"Aftermath" - Part One
Part One
One Year Later
The results of Jim Hopper’s daily morning jogs through the Lenora Hills suburb really showed in his physique. Not since his Vietnam days had he been in such fantastic shape. No longer was he that pudgy sheriff that he was back in Hawkins. Now, he was down to more than a few belt notches. He knew how happy it made Joyce and Jane, but it wasn’t actually for them.
Jim’s jogs were a result of a lack of sleep, brought on by PTSD.
He hadn’t been in a right frame of mind since taking his first trip in Si’s TARDIS to other worlds – ones with wizards and giant monsters that he knew only existed in fiction, yet somehow were a reality beyond his own. It was one thing to deal with a kid with mind powers like Jane; it was something else entirely dealing with a kid who was a thousand-year-old alien from another universe like Si.
Jim had to get himself and Jane, along with Joyce and her sons, out of Hawkins.
The longer they were there, the more chance they were exposed to danger.
From the year they spent in Lenora Hills, and the happiness it brought to their blended family, Jim was certain that he made the right call. Jane and Will were in a new school together, Joyce had a new telemarketing job, and Jim’s new job…well, it wasn’t exactly in law enforcement anymore, but it kept him away from trouble.
Then there was Jonathan, who’d been rather distant from the rest of the family. Jim figured the move had a different effect on him, considering he had to leave Nancy Wheeler behind. Their long-distant relationship was strained, no longer staying in contact as much as they were in the first few months.
Arriving back at the house, Jim was a sweaty mess. Joyce was helping Jane and Will get ready for school. “Morning,” he attempted to kiss Joyce.
“Ugh! You stink!” Joyce playfully recoiled. “Take a shower first!”
Jim snickered. Looking around the room, he then asked Will, “Where’s your brother?”
“Still asleep upstairs,” Will answered.
Jim’s demeanor went rigid. “He was up late again.”
“Hopp, you’re doing your ‘cop’ thing again,” Joyce noted. “We agreed you wouldn’t act like that towards the kids.”
“It’s not a cop thing, it’s a parent thing,” Jim defended. “Have you not noticed how bloodshot his eyes have been lately? The kid’s been using, Joyce. I just know it.”
Joyce scoffed. “Jonathan is not using, Jim.”
“One urine test oughta prove it!”
“O.K., now we really need to go,” Will suggested, sensing a tense conflict brewing in that living room.
Remembering that it was his day to drive the kids to school, Jim delayed the shower and grabbed his car keys. Next to the bowl where they were kept, he spotted a diorama that Jane picked up. “What’s this?” he asked her.
“It’s for an oral presentation,” Jane told him.
“Really?” Jim smirked, admiring his daughter’s craftsmanship. There were familiar details in the diorama, such as their house in Lenora and the carved, painted wooden figure that looked a little like him. It was all made in an empty Reebok shoebox. “What’s the topic?”
Jane seemed a little bashful in telling him. “A historical hero.”
“And you picked me, didn’t ya?” Jim was deeply touched, putting his arm around Jane and hugging her. “Thanks, kid.”
Jane sniffed. “Mom’s right – you really do stink.”
Jim burst with laughter. “Alright. Get in the car. Might as well roll all the windows down, while you’re at it.”
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It was the last day of school before Spring Break.
The excitement Will and Jane had practically irradiated on what was already a sunny day. Jim could only imagine how much more excited they would get after he gave the big news: as soon as school let out, he was taking the whole family to Disneyland for Spring Break!
As he dropped them off, Jim kept Will in the car just long enough to ask, “Hey, how is she really?” He knew Eleven wouldn’t tell him the whole truth, despite being the one person who was the first to remind anyone that “friends don’t lie.”
Will was a bit apprehensive at first to tell Jim the truth, but he professed, “Everything’s been fine. She’s happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
Taking his word for it, Jim let him head on into school while he drove to work.
At a stoplight on the way, his attention was directed from the light to the brown 1981 Pontiac that waited in the lane to his left. In the backseat was a small child dressed like a wizard with his own little makeshift wand. Jim found it adorable, until he saw the child wave it around.
Certain memories were triggered – those of the battle in that wizard school where real wizards fended against Cthulhu’s forces. He could hear Cthulhu’s roar echoing in his head, raging over the castle.
HOOOOOOOONNNNNNKKKKKKK!!!!!
No, it wasn’t a roar. It was the car honking behind him.
The light was now green and the brown Pontiac had driven ahead of Jim.
Rubbing his face, he noticed that he was sweating again, but not from exertion. This was anxiety on level with the days he spent after the Vietnam War. He might as well have been back there with PTSD this bad.
He made the turn at the light that led him back home while also making the wise decision not to go to work that day.
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When Robin Buckley decided with Steve Harrington to quit their Scoops Ahoy jobs at Starcourt Mall and take up working at Hawkins’ new Family Video instead, she figured he’d be more involved in the work. She should have known better than to put that much trust in Steve Harrington.
She worked alone at the counter when Nancy Wheeler walked in, dressed like Jane Fonda in 9 to 5. Nancy carried herself so conservatively since her new position as reporter and editor for the Hawkins High newspaper, The Weekly Streak. “Hey, Robin,” she greeted. “Is Steve around?”
“I dunno,” Robin said. “But if you see him before I do, let him know that his break’s over – actually, it was over two hours ago!” Her curiosity got the best of her, prompting her to ask, “Why do you want to see Steve?”
Nancy hesitated. “No reason. I was looking for Si.”
“Oh,” Robin uttered. She knew there was history between Harrington and Nancy, long before he and Si began dating. And for Nancy to come to the video store, asking for Steve about Si, just made Robin all the more curious.
She would have pressed for more details had a kid not suddenly vomited in the “Horror” section.
“Ugh!” Robin groaned. “I’m gonna kill Harrington when I see him!”
She left her post at the counter and headed for the storage closet nearby. When she opened the door, she got an eyeful of quite the make-out scene happening in that closet. The performers were none other than Si and Steve.
The session stopped just as Robin opened the door, exposing them to everyone in the store, including a disgusted Nancy who was already out the door.
“Nancy! Wait!” Steve cried, frantically disengaging from Si. He glared at Robin as he stumbled out of the closet, seeing how entertained she was by the spectacle. He caught up with Nancy outside in the parking lot before she got into her car. “Nancy, listen…”
“I don’t care, Steve!” Nancy exclaimed. “We’re not together anymore! You can date whoever you want!”
“If you don’t care, then why are you so upset?”
“I’m not upset!” Her raised voice told Steve otherwise.
Si stepped out of the store. She never felt more ashamed in all of her lives, allowing herself to be caught with Steve in front of all those parents and their children. Having been a mother herself, she should have known better. Being with Steve really brought out those teen urges that came with this regeneration.
“Nancy,” she approached. “Honey, I am so sorry.”
“Why are you still here?” Nancy asked her. “It’s been two years and that ‘cataclysmic event’ you’ve been talking about hasn’t even happened.”
“I’m still searching for answers to everything,” Si said.
“Yeah, sure,” Nancy scoffed. “I’ve been doing the leg work for you, Si! I’ve been looking into the mysterious shut down of Hawkins Lab, following the night you and Hellboy first came to town.”
“There’s nothing left of the lab to investigate, Nancy. H.B. and I saw to that.”
Nancy scoffed again, shaking her head at Si. “I wish I could believe you, but you’re clearly hiding something. I’m not going to stop digging. In the meantime, I’d suggest you keep a better eye on Hellboy.”
“Why?” Si asked. “What’s been up with H.B.?”
“Wow, you’ve really lost touch with everyone else, haven’t you?” Nancy derided. “Bob Newby and Murray Bauman spotted him in the woods. Rumor has it they’re arranging a meeting at the town hall about it.”
Si gave a grateful nod. “I’ll look into it.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Nancy snapped, sharply getting into her vehicle and driving away from the Family Video parking lot.
Alone with Steve, Si lamented, “Maybe we should slow down.”
“It’s only been a couple of years,” he told her. “There’s nothing to worry about. Nancy’s just jealous.”
“That only makes this more uncomfortable, Steve!” Si griped. “Look, let’s just pick up where we left off until after I’ve handled the situation with Hellboy, alright?” Looking past Steve, she noticed a flyer stapled to a telephone pole near the edge of the parking lot. It invited other “believers” who’d seen Hellboy to the town hall with the specific date and time.
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