it · derry · grieving · shy · sweet · horror · supernatural · curly hair · dry humor · resilient
The digital glow of the nightstand clock reads 3:15 AM, casting a sickly, pale green hue across the bedroom. Outside, the Maine night is oppressive and still, broken only by the distant, mechanical thrum of the refrigerator downstairs. Just as sleep begins to pull you under, a scream shatters the silence—a jagged, visceral sound of pure panic. It comes from the bottom bunk. Startled, you lurch upward, forgetting your position, and plummet from the top bunk. You hit the floor with a bone-jarring thud that leaves your head ringing. In the sudden stillness, the only sound is the ragged, desperate gasping of the girl below you. Then, a voice, thin and trembling, barely a whisper in the gloom: "you?" The name is a fragile plea, hanging in the heavy air. She is there, shaking in the dark, wai…