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xxv. INTO THE WELL AND BACK


When we reached the opening, Bill and Ben helped Mike and me off of the ropes. Immediately we were greeted with worried eyes and glances, and I couldn't blame them. After the rock fight, we'd taken part in where Henry Bowers had probably sworn he'd kill us, this most recent encounter was terrifying. Both Eddie and Richie hugged me at the same time...which was a little awkward, but still comforting. We'd already been through a terrifying event...and we haven't even confronted the clown yet. I looked around at the boys to notice that there were only six of us. Stan was missing. "Guys, where's Stan?"

They all looked within our group, noticing that Stan wasn't standing among them. "Stan?" Eddie called out, waving his flashlight. "STANLEY!"

Bill pushed through the group, heading down the tunnel. "Stan? Stan where are you?!"

We followed closely behind him as he started to lead us further into the sewer. The initial tunnel was long and the further we went, the colder and smellier it got. We kept calling out for Stan, hoping that he had just gotten a bit ahead of us and not the other option...the clown. I couldn't help but blame the boys for not noticing Stan was gone. Especially since Bev was taken by the clown...we knew it was possible for someone else to be taken too. I didn't really blame them though if anything I felt guilty. I promised Stan that we wouldn't let anything happen to him, that we'd be there for him...and yet here we were– looking for him.

"Oh fuck, now what do we do?" Eddie asked, knocking me out of my thoughts.

We'd come to an opening in the sewer to where we had four possible tunnels to choose from. One of these is the one that Stan traveled down. If we picked the wrong one, there was no telling where it would take us, and no doubt that we'd be too late to save Stan. "Which one do we go down?" Ben asked, moving his flashlight from tunnel to tunnel.

"The better question is why the fuck are there so many tunnels?" Richie added, pointing his to the one on our left.

"This one, let's go down this one," Bill said, pointing to the one that was second from the left.

We started to make our way towards the tunnel when I noticed Richie drifting behind to stay with me. "You okay?"

I nodded, only to shake my head a few seconds later. "I promised Stan that I wouldn't let anything happen to him– that we wouldn't let anything happen to him. I knew he was scared and that he didn't want to come in here...but I made him."

Richie grabbed my hand and squeezed it, giving me a reassuring look. "Stan will be okay Dani. He may be a total puss, but he can really surprise you sometimes."

A scream echoed throughout the sewer and we all stopped in our tracks and turned around at the tunnel directly behind us. "Stan..." I said, looking at Richie with wide eyes. "STAN!"

I immediately started running towards the opposite tunnel, not caring how wet my shoes were getting or that there was water splashing everywhere. My friends followed behind me as I ran through the tunnel, only to be stopped by a rusted metal door. I grabbed onto the handle, trying to push the door open– but it wouldn't budge. "Stanley!!" Eddie yelled, banging on the door trying to get a reply.

"It won't budge!" I said, looking at Bill.

We all began to push against the door, putting all of our strength into getting it open. We haven't heard another scream since the initial one and I'm sure we were all getting nervous. It finally budged and we practically fell into an old abandoned room that looked like it could have been used for controls at one point. "Stan?" Bill called out, waving his flashlight frantically.

"I don't see him, why don't I see him?" I asked, moving my flashlight around.

"His flashlight!" Eddie said, pointing to a single flashlight lying on the ground. "Stanley?! Stan!" He yelled, as we ran over to the flashlight and he picked it up.

We could hear a low growl coming from the darkness in front of us and we all shined our flashlights in that direction to see something leaning over Stan. It looked up and we all jumped back. It was a woman with a grey and skewed face– her mouth and many rows of teeth were sunk into Stan's skin, completely covering his face. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?" Richie yelled, holding his arm in front of me to keep me back.

"The woman..." I whispered, thinking back on what Stan said he saw. He said something about a woman he kept seeing...this must be here. "It's the woman he kept seeing Richie– that's her!"

"Fucking shit..." He sighed, shaking his head and closing his eyes as if he refused to believe it.

Stan's body was twitching beneath the woman's grasp and one she removed her teeth from around his face, he gasped. We watched as the woman sunk into the darkness, retreating into a tunnel and turning into the clown as it disappeared around the corner. "Stan!!" I yelled, running towards him as he started to sit up.

We crowded around him, all of us trying to make sure that he was okay– even though we knew he wasn't and probably never would be. If it were any of us that this happened too– there might have been a possibility that we could somehow recover from it. But Stan was the one from the very beginning who refused to believe and wanted nothing to do with this...so his chances were slim. "Stan, Stan it's okay, we're here..." Eddie said, trying to calm him down.

"YOU LEFT ME!" He screamed, blood and tears dripping down his face as he looked at all of us. "YOU AREN'T MY FRIENDS, YOU MADE ME GO, YOU MADE ME GO!"

"I'm sorry," I said, holding his hand. He tried to tug it away from me, but I only held onto it tighter. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"YOU MADE ME GO INTO NEIBOLT!" His eyes landed on me, the pain and fear behind them very clear and only made me feel more guilty about making him come inside. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Stan, Stan come on..." Richie said, turning his face towards him. "deep breaths buddy."

Stan went to open his mouth, probably to yell at Richie, but instead, he took a few deep and staggered breaths, sniffling once in a while. "We would never let anything happen to you, we're right here...you know that," Eddie said, leaning in and hugging him. We all leaned into the hug, trying our best to comfort our terrified friend.

"You guys made me go..." Stan whimpered, wiping his nose.

I felt horrible, simple as that. I knew I didn't act alone in convincing Stan to come into this house, but I still took part in it– and that alone made it partially my fault. I pulled away from the hug to see Eddie looking down the sewer in the direction that the clown disappeared to. "BILL!" He yelled, gaining all of our attention.

"Where'd he go?!" I asked, standing up.

"He just ran down the fucking tunnel like a psycho!" Eddie yelled, waving his flashlight in the direction Bill ran.

"We can't let him do this on his own..." Ben said, standing up and looking at all of us. "we have to go– NOW!"

Richie and Eddie both helped Stan stand up and Eddie handed him back his flashlight. We stayed tightly together as we walked down the tunnel, keeping our eyes open in case anything else was to happen. Believe it or not, Eddie actually stayed in the front of the group– navigating us through the tunnel. I didn't know whether to be impressed by the act, or a little worried. Granted, none of us really knew our ways around these tunnels except for maybe Bill– he's the one who had the maps. 

So right now, it was technically a blind leading the blind kind of situation. We cautiously rounded another corner, coming into an opening where water was running from a pipe, an open gate just beyond it. "The water is coming in, so the ground might be slippery– just be careful where you step," Ben said, as we slowly continued walking towards the gate.

Eddie went to step up onto a slight curb, only to trip and fall face down into the sewer water. "He said watch your step Eddie, not fall down and get a mouth full," Richie said, pushing himself towards Eddie and grabbing his elbow. "come on, get out of there Ed, it's grey water."

Eddie kept spitting and wiping his face off until there was no water left. "W-W-Wait," he kept looking around in the water. "I LOST MY FUCKING FLASHLIGHT!"

You could see the light beneath the grimy water, dimmed from the algae and other items floating in the water. I went to bend down and pick it up when a decapitated head floated up to the surface. I screamed and jumped back, bumping into Ben. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"OH MY GOD, IT'S A HEAD." Eddie screamed, scrambling away from the floating head.

We stared in horror as three more heads bobbed up to the surface around us. I don't know who started it, but someone pushed someone else first and before we knew it, we were all pushing one another to get out of there. I quickly bent down and held my breath as I grabbed Eddie's flashlight from beneath the water and quickly caught up with the group. "That was...those were..." I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that we had just discovered three decapitated heads floating around in the sewer water.

I handed Eddie his flashlight as we kept walking down the tunnel, the smell seeming to fade as we kept walking. "Do you guys smell that?" Mike asked as we came to an area where the water level was low.

We stood there, all of us sticking our noses into the air as if the action would help us smell better. Ben was the first to look away. "It smells like cotton candy..."

"No way," Richie said, shaking his head. "It smells like popcorn..."

I slowly rounded the corner to see an opening into what looked to be a much bigger room. "Um...guys? I think we found it..." We slowly started walking towards the entrance where to the right was what looked to be a huge circus stage. In the middle of the place was a huge pile of discarded toys and trinkets. "Look...there's a name," I said, pointing to the stage.

"Bob Gray..." Mike said, shining his flashlight onto the banner. "as Pennywise...the dancing clown."

"What kind of name is pennywise?" Richie scoffed, shaking his head. "And where the hell is Bill and Bev?"

"Uh...guys," Stan said, gulping and pointing his flashlight straight ahead and in the air. "It's her..."

We looked up to see Bev just floating in the middle of the air. We couldn't tell if she was breathing, she most definitely wasn't moving– it was as if she was just frozen. "BEV!" I yelled, running into the chamber.

"Bev? Bev?" Richie said as we stopped right below her. "Oh shit, this is bad."

"H-How is she in the air?" Eddie asked, looking away from her only to drop his jaw. "Guys...are those?"

We all pointed our flashlights up and followed Eddie's gaze. Floating just like Bev, were the missing kids of Derry. Their bodies seemingly twisted in awkward positions, almost as if they were puppets hanging from strings. There was no doubt in our minds that they were dead. "The missing kids....floating," Mike said, taking a deep breath.

"Guys, help me grab her," Ben said, tearing his attention away from the floating bodies and back to Bev. He stood up on his toes and stretched his arms up in an attempt to grab her ankles– but couldn't reach. He jumped up, grabbing onto her left ankle and tugging her down. Richie joined beside him as they brought her down onto the ground.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, crossing my arms, growing worried about my friend. "H-Her eyes, they're...they're not hers."

"Bev," Ben said, cradling the back of her head softly in his hands. "Beverly?" He shook her shoulders lightly before turning to all of us. "WHY ISN'T SHE WAKING UP? WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?" He screamed.

Richie awkwardly patted him on the shoulder before clearing his throat. "Here...let me try something."

Ben shook his head before hesitantly stepping away from her. Richie stood in front of her and lightly tapped her on the cheek. "Bev?" Again, he went lightly tapped her on the cheek– only this time he was softly slapping her cheek.

I huffed and rolled my eyes, opening my mouth to say something, when Eddie shined his flashlight on Richie. "That doesn't really work Richie, this isn't a fucking movie."

"Well, I don't see anybody else having any better ideas!" Richie yelled, throwing his arms in the air before walking away from Bev.

We looked at her helplessly, trying to figure out what was wrong with our friend. Ben walked back up to her. "Beverly please...come on." He said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. He pulled away and cradled her face, staring at her. In a split second, he pressed his lips against hers and pulled away just as fast.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Richie said, his jaw dropped.

"I knew it..." I whispered to myself, trying to hide my smile as Ben stared at Bev. It was no secret he liked her...at least I didn't think it was. But judging by the rest of their reactions, I guess it's true that boys are absolutely clueless.

Bev gasped as her eyes changed back to their normal color. She didn't move an inch as she continued to stare at Ben. "January embers?"

Ben smiled and nodded. "My heart burns there too."

"Jesus fuck," Richie said, staring at them both in disbelief before enveloping both Ben and Bev into a hug.

"Thank God..." I said as I wrapped my arms around Richie and Ben– Mike too joining the group hug.

It was one of the most calming moments we've experienced since stepping back into the Neibolt house and entering the well. Knowing that Bev was okay and that Pennywise hadn't killed her– it was practically a miracle. Eddie started to walk away from the reunion, shining his flashlight at the darkness ahead of him. Bev took noticed and pulled away from the hug, looking at the group. "Where's Bill?"

"Guys..." Eddie whispered, waving us over. "I hear voices. I think it's coming from the other side of this...mountain of trash." He said, shaking his head at the pile of objects.

We joined behind him and walked together, the voice of Bill talking to another person getting louder. We rounded the pile of stuff and saw Bill with his backed turned to us. "Oh my God..." I whispered, moving my flashlight towards the ground as I stared at the little boy in a yellow raincoat and boots standing in front of Bill. "is that–"

"Georgie," Richie replied, nodding his head.

The little boy whos missing poster had blown into my face the night my mom and I had arrived into Derry, was suddenly standing right in front of me...his right arm missing and bloodstained against the bright yellow of his coat. He was crying as he looked at Bill. "Take me home Billy, I wanna go home. I miss you, I wanna be with mom and dad."

"I want more than anything for you to be home, with mom and dad," Bill said, sniffing as he walked towards his brother. Though I couldn't see his face...I knew he was crying, you could hear it in his voice. "I miss you so much."

"I love you, Billy." Georgie cried, tears running down his cheeks.

"I love you too," Bill replied, as he stared at the little boy. He cocked the bullet gun and pointed it against his brothers head, the little boy's face immediately trembling in fear. "but you're not Georgie."

I turned towards Richie, burying my head into his shoulder before Bill could pull the trigger. He held me against him tightly, as the shot echoed throughout the chamber. "It's okay Dani," Richie whispered, pulling me out of his shoulder. "that's not Georgie...it's okay."

He was right, it wasn't Georgie. I slowly turned back around to see the little boy lying still on the ground only to start convulsing a few seconds later, a boyish scream escaping his throat. His limbs were thrashing everywhere before growing longer one by one. Suddenly, he wasn't in Georgie's last outfit...he was in the clown costume. "KILL HIM NOW BILL! KILL HIM!" Eddie yelled as Pennywise sat up, his head hanging down.

"KILL HIM!" Stan screamed, grabbing onto my flannel in fear. "KILL HIM, BILL!"

Pennywise stood up, his arms and torso relaxed like a hanging puppet, until his head slowly looked up, revealing the whites of his eyes rolling to show his yellow eyes. Everyone was screaming as Bill stood there, the bolt gun in his hand. "MIKE!" I yelled, gaining his attention before pointing at the bolt gun. There was only one round that Mike was able to save...the rest were somewhere down the well.

"It's not loaded..." Mike said, as everyone continued to scream and Bill pulled back the bolt gun–loading what he thought was another bolt and brought the gun up to Pennywise's forehead. Pennywise smiled, showing it's sharp teeth at Bill as if he knew what Mike and I knew. "HEY, IT'S NOT LOADED!"

Bill pulled the trigger, a popping sound echoing through the chamber. Pennywise stared at him in shock before hanging his head down and making grumbling sounds, shaking his own body and throwing himself back as he let out a harrowing scream. He came back up, staring at Bill.

I grabbed the back of his shirt as the rest of us quickly moved away from the clown but the creature pounced onto him, bringing him to the ground. "BILL!" I yelled as Richie dragged me back.

"BILL WATCH OUT!" He yelled, as Pennywise opened his mouth and went to bite Bill. He held up the bolt gun, placing it in between his sharp teeth. Pennywise snarled at him as he thrashed his head around, knocking the gun out of his hands.

Beverly picked up one of the spikes from Bill's discarded backpack and charged at Pennywise. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She screamed, bringing the spike up to stab him through the head like she did weeks earlier.

"Beverly, no!" Eddie yelled as the clown blocked her attack and Mike ran towards him, a spike in his hand as well.

In the blink of an eye, Mike was being thrown across the room– away from Pennywise. Bill grabbed the spike Bev had dropped as Pennywise opened his mouth ready to snack on him. Bill held the spike up, placing it in between the sharp teeth. Bill was able to scoot out from beneath him, but Pennywise reached out and grabbed both Eddie and Stan by the collars of their shirts. He slightly lifted them off of the ground and began to spin them around. 

"LET THEM GO!" I screamed, the clown ignoring me as he continued to spin them faster. I picked up one of the extra spikes and held it tightly in my hand. I charged towards him, bringing the spike up with both hands and swung it at one of his arms– missing as he sent Stan flying towards a wall and bringing his arm out of reach. I went to swing at his other arm but dropped the spike as he threw me across the room right next to stand.

"DANI!" Richie yelled, looking over at me before looking back at the clown. "You SON OF A BITCH!" He ran at the clown who still had Eddie in his grasp and jumped on his back, trying to take him down.

"Are you two okay?" Ben asked, helping Stan and I slowly stand up.

"I'll be better when we kill this fucking clown," I said, grabbing a rock that was next to me.

"Ah fuck!" Richie yelled as he was thrown off of Pennywise's back and onto the ground. I ran over as he began to pick himself up. "What kind of shit is this clown on?"

I crouched down next to him, holding onto both sides of his head and looking at him for any injuries. "Are you okay?"

"I just got thrown off of the back of a child killing clown that lives in a fucking sewer...what do you think?"

I laughed, knowing full well my question was dumb...but that didn't mean I wasn't serious. I helped him up and we turned to see that the clown was holding Bill against his body, an arm wrapped around his neck. We stood there as a group, looking on helplessly as our leader was caught in the arms of the very monster we'd been hunting down. I slowly stepped forward, not letting any fear take over my body as I held the rock in my hand. "You need to let him go."

The clown just chuckled the same laugh we'd heard in Neibolt as he attacked Eddie. No words– just laughter. I felt Richie grab my hand and pull me back to where I had been standing beside him– scared that maybe one wrong move could make this clown not only eat our friend...but the rest of us as well. "Let him go!" Bev screamed, glaring at him.

"No! I'll take him, I'll take all of you and I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear," He said, pointing at our group as he tightened his grip around Bill. "orrrrrr," his voice pitch got higher as he held up one finger as if he had an ingenious thought. "you'll just leave us be. I will take him, only him. And then I'll have my long rest and you will all live to grow old, and thrive and lead happy lives until old age takes you back to the weeds.

"Is he seriously trying to reason with us?" Eddie whispered softly. He wasn't the only one who couldn't believe it- none of us could. He had us right where he wanted us. We were in his lair, we were tired, beaten...scared...and yet he only wanted Bill.

But like hell, we'd ever let that psycho take him.

"Leave..." Bill said, nodding his head. "I'm the one who dragged you all into this. I'm s-s-s, I'm s-s-sorry."

"S-S-Sorry." Pennywise laughed, mocking Bill's stutter.

I looked at my friends as they too looked around our group. Bill had offered us an escape. He had offered himself up, so we could leave and live. For a moment, a small moment– you could see the wheels turning in a few of their minds, thinking that maybe they would take him up on his offer...but it never crossed mine. "No," I said, looking at Bill. "no, I'm not leaving you and you're not taking him."

"You stupid...stupid child." Pennywise laughed, his eyes glowing yellow as he glared at me.

"GO!" Bill yelled, causing a few of us to step back in surprise.

"You guys, we can't!" Bev said, looking at all of us.

Bill was our leader– hell he was the glue of the damn losers club. Sure, the four originals had deemed themselves the losers club since before the rest of us had joined them...but that didn't matter. We were the new and improved losers club– a group of kids who nobody took any interest in. We had a hypochondriac, mysophobe, a homeschooled kid, a girl whose reputation was created by rumors, a loudmouth with big glasses, a library nerd, a girl who once had only one friend...and Bill– the boy who never stopped loving his little brother and never stopped giving up on him...even when everyone else had.

 There was no denying that Bill was the heart and soul of the losers club and our best friend. And if he was willing to sacrifice himself for us...what kind of friends would we be if we didn't do the same for him?

Richie squeezed my hand tight before letting go of it and stepping forward towards the two. "I told you, Bill, I fucking told you I don't want to die– it's your fault." His words were filled with anger, the type of anger that I had only ever seen one other time come from Richie Tozier– and that resulted in getting punched by Bill and the fight that ultimately broke up the losers club. 

Pennywise grinned at Richie, seemingly enjoying the harsh words Richie was directing towards his best friend. Richie started to walk to his right as he took a deep breath. "You punched me in the face, you made me walk through shitty water, you brought to me a fucking crackhead house–" He paused and looked at Pennywise, who's smile dropped. 

"And now? I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown." He picked up a baseball bat from the pile of things and held it in both of his hands as Pennywise through Bill off to the side without a care. "WELCOME TO THE LOSERS CLUB ASSHOLE!"

Pennywise charged at Richie and he swung the bat, hitting him perfectly on the right side of his face. Mike charged towards him with a spike and Pennywise opened his mouth– pairs of charred hands reaching out and grabbing the spike. They grew closer to his face as screams and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Mike's eyes widened as he tried to keep the hands from touching him. "AH!" Stan yelled, coming out of nowhere swinging a pipe at the charred hands. 

Pennywise's body turned towards him and the hands curled into his open mouth, turning into the very same woman we'd seen attacking him only moments earlier. I fully expected Stan to freeze at the sight of the face– but he screamed and started waving the pipe around like a maniac, making contact with the woman hard– turning her around.

Mike dove towards the clown's torso, trying to stab it with the spike only to drop it at the last minute and slide on the ground. The clown's arms turned into huge crab legs and he started to try and impale Mike as he continued to roll across the floor. "BEN!" I yelled, kicking over an extra spike. 

He picked it up and ran towards the unsuspecting Pennywise, stabbing him in the middle of his back. He slumped for only a few seconds before standing up as if he was being exorcised as a black smoke emerged from his throat. When he turned back around, he was a decayed mummy with dirty bandages hanging from his face.

"Oh shit!" Ben yelled, pushing against the mummy as he kept trying to lunge forward, the bandages now wrapped around Ben's head, trying to bring his face closer to Ben's as he tried to bite him.

I looked over at Bill who had picked up a loose chain and I held the rock tightly in my hands. I had to track his movements right if I wanted to him Pennywise directly in the head and not anybody else. As soon as I saw Bill move in with the chains, I threw the rock, hitting his head directly and snapping it to the side as Bill hit him across the torso. His grasp on Ben loosened and he fell onto the ground. We wasted no time circling around him, giving him no place else to turn. Mike hit him with a piece of wood he'd found in the pile, sending him towards Bill who hit him with the chain again. 

I picked up one of the spikes, holding it tightly in my hand and waited for an opening to hit the monster. He looked towards me and snarled and I swung the spike, hitting him in the face. He looked over at Eddie and started to cough and gag. His clown appearance shed into the leper Eddie said he'd seen. He gagged again, a thick black liquid splashed into Eddie's face, covering it completely...some even getting into his mouth.

We stood there in shock and disgust as Eddie clenched his fists together. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" He screamed, kicking the monster in the throat and pushing him back towards the center.

He started to convulse, hiding his face towards the ground as we all stood there– prepared for anything. His body floated up into the air– still convulsing until it fell back onto the ground...motionless. We stared at his body, the sound of our hearts beating against our chests filling the silence in the chamber. The clown's body snapped up and he turned towards me– only he wasn't the clown...he was Benny. "Dani...Dani it's me, it's Benny."

I knew it wasn't him...but he just looked– so real. I tightened my grip on the spike and held it up by my ear like a bat. "You're not my brother you bastard," I yelled, swinging it hard and closing my eyes as I hit Pennywise. I opened my eyes to see that he wasn't standing there anymore.

"Dani..." I froze, the familiar voice coming from behind me. I saw my friends turned around, looking at whatever was there. "Sweetie, turn around...it's okay."

I could feel my hands shaking as I slowly turned around, trying to prepare myself for what I was going to be seeing. It was no use, my heart still dropped into my stomach when I saw him. He looked so real...so alive. His uniform was crisply ironed like always, his badge shining...his hat on his head. "D-Dad?"

He smiled and nodded. "It's me, I'm right here..."

"No, no you're not here..." I said, taking a deep breath. I knew it wasn't him, I was there when he died. I remembered the blood, the hospital, the screams of my mom. I had the station throw away the clothes I'd been wearing once they were no longer needed for evidence. Yet seeing him again...even if it wasn't really him...it hurt. "You're dead."

His smile fell and slowly the skin on his face began to rot and droop as his uniform began to turn red in his chest– the blood. "It was your fault–" his voice began to get deeper, almost demonic as his teeth became sharp. "YOU KILLED ME! YOUR FAULT! YOUR-"

I swung the spike again, hitting him in the neck and letting it go as it stuck in the skin. He sunk to his knees and started to spazz out again, falling to the ground. Pennywise's costume returned as his body started to slide over to the front of our group. He landed in front of Bev, keeping his head down until he looked up at her– turning into her dad. It was her fear– and she held onto the spike frozen. "Hey Bevvie," his voice teased, a snarling grin taking over his face. "are you still my little girl?"

She screamed and brought the spike up, stabbing it down her dad's throat. "Fucker!"

"Oh shit!" Eddie yelled as Pennywise removed the spike from his throat.

He started to cough again and again, water and slime coming out of his throat as he began to back himself away into what looked like another well that only went further beneath the town of Derry. His head was tossing from side to side, looking at us with wide eyes, gasping for air– almost as if he was dying. We crept toward him, trying to corner him in again so he'd be trapped. 

He looked as if he was about to cry– like he was scared as he began to make eye contact with each and every one of us as he rested against the well. "That's why you didn't kill Beverly..." Bill said, looking at him. "Cause s-s-she wasn't afraid and we aren't either– not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid, cause you're going to starve.

He threw himself back into the well, holding onto the edge with both hands, his body dangling into darkness. "He thrusts his hands against the posts...and still insists he sees the post," Pennywise began to mumble– copying the phrase that Bill used to help his stutter. "He thrusts his hands against the p-p-p-p-p-post. Stan handed Bill the metal pipe he'd been holding and Bill held it up, prepared to hit Pennywise one last time. 

He made a quick movement and Pennywise's grip loosened, sending him a bit further down the well. His skin was cracking and white pieces of his skull began to float into the air like little feathers. He was literally falling a part. He looked up at us one more time, a sly smile on his face. "Fear."

We watched as he fell into the darkness. The silence returned once again as the realization that the battle was over settled amongst us. "Well, I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay," Richie said, staring down the well.

Nobody laughed and I didn't even bother to nudge him. We were exhausted, still a little scared and on our toes in case this was another trick and Pennywise would jump out of the well. Bill turned to Bev and hugged her tightly in relief. "Hey, guys..." Eddie said, turning around and looking up at the ceiling. "the kids are floating down..."

We all turned around to see that the bodies of the missing kids were in fact...floating down to the ground. Some still looked like the kids on the missing poster– while others had rotting flesh with their own bones poking through. I shined my flashlight straight ahead and caught sight of the girl who we thought we'd found back in Neibolt. "It's Betty Ripsom..."

"Ed Corcoran..." Stan gulped, nodding his head to the right.

"Holy shit." Richie sighed, shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe what he was seeing– even after everything we'd been through. He looked back ahead of him to see Bill squatting down at the end of the pile of things and walked over to him. He squatted down next to him and put his arm around his shoulder as the rest of us walked over.

Bill sobbed as he brought the yellow raincoat with the torn right arm sleeve to his face. It was the missing piece that Bill had been needing all along– it was the proof that Georgie was no longer here. Proof that he'd been wanting to find, but hoping that he wouldn't. None of us knew what to say and I think that was a good thing. 

Sometimes, saying nothing is probably the best thing you can do. Bev wrapped her arms around Bill, hugging him in an attempt to comfort him. Soon, everyone else joined in too. I looked at Stan who was still hesitant and I held out my hand. He looked down at it and looked back at me with sad eyes– it was almost a deja vu for the both of us. He grabbed it and we both walked over to our friends...joining in the group hug.


❏❏❏❏


Climbing back up the rope was, as expected, just as hard as climbing down it. Our bodies were tired– pushed to the point of both mental and physical exhaustion during our battle. Bill left Georgie's rain jacket down in the chamber, as well as the body of his younger brother we'd come across as we went to exit the chamber. While it was both painful for him to do and for us to watch, he knew that it wasn't something we'd be able to do...or even explain.

When we had stepped outside of Neibolt, it took our eyes a little bit to adjust to the brightness of the sun. It made me really wonder just how long we'd been down there in the tunnels. Less than an hour? One hour? A couple of hours? My answer to that obviously could have been solved by asking Eddie what time he had on his watch– but I didn't really care about that. I was just happy that we made it out...all of us. We all grabbed our bikes from the middle of the street, none of us really wondering why they hadn't been stolen or why no one really wondered why there were seven bikes lying outside the junkie house. Then again, the entire town was under the influence of Pennywise...who was gone.

We didn't even ride away from Neibolt...we walked together. Nobody talked, our entire walk back was just full of silence. Ben offered to help Eddie get the black slime off of his face, in case he didn't want to do it at home. Eddie took him up on his offer, as did Stan and Mike. While they didn't need to be cleaned off...Ben also offered them some of his mom's brownies. Bill and Bev went to his house with promises that they'd stop by mine, later on, to talk to my mom about what happened to her dad. I didn't want to go home yet– I couldn't. So I kept on riding to town in the direction of Richie's place– though I had no intentions of stopping there either.

I rode all the way through town and out to the quarry. I needed the fresh-air and probably the alone time. It was hard, trying to understand the things I've experienced here and the things I've seen. There will never be a single person who I can tell all of this too...except for the seven other people who experienced it too. This summer bonded us together in a way that normally would have ruined anything in its path. When I got to the quarry, I let my bike rest against a rock and I walked over to the edge. I looked down at it, the murky water shining as the sun reflected against it. I sighed and sat down, dangling my legs over the edge as I stared out at nature. The wind was blowing, the birds were singing...it all seemed so peaceful.

Someone sat down next to me and immediately I knew it was Richie. He may have pretended to go into his house when we said goodbye...but I knew he was riding behind me the entire time. When you spend so much time around a person, sometimes you just develop an ability to know whenever they're around– and that happened with the both of us. He didn't say anything, he just sat there with me in silence. He didn't need to say anything though, because I knew he was there for me.

We sat there for what felt like hours, but what was probably one for a little over 30 minutes. Neither of us has broken the silence, we've just sat next to one another and enjoyed each other's presence. I took a deep breath as I watched a flock of birds fly over the trees. "You're still here? What are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for you, Dani. I'll always wait for you." He replied, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

I looked at him in shock, because not once was there a single sign of that being a joke. I knew there was a possibility Richie had liked– he kind of told me. But you never knew what to expect with Richie Tozier, so I didn't take it too seriously. But this...this was different. I scooted closer to him and grabbed his hand that was on his lap. I intertwined my fingers with his and looked at him. He looked down at our hands before turning his attention to me. His mouth was opened as if he was going to say something, but he didn't. I could see his eyes switching back and forth from my lips to my eyes and that whole shift in the atmosphere was happening.

Suddenly I wasn't thinking about the tunnels in the sewer, or whether or not we had killed Pennywise. I was thinking about the freckles that were spread across Richie's nose. How long his eyelashes were...the slight dimple on the left side of his face. I was thinking about kissing Richie Tozier for the first...well the second time. Richie leaned in, his nose touching mine for only a few seconds before he closed the small distance between us and kissed me. It was innocent. It was sweet. It made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. It was full of sparks.

The moment he pulled away, we stared at one another in total shock. I quickly leaned in again and pressed another kiss to the corner of his lips before resting my head down on his shoulder and looking back out at the trees. He squeezed my hand before laying his head on top of mine as we listened to the birds still singing.


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wowowowow this chapter is hella long– sorry about that. anyway, i can't believe this story is almost over!!! thank you all for taking the time to read, comment and vote– it truly means a lot. i love that you guys enjoy reading this story, because i genuinely love writing it.

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