Here we go! We are soooo close to 200 follows and I'M SO EXCITED! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT! I'M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL AND I think I'm going to stop now :D
Here we go, playlist and yes, I'm breaking the rules now with the decades:
1)Styx – Renegade
2)Florence and the Machine – Dog Days Are Over
3) ACDC – Back in black (RIP Malcom :( )
Thank you so much, I'm feeling the love for this story!
Please don't stop. Pretty please? I'm kind of addicted at this point :D
But you know the drill, if you like it. Let me know what you think and enjoy the chapter! :)
Being aware of the danger we are in is a double edge sword. It's really good that I know it because I need to be ready, for whatever comes. I need to be ready to try and keep myself and the kids safe. I need to be mentally prepared to pull the trigger if it comes to that and I'm not sure if I would be able to do it without the mental preparation I'm trying to do now.
The bad side is that I am genuinely afraid of what could happen. I am nauseous at the thought of the worst case scenario. What makes it even worse, I'm starting to regret things I did or didn't do, as if I am on my own death bed. That can't be a good state of mind, can it?
My first thought is of my mom. I think of how she'll have no idea what the hell had happened and how someone will just deliver her my body in a black bag. I see her reacting like Joyce and I remember her words about denial. And I'm worried that if that's my future… she won't accept it. The end of my life could ruin her life and that scares the shit out of me. I would love to be an optimist but I saw that thing in the Upside Down and I heard what the kids told me about the 'bad men'. I'm in big trouble and unfortunately, ending up in a black bag with a zipper isn't that far from reality.
I think about Steve. I think about how I love that idiot, even though he really is the biggest idiot on the planet who has made several really questionable choices over the last couple of days. But haven't we all? If I don't walk away from this alive, not talking things through with him will probably end up being my biggest regret. He has done so many shitty things in such a short period of time but he's my brother. And once upon a time, he used to be my friend too. He's still that person but the problem is that he's covered with layers of self-assurance, popularity and vanity. Still, he has to be in there somewhere.
Good god, Jonathan. We had, what, 6 days of normality? 6 days. That's all we had, in-between our ridiculous fight and tension on one side and shit hitting the fan on the other. He's the third person I think of on my imaginary death bad and I only had 6 days in total, 6 days of happiness.
We deserved more. We might not be meant for each other but we sure as hell could have shared some good times. Whether it would be for life, for a couple of months or until we went our separate ways at the end of high school, it could have been fun. It could have been so much fun and real and it genuinely hurts me, I feel pain in my chest at the thought of possibly not being able to have it.
Even the bad times were good. Hell, I would have changed this current situation for the opportunity to be hurt and angry, getting drunk in my room while I cry to Janis Joplin. I would welcome that if that means we'd have a chance to work it out, that we'd have a chance to have more than 6 days.
I wish I had realized it earlier. It was right there, in front of me. I was falling for that boy long before he had kissed me. And if I had realized that on time, we could have had more than just 6 days.
Hide and seek is not as easy as I thought it was, back when I was a kid. It used to be so much fun but I didn't pay attention. My attention span in those days was like… 2 seconds, and I forget what I was thinking about or looking for. Now, I notice things and now I know that hide and seek isn't exactly a picnic, especially not if you decide to play it in the woods.
For one, you need to walk. Proper hiking, that's what you have to do. Despite the boys treating this like a top secret and skilled operation, we didn't consider setting boundaries. There are miles of woods I could end up searching and that means a whole lot of walking's in store for me.
The other thing is that you actually need to be quiet. As much as I need to find them, I need to avoid them seeing or hearing me as I approach them. If they see me, they can run in the opposite direction and they can catch Mike by surprise and actually win this whole thing. Losers buy ice cream.
There's only one thing working in my favor right now and that's that I actually heard them earlier, when I was done with counting. They all threw comments my way, meaning that they could actually hear me being reluctant to follow the 'hide and seek' rules. They can't be far from here but I turn around and I don't see Mike. I can't see Lucas because he went in a different direction but I should be able to see Mike. I've moved away too far from the base and I don't see Will, Jonathan, or Dustin.
Will and Dustin, I get that. They're like little human Smurfs who do this on a daily basis; they are skilled at hiding. If they don't want me to find them, I won't find them. Lucas has better luck, being skilled in tracking them. I am looking for Jonathan more than I'm looking for the kids. He sucks at hide and seek, he was probably even bad at this when he was a kid. With his height and limbs, he's like an octopus compared to the kids. Will and Dustin could hide in a mouse hole if they are determined enough. The best Jonathan can do is to hide behind a tree and hope he's blending in.
I scream as someone pulls me by the hand but the scream is muffled with a hand over my mouth. Jonathan pushes me into the tree, giving me a warning look as he covers my mouth with his hand. I almost had a fucking heart attack! He gives me a warning look as he slowly moves his hand away.
"What the hell are you doing?" I ask in a whisper. "You're supposed to hide from me, not abduct me."
He's still pressing me up the tree with his forearm, just under my neck. Even now, he's careful not to hurt me. It's actually kind of amusing how he can be such a nice guy, even when he's kidnaping me. I would laugh in his face, if he wasn't as close to me as he is now. If I'd laugh, I'd literally be laughing in his face.
Huh. I never really noticed how his eyes actually have a bit of green in them, they're more… hazel. I always thought they were completely brown, just like mine.
"Why are you whispering?" he asks, whispering himself.
"Shit, you're right," it takes me a moment to realize that even though he's the one holding me hostage, I've actually found him. "DOUGHNUT! DOUGHNUT!" I yell from the top of my lungs.
"Are you crazy?" Jonathan asks me, obviously unsure whether to laugh or to be angry with me.
"WHO DID YOU FIND?!" I hear Mike yelling but before I can react, Jonathan puts his hand over my mouth again. I contemplate actually biting him, but I'm not competitive enough to turn all animal on him.
"I take this very seriously, Christina." He laughs. Christina? Laughing in my face? He's done.
He might be pressing me to the tree but my hands are completely free. I don't know if he's ticklish or not but it's worth the try. I tickle him and as soon as he flinches, I bite his hand. He lets go of me, shocked.
"I GOT JONATHAN!" I yell as I start running like crazy. I don't run, not even if you pay me. Now, I'm running as if I'm running for dear life, jumping over branches as I try to escape Jonathan. I don't need to turn around to know that he's closing in on me, his legs are… twice as long as mine. "You'll never get me alive! Shit!" I yell when I nearly trip on a branch. Yeah, he's going to get me. It's a matter of seconds.
And just like that, he grabs me around the waist and we lose balance; I fall to the ground, and he almost ends up on top of me. He jumps away at once, but his hand over my waist keeps me to the ground.
"It's over, buddy," I laugh. "Mike's in the base. You're out." I laugh.
"It's not over if I get there first!" I look around in surprise when I hear Dustin's voice. Before I can shout a warning to Mike, I hear Dustin breaking into a run and Jonathan covers my mouth once again.
"We knew you'd find me first," he explains. "I'm the weakest link of the team. You'd be busy with me while Will and Dustin kick your team's ass. I'm a scape goat." He adds with a shrug.
Son of a bitch, they're good. I could not see this coming, not in a million years.
But I'm not going down without a fight. And just like that, I bite Jonathan again.
"DUSTIN IS RUNNING TO THE BASE!" I shout, hoping that'll be enough for Mike. Jonathan's in shock, yet again. "Never fall for the same trick twice, buddy. I told you. You'll never get me alive." I announce as I jump from the ground and start running again, with the speed I didn't even know I had in me.
"T?" I jump up in surprise when I feel a hand on my shoulder; I turn around and see Dustin. I don't think I've ever seen Dustin looking worried but today's a day of firsts, isn't it. "You okay?" he asks.
I can't tell them that I'm worried sick. I can't tell them that I'm scared either. I might not have super powers but I'm the one who needs to be the protector here. If your protector is shitting their pants, you'd know the situation is bad. I'm not in a position to tell them the truth but it's also a bit too late for me to cover up and smile like all is well. I need to find the middle ground here.
"No, not really," I admit with a force smiled. "But I'll be good. I'm just… lost in my thoughts a bit."
"Do you want a candy bar?" he asks, offering me a 'Milky Way'.
"Thanks buddy," I shake my head and smile. "You eat it." I tell him. At this rate, if we stay stuck here, they need food. I'll need it too but they come first. But even if Dustin packed Milky Ways for all of them, that isn't gonna last long. We can't stay here forever, we have to move but how can I tell them to move, how can I take them out of here if I don't know it's safe? I don't know what's safer, to stay here and wait or to go. Whatever I decide, I might be making a mistake. I don't know what's right or wrong anymore.
"Tina, what's wrong?" Mike asks; he's frowning at me. They're picking up on my mood.
"Well, the whole general picture of hiding her from government officials, with a gun while Jonathan and Nancy are trying to figure out how to get Will and Barb from the Upside Down. All of it's a bit wrong but mostly I just… I wish Jonathan was here." I admit and go back to sulking at once.
"You are really in love with him, aren't you?" Mike asks, grinning up at me.
Is that it? I think I'd be able to tell the difference. Then again, being in love isn't the same as loving someone, is it? They are all different stages. It's starts with liking someone, with having a crush on them and there's like a hundred different steps before you actually get to love. I know that the lines are a little bit blurred, given that I got to know Jonathan quite well before we actually became a thing but I'm not sure if I'm on the 'being in love' step. I fell for him, that's for sure. I have a major crush on him and the butterflies in my go crazy when I remember that he's my boyfriend. I guess I could say that I am currently in the midst of 'falling in love' but 'being in love' would be a bit of a stretch, wouldn't it? We haven't even been together for two weeks.
I wasn't planning on ignoring Mike's question, no matter how straightforward it was, but I notice Eleven looking my way. She's looking at my jeans in confusion.
"You like them?" I ask and it takes her a second to realize that I'm actually talking to her; she nods her head and the tiniest of smiles appears on them. "Jeans are super cool. Very comfy. I guess the boys didn't give you a chance to try some on, have they?" I ask.
"Just the dress and sweatpants." Lucas fills me in.
"Well, the dress is pretty," I shrug. I don't mention the fact that it's so dirty at this point, it doesn't even look like it's pink. "It looks cool on you. But maybe once all of this is over, I can take you on a shopping spree and we can find some jeans for you? Huh? Sound like a plan?"
"What is a shopping spree?" she asks with a frown.
"Well, it's when you spend a lot of time shopping," I explain as I scoot a bit closer to her. "You go to a mall, which is a super big building with a lot of stores. And then, you look around, trying to find something that you like and that you would like to wear. You find it and then you try it on, because you want the clothes to fit you, not to be too big or too tight. Once you find something you like and that fits you well, you buy it. And then you go to 20 other stores and do the same thing."
"It's very boring." Lucas chimes in.
"Meh, it can be boring," I admit. "But sometimes it can be fun. I'll make it fun. We can go around and try out ugly stuff and laugh all day." I smile at the girl. Ugh, I don't blame her for that eager look on her face; she's been stuck with Mike, Dustin and Lucas for the last couple of days. She needs some girl time.
"Shop for a dress?" she asks me.
"Sure," I shrug. "Dress, jeans, whatever you want. And then, you can look cool too."
"Cool." She repeats. I think she likes the word a bit too much.
"And pretty," I add. "You already look super cool with that hairstyle. I might do it too," I shrug. I don't think I'd be able to part emotionally from my long hair I've been sporting since I was like four. But why not go crazy a little bit? Jonathan might be in for a shock but who cares? "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun coaching you, little one," I throw my arm around her shoulders and I am genuinely surprised when she doesn't move away. "Have you guys played some music to her?" I ask them.
"No, not yet," Mike shakes his head. "We were a little busy looking for Will." He tells me in an annoyed voice, as if that is something obvious. Well, it is but still, the kids acting way too territorial. Oh. Oh!
"Well, I'm going to teach you all about music, little one," I promise the girl, before looking at Mike. "That is, unless, Mike objects. Would you like to have the honor? I wouldn't want to step on your turf."
And just like that, Mike's face changes 10 different shades, ranging from light pink to near red. He looks like one of those color catalogues in a paint store. The kid has a major crush. And judging by the looks of his two friends, Dustin and Lucas know it as well. In fact, the only person here that could be oblivious about it is Eleven. Yeah, I still have it in me. I can read people like open books. At least kids. Kids who aren't that good at hiding their emotions. Okay, maybe I'm an average people reader.
"You know what El? Maybe Mike can tell you-"
A loud noise makes us all jump up in surprise. A helicopter.
"Down! Get down, all of you!" I shout. The floor is as dirty as it can get but there's not much of a choice here. "Don't move!" I order them and for once, all of them listen to me without complaining, without asking questions or offering comments. "Jesus Christ, do they really need helicopters for this?" I mumble. This is even bigger than I thought, if they have helicopters looking for them. Well, for us; I'm stuck in this mess for good, even if they might not know that they're looking for me too. And it's all connected to Eleven. It has nothing to do with the monster; they're looking for her, not for it. I get that she has… super powers but helicopters? Really? "El, what the heck can you do when they're looking for us like this?" I look at her at where she's lying on the floor, frozen.
"She did flip a van earlier." Dustin blurts out.
"Flip a van?!" I ask in surprise. I understand that she's very strong and can communicate with Will over electricity and all that jazz but this is the first time I'm hearing anything about van flipping.
"She was ready to take care of you, but she stopped when I told her you were our friend," Mike mumbles; I can't see him from behind the seat but I imagine he has a smug look on his face. And I remember him yelling "no" when I stepped out of the car. At the time, I thought he was telling it to me, afraid of my reaction. Boy, was I wrong about that one. "I told you she can keep us safe."
I look over at El, who offers me a small smile. Yeah, now I get it. Now I understand why they have helicopters on the lookout. I thought they were searching for them because she's a kid with super powers that they were testing and because they know about the Upside Down. Now I realize that they can use El as a weapon. For all we know, she could be a weapon for mass destruction.
But she's also a little girl. She's not a bomb, she's a kid. And all of this is beyond wrong.
I think I just stumbled into a horror version of X-men and I'm the only one human amongst mutants.
Based on how well I know myself, it's safe to say that we have… about an hour before I go into panic mode. It's an educated guess and given the situation we are in, I'd say I'm doing pretty well so far. Someone slightly saner would have probably lost their mind an hour or two ago.
We have been on the bus for four hours. And I have no clue what's going on. For all I know, Jonathan and Nancy are monster hunting as I'm stuck in here. Fuck, they might even be worried about me. I did say I'll be back soon, didn't I? Well, soon was about four hours ago.
"Please tell me that you guys at least had breakfast."
Thankfully, all of them nod.
"El, if you can flip vans can't you like… conjure up some food for us?" I ask. The girl shakes her head slowly. "Okay. Well, if I don't want you guys to starve to death, we're going to have to get on the move soon."
"We can wait longer," Mike announces and all of them follow his lead, nodding. "Besides, where would we go? The bad guys were at my place and they probably know where Dustin and Lucas live too."
"Yeah, but they don't know where I live," I remind him. "My parents our out of town so even if they know, they'd be knocking on a closed door. We can go there. I can make you sandwiches and you can stay there, hidden." I tell them. Originally, my plan was to take them to wherever Jonathan is but the problem is, I have no idea where Jonathan is, nor do I have a way of finding out. I thought that maybe we should go to Joyce but the last think that woman needs right now is for me to show up on her front door with four kids and involve her in this whole government mess.
"But how the hell are we gonna get to your place if there's a helicopter flying above us?"
"Lucas, I'm trying to figure that one out, okay?" I snap in annoyance. I can't take it out on them, even if they are the ones who dragged me into this mess to begin with. How ironic is it that I was actually annoyed that they did not drag me into this mess earlier?
"The best thing we can do right now is to stay put," Mike pitches his idea. As the leader of their marry group, he's the one who makes the calls apparently. And if I don't agree with him, I'm going to have a mutiny on my hands. "Maybe we can wait for the dark before we get out. Maybe."
"Mike, we're not going to fight on this. Not here, not now," I warn him. "I'm the adult here. I'm the one with the gun and I'm the one who actually is worried about our safety. If I say we stay put, we stay put. If I say we leave, we leave. I'm keeping you guys safe, end of story."
Mike opens his mouth, probably ready to fight me, but a static noise makes us all jump up.
"Mike? Are you there? Mike?" we all exchange looks as Mike grabs his walkie-talkie from the ground. "Mike, it's me, Nancy. Pick up." This time around, I recognize Nancy's voice and I jump.
"Mike, give me that!"
"No!"
"Mike!" I yell.
"Tina, stop it!" Dustin snaps at me.
"Mike, we need you to answer!" Nancy's voice carries. "This is an emergency, Mike! Do you copy?"
"Mike, give me that thing right now!" I growl.
"She said it was an emergency!" Lucas backs me up.
"What if it's a trick?" Mike asks.
"It's your sister!" Lucas rolls his eyes.
"Mike, I told you, she knows," I try to calm down and reason with the kid. I am one step away from jumping on him and snatching that thing away but I'm pretty sure El would jump to his defense. "She's on our side Mike, she knows about the demo-thingy. She knows." I reassure him.
"What if the bad people kidnapped her?" Mike asks. "What if they're forcing her to say this?"
"It's like Lando Calrissian," Dustin mumbles. "Don't answer!"
"Oh, Lando Calrissian my ass!" I roll my eyes. "Mike, give me that thing, right now!"
"Listen kid, this is the chief, if you're there, pick up," a male voice speaks up through the walkie-talkie and this time around, I don't jump at the opportunity to snatch the thing out Mike's hands. "We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl."
"Why is she with the chief?" Lucas wonders.
"I told you, we were at the police station," I remind them. "But how the hell does he know about…"
"We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over!"
Now I'm lost. Nancy, I know I could trust. But the chief? What if Mike's right, what if it is a trick? What if they found Nancy and what if they are somehow making her… work with them? What if the chief is not on our side, but on their side? If it was… if it was Jonathan, I would not have any second thoughts. He would never lie, he would never help them, not if that can put me and the kids in danger. But they don't know I'm here, do they? The chief talked about El, not about me. They have no idea I'm here with them.
"What do we do?" Mike asks and to my complete surprise, he looks at me. I had a feeling we were gonna keep butting heads but he's actually willing to listen to me, to follow me. The only problem is, I don't know what to do. I don't know the chief. I do know Nancy but do I know her enough?
She doesn't know about El. I've been with her for the last few days, not once did she mention anything about a girl that's been hiding away in her house. We didn't know. But I found out the hard way and I guess she did too. And none of that explains how chief knows any of this.
"T, what do we do?!" Dustin demands. I need to think fast. It's 50:50. It can go both ways.
"Answer it," I tell him but he gives me the walkie-talkie. Seconds ago, I was ready to fight him for it and now I don't even want to take it. But I have to. He clicks the button for me and I roll my eyes; as if I don't know how to use a freaking walkie-talkie!" Yeah, I copy." I answer. Nothing. Silence. Absolutely nothing.
"Tina?!" I jump up in surprise when I hear Jonathan's voice. We're good. We're good, they're the good guys. It didn't go the wrong way. "What the hell are you-"
"No time," I interrupt him. "It's Tina. I copy."
"Is Mike with you?" Nancy asks.
"Yeah," I tell her. "We're all here. We're listening."
If they are working with the bad guys, we are in big trouble. Now, I know Jonathan wouldn't put me into danger if he had any control of it, but what if they don't know they are the bad guys? Sure, the chief said all the right things; he said all that we wanted to hear but what if that's exactly what he was doing? What if he tricked us? I know it makes no sense but Dustin is paranoid and he's been pacing for the last 20 minutes and it's starting to rub off on me.
I always second guess myself. No matter what I do, I always spend hours, days, weeks even, wondering if my decision was the right one, wondering if I made a horrible mistake or if I did what needed to be done. On and on it goes and no matter what I do, I end up banging my head on the wall.
Will I buy a blue t-shirt or will I get the black one? Will I play Pat Benatar or Michael Jackson? Will I drink one cup of coffee or is today a day for two? Those are the things I'm allowed to make mistakes on. Those decisions don't mean shit. Whether or not the chief will help us or get us all killed? That's big.
"Dustin, if you don't stop pacing, I swear to god," I sigh. He is only making it worse and it wasn't good to begin with. At least Mike, Lucas and Eleven can sit still. "Dustin!" I snap.
"Will you stop pacing?!" Mike snaps at him.
"It's been way too long," Dustin comments as he keeps up with the pacing. "You know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" he yells. He is minutes away from throwing a fit. I don't know how to handle a kid that is throwing a fit, that's way beyond my capability.
"It's not a trap!" Lucas rolls his eyes at him. "Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?"
"Nancy would not set us up," I tell them for the hundredth time. "I told you that she knows about the Upside Down! She's on our side! They're not setting us up!"
"Lando Calrissian." Dustin announces.
"Will you shut up about Lando?!" Lucas speaks up before I have a chance.
"I don't feel good about this," Dustin shakes his head, adamant to stick to panic, no matter what we say. "I don't feel good about this!" he yells in Lucas's face.
"When do you feel good about anything!?"
"Shut up!" I finally lose my patience. "Sit down and shut up before I leave all four of you here!" I yell. I would never do that but they don't have to know it and at this point, I'll say anything that will get them to shut up. "And stop pacing!" I growl at Dustin, who finally realizes that he took it one step too far; my anger simmers down as he finally stops pacing and sits on the ground. For a moment, one single moment, everything is calm. Then we hear a car. "Stay down!" I order them in a hushed voice as I go to the front of the bus, hunching down to avoid being seen. It's not a cop car. But maybe the chief… yeah, there's another car. "Stay down and shut up!" I hiss at the four of them as I get down myself; I crawl over to them and hide behind one of the seats. They are all behind me; I'm the first one in the line of fire. Despite shaking like a leaf, I grab a gun.
"Lando." Dustin comments. He just can't keep his mouth shut, can he?
"Do you think they saw us?" Mike asks.
"What part of 'stay down and shut up' missed you?" I ask. This time, it actually works. This time, they actually listen to me. No more Star Wars references, no more complaining and thank god, no more pacing. Unfortunately, I might have a bigger problem on my hands.
I'll have to shoot. I'll have to fucking shoot.
I can't… I can't just shoot randomly. I need to wait, I need to know. They think they're looking for four kids. They won't be expecting a gun but I need to be ready.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths, Tina.
I hear the creak of the door and I peek from behind the seat, waiting for someone to step inside.
They don't. Instead, I hear a scuffle. I look at Lucas first and then at Mike, checking if they're hearing what I'm hearing. Okay, that has to be a punch. And that's a gunshot. And a few more grunts.
My finger is on the trigger but I don't pull it. I have to wait, I have to wait for the right time. As I recognize who is standing before me, I thank my lucky stars. I was seconds away from shooting the chief of police.
I can imagine what this looks like to a bystander. First, me, crouching behind a seat with a gun in my hand. Then four kids, one of which has a giant walkie-talkie, one has a military bandana tied around his head, the third one looks like he's going to start hyperventilating in a second and the fourth one is a girl in a dirty pink dress with a shaved head. I don't think the chief ever had to deal with something like this.
"All right, let's go," he tells us. We don't move. None of us move. I'm still trying to process the fact that he had kicked the shit out of them, maybe even killed them. There were two cars. Two freaking cars. "Let's go!" he yells and this time around, we're out of the bus in the speed of light.
I make a point of not looking at the bodies; I don't need to know if they're dead or unconscious. I wait for all the kids to get in the car before I jump in the passenger seat. The chief doesn't even wait for me to buckle up; he starts driving at once.
"Shit!"
"What?" the chief asks me, looking around, alerted.
"My car," I explain. I forgot about mom's fucking car, again. Based on the last couple of days, I really don't need or deserve a car of my own. "Their bikes are inside. I could follow you-"
"No," the chief shuts me down. "You can come and get it tomorrow, once all this mess is over."
"Yeah, are you going to explain that to my mom?" I ask; they should be returning tomorrow but with all that's been going on, I wouldn't be surprised if I screwed up the count and fi they are already here. Probably not; I'm sure the chief would mention something about my parents thinking I'm missing.
"I'd be more worried about explaining that gun to her," the chief snaps at me. Ah crap. "Where the hell did you get that thing?"
"It's my dad's."
"And what exactly were you planning to do with it?" I really should have seen this lecture coming.
"What do you think?"
He glances at me before focusing on the road again. I guess the lecture is over.
1)Styx – Renegade
2)Florence and the Machine – Dog Days Are Over (flashback)
3) ACDC – Back in black (Driving with Hopper :D )