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"Bev?" Chris and Ben whispered in unison.
"Beverly!" Mike shouted, trying to grab her attention.
"Holy shit.." Richie muttered.
Entering the cistern, she wanted so badly to disbelieve what she was seeing. But after all of that, she had almost suspected worse. Chris ran up to her, leaving the boys in her wake. She was like a puppet, lifelessly suspended in the air by invisible strings, her head lolling back in a dead stare.
"Beverly, can you hear me?" she called, standing on the tips of her toes, her arms stretched to their limit.
"H-How..How is she in the air?" Richie asked breathlessly.
"Guys," Eddie said, horrified. "Are those..?"
They all turned to him, their gazes following his. Chris' jaw went limp. The pile of junk - not junk, she thought, trophies - was like a spiraling tower. It almost reached the top of the incredibly high ceiling, and floating around the top like a carousel were rotting, partially eaten bodies.
"This missing kids..floating." Stan finished.
"We have to get her down now." Chris ordered, stomping toward her. "Someone help me up."
Mike knelt down, helping Chris perch on his shoulders. She wobbled a little as he stood up, grabbing Ben's shoulder as he stood nearby to catch her if she fell. As soon as she regained her balance, she grabbed Beverly's ankle, gently tugging her down like a stray balloon. Ben grabbed her other leg, guiding her down as Chris slid off of Mike's shoulders. Soon, Beverly was back on the ground, though Ben firmly held her arms as if she'd float away at any moment. Chris stood at his side.
"Bev!" he shook her shoulders.
She didn't respond. Her head was still tilted backward in a passive gaze, like she had fallen asleep. But her eyes were wide open, glazed over and milky from whatever spell It had cast on her. Chris nudged Ben to the side, holding the back of her head.
"Bev?" she said, ignoring the painful lump in her throat. "Can you hear us?"
Beverly's head fell forward limply like a ragdoll.
"Why isn't she waking up!?" Ben shouted. "What's wrong with her!?"
Ben wrapped his arms around her in a hug, and yet she was as still as a statue. He pulled away, sniffling. Putting an assuring hand on his shoulder, she stood before the girl.
"Beverly, please," she cupped her cheeks, staring deep into her lifeless eyes. "Not you too."
Taking a deep breath, she leaned in for a kiss.
Her eyes slammed shut, not ready to see the looks on all their faces. She could already hear their faint expressions of shock, and she could feel her ears burn. Chris was sure that she was shaking, but everything in her mind had left in that moment. No cistern, no boys, no child-eating demon. For that brief second, it was just them two. She pulled away.
