BARBIE - R. TOZIER [1]

THE SHADOW BEFORE;

[ oo ]
'i'm not supposed to talk to strangers'

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BARBIE DENBROUGH had her hands stuffed into her pockets. The girl with massive freckles tapped her index fingers against the thin fabric that separated her fingers and her tan skin as she walked out of Derry Junior High with earbuds plugged in. Oh, thank god for music.

Barbie uses music to drown her annoying tinnitus down, music blocks the ringing sound. If music wasn't even a real thing, she probably would have killed herself to stop that loud, ongoing, killer ring in her ears. Of course, she actually wouldn't, but it's always an option — for her. The tinnitus wouldn't even be there if her Dad didn't have crashed the car on the freeway as he fought and fought with her Mother. Nice going, Dad... I think about suicide every day because of you, She thinks to herself as a joke.

Barbie's parents died even before they were rushed to the emergency room, she remembered how she wept and felt completely horrified at the sight of her burning dead parents. Luckily, Barbie was the only one who got out alive with barely any scratches, bruises, or broken bones, all she got was a tinnitus that'll torment her for the rest of her fucking life.

Just when things were getting a little bit better for Barbie when she started living with her Aunt, she was put up for adoption since her Aunt didn't want to take care of a seven-year-old child all by herself at age twenty. Barbie didn't blame her, she would've done the same but she also remembered how unwanted she felt as she waved goodbye to her Aunt and onwards to her new life in Derry, Maine.

The Denbrough family wasn't what Barbie expected. They were loving, nice, and kind to her. They even told her to make herself at home right when she stepped inside the mediocre house. The only thing that bugged Barbie was that they were white folk, and she wasn't. She's Vietnamese. There was nothing wrong with their race, but they'd frequently ask questions on how it was in Vietnam; a place Barbie had never even seen or visited since she was born in America.

Mrs. Denbrough loved to groom Barbie. Barbie has very healthy, straight hair and Mrs. Denbrough couldn't be happier. Every day is a new hairstyle. That's how Barbie got her nickname, everyone in school would call her Barbie because Mrs. Denbrough literally made her as a human-sized Barbie doll but without the makeup, blonde hair, white skin, and plastic body.

Bill Denbrough who was the oldest son was a stuttering mess when he met Barbie, he was always so nervous about meeting new people but as years went on Barbie had gotten used to his stuttering — since she has lived with him for the past seven years already. She loved him and even though it took awhile to actually accept him as a brother, she eventually did. As for Georgie Denbrough who was the youngest son, was the first person to ever become close with Barbie out of the whole town. She constantly would take care of him when their parents or Bill weren't around, she would help him with the homework he doesn't get and play toys with him even though she has zero interest in car toys or stick figures.

That was all taken away once a very horrific incident happened in October of 1986.

"Where's Georgie?" Barbie asked, popping her body inside Bill's room with her hands held up on his white door frame.

Bill looked up the girl with puffed red eyes, his sinus infection has gotten worse. "He went o-out to play with his —" Bill sneezed, "— paper boat in the rain."

Barbie looked at him incredulously. "Bill, are you dumb? It's raining cats and dogs outside and you let our little brother go out?" She asked in disbelief, looking at him like he was dumb.

"Then guh-guh-go outside to check on him... I'm still s-sick." Bill said. Barbie pulled her lips into a thin line and sighed, grabbing her raincoat and yellow galoshes, and putting them on. She gave her Mother a kiss on the cheek and said that she's going out to check up on Georgie, Mrs. Denbrough didn't answer though, for she was too busy playing the piano.

She was about to leave the house without her cassette tape and headphones until she stopped right when she had one foot out the door. Stopping at a halt, she left the door open which caused tiny droplets from the rain to come inside, and she sprinted upstairs to her room and grabbed her lifesaver.

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The harsh rain came down on her coat, the sharp sound of the raindrop was visibly heard as it hit her hood even though she wore headphones. Barbie's eyes squinted as she walked down Jackson Street and looked for the little boy. After several minutes of looking for him in the storm, she was desperate enough to call for his name. "Georgie!" She yelled out, cupping her hand at the side of her mouth.

No answer.

"Georgie Denbrough!" She yelled once again. At the end of Jackson Street, she felt relief wash over her as she saw the little boy wearing his yellow raincoat and green galoshes. Something was wrong, he knelt on the ground as he had he looked down into the sewer, his hand reluctantly going inside.

"There you are, Georgie! I was —" Barbie's words got interrupted by a loud screeching sound from the boy. In a matter of seconds, her eyes averted to Georgie who's arm was cut off clean. Barbie screamed so loud, loud enough for the whole town to hear her. One of her earbuds fell off.

Tears fell down her face as she ran towards the little boy who was yelling and crying. She dropped to the ground next to him and pulled him towards her, not caring that blood was staining her clean, white raincoat. "Oh my god... W-W-What the fuck?" She whispered to herself shakily as she held Georgie in her arms.

"Kat, i-it hurts!" Georgie cried, looking down at his arm that was gone. Barbie looked down at the sewer in shock, there was a man whose face was pale as argent, his eyes were a dark shade of yellow but it glinted in the dark, a messed up smile was on his lips, and there was Georgie's arm that he held in his hand. Georgie's arm! Oh my god how did he bite his arm off?! was her first thought, accompanied by a swoony horror that caused her to clamp her right hand viciously to her mouth to keep from screaming and ripping her vocal chords to shreds.

It was so gruesome, Barbie's only instinct was to stick her foot inside the sewer drain and kick him right on his face. The man stumbled back but got ahold of her foot.

Screaming, she tried to wiggle off his hand but his grip was too strong. Georgie who was unable to move forced his free hand to grab onto Barbie's. "We all float down here, Katerina." The man said in a rushed voice but maintained his husky, deep voice.

Barbie stopped her screaming for a while and she turned her body around, back laid down on the wet ground, her other foot who wasn't clasped with the man's hand got in contact with his face once again and he let go. Barbie hastily got up to her feet, tried to grab Georgie's arm but the man's hand was now on his foot and was being dragged.

"Georgie, NO!" She yelled, fell to the ground once again in an attempt to hold on the little boy's hand. But he was gone, the only thing left of him was his voice echoing through the sewer as he yelled out for Barbie's and Bill's name.

Barbie's face was blotched and wet because of her tears and the rain. She had her hand clasped to her mouth and tried to accept that that just happened and Georgie is gone, because of her.