The next day, while we were in class, the rest of the party was worried about why Will was late to school.
A knock interrupted the class and the principal opened the door with a grim expression.
"Sorry to interrupt... but may I borrow Michael, Lucas, Erica and Dustin?" called the principal.
The boys exchanged confused looks as we slowly stood and gathered our things. Mike, Lucas and Dustin hadn't the slightest idea what was going on.
Chief Hopper and Officer Callahan step into view.
Mike, Dustin and Lucas's expressions darkened the moment they saw them. Mine did too. Unlike the boys, I already knew what this meant. Seeing the police here made it real. Will really was out there somewhere, fighting to survive in another dimension.
Around us, quiet snickers began to spread.
"Ooooh... looks like the nerds are in serious trouble."
"What do you think the freaks did this time?"
"Shush! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Remember, Erica said they're under her protection."
"The nerds are just lucky one of them's related to her," someone whispered back. "…Do you think she heard me?"
Normally, I would have had something to say about that.
Not today.
Because unlike everyone else in this room, I already knew what was waiting for us the moment we stepped into the principal's office.
Chief Hopper would be breaking the news that I was dreading and reluctant to face reality to the boys.
A few moments later, we were ushered into the principal's office.
The four of us squeezed onto a small couch opposite Chief Hopper and Officer Callahan. Hopper had a notepad resting on one knee, his expression unreadable.
"So," he began. "Walk me through yesterday. From the moment you left Mike's house."
"It was me and him, actually—" Dustin started.
"My house is the first up—" Lucas interrupted.
"He takes Mirkwood home—" Mike cut in.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hopper held up a hand. "One at a time."
Before he could point at anyone, I spoke.
"He left us where Cornwallis and Kerley meet. The nerds call that stretch Mirkwood."
The room fell quiet.
Hopper looked at me for a second before nodding.
"Thank you."
He jotted it down in his notebook.
"So 'Mirkwood' is just your nickname for it?"
"Yeah. It's from The Lord of the Rings," Lucas explained.
"The Hobbit" corrected Dustin
"It doesn't matter!" Lucas snapped in frustration.
"He asked!" Dustin insisted.
"I know the damn road," Chief Hopper said, cutting off the argument before it could start.
Mike leaned forward.
"We can show you."
"I said I know it."
I watched him carefully.
"You've already searched it?"
His eyes shifted to mine.
"We're searching everywhere."
"That's not what I asked."
The room went quiet again.
For just a moment, Hopper studied me.
"...Yes," he answered. "We've searched the road."
"The woods?"
"We're expanding the search."
Meaning they hadn't covered all of it yet.
Or they hadn't found anything.
"Have you organised a volunteer search yet, or is it still just the police?" I asked. "How many people have you managed to mobilise? What areas have you covered so far? Where have you set the search boundaries?"
Hopper's eyebrows rose slightly.
"You ask a lot of questions."
"I like knowing what I'm dealing with."
"That's police business."
"So, no answer."
"No."
I suppressed a sigh.
I already knew Chief Hopper wasn't going to find Will yet. Still, understanding how far the investigation had progressed was useful. The less he was willing to tell me, the more I had to piece together myself. I needed to know which parts of the woods were already being searched and, more importantly, which weren't. Those would be the places I'd have to search on my own.
Dustin looked between us in confusion.
"...Erica?"
I ignored him.
"If he didn't make it home, are you treating this as a missing-person case or an abduction?"
Now even Officer Callahan looked at me.
Hopper slowly closed his notebook.
"I told you already. That's police business."
"Will would never run away."
"I didn't say he did."
"You also didn't answer my question."
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Mike finally broke the silence.
"We really could help look."
Hopper turned to him immediately.
"No."
Mike frowned.
"But—"
"No. After school, you go straight home. All of you."
His eyes moved from Dustin to Lucas, then to Mike, and finally back to me.
"That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no wandering around those woods. Leave this to us."
"This isn't some Lord of the Rings book—"
"The Hobbit," Dustin corrected again automatically.
Hopper pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Do I make myself clear?"
The four of us exchanged uneasy glances.
I gave a small nod.
Outwardly, I understood exactly what he was saying.
Privately...
I knew his search wasn't going to find Will.
So I'd have to do his job for him.
After all, another dimension wasn't exactly within Chief Hopper's jurisdiction.