voltage ; stranger things

sixteen ; shoot to kill

"JESUS, what took you guys so long?" Robin asks as Colleen and Steve emerge from the bathroom. She pauses to look them over. "God, you both look awful."

"Gee, thanks," says Steve. He reaches up to touch the cheekbone, which has already began to bruise a sickening pink and purple. "I didn't see you getting punched in the face over and over."

Tony appears beside them, now wearing a pair of red-framed glasses with the stickers still taped on the side of the lens. "Hey," he says. "The mall's gonna close soon." He checks his watch. "In about ten minutes, actually."

Erica rolls her eyes and extends her hands, prompting him to bend down so she can take the new glasses. "You do realize you're supposed to take these off, right?" she asks as she peels the stickers off. "Where did you snag these from?"

He accepts them when she's finished and replaces them on the bridge of his nose. "Oh, I paid for them," he says. "I just, you know, left some cash and a note."

She shakes her head, the beads in her hair whipping back and forth. "You're an even a bigger nerd than my brother and his stupid friends."

Dustin suddenly shakes Colleen's arm, forcing her to look down and follow his gaze. "Uh, guys," he says in a small voice, "I think we better go." Through the crowd of people that's emerging from the mall's movie theater for their last showing is a tall man dressed in black. He wears a radio on his shoulder and a handgun on his belt.

As one, the group of six turn the other way and begin to race through the mall's upper level. The stranger gives chase, shoving through the throng of citizens. They reach the escalator, which has been out of order for the past few days, and look back. He's gaining on them.

"Go!" Colleen shouts. She leads the way, clomping down the mechanical stairs and pressing her hands to the railings. The escalator sparks to life, quickening their getaway.

"Oh my god, oh my god," says Dustin. They make for the south exit, only to skid to a stop when another Russian enters, unholstering his own gun. "Back, go back!"

They switch directions and dart to the food court, which is dim and deserted. All the employees have already locked up and gone home. They vault over a kiosk against the far wall, then press themselves up against the inside of it. Their chests heave and cave as they attempt to regain their breaths and remain quiet all at once. Tony checks his watch. Seven minutes until closing time.

And so, they sit and wait for seven long, hellish minutes. They listen to the faint sounds of the last of the patrons leaving the building, and the doors slamming shut with bangs of finality. Then, there's quiet.

Soon, soft footsteps enter the food court, then another pair, and another after that. Four voices murmur low in Russian as they search for the teenagers, their pistols drawn and the safety switch off. They mean to shoot to kill.

Erica shifts in place, and for a moment the voices behind the kiosk stop. Then, a man mutters, "Everyone on me."

Slowly, menacingly, the footsteps begin to approach their hiding spot. They all hold their breaths and stare at one another, unsure and sure all at once this will be it. Erica grips Tony and Dustin's arms, her knuckles pale. Steve and Colleen lock hands, each trembling in the other's hold. He gives her a tight squeeze. She returns it.

Tthe footsteps stop. An odd rumbling begins. Then, in a tornado of metal snapping and glass shattering, something flies through the air and collides with the Russians, sending them sprawling. Whatever it is goes crashing across the food court, then comes to a stop against one of the other kiosks. Slowly, the six peek over the counter. The bright, shiny car that used to be displayed in the middle of the court now lies on its side, hissing out smoke, and the men lie in pools of their own blood on the floor. They look up.

Standing on the upper level of the mall, her hand thrust out and her nose bleeding, is Eleven. Behind her are the other kids, Jonathan, and Nancy. She saved them.

"Eleven!" Colleen cries. She sees her sister look to her, then relax, her arm dropping. The two groups rush to meet each other, clashing into one another in a bitter-sweet reunion.

Colleen nearly crashes into Eleven as she engulfs her in a tight hug, holding her sister close. "Oh my god, Eleven!" She pulls back, running a hand over her hair, her shoulders. "Are you alright? Jesus, you're pale as a sheet. What are you doing here?"

Lucas and Erica collide, as do Dustin and the rest of the boys. Steve and Tony stand back awkwardly, as do Jonathan and Nancy. Tony coughs awkwardly.

"Jesus, you flung that thing like a Hotwheel!" cries Dustin as he barrels into Eleven. "That was insane!"

Jonathan takes a few steps towards Colleen, then stops himself when he sees Steve do the same. They eye one another for a long moment before Steve finally takes the opportunity to place a hand in the small of her back and tilt his head in a sort of message; mine, now.

Properly reunited, the groups begin to dump their collective information upon the other.

"We've gotta get out of here, it's coming!"

"What are you talking about, the Russians are already here?"

"Wait, what Russians?"

As Colleen tries to help explain their findings in the secret Russian lab, she senses a ripple in the back of her mind, a whisper, an echo. The voice murmurs in her ear, the touch trails up and down her arms. She shivers, then turns around just in time to see Eleven topple to the ground.

"Eleven!" she cries, rushing to her sister's side. The others rush to follow her, all of them crowding the young girl as she writhes and squirms on the floor. "El, what hurts? What's wrong?"

"My leg..." she cries, tears beginning to stream down her face.

Tony gently pushes up her pant leg around her ankle, which they suddenly realize is soaked in blood, and carefully unwraps a makeshift bandage on her calf. There, beneath the cloth, is a purple and green bump, covered in dark veins and blood.

Something is moving beneath her skin.