I managed to shower and get dressed fast enough to give myself a fair amount of time to get to town before I had to meet up with the group. The streets of Derry were full of people, being that the July 4th decorations were hung throughout the street and the parade and fireworks were going to be held tonight. Navigating my bike through the people on the sidewalk was tough. I almost ran over an old lady, but to be fair– I did tell her I was on her left. I haven't run into anyone yet, which made me think they were all already there, or I was the first one to even be on my way to the meeting spot. 

I could see the movie theatre up ahead of me, there were men on stilts and the high school band warming up their instruments standing in the middle of the street. I came to a stop in front of a small parlor, that was really the only competition Keene's Pharmacy had. Granted, the two didn't really sell similar things. Keene's sold the obvious– pharmaceuticals and other products you'd need for your household or personal hygiene. Where the Derry Parlor really just sold a bunch of drinks, snacks and sometimes holiday related things. It was almost a kids paradise with all the amounts of sugary food and drinks.

I rested my bike up against the wall and walked inside the store. It was pretty hot today, I've already had to wipe the sweat off of my forehead with my shirt sleeve four times on my ride into town. It was definitely one of– if not the hottest day of summer so far. So I don't think my friends would mind if I took a small pitstop to grab an ice cream bar or something. There were a few people in the store, mainly adults grabbing some fourth of July decorations like hats, streamers– the usual stuff. I wandered over towards the cooler where the ice cream was kept and skimmed my selection. I could either go with the classic magnum bar, a drumstick, or one of those ice cream pops with the bubble gum ball in the middle.

A static sound filled the store and the lights began to flicker. I looked around to see that no one else was really paying attention to the small details, so I just brushed it off. The lights stopped flickering but the static remained. A low hum came from above me– it sounded like a radio was changing through its channels. I looked back up thinking that maybe there was a speaker above me, but there was nothing...there were no speakers on the walls and there wasn't a radio on the counter. I shook my head, brushing the thoughts away. This heat must really be getting to me.

"Every time that I look in the mirror, all these lines on my face getting clearer. The past is gone, it went by like dusk to dawn. Isn't that the way, everybody got the dues in life to pay. I know, nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes. I know it's everybody's sin, you got to lose to know how to win."

The lights flicked again and static overtook the music, but then the lights returned to normal and the static stopped. What was the actual hell going on here? I opened the cooler and grabbed a drumstick, closing it and turning to walk towards the counter. I walked down the snack aisle only for the lights to flicker more rapidly and the static to return, only louder this time.

"Every time that I look in the mirror, all these lines on my face getting clearer. The past is gone, it went by like dusk to dawn. Isn't that the way, everybody got the dues in life to pay. I know, nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes. I know it's everybody's sin, you got to lose to know how to win."

I immediately covered my ears from the loud music mixed with crackling static. What the hell is happening? Where was this music coming from? Did some customer have a radio and was blasting the damn song just for fun? Wait a second....this part already played. I ran towards the end of the aisle to get to the counter so I could check out...but there was no one behind the counter. There wasn't a single soul in the store.

I could feel myself begin to panic. Something strange was happening here, I just don't know what. I ducked back into the aisle and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. "It's just the heat. You're overheated and imagining this shit." I whispered to myself. 

Suddenly the music faded out and when I opened my eyes, the lights were no longer flickering. I peered around the counter and saw a different employee walk out from a storage room, carrying a box. I sighed and tried my best to calm my racing heart. "Get a grip, Dani."

I took a few more deep breaths until I could feel myself calm down. When I rounded the corner of the aisle, I saw someone standing at the counter. I walked out into the open and stood a few feet behind them. It was just the two of us in the store, everybody else was gone. I tapped my foot against the floor nervously, I just really wanted to cool off and eat my ice cream before my mind could play more tricks on me.

I could hear the faint sound of static again and I closed my eyes to try and take my mind off of it– but it only grew louder. When I opened my eyes, the lights were flickering again. I peered around the person in front of me to look at the cashier. I went to say something, to ask him if he could check me out really fast if the man in front of me didn't mind. His eyes were wide open and he was staring at the man who was in front of me. I looked down to see that the man was holding something black in his hands.

"Half of my life's in books written pages, lived and learned from fools and from sages. You know it's true, everything comes back to you."

I slowly backed away from the man in front of me and booked it for the door. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge– it was locked. Two gunshots rang through the store, followed by a thump against the floor. My heart began to race when I turned around and couldn't see the employee standing there anymore. I ran towards an aisle and hid behind it. My body was shaking and I could feel myself breath harder than my body would allow. 

"Come out, come out wherever you are."

My eyes widened when my brain recognized the voice of the man with the gun. I knew it so well, it haunted me for months. It couldn't be though, I was imagining this. This wasn't happening. He wasn't really here. I slowly moved down the aisle as I heard footsteps come near where I was and ducked around the opposite aisle. If I was lucky, maybe I could loop around the store and get back to the front door. I heard his footsteps walk down the opposite aisle and I moved down my aisle at the same time. 

I could see the light coming from the door, I just needed to get to it. When I was right at the corner, I peeked around the corner to see nobody there. I ran towards the door and switched the lock. I tugged on the door only for it to be still locked. "No!" I yelled, trying to open it. I could see people outside of the glass walking by. "Help me!! Help please!!" I yelled, banging against the glass.

The lights flickered wildly and I watched in shock as they blew, one by one. The static returned, at a blasting level. The only light coming into the store was from the sun shining into the glass door.

"Sing with me, sing for the year, sing for the laughter and sing for the tear. Sing with me, just for today, maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away!"

I covered my ears again and shut my eyes. This wasn't real, my mind was messing with me. Maybe I had passed out in the store from the heat and this was all a dream. It had to be a dream. I opened my eyes to see the man standing back at the counter, facing me. He had an evil smile on his face as he waved at me with the gun in his hand. "No, no you're in jail," I said, shaking my head.

"Surprise," he said, walking towards me. "I got out."

My body froze in place. The cool glass of the door pressed against my back. I looked around for a place to hide, but I couldn't even gain the strength to move my feet. I could feel my jaw begin to tremble as I looked back at the man. "No...." I whispered this couldn't be happening. "Why?"

"Why?" He threw his head back in laughter, the type of laugh that chilled you to the bone. "Because I came to finish what I started a year ago." He made his way closer to me, standing right in front of me.

I tried to open the door again, but it still wouldn't budge. I could feel the tears begin to fall down my face as immense fear took over my body. "Please..."

He held up his gun, his smile bigger– seemingly taking over his entire face. "Oh, the sweet, sweet fear." He whispered.

"Dream on, dream on, dream on, dream until your dreams come true. Dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on, AHHHHHHH."

I turned away from him, facing the door and screamed in an attempt to get someone on the outside's attention. A thunderous sound filled my ears as a sharp pain struck my shoulder. I pushed onto the door one last time and it opened, the sun blinding me. I practically fell out onto the street, backing away from the storefront. Blood was seeping out onto my shirt and I could feel the panic begin to take control.

I looked back at the store to see a clown standing in the doorway of the store, only...he wasn't a normal clown. His red face make-up heavily contrasted against his pale white skin. Tufts of flaming orange hair stuck up in a neat style on the top of his head. He smiled at me, waving– a red balloon floating right beside him. His smile– the same smile I saw right before I turned towards the door...it overtook his face, showing off his sharp teeth. His eyes were yellow and I felt as if they were burning holes into my skin.

I turned around to run down the street when I ran into someone instead. "LET ME GO!" I screamed, closing my eyes trying to get myself out of their grip.

"Dani! Dani, it's me! It's Richie!" I opened my eyes to see Richie standing in front of me, holding my arms. "It's me, it's just me."

I opened my mouth to speak but only sobs escaped. I buried my head into Richie's shoulder and cried. "Richie I-I"

He pulled away from me, his eyes immediately widening when he looked at my shirt. "Dani, what the fuck happened to you? Why are you bleeding?"

My chest was rising faster than my lungs could manage to obtain air and my heart was racing faster than the rest of my body could keep up with. I looked back towards the store– the clown was gone. When I looked back at Richie, I just cried. "He shot me! H-He shot me!!"

My knees buckled beneath my weight and Richie was able to catch me before I hit the ground. He walked us a little down the street, passing the store and to a small alleyway. "Come on, let's sit down," he said softly, helping me down to the ground. I couldn't stop crying, the tears just kept on coming. "Dani, calm down, come on.."

I took a ragged breath and nodded, taking another breath and exhaling slowly. Richie wiped my cheeks with his palm, looking at me. "He-He-"

"Ssh, just tell me what happened, okay? That's all you have to do..."