes him instantly, "Jesus Christ. Would you be quiet?"

"Sorry." He mumbles, "It's just that I heard you two talking all night."

"That's because I was trying to keep her awake. She could be concussed."

"You enjoyed yourself though, I could tell." He wiggles his eyebrows teasingly.

Steve was going to deny it, but he couldn't help himself when he saw the look on Dustin's face, "Okay... maybe I did– but I'm still trying to take it slow. Hawkins is currently on shakier grounds than our relationship. Let's just focus on that first."

"Okay, okay." He raises his hands in surrender.

"I mean, we've been down here for eight hours, and we're still exactly nowhere, which is, you know, probably just a little bit of the reason why I'm feeling a tad bit... cranky." He turns his back to the wall and unzips his pants.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a leak. Look away. Look away!"

"Can you redirect your stream, please?"

She makes annoyed eye contact with Angie, who's still on the floor. They both share a laugh as Robin rolls her eyes.

Angie opens her mouth to speak, but Erica begins banging the vile of ooz on the side of the metal table.

They both rise to stop her, but Robin gets there first, "Hey, hey! Be careful, careful, careful! We don't even know what that is." She snatches it from Erica's hands.

"Exactly. It could be useful."

"Or it could kill us." Angie counter, immediately shutting her down.

"Useful how?" Robin takes a softer approach.

"We can survive down here a long time without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die."

"I hate to break it to you, but this..." She shakes the vile in her face, "is not water."

"No, but it's a liquid, and if it comes down to drinking that shit or dying of thirst, I drink."

Angie can't help but scoff from the floor, "It's honestly disturbing that you'd rather drink that. That could just kill you faster!"

"So? I–"

Robin shushes them, which earns her a death glare from both arguing parties, "I hear something."

She immediately hops onto the boxes and sticks her head up towards the boys, "We've got company." She waves the other two on, "Get up here."

Angie lifts Erica up through the panel before climbing onto the boxes herself. Steve extends his hands and helps her up before placing the paneling in its original formation.

They wait silently as two men empty the rest of the boxes from the elevator. After they leave, Steve takes the vile from Erica and speeds down to stop the elevator from closing.

He rushes Erica out first, then Dustin, then Robin, and finally Angie before himself, "Go, go, go, go, go."

In fact, he barely makes it out before the vile shatters, sizzling through the floor.

"Holy shit." Steve mumbles.

"See? Now, aren't you glad you didn't drink it." Angie folds her arms triumphantly, which earns her a sneer from Erica.

"Holy mother of God." Dustin turns away from them. It earns their attention.

As they turn, they face an intimidatingly long tunnel lit by blue lights along the walls.

Robin sighs, "Well... I hope you guys are in good shape."

Steve pushes past the group to go first. He nudges Dustin, "She's looking at you, roast beef."

They all hesitate to follow him.

"Let's go, come on."

Robin and Angie urge the younger ones on, "Let's get this over with, I guess."

Dustin turns to Angie, "Why me? Why is it always me that gets into these situations?"

"You? I'm always in these situations, too. And it's usually because I followed you into them."

"Well, then don't follow me into them."

"That's like asking me not to drink water." Angie counters, using the conversation as a way to keep herself awake.

"If you say so."

"I mean, hey," Angie shrugs, "just be glad you didn't get eaten by a demodog last time."

It was meant to be a joke, but she's met with a couple guilty glares and a confused one.

She'd never actually explained her scar to Robin or their whole adventure in November.

"Demodog?" She asks with a small nudge to Angie's shoulder.

She searches forward at Steve. Thankfully, he's already gazing at her, so she doesn't have to try to get his attention.

Angie gives him a look asking if he thinks it's a good idea for her to tell Robin.

He shrugs and urges her on.

"So, last November..."