[26] I'M NOT AFRAID
THE FLOORBOARDS CREAKED BENEATH THEM as they all unsteadily begin to walk into the decaying house. Their knees shook, hands trembled as their shoulders bumped against one another's. They hadn't a clue as to what to expect once they made it down that well and into the sewers which they narrowed down as the home of the monster which tormented the town.
For a moment, they all just stood there in the doorway. Particles of dust floating in the air and their eyes scan the spiderwebs which lined the walls. "Stan?" They're all pulled from their thoughts, Ben looking back to the porch much like how he did with April just a few moments earlier.
He stood there frozen, eyes water and figure shaking. It made April's heart breaking in two, knowing his fear far too well as she had felt it just moments before. She still felt it in fact. Bill opened his mouth, ready to speak to him in a reassuring voice. He stops, seeing how April quickly moves away from between Richie and Mike and towards the boy who still stood outside the house.
She puts a trembling hand on his forearm softly, looking to him with the similar comfort she found in Bill's eyes — hoping it'd serve the same purpose to Stan. "Stannie," She mumbles and he looks down to her, tears streaming his cheeks.
"I can't go in there, April," He whispers weakly.
She nods, hearing the rest of the boys shuffle behind her. "I thought that too," She responds. "But, we have to. For Bev, right? We'll make each other brave and together we'll all win this," She goes on, voice breaking as he nods, looking down to his shoes as April and him begin to enter the house. His steps reluctant.
They settle once again between Mike and Richie, allowing the comfort they all found in one another to consume them. Their movements are small throughout the house, moving together or not at all. Their steps causing dusty footprints on the uneven floorboards. Bill knew exactly where they needed to go. The dank basement where the well resided.
Their feet fall one by one against the steps, April coughing into her elbow at the change of air. It was easily far more thin and the dust littered throughout didn't help its case. Though, the air thin, the silence was thick amongst them. Full of unsure breaths and nervous foot placements in fear it'd cause too much noise and allow IT to come find them.
"Hey Eddie, got a quarter?" Richie breaks the silence which left them all somewhat quest.
Eddie shakes his head and responds without missing a beat. "No, I'd rather not make a wish in that fucking thing," He responds, foot falling against the floor of the basement, foot crunching against the gravel.
They continue towards the well. April scrunching up her nose as they get closer towards it. Leaning over the ledge and staring down into the dark abyss which they assumed is where their lost friend was hidden. "Beverly?" Ben shouts, his voice echoing.
They all hoped to hear a response. A shout back, a whimper, or even a scream would be far better than the deafening silence which followed after the hollow echoes of Ben's desperate voice.
"How're we supposed to get down there?" Mike speaks up.
April looks away from the void of the well, heart pounding in her chest as she looks to Bill out of instinct. Seeing him lea ing over the ground and snatching a dirty rope before walking to her side and attacking the end of it to the hook. He tugs on it, April watching his movements.
Her eyebrows furrow in worry as she realizes his intentions. "Billy, you've got to joking with us, right?" She asks, lip trembling as she imagined him descending down that awful rope. As she imagined any of them descending down it.
It was frightening. Maybe, it frightening her more than the idea of facing the clown. The probability of the rope snapping and having to hear any of the Losers screams as they plummet down, down, down into the sewers of their dull town.
"I usually don't agree with Ambie here but come on, Big Bill. This doesn't seem very safe," Richie adds to April's question, his already magnified eyes wide as Bill steps on the ledge of the well.
"Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice, guys," Mike answers them, knowing well that there really wasn't any other choice unless they planned to head to the Barrens and run through the maze of tunnels which began there. But, even then, that sensed more impossible than this.
Bill holds an iron grip on the stained rope, his knuckles turning white as he looks down to April, giving her a reassuring nod. Far too shy to say he loved her in front of everyone. He hoped she knew that he did despite that. He began down the well now, arms trembling as he let himself scale down slowly.
April's eyes are wide as she quickly reaches for Eddie's arm, gripping it so tightly that if they weren't in the situation they were in, he would've likely been screaming at her about leaving nail marks in his skin. It seemed like an eternity as they listened to shuffles and shoes scraping against the cobblestone walls of the crumbly well.
"Okay! I'm down!" Bill shouts up to them, each of them letting out a breath they didn't realize they were holding. None of them moved towards the rope, too nervous to wrap their trembling hands around it. "G-Guys!" He shouts again, the group giving one another looks before Richie nudges Eddie forward and towards the well.
It was the same process as Bill's except this time April was digging her nails deep into her own skin. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as they all waited to hear Eddie call up to them. She zones out until it was her turn, her eyes glazed over and rocking back and fourth on the balls of her feet as she attempts to calm herself down. She was heading down right after Richie, Mike holding her shaky hand as he helped her up onto the ledge, her grabbing hold on the rope
She sighs, doing exactly what she knew she shouldn't, staring down before she began to walk off the ledge and scale down. Her heart racing faster than before as she dangles in the air. "Billy, if I fall-" She starts nervously before getting cut off.
"Nice undies, Ambie! Are they princess ones?" Her sentence falls short at the sound of Richie's voice going over hers. She can hear the boys all groan, practically feeling their eyerllls and a slap followed by an 'ow!'.
She could even hear Eddie's aggressive whispers like "That's Bill's girlfriend, dumbass!" followed by a shy "S-S-Shut up, Eddie!". Though, she was somewhat thankful for Richie's ridiculous words as they managed to get her mind away from the way she was letting go of a rope and risking falling into the darkness.
"You're staring up at my shorts, Rich. I'm literally wearing shorts under my dress," She responds and she gets closer to the crevice in the wall.
She hears him scoff with a light laugh just as she makes it to the crevice and feels Bill's hand wrap around her waist, pulling her into the space. She falls against his chest, her hands steadying herself by resting on his forearms. She looks up to him, doe eyes full of worry and he quickly brushes her hair out of her face side before helping her crawl to the back where Richie and Eddie were hunched over.
Soon, nearly all of them were down. Stan following after her and then Ben. It was just Mike who needed to scale down the rope which had yet to fail them. They hear a sharp exhale and watch as the rope shakes from Mike grabbing hold of it, preparing himself. But, it's quickly followed by a loud grunt, a thud which makes panic set through them all. They quickly crawl the the edge of the cranny in the wall, gazing up to the top of the well and not seeing Mike on the rope.
"Mike?" Richie calls up, next to Bill who shined a flashlight upwards.
"You okay?" Ben adds from behind them.
There was a lull which seemed as if it lasted forever before Richie and Bill see a bloodied Henry Bowers gazing down towards them with a manic look in his eyes, lips curled upwards in a smirk. "Bowers," Richie mumbles.
April's heart drops to the pit of her stomach at that, crawling closer to Eddie who whimpered out Mike's name weakly. She felt sick at the thought. Nothing good is coming from this. She hadn't even seen his face yet she knew there was something wrong just from the way Richie muttered his name.
The forced laugh which followed thereafter made her skin crawl and heart drop even more. "Mike?" She calls up, voice shrill and as loud as she could force it. "Are you okay?" She goes on, hating the sound of Henry's forced chuckles and only wanting to hear Mike call out to them.
"N-N-N-No! Grab it!" Richie shouts as Henry begins to pull up the rope, tearing it from both Bill and Richie's grasp harshly. Leaving red marks as their flailing arms go still once again and the only thing they could do is call up to their friend.
They were essentially useless. Unless they could find a way up, they couldn't do anything besides shout and this was the one moment in her life where April felt truly powerless. She had tears welling in her eyes at the thought of whatever despicable things Henry planned to do to Mike and she prayed silently that somehow, someway, Mike would find a way to overpower the older boy.
"Leave him alone!" April screams, knees shaking in the dirt they rested in. "Don't touch him!" She goes on, grabbing onto Eddie's arm in fear.
Then, the worst of it happens. The sound of shuffles and grunts and shoes scuffling against the ground. Their screams for their friend likely drowned it all on the outside looking in out but it was still just so amplified to them. Hearing each cry and groan as if it were right next to each of them. They hear shouting too, aggressive and awful words spilling from Henry's lips and April couldn't even imagine what was going on up there without letting the tears which welled up in her eyes stream down her cheeks as she calls up to Mike.
"I... S-Should get up there..." Bill starts, looking around at the walls, shining the flashlight at them, searching for any possible way he could climb up.
"Are you insane?" Eddie grabs onto Bill's shoulder, pulling him back.
"There's no way up, Billy," She adds, nodding along with Eddie as they all sit there in the hole helplessly. They couldn't do anything. "It's hopeless," She whispers, feeling dread overcome her as she realizes that there would be no happy ending to this. Even if they did manage to kill IT, even if they did all manage to survive, it would never be normal. They'd always have this trauma. This fear within them.
A loud shout breaks her from her silence, all their heads snapping to look up again before suddenly, a body falls down the well, slamming against the walls with thuds as they listening to his agonizing screams echo all the way down. "Holy shit!" Richie exclaims as they all gaze up at Mike's face.
"Mike!" Eddie screeches, all of them falling silent for a moment.
"I'm okay... I'm okay," Mike responds weakly with a soft nod, the group letting out sighs of relief, feeling a weight lift off their shoulders. Though, they all knew that even if this felt like the worst of it all, it wouldn't even come close to what would be happening next, deeper into the sewers where the horrors which tormented this summer and all the years before that lived.
The moment Mike had made it down the rope, Eddie looked back. Noticing the absence behind him where he recalled Stan once sat. "Guys, where's Stan?" He asks, eyes widening.
Looks are given between them as they call begin to stand, hunched over, realizing they hadn't even heard him during Mike and Henry's battle. They run deeper into the tunnel until they could stand up straight, their voices strained from screaming so much already.
"Stanley?" Eddie shouts, raising his flashlight and looking around the shadowed walls.
"Stan?" April calls out, stood behind Eddie in the line they walked in, her hair flying into her mouth from her rapid movements. She feels guilt begin to build up in her belly, remembering the way he told him he'd be safe just moments before this moment. She lied to him. She lied to him. Good, God... She lied to him. "Stan?" She calls out again louder now, voice breaking as they venture deeper and deeper in the dark tunnels underneath Derry.
Stopping abruptly, Eddie stumbled back into the group, his arms outstretched to his sides. "Oh shit! Grey water," He mutters, staring down at the green coloured liquid they wade in. He gags at the thought of its contents before he's nudged and they all continue to trudge through it. The water reaching just below their wobbly knees.
They rushes through it, water splashing up and wetting their clothes. April already knew her once bright white dress was likely stained the colour of the water. "Stan?" She called out, voice bouncing off the walls. "Stan, where are you?" She goes on, head bobbing from side to side as if he were just standing next to her and they all missed him.
"Stanley! This isn't funny!" Richie shouts just before a loud scream erupts through the sewers.
It was loud and made all of their stomachs drop, eyes going wide in fear. They all knew it was Stan and couldn't imagine what horrors he was facing alone. Their running was instantaneous, hurrying towards the sound while his name fell from their lips in a panicked frenzy.
"We're coming!" Bill shouts out to him, unsure if he even managed to hear it. They were beginning to approach a door, all of them stopping at it abruptly and staring at it before they all began to push at it with all their strength until finally, they managed to get it to swing open for them.
At this point, their clothes were soaking. Socks and sneakers filled with dirty water and April swore that her hair would probably require a good dozen washes until she felt truly clean again. Pushing through the doorway, they go frozen. Staring at Stan's laid out body on the dirty floor while some sort of figure was hunched over him, mouth covering the entirety of his face. They could barely tell it was Stan. They wouldn't have been able to had it not been for his tell-tale button up.
"Holy shit!" Richie shouts, his jaw going slack at the sight.
April lets out a loud gasp, her hand flying to her mouth and Bill quickly grabs her wrist and pulls her towards him as the figure releases its hold on their friends face and looks up to them with a sinister smile before it backs away into the shadows and peeks out once gone, revealing the face of the clown.
"S-Stan!" April is the first to rush over to him, laying on the ground shaking with wide eyes full of terror. She falls to her knees next to him, ignoring the pain that shot through them as she begins to wipe the tears off his cheeks. The rest follow suit, worry filled their systems as they all began to speak out comforts to their panicked friend.
Stan screams, sitting up as tears stream his cheeks and using his arms to push them away. "No!" He shouts at them as April begins to grab onto one of his hands and hold it tightly, looking to him with desperate eyes while Eddie begins to rub his back comfortingly. "You left me! You're not my friends! You made me go! You lied, you said I'd be okay!" He goes on, head lolling around weakly as he chokes on his cries.
"We're sorry," Eddie says. Richie next to him with his head bowed down, tears in his eyes while Mike and Ben continue to comfort Stan.
April feels the last line directed towards her, her heart shattering as she holds his hand tighter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... You're okay. You're here. We've got you," She whispers weakly, voice breaking as she brushes the tears off his cheeks with the pad of her thumb.
They all had tears in their eyes, clutching to one another almost as if they were to let go they would all fade away completely. These kids loved each other. They were willing to die for each other. Every little thing they did in this sewer was so that they could all ensure the safety of the others. There was no favourites, no hatred, no jealously among them. It was all just love. Pure, childhood love.
It took them all a moment to realize that Bill had pulled away from the hug they were all engulfed in. April pulling her head away from Stan's shoulder and looking up, seeing the boy she had fallen for terribly for wandering down the tunnel and around a corner.
"Billy?" She says, pulling away completely now as she stumbled over her yellow Converse towards the boy. Not bothering to wait for the others, forgetting her fear and following blindly after him.
She never ever thought of it but she would always do that. Always. If it were Bill, she'd follow him wherever. Always and forever. It was almost dangerous, the blind trust she put in him. It was dangerous. To April, Bill was safety. As long as she was with him, she'd be protected from all the horrors of the world. She believed it. She believed him. She'd always believe in him. How couldn't she believe in Bill Denbrough?
She was so caught up in following after him, she hadn't even noticed the splashes of her friends following after her. Calling out to bother her and Bill. "Ambie!" Richie calls out to her in worry.
"You can't just run off," Ben adds, the group coming closer to her stumbling figure, her eyes squinting in the darkness as she had left her flashlight with the group. She suddenly feels Mike grab her arm and pull her closer to him in worry.
Huffing, she looks to him. "We have to keep going. We can't leave Billy alone!" She says to the group, eyes wide before she continues pushing through the water, Mike being forced after her and the group following.
Their legs pushed against the water, clothes soaked wbu made them all feel heavy. It was no surprise when Eddie trips, falling face first into the dirty water he complained about just earlier that summer. April cringes at the thought, hoping the water hadn't managed to splash into his mouth.
"Ed's, get out of there! That's grey water," Richie points out, grabbing at the back of the boys red shirt in an attempt to pull him up.
He retaliated, shaking his head and pushing his hands through the water. "N-N-No wait! Where's my fucking flashlight?" Eddie screeches, eyes darting around in the murky liquid.
"Just leave-" April starts, voice soft before she cuts herself off. Lips parting in terror as she lets out a loud scream at the sight of heads floating up from the water and in front of Eddie. "Get up!" She screams at him, Stan and Richie grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him up with force before they quickly began rushing away from the spot they had stopped at.
They followed each other through the tunnels, shouting out for Bill and calling to each other, making sure they were all still there. April had her heart beating out of her chest, partly due to adrenaline but mostly because she didn't know where Bill was. In this moment she had forgotten about the clown and those dangers. She worried about what Bill was doing on his own.
It was only a matter of time before they reached a clearing which didn't contain water anymore, connected to the tunnels by an archway. Hesitantly, they all run through it. Their heads spinning as they took in the large area with a towering pile of random objects in the middle of it.
"Bev?" Mike calls out before he suddenly stops abruptly, eyes trained upwards and staring at his friends floating figure.
She was suspended in the air, eyes wide and a milky colour, jaw slack. It was like she was a shell of who they all knew Beverly to be. They were quick to rush towards her body, unsure as to how to get her down.
"Guys, are those..." Eddie speaks up, the group looking to him curiously before they follow his eyes towards the ceiling of the space which caused all their breathes to stop.
Realization hits them, horror filling the room. "The missing kids. Floating..." Stan finishes, nodding in fear as April quickly leans towards Mike for comfort.
It was horrifying, seeing all those bodies up in the air because deep down she knew, any single one of them could have easily been her. Shaking away the thought, she directs her eyes back to Beverly. "We have to get her down..." She says in a panic, looking to the boys.
Mike had already picked Ben up, holding him up, high enough to reach for Beverly's ankle which allowed him to pull her down as Mike places him on the ground once again. Her once blue eyes were replaced with some sort of white, the sight making April tilt her head and wordy full her. Wondering what IT had done to her friend to cause this.
Ben stood in front of her, grabbing into her shoulders in a panic as Beverly stood unresponsive to his calls. "Bev! Beverly! Why isn't she waking up? What is wrong with her!" He shakes at her shoulders, tears welling his eyes.
April felt her heart break for him, unable to imagine the pain his heart must have been feeling. It was unimaginable, she had forgotten about her worry for Bill for this split second, focusing purely on Beverly and Ben. She couldn't fathom the thought of losing Beverly. Of losing any of the Losers, in fact. They were her family just as much as her mom, dad, and Holly were. She loved them and the thought of a loss made her want to scream and shout and cry until she couldn't breathe.
"Beverly, please!" Ben cries out as he embraces her tightly. It had done nothing, Beverly's eyes remaining the same foggy white, open and unblinking. Then, suddenly, Ben pulls away from the hug. Looking to the girl before her breathes in and leans into her, pressing his lips against hers in desperation.
The action caused April's mouth to fall open in shock, the Losers all exchanging confused looks as they forget the severity of the situation because the action was almost so absurd. "Oh... Uh. Yeah. I-I don't think... That's allowed, exactly?" April mumbles, looking to Eddie with scrunched you eyebrows. "Maybe... Not?" She goes on before Ben pulls away and the once unresponsive Beverly lets out a loud gasp.
Her eyes returning to her usual blue as she stares to Ben. "January embers!" She says,
"My heart burns there too," He finishes, his voice shy and bashful.
Richie huffs out, a lighthearted laugh escaping his lips as he throws his arms around the both of them. "Jesus fuck," He mumbles as the rest of the group joins the hug — letting out breaths of relief and allowing themselves to bask in the comfort it brought them.
Suddenly, Eddie pulls away. Hearing the sound of Bill's familiar shaking voice as he follows it. It wasn't long until the group realizes, following after him and stopping in their tracks in shock. They stared at the scene unfold, Bill standing in front of Georgie, tears in his eyes and his hands shook. Richie had to grab onto April's wrist tightly and pull her back to prevent her from running towards Bill.
Their breaths were caught in their throats as they watched Georgie begin to speak, voice broken. "Take me home, Billy... I wanna go home! I miss you! I wanna be with mom and dad!" He cries out, Bill sobbing at the words.
"I want more than anything for you to be home..." Bill whispers. "Mom and dad... I miss you so much" He goes on as his throat tightens. His voice pained, it made hearts shatter. April felt tears well up in her eyes for them both. For her Billy and for Georgie.
Georgie stares up at him desperately, lip quivering. "I love you, Billy," He says.
Bill pauses. His hand reaching for the gun attached to his jeans. "I love you too," He whispers, swallowing his spit harshly. "But, you're not Georgie!" He goes on, lifting the gun to the forehead of the boy and pulling the trigger.
He falls back onto the floor with a thump. Everyone watching with wide eyes as the body begins to shake, mouth opening and beginning to let out a scream. Suddenly, one leg stretches out, then the other before the left arm does and the right follows suit. The body of the innocent child which once laid there was quickly transforming into the clown which terrorized the town.
They were all screaming now, shouting to Bill to hurt it, to kill it. To finally put the end to the horrors which haunted them. Richie was gripping April's wrist so hard he'd probably left marks by now, a bracelet of red and purple blossoming on her wrists. She was pulling against it, trying her best to run towards Bill, pull him away from the monster, help him pull the trigger, anything.
Finally, with a shaky hand, Bill lifts his arm and presses the cool metal against the clowns forehead and pulls the trigger, backing away from the figure quickly. A lull occurring in the air as they watch with high hopes. Yet, nothing happened. They watch as the clown shakes tauntingly before standing and running towards them.
Quickly, they all disperse, rushing away from clown, April successfully pulling away from Richie and stumbling backwards and onto the ground. "Billy, look out!" She screeches, watching as the clown jumps onto him. She screams loudly, her eyes wide as Beverly comes up from behind them and whacks the clown against the head yelling at the clown to leave him alone.
IT looks the Beverly, grabbing hold of her and lifting her up into the air. April finally standing and grabbing at the metal rod which lay at the bottom of the pile of children's toys. She runs towards the clown, trying to push the fear to the back of her mind and allow herself to be filled with rage.
She goes in towards the clown at the same time as Mike, both of them getting hit by its long arms and pushing them away. April falls back, the metal rod falling to her side and feeling the dirt in the ground scrape into her skin, reopening the scars from the day Bill's tire propped, tearing open the 'IT' shaped wound on her forearm. She was filled so heavily with adrenaline she hadn't even had time to notice, standing up quickly and lifting the rod into her hands.
She stumbles over herself as she stands, watching as Ben gets pushed away and falls over to the ground before her eyes widen — the clown rushing towards Bill. She lets out a scream as IT takes him into IT's grasp. The group crowds around one another, staring as the clown adjust its hold tighter and as Bill struggles to breathe beneath it.
April feels tears well in her eyes, her lips quivering as her knees go weak at the sight, falling into Stan and he has to snake his arm around her waist in order to hold her up because she's shaking and she swears she's never been more scared. Not when those bugs flooded her room or the when IT came into the garage or in Neibolt... She's never been this scared because IT still didn't feel real, none of this felt real until now.
She's watching in horror as the boy she fell in love him grabbed at the arm of the clown which terrorized their summer and it's taking everything in her not to scream as loud as she can or just close her eyes and hum one of the lullabied her mother would sing to her.
"Let him go!" Beverly speaks up, voice shaky.
The clown laughs, shaking IT's head as it looks amongst them. "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 responds, pausing for a moment as IT's state lands on April. "Or, you'll just leave us be and I'll take him, only him and I'll have my long rest. And you'll have live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives!" IT continues, taunting eyes trained into April's blue ones while its body shakes with glee. "Until old age, takes you! Back to the weeds!".
April's lips part, tears falling freely down her cheeks at the offer. She felt fucking sick. She shook her head rapidly, lips parting and ready to sputter our whatever nonsense came to her head because she knew there was no reasoning with this monster.
"L-Leave!" Bill's voice is weak and instantly makes her head look to him, eyes softening instantaneously at the sight of him. "I'm the one who dragged you all into this, I'm s-so sorry..." He rasps out, hand gripping the arm around his throat.
She's silent for a moment, shaking her head again as the clown jingles out. Almost as if IT felt the fight in each of them dying. "Go!" Bill shouts and it made her flinch because despite the fear she was feeling from being face-to-face with this monster, the sound of Bill's loud, desperate voice pleading with each of them to leave was worse.
She swears just hearing that was enough to tear her apart and she feels her her stomach drop into the floor at the thought of leaving him and she couldn't help but let out a sob. She couldn't leave without him, they couldn't leave without him. She needed him. Oh, God. She needed him more than she needed air because the thought of being without him terrified her now.
The clown laughs, laughs at her while shaking its head with a sadistic smile at her before she pushes away from Stan at the same moment Richie wanders to the side dazed. "I'm not leaving without you! We can't. I can't! I need you, Billy. We can't go, we can't. We can't," She's sputtering out loudly, on the verge of shouting as her head turns from the boy she loves to her friends with desperate eyes pleading that they stay with her and get him back.
Bill stares at her. Her curly hair wild and eyes glassy and he falls in love with her all over again in that moment, she was so fearful and yet, she did all this. He swore she was the strongest person he'd ever met even if she wasn't aware of it. His heart aches, watching as her body shook while his best friend held her up. He'd do anything for her, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
There was a lull for a moment, shock and fear filling the air from April's loud pleads before another person speaks up. "I told you, Bill. I fucking told you!" Richie starts, suddenly walking up towards the front of the group. "I don't wanna die! It's your fault. You punched me in the face, you made me walk through shitty water, you brought me to a fucking crackhead house!" He goes on, listing all the things they've done that summer.
"Richie, what are you doing?" April whispers, voice breaking. She's blinking tears from her vision so that she can see, her heart is racing. "Richie..." She whispers, Stan still holding her up, his arm wrapped around her waist tightly. He's rubbing the side of her waist gently, attempting to calm down her wavering breaths.
They're all watching as he paces, their hearts dropping with each one of his words because they were slowly becoming more and more convinced that he'd be turning back and leaving. "And now... I have to kill this fucking clown," He stops, grabbing a bat from the tall tower of toys and stares dead into the clowns eyes before rushing towards it. "Welcome to the Losers club, asshole!". He shouts as he smacks it upside the head with all his strength.
There wasn't any time for them to process what had happened, Mike instantly going in, ready to fight as the clowns throat began to have hands rip through it. He freezes, backing away in fear. Soon after, the clown transforms again — into the same woman who had attacked Stan earlier, IT runs towards him. In a mix of fear and bravery, Stan found himself pushing April away and to the side so that she's out of harms way. She stumbled to the ground, her white dress staining with mud as Mike runs after the woman and hits it.
IT transforms again, hands turning to spikes and Mike falls. The spikes hitting at the ground repeatedly in attempts to stab the rolling boy. April stands hurriedly, grabbing at the metal rod which she had dropped earlier and runs at the clown at the same tome as Ben, him stabbing it and her smacking it upside the head with a quiet grunt. IT turns towards Ben, mummified tissues attempting to wrap itself around his face. He backs away, tripping over his feet before April smacks it again.
"Leave him alone!" April screams, hair flying into her face as she grips the rod tightly, backing away with her brows furrowed.
They had lost their initial fear they felt coming into the house — now replaced with anger and rage. They were all together in this and we're willing to fight until the end if it means they all stayed safe. Mike was quick to come from from behind the clown, hitting it just as it began to reach out for April's waist. Richie then smacking it with a bat.
There was no stopping them, the clown beginning to break down and hobble over as it grew weaker and weaker before suddenly it falls over completely. They continue beating it, their shouts and grunts filling the echoing sewers as the clown looks to Eddie, opening its mouth wide and vomiting a warm, tar-like substance into him.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Eddie screams, shaking his head in anger as he stands firm his tumbled position and kicks the clown across the head which caused it to flip.
Mid-flip, IT transforms again. Into Beverly's father, the school custodian. They all pause as Beverly begins to inch closer, her steps tentative as her eyes gloss over. "Hey, Bevvy," It whispers menacingly. "Are you still my-" It goes on, Beverly cutting it off by lifting the rod in her hands and shoving it down it's throat.
She falls back quickly towards the group, the clown coughing and spitting as it struggles to back away from the group of children. They follow after it, unwilling to let IT have the easy way out after all it's done to their small town. IT's body was trembling yet still, laughter was coming from its mouth.
Bill stares at it, moving closer to it. "That's why you didn't kill Beverly... Because s-s-she wasn't afraid" He says. "Well, we aren't either. Not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid, cause you're gonna starve." He finishes, staring down at its pathetic figure.
The clown cackles, jingles coming from it as it looks between the group. "Are you?" IT asks, smile wide. "Are you not afraid, April?" IT goes on, eyes locking with the girl who stood behind the group. Her eyes going wide as her heart sinks, lips trembling at the mention of her name. "Poor... Little... April..." IT goes on, voice low as the group stares down at it.
"N-No..." She whispers. "I'm not afraid," She responds, voice shaking. You could tell she was lying. She was a God-awful liar, but it wasn't just that. She had tears streaming her cheeks and her hands were trembling and she was at the back of the group and Bill cusses to himself for ever letting her get so far away.
Bill's eyes quickly go to her, staring as she freezes. "S-Sunshine," He sputters, backing away from the clown, he could practically feel her fear and if he could... That meant IT could too.
"Sunshine!" The clown mimics, hobbling away from the group with a smile. "Suuuuunshine," It draws out the nickname. "I like that. I think... I'll keep you," IT bursts out into maniacal laughter, arm elongating, extending towards her frozen figure and wrapping it around her waist tightly.
She screams loudly, sound echoing the walls of the sewers and through the grates leading to the towns roads. IT lifts her into the air, waving her thrashing body around in the air as the group all jumps back into action with their make shift weapons in an attempt to free her.
Then, it happened. It almost shook the room, how loud the scream that left the proclaimed leader of the Losers Club's mouth was — it was bone-chilling and it had everyone stop. It was a scream that would be hard to forget even if by some miracle they'd forget the summers events. Loud in desperation as it echoes through the cistern, the sound of a thud against the far wall before another against the damp floor and Ben could've swore he saw something break in Bill.
They were so close. It was over. It was. Or, they thought it was. It wasn't. No, because if it was they wouldn't be standing there for a split second. The sound of desperate cries filling the large mass of space as the world begins to seem so much darker than it already was.
"You killed my b-brother, you m-motherfucker! You c-c-can't take her, too!" A screech. Hysterical as he stares back from the wall where the loud thud came from and back to the weak clown that was shrivelled up on the floor. "I-I won't let you!" He screams again, leaning over and grabbing at the link of chains they used to choke the clown earlier in the battle and charging towards IT as that shook in laughter.
"Oh, but I already did!" He jingles, staring at Bill with yellow eyes and curled lips in a sadistic type of joy as tight-throated young boy yields the cold metal towards IT's face and Eddie comes from IT's side, kicking it and soon they're all fighting again. Pushing it towards the well until it's finally at its edge and holding onto it with its fingertips, dangling. It looks up at the group once more, a smile on IT's face as it speaks one last thing before it disappears into nothingness. "I took her, just like I took Georgie.".
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