A/N: It turns out I was supposed to end the lst chapter in a different spot. Oh well. Now it's a new chapter and the start of the chaos. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think.
Here we go!

Chapter 55

I tried to calm down by reminding myself that nothing would happen. I'd find them still selling ice cream and unaware of the danger around them. It wasn't helping. Honestly, I was tempted to call Debbie just to get her reassurance, as much as she creeped me out.

The mall was busy. That had to be a good sign. People still looked happy as they walked around which meant that there was nothing terrible was happening. At least not now.

I parked the car in the middle of the lot and shoved my keys in my pocket. I left my license in the glove department and prayed it didn't get stolen while I grabbed my friends. The last thing I needed was to spend a couple of hours at the DMV.

It didn't take long to find the ice cream shop, but to my surprise, it was closed. Despite the lights being on. I banged on the door, wondering if they were taking a break but there was no answer. "Shit," I muttered to myself, trying to peer in to see if I could see anything. The store was empty.

Why was I stuck in a time where cell phones didn't exist? At least the way they are in the future. All of this would be so much easier if I could call them wherever they were. If it were any other day, I wouldn't think this was a big deal but the knowledge that the mayor sold this mall to the Russians who were exploring the lab that was built because of the monsters made me very uneasy.

"Hey, Kate!"

I turned at the voice and relaxed the moment I saw Carl. "Hey. Have you seen–"

"Steve?"

"Well, him and Robin," I corrected. "They're closed."

"Yeah, Manny saw them leave with some kid. Headed towards a door that led to the roof? I don't know though. It was on the other side of the mall."

"God damn it," I muttered. "Do me a favour? They're trying to arrange a town hall meeting. It's important. Get the hell out of the mall and head there."

Carl frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"

"There's some shit going down. Hopper's calling the meeting. I'm headed there after I get these two."

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll grab Manny and spread the word."

"Thanks. Which way did you say they went?"

He pointed in the direction and I took off running. Steve and Robin left with a kid. El had been spending the day and night with Max so I counted them out. Unfortunately, that left a lot of options. Knowing Steve though, it was probably Dustin.

By the time I found them, it was starting to get dark out. I had tried to call home via a pay phone, but there was a busy signal the last time I tried.

The three of them were huddled together on the edge of the roof, staring at something in the distance. They had a set of binoculars, a walkie-talkie and what looked like an architectural design map.

"What are you doing?" I asked and watched with a sick sort of pleasure how all three of them seemed to jump out of their skins at the sound of my voice.

"Kate?!"

"Why are you hiding on a roof?" I tried my best to channel Deana as I crossed my arms and looked at them. "You know how hard it was to find you? We have to get out of here."

"We can't get leave! We're in the middle of an investigation! There's a Russian base in the mall!" Dustin's voice squeaked as he said it.

"I know! They own it," I hissed back. "Now get your asses up and let's get out of here. We're having a town meeting."

"We can't leave," Robin explained. "Erica's in there."

I froze. "What?"

"Erica!" Dustin said it like I was stupid. "She's climbing through the vents to get us in!"

I waited for the punchline but the longer I stared at Steve and Robin, the more they fidgeted and looked guilty. "What the fuck do you mean Erica's in there?"

"She agreed to go in provided she got…free ice cream?" Steve trailed off as I focused on him.

"You let a ten-year-old child go into what you think is an active Russian base?" I hissed at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you two?" I looked between him and Robin.

"I–" Steve cut himself off. "You're right. It was a shit idea. We shouldn't have done this."

"What are you talking about?" Dustin looked at them like they were insane. "We need to figure out why they're here!"

"We need to get the fuck out of here. Call Erica. Get her to retreat!"

"Free ice cream for life!" Erica's voice rings out in the dark.

"Too late," I heard Robin mutter. I shoved my way to the edge to see her at the now open doors they were staring at.

"Erica!" I called across the space and watched as she froze at the sounds of my voice.

"Yes!" Dustin said and took off before any of us had the chance to stop him. We all ran after him.

"When did he get so fast?" Steve asked as we raced to catch up to them. I needed to get everyone out of here. This was going off the rails quickly.

These kids were going to be grounded. So grounded that they wouldn't see the light of day until I was the same age I was before I woke up as Tammy. I was on good terms with the adults. I could do it.

"You are grounded," I snapped when we finally caught up to both of them.

"Grounded?" Erica asked, looking at me with wide eyes as she finally saw me.

"You can't ground me," Dustin practically sneered. "You're not my mother."

I looked him dead in the eyes. "Your mother knows exactly what's happening in this town now and when I tell her you ran into a Russian base despite my attempts to get you to leave…who do you think she's going to believe? You or the girl trying to protect you?"

"For how long?" Erica asked skeptically, not doubting my ability.

"For…'til college."

"For til college?" Dustin asked, both he and Steve looking at me in confusion.

"For til college!" I snapped, unable to even enjoy their confusion of the meme. "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

"Shouldn't we…I don't know, see what's in the boxes they keep bringing in? Just to see if we can figure out what's going on. I mean, we could maybe get a hint to bring to the meeting."

"No!" I looked at him in alarm. "What is wrong with you?"

The boxes that were stacked around us were labelled with the names of different stores in the mall, not just Panda Express. I wasn't sure if they were an attempt to look like legitimate deliveries or if they actually were, but I didn't want to find out.

Naturally, Dustin didn't listen to me and Steve quickly took over opening a box with an exasperated look in my direction. It was an attempt to protect the kid since he wasn't willing to listen to reason.

"Maybe you should all step back," Steve said, motioning for us to move.

"You should step back," I suggested but Dustin refused to listen to either of us. At least until I reached over, grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back to my side whether he liked it or not. I didn't let go.

Steve opened the box carefully and I leaned forward to see inside. "That's a bad sign," I muttered as soon as I saw the metal box surrounded by foam. He twisted the top and lifted and all of us watched as these canisters were revealed. Steve lifted one of them, revealing a glass containing something that looked acid-green.

"Put it back," I said as Robin asked what it was. "Doesn't matter if–"

The room shifted and before any of us could question it, the door slammed shut. Dustin raced for the controls as Robin grabbed the container out of Steve's hand and raced for the door. Steve and Dustin started screaming at each other. I grabbed Erica and held out my hands, fingers clasped together.

"Get up there. Check if the vent is still open!" I lifted her to check, but as she was standing on my hands, the room suddenly shifted again. Erica lost her balance, but I grabbed her before she could fall and held on as we started plummeting.

Robin screamed.

"Shit!" I shouted as I tightened my grip on Erica to keep her safe while trying to hold on. We were screwed.

The landing was hard. The elevator stopped forcibly and I landed on my knees while trying to keep Erica standing. It made my teeth rattle. One of the boxes fell on Steve and Robin smacked her head on the shelves bolted into the wall.

The moment proved to be too much for Steve who snapped about the Russian's inability to build elevators. I tried to calm down, to keep myself from snapping despite the fact that a large part of me believed they'd deserve it. The kids had the excuse of being young but Steve and Robin should have known better. I'd ream them out properly when we had the time.

"It won't operate, meaning–"

"We're stuck in here." Dustin cut Robin off.

"This is why we don't go exploring strange Russian bases without doing proper fucking research!" I snapped, unable to stop myself. I took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm beyond frustrated at all of you right now, but it's not the time. We need a plan."

"Just so you nerds are aware," Erica said, looking at Steve and Robin. "I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's. And Tina always covers for me, but if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out that you three are responsible? She's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat."

I wouldn't actually put it past Sue. The woman was the same level of terrifying that Deanna could be.

"I don't care about Tina!" Steve snapped. "Or Uncle Jack's party! You're mom's not going to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!"

"Steve!" I snapped back. "Calm down. We're not getting anywhere by yelling at each other. And you," I turned to Erica. "You have no right to threaten anyone now when you made the decision to do this for them. You should have known better. You should have found an adult. Now let's figure out what the hell we're gonna do."

"What…what if we climbed out?" Dustin offered, pointing up. I followed his gaze to the hatch on the ceiling.

"Unless safety protocols have changed without me knowing, it's doubtful. The speed at which we were falling, even if we weren't falling for too long, means we're probably deep underground. Especially considering they have to make sure our government doesn't catch wind of them. You can check, but climbing's probably not an option now." They checked it out anyway.

"Well, if it's any consolation," I said as I looked through the rest of the boxes and shelves. "My parents are expecting us."

"How's that a consolation?" Erica asked, looking up at me from her spot on the floor behind some of the boxes.

"Because I came here looking for these two idiots," I motioned towards Steve and Robin, "after we spoke to Hopper and found out the mayor had sold this space, and a bunch of other land, off to the Russians. They're going to know something's wrong."

Dustin was still on the roof, calling for a code red on his walkie. There was other shit going on though and I doubted he was going to get a response. Not with the way Billy was acting. I made a mental note to start doomsday prepping anytime fall hit. Disaster was matching with the seasons at this rate.

We had tried to figure out a way to open the door. I considered prying apart the shelves and seeing if we could use something for leverage, but the lack of knowledge of what was waiting on the other side was holding me back. If we could just get the elevator back to the surface, we had a better chance. Even if the soldiers were holding artillery.

Erica started banging the container Robin kept against the corner of a shelf. Before I could stop her, Robin did.

"It's not water in there…" Robin pointed out once the kid made a decent point about how long it took to die from thirst. I made a mental note to get her some new reading materials, especially on survival at this rate.

"If it comes between me dying of thirst and drinking this? I'm drinking it."

"I wouldn't bet on it." I looked over at them. "Not only is the material on that thick, but the casing it was in was done to provide as little movement as possible to it. It's probably corrosive or something. Maybe poisonous."

"Oh."

"That's why we don't touch things that are weird bright colours. It's not what Ripley would do," I said, taking it from her. "At least, we don't try to open it until we know more…"

Robin motioned for me to hush before she pressed her ear against the wall. "Someone's coming."

"Shit. Hide!" I looked up at where Dustin and Steve were. "There!" I helped Erica up first, then Steve grabbed Robin and I half-climbed up a shelf before he pulled me up.

We watched as the doors opened and two men came in. They made some comment that I didn't catch before they grabbed a couple boxes and left. Steve took the container Erica was somehow still holding and dropped down, using it to prop the door open and usher us all out. I practically shoved Erica and Dustin out as fast as I could. Underground bunkers didn't usually have only one exit. We'd find another way out. Or at least steal a key card so we could get back up.

We all turned to watch as the container broke and the bright green liquid in it started melting the floor and elevator door.

"Shit, that's going to give us away," I muttered as I watched the damage.

"Still wanna drink it?" Robin asked.

"Told you it was toxic."

Steve led the way down the ridiculously long hallway. I had never been as anxious as I was walking down that hallway. We were screwed if anyone walked past the end. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere to really run. The elevator door was shut behind us.

It felt like forever which was doing nothing to ease the anxiety. I had spent too many hours trying to come to terms with monsters and whatever government testing they did on El to think that this was going to be a cakewalk.

The conversation swerves from the substance that melted the floor to the reason why the Russians would choose Hawkins. I stopped walking. Robin doesn't know. We had been on the outs and I hadn't gotten the chance to actually inform her what was going on. The adults, sure, but not the other teens. At least, not yet.

Steve and Dustin stopped with me.

"You think it's…?"

"It's because of the government facilities," I said, loud enough that Robin and Erica could hear me. "And the testing they've done that has created rifts or something in the area."

"What?"

Steve touched my arm. "You sure about this?"

"They're bound to find out eventually and I'd prefer if we're all on the same page while we're down here. Especially if the Russians are playing around with what caused those things last time." I looked at Robin and Erica. "You remember that Prince concert? There was more happening that night…"

I explained as we walked. I told them everything I knew about monsters in the area and government testing. I even told them that the adults of the families involved were recently informed of the truth.

"Why didn't they tell me?" Erica asked when she found out her parents knew.

"Because despite what you think, you're a kid. It's an adult's job to protect children, not send them headfirst into danger. Why do you think we made those survival bags when I babysat?"

"You're telling–" Robin was cut off by a voice coming from Dustin's walkie. We all paused as he pulled it out and Robin began translating. I was a little impressed. She picked up a lot for having never learned Russian before, at least from what they told me when they actually went into detail about how they found this place. I bit back the urge to translate what I understood. There was no easy way to explain why Tammy would know Russian. I couldn't exactly tell them I learned from my grandmother. I had no idea what Tammy's background even was.

"It's close. And if there's one thing we know about this signal…"

"it can reach the surface…" Dustin added.

"That's a bad fucking idea," I looked at them. "That's going to be in a radio room if we're lucky and going to be guarded. Our plan isn't to fight and get caught. It's to sneak out of here."

"What choice do we have?" Steve asked. "Let's face it, Kate. We're probably not going to find a magical exit. This is our best shot at getting rescued. If we can reach someone, they can call the cops. The army!"

I was outvoted.

The further we got, the more we started to see people. Steve led the way, keeping an eye out for when we had to dive for cover. I stayed in the back, trying to protect them. At least until we almost walked right into a busy section. We dove for cover and as Erica mentioned seeing the comms room, I looked at her in surprise. The girl was highly observant. I made a mental note to introduce her to the Sherlock Holmes books or something. It was a valuable skill to hone.

Once again, I was outvoted on how dangerous it was to run across a room with a bunch of Russian soldiers working. We ducked into the comms room Erica mentioned but as Steve turned to close the door softly, I watched the worker at the computer realize he was no longer alone.

He stood up, staring at us in confusion before he started to reach for his gun.

"tread lightly!" Robin said quickly, stepping forward and reaching a hand out. He looked even more confused. I grabbed her by the arm before she could step closer. "".

The man stared at her before asking ""

"stop!" I ordered, fixing my posture and trying to replicate the way my babka used to look at relatives who disappointed her. "What…what are you doing?"

The confusion was enough that he actually answered me. I ignored the weight of the stares on the back of my head. "Who are you?" he repeated. When we hesitated, he reached for the gun again.

I stepped back into a position from my martial arts classes, but Steve yelled and ran past me, hitting the man first. He wasn't a great fighter but at least he knew how to duck and use his surroundings.

"Dude! You did it! You won a fight!" Dustin cheered.

"Shh!" I hissed at all of them. "You want to get found? You guys are too loud for being covert. They're going to hear us!"

Dustin ran forward to grab the keycard off of the man.

"What are you doing?" Erica asked. Her tone was almost scathing and I cut in quickly before it could escalate.

"He's getting a keycard. It's a good idea. We can call for help and get out of here before they figure out he's knocked out," I motion to the guard on the floor. I looked towards Steve. "You okay?"

"Me? Yeah, yeah I'm good," he said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Dustin, figure this out," I motioned to the communications desk. "You're good with tech, aren't you? Where's Robin?" Erica pointed towards the stairs and I followed after her.

She was looking through a doorway and I moved next to her to look. Wicked blue light shone through windows of a viewpoint that the door led to.

"Is this…?"

I nodded and Robin turned and ran back down the stairs. I moved to follow, but before I could, footsteps came running up. The others surrounded me and Robin opened the door before I could even think to stop them. I followed, unwilling to leave them alone but the sight was horrifying. It wasn't just research. They had some kind of active laser that was shooting at a wall that looked like it was covered in weird vines. It was straight out of an episode of the Twilight Zone. Or Sliders.

I looked at the others. "We need to leave. Now."

We raced back down to the communications room, but the guard was gone.

"Shit!"

An alarm went off, red lights started to blare along with the alarm. We ran. Steve led the way in the chaos. Guards chased us and I paused only to punch one of them that nearly grabbed Dustin as we ran. I mentally thanked all the higher powers for making myself enroll in martial arts as we ran. Though I also prayed that we got out of this alive. It didn't seem likely at the rate we were going.

Robin led us into a room but the door didn't lock and there was no clear exit in sight. I moved to hold the door shut with Steve.

"Here!" Erica lifted a grate on the ground and climbed in. "Let's go!" Dustin quickly followed but paused. My feet skidded on the ground at the force of the door being pushed from the other side and Robin ran over to help us keep it closed. It was safe to say the Russians were pissed.

"Come on!" Dustin called to us.

"Go!" Steve yelled back. "Get out of here!"

He made the right choice. If they saw us heading down there, and they would with how much force they were using to break down the door, they'd find us instantly. They'd find the kids.

"No! Come on! Now!" Dustin called back as he climbed in.

"Just fucking go!" I snapped, trying to catch my footing again and shove the door back.

"Go get some help, okay?" Steve yelled. "What are you doing?" He asked as Dustin paused again. This kid was going to give me greys before I ever reached my twenties.

"I won't forget you," Dustin said.

All three of us snapped. "GO!"

He closed the gate and disappeared in the nick of time as we all suddenly went flying off the door with their next attempt to open it. Robin and Steve fell to the floor, skidding back into the wall. I managed to catch myself, years of dance and martial arts helping maintain my balance.

I stood, staring at the guards who came barrelling in, shouting in Russian and pointing guns at us. "Well, shit."

I held up my hands in surrender.

[tbc]