PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

SEPTEMBER, 2016

"Matthew John Tozier, if you don't get down here in ten seconds, you can consider my yes to you going to this arcade thing with Tommy, to turn into a no!" I kept my back to the stairs as I grabbed two Gatorades' and some apple juice out of the fridge, keeping an ear out to hear any movement from upstairs. "Matthew!"

"He's too busy texting Tessa, mom," Madeline said, walking out of the living room and climbing up onto a chair at the kitchen bar.

"What?" I turned around and walked over to the bar, placing down the Gatorades' and opening her juice for her. "Who's Tessa?"

"His new girlfriend." She replied, taking a sip reaching across the bar at the plate of cookies rested in the middle. grabbing a cookie off of the plate that sat in the middle. "They just started dating last week."

I slid the plate further away, regaining her attention. "Girlfriend? He's 13-years-old, he shouldn't even be dating."

"You and Dad started dating at 13, hypocritical much?" She replied, rolling her eyes and nudging her juice aside for Matthew's Gatorade.

"Okay one, we were 14 and in high school. Two," I moved the juice back in front of her and raised an eyebrow, "I thought we were working on being responsible and tracking our blood sugar? And three, you're too young to be calling me a hypocrite."

"One, Dad said 13. Two, my blood sugar is fine. And three," She reached over and snatched a cookie before sitting back into her chair. "Grandma said I'm exactly like you were at that age."

I sighed and looked towards the empty stairs to see part of Matthew rounding the corner. I looked back at Madeline and took the cookie out of her hand then taking a bite of it myself. "One, your dad had an acid phase in college, so his memory isn't reliable. Two, it was low the last time I checked it and three, remind me to talk with your Grandmother."

"Dad did acid?" he asked, standing beside Madeline and grabbing a cookie along with his Gatorade. "Cool."

"Would it kill either of you to at least wait till you eat dinner before you have one of those?"

"I'm eating at the arcade." He brought his phone out of his sweatshirt pocket and started typing away. "Sorry, I was on the phone with Tommy."

Madeline coughed. "Tessa."

Matthew shoved her with one hand and somehow kept typing with the other without missing a beat. I sighed and grabbed my purse and keys off of the counter. "Yeah, remind me to thank your father for that generous gift."

"He said you guys agreed on it."

"Yeah, when you got into High School! And if any earlier, it was supposed to be a pre-paid phone," I nudged them both ahead of me and towards the front door. "With a set amount of minutes and texts. Not the newest iPhone with over 500 minutes, unlimited messages and data at your beck and call."

"Can I get an iPhone when I'm 13?" Madeline asked, shrugging on her jacket as the two of them walked out of the front door.

I locked the front door behind me and unlocked the car as they hopped into their respective seats. I pulled my jacket against me as the fall breeze picked up and blew against me as I got to the drivers' side door. "You know, I didn't have a cell phone when I was your age. Do you know how my friends and I stayed in touch? Letters. Landlines. Actual face to face conversations." Turning the car on and putting it into reverse I looked at the both of them. "I didn't have a cell phone until after I graduated from college."

"Well that's 'cause you were born in the stone age," Matthew replied, rolling his eyes as he plugged his phone into the radio. "I'm taking over the Aux. Drake released a new song and Tessa told me I should listen to it."

"I was not born in the stone age," I held onto the steering wheel and took peeks at him as an upbeat song played through the radio. "So, tell me about Tessa."

Matthew was his father's son, there was no doubt about that. At the slightest feeling of embarrassment, his cheeks would turn a slight pink and when he lied like he was getting ready to right now, he had Richie's tell-tale sign.

A little look off to his left and the slightest crinkle of his nose.

"She's just a friend, Mom. We have Social Studies together. It's not that serious."

"She's his background," Madeline smiled, popping her head in between our seats. "A picture of them from the football game last week."

Matthew dropped the phone into his lap and whipped around to face her. "Why are you looking at my phone, you little troll?"

"It's not my fault you leave it in the bathroom," She rested back into her seat and crossed her arms. "Unlocked."

The click of a seatbelt being undone, followed by Matthew trying to reach into the backseat and grab her, caused me to press on the brakes harder than I needed to at the stoplight. "Both of you stop it, now. Or so help me God I'll make you come with me and sit in a corner like you're both 5-years-old again."

Matthew mumbled something incoherent as he sat back down into his seat and buckled his seatbelt. "I'm telling Tommy about your little obsession over him."

Madeline's face twisted into a swirl of emotions as she went to throw her juice bottle at Matthew's head. "MOM!"

"Matthew, stop teasing your sister. Tommy's a good looking kid, let her have this crush." I turned back to Madeline and raised an eyebrow. "And you need to stop looking at your brother's phone. It's his personal belonging and you wouldn't want him to go through something of yours."

"Maybe he should get a passcode then."

"Maybe you should get a new pancreas."

"Maybe you should get new insults, they're pretty childish for a 13-year-old."

"Maybe you should–"

"God, I really wish you two never learned how to talk," I mumbled, turning up the radio and keeping my eyes on the road. "Oh God, I've turned into my mother."

"No, Grandma's a lot cooler than–" I glared at Matthew and his eyes went wide. "Never mind."

I took a few deep breaths as their bickering had finally stopped and Matthew's music took over the growing silence. For the life of me, I truly couldn't remember a time where Benny and I argued as much as the two of them. Every memory I had of the two of us, was a happy one. He never went through my stuff, or I through his. I kept his secrets, he kept mine. But these two, God. These two made me want to drive off of a bridge with how often they're at each other's throats.

Another round of bickering picked up again, but I did my damndest to zone it out as I focused on the road ahead of me. God, how long does it take to get to this stupid arcade?

❒❒❒❒

I rubbed my temples as my eyes grew heavy. The silence of the station alone was enough to make me want to fall asleep right here at my desk. But the file in front of me and the fact that I can't leave my kids at an arcade overnight are the only things from preventing my nap. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to see that I was one of few people left around. Technically I wasn't even supposed to be here. I was supposed to go back home and wait for the 'Mom, please come pick us up' phone call. If I had actually done that, I'd probably be all cozied up on the couch and in my pajamas after taking a well deserved and much-needed bubble bath.

But I couldn't choose that option and the reason why is contained in the stack of manilla envelopes sitting on my desk in front of me. I looked down and moved the top one to the side– it held the initial information from the case.

2003 a group of high school seniors were having one last party the night before graduation. They were celebrating making it through high school, drinking and doing a few drugs before they decided to celebrate on school grounds. Eight of them went into the school and at graduation the next morning, only seven of them were there. Jeffrey Collins, the salutatorian, never made it home and never showed up to graduation. At first, his missing person report was filed under lost, injured and otherwise missing with the city and the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

The Police Officers assigned to the case interviewed the kids he was with the night before where they gave the play-by-play. But unfortunately, nothing really added up to where he could be. So, weeks turned into days, which turned into months and eventually years went by and there was never another word from him. In 2011, his case officially went 'cold' and he was declared dead in absentia. His family moved out of the city without a body to bury and zero closure.

Until about a month ago.

The high school was going through major renovations just before the start of the school year and a leak in some pipes led them down into the basement. One of the plumbers was moving a bunch of titanium bins that held old science supplies for labs throughout the years when his co-worker knocked one over and out tumbled a human skull alongside aged out beakers, goggles, and a few graduated cylinders. When the coroner brought him in and his DNA was run through the database, it was a solid match to Jeffrey Collins. His head showed slight blunt force trauma and there were small fractures on his left arm and left wrist. But it was enough to contact his parents with the news as well as reopen the case.

That phone call was the hardest one I had to make. I didn't become a Detective with this station until a year before his parents had him declared deceased. However, my partner had worked the case from the very beginning, so I was there when they had the paperwork signed and ready to turn in. So when the DNA came back as his, I knew I had to take this before Cold Case could get their hands on it.

"Hey, you're still here?"

I looked up from the second file, the one containing old witness statements, to see Mitch, a second-year rookie coming out of the copy room. "Yeah, I haven't gotten a phone call yet and I just wanted to look over some files."

He walked over to me and placed a cup of coffee onto my desk before sitting down in the chair beside my desk. "This the Collins case?"

"Yeah," I reached for the cup of coffee, holding it in my hands and absorbing its warmth. "I've been trying to get ahold of all of the witnesses from that night and it's a huge pain in the ass. Three of them moved out of state and won't be able to come in for an interview until Wednesday and the other two have no updated points of contact."

"You should ask Marshall, that kid's a genius when it comes to tracking down people," he took a sip from his thermos and smiled. "A true techie."

"It's just sad, you know? He was so...young." I stared at the files on my desk, avoiding the third one which held all of the crime scene pictures. "17-years-old with an entire life ahead of him and he ends up dead in a titanium bin, only to be found 13 years later."

"The kids always get me," Mitch sighed, picking up a file. "I don't know how you can handle this one. Especially since you've got the two at home."

"I wasn't even used to it the moment I had Devins as my partner. Missing kids...murdered kids, that's just..." I took a deep breath and sighed, shaking my head. "I couldn't even begin to imagine having a caseload full of them."

On cue, my cellphone rang and Matthew's face was on the screen. I went to pick it up as Mitch nodded and walked off. "Hello?"

"Mom, you'll never believe what happened," his voice was rushed and breathy and a sense of panic rose within me. "Tommy won the tournament for that old game Combat Atari and he won like $400!"

I let go of the breath I'd been holding and relaxed as I began to close all of the files before placing them into the case box. "Well that's good for Tommy. I'm sure he'll be smart and save his money."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, can you come to pick us up? Tommy too? His parents had to go meet his grandma to the hospital. Fell at the nursing home."

"Yeah, I'm just leaving the station now so I'll be there soon." I put the box beneath my desk and grabbed all of my stuff before making my way to the front of the station. "And Matthew, don't–"

"I know, I know. Stay inside, don't talk to strangers, say no to drugs and keep an eye on Madeline. Bye, mom see you soon!"

Before I could get another word out, he hung up the call. I laughed as I walked out and by the front desk where Mitch was sitting. "Would you be interested in adopting a 13-year-old boy with higher than average grades and skill for getting under your skin?"

"No thanks Dani, I think I'll pass. I can barely handle taking care of myself." He held up a bowl of ramen and smiled.

"Dinner of Champions?"

"Well, for Champions who get the night shift front desk duty pushed onto them, yeah."

"Alright, well I need to pick up the kiddos. Be safe, make smart choices and I'll see you on Mon–"

"Oh wait, I almost forgot!" He stood up out of his chair and placed it ramen down before disappearing back towards the mailroom. When he came back, he had a thick looking manilla envelope in his hands. "This came in for you today, wasn't sorted till after you left. But since you came back in, here you go."

I picked the envelope off of the desk and tucked it under my arm, not giving it a second look. "Goodnight Mitch."

"Night Detective!"

The first thing I noticed when I walked out of the door, was that it was no longer chilly. The wind seemed to have calmed down a lot, but the air was warm and humid– not like the weather usually is this time of year. The streets themselves too seemed to be less active than they usually are this time of night. And for the first time that day, I became more aware of this lingering feeling in the back of my mind that something was off.

When I reached my car, I opened the door, tossed all of my stuff into the passenger seat and got in, turning the key and starting the car. "Bluetooth connected."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I mumbled, pulling out of the parking lot and away from the station. I kept the radio on the aux channel, knowing that the moment Matthew got into the car he'd take over the music. So it wasn't worth listening to half of a song and not being able to finish it. As I drove further away from the station and towards the arcade, a bland ringtone erupted through my speakers. Switching between keeping my eyes on the road, I reached towards the radio and ran my fingers along the buttons until I found the phone button– pressing it. "I'm on my way Matthew, just hang out and–"

"Hello– have I reached Danielle Tozier?"

I tore my eyes away from the road and looked at the number displayed on the radio. My work cell had connected to the radio instead of my normal phone, so this call for sure wasn't Matthew's contact nor was it wasn't a number I recognized. Hell, I didn't even recognize the area code because it for sure wasn't a Pittsburgh one. "Uh yes, you've reached Detective Tozier. May I ask how you got this number?"

"Dani, it's me. It's Mike Hanlon."

"Mike Hanlon..." I whispered beneath my breath, my grip on the steering wheel involuntarily tightening as I kept driving. "I'm sorry, I don't...I don't believe that I know a Mike–"

"From Derry."

Those two words were enough to make my world stop. Like that moment at a concert where the artist is about to come out onto the stage and you're surrounded by a sea of deafening screams. Screams so loud that it numbs your eardrums and you're left hearing nothing but faded vibrations. "Derry?"

"Yes, Dani. Derry, Maine. Your home."

The high pitch sound of a car horn tore me out of my imagination and back to reality. The light was no longer red and the driver behind me was pissed. "Derry, yes. Yes, of course, I remember."

Mike Hanlon. Derry. Two things my mind was constantly struggling in a battle against itself to remember. "Dani, you need to come home. IT'S back. We made an oath, you need to come home."

"I-I don't, what's going on? Why are you calling me, Mike?"

I could hear him on the other line, he sounded tired. Wait, why was I starting to feel worried about how he felt? I don't know this man. I mean, I do, but I don't. I haven't talked to him in over 20 years, why now? What could we possibly have in common for him to be calling me this late?

"We made an oath, Dani. All of us," he began shuffling some papers around wherever he was before the noise finally settled. "You need to get in by tomorrow night. I'll set you up at the Inn and send you the information you'll need and where to meet."

I pulled up to the arcade and relaxed back into my seat. "Okay, I'll uh..." I looked out of the passenger window to see Matthew, Tommy and Madeline making their way out of the arcade. "I'll be there. I've really got to go Mike."

"You made a promise Dani, we all did. Please come home."

Just as Matthew and Tommy opened their car doors, Mike hung up the phone. "Hey Mrs. Tozier, thanks for picking me up." Tommy let Madeline get into the car first before following behind her. "I'm sorry it was so last minute."

"It's uh, it's fine Tommy. I'm glad to help out."

As soon as I pulled away from the arcade, the three kids started to talk amongst themselves, leaving me with the little silence their voices couldn't fill. I tried my best to focus on the road, but my mind just kept flashing back to the phone call and the way Mike's voice had sounded so...scared. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise as a chill spread throughout my body.

IT.

What the fuck was this IT?

We made an oath, Dani. All of us.

I squeezed the steering wheel tighter as the pounding in my head grew more intense. The scenes of the scrambled movie film that was my life in Derry, played in front of my eyes. It was a sunny day, there were six figures, wait...no seven. Seven figures were walking down a grass embankment, and to the left, a train track.

I blink.

Everyone is blurry, I can't see their faces. It feels hot, but not too hot– so it might be the end of the summer. No one is laughing, at least not what I can tell by their body language. It's still blurry.

I blink.

"Swear." A boy, taller than me, he's standing in front of me. No matter how hard I squint at him, the blur just won't go away. He holds my hand and then theirs a pinch of pain before I can feel blood running down my palm.

I blink.

Richie. Richie's here. He's the only person I can make out, the only one who isn't blurred like the rest of them. He holds onto his hand, staring at his bleeding palm. "Mother fucking shit, that fucking hurt." Of course, nothing but vulgar language came out of his Trashmouth. The blurred boy is moving around the circle, seemingly cutting each person's hand before he came to an empty spot and dropped the cutting tool onto the ground. And then one by one, everyone begins to hold hands. Richie squeezes mine tight and I do the same with the person next to me.

I blink.

And for a moment, for some strange, odd reason...I feel almost at peace.

"MOM!"

I blink again and slam on my breaks as a car sped through the intersection ahead of us. Everyone slammed forward in their seats as the car came to an immediate stop, just barely over the limit line. My knuckles are white and I can feel my body start to shake as I turned around to check in on everyone. "Is everybody okay?"

They seemed too shocked and scared to verbally answer, so they just nodded. "Mom, are you okay? You're shaking." Matthew reached out and held onto my arm.

"I'm alright, I was just distracted, I'm sorry."

But distracted wasn't what I was feeling. It was a feeling that I was used to, being a parent to two kids growing up in a technological and dangerous world. But this, this was elevated. It was a whole new level to the emotion.

It was fear. But...fear of what?