Going to preface this with an apology that this was so late compared to the other chapters! I'm going to have limited access to my computer from here on out, so it might be longer increments between chapters :( I'm really sad; I loved the momentum the story was gaining but I guess some is better than nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
0
0
0
When Nancy opened her eyes, she was not in the bare, dark room in which she had been assaulted. Instead she was tied to a seat in an even darker room. The room seemed to be moving, jostling every few seconds. She tried to wiggle the chair, but soon found that it was bolted firmly to the ground.
"Jonathan?" she whispered, looking around in the dark.
She heard a soft intake of breath from across the room. "Nance, I'm here," he called back softly. "I'm here."
"I'm here, too," Mike said. "And El."
Nancy scrunched her eyebrows in concern. "Wh...where are we?" she asked, still drowsy from the deep slumber she had been in.
"Truck," El replied. "We were attacked."
Groaning, Nancy tilted her face back. A roaring headache was pounding at her skull, reminding her over and over again the feeling of the blow driven to the back of her head. "I'm sorry I was so careless," she muttered. "I never suspected the receptionist for a minute. I should have been there to help you guys fight."
"Hey, we were outnumbered," Jonathan argued. "You couldn't have helped us. I'm just glad they knocked you out instead of...worse."
"Me too," Nancy murmured.
The truck continued to rumble along the freeway, providing much needed background noise. The four kids sat to themselves, thinking and worrying and starting to lapse into a full on panic.
"How long have we been in here?" Nancy asked suddenly.
She could practically see Jonathan glancing up as he always did when he was thinking. "Maybe an hour. It's kind of hard to keep track of time."
They sat in silence after that. Though Nancy couldn't move her arms or upper body, her legs were more or less loose. She reached out and began to feel around the space in front of her. When she finally found Jonathan's foot, she rested her own on top of his. It wasn't much, but somehow the contact grounded her just a little more than before.
After what felt like an eternity, the truck came to a grinding halt. The four kids looked around furiously, trying to catch a glimpse of anything in the dark.
The door finally lifted, letting out a grinding noise and releasing blinding light into the back of the truck. A large man holding a gun stepped up and into the back. About a dozen other soldiers were on the ground behind him.
"Hello, children," he said, his accent heavy and clipped. "Much appreciation for travelling all this way. My name is Aleksandr Finklestein, but you will address me as 'General'." As he walked towards them, eyeing each and every detail, his gaze caught on Nancy and Jonathan's touching feet. His face contorted into what appeared to be mock endearment.
"That is simply...adorable," ** he simpered. "My apologies for breaking up the honeymoon." He signaled something to the soldiers waiting behind him. "отпустить их," he commanded.
The men immediately stormed up into the truck and grabbed El roughly by the shoulders. She whimpered and struggled, but nothing happened. For the moment, her powers were still missing in action.
"Stop," Jonathan growled.
"Get your filthy hands off of her," Mike yelled, spitting on the ground at the feet of Aleksandr. "Don't touch her."
The man raised his eyebrows, his expression disgustingly bemused. "You are a fighter and a lover, I see," he said. "I did not realize how full of affection this truck was."
After El was safely out of her seat and in the hands of the several russian guards that had been assigned to her, they moved on to Jonathan, treating him with significantly less care and gentleness that had been used with El. They yanked him to his feet, cuffing him in the side of his head when he hissed a curse at them.
"Stop it," Nancy cried, struggling against the cords binding her in place.
Aleksandr rolled his eyes. "At first it was cute, but now just annoying," he groaned. "заставить ее замолчать," * he barked. Immediately, one of the younger guards produced a strip of thick fabric and forced it into Nancy's mouth. They tied it tightly behind her head, yanking her curly blond hair out of place. She let out a soft yelp of pain through the gag.
Jonathan tried to break out of his bonds. "You're hurting her," he grunted, pushing against the men holding him in place.
"I know," Aleksandr said with a small shrug. "Believe me, this is nothing compared to what is in store." He smiled then, a wide and unnatural gesture. It caught the kids off guard, and for a moment, they stopped struggling.
Soon each of them was untied, placed in the hands of two or more guards. The struggling had gone down after a while, but not before Jonathan had placed a mean punch at one of the guards. His hands were now bound behind his back.
"If you'll follow me," Aleksandr said, "you'll be shown to your rooms. Hopefully you find them to be quite...hospitable." He chuckled, nudging the officer next to him, who began to laugh as well.
The kids were led through a series of tunnels and hallways, each lined with glowing mechanisms, cold machinery, and guards armed to the teeth. Though each of them was frightened beyond belief, it was still an enticing view. Nancy found herself memorizing each hallway, each turn they took out of sheer appreciation for the sights.
After a long and steep stairway into the bottom-most layer of the bunker, they found themselves face to face with two sets of hard, iron bars. Aleksandr stepped forward and procured a large ring of keys. He stuck one of them into the lock and swung open the door with a loud creak.
"Home sweet home," he grinned maliciously. "This one is for the lovebirds, ya? Good old fashioned cell. Have fun with the rest of your Honeymoon."
He gestured at the guards holding Jonathan and Nancy, who shoved the two teenagers roughly into the cell. As Jonathan's hands were bound behind his back, he fell to the ground with no way to prop himself back up. Nancy immediately sank to her feet and helped him into a sitting position.
"Have fun," Aleksandr called with a wave of his fingers. Then he slammed the door shut, leaving them clinging to each other in the darkness.
The tall General turned to Mike and El, each cowering beneath his gaze. "And here we have Mop Head and Miss Magic. Though, according to what I've been told, her powers are...on hold. Such a shame."
He nodded to the guards, who threw Mike into the cell with the same reckless force that Nancy and Jonathan had endured. The men holding El seemed about to do the same, when Aleksandr held up a finger.
"Not her," he commanded. "She and I are going on a little walk."
0
0
0
* "Silence her"
Oh no! Of course it always comes back to the Russians. Poor Hawkins people can't get a moment of peace. Hopefully y'all enjoyed the little Jancy and Mileven moments I snuck in! I always think it's cutest when they're in mortal danger.