Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[32] BOB NEWBY, SUPERHERO

"What the hell is taking so long?" Joyce complains while they sit once again in Will's room. "Hey... doctors take forever, always. Just try and relax. Just be patient." Bob assures.

Joyce breathes heavily, jittering and shaking. "You know, I just..." She stammers, standing up and walking out.

"Let me through. Let me through!" She shouts, attempting to pass the guards. "You know we can't do that."

"I need to talk to him!" She shouts. "Ma'am, he'll be with you shortly."

While Joyce continues to yell and argue with the men, Mike decides to speak up. "Will..."

"Will. Will?" The boy jumps, turning to look at him. "What's wrong? Are you hurting again?" Nori asks softly, worried for her friend.

"Uh.. I saw something." Will shudders. "In your now-memories?" Mike inquires. Will nods. "The shadow monster. I think I know how to stop him." He whispers.

***

Will sits at the table, looking down at all the photographs spread across while the other scientists, Nori and Mike, And the rest of Will's family surround.

"Sam, this is ludicrous." One of the scientists comments, Nori looking up at him from her seat and sending him a nasty glare.

"Just give him a moment, okay?" Sam requests. "We don't have time—"

"Hey, jackass, why don't you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?" Hopper chimes in, finally silencing him.

Will slowly stands up, walking around the table. "That's it." Will points to one of the photos. "That's what? What's... what's there, Will?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. I just know he doesn't want me to see there. I think it's important." He explains.

***

Back in Will's bed, the boy glances over at Mike and Nori, sighing. "I—I'm sorry." He stammers. "What? What do you mean, sweetie?" Joyce questions.

"He made me do it." He shudders. "Who? Who made you do what?" Joyce continues, furrowing her eyebrows. "I told you. They upset him."

"They shouldn't have done that." His voice breaks. "They shouldn't have upset him."

"The spy." Mike quickly realizes. "The spy!" He quickly stands up, Nori following after him. They run to the end of the hallway, once again stopped by the two guards.

"I need to get through! It's a trap!" Mike screams. "It's a trap!" Bob runs over, pulling the boy away. "I need to warn them! It's a trap!"

Nori covers her mouth, backing away slowly. "This is not happening." She whispers to herself. "This isn't happening."

Suddenly, the alarm begins to blare. "What the hell?" Bob furrows his eyebrows. "We're too late." Mike says. "What?"

"We're too late!" He repeats, running back into the room. "What's going on?" Joyce questions. "We're under attack." Nori speaks up.

"We need to make Will sleep." Mike states, taking the needle from the counter. "What? Mike, are you crazy?" Nori shakes her head. "He's a spy. If he knows where we are, so does the shadow monster." Mike explains.

"He's lying!" Will says in a panicked tone. "He killed those soldiers. He'll kill us, too! Mike adds. "He lying! He's lying! He's lying! He's lying!" Will screams, fighting against Joyce's pull.

"Mike, What do we do?" Nori asks. Suddenly, they hear loud booms from far out. "Those are gunshots!" Bob points out.

"He's lying! He's lying!" Will continues. "Okay, Will, Will, listen, listen." He calms down when Joyce speaks up. "Do you know who I am?"

"Do you know who I am?" She repeats. "You're...You're... You're Mom." He says hesitantly. "Hold him down." Joyce sighs.

Bob does as she says, causing Will to yell once more. "No! No! Let go! No! No! Let me go! Let me go!"

Joyce grabs his arm, holding the syringe. "I'm sorry." She cries out, injecting it, causing his eyes to close as he falls unconscious.

Soon after, Jim and Sam barge in through the door. "We gotta go. We gotta go." Jim lifts Will, throwing him over his shoulder and running out.

Nori takes Mike's hand, holding it tightly as they follow. They make it inside a small room, locking the door. "Oh, my God." Bob says in shock as he looks at the security camera footage.

It was brutal. There were monsters everywhere, showing no mercy. After a moment of staring at the footage, the power comes off.

***

"Look, this is us, and this is the nearest exit." Sam explains, marking it in a map while Jim holds a flashlight above it.

"But even if we somehow make it there's there's no way out." He states. "What do you mean?" Jim questions. "The locks are fail secure."

"Fail secure?" Joyce furrows her eyebrows. "If there's a power outage, the building goes on full lockdown." He explains.

"Can it be unlocked remotely?" Bob suggests. "With a computer, sure, but somebody's gotta reset the breakers." He nods.

"Where are the breakers?" Jim asks. "Breakers are in the basement, three floors down." Sam informs.

Jim takes the map, then begins walking away. "Hey, where are you going?" Bob speaks up. "To reset the breakers."

"Okay, then what?" Bob raises his eyebrows. "Then we get out of here."

"No, then the power comes back on. If you wanna unlock the doors, you have to completely reboot the computer system, and then overide the security codes with a manual input." Bob educated, Jim seeming confused.

"Fine, how do I do that?" He questions. "You can't. Not unless you know BASIC." Bob shakes his head. "I don't know what that means."

"It's a computer programming language." Mike explains. "Nerd." Nori whispers. "Not the time." Mike nudges her side. "Right, sorry."

"Alright. Teach it to me." Hopper states. "Shall I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim?" The man scoffs as his stupidity. "How about a little German?"

"How about you, Doc? You speak BASIC?" Bob asks. "No." He sighs. "Okay, I got this." Bob concludes.

"I got this." He repeats. "No. Bob." Joyce shakes her head worriedly, pulling him in for a hug. "It's okay." Bob whispers.

"It's gonna be okay. Remember, Bob Newby, superhero." He smiles.