you had been working with steve and robin at scoops ahoy for a little under a month, as a job for the summer. the script was tedious and so were the hours but the income was fine. so, you stayed. steve had a friend, dustin henderson, who was a few years younger than the rest of you, but their bond seemed unbreakable.

one day, dustin came in with information about infiltrating a secret russian communication. magically, steve believed him. and somehow, the two convinced you and robin to help them crack the message as boredom overtook you. at first the code seemed to be utter nonsense— a riddle almost. but with robin and her genius mind, (whilst steve and dustin spied with his stupid binoculars) she had figured it out. which led you to a warehouse outside of the starcourt mall, in extreme heavy rain. the only problem, was how to get inside.

that is where erica comes in. she was a persistent customer, constantly manipulating you to provide more and more samples. robin had bought a blueprint of the entirety of the mall, discovering the vents connected everything together. after a failed attempt at shoving dustin into one and a lot of convincing, erica was just small enough to fit through the vent. without a key card, she had opened up the door from the inside as the rest of you rushed inside.

leading to where you are now.

erica, now invested, huddled around one of the boxes with you all as steve pulled a pocket knife from dustin’s bag and swiftly sliced the tape. to which revealed a secure cube with a circular handle. glancing around sceptically, steve wrapped his fingers around it, twisted then tugged, as air hissed from its release. 4 cylinders stood upright underneath the lid, but not fully revealing itself.

everyone peered inside the box at the anticlimactic unveil. ”that’s definitely not chinese food.” steve muttered, as he placed the cover to one side, hesitantly grasping the handlebar of one of the four concealed tubes. he stopped himself, taking note of everyone’s safety. ”maybe you guys should, you know, stand back.” steve gestured with one hand as you gently touched ericas wrist whilst helping her off the box she stood upon.

dustin protested with a simple no, refusing to move. ”just step back, okay?” steve repeated, placing the same hand to his chest as he tried to steer the boy away.

”no”

”step back. seriously.”

”no!” harrington fell silent at dustin’s sharp tone, all eyes landed on henderson. but he only stared straight at steve. ”if you die, i die.” a long beat passed as you subconsciously held your breath. steve gave in, flicking his wrist, before the other clicked open the mystery contents. lifting it up slowly with a curious eye, everyone pulled a slight face at the contained green goo inside.

”what is that?” you muttered, edging closer with a semi stepped and gingerly narrowing eyes. the room shook with a cluttered bang, halting you to your position as fright struck you— eyes now wide as they scanned the room and people in it.

”was that just me.. or did the room move?” henderson mumbled as he glanced to the ceiling and walls, then locking eyes on you. erica whispered two words. booby traps.

the room fell at a rocketing speed as passing lights flashed dramatically and wind from the weight of the room rung in your ears. the two other girls screamed as they found something to clutch onto whilst you stumbled over your own feet. the room was plummeting at rapid speed, causing everyone to smash against the walls. tumbling backwards, your feet catching your heels as you bumped into a corner. hands jerked outwards, fingers curled at your uniform abruptly (unmeaningly harsh) as you got tugged into someones arms. with a shuddering breath, your own sturdy grasp clung to your saviour, grounding yourself, as they held you close.