Reap What You Sow

The Ones Who Never Fail to Give

Richie huffed, scooting closer and grabbing Mike's face. "Hey—" he stopped when he got a good look at him.

Mike's eyes were always warm. It didn't matter what the weather was like outside, or what mood Richie was in, being around Mike was always so warm.

But this—there was no warmth left at all.

His eyes were blank; the longer he looked at his face, the more Richie felt like it was getting colder. He had goosebumps.

"Oh no, Mikey," Richie whispered, gritting his teeth to fight back the emotion twisting his chest, stinging his eyes. "Fuck."

"What's going on?" Ben shouted.

Richie sucked in a breath that felt sharp in his lungs, but he still got to his feet. The others needed to know. "He's dead." Richie said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Any focus Stan had was lost all at once, immediately turning his attention from Them to Richie. "Dead...?"

"What!?" Bev shrieked.

"No way..." Ben muttered.

The monster was staggering towards them again, and something in Ben snapped. The sadness on his face twisted into something much darker. With nothing more than a flick of his wrist, thick spikes of ice jutted up from the ground and through the monster's middle.

It groaned deeply, but even now it was working on pushing itself off while trying to melt the ice down. That was some seriously thick ice though, at least it had bought them some time.

They probably should've kept someone watching the monster regardless, but in that moment, not one of them were thinking straight. And they didn't care. They needed to see Mike.

They all stood around him, all looking shocked and devastated. They knew what they would see, but it still tore each and every one of them down when they actually saw it.

"Can't you heal him?" Bev sobbed, looking at Eddie.

"I can try," Eddie muttered, finally starting to get some life back in him. But he didn't look convinced—he already knew the answer.

Still, he dropped down at Mike's side, placing his hand against his wound.

Everything was utterly silent, save for the monster still struggling to free itself in the background.

Eddie pulled away, frustrated, his eyes welling. "I can't."

Bill's head dropped again, and everyone else turned away or gasped or cried—it sounded different for each of them, but that was definitely the collective sound of their hearts breaking, one right after the other.

What were they going to do now?

Richie couldn't see how they could go on without Mike. Mike was the main reason any of them felt okay when things were hard. He doted on them; he took care of them. And Bill—he wouldn't come back from this. Even if he was still around, they'd lose him too.

Everything suddenly felt so hopeless. Cold.

"No," Eddie sniffled, shaking his head. "No, it's not over yet. We can do something, I know we can," he said adamantly. "What's the point of these powers if we can't use them to save him!?" he cried, looking at his hands like he might find instructions on what to do next.

"Eds..." Richie muttered. "There's nothing we can do—"

"Hush." Eddie snapped, staring off thoughtfully. He looked at Richie. "Come here."

Richie sighed, but he obeyed. He knelt beside him, resting a hand on Eddie's shoulder. "I'm here, but Eds—"

"Shut up and listen! I have a plan." He bit his lip for a moment, lost somewhere in his thoughts. "I need him alive to heal the wound—"