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Thank you

I just wanted to thank everyone who actually made it to the ending of this novel-length fanfic that took 7 months to write.

I honestly was never sure how it would turn out. Good? Bad? I guess that's not up to me to decide. But it was a lot of fun to write and I feel like the writing actually got a little better by the ending too. I'm a published author now which I wasn't when I started this and the world is nothing like it was when I started as well...it's a weird feeling to think about how in that time things have changed. I was actually going to stop at this fanfic and work on my own story ideas but then ST had to stop filming season 4 so I wanted to write what my own take would be on S4 as just some fun until we get the real season so below this is a sneak peek into my new ST Fanfic. Season 4, Into The Shadows.

1

Have you seen her?

November 1st, 1986.

A tall woman with red hair looked around herself as she stood on the sidewalk in the main street of the sleepy town of Hawkins Indiana. People walked around her hurriedly as they tried to get out of the cold, light snow starting to fall around her.

She let out a foggy breath before she crossed the street to Melvald's General Store.

A bell rang out as she pushed open the door and was greeted with a warmth that helped her racing heart calm. She slowly lowered the black hood of her jacket as she looked around. It was a small store but looked to be well stocked up as a few people milled around picking things up here and there. But she wasn't here to buy anything. No, she was here for answers.

She walked over to the checkout and waited for the older man to be done helping the blonde woman in front of her.

"There you go Mrs. Wheeler, have a good afternoon now," he said handing her the paper bag of groceries, "You better hurry home the snow is really coming down now."

"Thank you, Donald," the blonde woman said as she turned away from him, a raven-haired boy followed after her back out the door letting a breeze of bone-chilling air in before the older man turned to her.

"How can I help you Ms?"

"I'm looking for someone, and I heard they live here," the woman said as she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and as the older man took it he found it was a photo that had been ripped out in a hurry.

"Have you seen her?" The woman asked as she started to look around herself pushing a piece of hair out of her face nervously.

"This...this is a photo of Hopper's girl."

"Who is Hopper? Where does he live?"

"I'm sorry to say that he passed away last year in a fire, and she was taken to live with Mrs. Byers when they moved away from here," the man said looking back up at her.

"Do you know where they are now?" the woman asked, but her attention was drawn to the window suddenly.

"No she didn't tell many people I'm afraid, just somewhere only a few hours away." the man said following her gaze and saw she was looking at a man in a dark coat on the other side of the street who was talking to someone in a big white van. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you though," the woman said, grabbing the photo and stuffed it back into her pocket before she started towards the door in a hurry.

"Are you sure I can't call someone to pick you up? The snow is turning into a storm now," He called after her but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

She stepped back out into the snow that like the man had said started to fall faster now. As fast as she could without drawing attention to herself, she started down the sidewalk for her hotel, but there was no use, the man had already seen her. It was too late and she knew it.

She let out a shaking breath as she sped up and looked behind her shoulder to see the man following right behind her, his head down a hood covering his face.

"Shit," she said under her breath and looked around herself for an escape, the sidewalks now empty, not even cars were driving around. But thankfully she found a light of hope a moment later as she spotted an alleyway, the sound of the footsteps getting closer now.

As the opening of the alley got closer she put on a burst of speed once more just as she turned into the opening and took off in a run.

She didn't dare look back as she weaved her way around boxes and trash, her red hair flying out behind her, before she ran around another corner of a building that she hoped would lead her to another street, a street with more people which meant only one thing. Safety.

But to her horror, she found a tall metal gate barring her way. She ran into it praying it would open but it was chained shut. She listened as the footsteps got closer and before she turned to face him she pulled out a knife.

"You're not going anywhere I see, not this time," the man said in a thick Russian accent.

"When are you going to realize I'll always find a way out?" She asked as behind her back she gripped the edge of the blade, feeling the pain before the warmth of her own blood starting to fall as she pressed the cut hand into the freezing metal of the chain holding the gate. "Realize I'll never go back."

"Ruby don't do-"

She didn't let him finish his sentence as she let the chain fall to the ground and she was able to push the gate open and slammed it shut, the lock bent out of shape as she let her cut hand touched it now keeping it from opening as she made a run for it once again.

The sound of the man hitting the gate in anger echoed out as she made it to the street, she pulled up her black hood as she hurriedly walked down the sidewalk, keeping her face turned away from passers-by. She knew that man would only be minutes away and fewer people that saw her face meant fewer people could tell him which way she went.

The inn she was staying in came into view then and it was only then did she let her breathing calm as she folded the knife back up before putting it in her back pocket as she walked up to the door and opened it.

She got in and closed it quickly after herself, and looked around trying to see if there was any sign of a break-in. But no. Everything was quiet. She could hear the TV going that the old woman who owned this place liked to have on in the next room over, and as Ruby looked in she found Mrs Berry fast asleep in front of it, one of the stories she liked playing.

Feeling her heart calm down more now she made her way up the stairs to her room that she had been staying in for the last week. She closed and locked the door. For a moment she laid an against the door and looked at her hand. The cut she had made almost gone, only a pink line showed that anything had been done to it.

She let out a breath before looking up at the wall that faced the bed where photos hung, alongside news clippings, pages ripped from files, handwritten notes. Red string connecting it all.

Walking over she started ripping it all down and tearing it in half and then again and again until it was nothing more than unreadable pieces. She threw it all into a metal garbage can, she paused a moment looking at all her work gone in a manner of minutes.

She closed her brown eyes for a long second before she went to the dresser at the other side of the room and picked up her lighter but stopped, a sound catching her attention suddenly.

She listened as she moved closer to her door and pressed her ear to the wood.

"And you say you didn't hear her come in?"

"No i haven't seen her, and I'm a very light sleeper so I would have heard something if she did come in ...is she in trouble?" Mrs. Berry asked.

"No, we just need to make sure though, so you more if you don't mind can we look around?" A male voice asked.

"Of course not, go right ahead," the older woman answered.

"God damn it!" Ruby hissed to herself as she stepped away from the door, hearing footsteps slowly make their way up to her room, as if they were trying to be quiet.

She went over to the garbage can and flicked on the lighter. She looked at the small flame for only a moment before she let it fall from her fingertips into the papers.

They caught instantly, the paper turning ashen in only a matter of moments and that was good because just then someone tried to open the door, but thankfully she had locked it as the door handle stuck.

Ruby felt her heart pick up then as she realized there was only one way out for her. The window.

She turned to her dresser and grabbed her bag, the only thing in the world she truly had, with her few clothes and money. Ruby threw it over her shoulder before making her way to the tall window. She pushed open the glass and looked down. A white van had parked just outside her room meaning her fall would still hurt but maybe she would get out of this without breaking more bones than needed as snow fell onto it.

Someone started to slam themselves against the door then, the wooden frame starting to crack and she knew it was now or never.

She didn't have any more time to think about it before she closing her eyes she jumped.

AN

That was half of the first chapter of S4 Into the Shadow see the full chapter posted tomorrow.