CHAPTER NINE: SECURITY FOOTAGE

     NANCY'S POV.

     Hopper took Joyce to Hunting & Camping, and as much as he insisted on the fact that he only needed one person, I forced him to make me go, too. When he saw the desperate look in my eyes, he hesitantly gave it. I could tell he would prefer me back at Joyce's house with the others, but it would ease my mind to be here with him so I could see just a glimpse of Harper.

     The bell above the door chimed as the three of us made our way inside the store. Behind the front counter stood a man with a grumpy look on his face. Next to him on the countertop sat a bottle of Advil, Harper must've hurt him bad. No. The Mind Flayer must've. Harper wouldn't do this.

     "Mr. Morales." Hopper greeted, "I'm Chief Jim Hopper, we're here to talk to you about the girl who—"

     "Assaulted me? Yeah, it's about time." He grumbled, "she needs to be charged for her crimes. She stole — weapons might I add — and assaulted me. What took you so damn long?"

     Hopper inhaled sharply, "there's been a few other things going on around town, I'm sorry for the delay." He seemed to struggled to get the words out, and clearly didn't care at all. "Where's the security footage?"

     "It's around back." Mr. Morales ignored Hopper's tone, allowing him in the back. When Joyce and I went to go through, he cut us off. "Him only."

     I glared at him, "just let us through."

Mr. Morales was about to continue the argument, but Hopper spoke before he could. "Just let them through, they're with me."

Mr. Morales glared at Hopper, but (hesitantly) complied. Joyce, Hopper and I then walked on without a problem, following the man to the back. When we got there, we noticed what a mess it was. Beer cans on the floor, loose papers thrown around. But above all, we found the computers that held the footage, in a grainy black and white fashion.

Mr. Morales did as asked, beginning to search through the footage until he made it to the time that Harper was around. My heart ached at the sight of her. That wasn't the Harper I knew at all. She would never hurt someone, she would never stop smiling and most importantly, she would never steal. Ever.

Mr. Morales eyed the girl in the video, "Are you even old enough to be paying for all of this?" He asked her, earning a glare in response. "And what do you even need it for, anyway?"

Harper rolled her eyes, "does it matter?"

"I suppose it doesn't concern me. But do you have money to pay for all this?"

Harper glanced around the shop for a moment before looking back over to the man and shrugging, "nope." She smiled sweetly before bashing his head against the counter. He let out a cry of pain before falling to the floor, unconscious.

"See," Mr. Morales grumbled, "the kid's crazy. I didn't even do anything, besides my job. And she just knocks me out, out of nowhere!"

"Yeah, yeah," Hopper waved him off. "Just show us which way she went." Mr. Morales sent him a look, but quickly pressed a few buttons, speeding to her exit. The cameras stretched across the entire outside of the building, showing back and front, side to side.

Harper exited the store in no rush, multiple weapons in hand. We watched as she made her way through an alleyway, causing her to leave our sight. Mr. Morales quickly switched to the back cameras, bringing her back into view when she left the alley.

She made a left, heading straight to the woods. After a few minutes of walking, the trees covered her tracks and she was gone. Mr. Morales grumbled, "weird kid."

"All right," Hopper sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Thank you, Mr. Morales. We'll be going now. And—"

"You better find that kid." Mr. Morales glared.

"And," Hopper repeated, sending him a look. "We'll make sure she gets the punishment she deserves." Hopper was lying through his teeth, but only to please the man so we could get on our way.

"Very good," Mr. Morales nodded in approval, "it better be quick, too."

STEVE'S POV.

"Guys," Dustin came rushing into the room after a phone call, nearly tripping over his feet. "She went somewhere in the woods, and they're looking for her now."

"The woods?" Max scoffed, "perfect, that really narrows it down."

Dustin brushed off her comment, "we should set things up just in case. Chances are that Harper and Billy are gonna follow Hopper and the others here. He said it's best to be prepared." He was stumbling over his words in a panic.

"Okay, let's set up groups then." Mike decided. "Lucas and Max. Dustin, Steve and Jonathan. Me and Will."

"Good idea." Lucas nodded, before holding up a hand. "Who's doing what?"

"Um... okay," Dustin paused, "Steve, Jonathan and I can set up in the bathroom. Boiling hot water, other traps, whatever." He waved it off, deciding he would explain later. "Lucas and Max, set up in the kitchen. Turn on the stove, oven... there's a kitchen torch, get that ready. Anything hot. Mike and Will, you guys can set up traps. Things to trip them, knock them down, distract them. Find anything you can."

Max raised a brow, "this isn't some stupid spy movie."

Dustin shushed her, "but it's going to work anyway." He stated. "This is going to work, okay? Now I don't know how much time we have, so we should all start getting ready now. Better to wait hours than to not be ready when they get here." He wrung his hands together, them shaking slightly. If I didn't notice, I would've thought he was going into this fearlessly. Turns out, the kid was just putting on a brave face for the rest of us.

Dustin began to walk off, motioning for Jonathan and I to follow. "So, I was thinking," Dustin turned to Jonathan, "does your Mom have any... hair dryers, or straighteners? If we turn those on, we can burn Billy and Harper with them." He grimaced, "I don't want to, but it's our best bet."

Jonathan nodded, rushing over to the bathroom. He opened a few drawers before his eyes landed on a curling iron. "This should work." He showed us the tool before plugging it into the outlet by the sink.

"Perfect." Dustin nodded. He glanced at the bathtub before looking to me. "Steve, you wait by the bathtub until I give you the signal." He decided.

"What?" I protested. "That's the worst job there is—"

Dustin rolled his eyes, "it's important. We can't have the water going cold until they get here. It doesn't matter if they hear it, we can distract them until then. This can be like... a last resort."

"Last resort? Are you serious?" I raised my brows at him. "My job is a last resort?"

"Yes!" Dustin shouted, "just do your job, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Fine!"

"Guys!" Jonathan shouted, "I know we're all freaking out, but shouting isn't going to get them back. Let's just focus, okay?"

Dustin and I stared at him awkwardly for a moment before nodding our heads.

"Yep."

"Absolutely."

—————
lizzie speaks...

this chapter was fun to write, but also difficult