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Sara started shuffling in her sleep, hearing the sounds of her Dad, Hopper quietly talking to one of the police officers, Calvin from his work on the phone. "Calvin, I-I, Calvin listen to me. He's the contractor, He's the contractor okay? I can't lose this job. I understand...Let's talk about this in the morning, okay?"

Hopper stepped forward, while holding the phone to his ear in one hand and turned the living room lamp on, next to where Sara was sleeping. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

Sara began to yawn pretending like she just woke up.

"Alright, goodnight."

She sat up from her sleeping position on the couch and looked up at her Dad. "Hey."

"C'mon, scoot." He gestured to her. She crawled away slowly from him and sat up comfortably with her knees up to her chest.

"Fun day at work, huh?" She asked sarcastically.

Hopper was rubbing his face in frustration and his eyes started to grow tired from the stress. "What are you still doing up? It's late."

"Oh god, what time is it?"

Sara turned round to look at the clock behind her.

"It's way past your bedtime."

"But it's still today!" She screamed excitedly, feeling like she had achieved something. Hopper however didn't seem amused. "Honey, please not right now. I'm exhausted and I don't have the energy for this." He said, hoping that she got the idea.

She crouched down under the sofa and pulled out a small white box. "Here."

She stood up and held the box out in front of him. "What's this?"

"Happy birthday, Dad." She smiled lovingly at him, as she leaped back down on the sofa. Hopper slowly lifted open the box and saw a new shiny, clean watch that was just like his old one.

"You kept complaining about your broken watch...So I figured, you know." He picked out the watch and tried it on to see if it fitted on his wrist.

"You like it?"

There was a moments silence and the atmosphere was beginning to feel uneasy. She slouched back on the couch, waiting patiently for his response. "Sweetheart, this is-"

"What?"

"It's nice, but I-I think it's stuck. It's not-"

"What?!" Her heart immediately dropped and she didn't want it to be true. She wanted to surprise him and cheer him up after a long hard day at work, but now it's ruined. Sara was holding his arm out and she kept prodding at the watch to try and make it work.

"No, no, no, no."

Hopper started giggling and Sara realised the minute hand on the clock was moving round in a circle.

"Dad, that's not funny!" She shouted, while slapping him on the arm.

"Hey, c'mon." He said comfortingly, as he put his arm round her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry sweetie, I love it. Thank you."

He kissed her forehead warmly and Sara couldn't help but cuddle up beside him. "Where did you get the money for it?"

She let go of the embrace and looked up at him, hoping that he wouldn't have asked that question but she knew she couldn't get out of it this time.

"Okay, don't get mad..." Hopper was staring into her eyes, worried and unsure at what she was going to admit. "But I spent the watch on some of my money savings and-"

"Hey kid, I'm not mad. It's up to you what you want to do with it, and your old enough now to make these sort of decisions."

Sara was shocked but relieved at how well he took it. In the past, he would always complain that he wished she would consult things to him first about anything. But since her Mum left, he feels like he doesn't want to be angry with her anymore in case she leaves him too.

Hopper leaned forward and grabbed the TV remote on the coffee table in front of him. He sat back down on the cushions and Sara laid her head on his shoulder, clutching him round his middle.

"Dad?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

His heart began to flutter and warm up his insides. The stress and anxiety about losing his job, not having enough money and worrying about Sara being all alone twenty four seven, seemed to fade away.

"I love you too, kid." He whispered, while he rested his chin on top of her soft, blonde hair. "I love you too."

Hopper carried Sara upstairs into her room, still sleeping soundly in his arms. He quietly walked over to her bed and laid her down carefully, as he swiftly tucked a streak of blonde hair behind her ear so he could see her properly. He wrapped the duvet covers round her petite body and he smiled at how peaceful she looked. He wished she knew how much he loved her.

"Goodnight, babygirl."

_________________________________


The phone rang violently on her bedside table and the girl slowly woke up from her peaceful slumber. She quickly grabbed the phone and held it cautiously to her ear.

"Hello?" 

"Sara hey, is your Dad there? I need to talk to him." It was Jonathan. She was wondering why he would be ringing at this time of night.

"Jonathan, what time is it?" She looked outside her window and she could see that the sky was still pitch black.

"I just need to talk to your Dad, okay? There's some-" The phone beeped loudly, and made a long droning sound.

"Jonathan? Hello?"

Sara began to feel concerned. Why was he so desperate to talk to him?

She got herself out of bed and decided to investigate what was going on. She opened her bedroom door and started strolling around upstairs to see where her Dad was.

"Dad?" She called out. "Dad are you there?"

Nothing.

She tiptoed down the hallway and saw a strobe of light coming through his bedroom door. The door was halfway open and Sara peeked in, not seeing her Dad so she saw the opportunity to go in. She stepped in without trying not to make a sound and she saw that his TV was on. It was on the twelve o'clock news channel.

The sound was blasting through the speakers, which distracted her immensely from trying to find him. The screen on the TV was bright and colourful and she could see ambulances, and Police cars, speeding towards the city.

"What the heck?" She muttered to herself, feeling curious and worried. She paced backwards and sat down on the bed, while she began to watch the TV.

The reporter was speaking rapidly, she clearly seemed scared and she stuttered every word she was saying. Later on in the news, the reporter said that there was an outbreak in the city, about these people escaping from this lab building near by. She said that the people have these types of kinetic powers and abilities that
they can use to torture people. The people that escaped, looked about Sara's age, but she was trying to avoid that headline.

The background looked hectic, by the way the cops were firing their bullets and residents screaming for their lives. The reporter then went on about these...creatures roaming about the city. Apparently, they are 'dangerous' and 'not to be trusted', and she advised everybody to stay in their homes and keep safe, till it was all over.

BANG!

There was a loud thundering sound, coming from outside and she could see a puff of smoke and fire explode into the atmosphere. Sara felt shivers run up and down back and her eyes became tearful.

"What was that?" She questioned scarcely, unable to comprehend anything. The TV was flickering with static and Sara kept seeing more and more explosions, terrorise the city.

"Oh no." She cried out. "Dad?!"

"Dad, where are you?!"

She ran through every room in the house, shouting his name and she started feeling exhausted from panicking too much. She could hear her own heartbeat, beat through her chest and she suddenly felt very light headed.

Sara stopped running and she stood up against the wall with her hands on her knees, trying to calm down. She looked towards the left of her shoulder and she could see that the study room door was open. She quietly paced towards the door and stepped into the room, while she began to overlook everything in her surroundings. She hoped to find a sign of her Dad being in here, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

All of a sudden, she felt a gust of wind blow over her face and she noticed that the outside sliding glass door was ajar. She saw her Dad outside, running to the door and she felt so relieved that he was alive. Hopper sprinted into the room and slammed the door shut, while he was panting heavily.

"Dad!" She squealed, as she ran to him and hugged him in a warming embrace.

"Sara."

She squeezed him tight against her chest and she could feel him shivering. She couldn't tell if he was afraid of something, or if he was just cold because of the weather.

"Dad, are you-" 

Hopper let go of the embrace and kneeled down in front of her, holding her delicate face in his hands. He began stroking her hair lightly and he kept gazing over her face, trying to find a sign for any cuts and bruises.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, Dad. What's going on?"

Hopper frantically pulled away from her and rushed to his desk draws to pull out his tool box. He quickly lifted open the tool box and pulled out his gun, while Sara was standing behind him feeling ignored. She watched him load his gun with sharp, golden bullets and she heard him click the latch into place.

"Has anyone come in here?" He uttered with a strong tone.

"No...Who would come in here?" Sara walked closer and closer to the door, not caring about the consequences of what could be out there.

"Sara, don't go near the doors! Just...stand behind me, okay?" Sara felt scared by the way Hopper was shouting at her without meaning too.

"Dad, your really freaking me out. What's going on?"

Hopper still had his back towards Sara, while he contemplated how he was going to explain all of this to her.

"There's these creatures...Demogorgons, that's what the reporters and police are calling them, anyway." He sighs deeply with exhaustion and worry. "They are not human, their violent, aggressive, and dangerous, t-their...Their killing people. A-And these people, kids, t-they seem different. Somethin's not right about them. I-I think they can control things with their minds somehow."

"T-Their minds?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her throat was tightening and her eyes were sore, and bloodshot from crying.

Suddenly, they both heard another loud noise coming from outside the door. Sara jumped up and began screaming at the sight of a monster, with four hind legs and a slithery back that was like a venomous snake. It had no face, no eyes but had a large, wide open mouth that was divided into three parts, with sharp pointy teeth and long, clawed feet.

The monster started breaking the glass with it's sharp claws and the cracks in the window were getting bigger and bigger.

"Shit!" Hopper cursed angrily, while he pointed the gun at the monster. "Sara, get behind me!"

Sara hid behind him and squeezed his hand tightly, feeling too afraid to let go. They started to slowly shuffle backwards, while the monster was still trying to break through the door. Hopper began whispering sweet words to Sara, as he tried to calm her down. "Shhhh, sweetie. C'mere, it's okay. It's okay."

Her body kept vigorously shaking behind him and she was still continuously sobbing at how terrified she was. The Demogorgon eventually broke through the glass and landed on the floor, as spots of blood was dripping of its body and staining the carpet.

The monster pushed itself off the floor with its bare hands and stood up on its back legs, smelling the air for human flesh. "Sara, keep quiet okay?"

The girl put her hand over her mouth, while she tried to silence her sobs and Hopper was stroking her wrist for comfort. "Shhhhh."

The creature started to turn its head towards where they were both standing and Sara whimpered slightly at the sight of it. She has never felt so frightened.

Immediately, the monster leaped across the room and opened it's mouth, ready to eat their human flesh. It roared powerfully and Sara nuzzled her face into her Dad's shirt, knowing that she was about to die a horrible death.

Hopper pressed the switch on the gun and shot the monster multiple times in the chest. The monster fell down to the ground in one swift motion and the girl weeped fearfully, while she was still hiding her face in his shirt.

"Okay. Okay. Okay." He whispered, trying to reassure himself that they are both alive and well. Hopper picked Sara up from under her shoulders and carried her out of the room, so that she didn't have to look at the deadly reptile any longer.

He crouched down to her level and held her shoulders firmly so she knows he's looking at her in the eyes. "Y-You...You shot it."

"Sara."

"W-What w-was that?"

"Sara, look at me." Hopper grabbed her face and made her pay attention to him.

"Dad, I- I saw them on the news. I didn't think it was r-real at first but-"

"Sara, listen to me. Something bad is going on, we have got to get outta here. Do you understand me?" Sara's breathing was becoming erratic and Hopper could tell that she was beginning to have a panic attack. The girl was rapidly gasping for air and she grasped his shoulder, hoping that she doesn't collapse on him. "Hey sweetie, look at me! Sara, can you hear me?!"

She couldn't give any response. Her vision became blurry and her knees began to give way. "Sara!"

Hopper began to hear a car pull up outside his house. He saw the headlights from the car reflect on the walls and he knew that it was Jonathan.

"Okay sweetie, c'mere." He whispered comfortingly. He carried her bridal style out of the house and her breathing started to slow down. He realised she was falling asleep in his arms again.

He pulled open the front door and saw Jonathan get out of his car. "Hopper, do you know what's going on out there?"

Jonathan looked down at him and saw Hopper carrying Sara in his arms and he wondered what had happened to her, since he had not long talked to her over the phone. "Oh my god, is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine...she's just had a panic attack, but she will be fine." He said, reassuring himself that she was going to be okay. He opened the back of the trunk and carefully laid Sara down on the seating. "It's okay sweetie, it's gonna be okay."

"Right, let's go." Jonathan said, while he hit the top of the trunk of his car. They both jumped in the car and Jonathan drives the car off through the night.

                                    ________________________________

Sara woke up to the sound of explosions and cars crashing into each other, as they were trying to drive away from the monsters that were destroying the city. "Daddy?"

Hopper moved his body and turned round to look behind him. His daughter was awake.

"Hey sweetheart, are you okay?" He asked, while making sure she was alright. He couldn't stop worrying about her. He was overthinking the worst and not thinking about the positives.

"Yeah." She choked, as she began spluttering out loads of coughs. She started to remember her panic attack when she was at the house and seeing that satan like monster trying to kill them. Now she was in Jonathan's car, not remembering how she got there. Hopper put his arm out behind him and squeezed her small, fragile hand for reassurance, as he smiled at her sadly.

Sara did the same.

Jonathan was driving through Hawkins, seeing houses on fire and people running away from them. He saw children running away in the opposite direction, where the Hawkins lab building was and they were all running past his car. Hopper noticed too and they both gave each other a 'Why are the children on their own' look.

Sara sat upwards and moved towards the window, watching the town crumbling to pieces. Further ahead, she saw a monster eating a woman alive and she whimpered at the sight. She turned her back to the window and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to forget what she has just seen.

Hopper heard her cry and looked behind him to see her knees up to her chest and her eyes closed tightly with her back against the car window. Her eyebrows were furrowed together and her breathing became erratic again.

Hopper undid his seat belt and climbed in the back seat. "Hopper, is she okay?"

Jonathan grew concerned for the girl. She was a close family relative to him and to his Mum, Joyce, and his brother, Will. They were practically like family to him.

Hopper ignored him and paid more attention to his daughter, who was shaking violently and her eyes tightly shut not wanting to look at the real world. He sat in front of her and put his hands on both sides of her arms, holding her as he waited for her to calm down.

"Sara, look at me. It's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

The girl still had her eyes closed and she felt two tear drops run down her pale cheeks. "H-How, do you know that?"

Hopper paused, feeling too scared to answer. Sara's face was scrunched up, as she uttered out a broken sob.

"Hey, hey, shhhh..." He whispered, while he leaned forward to pull her in for a hug. She accepted the embrace and wrapped her arms round his neck, as she enveloped her legs round his waist so that she could feel close to him. Feel safe to him.

She nuzzled her face into his neck and cried out with emotion. "I-I'm...I'm s-so scared, Dad."

"I know, babygirl, I know. Shhhh..." He felt the pain radiate from her and his throat began to tighten, as he tried to hold back his tears. The pain he was feeling inside was excruciating and it killed him to see his own daughter in so much pain. Any father would.

The atmosphere was quiet except from the cries that were uttering from Sara.

"Do you want me to pull over, Hop?" Jonathan asked, as he broke the painful silence.

"Um...No. No, just keep going."

                                                                 _________________________________


Jonathan carried on driving the car, past the houses and the fields of land, and a few minutes later they ended up in the city. Nearly all the buildings were demolished and the atmosphere outside was full of smoke and gas. Sara was still clung to Hopper and she started to calm down again. She didn't want to look outside into the wilderness, so she decided to stare into space, while she tried to take her mind off things.

Hopper stared outside the window and saw thousands of monsters trudging around the city. Some of them were eating human flesh and bone, with their mouths wide open and their claws digging into their skin. No wonder Sara was scared.

Suddenly, the car stopped in the middle of the street and Hopper began to feel uneasy. "Hop."

Jonathan got his attention and Hopper looked out of the front window and saw that the way out of the city was blocked by various vehicles and transport. People were screaming and running away from the monsters, and a stranger noticed them in their car.

"Hey guys, you need to get out of there!" The man shouted with desperation. Hopper thought he was playing with them and secretly wanted to steal their car, but he looked genuinely concerned and caring about their well being.

"Why, what's going on?" Jonathan bellowed.

"You need to get out of here! There's no way out of the city, so you have to get out the car and find a safe place to go!"

Hopper and Sara were both staring at the stranger, feeling confused as to why they couldn't get out of the city and why the gateway out of here was blocked by cars and buses. The manly stranger, spotted two of them in the back seat and he began to longingly stare at Hopper.

"Hey sir, is that your daughter?" Hopper gazed down at Sara and she was still staring at the man. He didn't want to tell this information to a random stranger. He was too shocked by tonight's circumstances, that he didn't want to talk to anyone, except for his daughter.

"Well, protect her. Keep her safe." Hopper didn't know how to respond or how to react so he gave him a slight nod as a thanks.

The man started to run away from the car again but one of the malicious monsters, jumped on his back and sunk its venomous teeth into his neck. Sara was screaming and Hopper held the back of her head, and pressed her face against his shoulder because he didn't want her to see the monster eating it's dead body in front of her.

Hopper and Jonathan were shocked and devastated that this nice, innocent man died in such an evil way. Sara was still continuously screaming. "Shhhh...Sara, look at me."

Hopper pulled her away and held her face to wipe the tears away. "Sara...We have to leave, okay? We have to find a safe place to stay for the night and then when all of this is over, we can go home."

Sara slowly nodded in response. "Now, we are going to get out of the car, I'm gonna carry you and I want you to close your eyes, while me and Jonathan try and find a safe place to go. When we find that safe place, I will let you open your eyes, okay?"

"O-Okay."