Shadows of the Night •a Stranger Things story•

I Won't Forget You

• Chapter Six: Pluribus Unum •

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"And you know that their little lives can become such a mess..."

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July 3rd, 1985

Hawkins, Indiana

Leaving behind the relentless, pounding noise of the machine, the five teenagers hurry down the stairs, each step echoing with urgency and fear toward the comms room.

"I don't understand," Robin begins as she shoots a look at Ronda, her face is etched with worry and confusion, following Dustin and Steve with trembling resolve. "You've seen this before?"

"Not exactly," Ronda whispers, a deep frown darkening her face. The lie sits heavily on her tongue. It feels so wrong to pretend she knows nothing, yet even more heartbreaking to reveal what she truly knows. Robin's involvement is unavoidable now; there is no turning back.

"Then what, exactly?" Robin presses, voice catching.

Dustin throws a quick glance over his shoulder, unease seeping into his eyes. "All you need to know is it's bad."

Steve's jaw clenches tightly, voice low but fierce. "It's really bad."

"Like, end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad."

Robin's brows furrow deeper as her gaze stays fixed on Ronda. They reach the end of the stairs, the weight of her questions pressing down. "And you know this, how?"

Before Ronda can answer, Erica interjects sharply, "Um, Steve? Where's your Russian friend?"

The spot where the guard had lay unconscious is now eerily empty. The room is silent, too still. Steve's heart thumps wildly as he hurries to the door they'd come through, cracking it open just a little. Outside, the same guard is doubled over, writhing in pain, explaining frantically to a group of guards what had happened. Their eyes lock with Steve's as they stare toward the comms room. Instinctively, he shuts the door quickly, panic skyrocketing.

"Shit," he hissed, clenched fists trembling. "Shit. Go, go, go, go, go!"

Rushing back up the stairs, Dustin's voice cracks with anguish as chaos erupts around them—the scientists, the guards, the monstrous machine trembling ominously—straining to open the gate.

"Move! Let's move!" Steve shouts, voice raw with urgency as the Russians halt, eyes wide with suspicion and fear. "Go! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

They all yell and sprint through the chaos, their footsteps pounding as Dustin shrieks, shoving past a guard in frantic desperation. The massive laser of the machine pulses menacingly, blocking their path. Dustin groans, "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"This way!" Steve commands, gesturing fiercely as he directs them toward the stairs leading back down to the main floor. He shoves a guard aside, the others following closely behind him. From the tunnel, more men appear, another wave of danger.

"Oh, shit," Steve gasps, knocking barrels over to slow the advancing guards. The clattering metal echoes ominously. "Come on! Go, go, go, go—"

"Over here!" Robin shouts, grabbing Ronda and Erica and hauling them through a side door.

"Come on, quick!" Ronda urges, waving the boys inside.

Steve spins around, slamming the door shut just as more guards collided with it, forcing it to groan under the pressure. "Hold the door!" Steve yells as the door teeters on the verge of giving way. "Ronda! Robin!"