The crack on the door that Eddie made accidently with anger was Sonia's salvation. For almost two hours since Eddie was gone, she had been trying to get out of the closet by getting her arm trough it with the intention to reach the lock.
Now, her whole arm was covered in her blood. She screamed in pain when splinters dug into her skin.
But she didn't give up. Her arm was already half way out when her fingers felt the lock. With all her strength, she pulled it out and the closet's door opened, leaving her on the floor.
Now that she was free, Sonia went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. Then, she sat down on the sofa and waited for her son to come back.
//
The coronation was the most magical moment in Eddie's life. He could feel everyone looking at him but their eyes were full of admiration. For him.
It was the first time he felt seen and didn't care.
Somebody put his crown on top of his head, making the boy really happy.
Eddie was looking at the students and teachers applauding and celebrating his coronation when he spotted Beverly in the middle of the crowd, screaming his name. But, unlike before, her voice didn't sound proud or happy, she looked scared of something. With her, there was Stanley, Mike and Bill.
Then, Beverly changed her target and looked up at Henry.
"Henry." she muttered, not enough loud to make everyone hear it.
The PE teacher looked at her, the only one apart from the Losers Club who was intrigued by her worries.
"Beverly?" the adult said. The girl started to walk away, only focusing on Henry and how to get him down there. The man followed her and grabbed her by the arm. "Beverly. What are you doing? Come on. Come on, let's go."
"No! It's not me." she disagreed when he tried to get her away from the multitude. "It's Henry."
The man dragged her away.
"Don't ruin this for Eddie." he insisted.
Beverly tried to get him off her. Every time she would look at Henry, she could see him pulling the rope slowly.
"It's not me!"
Eddie could see her and the teacher arguing, but he couldn't hear what it was about.
Mike went to help Beverly out while Bill and Stanley tried to warn Eddie about what was going to happen to him.
"Eds, you okay?" Richie asked, worried about sadly he was looking at their friends.
"Yeah." he answered, even though it wasn't true. Richie held his hand in front of everyone, which made Eddie feel safe again.
Then, Richie leant in and kissed him, romantically. Everyone cheered, shouting compliments and their names. Their noise made Stanley's and Bill's voice irrelevant, condemning both Eddie and Richie. And well, the rest of the assistants.
Just when Richie and Eddie finished their kiss, a bloody drop touched Eddie's skin. He looked down at his hand and, consequently, up at the ceiling.
There, the blood that the bucket contained started falling until it ended up all on Eddie. The smiles and applause stopped, getting substituted by an incredible silence.
The bouquet of flowers that Eddie was carrying fell on the floor, covered with stinky blood. Eddie, still in shock, looked at his hands: everything was now bathed with horrible blood, making him look like a complete idiot.
Richie, by his side, only got part of his tux with stains of blood but that wasn't the important part: he could tell Eddie was panicking, probably on the edge of an asthma attack.
Bill and Stanley looked at Eddie with sad eyes, grabbing each other's hands with passion. They wanted to go up there and comfort him but Eddie wasn't probably in the condition of wanting people nearby.
Beverly, Mike and the PE teacher had also seen it, gasping as soon as the blood hit the short boy. Beverly was about to cry: she could have avoided it but she wasn't strong enough. It had been her fault.
Right now, the only thing Eddie wanted to do was cry. Run home to his mother's arms, cry a river until he felt asleep and the day would be over. His lip started trembling and his hands shaking, so, in an act of despair, he searched for Richie's eyes.
"What the hell?" Richie shouted at the crowd.
But now, everyone was laughing. Their mouths could only express their hilarious reaction, how funny it was to laugh at Eddie. The weirdo. The loner. The quiet kid.
The Loser.
The only thing he could hear was his mother's voice, repeating in his head:
"They're going to laugh at you."
"They're going to laugh at you."
"They're going to laugh at you."
She was right. She was always right.
//
Henry laughed too, proud of his work.
"Freak! Freak!" he shouted, looking at Eddie covered in the blood of the pig he had killed himself.
It felt so good. So fucking satisfactory.
"Come on." Patrick grabbed Henry and dragged him away. They walked down the stairs next to the scenario and left the place, followed by Vic and Belch.
//
Eddie was petrified. He couldn't even move: this time, they had really humiliated him. He was nothing but a victim... all his life he had been one. But now, he was done with it.
"Eddie, come on." the PE teacher told him, walking closer to him.
But Eddie wouldn't follow anyone anymore.
Suddenly, a dangerous anger took over his body. He stretched his arm towards the teacher and pushed him with his powers, making the adult fall onto the ground.
Nobody expected such a reaction. They gasped and stepped away from Eddie, acting like was a serial killer.
'Nothing could go worse.' Stanley thought.
But he was way wrong.
The bucket fell from the place it was standing on and started to go down until it hit Richie on the head. The boy felt a sudden pain on the area and, before he could say anything, he lost control over his body.
Immediately, Eddie turned around to see him on the floor, surrounded by blood. This time, his blood.
He ran towards him and found him with dead eyes.
"Richie." he kneeled down and caressed his hair, just to find out Richie wasn't alive anymore. "Richie, no." he began to sob, feeling the tears rolling down his cheeks. "No."
Eddie looked up, trying to find where the bucket came from but he found nothing.
After all, nothing mattered now.
Richie was dead.
With his face covered in blood and tears, Eddie stood up and stared at the crowd. They had crossed a line and now, they would pay for it. All of them.
Using his powers, Eddie made the light bulbs pop and closed the doors. His pupils dilated, opening his arms and, with a shout, he created an expansive wave that made everyone and everything fall. Even Mike, Beverly, Bill and Stanley hit the ground.
Some people hit the windows, breaking them with their heads and bleeding incredibly.
Eddie was definitely in some kind of trance but he didn't want to get back to reality. He wanted everyone to suffer and pay for their acts.
As his mother said, they needed to be forgiven for their sins and the only way to do it was by pain. So, as a generous act, Eddie helped them out.
Everyone started to shout, terrified of Eddie. The boy liked that feeling: it made him feel powerful.
"Don't panic!" the principal shouted.
Some of the students went to the bleachers, not knowing that Eddie would have no mercy. With his telekinetic skills, once some of them were climbing on the bleachers, he made them close against the wall. The students' legs got trapped there until they couldn't move anymore, killing them.
Eddie also triggered the smoke detectors, making the water run from them.
People ran towards the doors with the improbable intention of opening them and get out of hell. With now fire around the place, Eddie used electric cables to electrocute the students until he decided to place them on the watered floor. Everyone standing there, died.
Mike, Stan, Beverly, Bill and Ben got time to stand on a chair but now, they couldn't get down.
Psychotic Eddie kept using his powers against everyone, even the PE teacher, who was now laying dead next to the bleachers.
"Eddie, stop!" Ben shouted from one of the chairs.
Eddie had lost his senses so he moved Ben's chair so fast that made him fall to the ground, getting him electrocuted. The poor boy died there, right in front of the rest of his friends.
"What the fuck, Eddie?" Stanley talked, terrified.
Once again, Stanley ended up with the same fate as Ben. Bill cried, seeing his crush's body on the floor, lacking of life. Then, tired of running away, he let himself go and died by his side. He couldn't live in a world without having told Stanley how much he loved it. It would be a terrible torture.
Beverly screamed when she saw her friends dead.
"Eddie, please..." Mike started to say, trying to calm him down. "This is not what-"
He couldn't finish his sentence because Eddie broke his neck without even touching him. Sparks raised around his dead body.
Now, Beverly was the only one standing. Everyone had died. Everyone except her.
She could feel Eddie's glare on her, wondering how should he kill her.
"Eddie! Eddie!" Beverly kept screaming, her eyes filled with tears. "Eddie! Eddie!"
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie.
Eddie.
Eddie...
~~~~~~~
"Eddie... Eddie!"
Suddenly, Eddie blinked and the world had changed. Beverly's voice could still be heard from the amused crowd that was cheering him up during his coronation.
It wasn't until he felt the crown on his head when Beverly's figure was clearly visible, surrounded by Mike, Stan and Ben. He could see the PE teacher walking towards her, taking her away.
Eddie couldn't understand what was happening. His head hurt incredibly but, before he could realize what he had seen, Eddie looked for Richie.
His boyfriend was standing by his side, grabbing his hand and pulling him for a kiss. Eddie noticed how his lips tasted like strawberries, probably because of a flavored lipstick he had put on before.
Then, he noticed the blood drop on his skin. He lifted his head and saw the bloody bucket falling from the same spot than in his vision. He had no time to stop it, so he found himself covered in blood again.
Like the other time, Eddie looked at his hands and felt terrified. But, unlike before, the sensation didn't feel so strange. In fact, it felt like home. How it was supposed to be.
"What the hell?" Richie shouted at the crowd.
As they did before, everyone started laughing. Eddie couldn't understand why the story was repeating again: did he just imagine everything? But it seemed so real...
"Eddie, come on." the PE teacher told him, walking closer to him.
Eddie couldn't think straight, so, as a reflex, he pushed the teacher again with his powers. Then, Eddie grabbed his hand, embarrassed of himself. He was repeating it everything.
But there was one thing. One person that could still be saved.
When Eddie turned around, he saw the bucket falling. In a few seconds, it would hit Richie, killing him right in front of his eyes. He may had no time to save himself but there was still a chance for Richie.
Eddie lifted Richie from the floor, making him float. Richie panicked, believing that Eddie had lost his mind and was about to kill him. But, instead, Eddie moved him a few inches, letting him go far away from the thrones.
"Ouch!" Richie complained when he fell.
The bucket hit the floor not far away from Richie but enough not to touch him. Tozier looked at the object and then at Eddie. How did he know it was there?
Now in control, Eddie looked back at the crowd and smiled.
He had the power.
A power that could kill them all.