'He's out of his mind.' Melissa thought, scowl on her lips disgruntled she had her night out ruined. 'Of course he would get someone, from the actual government, on his ass for his rouge investigation.'

Amanda and Katherine witness the whole ordeal— Mandy encouraging hopper to beat O'Bannon, learning from Milly who he was. Jim kills the ignition of his wagon, his eye roll prevailing how he feels. " I'm sorry I dragged you out of your girls night. It was never the intention from the start." Milly furrows her eye brows.

'Wait a second. I just realised I let him drive here, back to the corners office, and he is drunk. How irresponsible of me.'

Her lips tense, pulling them back in an irked manner.

" You should know, by law, driving under the influence is breaking all the rules in your book. Jim." Now she takes time to smell him, there is no odour from alcohol on his breath. Though it was minor to compare how wasted all those other men were. " And.. we need to talk about that act you put on. So, I am your wife? Now? You must be out of your drunk mind, Hm." He extends out a sigh. 'Knew this would bite me back in the ass eventually.' Hopper places his body to face Melissa, she waits for him to start explaining his behaviour. " I'm sober, Melissa. I only had two beers. It takes a lot more to get me drunk than just a couple of em'. Besides, I don't know bout you, but being my pretend wife doesn't really sound all that bad. I like it."

'Oh no. He is not ditching this conversation.'

Melissa, getting out of the wagon, struggles to stay on the same speed he saunters in to the corners mortuary with. Patty, upon seeing Jim and Milly on a phone call, covers her hand on the phone. " Can I help you. Chief? Ms. Byers?" It was close to seven P.M, all employees had gone home. Thinking of an excuse hopper puts a forgetful smile gesturing to his head. " Oh, you know, I forgot my hat. Melissa here's helping me find it. It's a two person job. We'll just be one minute. Follow me. let's go find my hat." Hopper tugs Milly on her hand, Melissa is taken back from his sudden tug but follows.

An Indiana state trooper assigned to guard her brother's 'Dead body' sat on a fold out chair as he read an article book about 'Cujo.' A rabid Rottweiler bitten on his snout by a bat.

" Hey. I love that book. It's a nasty mutt." Comments Jim.

Melissa hated the eerie atmosphere Roan county coroner has, obviously all of those dead bodies and smell of sterilised corpses didn't help. " Hey, you and your girlfriend there, can't be back here. This area's off limits." Milly didn't hide her face twitch, annoyance clear, as she hears 'Girlfriend.' Blush rushes to her face.

" Yeah, I just got off the line with O'Bannon. He said that he needs to see you at the station. It's some emergency..." Patience thinning by the second, Milly chimes in her own voice and smiles pleasantly. Jim steps out of her way to give her space. 'This can't be good.' Moustache stretching in an awkward, uneasy, grin when Melissa approaches him, the trooper not at all feeling a threat from her. " What my boyfriend was meaning to say was..." Hopper winces for the poor bloke as Melissa thrusts her fist in his middle part of his eyes. Then shoving one knee to his groin area. " There goes my clean file." Is the first words out of her mouth, knocking him out cold. " You can arrest me later, Lover." She flips her hair, winking towards Jim, seizing an attached copy of keys on the waist band belt.

Jim, mouth fully open, thickly swallows and is searching for any chance of anyone seeing her assault a state trooper. 'I shouldn't have liked it that much. That was hot. Fuck.' 

Milly held open the door, then from over her shoulder moves her head to motion 'Come on.'

" What? I know taekwondo and I am black belt in karate. A girls gotta learn how to defend herself, Jim. It's not safe out there in the world. Close your mouth, by the way, you'll catch flies." Hopper hurries over to follow Melissa, as she made haste where those bodies are stored. Not wanting to alert no one, the light switch remains untouched. Jim first goes to the storage refrigerators, on a quest of finding wills 'Body'.

Melissa stood on guard, for him to have time to find the correct drawer, searching around and scooping out corners for signs of active security cameras.

" Hey.. look. I think this is him."

Milly, now facing a hospital blue linen sheet, attempts at pulling back the sheet. A hand stops her before she could further move it.

" This.. might be confrontational, Mills. If you don't want to be in the room or look at him you can feel free to just wait back."

Melissa eyes soften. " I will be fine, Jim. Don't you worry about me." Hums of doubt rumble out of his throat. 'I will always be worried for you. Milly. It never leaves me.'

He rolls back the sheet, and she takes a step of shock back. 'That is definitely not my brother. Mom was right. I know where he is, but oh my goodness.' 'Wills' blanched, waxy, textured skin was pasty at the touch on Melissa's finger.

'It's hollow. It does feel... it feels artificial.' Her eyes land on an open cracked open cabinet, an idea prompting her to search for a surgical knife and does find one resting behind an empty vile glass.

" Mills. What are... you.."

Jim inquires, skin breaking and squelching from it being cut made him silent. She made an incision cutting up 'Wills' torso to the centre of his chest. Jim, now in an realisation of her motives, sees material that shouldn't be in an ordinary persons body pointing out. He grabs his pocket knife, clicking it in place, using the tip part to inspect. Cotton.

'Son of a bitch. It's..'

" This is a doll. A fucking doll, Jesus Christ."

Melissa leaves put a disbelieving hand on her head. " We gotta tell mom, Jim." Hopper, much as he wanted to run and tell Joyce the news, it was too dangerous. " No. I have a plan, mills. I need you to trust me and the process. I am taking you back to my place, it's not safe for you to be at your house." Refusing to leave Jim, Milly did a firm head shake. " Where you go I go." How hopper wanted so much to take her and shake the stubbornness out of her. He caught her wrist, edging her close an inch, then puts his finger on her chest. " You follow me. I don't want you disobeying any orders or rules." That is a risk he didn't wish to bear if she was injured or killed. Melissa nods, slowly, her eyes take a quick Look at both of his then his lips.

" Go it."

╭━━━━━∙⋆⋅⋆∙━━━━━╮

Hawkins is home to dark, inhumane, evil. The beacon to it all solely lies in those halls and inside of Hawkins national laboratory. Melissa unbuckles the seatbelt of her side, sliding out and swiftly moves around hoppers wagon to follow him. Using orange Bolt cutters with an intention of creating a hole, Jim— alert of any potential perimeter guards on duty— scans his eyes around cutting off the wiring.

" It's a shock these fences aren't electrified. You'd think there would be better measures intact, for a place like this."

Melissa giggles to herself and Jim cocks his bushy eyebrow.

" I'm James Bond. Sean Connery would be proud of what I am participating in, right now."

Hopper face palms.

" Why did I bring you again."

Milly goes through the hole, cussing out a spew of curse words at her cream sweater getting caught on Barb wire. Hopper stares directly to her bottom area. 'Those Jeans compliment her well. Focus, man. Jesus.'

Both Melissa and Jim crept up to one of the foyer revolving doors in hopes of accessing from there. It's successful. As two women came out, finishing for the night, Jim ushers Milly forward to move on to inside the lab.

He held the door for her then is quick to follow suit. Hidden behind brown interior walls, hopper and Melissa peak their heads out staring out in an empty corridor. A lone 'EXIT' sign is lit ominously above the hall.

" Coast is clear. Let's go. No time to waste here, Jim."

Milly takes his arm, which he hides a growing grin at her control she was taking, but there is distant indistinguishable speaking in one of the board rooms. Jim heaves her body out of sight, hiding inside of a corner in order to avoid detection. Melissa looks to where his hand placement is, one on her waist and one on a space where her head is. A million miles an hour in her mind, thoughts are undeniable at how good he smells. The close proximity.

It made her heart begin racing sporadically fast.

He battled his impulse control to just kiss her right that instant. A decision he was struggling to get out of his head. How shameless of him.

" Should be fine, now. I hear no one else."

Jim mumbles, though not moving until Melissa is the first to break contact. She hears him say a fast 'Shit.' Hitting the wall, softly, hopper goes to follow Melissa. Low hanging emitting light panels flicker from power surges when Melissa and Jim go towards a section which is closed off. Yellow, white, Biohazard curtains placed in front replacing doors to a tiled hall way.

'I have the feeling this is off limits. I say screw the rule book.' She and Jim share a glance before he steps forward unzipping it.

" Ladies first." Jim puts a hand on her lower back as a means of a 'Protective gesture' as she goes in. Melissa is in shock, reading names marked on doors, having a chill go up her spine after reading each one. " Crap. Another door. Thats a card reader, we need it if we want access. Oh shit. I know that is not a gun to my head. We're in big trouble."

One agent puts the barrel of his pistol on Melissa's middle part of her hair.

" Put your hands on your head, princess. did you just forgot all the cameras we have recording you sneaking 'bout. You as well, pal."

Milly, not to make a sudden move, shows off her hands are empty rests both on her temple. Jim does a surrender gesture.

" Woah. Woah. Look, Dr. Brenner asked my colleague and i, specifically. Okay? How else do you think we got in here. If you don't mind I would like it if you take the barrel of your gun off her head."

Lowering his pistols barrel, the unnamed agent stares in suspicion, Melissa grimaces in relief from feeling it lowered. " What did you say your names were." He raises the walkie talkie radio wanting to announce their names to his superiors. " it's Jim hopper. Chief Jim hopper. And Melissa.... Hopper. She is my wife and colleague. We came here.. Jesus Christ, no. Not again. Really mills."

Melissa disarms the suit-wearing agent of his gun, utilising the radio in his hand as brass knuckles and grunts; successfully neutralising him. Jim goes for the guard, pinning him on the tiles of the wall, he obtained both his gun then identification key. Crackles emit out of the agents radio.

" You mind if we borrow this?"

Without needing to wait for an answer, Jim detaches the piece of laminated paper, tossing it in Melissa's hands.

" We appreciate your cooperation." Milly blew a kiss to the guard flickering her fingers in an effort to be 'sweet.' Hopper had his gun aimed and loaded Incase he tried to be brave, as she swipes the access card which turns green un-locking. Going in first Milly ducks under Jim's arm, to which he follows finger steadily on the trigger of his pistol. He shoots three rounds of bullets frying the panel.

" That should keep em' out. Give us enough time before we are in actual trouble. I don't want to jinx that. Will!"

Hopper calls for will, shining a flash light in the darkest corners of the corridor they walk in. " Will!" It's eerily quiet, Jim's voice echoes as a result from sound reverberations. Dark blue infrared light bulbs buzz from an evocative design fault. deeper in the direction he was going, Jim made sure Melissa is behind him all times— in return she nods assuring she is in fact fine. " Will!"

A anomalous, white, light shone through a crack in the dark. Milly, drawn to that glimmer, creaked and pushes the door fully wide open. 'It's an observation room. I think.' Distant whispers envelope her mind, as her brain is slowly transformed with a memory that didn't belong to her.

In this vision she is shown a boy settled on a seat, electrode cap and cables connecting to his brain waves. It changes, an orange tabby cat caged hisses and growls in hostility clawing at the boy.

" I want you to focus, now, Henry. Just do as we taught you. Put this feline out of its misery. If you do, there'll be rewards waiting. An extra hour in the rainbow room."

Melissa has her mouth covered, horrified at who she sees. Dr. Martin Brenner. 'He's from the newspaper article. And he is telling Henry to kill that poor animal? Don't do it.' It sounded idiotic, how could he have heard her.

She wasn't there and is a figment of another's brain activity. ' I can't watch this.' Frantic flailing and screech's came out of the orange cat as an effect of the torture.

" Mel! Mills! Hey. Bab... come back to planet earth. I need you to come back. For a second I thought I had lost you. You sorta blanked out of reality for a minute there." Alarms blaring faint in the foyers of the lab could be heard, Jim murmurs something Melissa couldn't hear and made a sudden noise of frustration at his flashlight losing energy.

" We got to go on. Will! Your sister is here, and she is starting to get real worried. Answer me, Buddy, now!".

'That felt.. too real. Like I was actually there.'

The Vale of shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It's a place pace of decay and death.

Evading guards sent out to detain her and Jim, Melissa's face twists in dubiety; skepticism at first glance before reality sets in. she stares directly before her in dread. Spectacles relating to an unknown matter shimmer grey and blue. Hopper, sharing the same expression, held her close training his flashlight in each crevice. It's nothing new to Milly, in fact she sighs loudly. That made him grunt. " What's the matter?" It did not take Milly long to give her answer, her eyes following each spore. " I know this place."

An indicator of the elevator closing, rattles behind them. Locking them in. " You.. do?".

A place out of phase. A place of monsters. It is right next to you, and you don't even see it.

Melissa pauses showing reluctance to answer. She knew if she said her thoughts hopper wouldn't believe what she had to say, but gains the courage to, anyway. Speaking it in reality. Her breathing is slow to fade away as she said.

" this all connects to an alternate dimension."

JASMINE SPEAKS;

Melissa is a real bad ass. She knows how to handle herself and Jim's reactions to each are so fun to write. Their tension is building as we can all see. I want to build a slow burn but I am not entirely certain I can do that, right now. How about that moment of them almost kissing in the closet?

Her little joke 'bout her being James Bond, I thought I would add in a little flirting here and there.

How did I do with this chapter? Tell me what you are thinking. I so badly want to make them kiss in the coming chapters but I'm waiting for a right time/moment. By the way Zaria Simone and Alexandra daddario are Mandy and Katy's face claims. I should have specified that detail last chapter. So now you know who they are.

®️ Written by Jasmine. 2024