Hopper

Just when I thought everything will be over by the time I told Dr. Brenner where Eleven was, just to have a chance of getting Will back, here I am... driving into Mirkwood, alone, on a Christmas Eve.

Ever since that kid Will Byers vanished, my sequential and sometimes painfully boring days became those of making assumptions and taking chances. Not that I'm complaining though, however, the past month has been completely overwhelming, and the recurrent nightmares seem to remind me, that those adventures might have taken a toll on me-mentally. I'd be lucky to have 5 hours of sleep every night and I have even seriously considered leaving this town, but something always draws me back. Hawkins is my home now. I need it as much as it needs me.

Tonight is no different. I am trying to find someone, who, according to those guys at Hawkins lab, still exists. I wasn't there when it happened, but according to the kids, Eleven vanished into nothingness when she tried to destroy what they call the Demogorgon. They can call it anything they like, but for me, it's a monster which I prefer not to be named- a monster which I would like to be buried into the deepest part of my memory- or should I say, nightmares.

It has been a month since the incident at Hawkins Middle School, and this is exactly my 20th trip here. I go down my patrol car and walk slowly into the side of the forest.

It's freezing out here. Damn, where is that child?

I walk to my first stop and bend on my right knee to clear the snow covering the lid of the small crate that I have set up here after learning the news from Dr. Brenner's assistant that she is lurking in these woods. I open it and alas! It's empty, just like all the other times I have been here, this morning being the last...which means she couldn't be far away.I quickly glanced at my back and to my side. Nothing. I let out a big sigh. What's unfathomable for me is the fact that she seems to not want to show herself. Why has she been hiding all this time? Why couldn't she just come out? Why doesn't she want us to help her?

I carefully laid down the bowl of food inside, and well, it's Christmas, so this time, I made sure to add some Eggos-a clever idea that I did not realize sooner. How could I forget that time when the kid ransacked the supermarket for these damn frozen waffles? If I have thought about it earlier, I would have lured the kid in sooner. There you go. All set.

So... how do I know that Eleven is indeed the one emptying this box? Well that's the thing... I don't.

Again, taking chances.

I am now preparing to do my usual routine before leaving- check the perimeter, look for clues, look for a twelve-year old girl, and call out her name."Eleven! Eleven! Where are you? Show yourself kid! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

After scouring the whole forest, I become weary. How long can I keep up with this?

I walk back to my vehicle to leave and start to dig in my pockets for the keys and got nothing. Shit, I think I dropped them. I sprint back and start to look for them on the snowy ground when I heard a twig snap. What's that?It wasn't a sudden snap but rather a gentle and slow one. I swear it lingered on for about 3 seconds. I freeze on my tracks and I suddenly have the urge to check the box. It's impossible. Could it be? I start to open the box slowly. Half expecting... Half hoping... Eggos... GONE.

Panic is now rushing over me. Is she here? I flash the torch on my feet and start walking around the box when something catches my eye. A footprint. There, another one. One footprint becomes ten, twenty, then I saw a half-eaten Eggo on the ground. I hear metal clanking. My keys. I walk pass it and continue following the footprints and the sound and before I know it I am deeper down into the forest. Now what?

"Eleven! Are you here? I am your friend! That food you took? Eggos? I got more of that! I can give you as much as you like! I will take care of you, just come out!" Just come out.

I am going crazy. No, I must be crazy. But I shouldn't stop. Not now. I'll wait.

Twenty minutes pass by and I think I'm being played for a fool. I'm gonna let this pass, but I will be back...

Just when I start my way, I hear a rustling sound behind me. I turn around and see movement in a bush and to my horror, something starts to creep out. A hand. Dirty and bloody. It's a human, thank God. Then another hand. The creature slowly makes its way out, with its head down. It agonizingly stands up with its arms covering its face trying to shield it from the light. I lower my torch and I see dirty, bloody and horrendously pale and bare feet. I squint my eyes adjusting to the darkness around me while the human in front of me now has its arms down on the side. She is wearing what seems to be once green sweatpants with layers of oversized T-shirts covered with mud and blood. I slowly look up to see her face and I see a terror-stricken child. A girl so pallid and scrawny I swear I would do anything just to breathe some life into her. I slowly advance into her and she takes a step back.

"It's okay, I'm a friend." I said reassuringly. The girl puts her hand inside the pocket of her sweatpants and reveals my keys. She is shaking while she raises her arm to give them to me and I quickly start to take off my coat and hand it over to her. She drops the keys mid-air and I did the same with the coat. She slowly walks forward and weakly grabs the coat from the ground. I start to advance again. "Let me help you with that". She stops and looks at me. "I am a friend. My name is Jim. Jim Hopper." She starts to cry and my heart breaks. I start to move forward again and this time she does not flinch. I grab my keys and go beside her to help her with the coat- careful not to scare or alarm her. I am very much aware of the amount of casualties for the past month just to retrieve this child. I do not intend to be one of them.

Take your time. There, there.

I now step in front of her as she feels the warmth of the coat against her cold and frail body. She bends on her knees and starts sobbing. I did the same to try to make eye-contact with her and earn her trust. "Eleven"- I whisper. She looks up to me. "Please let me help you, Eleven. Come with me, I will take you somewhere safe. Away from the bad men."

She looks at me at a complete loss. "Wh-wh-who?"-she says, finally. She must have forgotten about me. Her voice was hoarse, and it reminded me of the voice I heard from my daughter Sarah when she woke up from a coma at the ICU.

"I'm Jim"-I say. She nodded but she still looks clueless as hell.

She starts to speak again and I try my best to completely shut down every single noise I can hear around me. "Wh-who's Eleven?"

"Who's Eleven?"...You have got to be kidding me... You don't say...

I try my best to take it in and that's when it hit me. Everything now starts to make sense. Now I understand why she had secluded herself. Why else would she be hiding in this horrific side of the town if she knows there would be friends willing to take her in? I can only imagine the horror that she went through for the past month. And just like that, I unconsciously made a vow to protect this pure child from the universe.

I slowly take out her arm. It was a compulsive move that I would have regretted, and I'm shamefully sorry to be thankful that she does not have the energy to pull it back so instead she just looks at me unknowingly. She has the most beautiful eyes. Like my Sarah.I slowly pull up the cuff of the coat and shows her the tattoo.

"Eleven... that's your name".