𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

4

𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 for the remainder of the day, then head to the middle school principal's office before leaving. an odd request, the shaffer girl thought, but it gets me out of watson's.

besides the quiet oldies station as background noise, not much was happening in the office; and dani hadn't expected it to. they would occasionally make small talk with the girl. sip on their coffee, make a couple calls to teachers about misbehaving students... but in all honesty, dani happened to enjoy the quiet. it was a nice change of pace.

a sigh of relief escaped the girl's lips as the bell rang and she booked it towards the office door. just outside of it, blocking her exit, was chief jim hopper and officer callahan: both of whom the girl had grown fond of in the time she knew them. she had had a few run-ins with them at busted parties, but they always let her go. she never knew if it was because she sweet talked them out of it, or if under those ugly uniforms, the officers actually had hearts. "what's up, you two? why the long faces?" dani jokingly questioned.

"come with us, sheridan," hopper stated before turning and leading her toward the middle school. his face was paralyzed in a scowl, his bushy brows hanging low over his deep eyes.

"wow, we're pullin' out the full name today, huh?" neither of the enforcement laughed at her joke.

"i don't think you'll be laughing later, kid," callahan declared under his breath.

✽

𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐑. 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄, the man she hadn't seen in many years greeted her with a warm smile, and an open seat. and as soon as the three young boys atop the plaid couch recognized that fiery red hair, they all let out a little gasp. "dani!" they cheered in unison. their saving grace, their role model, and perhaps their friend's older sister whom they had a crush on, had come to bust them out of trouble yet again.

the girl's head snapped in their direction as she took her own seat. a smile grew on her face upon their excitement. "hey guys!" then her face fell after the realization. "wait, what the he-"

"when did you last see your brother, sheridan?" hopper interrupted sternly. dani's heart winced at the use of the full first name again, and even at the question within itself.

shaffer did her best to find, somewhere deep inside her mind, the last interaction she'd had with her youngest brother. "i would say early yesterday morning, when he left for mike's so they could start their d&d campaign."

"and i take it that was when you last saw him, too? at... mike's house?" hopper interrogated the boys. their heads moved frantically up and down, their hair flopping with the movement.

"well, leaving mike's house," dustin added. "lucas, will, and i were leaving mike's; lucas made it home first, then it was just me and will. he wanted to race me for one of my comic books and he got a head-start; when i made it over that hill, i didn't see him. i just assumed he took mirkwood home."

"mirkwood?" hopper questioned with furrowed brows. he turned to callahan. "have you ever heard of mirkwood?"

"i have not. that sounds made up to me," the brown-haired cop uttered in a fast response.

"no, it's from lord of the rings," lucas chimed in.

"well, the hobbit," dustin interrupted. lucas's face instantly distorted into a look of confusion and even anger.

"it doesn't matter!"

"he asked!" dustin yelled back in reply.

"he asked!" lucas stated, mocking dustin's high-pitched voice. dani snickered at the gesture. for being 12-year-olds, they were pretty damn funny.

the boys began to bicker amongst themselves when hopper's eyes met sheridan's. "what's mirkwood?"

"it's the backroad out by our house, they just call it something else," dani replied with ease; something the three boys on the couch should've taken note of. "where cornwallis and kerley meet."

hopper leaned back in his chair, quietly discussing with callahan. "we can show you, if you want!" mike offered. dani could hear the excitement in his voice; the hope of finding his best friend.

"i said that i know it," the chief loudly declared, his tone chock full of annoyance.

"we can help you look," the middle boy countered. the remaining two agreed with him. and while dani was never partial to cops, and knew that sometimes they did more bad than good, she recognized that this was a job for professionals.

hopper instantly shut down the idea, sheridan sitting mute in her seat. the boys' voices rang out over the other and flooded the room with hustled conversation and bickering. "no. after school, you are all to go home. immediately," jim demanded. "even dani, okay? and i'm going to say this in the trust of all four of you: i don't want you out looking for will, i don't want you investigating, no nonsense. this isn't some lord of the rings book."

"the hobbit," dustin reminded again. hopper's face fell. the silence in the air was as ripe as fresh fruit. dani was frightened by the chief just as much as the three boys.

"i'd shut your trap if i were you, dustin," the ginger girl warned through her teeth, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"do i make myself clear?" hopper interrogated the boys, standing from his seat and approaching the couch. the middle schoolers gulped in fear. their eyes grew wide as their heads angled up towards the man. dani even noticed that mike got a little paler than he already was. "do i make myself clear?"

the trio nodded rapidly and agreed between them that they wouldn't go searching for will. the chief instructed them to leave the office, but wait for dani to give them a ride; it'd ultimately just be safer, and hopper didn't want another case in his load.

as dani stood from her seat and tugged on her coat, hopper and callahan proceeded toward her. "do you have any idea where will might be, dani? anywhere besides... mirkwood?" jim asked, the last word falling out with disgust.

"there's a small chance he could be at his dad's in indy, but i doubt it. he doesn't come around, and i don't think will would even wanna go there," the ginger responded as she threw her bag over her shoulder. "the only few places will goes is either one of the boy's houses, the arcade, or school. he wouldn't just... leave."

"your mom said the exact same thing," hopper admitted with a sigh. joyce's statement in his office the morning prior sounded purely of fiction but with two people giving the same exact testament? it was odd, to say the least. if jim wasn't 100% convinced will had disappeared earlier, he was now. "we're gonna follow you while you drop the boys off, make sure they get in safe. and i also want you to make sure they don't go out and do something stupid-"

"well that's gonna be hard to do," dani jokingly butted in.

"and i want you to stay safe, too. i know you are more than capable of defending yourself, but it isn't you who'll need defending," hopper began, "keep an eye on your mother."

✽