ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀɢʟᴏᴡ || ʀɪᴄʜɪᴇ ᴛᴏᴢɪᴇʀ

~ Blood and books ~

Elaine gave Richie a knowing look, one she wished she hadn't given him. He groaned at her stare, turning the red sportscar around and heading back towards the town's library where Mike told everyone to meet. Elaine sighed at the sight of the town's familiar library. She'd spent weeks inside the hot walls reading and also helping Richie study for countless tests.

The couple approached the building, immediately hearing screams coming from inside. Richie looked hesitantly toward his wife, "Well, that's not a good sign," He remarked. "You think?" Elaine rolled her eyes, the two quietly walking inside as the yelling got louder. "Just like you're junky parents!" A voice screeched angrily, standing over what looked to be Mike.

"Who is that?" Elaine asked Richie, huddling with him behind a bookshelf. Richie shrugged, just as confused as she was. "Can you see them yet?" The person asked Mike, hysterically laughing. Elaine was getting major deja vu, the voice sounded all too familiar. Being inside the library, the attack, the person. Elaine perked up, "It's Henry Bowers," She spoke softly, trying to stop her voice from shaking.

Richie cussed, fixing his glasses. "Shit." Elaine nodded, pacing between the aisles of books. "This is bad, this is really bad," She repeated. "Crispy." Henry laughed again as Mike coughed loudly. He was killing him. Richie finally stood tall, walking towards one of the library's display cases. "What are you doing?!" Elaine whisper-yelled not wanting him to get involved. Richie shuttered at what he was about to do.

"J-Just... Close your eyes!" He yelled back, grabbing an axe from inside the case. "Richie, what are you-" Henry's laughter became even louder as Mike accepted his destined fate. Henry Bowers, his childhood bully was going to kill him. Henry let out one final yell, Mike's vision turning blurry. "Like fried fucking chicken-" Hearing his own skull crack, Henry was cut off by Richie slamming the displayed axe into the back of his head.

The older man stayed still on top of Mike, hardly alive as blood fell from both his mouth and his head. Henry's eyes fluttered once more before he dropped dead beside Mike. Elaine should've shut her eyes like Richie said. Then maybe she wouldn't of had to witness him murder someone. "Oh my god!" She yelled, covering her mouth as she let out a choked cry.

"That was long overdue, get it 'cause we're in a library." Richie chuckled, turning to comedy even in the worse of times. No one laughed, Elaine still screaming shocked while Mike lay, Henry's dead body beside him. "Oh my god!" Elaine repeated, ignoring Richie's stupid joke. "Get it, cause books, you need to return them right," He tried again, colour draining from his face as he tried to clarify.

"What the fuck Richie!" Elaine yelled, shaking. "Y'know-" Richie trailed off, throwing up all over the wooden floor by Henry's leg. Mike groaned, still in shock as he tried to move away from the body. "You just killed H-Henry Bowers!" Elaine ran a hand through her hair anxiously, "You don't think I know that!" Richie finally yelled, starting to lose his shit. It wasn't like he'd really had a choice.

Beverly, Ben, and Eddie arrived just in time, seeing Richie hunched over gagging over a dead body. Except, this wasn't just any dead person, this was Henry Bowers. Oh, and what a sight it was for them to see. Beverly screamed, terrified by the sight of a man with an axe deep in his skull. Henry bled out beside Mike who sat with an uncomfortable look. "A-Are you alright?" Ben asked, concerned for him.

"No, I'm not alright! I just fucking killed a guy!" Richie yelled, overwhelmed by the situation. Ben rubbed the back of his neck, "I was talking to Mike..." Elaine eventually calmed herself down, walking toward Richie. She grasped his hands, hugging him tightly as they both shook. "You okay?" Richie quickly nodded, not wanting to talk about it.

"Where's Bill?" Mike asked sitting up. Everyone began to worry, immediately assuming the worst. "Wasn't he with you?" Elaine sniffed, asking Bev. "H-He left," Mike grabbed his phone, quickly dialling Bill's number. Elaine tensed up, leaning into Richie. When Bill finally answered his phone, everyone was flooded with relief. Little did they know, soon that would all be taken away from them.

Mike huffed, hanging up and throwing his phone across the room. "I don't think it went very well," Richie whispered to his wife, making her nod in agreement. "W-What happened?" Elaine hesitated to ask, seeing Mike's state. He stood up, walking away from Henry's body. "He's going to fight it alone," Mike informed them, everyone gasping. There was no way Bill would make it out of Neibolt alone.

"Alone?" Elaine breathed out, scared for his safety. "It's about the group! The ritual doesn't work without the group! Doing it together is the only way it'll work!" Mike yelled to himself, placing the ritual of Chud in the center of the room for everyone to look at. Elaine glanced at it, noticing a side of it all scratched up, covering something. Mike quickly snatched it away, noticing she was staring at the side with a bit too much interest.

He was hiding something. Elaine had known it from that very moment. She glanced at Richie, he had most certainly noticed this too. Mike wasn't the wariest person either, making it more than apparent something was wrong. "Mike, where did he tell you he was going?" Ben asked full of anxiety. "If he really wanted to kill Pennywise, there's only one place he'd go." Beverly took his hand, stopping its shaking.

"The same place where the ritual must be performed," Mike remembered, finishing for Beverly. Elaine's mind travelled, going back to that horrible place. "Please no." She shook her head continuously. "Oh, we're not gonna like this, are we?" Eddie spoke, noticing Elaine's reaction. "Fuck." Richie put his head in his hands, maybe he should've just left town when he had the chance.