CAPTURE ▹ J. BYERS [DISCONTINUED]

PHOTOS - 1

I'm not continuing, I'm sorry. But this has been written for a long time and I feel that some of you would appreciate a little something. Again, Capture is discontinued until further notice, meaning it is entirely possible I may return to it. Anyway, have this snippet of the first chapter that I never finished, lmao.

QUINN'S breath hitched at the setting. The other half of the room, which was decorated as though it were a small girl's bedroom, was guarded by a thick glass wall. A tall, brooding man with a deadpan expression stood perched at the corner of the room, only moving to watch the girls as they approached the glass surface. The room in front of them looked vacant; but it couldn't be. This was 107.

"Anne, sweetie?" Mary called out timidly, placing a palm against the wall. Quinn shifted beside her, folding her arms over her chest as she swallowed and watched for movement amongst the still.

Nothing.

"It's me, Anne– your cousin Mary." She tried again. This time a pair of eyes appeared around the edge of the twin bed frame meekly and began to slowly, cautiously move into the center of the room.

Mary sighed with relief as she laid eyes on her cousin's lanky body and the corners of her mouth tugged into a small sympathetic smile. "Are you happy to see me?" She asked condescendingly, like she were speaking to a child. Quinn wondered if Mary knew Anne was crazy, not stupid.

She could see Anne blow air out of her nose and stare back blankly at Mary as if she were scoffing at the proposition. Anne noticed Quinn beside Mary and furrowed her brow, slightly cocking her head to the side in question.

Mary saw this and quickly explained. "This is Quinn, my friend. My mom couldn't make it today."

Quinn raised her hand in greeting and smiled, swallowing. Anne stood a moment before she hurried off to a dresser on the far wall, immediately throwing open a drawer and beginning to rummage through it. This appeared to be to Mary's displeasure as Quinn noticed she rolled her eyes and sighed irritably.

"What is she doing?" She asked in a hushed voice and glanced at Anne.

"She's going to show you photos. She shows them to everyone she meets." Mary whispered crossly and folded her arms, jutting out a hip. "She thinks they're evidence from that night, but I think she took them herself."

Quinn's eyebrows knit together at this, her lips loosening as she turned to see Anne approaching with a handful of small Polaroid photos. Her eyes looked desperate as she watched Quinn from the other side of the wall, moving so close to the glass that her nose nearly brushed it and she began to anxiously sort through the pictures one by one.

Suddenly she pulled one from the collection and slapped it on the surface directly in front of Quinn's face, who jumped back in surprise. She looked between the photo and Anne in a state of minor disorientation before she took a moment to inspect what Anne was trying to show her. It was a candid image of Wesley and several other kids from the park, all gripping red solo cups and heads thrown back in laughter while they conversed amongst each other in their own little world.

Anne switched the Polaroid for another one without warning. This time it showed the same group gathered around a small fire, still with wide grins and alcohol.

The pattern with photos repeated until something struck Quinn that made her stomach wrench; a particular image that portrayed the same scene as many of the others, but just hardly visible in the corner was someone else. It was Anne, Quinn could tell by the bright blonde hair and thick-rimmed glasses.

"Mary," she muttered.

"What?"

"Anne didn't take these. She's in them."

➖

Jonathan closed his locker and hoisted his backpack higher onto his shoulders, rubbing the side of his face as he made a beeline through the crowds of students and headed for the open doors. Jonathan never liked to stay at school any longer than he had to, being surrounded by many different people of the same make and mold was exhausting and annoying at the least.