𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ thirty-nine.

"SO, WHEN WE set fire to the hub, we drew the demodogs away so El could close the gate," Dustin explained and looked at Erica who was sitting behind him. She had asked Dustin as his babysitter to explain how they knew about the gate, and they were taking turns explaining each event that had taken place that they had, unfortunately, taken part in. "But now, for some insane reason, the Russians appear to be trying to reopen it, which just destroys everything we risked our lives for."

          "By "we," you're including Lucas?" Erica questioned, ignoring almost everything the younger boy had said.

          "Yeah, your older brother was there," Andrea said and slipped down into her butt to give her aching, definitely bruised knees a break from being pressed against the metal floor.

          Erica glanced over at Andrea and then looked back to Dustin, trying to process the fact that her nerdy brother had taken part in such a dangerous task. "So, all that shit you guys told me, Lucas was there?"

          "Yeah," Dustin replied and glanced at his babysitter who just shrugged and rolled her eyes.

          "My brother, Lucas Charles Sinclair?" Erica asked and looked back and forth between the two nerds around her.

          "Yes!"

          Andrea snorted and ran a hand through her hair. "I had a goldfish named Charles once," she said and laughed, resting her head against the metal wall as she watched Dustin fiddle with the mechanism that would turn off the fan so they could slip through. "Valorie fed him too much so he got fat and died."

          "Intriguing," Dustin said and nodded at Andrea, pursing his lips. "Sounds like something that Val would do."

          "I don't believe you," Erica said, bringing back the old topic so they wouldn't have to talk about Andrea and Valorie's dead goldfish.

          "What do you not believe? Goldfish can die from eating too much," Andrea stated and rested her elbows on her knees. "It happened to poor Charles."

          "The shit you and Dustin were explaining, not your damn goldfish," Erica snapped and glanced at Andrea with furrowed eyebrows. She then looked back at Dustin. "I don't believe you," she repeated.

          "Wait, so you believe everything about El and the gate and the demodogs and the Mind Flayer, but you question your brother's involvement?" Dustin asked, furrowing his eyebrows at the nonsense.

          Erica nodded, causing the flashlights attached to her forehead to move their beams up and down. "That's correct," she said.

          "Makes total sense," Dustin said and returned his attention to the wiring he was picking at to shut down the fan.

          "You need help with that?" Erica questioned and looked up at the panel, raising her eyebrows.

          "No," Dustin replied harshly.

          "Well, I mean, it's taking a while, so—"

          "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Dustin snapped.

          "Alright, so if we don't find a more efficient method to stop these fans, we're never gonna find help, and your ice cream buddies are screwed," Erica said, moving her hands around with gestures to prove her point.

          "Yeah, with that attitude, they are. Jee-zus!" Dustin said and rolled his eyes, returning his attention back to the panel once again.

          Andrea huffed out a sigh and sat up straight from her previous position leaning against the wall. She pulled off her long-sleeved shirt and adjusted her tank top. "It's real hot in here, Dustin, can you please hurry up?" She asked and tied her shirt around her hips.