Stranger Things (That Go Bump in the Night) (Fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Disappearance

^^^^^^^^^^JACE HOPPER

November 7, 1983

The sun just began to rise from the hills, welcoming it's bright smile through the cold air.  Alerting the town that another day has begun.  First stop for the bright rays was the home of Jim Hopper.  Hawkins very own town Sherriff.  Originally moved from the big city, after a messy divorce, Hopper decided to settle back down in his home town.  But he carries a broken heart he hides from everyone he knows.  Only a few knows what is hidden behind that harden glare.  

To numb his pain, he keeps himself medicated and drunk from the countless beers he drowns himself in every night and sometimes mornings.  While he lies passed out on the couch of his messy, double wide trailer, the TV blares in the background, drowning out his soft snores.  

"And that's it for News Center this morning.  Thanks for joining us.  Let's hand off now to Liz at the news desk."

"All right, thank you, Donna. Turning now to local news, we're getting reports of surges and power outages all across the county. Last night, hundreds of homes in East Hawkins were affected, leaving many residents in the dark. The cause of the outage is still unknown. We reached out to Roane County Water and Electric, and a spokesperson says that they are confident power will be restored to all remaining homes within the next several hours."

Suddenly, knocking erupts at the front door.  A man mumbles softly to himself as he kneels on the ground.  His shadow casting over the smudge glass.  He straightens up and keys rattle in his hands.  

"Always the same spot." He mutters.  

Peeking inside, Jace Hopper walks inside his uncle's house, carrying a bag of donuts and a carrier of hot coffee.  Wearing his freshly ironed deputy uniform.  Now, being a deputy wasn't his dream job.  He just graduated from High School in June of this year.  He had big plans to go to college at John Hopkins to become a doctor.  But, sadly, his stepfather picked the same time to ditch his mom with all of their money.  So, now, he's stuck paying the bills till he can afford to get into college.  

"Yo, Unc."  He calls out and sets his coffee cups down and the bag of donuts.  He sighs as he frowns at the sight of pill bottles scattered all over the coffee table.  He shakes his head and begins to collect the pills.  Once he had them separated and back in the bottles, he takes them back to the medicine cabinets.  

Jace knew how bad his uncle has been lately...ever since losing Sarah.  Jace's mom has placed his uncle's well-being in his hands and it was up to him to make sure Uncle Jim didn't overdose.  He walks back into the living room and grabs a donut out of the bag.  Whiffing it under Hopper's nose.  

Hopper snorts as he jolts awake.  He grunts as he squints at the sight, "Do I see an angel before me?" He mutters as he eyes the donut. 

"Sadly, Unc, far from that." He places the donut in Jim's hands and sit on the coffee table.  He hands Jim his coffee.

Groaning softly, Jim looks at his watch, groaning softly at the time.  He hated getting up so early.  He sits up and takes the coffee and gets up off the couch.  He walks out of his house and lights up a cigarette as he stands on his balcony.  Dressed in nothing but jeans, unbuttoned to expose his off-white underwear.

Jace joins him for a smoke and sighs out a cloud, "Just another beautiful day in paradise." He mutters sarcastically. 

Jim scoffs, "Yeah." He sips his coffee.  "You know, you don't always have to keep an eye on me, Jason." 

"You know mom would never let me hear the end of it if you screw up." Jace mutters. 

Jim frowns at him and sighs bitterly, "That's your mom.  Nag till you want to tear your ears off." He mutters.