Something ▹ STRANGER THINGS

III. THE TURN OF THE SCREW

          The same unease was accompanied by a missing feeling. It was hard to explain. Faye couldn't tell of what felt gone, but she could say it was something important. Something that if Faye heard the name of, she'd smack herself in the face for not thinking of it sooner. Still, everything she could imagine was left untouched. Or, at least, from what she could recall.

          "Fayelynn, sweetie?" Faye glanced up and saw her mother smiling down at her with that standard mother smile she had seen on just about every family sitcom on television.

          Faye had already decided that Jillian Mathers was the best mother in Indiana and Tobias Mathers was undoubtedly the best father in Indiana, as well. Not that every other kid in Hawkins saw their parents as the best parents in Indiana, but they were the best. Why? So many reasons.

          One: They were complete badasses. Tobias was skilled in archery and self-defense, teaching Fayelynn when she was young. Jillian was a mother. Enough said. She'd honestly turn anyone inside out who looked at Fayelynn the wrong way while they were out buying groceries.

          Two: They were incredibly smart. Tobias worked at a finance company, clearly talented in statistics and mathematics as well as other sciences and fields of intellectual study that his job didn't associate with. Not only that, he was great with riddles and solving things. Jillian was a writer for the Hawkins Herald, though she was trying to branch out to publishing a book that she had been working on a few months after Faye had met her. With their combined intelligence, it was no wonder that Faye was doing so well in class.

          Three: They were the only set of parents that were willing to take her in. At the time Faye was discovered, there were dozens of families in Hawkins without children- or even families with children- that could've taken the girl in, yet they all refused her. The Mathers were the only ones to actually find the kindness in their hearts to let the girl into their home for the next few years.

          "Yes?" Faye said softly.

          "We're going to go home soon," Jillian replied in her usual kind, warm voice. "The doctors said that you just need to take these antibiotics and disinfect your wounds and re-wrap the bandages every so often. Nothing to really worry about, darling."

          Faye wanted to nod, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything when a thought crossed her mind. It had been hanging on her tongue, waiting to be answered, but never had the chance to be asked aloud. So, she finally let her words be heard.

          "Mommy," Faye mewled. "What was I doing out in the woods?"

          The last thing Faye could recall was driving down the street towards Will's house but she drew blank after that. There was the night sky, cold and dark, and rain. A haunting sound that remained in the back of her mind, but didn't ever reach the part of her brain that let her remember what had made it or even what it truly sounded like. It was a total puzzle that even Tobias couldn't solve for her.

          "You don't remember?"

          "No."

          Jillian turned to her husband who gave her a look that said something Faye couldn't decipher. Though with Jillian's next words, she realized what it was.

          "We'll talk about this at home... just, not here."

❖❖❖

          Bailey's Hill was rumored to be haunted since the town was founded so long ago. Though Faye had never seen any spirits roaming around her bedroom in the dark hours, she had a few ideas as to where this idea came from. Perhaps it was the thickets that grew barren every autumn, leaving behind naked branches for the next half of the year that twisted and contorted into claws of ghouls and monsters. Perhaps it was the mysterious atmosphere left around it due to its age and slight decay from years of sitting upon a tall hill whenever rain and storms blew in. Or perhaps it was just the fact that she lived there.