─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
as they dropped their bikes outside ben's house, ben ran inside swiftly.
"well that was nice." ocean mumbled before running in far behind him.
as they entered the house, a woman was stapling a missing poster of patrick hockstetter to a post.
"don't freak out." eddie spoke, "just tell us."
"yeah i heard it has a rollercoaster, and chimpanzees... and the bones of an old-" richie rambled but stopped as he entered, "whoa, whoa, whoa. wow!"
"cool huh?" ben smiled thinking richie meant well.
"no, nothing cool. there is nothing cool." richie commented causing ben's smile to drop.
ocean noticed that, "actually, this is kinda bodacious." she complimented as the gang roamed around ben's room.
"hey, this is cool." richie exclaimed while pointing at something on his wall, "wait, no. no, it's not cool."
"what's that?" stan curiously pointed at the long document on the wall. certain lines of it were highlighted and underlined.
"that? that's the charter for derry township." ben told them as richie fixed his glasses and laughed.
"nerd alert!" he remarked.
"no actually, it's really interesting. derry started off as a beaver trapping camp." ben informed the group.
"still is am i right boys?" richie asked while raising his other arm up for a high-five.
"you are so lame." ocean smirked.
"anyways, ninety-one people signed the charter that made derry," ben started, "but later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace."
"the entire camp?"
"there were rumours of indians but no sign of an attack, everyone thought it was a plague or something. but it's like one day everybody just woke up and left." ben continued, "the only clue was a trail of clothes leading to the well-house."
"jesus, we can go on unsolved mysteries." richie joked.
"let's do it, you are brilliant." eddie agreed.
"i might be." richie shrugged.
"don't increase his ego anymore." ocean glanced over to them.
"i don't understand why we're here." stan whispered.
"you agreed to come." eddie hissed.
"i don't know." richie mumbled, "maybe he's just trying to make some friends, stanley.""where was the well house?" bill asked, ocean knowing exactly what was going on in his head.
he was wondering if the well house was connected to the disappearance of his brother.
"i don't know, somewhere in town i guess." ben shrugged, "why?"
"nothing." bill replied while turning back to the information.
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
"do you want to come over to mine?" bev asked the only other girl.
they had just left the new kid's house and was mounting their bikes on his driveway.
"are you okay with going alone ned?" ocean turned to her brother.
they were used to going home together. frequently, ocean would go over to one of the boys' houses but eddie rarely would - he had to follow their mother's strict rules.
"what?" he looked up, "yeah, sure."
"i have to warn you, my dad's a bit scary." bev told her.
"it's fine, my mother is a monster." ocean confessed as she mounted her bike, "lead the way."
"come on."
"bye ocean." stan waved.
"see ya boys!" she exclaimed as she followed the redhead.
─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───
the two girls were sitting in bev's bathtub, they sat on opposite sides of the tub - ocean's legs on bev's.
"i don't want anything bad to happen to you." ocean frowned.
"i can handle it, i'll be alright." beverly squeezed her hand.
"if you need anything, you know my address."
bev nodded at her kind offer.
"so what does it say?" ocean asked her friend, bev had found a postcard in her bag and it happened to be a love letter.
"your hair is winter fire. january embers, my heart burns there too." beverly swooned.
"eeee a haiku, so cute." ocean smiled, happy for her friend.
"is it from you?" beverly asked.
"i wish, i have a rubbish way with words."
"i wonder who wrote it." beverly pondered.
"i bet it was-" ocean started.
"beverly."
"ocean."
"help me."
"ocean, is that you?" bev questioned, confused.
"help me, please"
"no i think it's coming from the sink." ocean explained.
"we all want to meet you two, we all float down here."
they both walked over to the sink and looked inside the drain.
"hello?" ocean inquired.
"who are you?" bev concluded.
"i'm veronica."
"betty ripsom."
"patrick hocksetter."
"hocksetter? what are you doing in the sink?" ocean asked perplexed.
"come closer."
foolishly, ocean drew her face closer to the sink, more intrigued than frightened.
"you want to see?"
"we float."
"we changed."
beverly stepped out of the room to grab something when she came back, there was a tape measurer in her hand.
she placed it into the drain and unfurled it. as it reached the bottom - 24 feet down - she pulled it out and grimaced at the dirt and grime it was now covered in.
gurgling noises started escaping from the drain which caused ocean to flinch away from the sink.
the duo looked at each other for a second before looking back at the talking sink. strings of hair shot out of the sink and seized the two girls. screaming, they tried to run but the hairs were too strong. it pulled them to the sink and forced their heads next to the drain.
"daddy!"
"help!"
"help!"
blood vomited from the sink and everywhere, drowning the girls in the crimson coloured liquid. the metallic smelling fluid splurged onto every inch of the girls' exposed skin, clothes and of bev's bathroom. the two girls kept their mouths closed as the blood splashed on their faces.
eventually, the hair flew back into the sink, the released pressure made the two girls stumble onto the red, slippery floor. bev cowered next to the bathtub while ocean sobbed in the opposite corner of the room.
"what the hell's going on?" alvin marsh asked while bursting through the door.
"the sink..." bev sobbed, motioning to the vermilion coloured walls.
"there's blood... it's-" ocean started.
"what blood?" alvin asked while looking at the other tween in the room.
"the sink, you don't see it?" bev stuttered in confusion.
"there was blood. a-and it's everywhere." ocean frowned, the two were sitting there covered in blood and bev's dad wasn't helping them.
"you worry me bevvie." alvin smiled while bending down to stare at his daughter.
"but don't you see?" bev cried in distress.
"you worry me too ocean." beverly's father sighed while running his hand down her face.
ocean stared at him in horror and revulsion.
"why'd you do this to your hair?" alvin asked ignoring the girl's question but looking at her new-haircut, "makes you look like a boy."