[ 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚐𝚜 & 𝙳𝚒𝚛𝚝 ] ~ 𝙳𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝙾𝚌

XXXIV - Little Red Car

The trio popped out of the vent that they'd been going through for what must've been literally forever. They found themselves in a room filled with those green goo containers, all held up in glass towers that held eight green goop bottles each. "Jackpot." Dustin muttered. Erica climbed out of the vent first, then Dustin helped Lucy up before getting himself out. Lucy bent down and slid the vent lid back into place. She was worried that if the Russians saw it open, they'd know where the three were. The three kids stood up, looking around the room. Thick white mist sprayed down on the green containers, making the glass fog up a bit. Dustin turned around, taking in the room before spotting something outside. "Oh-ho-ho." He cheered, grabbing Lucy's hand and pulling her out of the room, Erica not far behind. Just outside the door was a small red van type thing, similar to a mail-car in shape. 

"Do you even know how to drive?" Erica snarked in disbelief, watching Dustin get in after Lucy. 

He positioned himself behind the steering wheel before answering. "How hard can it be? Max did it." He looked down, slapping the empty key ignition with a frown. "Aw, come on." 

"You seriously thought they'd just leave keys in there?" 

"There's gotta be a spare." Dustin started grabbing around for a key, searching the whole car and leaning over Lucy to do so. She didn't seem to mind, shooting her boyfriend a small look, but otherwise not saying a thing.  

"Guys?"

"Yeah?" Lucy tilted her head, looking toward where Erica was.

"How big did you say that Demogorgon was?" 

"Oh. . .around nine feet, I'd say." 

Dustin got off of Lucy, standing up and hopping out of the van. "Why?" He questioned, looking through the things that sat on a metal cart. They got no answer. Dustin unlocked and pulled open a hatch on the wall. "Found 'em!" He smiled brightly, turning back to Lucy, proudly holding the keys. A small frown crossed his face as he turned back to where Erica had been in front of the van - she wasn't there any longer. "Erica?" 

"She's-" Before Lucy could warn him, a harsh zapping sound lit up behind Dustin's back. He snapped around to see Erica holding a long metal rod with a blue electricity crackling on the end between two nodes. 

"What the hell is that!?" Dustin yelled. 

"A deadly weapon." Erica shrugged with a smirk. "Could be useful." She pressed the button, jerking the stick in Dustin's direction jokingly. 

"For what?" Dustin gaped. 

"What do you think? Taking out Commies, saving your friends."

"Thought you were more realistic than that, nerd. We don't even know where they are."

"The Russians have guns." Lucy sighed, cutting into the conversation. 

"The best thing we can do for them is to get out of here and find help." Dustin finished, getting back in the driver's seat and waiting for Erica to get in on the passenger side - Lucy sat in the middle of the two spots. "Easy with that-" He warned, putting his hand up as Erica loosely held onto the taser. "Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust me on this. Please?" Dustin clicked the key in the ignition, the engine of the red van growling to a start. 

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Word Count - 557

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Published - April 22, 2024

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{Author's Note}

Hello, hello!

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've been able to update this series. I've been really busy in my personal life and haven't had the energy or time to work on any writing. I have, however, had time to finish the character aesthetic palettes for the next Part (Season 4) so I posted those as well!!

Thank you for being patient with me, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

<3 - Ghosty