This chapter does not follow the original stranger things ending plot.
It was a rather uneventful work night. It was 8:15pm in December, so the snow outside was falling heavily. However, Hopper still managed to drive and make it home safely. He pulled into the Icy driveway while trying to find a way to get inside without slipping on the ice.
He had barley made it to the door and he was already exhausted. He put the key in the lock and opened the door to the cozy warm house. Hanging up his jacket and taking off his shoes, he noticed El on the couch watching one of her favorite Christmas movies. "Hey kid, mom home yet?" She shook her head. "No not yet, I did call her though and she got off at 7:45." Hopper frowned, confused as to why it she wasn't home yet. It had been over 30 minutes since she got off, and it only took her exactly 8 minutes to get from work to home. Not that he timed it. But the snow didn't block any of the roads leading them to or from work.
It was now 8:35 and still no sign of Joyce. That was when the phone rang. He hurried over and picked it up. "Chief speaking." He always used that phrase to answer the phone, even if he wasn't on duty. "Yes chief there has been a pretty bad car accident on one of the main roads." It was Callahan who happened to be on the other side of the phone. "Okay? Have one of the other guys do it. I'm at home with my daughter." Hopper said in an annoyed tone. "Well you see I called you because you're gonna wanna come to this one. Trust me." There was edge to his voice. Hopper knew something was wrong.
He kissed El on the forehead goodbye and got into his truck, driving away. It took no longer than 5 minutes to get to where the accident happened. Once he arrived, he stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the scene. "We already called an ambulance." Callahan spoke walking up to him. "Why'd you need me out here?" Jim asked, looking around to all the other officers. Callahan motioned for Jim to follow him.
He couldn't really see much of the accident because of the snow. Only the red lights and the shining flash lights of the others. But as he got closer he recognized the car. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to panic." The younger cop assured him. Jim ignored him and stormed pass him to the car. He pulled the handled and to his surprise the door opened.
"Joyce?" He asked. She was still conscious but could barely speak. Joyce lifted her head to look at him. He reached in to grab her hand. "We have to wait for the ambulance to get here before we can get you out. Or else I would have already done it." She just nodded at him, no expression on her face. He heard the Siren of the ambulance start to get louder as it grew closer. "Okay, I love you, Joyce. Everything will be okay." He kissed her lips generously, and she kissed back. That was until everything started to fade away. She passed out and Hopper tried to catch her but was pulled away by the paramedics. "Stand back, sir" The woman said. They pulled her out and put her on a stretcher, carrying her over the the ambulance.
Jim got in his car and followed the ambulance to the hospital. The entire drive over there was a blur. He just needed to know if she was okay.
They pulled up to the main entrance of the hospital where they got her out and brought her inside. He tried following them but they stopped him.
After what felt like the longest 10 minutes of his life, a nurse came up to him to inform him on what was happening. "Everything that we can see from the outside is covered. She has a broken wrist and an major concussion. We still need to run an MRI to make sure there is no internal injuries. She may have to go into surgery depending on the outcome of the scans. I'll update you when there is any further information." She said kindly. "Thank you." He slightly smiled at her. He watched as she walked away, back to wherever she was going.
He waited, and waited for any news about Joyce but the nurse hadn't been back. It had been an hour since he talked to the nurse. The snow outside continued to fall more and more.
To be continued......
