INSIDE Ben Hanscom's bedroom was a sight to behold. That was the first thing that came to Calla's mind as she entered the room, the pale yellow wall paper was covered in all sorts of News clippings and records. Calla was in complete awe just as much as the rest of the kids who shortly entered afterwards.
"Cool huh?" Ben smiled.
Richie walked up to stand beside Calla who had her eye on one clipping, "No, nothing cool. Theres nothing cool." But Calla could easily tell from the boy's spot beside her; was also amazed at the walking museum which was of Ben's bedroom.
"What's that?" Stan pointed to a piece of paper that had huge red circles surrounding a set of words.
Ben moved closer to stand next to the group, "That? That's the charter for Derry's township."
"Nerd alert." Richie snorted.
Calla moved closer to the wall as she muttered, "Says the kid that gets straight A's."
"Actually, it's really interesting. Derry started as a Beaver trapping camp." Ben informed.
Richie interrupted as he glanced over at Eddie and Stan, "Still is, am I right, boys?"
If Calla wasn't too busy trying to read the visuals that were about this town she would have snorted at the silence that followed after Richie's usual antics. Instead she multi-tasked as her brown almond shaped eyes followed the papers trying to make sense of them as Ben continued, "Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace."
Calla felt a shiver run down her spine.
"The entire camp?" Eddie's voice wavered.
"There were rumors of Indians...but no sign of attack." Ben answered.
Calla shook her head not believing it to be the suspected race.
"Everyone thought it was a plague or something." Ben went-on as Calla leaned her palms flat against Ben's dark wood dresser her eyes scanning over a black and white photo of majority men leaning over pages ready to sign.
"But...it's like one day everybody just woke up and left." Calla swallowed the lump in her throat as she spotted one figure inside of the photo. It was the only figure that looked directly at its audience. It's eyes were significantly dark filled with a sinister look, a large head surrounded with curly hair. She knew that face all too well...Calla wondered if Ben noticed this figure in the photo as she turned her head. Her chin burying into her sticky skin of her shoulder as her eyes settled on Ben, "The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well-house."
Calla exhaled through her nostrils as she turned back to see the image of what the Well-House appeared be during that time period.
"Jesus, we can get Derry on unsolved mysteries." Richie commented.
"Let's do it, brilliant." Eddie agreed.
Calla felt the three boys move closer to the wall, Richie's arm brushing up against Calla's as he did so. "Hey...what do you think about all this shit?"
"Every City has its past." Calla replied, her eyes moving back to the image of that sinister figure in the photo that continuously burned into her mind.
Calla reached up to yank the photo down from the wall, bringing it closer to her line of vision. Richie's stare from her right side burned into her face as he glanced from the short haired girl to the photo. "Cam..."
"Do you see that?" Calla asked as Eddie and Stan chatted amongst themselves in the background.
Richie blinked as he moved closer to Calla peering over to see the thumb of her nail pointing at the figure that caught her attention. "I see a motherfucker with a huge forehead, yeah. I could go ice skating on that thang!"
Calla turned to Richie, her eyes meeting his and he could honestly say that he didn't like whatever was in her eye at that moment. Richie watched as Calla kept her eyes trained on him as she folded up the piece of paper to shove into her back pocket.
"Where's The well-house?" Billy asked, causing Calla to break the stare and move to stand beside Ben.
Ben shrugged, "I don't know. Why?"
"Nothing."
Calla stared at Bill following his train of eye sight which followed to clippings of missing children reports. Something else Calla had seen once before when she discovered the truth of her mother's death. Her father had reported her mother missing after they had an argument, causing her to flee from the house. When Calla's mother never returned after two days, Mr. Mayta declared his wife to be missing from the home he shared with their four year old daughter. Calla couldn't remember much of the night her mother went missing as she was four but she did remember the time she found her mother's journals...
Soon after the kids decided to say their goodbyes to Ben for now as they all went their separate ways on their travels back home. Calla was silent as her skates scrapped against the gravel, her mind dazed at the "borrowed" image that burned in her back pocket. The sun was starting to set as Calla and Richie approached their neighborhood. She decided to travel home with Richie this time around, and she was not listening to what the boy had been blabbing about on their journey home.
"And that's how Twisted Sister and Aerosmith fought to have me in their band." Richie steered his bike in zig-zags.
Calla kept her gaze on the street in front of her but she heard the last of Whatever Richie wanted to share. "Hey Mamacita, are my dreams that boring to you? I bet I can use that dream as my summer reading project. That'll definitely get me a fuckin' A!"
"Richie."
"Cam." Richie sped forward but slowed down as he realized Calla stopped in her tracks. He circled around, stopping the bike with his feet as he halted in front of the brown haired teen.
Calla chewed on her bottom lip as she slowly closed her eyes, "I have proof now."
"Proof that you're in love with me? We already got that covered, Cam." Richie winked but Calla frowned with her eyes still closed.
Calla pulled the photo out, "I'm gonna show this to Natura and my dad. This is the image, this is it. This is what you also wouldn't believe."
"Wait—that's—Holy shit! Lemme see the photo again." Richie waved his hands out for the folded photo which Calla handed over.
Richie held the photo in one hand and used the other to stroke his chin in thought, "Who knew you could perform magic tricks too! That's rad, Cam."
"Fuck you, Richie. This isn't a magic trick, this is real. Just like it was real when we were eight and nine but you just like everyone else deemed me as a nut job!" Calla hissed, reaching forward to snatch the photo back, "This is the proof that it's real. That everything wasn't all in my head."
Richie widened his eyes, "I don't think—you. Now I see why you were so on board on going to that kids house. Are you two best friends or something? Do you share creepy stories underneath the moonlight or some shit?"
"I'm done talking to you." Calla tossed over her shoulder as she skated by the boy, "You're still no different."
Richie glanced over his shoulder as well, "Look I—
"No. You just don't want to believe in me." Calla sadly answered as she left the boy behind her while she made her way into the house, unprepared for her doom. Unprepared to be dragged from her home by the men in white.
Calla entered through the back of her home running into Natura who gave her step-daughter a smile in greeting. Calla didn't waste any time as she held up the photo in front of the bronze skinned woman who currently had feathers in her hair.
"Calla-Lily what's this?" Natura questioned as she step-forward to get a good look at the photo herself.
"It's what you and pa wouldn't believe. It's the image that's always in the back of my mind." Calla exasperated as she continued holding the photo up.
Natura frowned, "I don't understand."
Calla huffed, "It's what I keep seeing, what's in my art. What my mother saw and what killed her!"
"Calla...honey. Have you taken your meds today?" Natura slowly reached forward to lower the girl's hand but kept her gaze on the wild wide-eyed girl in front of her.
Calla shoved Natura's hand from her's, "Fuck the meds! It's all here! It's all what I've been telling you for the past few years. It's not a lie, it's right here in this photo."
Natura shushed the girl in front of her taking her into her arms although Calla didn't want to be hugged right now. She wanted to be understood. It wasn't all in her head. She saw it. She felt it. It was right here and she had Ben to thank for that. If it wasn't for him printing out this image then Calla wouldn't have the evidence. The evidence that she was not as crazy as her own father painted her out to be.
"Natura!" A voice called out in the distance, causing Natura to lift her head in the direction.
Natura stood up straight and moved to cup Calla's face who stared up at her with her wide eyes, "Everything's going to be okay. I believe you."
"You do?" Calla was hopeful, thinking that she finally got through to someone.
Natura nodded her head as she grabbed the girl's hand leading her in the direction of Mr. Mayta who stood with his back to them. "...we're here."
Mr. Mayta turned his eyes taking in his wife and daughter's expression. Calla had a wild look in her eye while Natura looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Mr. Mayta just knew as Calla stepped forward holding the image up to the man that doubted her. "It's all here Pa. it's the only figure that's looking right at us. It's the image—
"That you've been drawing and describing to the therapist." Mr. Mayta summarized as he barely looked at the photo.
Calla was wondering why her father wasn't apologizing to her. Apologizing and hugging her in that moment. He was wrong and she had been right, it should have been enough but it wasn't. The door bell rung, causing the man to grip the base of his daughters neck as he leaned down to place a shaky kiss to her forehead.
"It's for your own good, mija. It's for your own good." His bright green eyes met his daughter's who frowned at him, not liking how that sounded.
Calla tilted her head as her father moved to answer the door. Her brown eyes watched as three men dressed in all white piled into the room, their stance appearing tough as they waited for her father to say something.
"They're from the clinic. Dr. Wakefield said she has other options." Mr. Mayta eased into it, his eyes meeting Natura's who crossed her arms trying to figure out what was going on but Calla already knew, "They're going to take you, Calla. They want to help you."
Calla dropped the photo, turning on her heels as she booked it from the scene. She silently cursed to herself as she locked herself in the bathroom, knowing she wouldn't be able to find anything that would help her bolt the door. Calla felt betrayed that her father went behind her back. She had brought proof to make them all understand but he still wanted to erase the truth. He wanted to send her away for who knows how long?
"Calla." The thumps outside of the door, made Calla grip the root of her hair panting as she looked around the bathroom. There was one small window in the bathroom that led outside that was small enough for a kitten of a few months to fit through. Calla was tiny herself but she didn't know if that meant she could fit through.
She was gonna run and if she wanted to achieve that she needed to try. Calla had to keep fighting, so she moved to step into the tub, her hands reaching up to unlatch the knob so she could climb through. Calla bosted herself up, pulling herself through head first. It was significantly tight but if she calmed down she knew she could squeeze through. With a few more twists and turns, Calla fell outside of the window on her back along the grass and fresh garden. Just as she began to smile, she lifted her head upwards to see one of the men in white standing over her.
She rolled onto her side, trying her best to dodge the man noticing that the others were making their way around to the back of the house. Calla knew she was making a scene but could you blame her? To anyone that peeked outside of their windows into the backyards, they would make sure to turn the other way. It was a common thing here in Derry, to sweep it all under the rug.
"Help!" Calla screamed as she realized she was cornered but she didn't cower as she picked up a potted plant aiming it to throw at the biggest man out of the group.
The other man who looked young with cystic acne tried to take a gentle approach, "Calla. Relax. We just want to make it easy for you. Don't you want help?"
"Shut up you don't know me!" Calla felt her face become warm.
"Then let us get to know you. We just want what's best." That same tired excuse only poured more fire to Calla's temper.
"I want to stop being treated like some basket-case!" Calla yelled at the man, her attention was elsewhere which gave the burly man directly in front of her a chance to tackle her to the ground. His weight easily powered over her 104 pound frame but that didn't stop Calla from trying to throw punches with screams that made her throat raw.
Her world became dark with just a pinch to her shoulder cuff.
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When Calla awakened, she was hit with white lights that blocked her vision. With lidded eyes it took minutes until she regained vision while she relied on her other senses to get her through this. She began moving, feeling herself trapped against something cold. Calla began panicking, slowly hearing the rise of her own heartbeat coming from perhaps above her? Once her vision returned with dry stained cheeks, her eyes settled on Dr. Wakefield.
The woman often scared her. She was a super pale woman and resembled a bird. Dr. Wakefield had high cheekbones, was super thin with a thin neck to match that Calla wondered how it was able to hold the woman's head up. Her skin was always cold when she shook Calla's hand, or when she rested her hand against Calla's back. It was unnatural. Her hair was a pale blonde like the color of the sun hidden in fog skies and stood up all over the place, lips were thin, her nose the shape of a hook, her ears were big and poked out, her eyes were oval and the darkest shade of blue Calla's ever seen.
"Calla. We meet again." And her voice reminded Calla of bells and nails against a chalkboard.
Calla had something smart to say but found her throat ached so she decided to say nothing as her eyes flicked down to see her body held down by restraints. Immediately Calla began yanking her arms upwards just to not go anywhere, as if she were being pulled down into the ocean by an anchor.
"Your dad called me hysterical. Saying that you were drawing those images again and something about a photo." Dr. Wakefield approached trying to keep Calla's mind on her as she lifted up the image, "What do you see exactly in this image? Can you tell me?"
Calla let her eyes fall onto the photo she had brought home seeing it staring at her, mocking her. It was almost as if she could feel it laughing in her ear. Her eyes began to tear up as she continued looking at the image.
"It's okay. There's nothing in this photo that's going to harm you. I promise you. It's all going to be okay." Dr. Wakefield smiled with her thin lips, one hand coming up to caress Calla's hair back, "Your father is worried about you. It's my job to make everything right."
Calla watched as the woman lowered the photo and continued petting her with her cold skeletal hands. Dr. Wakefield lifted her head at someone behind Calla, nodding her head. Dr. Wakefield continued talking to Calla as if she couldn't feel the cold material that was strapped to her forehead holding head in place to what her body rested on.
Her heart rate spiked.
"Ssssh...it'll all be okay." Dr. Wakefield coached, as another nurse pried Calla's lips open to place a rubbery object into her mouth.
Calla's eyes were wider than ever as she didn't know what was happening and why her father was allowing this to happen. A sticky and wet substance was massaged into her temples before two fuzzy things were pressed right on top.
"Oh Callaloo, how do you do? We all float here." A deep rough voice entered her ears, her eyes shifting to left and right in search of the voice. Instead all she saw were far apart yellow eyes hidden behind a single red balloon.
"100." Dr. Wakefield kept her eyes on Calla, whose eyes were lowered down to a sight she did not see.
After Dr. Wakefield's instruction, the fourteen year old's body convulsed for six seconds exactly until the blonde haired woman gave the signal to stop.
"220." Dr. Wakefield ordered after a pause, causing another seizure to erupt over Calla's body making the image and voice melt away from her brain like splashed paint, just for her eyes to shut once again.
Dr. Wakefield nodded and stepped back from the table. "Get her into one of the rooms, one of you inform me when she awakes. I'm going to talk to the parents. Good work people." She gave a small smile as she briefly glanced at Calla who remained unmoving, the sound of her heart rate being the only thing that let them all know she was still alive.
Natura and Mr. Mayta patiently waited for hours for Calla to wake up. Night had fallen, and Dr. Wakefield says everything went well. Saying that there was no significant change in Calla's brain, heart, blood pressure, or oxygen use during the treatment. Dr. Wakefield already told Mr. Mayta what to expect and what side effects might come into play once Calla awakes.
"Please tell me I did the right thing." Mr. Mayta asked his wife, his hand holding onto Calla's hand.
Natura had her gaze out into the night
, standing in front of the window eyeing the stars, "I can't tell you that. I'm sorry."
"What?"
"The least you could have done was discuss this with me before you up and decided to do this to Calla." Natura was heated but great at not letting her anger get the best of her, because of zen and all that good stuff she practiced.
Mr. Mayta frowned, "She's my daughter."
"Mine too. Don't forget that." Natura pressed, looking over her shoulder at the man.
Mr. Mayta appeared exhausted and didn't have the strength to argue with his wife. He just wanted his daughter to get better.
Calla woke late the next morning, confused and not knowing where she was. She couldn't tell the nurse what she did yesterday besides wake up but she did know that she was angry with her father for being angry with her but not the exact reason why. That concerned Mr. Mayta although he suspected it due to Dr. Wakefield telling him the side effects when he met with her.
Overall Mr. Mayta didn't know if this was a good thing or not as Calla appeared child-like eyeing her surroundings around her thinking they moved into a new home. She almost appeared happy, like Mr. Mayta often imagined his daughter used to be. Dr. Wakefield gave the okay to release Calla with more medication just in case any other side effects occurred. She also told Mr. Mayta that they should call her if anything odd occurs and that they could discuss more treatment if the first round wasn't efficient.
Calla was rolled out by a nurse down the narrow dark halls, her father following behind while Natura walked ahead of them. As they got out into the main hall they spotted three figures.
"Calla! What are you doing here?" A brown haired boy walked up with big green-blue eyes.
She tilted her head to the side as she studied the boy in front of her in silence. Natura places her hand on Calla's shoulder, "Calla-Lily. Say hello to..."
"Will." The boy frowned as he pointed to his chest, his eyes moving from the faces that surrounded the girl.
Calla blinked, "Will. Right, yeah! Hi."
A brown haired woman with bangs stepped forward also resting her hands on her son's shoulders, "Will, Whose this?"
"Oh mom. This is Calla. I met her at Joey's the other day." Will answered briefly staring up at his mom who gave him a loving smile.
"I'm Joyce, Will's mom." The woman waved and then nodded her head behind her, "That's Jim."
Will moved closer to Calla, "You okay?" He whispered, "The docs didn't do any weird tests on you did they? I'm actually going for my weekly check up."
"Yeah...I'm great. Never better." Calla felt herself smile but it didn't feel real against her skin, "You'll do great too."
Will was shocked at this, not knowing why it felt foreign to have Calla speak to him like this. Maybe it's because he knew deep down she wasn't being herself — at least the self he got a glimpse of at Joey's lake house. And that honestly bothered him.
"Well it was nice meeting you folks." Jim, the man cradling a hat in his hands began to dismiss.
"Got to get my boy to his appointment on time. Say bye to Calla, Will." Joyce Byers smiled at the dazed girl who sat in the wheelchair.
Will nodded his head as he turned back to Calla whose eyes were wondering around the room, "I-I'll see you later, Cal."
"Sure, Will? Will." She repeated the name to make sure she got it right.
Will gave a small smile as his mother steered him away from the people who were trying to go on their way. Will looked behind his shoulder as the nurse moved to bring Calla to her exit.
"Do you guys—do you guys think Calla could be like me?" Will asked, looking up at the two adults after Calla was finally out of his sight.
The three halted in front of the elevator but Will could easily see the two adults sharing a glance.
"Could be, kid. Could be."
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A/N: Wow so this chapter actually pained me to write so I can only imagine what you're all feeling reading it. Tell me about it? I've been slacking on reading the book, I mean it's 1000+ pages and I'm being slammed with exams and projects left and right so what's a girl to do but ugly cry, procrastinate, and consider dropping out? Lol jk but I'm stressing. So last time this was updated I had 7k, now I have 9k! Ouch the love is real, thank you. I can't say thank you enough. Any ideas on what's to come?
See you next update💕