Stanley had his hand tight on Andie's, his eyes glued to her, feeling calmer with each glance. As they took their first steps, they well remembered the feeling of their first steps in the house, back when they were only 13. The stink of the house flooded their nostrils, causing Andie and Eddie to gag. Stanley couldn't help but regret everything again. He was beginning to regret ever coming back. He was beginning to wish he had killed himself that night. He wanted, more than anything to stop in his tracks and leave, forget all over again.
"Stanley, come on," Andie whispered softly.
Then he saw her. It took him one look at her to be reminded of the reason he was there. He was there for her, but he was also there for him. She had been the one to have been through everything with him, and he watched as she grew out of her fear. Now, it was his turn. He followed her as she took her steps forward, their hands still intact. Their eyes wandered around the house, cautious of any unexpected yet expected visitors.
"Well, I love what he's done with the place," Richie snarked upon seeing black goo slowly slithering down the steps of the stairs.
"Beep beep, Richie," Beverly shushed him.
"All right," he pursed his lips in defeat.
The house was dark all over with only their flashlights shining through. Ben, Andie and Stanley had walked towards the right side, to the common room, or at least that was what it used to be. Bill, Eddie and Richie had walked further forward, into the room that led to the kitchen. Beverly and Mike were slowly following Bill's footsteps to the kitchen. Andie, Ben and Stanley were looking around the common room, using their flashlights as a light source. Just as the three were about to walk away, Ben and Andie felt sharp, stinging pain, causing them to let out a loud scream, heard by Beverly and Mike, who rushed to the three. Bill, Richie and Eddie heard their screams and yelled for them, rushing back, but the kitchen door was slammed, leaving the three to pound on the door and trying to pry it off.
Beverly and Mike stood behind Ben who was grunting at the pain he felt at his abdomen, while Stanley was holding onto Andie, whose throat felt hitched. Beverly helped Ben roll up his shirt, revealing his stomach being carved the letter H with blood oozing out. Andie began to gag, feeling her throat closing with unimaginable pain across her neck. She looked in panic to Stan, trying to form words. She brought a finger to her neck, feeling wet liquid against it and she saw red at the tip. The two were being cut, one on the stomach and one on the throat, both of them in ceaseless agony by a force unknown. Stanley was holding on to the back of Andie's neck as her body began lowering, with her head arched back and her lips parted, trying to call for him.
She could feel tears streaming down knowing Death neared her. She didn't know what was happening, how they were getting hurt. Her eyes cried as she looked at Stanley whose expression was of all things bad. He was whispering to her, assuring her that she will be okay. He stroked her hair and squeezed her hand, just anything to ease her pain. Ben's screams amplified as more letters were carved, spelling out the words 'HOME AT LAST'. Andie could feel herself choking, the cut getting deeper and deeper. Thankfully, her eyes had travelled to the mirror that was hung above the mantle before them. The mirror showed the truth in it's reflection. Andie could see the clown cutting on Ben's stomach as the ugly woman with the misshapen face cut on Andie's neck. It was the woman that haunted Stanley the last time they were there.
Andie whimpered in hopes that Stanley would see what she was seeing but she only received more assurance from him. She used her right hand to pull away her left hand, causing him to be distracted at the sudden freedom of his hold. She tried to point and called for him, her voice croaking, unsteady. Somehow, someway, she did something right because Stanley was horrified as his gaze moved to the mirror.
"MIKE! MIKE!" He yelled, catching Mike's attention. "HELP! HOLD ON TO HER! HELP ME!"
Mike rushed to Andie's side and held her almost the exact way Stan had. Andie's breathing was getting shorter and shorter, causing Stanley to panic as he searches the room. "S-Sta-," she managed to let out, pointing him to the spike that Beverly had, which laid by Ben's legs.
Stanley rushed to it, picking it up and smashed it straight into the mirror. The others flinched at the shards of glass releasing and scattering around. Andie jolted up and gasped for air as she began to breath faster and faster again. Stanley had rushed back down to her, gently bringing her closer to him, feeling the heat that escaped her lips. Andie shut her eyes in relief, gathering herself and steadying her breathing while Stanley had buried his face into her hair, stroking it softly, assuring her of his presence. They pulled away and exchanged a small nod with one another as Andie brought her finger up to her once bloody neck but now, it was empty, like nothing had happened, like she hadn't just almost died.
"It's okay, you're okay," Stanley whispered, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
While Ben and Andie steadied themselves, a scream was heard from the kitchen. "Richie," Mike uttered.
They rushed down the hallway, screaming for Richie. They were forced to stop their tracks when the kitchen door refused to shift, blocking their way. Beverly handed Andie the spike that was used before and the brunette began using it to pick the lock of the door. When the door had finally opened, they saw Richie lying on the floor and he was trapped under a head of a certain curly haired boy with spider legs. Bill was standing over Richie, struggling to pry off the head away from Richie but he was failing. Bill hadn't realized the others were behind them but he was calling for Eddie, who was frozen still against the wall, to help. There was a knife by Bill's legs that was out of his reach. Stanley rushed to the knife and stabbed it through the corpse-like head that looked like him. He stabbed it again and again, making sure it was dead, before he left the knife in the head of the spider that looked like a younger version of him. With the head lacking life, Bill had manged to throw it across the room.
"You-You just killed yourself," Andie stammered.
"Y-yeah," Stanley panted, getting himself to stand and walking back to Andie's side, who pulled him into a hug.
Suddenly, spider Stan made a groan-like sound, causing Andie and Stanley to pull away from one another. It slowly got up but only managed halfway, so It had to drag Itself back into the stairs that would then lead to the basement. Everyone watched as It did so, before sighing of relief upon seeing It gone.
"Shit, Rich," Andie panicked and crouched down, taking off her jacket. Richie was coughing, and he was in clear pain from the struggle. "Hold on, Richie, hold on," she whispered gently as she softly held his head up and laid it on her knee, slowly helping him up and wrapping the jacket around him.
"He could've f-f-fucking died, man," Bill growled, pushing Eddie, who stared at Richie in horror and guilt, against the wall. "You-You know that, right?"
"I can't see," Richie choked and Andie helped him put his glasses back on.
"Georgie's dead, the kid's dead, y-y-you want R-R-Richie, too? You want Richie too?" Bill yelled.
"I don't want Richie too," Eddie cried. "I don't. I don't," he shook his head full of guilt as he looked at Bill.
"Bill, stop," Richie uttered softly.
"Please don't be mad at me, Bill," Eddie begged. "I was just scared," his eyes began to tear, causing Bill to soften his hold on Eddie.
"That's w-w-what It wants, right?" Bill reminded gently. "Don't-Don't give it to him."
"It's okay, Eddie," Richie assured as they began their way down to the basement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Come on, Di," Stanley held his hand out for Andie to take as they slide off the tunnel that led into the sewers.
"Ugh, greywater," Eddie's face scrunched in disgust.
Mike had led the group through the tunnels of the sewers with their flashlights pointing to their surroundings. They walked through the knee-deep greywater, moving from tunnel to tunnel with the smell increasing at every second. After a while of moving around, they finally reached the passageway that had once led them to a floating Beverly. They huddled around the entrance and was reminded of what was once there; a tall, big pile of junks and belongings of It's victims, and all the missing kids lacking life, floating high above surrounding the pile. But now, there were no floating victims, no big pile of junks, only a big, broken, sinking wagon that looked like a ship of some sort.
"Shit, this is it," Ben cursed. "This is where it happened."
Mike took a glance back to the group, giving a nod before receiving one from each of the Losers. They took a deep breath and began their way. As soon as they took their first step, the greywater became the same level as their chests, making it harder for them to walk through. Underneath it all, Andie and Stanley still had their hold of one another, which brought slight peace to their horrific venture.
Mike, Eddie and Andie had gotten up to the wagon, with Stanley following right behind. They helped Bill and Richie up, unaware of Ben and Beverly, who were still in the water. Ben had whispered something to the redhead who wore a face painted with paints of worry and confusion.
"Bev?" Ben asked louder, now attracting the attention of the others, some who were already on the wagon, and some getting up.
Beverly's back was turned on them, her flashlight pointed to the tunnel they came from. "I thought I heard something," she stated, turning to face them.
Just as she was about to take a step forward to the group, a horrifying monster of a woman had emerged from the water. Beverly screamed at the sight with calls from her friends, worried and terrified. It had grabbed Beverly, then turned to the group, screaming, "Time to sink!"
It brought Beverly down into the water, a scream leaving her lips before she was brought down. Ben had gone underwater in search for Beverly, followed by Bill, Richie, Mike and Stanley, all who jumped into the water for assistance. Only Eddie and Andie were left on the wagon, waiting for the others to come back, feeling scared more and more as time went on without any trace of life from any of them. The water surface remained smooth, sound and empty. They looked at one another and called for their friends.
"Guys?" They let out. "Guys, come on!"
They repeated again and again, yelling for their friends who were nowhere to be seen, their voices quivered and cracked at each call. There was silence and the two were beginning to panic more and more. Just then, a loud gasp was heard from the water, courtesy of Ben and Bill, carefully holding up Beverly, the others arising soon after. Eddie and Andie let out sighs of relief as they stood up and walked to the edge to be of help to their friends.
"I feel like crying," Eddie lightly chuckled, rubbing his forehead in relief.
"You already are," Andie pointed out.
Andie helped them up to the wagon, her hands making their way back to Stanley's. He comforted her by rubbing his thumb against the small skin of her hand, receiving a small smile from her.
"Mike, where do we go from here?" Richie breathed deeply.
Mike walked ahead on the wagon with the others following behind, circling around. Their eyes were glued to the ground which showed a round wooden door, a tunnel, and it was closed.
"In the depths is where It crept," Mike mumbled. "In the beneath, to find belief," he continued, then paused. "In the depths is where It crept. In the beneath, to find belief," he repeated.
"Is he okay?" Ben quizzled.
"At this point, I don't think any of us are," Andie sighed.
"What's on the other side?" Beverly inquired, wrapping herself in her arms, shivering from the cold air.
"I don't know, no one does," Mike shook his head.
"That's great," Stanley snarked, earning a nudge on the arm from Andie.
Mike bent down and opened the latch to the wooden door. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Bill yelled, causing the others to back away, all taken by surprise by Mike's action. "Mike."
Mike pointed his flashlight into the narrow, dark tunnel. "Who's first?" He asked, looking around.
"I'll go," Beverly insisted, but was held back by Ben who whispered something to her. But she had assured him of it and he let her go. She gave a slight smirk as she walked past Andie, mouthing, "Sissies."
Andie giggled and she knew after Beverly, it was her turn. And she began bracing herself for the future action she will have to take. Beverly crouched down and made her way down. Once she was in, she called out to the others to let them know that it was safe, so far.
"So, anyone wanna go next?" Andie asked though she knew she should go first, but she was scared, so she hoped someone else would come forward.
But instead, Stanley had turned her to face him, and he talked to her. "You go first this time, yeah?"
Andie nodded and sat down on the edge to ready herself, but she was stopped by Eddie's panicking. "You guys, I can't do it," he shook his head. "I can't. You saw what happened out there. I was-I was gonna let you die. I just fucking froze up."
"Eddie-"
"If you let me go down there with you, I'm gonna get us all killed," he took a puff of his inhaler.
"Hey, give me that," Richie snatched his inhaler though Eddie gripped the object tighter to stay with it. "Let go, you little turd," he continued trying to snatch it away.
"I just-Let me get," Eddie struggled trying to take another puff of it.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop," Richie pointed his flashlight to Eddie's face.
"I got it," Eddie finally gave up.
"Listen to me," Richie's voice turned low and soft. "You had a moment, fine. But who killed a psychotic clown before he was 14?"
Eddie kept quiet, before muttering lowly, "Me."
"Who stabbed Bowers with a knife he pulled out of his own face?" Richie asked again, igniting confidence in Eddie.
"Also me."
"Who married a woman ten times his own body mass?" Richie's tone stayed the same despite throwing an insult to Eddie.
Eddie met Richie's eyes, feeling more and more confident. "Me."
"Yeah," Richie assured as Eddie nodded his head to convince himself of his ability, all while he was under Richie's hold on his shoulder. "You're braver than you think," Richie's tone stayed gentle and sweet.
"All right, thanks, Rich," Eddie nodded and gave a slight smile, and Richie playfully slapped his bandaged cheek, earning an "Ow," from Eddie.
"Sorry," Richie uttered, turning back to face Andie who had a smile on her face, still sitting on the edge.
"Okay," she took another deep breath but before she could move, Richie stopped her.
"Hey, superstar," he called.
"Yeah?" Andie didn't shift her gaze when she answered.
"Got any advice?" Richie joked in reference to one of her most famous songs.
Andie rolled her eyes, biting her lip as a laugh escaped her mouth and she looked around to her friends circling her. "Don't die, boys," she smirked and began lowering herself.
Once she reached the ground, it was revealed to have led them to a cavern. It was quite big and empty, but the only way out was a small horizontal opening. She saw Beverly just a little further from the end of the tunnel and she called for her.
"What took you so long?" Beverly asked, clearly worried.
"You didn't take my hand," Andie shrugged with a smirk, causing the redhead to laugh. "Wait, where's your spike?"
"Oh, I gave it to Richie," she answered.
"That's comforting," Andie sassed.
"Hey," Stanley called and approached them.
"Oh, Uris, you made it," Andie said, leaning on his shoulder as he slightly chuckled.
"Whoa," Richie mumbled.
"Hey, Rich, where's the spike?"
"Oh, I gave it to Eddie," he shrugged.
Soon, the others came down and Mike furthered to the opening, with Andie and the others following behind. Mike and Andie exchanged looks and she knew what it meant. She nodded and broke apart her hold of Stanley's hand. She took Mike's hand and began climbing, taking a huge step so she could go through it first.
"Can you get through that?" Bill asked with concern.
"It's the only way," Andie and Mike answered.
"Yeah, plus, she's flat as a door," Richie pointed out.
"Shut the fuck up, Tozier," Andie groaned as she moved forward, finally landing safely on the other side. "You guys can come now, it's safe. I think," she yelled.
Andie waited for the others to arrive and once again, Mike led the way. They were brought into a cavern, but it was bigger, way bigger. But there were spikes of grounds emerging from the surface. "This is where It hid," Mike confirmed with the others.
They were stunned, not ever knowing the existence of this place under the town most of them had grown up in. Their flashlights were pointed in all directions, showing them the contents of the cavern. The smell of the clown was intensifying every second and Andie knew this was it. This was where they needed to be to finally defeat the clown.
"So, all this has been under Derry, like, forever?" Eddie asked.
"Not forever," Mike answered. "Just a few million years," he added.
"Oh, that's nice," Andie sighed.
Beverly gasped when she saw one of the spikes from the ground had blood on it, but the blood was floating upwards. Nevertheless, she moved forward along with the group to the center of the spikes. Mike instructed them to stand in a circle and they obliged him due to uncertainty and lack of knowledge of what they were about to do. He crouched down and zipped open his bag, revealing the artifact he had, placing it in the middle, where a bumpy rock was laid. The Losers exchanged looks of worry with one another, preparing themselves for what the next minutes will hold.
"It can only be attacked in It's true form," Mike reminded. "The ritual will show us that."
"And what is It's true form?" Ben nervously asked.
"I hope it's a puppy," Richie shrugged.
"Like a Pomeranian or," Andie trailed off.
"Oh, yeah, I love those," Richie agreed.
"We'll shut up," Andie and Richie pursed their lips after receiving looks from the others.
"It's light," Mike spoke up, after a second of silence. He looked up to the group who were standing as he continued, "A light that must be snuffed out by darkness."
"That's a first," Andie snarked, then mouthing 'sorry' to the others.
Mike fumbled through his bag and took out lighter fluid as he began to pour some into the artifact. Stanley and Andie exchanged confused glances but their hands found each other and Stan intertwined their fingers. After he poured some lighter fluid in the artifact, Mike brought out a box of matches and began lighting one up, placing it inside the artifact, causing flames to emerge. He stood up to join the others in a circle.
"Your artifacts," he began. "Place them in the fire," he continued and everyone laid their flashlights onto the ground so their hands were free. "The past must burn with the present.
Each one of them took something out of their pockets. None focused much on others as they were internally bidding farewell to what they had once cherished, that soon will be perished. Andie could feel sorrow in her heart at the thought of burning the letter, but she had to. She needed to. And she knew her father would understand. Still, it was the thing that had helped her in getting over her fear.
"Uh, this is-This is the boat that I built with-With Georgie," Bill took the first action and placed the paper boat in the flames.
"It's uh, my inhaler," Eddie went next, he took one last puff of it before placing it in the artifact.
"It's uh, it was given to me by the love of my life," Stanley furrowed his brows to hold in his tears as he held the pen. He looked at Andie who held a smile on her face, before placing it in the artifact.
"My, uh, this was the last thing my dad did before he died," Andie sniffled, placing a small kiss on it, before watching it burn in the flames.
"Something I wish I held on to," Beverly pursed her lips, in her hand was a Derry postcard with stains of blood on it.
"Uh, this is a page from my yearbook, that only one person," Ben sighed, unfolding a piece of paper, earning a shocked look from Beverly who stood beside him. "I probably should have forgotten it, but I couldn't because I kept it in my wallet," he took a pause as a light chuckle escaped his lips. "For 27 years."
"This is a token from the Capitol Theater," Richie spoke, holding up a coin then placing it in the burning flames.
"You brought an actual token?" Eddie asked, stunned.
"Yeah, man. That's what we were supposed to do, asshole," Richie sighed.
"Do you have any idea how long that's gonna take to burn?" Eddie frowned, earning an eye roll from Stanley which caused Andie to giggle silently.
"Yeah, but so is your inhaler, dude. All the toxic fumes and the plastic and shit, so," Richie trailed off.
"Look closely, Bev," Mike held a rock in his hands with a bloodstain on the top of it. "You see it?" He asked Beverly, who nodded her head. "That's where you hit Bowers."
Beverly let out a small laugh, "The rock fight."
The rest of the group had grins plastered across their faces at the memory. "The day these bonds were forged," Mike reminded.
"That's not gonna burn, either," Eddie whispered to Mike, causing Andie to silently laugh.
There was silence, a moment of it, where they once again bid farewell in their hearts for the things they had just burned. Andie felt a tear making it's way down her cheeks, knowing that now, she didn't have anything of her father's. Not anymore.
"Okay, grab hands," Mike instructed.
Mike connected his hands with Bill and Eddie. Eddie's right hand grabbed Ben's, with Beverly by his side, then Richie, Andie, and Stanley, whose right hand connected with Bill's. "Gross, your hand's all sweaty," Andie scrunched her face, looking at Richie, who glared at her.
"The Ritual of Chud," Mike began. "It's a battle of wills. The first step was our reunion. The second, was the gathering of tokens. This is the final step."
They looked at one another, gulping, readying themselves for what awaited them next. Suddenly, the light of the flame went out, shocking the group. Their eyes widened, with eyebrows furrowed, confused and scared. Their hands stayed connected as instructed as they waited for any explanation from Mike, something they didn't receive. A second later, there was shifting from above, and their heads tilted up to meet the cause. The surface above was cracking, opening a narrow way, with light igniting from it.
"What the fuck?" They mumbled and cursed.
"DON'T LOOK AT THEM!" MIke yelled.
"Are those?"
"The Deadlights?"
"DON'T LOOK AT THEM!" He repeated his yells and the others immediately looked away. "Turn light into dark, turn light into dark. SAY IT!"
"Turn light into dark."
"Turn light into dark."
"Turn light into dark."
They chanted just as instructed, their eyes closed as to not look at the light above them. Their voices collided with one another's, raising higher and higher with each chant. The connection their hands made stayed, increasing in tightness for security and safety.
"Turn light into dark."
"Turn light into dark."
"Turn light into dark."
As they repeated their chantings, Mike began an incantation of his own. It was in a language foreign to the others, but they paid no attention with their focus solely on their chanting.
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK! MIKE, WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Richie cried.
"KEEP CHANTING!"
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK."
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK."
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK."
Their view were of darkness though light tried to peer their way through, so the group had to shut their eyes harder. They had to block any source of light from entering their eyes. Their voices grew louder to fight the sound of the Deadlights, and their hairs were in a breeze, caused by the movement of the Deadlights.
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK!"
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK!"
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK!"
They repeated again and again, shouting their lungs out, until finally, the light could not be seen and it was ultimate darkness. Mike broke the connection of the circle and quickly covered the artifact with it's lid, breathing heavily.
"Turn light into dark, turn light into dark. Is it working? Did we do it?" Eddie panicked with his eyes that stayed shut.
Mike was pushing down the lid of the artifact with all his might but suddenly, red rubber began increasing in size inside of it. The others had opened their eyes again to witness the scene unfolding before them. It was a red balloon, growing and growing and growing it's way out of the confined jar.
"What is this? Is this part of it?" Beverly panted.
"Mike, is this supposed to be happening?" Stanley worried.
"KEEP CHANTING! KEEP CHANTING!"
"What-"
"KEEP CHANTING!"
"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK! TURN LIGHT INTO DARK! TURN LIGHT INTO DARK!"
They repeated again, while Mike struggled to close the artifact. After a while of struggling, he was pushed back by the balloon that grew bigger and bigger. Everyone exclaimed with worry and fear, scared of what was happening at the moment. Their hands had disconnected and everyone backed away, using the spaces in between the spikes to escape. Stanley had taken Andie's hand and they hid together. The increase of the balloon's size caused the others to back away. It grew bigger until it took the size to suffocate the area in the spikes, it's height the same. It grew more and more until the spikes were slightly sinking in the balloon for a second, before it popped loudly, leaving them all in darkness. There was ringing that clouded their hearing, like a bomb.
"Stan!"
"Andie!"
They called for one another, unable to hear correctly.
"Stanley?" Andie searched for him.
"Andie? Andie? Where are you?"
Just like Andie and Stanley, the others were calling for one another as well.
"You guys okay?"
"I can't hear shit."
"Fuck, that really hurts."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay."
"Come on."
"Wait, where's Mike?"
They called for Mike, who soon emerged and reunited with the rest of the group.
"Did we do it? Did we do it? Yeah? Did we do it?" Eddie asked.
"We-We put the tokens in the thing," Richie said, catching his breath. "That's good, right?"
"We did it, right?" Eddie pressured.
Beverly hit her flashlight onto her hand to reignite it. She pointed it ahead, revealing the face of the clown in between the spikes. Still alive, still haunting. It let out a hysterical laugh, causing the others to gasp and back away with shock and horror with curses escaping their lips.
"Oh, did it work, Mikey? Did it work?" It taunted. "Tell them why your silly little ritual didn't work. Tell them it's all just a," It trailed off, turning to face Eddie. "What's the word, Eds? Gazebo?"
"Mike, what's he talking about?" Andie asked, her voice shaking.
"M-M-Mikey?" Bill stammered.
"Oh, Mikey, you never showed them the fourth side, did you?" It's voice was high and It was moving around the spikes. "Didn't want them to know what actually happened to the poor Shokopiwah?" It's high-pitched voice became a deep, croaking growl.
"Fuck, Mikey! You lied to us again?" Stanley shouted.
"No, but they didn't believe it," Mike cried. "They didn't believe they could kill It. That's why it didn't work back then!"
"Are you fucking kidding me, Mike?" Richie panicked, his voice rising.
"We hurt him," Mike's voice cracked.
"Fuck!" Andie cursed.
"Fuck you, Mikey," Eddie cursed too.
"I needed something, anything, for us to remember. Anything for us to believe!" He justified.
"Goddamn it!"
"Fuck!"
The clown laughed and retreated into the darkness. Not a moment too soon, the ground began shaking, as three lights emerged from the center of the cavern. From the center of the spikes. From the artifact. It's blue light almost blinded the group, and with the speed that they moved, the group had to fight hard to stay in place. The Losers shielded their eyes, away from the Deadlights.
The gigantic clown began crawling out of the spikes with It's legs that were of a spider. "For 27 years, I dreamt of you," It growled then released laughter. It continued, swinging It's front spider legs, "I craved you. Oh, I've missed you!"
"Mike, move back! MIKE!" The others called for him, trying to pull him back, away from the clown. But he was frozen with guilt as he stared at the clown, mouth agape.
"Waiting for this very moment," It growled.
"MIKEY!"
"MIKE, WE GOTTA MOVE!"
"MIKE!"
"I'm sorry, guys. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he cried.
"Time to float," the clown brought up one of It's hands and in the hands, more hands opened, until it finally turned back to a spider-like leg, now ready to strike.
Curses and yells erupted upon the view while Mike still stood frozen with guilt, muttering sorrys. The clown brought It's leg to stab Mike, but Bill had successfully pushed Mike away, so that they were both out of the clown's reach. Instead, the clown's leg had landed on the spikes beside the group, smashing it. The Losers quickly stood up and ran away as fast they could. It kept chasing them, with attempts of smashing them with his spider-like legs but failed to hit them. The Losers had lost touch with most of one another as each had their focus on escaping. Mike had slid down under a spike that was unseen by the clown, Richie and Eddie had hidden in a small cavern, the same goes for Andie and Stanley and Beverly and Ben, though they were all in 3 pairs, separated, while Bill had jumped into a cavern of water.
"Hey, you okay?" Stanley asked as he panted.
"Yeah, are you?"
"Uh-huh," he nodded.
"What now?" Andie frowned, catching her breath.
"I don't know," he shook his head.
"Okay, but we just, we stay together, alright? Together," Andie insisted, earning a nod from Stanley.
"Together," he repeated, bringing her closer as he leaned their foreheads against one another. "Andie, I lo-"
"STAN!" Andie screamed as she watched him get taken from a force above.
Just then, the ground began shaking and Andie could feel a swift by her ankles and she was pulled down, letting out another scream to leave her lips. She felt her back hitting ground. She began blinking as she opened her eyes so she could clearly see her surroundings. The walls were smooth, shiny and clean, they were of grey and white marble-like walls. On her left she could see a sink counter, and a mirror. The mirror was foggy, just as Andie's eyesight at the moment. She looked to her right and she saw a closed toilet bowl, on it were clothes, neatly folded, with a watch, a spectacle, and a wedding ring. Andie recognized the style of the folded clothes all too well as a memory replayed in her mind.
________________________________________________________________________________
"There," Stanley passed a few pieces of folded clothes back to Andie.
"Wow. They're so, nice," Andie's eyes widened at the sight.
"My mom said I have my own style of folding," he lightly chuckled.
"It's very you," she smiled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, it's neat. The way you like it," she shrugged. "Can you like, fold all my clothes or something," she joked as she stood up to keep her folded clothes.
"Sure, why not?" he shrugged.
"Stan, I was joking," she laughed.
"Okay, but I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind if it meant I get to hang out with you," he smirked.
"Stanley Uris, you are a horribly sweet romantic," she ruffled his curls.
"You're my girl, I have to be," he grinned, kissing the top of her head as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "I love you, Tyler," he whispered.
"I love you, Uris."
________________________________________________________________________________
"Stan," Andie whispered.
The fog had began clearing up and she managed to bring herself to stand. She walked further into the room, trying to peer her vision through the fog. She gasped and felt tears forming in her eyes upon seeing the scene before her. It was a bathtub full of water, gushing red from blood. Blood that dripped onto the bathroom floor. Blood that belonged to Stanley Uris, who was laid in the tub, his head tilting and resting on the left side of the tub, just as his left hand was. His wrists were bloody and his eyes were wide open, but they lacked life. He lacked life. Andie rushed to the bathtub and gently tilted the man's head.
"Stan?" she called, but she received no response. "Stan? Stanley?" Her breathing was getting shorter and shorter. "Stanley? Stan, wake up, please. Stan? Please, don't. Stanley, please," she sniffled. "Stanley, wake up! Stan! Wake up!" He had no response, and Andie leaned her forehead on his arm, crying into it. "Stanley, please. Wake up, don't leave me. Please, Stan."
Andie cried and suddenly she felt shifting near her side. She pulled away from her hold of Stanley's arm, and she could feel her breathing blocked. Stanley's bloody hands had made it's way to her neck, choking her. Andie's eyes widened and she tried to gasp and her hand tried to pry off his. His lifeless head began straightening to meet her. Andie gagged and gasped for air as the hands around her neck choked her harder, closing in her throat.
"S-Stanley," she croaked. "St-Stan." Stanley didn't say anything but he still had hold of her neck, his eyes lacked emotion while Andie's were filled with tears. He pulled her closer to him, causing her to gag more. "It's not real," she realized.
She grunted as she brought her leg and kicked him in the head, causing her to break free of his hold. She gasped for air and began running away but he grabbed her left hand and dug his nails into her flesh, causing blood to ooze out, just as a young corpse-like Stanley had done to her when she was 13, in the house on Neibolt Street, just somewhere above her at the moment. She let out a groan and felt anger boiling in her veins and she kicked his hand away.
"It's not real! YOU'RE NOT REAL!" She shouted as she broke free of It's hold and ran to the door.
"Take my hand, Andie. Take my hand," It held out It's hand in a voice of deep growl.
"IT'S NOT REAL! YOU'RE NOT REAL!"
All that while, Stanley gained conscious in a room he well recognized. It was his old room, back in his old house. He stood and looked around, seeing his room the way it was. He walked to the window and even the view was the same. The door creaked and he turned around with caution, but he only saw himself. His 13 year old self. The boy that walked in wore an expression of sadness and anger and he didn't seem to notice the adult him that stood by the window. The curly headed boy huffed as he closed the door to his room and he slammed his backpack onto the floor, along with his kippah. He sat on the edge of his bed and buried his face into his hands, crying.
Stanley watched as the small boy cried and began throwing around the contents on his table to the floor in frustration. Stanley could feel tears forming in his eyes as the memory replayed before his eyes. He watched as the small him cried at the realization of the mess he made. Little Stanley backed away, his lips parted as he cried, until he reached his door. His back was against the door and he slowly lowered down, burying his face in between his knees as tears shed down. He screamed but it was muffled by his knees that covered his mouth. He groaned and brought his head back to lean against the door.
He was frustrated at himself. It was the last day of school and he had just gotten back from the synagogue. He had been practicing his Torah reading for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah but he had been failing and his father was so angry and he hated himself. Stanley kept watching as his younger self inserted his hand into the front pocket of his shirt and took out a small piece of paper with a set of numbers written beautifully on them. Stanley smiled upon his small self holding the paper that contained the number that belonged to the love of his life; Andie Tyler.
The little boy stood up and walked outside with the adult Stanley following right behind. But when he took a step out of the room, the little boy was no longer in sight. Stanley frowned and began walking in search for his younger self and finally found the small boy but he wasn't as small anymore. It was Stanley from when he was 17 years old and he was in the kitchen. The teen was pacing around the room, muttering words to himself, practicing.
"Andie, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to Homecoming with- Oh, no, that's so boring, she'll hate it."
Stanley slightly laughed at the memory of how he finally had asked Andie to Homecoming.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, Urine," Andie joked as she placed a small kiss on Stanley's lips.
"You really have been spending too much time with Richie," Stanley rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Not getting jealous, are you?" She grinned a Cheshire Cat smile.
"Jealous? Of Richie? Please, as if," he scoffed, pulling around the corner of street.
"So, where are we going?" Andie laughed.
"I was thinking, we haven't had a date in a while, you know?"
"I guess, but I'm not dressed for a date," she groaned.
"It doesn't matter, let's go swimming at the quarry," he glanced at her, flashing a smile.
"Fine," she smiled.
They went swimming as usual and during their time, Stanley was readying himself to ask her the question. They had gotten out of the water and they were lying on the ground on towels, drying themselves under the sun.
"Stan?" Andie called, shifting her body to be laid on her right side so that her eyes and body were to meet Stanley's.
"Yeah?" His voice was soft and gentle and Andie could feel herself falling in love all over again.
"I love you, Stan The Man," she giggled.
"Andie, do you wanna go to Homecoming with me?" He blurted out, before scrunching his face with regret. Andie furrowed her brows as she got up to sit, her eyes in disbelief. "Shit," he cursed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that. I had this whole thing in mind and I just fucked it up-"
His words were interrupted when a pair of lips crashed into his own. He was taken by surprise before bringing his head up to deepen the kiss between the two. Andie pulled away, her hand still cupping Stanley's cheek.
"Yes," she giggled. "I would love to go to Homecoming with you, Stanley Uris."
________________________________________________________________________________
Stanley smiled at the memory and he continued watching his teen self in the kitchen, pacing, but he stopped because a knock sounded at the door. Stanley furrowed his brows as he did not remember that happening but his eyes were glued to the teen who walked out of his kitchen and to the door, then he disappeared again. Suddenly, the lights flickered, causing Stanley to turn and look around with caution. Then, he heard voices, whispers, all of the same voice. It was his voice, as a child, teen, adult. He looked at the end of the corridor that would lead to the basement. He saw him, all three versions of him. They were bloody and wet, and they began walking towards him, all muttering the same words.
"She will never love you."
"She deserves better."
"She will never love you."
Stanley could feel his heart shatter as the same words replayed over and over.
"She will never love you."
"She deserves better."
"She will never love you."
Suddenly, another figure stepped out and it was Andie, but she looked the way she did 27 years ago, back when she was 13.
"Take my hand, Stanley. Take my hand," she said and her face was sweet just as her voice, with her hand held out for him.
Stanley was about to reach his hand to meet hers but he was stopped when her face became bloodied, just as the other figures of him.
"Take my hand, Stanley. Take my hand," It growled, with a hand still reaching out.
All the figures continued moving forward towards him and he backed away, until he was straight against a door. He turned the doorknob but it didn't budge. He pounded on it for it to open, fear rising in him.
"It's not real," he mumbled in realization. "It's not real! It's not real! It's not real!" He repeated, getting louder and louder with every chant.
"She will never love you."
"She deserves better."
"She will never love you."
"IT'S NOT REAL! YOU'RE NOT REAL!" He shouted as he repeated, trying to break open the door.
"Stanley!" He heard from the other side of the door.
"ANDIE?" He called.
"STAN? STAN, OPEN THE DOOR! HELP I'M TRAPPED!"
"ANDIE? I CAN'T!"
"STANLEY?"
They were both turning the doorknobs and punching and striking the door repeatedly. All while they called for one another, they were convincing themselves that what stood and laid behind them weren't real. They were taunts and stupid mimics of the clown.
"YOU'RE NOT REAL!"
"IT'S NOT REAL!"
"ANDIE!"
"STANLEY!"
They were pushing themselves against the door, to open it. With one last push, and one last chant, the door broke open and they fell on top of one another. Andie was under Stan and their short breathing were in sync, as were their heartbeats. They sighed of relief, of safety to once more be reunited, away from the visions the clown had set upon them. They searched each other's eyes for life, for truth. Stanley leaned closer, though there wasn't much gap to close in, and he connected his lips with Andie. When they pulled away, a tear fell from Andie's cheek and their foreheads were against one another.
"You were saying?" Andie lightly chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
"I love you," his voice was gentle despite in between breaths.
"I love you too," she smiled.
"Come on, we gotta find the others, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Are you okay? Why is your hand and neck all bloody?" Stanley asked as he led Andie to find their way out of the cavern to find the others.
"You tried to kill me," she stated.
"What?"
"Yeah, you choked me," she said as they ran out. "Bill!" She exclaimed upon seeing her friend trying to get out of the water.
Stanley and Andie rushed to him and helped him out. "You guys good?" He asked, trying to catch his breath.
"Just swell," Andie sassed. "Sorry," Andie mumbled when Bill gave her a look of shock.
"Come on, let's find the others," Stanley stood and helped Bill.
The three managed to walk in secret, away from the clown's eyes. They looked for Mike and saw that he was making his way to them. They quickened their pace but was suddenly stopped in their tracks when the clown had turned to meet Mike.
"Miss me?" It sneered.
Mike gasped and took a step back before straightening himself to stand tall. "I know what you are. That's why I'm not afraid."
The clown's expression scrunched in anger and reached out It's hand, which turned into more of a tentacle-like hand and wrapped it around Mike tightly, causing his breathing to be hitched, as he struggled to get out of It's grip. At the end of the tentacle that squeezed Mike appeared to have one sharp claw and the claw was placed way too close under Mike's jaw. Therefore, he had to tilt his head backwards to avoid the claw.
Pennywise laughed before saying, "I know what you are," in a sing-song voice. It brought It's face closer to Mike's before uttering, "A madman."
"Guys, we have to do something, shit," Andie muttered when the clown opened It's mouth, revealing It's sharp teeth that were of thousands, ready to feast on Mike.
She searched around for anything that could be used as weapon though nothing came to sight. Her focus was back to the clown when she heard a small thud. With her eyes up again, she saw that someone had thrown a rock at the clown's face. They tried to see who it was that took the action and their questions were answered not a moment too soon.
"Hey, fuckface!" Richie yelled.
Pennywise was angrier now as It turned to Richie, releasing Mike from It's grip, which caused Mike to be hit against the wall of the cavern. Bill, Stanley and Andie took the oppurtunity to rush to Mike and help him as he groaned in pain. All four of them watched as Richie bent down to take another rock.
"You wanna play Truth or Dare?" He shouted. "Here's a truth! You're a sloppy bitch! Yeah, that's right! Let's dance! Yippee-ki-yay, mother-"
"RICHIE!"
Richie was floating in the air, his jaw dropped with his eyes white. He was looking straight into Pennywise's mouth which led to the Deadlights. The wind was strong again and the air was filled with the vibrating sound that came from the Deadlights. Not long after in the air, blood began appearing out of Richie's nostril and the droplets floated above, defying laws of gravity. Andie, Stanley, Mike and Bill were frozen and stunned, as well as shocked. There was nothing they could do but watch the horrific scene. Andie remembered about the spike Beverly had before and how it was supposed to be in Eddie's hold. She searched the cavern for Eddie but the lights were blinding and the cave was too big.
Just then, as though on cue, Eddie began running out to the clown, throwing away his light. In his grip was the spike and he shouted, to gain the attention of the clown. "BEEP BEEP, MOTHERFUCKER!"
He released the spike and it flew straight ahead. Everyone watched as the spike soared to the air and landed at the center of the clown's mouth. It gagged and choked as the spike had clogged It's airway. It tried to spit the spike out but failed. Instead, spits of fire came out as It struggled until It fell back against one of the big spikes from the center of the cave. Richie fell to the ground due to his freedom from the Deadlights and Eddie had rushed towards him.
"I'm gonna go help them!" Andie yelled over the commotion.
"Wait-"
"Stay here!" Andie shouted to Stanley.
Andie stood up and ran as fast she could to the other side of the cave, though her pace was slow. She had never been a fast runner and with the bumpy ground, it made it harder to run. Stanley didn't oblige and decided to follow her, leaving Bill and Mike alone. Eddie had made it to Richie's side and he was exclaiming in happiness and joy.
"Hey, Richie! Listen, I think I got it, man!" He yelled, glancing back to the suffering clown. "I think I killed It!" He wore a big smile with hopes to assure Richie. "I did! I think I killed It for real-"