OLIVIA COULDN'T BREATHE.

Her heart had stopped and dropped into her stomach, her eyes wide in fear. Sweat had already started to to bead across her temple as she stood, frozen, staring at the thing in front of her.

The monster was just staring at her, growling, as though it were waiting for her to make the first move. Taunting her. Daring her. 

So, she did.

One pulse was all it took for the thing to collapse onto the floor and stop moving at all. After a moment, Olivia felt her own legs shake. Not from fear, but something else entirely.

Exhaustion.

She had never used her powers like she had tonight. Blasting an entire mile radius not even thirty minutes before was bound to take a toll on her, but she hadn't expected it to hit this hard.

Thankfully, her arms weren't splintering and cracking like they used to. The cuffs were doing their job. But she was tired- and at the moment, in a laboratory full of bloodthirsty, otherworldly monsters, that was much more dangerous.

"Come one, Olivia," she whispered to herself, her eyes burning. 

She forced herself to stand up straight, shaking her legs out. She knew exactly where she was headed; the observation room where she had no doubt the twins were being held. Get in, get out- that was her plan. Save her family, get them home safely. It had sounded much easier in her head...

Olivia made her way down the first hallway, her eyes darting all along the area, waiting for something to jump out. The lack of monsters was unnerving; it meant they were congregated, hiding out somewhere. The one by the door had been a watchdog, she was sure of it.

Finally, almost a relief, another demogorgon appeared from the doorway of one of the empty rooms. It screeched at her and lunged for her throat, but she quaked it away, blinking back the dizziness that hit her all of the sudden.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she continued down the hallway until she reached the first stairwell, stopping cold when she saw the leg sticking out into the hallway.

Oh, god.

Olivia's breath hitched and bile rose into her throat.

It would make sense; she should have been expecting it. The lack of agents and doctor should have been the first thing she noticed, but now that it was hitting her all at once, it made her sick. 

When the monsters had swarmed the building, the first thing they would have been looking for would be fresh blood. 

Olivia forced herself to take another step, to turn the corner and climb up the stairs, trying desperately to avoid looking at the sight in front of her-

But nothing could have prepared her for it.

Not when she stepped on a warm, dead hand.

Olivia let out a small cry and she opened her eyes when she heard the sickening sound of flesh against her shoe. One look around and she realized just how many people- bodies- were crowded on the stairwell. They must have been trying to escape. They had been so close, too...

Olivia looked down, feeling nauseous. She had stepped on a woman who had once been quite pretty. Blue eyes stared into the void and freckled skin was matted with sweat and something else Olivia couldn't identify. Her white lab coat was covered in red; the nametag on her breast read Dr. Christine Everhart. The side of her head was caved in and the missing hair made it clear that the monsters had had a feast-

Olivia doubled over and vomited onto the floor.

Sobs racked her chest as she gripped onto the railing, barely keeping herself upright. 

"No, no, no," she choked. She had her eyes squeezed shut, but nothing could rid her of the images now ingrained in her mind. "No, please, please, please-"

For a split second, Olivia considered just leaving. She turn around right now and walk out those double doors and leave it all behind- the bodies, the trauma...

Her family.

She couldn't leave behind her family.

They need you," she told herself through her tears. Her lips trembled and she spat out the nasty taste in her mouth, the sour smell of bodies and vomit making her eyes burn. 

The sound of monsters screeching upstairs made her force herself to stand up again, wiping the edge of her mouth with a shaky hand. "Okay, okay, you're okay," she whimpered. "You're okay. Promise."

She held onto that lie as she made her way up the staircase, plastering herself to the railing, moving her feet up one at a time. She stared over the edge to avoid seeing any more bodies, even though she could still smell them. Blood had an odd copper smell, especially when it was stained on your shoes.

The second Olivia made it to the second floor landing, she knew she was getting closer to her goal.

At least four demogorgons were waiting for her the second her foot touched the tile, immediately snarling at her. Olivia barely had time to catch her footing before firing blindly in their direction, listening to the sound of their slimy bodies hit the walls and slam against the floor.

She emerged a second later, peeking around the corner both ways to ensure that the coast was clear. There were bodies slumped up against the walls and splayed on the tile; bodies of agents and monsters alike. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, exhaustion threatening to take over her limbs. 

Keep going.

She did.

Olivia reached the staircase and plowed through the seas of bodies to the third floor, only having to kill a few monsters on the way. She felt her lips curl into a snarl as she turned the pain into determination, an almost scary confidence finding its way into her mind.

This was what she had been made for.

Then that god forsaken growling in front of her made the whole adrenaline rush come crashing down, leaving a very vulnerable girl standing in front of three demogorgons, all of them snarling and pacing back and forth.

They were clearly waiting for something.

Olivia's dark eyes flickered behind them to see the only closed door in the entire hallway. That had to be where her family was. She could picture Lucas and Caroline and Will all huddled together, Hopper and Bob comforting Joyce, the group trying to keep it together-

The only thing keeping Olivia from her family were the monsters.

She tunneled her focus onto the first demogorgon in her path; she narrowed her eyes and aimed to fire-

Then something sank its teeth into her shoulder.

Olivia screamed in pain, her vision going blinding white as the monster dug its teeth deeper, deeper, tearing through muscle and skin, blood spurting unnaturally from the wound.

She raised her opposite arm and blasted the thing in the face, sobbing when she felt the thing finally release her. A single thought spun around in her mind: something was wrong.

Olivia's eyes darted around and she realized she was right next to a bathroom. Tearing off her shirt, she quickly ducked into it, locking the door behind her and let out a deep breath of panic.

She looked around for a moment, confirming that the room was free of monsters, before sinking to the ground, her shaky legs unable to hold her up any longer. A small sob broke from her chest and she pressed her shirt onto her wound. 

"I can't..." she felt hot tears trail down her cheek as she spoke out into the void. "I can't, I can't..."

Olivia felt hot blood seeping through her shirt from her shoulder, staining her bare stomach with red. The sight made her want to vomit again and her stomach heaved just slightly before she weakly rubbed it off with her hand, instead wiping it onto the black on her leggings.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. Her shoulder was pulsing, burning- she had an infection of some kind. Surely an kind of interdimensional monster bite was going to have some kind of venomous repercussion, but she hadn't expected it to be so painful.

Keep it together, Olivia told herself. Her family was just outside the door, waiting for her to come save her. They needed her. Steve was waiting for her outside. She had promised him she would come back to him. All it would take would be one last blast and they could be reunited, safe... if that was even possible in Hawkins. 

The thought made her grit her teeth. Focus, One.

She stumbled to her feet, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. She could do this. She just needed to set aside her fear and anxiety and hurt for a few more minutes.

Focus, One.

Olivia threw open the door.

She didn't wait for the creatures to attack her; this time, she made the first move. The shock wave radiated in her shoulder as the beasts went flying down the hallways, the crunching of their bones against the wall leaving Olivia feeling somewhat satisfied.

Unable to wait even a moment longer, she aimed at the door- the only barricade between her and the people she loved- and rattled the doorknob until the lock undid itself. She could hear people muttering inside; she recognized Dr. Owen's voice closest to the door.

When the door finally blasted open, it was all Olivia could do not to collapse and blackout right then and there.

"Oh, thank GOD!" 

Olivia blinked away her fatigue as she felt Joyce's arms wrap around her, squeezing her like she would never let go. Her mousy brown hair still smelled like vanilla despite everything she had been through; the familiar smell of her mother.

"I'm okay, Mom," she said quietly as her Joyce cried into her shoulder. She swayed slightly on her feet, the bite on her shoulder threatening to overpower her consciousness.

She saw Lucas Sinclair in the corner looking at her with narrowed eyes; she clearly wasn't doing a good enough job hiding her wound. The rest of the room, however, just stared at her with relief and bewilderment. She saw the screens behind them and realized they must have watched her entire journey through the lab.

 Her eyes widened when she saw the twins, unconscious and rather frail-looking. With a slight jolt, she realized there was something like blood trickling from Caroline's ear. "Are Will and Callie alright?!"

"Yeah, they're good," Lucas answered when Joyce and Hopper didn't. "Right here. They're under anesthetic."

"Baby, what happened?" Joyce pulled away from her daughter just enough to cup her palms over her face, studying ever inch.

Olivia racked her brains. "I was with Steve and we... never mind," she said quickly. Her face  felt hot. This was most definitely the wrong time to mention their kiss, no matter how amazing it had been. 

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"But you're safe?" Joyce begged, turning her daughter's attention back to her. "Everyone's safe? Jonathan? Nancy? The kids?"

"Outside," Olivia answered. Waiting for us.

"Okay," Joyce nodded fervently. "Okay. You're okay."

Olivia sank into her mother's touch for a moment, swaying on her feet. The feeling of Joyce's soft, warm hands against her face left her with a feeling of comfort she could never describe. 

Suddenly her eyes widened, remembering why she was here. "The twins! We need to get them away from the lab. There are monsters everywhere."

"We noticed," Hopper said dryly. He leaned down and heaved Will over one shoulder. "Alright, let's go."

"Wait a second, Chief?" Owens said suddenly. Hopper turned to look at him, a serious look on his face.

"What?" he asked.

"Take this." Owens handed him a radio. "Any more surprises, I'll let you know."

Olivia was too tired to fully comprehend what they were saying, but looking back on it later, she would have a newfound respect for the Doctor who had helped her adjust to normal life. There was a curt nod from Hopper, the mutual understanding clear.

"Go," Owens said. He nodded at Olivia, whose lip trembled from exhaustion. "Go!"

Lucas was attempting to get Caroline up off the floor, struggling with her weight. He had gotten her into a standing position and Olivia felt rather proud of the little boy who she had grown to love.

"I got it, kid." Hopper leaned down and effortlessly tossed Caroline over the opposite shoulder, her head lolling to the side. The twins were facing each other against Hopper's back.

The Hawking Chief was first out of the room, Lucas and Joyce following closely behind. Olivia brought up the rear, keeping one hand pressed against her shoulder as her wound bled. She saw Lucas turn around several times, looking at her with a worried expression. 

She was too tired to reassure him; she didn't have the energy to lie that she was okay.

The group made it towards the exit with almost no problems, passing by dozens of dead demogorgons. Olivia felt sick when the destruction really hit her. She had done it, all of it. Killed every single monster all the way to the third floor.

The double doors of the lab opened as Hopper ran through, still holding Callie and Will. He set them down against the wall and Lucas ran out after them, rushing to get to his girlfriend. 

"Come on, Bob," Joyce was muttering anxiously. "Come on!"

Olivia rocked side to side on her feet. She hadn't even realized that Bob wasn't with them until now. She wanted to ask where he was, but one look at Joyce's face and she knew not to press.

She felt relief flood her systems when the stout man appeared from around the corner. A broad smile flitted across his face when he saw Joyce- something Olivia had finally identified, thanks to Steve.

Love.

Joyce had just let out an exclamation of pure happiness, the world's sweetest smile spreading across her features, when the moment was destroyed.

A demogorgon appeared out of nowhere, tackling Bob Newby to the ground with an unearthly scream. 

"NO!" Olivia screamed as time seemed to slow down to a stop, her vision tunneling towards Joyce's boyfriend.

She heard her mother's heart-shattering cry and her heart broke more. "BOB!"

It was a sound Olivia had only heard once before; it was the cry she herself had made when she found out Eleven made been killed. It was grief. Despair. Pure, unadulterated pain.

Hopper barged into the lobby and fired at the monsters now crowding around Bob, but it was useless. The man's screams of pain and terror had died down as the demogorgons tore apart his flesh. 

Eventually Hopper abandoned the gun and his futile attempt to save Bob, turning to Joyce instead. He made eye contact with Olivia and the horror-struck girl realized what he was trying to tell her. Joyce wasn't going to leave unless she forced to.

Joyce screamed, shaking uncontrollably, as Olivia and Hopper pulled her from the building, rushing outside before a demogorgon slammed itself into the closed doors with a thud.

"What happened?" Lucas screamed, holding up Caroline by her shoulders. He looked terrified. Olivia couldn't bring herself to answer, instead stumbling off the sidewalk and vomiting for the second time.

She couldn't tell what had brought on the nausea this time. Was it the dead bodies she had seen earlier? Was it the venom spreading slowly from her shoulder? Had it been seeing her little siblings completely catatonic in a desperate attempt to ward off the monster possessing them?Watching her mother's boyfriend be brutally mauled by creatures from another dimension?

Headlights and the familiar roaring of an engine made Olivia look up, her stomach cramping. The light blinded her, illuminating her pale, sweaty features and terrified, hurt eyes.

From his spot in the back seat, staring through the windshield at the sobbing figure of the girl he loved, Steve Harrington felt his heart break.

Hopper's bellowing snapped Olivia out of her trance.  She turned to see him pleading with a crumpling Joyce. "He's gone! He's gone!"

Jonathan honked the horn of his car as the demogorgons bashed against the glass doors, flooding the lobby. "Come on! Get in!"

Olivia didn't need to be told twice. Still clutching her shoulder, trying to keep the blood inside where it belonged, she climbed into the car and towards Steve, whose arms were open.

He immediately pulled her close to him, sitting her on his lap so Hopper and Joyce could fit inside the car. Her legs curled up to her chest and she sobbed into his shirt, the trauma of day all crashing down at once.

Steve just held her, one hand around her legs and one around her back, the only thing keeping her together.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear.

Olivia barely heard him. She just managed to shake her head- one tiny, heartbreaking motion- as she sobbed. 

She was not okay.

She was never going to be okay.

So Steve just rocked her back and forth, pressing soft kisses into her hair and forehead, trying not to cry himself.

At least they were together. At the moment, that was all the universe would allow them.

so this chapter was pretty goddamn depressing to write

I did it tho, so take that, depression

so something's up with Olivia's shoulder, that's going to affect her pretty badly and it's also going to tie into season three. The poor girl just cant catch a break, because i love the angst and if i can't have steve harrington, i guess she can