𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 ~ 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four:
A Bad Note
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"A code red! I repeat, code red. This is a code red! Does anyone copy? Code red." Dustin's voice echoed in the elevator shaft as Ramona trained her eyes on the panda print on the box in front of her. She felt like if she heard the words code red one more time she would lose her mind.

"I repeat, a code red! Does anyone copy. We are innocent children and we trapped under Starcourt Mall! The Red Army has infiltrated Hawkins! And if we are found, they will torture us and kill us."

"Hey!" Steve scolded, poking his head through the hatch. "You gotta take it easy on that thing or you'll drain the battery."

"The mall just opened!"

"So?"

"So, someone could be in range."

"If they start arguing again, I'm gonna lose my mind." Ramona grumbled, causing Robin to nod in agreement.

"It doesn't matter!" Ramona hissed, "It doesn't matter if I like him or not, because he's Nancy's ex-"

"Yeah, well, Nancy's datin' Jonathan." Erica piped up, "So she already broke girl code."

Ramona jumped, turning to look at the younger girl. "I thought you were asleep!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not. Because those nerds are being way too loud." Erica scoffed, pointing towards the ceiling before directing her attention to them. "So can you just admit that you like him-"

"Sh!" Ramona shushed harshly, waving her hands in front of her wildly. "¡Tranquilo! Él te pudo escuchar."

"Mhm.." Erica hummed, looking her up and down. "Interesting."

Ramona scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as Steve and Dustin bickered above them. 

"Why does it matter that he's her ex, anyway?" Robin asked, "And don't give me the 'it's girl code' answer."

"Me and Jonathan ended on a good note." Ramona muttered. "Nancy and Steve didn't.. He was a mess that night."

"So?" Erica asked as she opened one of the boxes. 

"So, they ended on a bad note-"

"Look away!" Steve's voice echoed through the shaft, clearly aggravated. Ramona turned her head to the wall, her jaw falling open when she saw liquid begin to drip down the wall.

"Steve!" Ramona shouted, scrunched up her nose, "Eso es jodidamente asqueroso!"

"Can you redirect your stream, please?" Robin asked as she continued to fidget with the control pannel.

"Jodidamente desagradable." Ramona muttered under her breath as she looked away from the now stained wall. 

The sound of glass banging on metal brought Ramona's attention away from her feet and back onto Erica. "Eres estúpida!"

Erica shot her a look as Robin rushed forward and took the tube from Erica's hands. "Hey, hey, hey! Be careful, careful. Careful! We don't know what that is."

"Exactly! It could be useful!" Erica said, reaching forward and trying to pull the object from Robin's hands.

"Useful how?" 

"We could survive down here for a long time without food, but if the human body doesn't get water, it will die." Erica said, her tone changing as she taunted Robin.