❝I'M NOT PSYCHIC.❞
❝YOU'RE SOMETHING!❞
FAYELYNN MATHERS was the town freak ever since she was found on the river's edge with burn marks all over her body. For years, she was relatively sound, never had any outbursts and did her best to fit into soci...
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❝TEN.❞
NO ONE IN Hawkins, Indiana questioned why the Ronan kids were out by Luniteer River on that Thanksgiving evening back in 1978; all anyone cared about was what they managed to find sitting on the rock just beside it during high tide.
The five teenagers were doing God knows what in the forest when they noticed a figure in white near the waters that had been rising dangerously to their right. Feeling both adventurous and curious, they went over to investigate. When they inched closer, they noticed the figure was actually a red-haired girl who was holding her knees to her chest, keeping her face hidden from sight. She must've already been in the water, probably washed up onto the rocks, but it was uncertain; her hair was doused in water and her white dress was clinging to her pale skin. She was shivering, they could see, no doubt from the water and the cruel, frigid November weather.
"Hello?" Carmine, one of the Ronan's cousins, called out the girl.
The red-haired girl raised her head slowly, glancing their way and giving the Ronan kids a good look at her face. She was young, no older than thirteen. Her pale cheeks were dusted with small freckles and a layer of rouge to protect her from the cold for a bit. Her face was etched into a scowl of pain and fear, sending chills down their spines. But what was truly haunting were her eyes. They were outlined with dark circles, looked to be bloodshot from crying too much, and held more cries from help that actually left her lips.
Everyone waited for the girl to say something, anything. But there was only one thing that the girl uttered. "Ten."
At first, the children were going to retreat back to their house just in time for their mother to bring out the Thanksgiving turkey and shrug her off as a crazy woman. But when Timothy Ronan stepped around to examine the girl without getting too close to her, he noticed that the back of her dress was torn open and the fabric around it was stained with red. Through the few strands of wet hair, Timothy could see something burned into the skin of her back that still looked fresh.
"Oh my God..." He exclaimed.
"What?" Maria Ronan shouted, confused as to why her brother was acting so strange.
"She's hurt! Go get Mom and Dad! Now!"
The police came after the strange girl was rushed to the hospital to treat her injuries. Apparently, from what they could tell, someone had used some branding tool to burn the letter "F" onto her back, and it was done in less than twenty-four hours and unfortunately, the dirty water from the river had only irritated it more to the point of potential infection. When asked how this happened to her, she gave no proper response. Just a panicked shake of the head, yet it seemed that even that gave the police a good amount of information.
It wasn't much different from the other questions the police asked while she was recovering. They'd ask about her name, her past, her everything, really, but it was all the same. She couldn't seem to say the right words that would help her case, only giving small gestures and bits and pieces of full sentences. She had amnesia, the doctors confirmed. From what, they couldn't figure out, but it was evident that this detail would hinder the police in returning the girl to her rightful home. It seemed, though, that it would prove to be more difficult, even if she had full memory. Because it was on that day that the seemingly quiet town of Hawkins finally had something to talk about.
