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MACIEANDJIMWALKED through Merrill's pumpkin field. The blonde girl scrunched up her nose as the sent of rotten pumpkins hit her.
"Now, you try an' tell me, with a straight face, cold did this?" Merrill asked Chief Hopper as he bent down to look at one of the pumpkins.
"How far does it go?" Both men turned to look at Macie, who rolled one of the pumpkins with her shoe,
"Good question." Hop muttered.
He stood up once again and the three continued walking until they hit the tree line. Jim walked over to a tree and placed a gloved hand to the bark. Marie stepped closer and and watched in disgust as goo and maggots covered the trunk and stuck to Jim's hand.
"Oh, you gotta burn those now." Macie commented.
"Hey, Chief, you copy?" Powell asked over the radio and Macie handed it over to Jim as he tried to shake the goo off,
"How's it lookin' over there?" Jim asked them,
"Like a giant pissed all over Jack's bean field. Smells, too. It smell over there?" Powell replied,
"Uh, yeah, a little bit." Jim answered,
"A little bit?" Macie scoffed and Jim gave her a look,
"Listen, I want you guys to track the rot, see how far it goes." Jim ordered, "Just, uh, mark anything that's dead."
"That's gonna take some time." Powell responded,
"So take it." Jim stated, "And, look, we don't know what caused this. Could be poison. So don't touch anything without gloves."
There was hesitation before Powell replied, "Copy that, Chief."
Jim handed the radio back to her and she smirked at him, "Bet Callahan already touched the goo without gloves."
He smirked at her before looking over at Merrill, "You got any marking flags?"
Merrill came back with yellow marking flags before leaving them to do their jobs. Jim handed her a handful of the flags, "Head towards the west side of the property and see how far back the rot goes."
She stared at him for a moment, "You're sending me into the woods... alone?"
He glanced down at her, "What? You scared?"
Macie raised her eyebrows, "No." She huffed before turning around and walking away, "If I get kidnapped, I blame you."
"They'd send you right back, kid!" Jim yelled back,
"Jerk." Macie smiled,
It soon got dark... and Macie was still putting flags in the ground. Whatever this stuff was, it went a ways back, at least a mile. She was just glad she brought a flashlight with her.
She soon ran out of flags and began walking back towards the truck, "I swear, if that man left me..." The blonde growled as she stomped through the trees.
Macie spotted him on the edge of the field, looking around. She walked up behind him, "Scared of the dark?"
She let out a small scream as Hopper turned around and aimed his gun at her, "Jesus, Hop, what the hell?"
He let out a breath he was holding and put his gun away, "I thought you were..." He trailed off,
"I was what? A murderer?" Macie questioned before checking her watch, ""Shit, I'm so late."
Jim looked her up and down? "Late to what? You have a date or something?"
Macie rolled her eyes, "Yeah right. I was supposed to take my sister trick-or-treating."
"Crap." Hopper hissed, "C'mon." He began walking back to his truck,
"What?" Macie asked, jogging to catch up with him,
"I need to get home."
"Why?" She smirked, "Got a date or something?"
"Funny, kid."
There was a loud continuous noise and Jim pushed her behind him. He shined his flashlight by Merrill's truck and spotted his grandkid aiming a fake gun in their direction, "You're dead." The kid smiled,
"Thanks, Hop, you saved me from a cowboy." Macie grinned as she kept walking towards the truck, "Happy Halloween." She told the little boy,
Macie sat in the passenger's seat and watched as Hop walked up to the little boy, handed him something, and the boy gave him his bucket full of candy. Her eyes widened as he got into the driver's seat and put the bucket into her lap before speeding off,
"Did you just take candy from a child?" She asked, staring at him,
"I gave him five bucks for it." Hopper responded,
"Why the hell do you need candy?"
"Just shut up, okay? Want me to drop you off at your house?" Jim asked,
Macie leaned her head against the window and stared at the open road, "Nah, my car's back at the station. You can just drop me off there."
"You sure?"
She nodded, "It's probably easier for you anyway." Macie glanced into the bucket, "Oo, Snickers!" She picked it out and unwrapped it before taking a bite.
Jim sped off the moment she shut the door of the truck. Macie wondered why she was in a hurry as she drove back to her own house.
Macie parked in the street and closed the front door quietly behind her, not wanting her father to hear her.
"You were supposed to take Maxine trick-or-treating." Her father's voice stated.
Macie paused on the stairs and winced, "Yeah, I know." She replied, "Um, work ran late."
"Again." Macie could hear the anger in her father's voice,
"Yeah, uh, I was in the field this time. Some farmer's crops were going bad, so we were investigating." Macie replied as she walked back down the stairs,
"Were you with Jim Hopper?"
"Yes." Macie tensed as she watched her father stand from his chair. He walked over to her and Macie stared down at her shoes,
"Look at me." The moment her eyes met his, he raised his hand and clapped her across the face, "You keep pushing me, girl. Now go." He ordered,
"Yes, sir." Macie rushed up to her room.
She changed into her pyjamas and was in the bathroom cleaning her face when her step-sister entered the room,
"I'm sorry I didn't show." Macie stated, watching the younger girl set down her mask and fake knife, "I got caught up in work."
"I'm old enough to go trick-or-treating on my own." Max replied with a smile before she turned and saw the mark on Macie's face, "Did he hit you again?"
Macie shrugged, "I deserved it."
"No one deserves that." Max replied,
They were silent for a moment before Macie smiled at Max, "So... what candy did you get?"
