章節 8: 8. Every Breath You Take
[A/N: GUYS. I had so much trouble getting this out for some reason lol ADHD was kicking in hard earlier and then all of a sudden, I had a thousand words. Boom. Alright so, we're getting into some exciting stuff here! Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much for the feedback you provide and just for reading in general! If you like what you see here, please review/favorite/follow! I love hearing predictions/thoughts/reactions/emotions/suggestions/whatever! :) Oh, and I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a nice holiday!]
Chapter 8: Every Breath You Take (by The Police)
"Since you've gone, I been lost without a trace. I dream at night, I can only see your face. I look around but it's you I can't replace, I feel so cold and I long for your embrace..."
. . . . . . . .
"Jesus!" Dustin exclaimed as all four boys jumped, spinning around in the direction of the voice.
"Hi Chief," Will squeaked out.
"Okay…" Hopper said slowly, the hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'll say it again, 'what the hell are you boys doing out here?'"
"We were just, uh-" Mike began, faltering over his words as he tried to come up with an excuse on the spot.
"Taking a walk," Lucas offered.
"It was a New Year's resolution!" Dustin burst out, a little too excitedly.
Hopper squinted suspiciously at the boys, crossing his arms over his chest and giving them a deadpanned look. "Cut the crap," He said simply and the boys immediately deflated.
The four exchanged looks and Mike asked softly, his voice low, "Should we just tell him?"
"Hell no!" Dustin whispered harshly.
"Do we have any other option?" Lucas countered.
"Come on," Hopper demanded. "Spit it out!"
Mike exhaled sharply before turning back to Hopper. "We're trying to find El," He said, shrugging his shoulders.
Hopper pursed his lips, looking over the other three boys who were largely silent.
"I thought you kids said you saw her get vaporized," He said, eyeing them thoughtfully.
"We did," Lucas replied.
Dustin jumped in, "But Will -"
Mike elbowed his friend in the side, cutting him off as Will blanched at the mention of his name. He wasn't sure what to say and being put on the spot didn't help. Thankfully, Mike stepped in. "We weren't sure," He supplied, not completely outside the realm of truth. "So we checked the compasses,"
"And they still say this -" Lucas jerked a thumb back at the building behind them. "Is North,"
"Which it's not," Dustin added.
"So you're trying to find your friend," Hopper surmised, his expression still unreadable and the boys still quite unnerved.
"Uh, yes sir," Mike said nervously.
Hopper looked around. Despite the increasing sunlight, the woods were still quiet. Red and orange light was casting shadows across the sparkling snowy landscape and aside from the five of them, there was not a soul in sight.
"Follow me," Hopper ordered and he started to trudge through the snow along the perimeter of the fence. He looked back to see the boys hadn't moved an inch. "Let's go," He said more emphatically and the foursome reluctantly fell into step behind him.
"'Taking a walk'?" Dustin muttered to Lucas. "You said that last time!"
"Shut up, Dustin!" Lucas replied, giving his friend a shove as they warily followed Chief Hopper around the perimeter of the fence.
"Cut it out back there!" Hopper ordered over his shoulder and the boys immediately quieted.
. . . . . . . .
Earlier That Morning
He couldn't fall asleep that night. His mind whirred as he pondered the potentials, recounting what he saw in the Upside Down over and over again. He needed to get back there and investigate. If there was some clue… some proof that Eleven was actually out there, he needed to find it and find her before anyone else in the lab did. And when would he have a better chance to explore the Upside Down without these government lackeys on his ass than New Years? The fact that it was a national holiday served him well. The building would be shut down for the day, everyone at home with their families for the long weekend.
Around 4 that morning, Hopper had stepped out into the snowy world the night had left behind after the storm. There was a hint of a sunrise approaching, its only giveaway being a red-orange glow on the horizon. Hopper drove to the lab in silence, his car radio off as the heat tried pitifully to warm up the old SUV. He could see his breath coming out in clouds even as he parked on one of the roads adjacent to the lab. He didn't want to actually park on the property - the more inconspicuous he could be, the better. He didn't need anyone seeing his vehicle in the lot and wondering what he was up to. That likely wouldn't be an issue - more than likely, everyone was at home and no one would even come to the lab today. Even for a bunch of stuffed shirts and science nerds, the people of Hawkins loved their holidays. That's what he was counting on, at least as he walked the rest of the distance to the lab, slipping out of his coat as he walked the deserted halls. It was eerily quiet in the building, other than the way his boots squeaked against the linoleum, tracking melting snow as he passed through corridor after corridor. He stopped in the surveillance room and slipped out of his heavy winter coat, draping it over the chair as he surveyed the monitors. Everything around and in the lab appeared quiet and he settled into the chair, removing his hat and setting it down on the table in front of him. There was an ashtray toward the back of the monitors, tucked away mostly out of sight. Hopper pulled it closer, retrieving his cigarettes from the pocket of his coat, and decided to have a quick smoke break to help him plan his journey into the Upside Down.
As he reviewed the video footage from the night before, finding nothing of note, he contemplated what he would do if he found the girl today. Despite her "gifts", he wasn't optimistic about bringing her back safe and sound, though he did hope. Will Byers had spent a week in the Upside Down and they'd almost lost him. How could this girl pull through after a month? But hey, he hoped he was wrong. And even if he wasn't, he couldn't live with himself if he didn't try.
As he snuffed out his cigarette, exhaling a final cloud of smoke, something on one of the monitors caught his eye. Upon further inspection, he easily recognized four very familiar faces. The boys were hovering around some pipe, talking and looking over the fence. From his view he couldn't see them up close or in great detail but he knew their presence could easily screw up his plan. The last thing he needed was some kids busting into the lab, sending off alarms that would alert all the big wigs in town, and every other nosy neighbor, and before he'd know it, the lab would be swarming with employees and he'd have lost his shot. Hopper jumped out of his chair, grabbing his coat on the way as he headed back outside.
. . . . . . . .
Hopper demanded that the boys keep quiet until they got back to the surveillance room. He closed the door once all five of them were inside and finally let out a breath.
"Alright," He said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned against the door. "On what planet did you kids think that sneaking into a federal facility - this lab, of all places - was a good idea?"
The four boys didn't answer. Dustin pursed his lips, looking around to his friends. Will stared quietly at the floor, looking a little sickly. Lucas had his arms crossed, also looking at the floor. Mike absent-mindedly tapped his hand against his side as he stood quietly, eyes cast down.
Hopper scanned each of their faces before sighing. "Didn't you learn something last month?" He scolded. "Or do you like being chased down by government agents? Was that some game to you?"
"No, it's just -" Mike began but halted himself before sighing in frustration.
"We just wanted to find her," Dustin supplied gently.
"Yeah," Lucas nodded. "She's one of us,"
Mike looked up at that, smiling a little. After everything Lucas had said and everything they'd gone through regarding El's presence in their lives last month, it was still nice to hear him finally accept her - even if he'd accepted her as a part of their group a while ago.
"And what makes you think you're gonna find her here?" Hopper asked.
"Our compasses," Lucas replied.
"They're not pointing to true North," Dustin continued. "And that only happens when the electromagnetic field has been disrupted,"
"Like by a portal," Lucas added.
"They pointed us here," Mike said. "So, that's -"
"Basically proof that the portal is still open," Dustin finished. "Here," He gestured vaguely around them.
Hopper huffed, knowing they'd caught his lie about the portal closing. A better man would've complimented them on their detective work. Instead, he was only frustrated at the wrench in his own plans. As if he didn't have to be careful already, now he was stuck babysitting four boys.
"Okay, you got me," Hopper conceded gruffly. "The portal is open but no one - I repeat - no one is supposed to know about it, you got that?" The boys nodded in unison. "I'm trying to find her, too," He admitted and the boys' eyebrows shot up. Whether or not that was a good thing, they couldn't be sure. "But the four of you traipsing around the property could have cost us all, do you understand that?" The boys nodded again.
At that moment, the echo of distant voices down the hall caught their attention and five sets of ears immediately perked up at the sound. Hopper put a finger to his lips and pointedly gestured to the boys, urging them to be quiet.
"Stay here," He whispered before slipping out of the room.
"Where'd he go?" Dustin asked quietly once they could no longer hear the voices.
Lucas peered out the window at the top of the door, just barely tall enough to reach. "Who cares, let's get outta here,"
"Lucas, wait," Mike said, his attention drawn to a set of video tapes sitting on the table. He gingerly picked one up labeled "011-32".
"What?" Lucas turned around all three boys hovered around Mike, eyeing the tapes.
"11," Dustin said. "I bet that's…"
Before anyone could stop him, Mike had inserted the tape into a VCR and the image on one of the monitors flickered to an overhead shot of a small room. The boys could easily see Eleven seated at a table, clad in only a hospital gown. A man they didn't recognize was behind her, dressed in white and holding some metal contraption with a bunch of wires and fashioned like a helmet in his hands. He reached over to put the device on her head but she dodged him, scooting the chair away in the process. The man growled in frustration before grabbing El roughly by the shoulder and forcing her back into a still, sitting position. Mike tensed as he watched and he wasn't sure if he was more angry or upset at what he was seeing. On the video, El turned around, glaring heatedly at the man before he yelped at the mirror in front of them, "Need a little help in here!"
"What are they doing?" Will murmured but no one responded. Instead they watched, their eyes fixed on the screen.
The white-haired man that El had referred to as 'Papa' entered the room in the video and Mike immediately felt his blood boiling. As much as he had hated Troy for bullying and terrorizing him and his friends for the past few years, no one had made Mike feel the way El's Papa did. Just the sight of him sent an adrenaline rush through Mike that primed him to fight and caused him to see red. He wasn't even listening to what was being said at this point. He saw the way El sat frozen, her eyes wide with what appeared to be fear. She never spoke much but seeing her in that environment, hooked up to machines like a lab rat, was infuriating. How could they do that to her?
The boys were stirred from their video viewing by the increasing sound of voices coming down the hallway.
"Shit, they're coming back!" Dustin said, quickly reaching over Mike to turn the video off.
"Quick, get down!" Mike said as the four scrambled to position themselves out of sight, as low to the ground as they could get. They listened intently, noting how the voices seemed to stop getting louder.
"Can you hear anything?" Will whispered to Lucas and Dustin who were crouched closest to the door.
Lucas put his ear up to the door. "Barely,"
"Tell us what they say," Mike requested and both Dustin and Lucas hovered by the door, listening for bits and pieces of the conversation outside.
"- didn't expect to see you until Monday," Someone said.
"Yeah, well," Hopper's gruff voice sounded nonchalant. "Paperwork's a bitch, ya know?"
"Indeed, it is," Another voice sounded suspicious but calm. "Well, I hope you finish soon. We need you well-rested for our next field run,"
"I'll be fine," Hopper replied casually.
"I would hope so," The first voice again. "We need to find that girl,"
Lucas and Dustin's eyes bulged at that.
"What?" Mike whispered. "What is it?"
Both Dustin and Lucas waved at him to be quiet, leaning against the door to keep listening.
"I'll do the best I can," Hopper replied.
"As long as 'the best you can' means fulfilling the commitment you made to this facility, I should expect that everything will work out," The voice outside said.
"Oh shit," Dustin peeled himself away from the door, sitting down on the floor and holding his head in his hands. "Ohhhh shit, oh shit, oh shit…"
"What's wrong, you guys?" Will asked quietly.
Lucas looked at Dustin who was at a loss for words. "Dustin was right," He said. "Hopper pulled a Lando!"
"What?!" Mike exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice down and earning a shush from Lucas who put his ear to the door once again. It was quiet outside and he cautiously stood up, peeping his head over the edge of the window and looking out into the hall. It was empty again.
"We've gotta get outta here before they come back!" Lucas declared.
. . . . . . . .
"Every move you make and every vow you break, every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you..."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票