CAPTURE ▹ J. BYERS [DISCONTINUED]

PROLOGUE - 0

ANNE Warren had not wanted to be out so late.

Anne Warren should've gone home to an at-the-ready mother, getting onto her about staying out at such a late hour with boys. It would have happened if things had panned out like any other night in Hawkins, Indiana.

But they did not.

The night she'd gone with Wesley Brown to the park to get "completely shit-faced" (quoted, Wesley) with a few other friends of his, things hadn't gone accordingly. Whenever the police had asked her what it was she'd seen– how in the world her friend had ended up in a mangled heap 20 yards from the bench they'd been at– the only thing she could manage to stutter out comprehensibly was "long, pale, sharp."

Officer Callahan was the first of many to call her out as the main suspect. But it was also quite clear that Anne was shaken, so it was decided that her odd explanation was the result of traumatic hallucinations, and that she would be sent off to Pennhurst– a mental facility in Kerley county– where she would stay until the psychiatrist there saw her fit to undergo further questioning.

The only tie between Quinn Moore and Anne Warren was a dainty, clever girl named Mary White; Anne's cousin.

—

"Quinn, you don't have to come with me. Are you sure you're up for this?" Mary took a quick drag from her cigarette and stabbed the butt against the steering wheel of her Toyota Cressida, shifting in her seat to face her friend.

"Yes, Mary. I've told you a thousand times, yes. Just because your mom's away doesn't mean you have to see her alone." Quinn moved so that her feet were propped up on the dash, but they were promptly smacked away by Mary.

"I wouldn't have to go in the first place if my mom had a sensible head on her damn shoulders." She spat, turning the key in the ignition and the car sputtered to life. "She was the only other person there. And she's obviously... mental." Her pointed finger spun circles towards the side of her head and she pulled quickly out onto the street, jerking the car to the side to straighten it out in between the yellow line and the edge of the asphalt.

Quinn rolled her eyes, oblivious to being thrown into the passenger door. "You don't know that she was the only one." She shook her head. "You don't know anything until she can say it."

"You sound like my mom."

"Gross." A short breath blew out of her nose contemptibly as she repositioned herself to lean against the window. "Hey, turn on some music, would you?"

"Anything for you, Q." Mary twisted the knob that adjusted the radio volume and Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" slowly faded in, becoming background noise along with the soft hum of the car droning down the road.

In all honesty, Quinn was nervous about seeing Anne in Pennhurst. She didn't know her well, but she had seen her around school and was aware of her struggles with the other kids there. She never really did fit in– if you didn't bully her, you pitied her. Would it be depressing to see her there? Or disturbing? It was the fear of the unknown that kept her on edge.

Some time passed and the car pulled off of an empty backroad into a parking lot. The building in front of them was at least two stories high and a painted pale color that was chipping off of the wooden exterior. Two large, tinted glass doors sat in the middle of the building. In Quinn's eyes, it was a glorified shack.

Mary turned the key and yanked it out, swinging the loop around her index finger idly as she stared outside the windshield. She was rolling her lips around and Quinn could hear the soft, anxious tapping of her flats against the floorboard, still silent until she was addressed.

"Mary? You ready?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Of course." She snapped her attention to Quinn and nodded quickly, flashing her a smile before she clambered out of the car. She was obviously just as bothered as Quinn was about it all, but Mary knew how much it meant to her family that she check on Anne and by no means did she intend to let them down.

Quinn followed her out promptly and pushed open one of the glass doors, holding it for her friend then letting it fall back into place behind them. The two moved to the reception desk, where a tired looking woman in her mid-40's stood in scrubs, gripping a phone in between the side of her head and her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Meyer is incredibly busy now with the recent.." She paused, glancing up at the two girls before she looked back to a folder in her hands. "...events." She finished slowly. "I'm afraid he's got far too much on his hands right now, but we do have other psychiatrists available– excuse me, one moment." The woman set down the papers and took the phone in one hand, covering the mouthpiece with the other. "Can I help you ladies?"

They exchanged a glance. "Um, we're here for Anne Warren. I'm her..." Mary pursed her pink lips for a second as she hesitated to finish the sentence, as if the receptionist of all people was going to judge her. "..cousin."

The woman eyed them both conspicuously, taking note of Quinn's oversized flannel rolled up at the cuffs and Mary's miniskirt and blouse. Her mouth opened to ask another question but she was cut off by a husky voice beside them. "It's alright, Wendy, I know Ms. White."

The man was tall, gray-haired, and clad in a doctor's coat that stopped above his knees. He motioned for them to follow as he disappeared through a pair of dark doors that led into a hallway, the two exchanging another look before quickly pushing through to catch up. 

Quinn guessed he was Anne's psychiatrist, most likely called Dr. Meyer judging from the way Wendy spoke on the phone.

"She's not exactly made much progress since we moved her in, I hope you weren't expecting a breakthrough. Room 107. And don't worry, I've called for a guard to go in with you." Dr. Meyer paused and brought his wrist upward, pulling back his sleeve to reveal a watch. "I've got matters to tend to. I trust you two are old enough to handle yourselves– just don't go anywhere other than where you're supposed to be."

After he'd left, the girls searched for 107. When they'd found it, Mary gripped the door handle and stopped, taking in a deep breath as Quinn watched anxiously over her shoulder. After a moment of still standing she gave Mary a light nudge.

"Well, go on, then. We're not getting any younger."

"Oh, shut up." She pulled the handle and pushed it away from her, the door creaking open as a shred of light filtered into a dimly lit room, casting two shadows onto the checkered-tile flooring.

(A/N: biggest pile of crap i've ever written but it's been long enough. next chapter will be better/actually have the character this is a fanfiction for lmao???? ok it's 1am for me, i hope you found some way to enjoy this and WAIT UNTIL AFTER CHAPTER ONE TO DECIDE IF YOU HATE IT LMAo because i already do rip)