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MACIE WOKE UP WITH AN ACHE IN HER BACK.
She slowly got out of bed, waking up Max in the process. The blonde changed into a long sleeves turtle neck, making sure her hand was covered by her sleeve before slipping on a pair of jeans and heading out the door.
The moment she made it in the door of the station, her desk was ringing non stop.
Joyce had called eight times, and when Macie picked up the phone, all she could ask about was Hopper.
"He hasn't been in, Joyce, I'm sorry. I'll try contacting him." Macie hung up and walked over to Powell's, grabbing his radio,
"Jim." Macie sighed, leaning back in Powell's chair, "Jim, come in. Your coffee is getting cold."
"Yeah, I'm on my way in, and yes, I do know what time it is." She heard his gruff voice on the line, sounding frustrated.
Macie paused, looking back at her desk for a moment, "You okay, Hop? You didn't come back yesterday."
"I meant to, I was just... caught up in something." He sighed, "Look did you need something or..."
"Joyce Byers called eight times this morning. I suggest you go deal with her before she comes to the station. No one wants to deal with that this morning, Hop." Macie stated before placing the radio back on Powell's desk and going back to hers.
She ended up not seeing Hopper the entire day. Every time she tried to reach him by radio, she got no response. She would call his home phone and it went to his machine.
So the next morning, after there still wasn't an answer from Jim, Macie went over to the Byers' household.
She knocked on the door harshly and Joyce answered the door, "Macie?"
"Hopper came here yesterday morning. I haven't heard from him since. Do you know where he is?" Macie asked,
Joyce looked a little flustered, "Uh, no, no, he left here in a hurry yesterday-"
"Did he say where he was going?"
"Um," She glanced behind her and closed the gap so the blonde couldn't see into the house, "He mentioned something about vines."
Macie raised her eyebrows, "You're sure he said vines?"
"Yeah, is that important?" Joyce questioned,
"Um, I'm not sure." Macie turned to leave the porch, "If he shows up, can you tell him to call me?!" The blonde ran to her car and quickly pulled out of the drive way,
The moment Joyce mentioned vines, Macie's mind thought about the pumpkins. Maybe he had an idea about the rotten pumpkins from the farms? But why would he be there and not say anything or respond to the radio?
She pulled up right next to Hopper's vehicle.
At least she knew where he was.
In front of the truck was a pile of dirt. With furrowed brows, Macie got out of her car, "Hop?" She approached the pile and noticed a giant hole in the ground, next to it was a shovel.
"What the hell?"
The sun began to set and Macie grabbed the extra flash light from Hoppers car. "He needs to learn how to lock that thing." She muttered as she also grabbed the shovel.
"Hopper?!" She called out into the the deep hole, but there wasn't a reply.
"Glad I didn't wear my good jeans." She muttered as she threw the shovel down before sticking her feet in and sliding into the dirt.
Once her feet hit the ground inside the hole, Macie's face twisted in disgust. Lifting up her shoe, she noticed a greenish-blue goo underneath, "Gross." She grabbed the flashlight from her pocket and turned it on.
"Jim!" Macie yelled out, looking around and the slimy vines that covered the tunnel.
Something was floating in the air, pollen? Macie wasn't sure but what she did know is that she shouldn't be breathing it in.
She looked behind her and in front. She was sure Jim was in there, he wouldn't be able to help himself. But which way?
Macie decided to go forward, "Jim?!" She stepped over another vine and something hissed at her, "If I die down here I swear-" She came across a fork in the road and paused for a moment. The blonde glanced down again and spotted something a bit out of place. It was a cigarette butt.
"Hopper!" Someone screamed from behind her, "Hopper!"
"Joyce?" Macie questioned and the smaller brunette woman appeared from the tunnel behind her.
"Macie?" Joyce and another man behind her began to approach the blonde, "How did you find this place?"
"I just... figured it out. What are you doing here?" Macie asked,
"We were following the map." The man stated before holding out his hand for her to shake, "I'm Bob."
Macie nodded, taking his hand, "Macie." She looked over at Joyce, "I'm assuming you're looking for Jim, too."
"Yeah, you haven't found him yet?" Joyce asked,
Macie shook her head, "He's been this way, though."
"How do you know?"
The blonde held up a cigarette butt, "Know anyone else who would be down here smoking? Let's go."
Luckily Joyce had brought her own flashlight, which made navigating the tunnels much easier. They kept calling out Jim's name until they came into an open area. Macie shined the light on the floor, trying to find more clues before finding his sheriff hat and a burnt out torch.
"Shit." Macie mumbled,
"What?" Joyce asked,
She pointed towards the hat, "We're getting closer."
Macie kept walking and tripped over something. She shined her flashlight down and noticed a human hand sticking out from the vines, "Hop!!" She gasped, "Joyce, over here!"
The blonde kneeled down began ripping the vines away from his body, "Joyce, help!" The three of them began pulling the vines,
"It's choking him," Bob stated,
"Knife." Hopper gasped,
Macie found the knife scattered amongst the moving vines and cut at them around his throat, allowing him to breathe, "Hands!" He yelled.
She sawed away at the vines and they screeched as she cut through them. She then handed the knife to his free hand, which held a lot more strength as he cut them away from his torso.
Macie continued to step on them, kicking them away from him. Once he was free, Bob and Macie helped Jim to stand, "Oh, my god, Hop, are you okay?" She held his face in her hands, "You scared the crap out of me. What the hell were you thinking, coming down here alone?" She scolded,
"Can this wait?" Jim groaned,
Macie pulled away and he turned to the other couple, "Hey, Bob. Joyce."
The vines moved towards them and Jim pulled Macie back. Joyce went to move before looking up and screaming at the figure in front of her,
"Go! Move!" The man in the hazmat ordered.
Macie pulled on Hopper's hand, "Wait!" He reached down and grabbed his hat before they followed Bob and Joyce.
