She'll Float Towards Us

Epilogue

Her heart kept in her throat as she recognized the four males standing there. Stan, Richie, Eddie, stood with four others surrounding a saddened Bill. He was clutching a tattered piece of yellow cloth. It was a strip of Georgie's raincoat. The tears streaked down their mud and - who knows what else - covered faces. All four of them just looked completely and utterly broken. And it destroyed Lorie to watch it.

*-*-*-*

Are you guys still seeing everything gold?" Stan asks.

Three "yeah's" echo around the room. But as they continue to look around, they notice the gold hue flickering, as if a light was going out.

Their light was going out.

"So....." Eddie starts, "You said Lorie was our soulmate, Richie. Does that mean she is in here somewhere?" He wants to confirm, eyes widening in realization. There is a short pause, before everyone pans out, looking in every nook and cranny, every tight small place, except for the area around the mountain of toys.

"Annie?"

"Sweets, can you hear me?"

"C'mon Babylove! Give a sign where you are!"

"P-Princess! Where are y-you?"

"Lorie!"

They look everywhere for what feels like ages for Lorie. They called out to her, begged her to make a sound to let them know where she was. But just like when she first disappeared, not a single shred of evidence to prove she was ever here is found. With hearts broken, they join together at the toy mountain.

Richie is angry all over again, and just stands there, rage taking over his being. Any ounce of hope he had left was now tainted and gone. He was done with the world. It had been cruel enough to him.

Stanley is looking off with unfocused eyes, a blank stare planted on his face. What was he supposed to do now? He was probably getting disowned by his family. He had no family left. He fought this stupid clown for no reason, other than gaining a lifetime of sadness and trauma.

Eddie is looking sadly at the ground, unable to stop the tears from continuously streaming down his face as his body shakes with sobs. He now had to fully accept that his Annie was gone. and never coming back.

Bill closes his eyes and collapses on the ground in devastation. His brother is gone, Lorie is gone. This whole thing was pointless. How could he have been so naïve? This was staring him right in the face, and even though all the signs pointed he still believed.

The other four go up to help them, their hearts hurting for the four. When the chubby teen gets to Bill, he crouches down and pulls the numb boy into a hug. And as he's holding him, he notices something hanging out of a medium sized plastic box leaned up against the mountain. It looks like a deformed muddy stick, but upon further inspection, the object makes him pale.