So this chapter is a bit long haha, but please let me know if you're enjoying the book so far! I really love feedback :)
edited
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Natalie ended up walking much farther than she intended and was somewhere near the Byers house, it seemed. She glanced up at the sun that was dipping behind the horizon and she felt a twinge of worry enter her mind. Tugging on Bucky's leash, they turned around and headed towards her home.
Bucky walked close next to her, occasionally glancing into the woods and softly growling. Natalie picked up her pace subconsciously. One of the bad things about Hawkins is that it's so darn small, and at night it gets well, creepy, to say the least since there is literally no lights.
Suddenly Bucky started barking madly at the woods and Natalie decided she was not going to play with fate and started running as fast as she could. The sound of some animalistic snarl came from deep in the woods and something dark that looked like a large man darted behind some trees, which caused her to let out a squeak of panic.
"Oh man, not today, not today," she mumbled to herself as she sprinted down the road, Bucky running next to her with his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. It didn't take long for her to start to get a stitch cramp in her side, but the fear of the unknown kept her running. Sweat dotted her upper lip and she looked back behind her once more when another growl tore through the night. All at once she was drawn out of her panic when a car horn and tires squealing stopped her immediately.
Natalie pulled Bucky back beside her and brought her hand up to her face to try and block out the blinding lights. She heard the car door slam and a pair of boots hitting the pavement and walk over to her.
"Dr. Blackwood?"
Natalie looked up to see Jim Hopper, the police chief, looking down at her with a worried expression on his face. "Um hi, Chief Hopper." she let out a breathy laugh and glanced over her shoulder again.
"Is everything all right?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing, she noticed that he looked extremely tired and irritated.
She gulped, "I thought I saw something in the woods..." she told him and glanced over her shoulder again.
Chief hopper nodded, "Alright, why don't I just drive you back to your house." he offered with a sigh.
"Thank you." she looked up at him with wide eyes and he nodded at her. Chief Hopper opened the back door for Bucky to jump in and Natalie went around to the front and slid into the passenger seat. She let her head fall back against the cloth headrest and deeply inhaled.
"So where do you live?" Hopper asked her while he started the car back up.
"By the Henderson's" she replied blankly, she was more focused on seeing if that thing was still in the forest.
"I have no idea where that is." he shot back in an irritated voice.
Natalie looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Geez, what crawled up your as-" she slapped her hand over mouth, "Sorry, it's been a long day." she admitted.
"Tell me about it," he mumbled, "So where do I go?"
"It's down the road a bit an then you take the first right," she told him.
They drove in silence and Natalie couldn't have been happier when he parked in front of her house. She quickly got out of the car and grabbed Bucky, who started pulling her away from the car. "Thank you for the ride!" she called out to him as she retreated up the stairs.
"No problem, kid," he told her and drove away with his arm hanging out of the window.
Natalie tilted her head, "kid?" she mumbled to herself as she opened her front door and took off Bucky's leash. With a sigh, she went to her kitchen and grabbed a glass of water before going into her bedroom and turned on her shower. She quickly showered and got into her pajamas before going to sleep.
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It seemed like only mere minutes had only passed when her alarm clock woke her at seven in the morning. Natalie sat up and rubbed her eyes and shuffled to the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth. Glancing at the clock she threw on her navy scrubs and rushed to the kitchen and grabbed an apple before sprinting out to her car and racing to the office. Mondays were always busy and people start rolling in around 7:40 in the morning.
Natalie hopped out of her car and slammed the door shut before walking into the clinic, people were already in the waiting room.
"Okay whose first, Elle?" She asked the secretary.
"Mrs. Harrington has brought her two miniature schnauzers in to get their vaccines, and then Mr. Simpson has brought in his pregnant cat," she told her.
"Okay thanks, send Mrs. Harrington to room one," Natalie said while putting on her coat and gathering the vaccines from the fridge. She grabbed two needles and stuck them into the vaccine containers and pulled the liquid into them and flicking the needles. She walked into the examination room to see the two schnauzers on the table looking at her nervously.
"Hi guys!" she said with a smile and patted them on the back. She quickly gave them their shots and handed the two back to Mrs. Harrington who thanked her.
The rest of the day seemed to drag on until there was finally a break in the never-ending chain of patients. Natalie leaned against the wall and ran a hand through her dark hair. The chime of the door made her let out a soft groan.
"Who is it Elle?" she shouted.
"It's me." Chief Hopper called from the front of the clinic.
Natalie raised an eyebrow and walked to the front of the clinic and leaned against the desk and shoved her hands into her pockets, "What brings you here?" she asked and looked at his sides for a animal, "You clearly aren't here for veterinary purposes." she said with a small grin.
He took off his hat and smoothed down his dusty blond hair and furrowed his eyebrows, "I need to speak with you in private, Dr. Blackwood."
Natalie looked at Elle, who nodded and went to the back of the clinic. Her bright green eyes landed back on his blue ones, "What's wrong?" she asked, fear slowing creeping into her veins.
"Will Byers is missing," he stated grimly.
Natalie felt her heartbreak into a million pieces, the sweet Byers boy, gone. "That's horrible." she said quietly, "What happened?"
Hopper folded his arms, "We're not sure. All we found was his bike, but-" he paused, "but I think you may be able to help. What exactly did you see in the woods last night?" he asked her.
"It looked like a very large man to me." she told him and them her face slacked, "You don't think he got kidnaped do you?" she asked him.
Hopper shook his head, "Too soon to tell, but ill keep you updated. Thank you, Dr.-"
"Natalie" she interrupted, and her tan face turned a little pink with embarrassment.
Hopper blinked at her, "Uh, thank you, Natalie." he briskly opened the door and lit a cigarette before getting into his car and driving towards the station.
YOU ARE READING
Smoke -- Jim Hopper
Fanfiction"Jim," Natalie whispered as she clung to his jacket. Specks of who knows what floated around them as they walked deeper into the upside down. She tugged again on his jacket, "Jim." Jim Hopper wrapped a heavy arm around Natalie and pulled her close...
