Chapter 49 – The Plan
Hopper's eyes hardened.
A priest.
A disheveled child.
The woods at dusk, far from town.
And the memory of that troubling news report he'd seen not long ago…
He hadn't thought Hawkins would ever attract new faces. Yet here one was—appearing at the exact moment Will Byers vanished.
"Check the area," Hopper muttered to Bob. "See if he's got anyone else with him."
Bob, equally stunned, nodded and slipped off with another deputy.
"You. Who are you? And who's this kid?" Hopper demanded, keeping his gun steady.
"Relax."
Gideon met his stare calmly. He could tell the sheriff had misunderstood.
"I was commissioned to investigate Will's disappearance. This child—she's… connected to a nearby research facility."
He deliberately avoided saying Eleven's name. That would only raise more suspicion. Mentioning Will, however, might soften the edge.
But the moment Hopper heard it, his finger flicked the safety off his pistol.
Will. This priest was tied to Will.
And a research facility? Hopper almost laughed. He'd lived in Hawkins for over a decade—never once had he heard of any such place.
The tension spiked, sharp as wire.
"Don't shoot! He's with us!"
Joyce burst out from the trees, panting. She'd fallen behind when Gideon quickened his pace, but the officers' flashlights had guided her back.
Bob and the others returned as well.
"Joyce?" Hopper blinked, startled.
She quickly explained what she knew. But even after listening, Hopper's grip on his gun didn't ease.
The priest's words reeked of madness: another world? Monsters? Exorcisms? He even wondered if Joyce herself had been duped.
"Which organization do you work for? Where are the other kidnapped kids?" Hopper's voice was low, cutting, his eyes fixed on Gideon.
"I suggest we leave here first," Gideon said, glancing into the trees. He could already sense something moving closer. Likely the same demodogs he had encountered before.
"Don't play games," Hopper snapped. "Cuff him."
Bob pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
"Forgive me," Gideon said quietly.
In a flash, he seized Bob and pulled him close. The deputy struggled with all his strength, but found his body completely locked in place—immovable.
"Hey!" Hopper barked, stepping forward. "Don't do anything stupid."
But Gideon ignored him, turning instead to Joyce.
"Hand out the crosses from the bag. Give one to each of the officers."
Joyce hesitated for only a heartbeat before nodding, quickly distributing them.
"Careful!" Hopper warned his men. "This priest's trying to mess with your heads!" He hurled his own cross into the dirt. "Even if some monster walks out of these woods, it won't save you!"
Gideon only shrugged.
"Sheriff, you don't believe in exorcisms… yet you're afraid the cross itself might sway you? Curious."
For once, Hopper had no retort. He didn't believe, true—but discarding the cross was more about refusing to let this stranger set the rules.
"That's your choice," Gideon said evenly. "But I do have one more piece of advice—get down. Now."
Confusion flickered across Hopper's face—until instinct screamed. He dropped into a crouch.
A massive jaw, bristling with teeth, snapped shut where his head had just been.
Hopper froze, staring up at the nightmare above him.
There was no such animal in Hawkins.
And then came the roars.
Dozens of glowing crimson eyes lit up between the trees.
"What… what the hell are those things?" a deputy stammered.
Hopper fired, a clean shot straight through the nearest beast. The bullet tore through flesh—yet the demodog kept coming, unfazed.
The gunshot only enraged the pack. One by one, they leapt toward the officers.
But the slaughter never came.
The moment the beasts struck, a pure white force repelled them.
The deputies raised their trembling hands—and saw the crosses in their palms glowing faintly, warding off the monsters.
They realized, in that instant, what had truly saved them.
Bob's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
Moments ago, he'd been struggling in Gideon's grip.
Now, he clung tightly to the priest's arm—like a child refusing to let go.
Hopper, too, was taken aback. The things unfolding before his eyes were beyond anything his experience could explain. Yet he didn't hesitate—he stooped, picked up the discarded cross, and barked for his officers to form a circle, backs pressed together.
Gideon turned toward Eleven.
"Can you handle it?"
She nodded silently and raised her hand.
In an instant, the demodogs froze. Then, with a sickening crack and twist, their flesh and bone collapsed inward—until nothing remained but quivering heaps of gore.
The deputies gaped, their eyes wide with horror. To them, Gideon and Eleven looked every bit as terrifying as the beasts they'd just destroyed.
Even so, Gideon insisted Joyce bring out the holy water, sprinkling it over the remains to ensure the creatures were well and truly gone.
Hopper holstered his pistol and stepped forward.
"I guess… I owe you a thank you."
After what he had just witnessed, he could no longer see this priest as an enemy.
While the officers cleared the scene, Joyce and Hopper exchanged everything they knew. Only then did the sheriff realize how much time they had wasted chasing the wrong leads.
Meanwhile, Gideon learned something troubling from Eleven. Not long ago, she had completely lost her ability to sense the Upside Down—as if some force had cut her off.
But the gate itself… was already open. Beneath the lab.
"Looks like we'll have to pay the place a visit," Gideon murmured.
Hopper approached.
"So—what's the plan?"
He still struggled to accept tonight's revelations, but years of service had honed him into a practical man. And right now, he knew one thing for certain: if they had any hope of facing monsters like that, they would need this priest.
"I do have a plan," Gideon said, fingers brushing his chin.
"I can mobilize every officer under my command," Hopper replied firmly.
Gideon raised his brows. Impressive. The sheriff's ability to seize control of a chaotic situation was no less formidable than his strength.
"Then that would be ideal," he said with a faint smile.
---
An hour later, Sheriff Hopper declared a state of emergency in Hawkins.
Every resident was ordered to stay inside, armed and ready.
At the station, dozens of barrels of gasoline were lined up—hauled in from across town by Bob and the deputies on Gideon's orders.
With everyone assembled, the priest laid out the plan.
"The lab is stocked with live ammunition. A frontal assault would be suicide. First priority: we find a way in and seize control of the person in charge. Second: the electronic locks must be destroyed. We need a way to escape at any time, using force if necessary. Third: leave the guards to Eleven. Do not engage them directly."
He then handed Hopper a metal lunchbox.
"After she uses her power, make sure she eats this immediately."
Hopper opened it—inside was a slice of pan-seared pig liver, seasoned with Joyce's spices, and a neat pile of red fruits.
Gideon had prepared it himself—a blood-replenishing meal. The fruits? Red dates. In Hawkins, rarer than firearms.
"Lastly," Gideon added, "if you see the man in charge, restrain him at once. We can't risk him activating any emergency defenses."
The officers exchanged odd glances.
This didn't sound like standard police procedure.
If anything, it sounded like… a heist.
Unaware of their thoughts, Gideon clapped his hands once.
"Enough. We move out."
And so, under the cloak of night, several patrol cars rolled quietly toward the Hawkins Lab.