SEASON TWO,
CHAPTER 6:
SEWERS
"Careful, you might get worms."
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DUE TO IT being a new day, the sun is shining down on the island as it's rays provide heat onto the people that live below. The four teenagers have agreed to go after the murder weapon so that they'll be able to hand it into the police station where it can then be inspected. Since the gun fell down the drain, the only solution is for them to get their hands dirty as they search the sewers. However, before doing this, Pope and Kie made sure that they all cleaned up the trash floating around in the murky waters.
"So are we gonna do rock, paper, scissors? Or maybe oldest goes?" Delilah questions.
"In the sewer, there's this worm that you get when you're down there. It gets into your blood and then it has to come out your pecker." JJ explains. "So, uh... That's a hard pass from me."
"Same here." Pope adds.
"I get it." Kie replies with a small nod. "I get it. You guys are scared."
"No! No, no." JJ protests.
"It's just the pecker thing." Pope insists.
"You don't have to be scared." Kie tells them. "Lila and I will do it instead."
"Didn't realise I'm being dragged into this." Delilah says.
"I'm not going in there alone." Kie informs.
"Oh, so you're scared too? Nice one, guys." Delilah comments. "But if Pennywise comes out to kill me, it's on you guys."
The brunette chooses to ignore her friend's comment as she crouches down, entering the sewers with the redhead following closely behind her. The two boys instruct the pair to shout if they need anything, but they don't get much said in response. Hands and knees wade through the murky waters as they crawl through the tunnels. It's all cramped and filled with trash that have been flushed down from the storms that have been taking place, a few twigs snapping beneath their touch.
"Kie, I'm not gonna lie, all I can see is your ass right now." Delilah states.
"Sorry." Kie apologises.
Entering an opening, the girls haul themselves out of the tunnel where their bodies then fall into more of the sewage water — it comes up to their waist. The smell is prominent in their noses to the point where Delilah would argue that it's burning her eyes. They both push through the smell and search around in the water, pushing away at some litter to try get a clearer view. All the pair need to find is the gun, and then they can quickly get out of there.
Meanwhile, JJ and Pope are still standing outside of the entrance to the sewers as they patiently wait for the two girls to return with the murder weapon. But JJ being himself decides that he doesn't want to be in complete silence, therefore taking it upon himself to start a conversation. Pope, on the other hand, looks as though he doesn't mind if they're standing in silence or not.
"Alright, bro." JJ begins. "I see you visible on Kie, okay? Give me the details. Are we talking first base, second base, third base?"
"Try not even in the same ballpark." Pope corrects.
"What do you mean by that?" JJ asks, eyebrows furrowed together.
"It's like we're not playing the same game." Pope replies. "The other night, she was all over me. But she was wasted, so it doesn't really count."
"I get that. You don't want to take advantage of her like that, I get it." JJ states. "If that happened then I wouldn't let Ly do that either."
"Really?" Pope questions, almost surprised.
"I'm not a dickhead, dude." JJ reminds. "Why would I take advantage of my girl like that?"
"I'm sorry." Pope apologises. "But yeah, I tried to be edgy, out-there Pope, and she didn't like that. So I tried to be straitlaced Pope, and she didn't like that either. Now I don't know what to do!"
"I understand." JJ replies. "Just think, okay? I know you can do that. Lights done candles. Put on some Otis Redding. Or play guitar."
"I can't play guitar. Actually, I can't do any of those things." Pope informs. "I don't know how you and Del do this shit, man."
Back inside of the sewer, the two girls are still deep in the murky water as they continue to rummage around in the trash in search for the gun. Shouts of complaints can be heard from the both of them as they repeatedly find things that disgust them, just wanting to get out of the sewers as soon as possible.
"There's something dead in here!" Kie shouts.
"Don't touch it!" Pope instructs, warning them beforehand.
"Too late!" Delilah informs.
"Now you might get worms." JJ tells the brunette girl. "Do either of you see the gun?"
"No." Delilah replies.
The sound of water suddenly gargling echoes around the metallic tunnels and causes the girls to stop what they're doing. They exchange looks of confusion at one another, not knowing what that noise belongs to. However, the unsaid questions are automatically answered as the sewage water starts to aggressively bubble and rapidly rise in height.
"Oh, shit." Delilah curses.
"Guys, the water!" Kie shouts.
"Get out of there now!" Pope instructs.
"We don't have time!" Kie informs "Guys, help us!"
The pressure of the water becomes more violent as more gush out of the tunnel and fills the area that they stand in. The pair swim over to where a metal ladder is situated against one of the walls as a drain rests above them. Screams and shouts leave their mouths, laced with panic and desperation. Water only begins to travel upwards and make their way towards Kiara and Delilah.
"Kie, we can't share the top of the ladder." Delilah informs.
"What do you mean?" Kie asks.
"There's not that much space." Delilah states. "You can go first, it's okay."
Both JJ and Pope have raced around so that they are now out on the main street, sprinting over towards the specific drain that the girls are inside of. Words of reassurance leaves their mouth, wanting them to calm down so that the situation can be dealt with. Fingers pry at the drain in a desperate attempt to pull it open before either one of them can drown in the sewage water.
But the water has already swallowed Delilah whole, the girl holding her breath for as long as she's able to. The water only continues to travel upwards at an even faster speed and swallows Kiara up too, starting to spill out of the drains. This only makes the boys' grip on the metal bars become slippery as they try to yank at it, fingers beginning to slowly let go against their own will.
Fortunately, the drain is finally yanked open. The sewage water comes rushing out onto the pavement that they stand on, beginning to flood the area as if another storm had hit. Kiara is the first to haul her body out of the sewer as deep coughs come out of her mouth, gasping for air. This allows JJ to reach inside and pull his girlfriend to safety. Delilah's weak body falls against JJ's chest, head rolling into the crook of his neck as he simply holds onto her. Loud coughs leave her mouth too, only much drier as it makes her chest heave up and down for air.
"Kie..." Delilah begins, trailing off as she continues to catch her breath. "You're lucky I can hold my breath for longer than you. Fuck."
"You good?" Kie asks.
"Never better." Delilah replies, sarcastically.
"Don't talk, okay? Just breathe." JJ tells her, voice soft and quiet. "I've got you."
"Did either of you find the gun?" Pope asks.
Delilah weakly lifts her hips up as she slips a hand into her back pocket, grabbing ahold of the weapon before revealing it to the others. JJ curses under his breath with pride, gently taking it out of her hands and using some wet fabric to wrap around it so that they can't continue to put finger prints on it. Smiles are now visible across their faces compared to when they were panicking about the two girls drowning.
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After retrieving the gun from the sewers, the four friends took it upon themselves to drive to the police station and turn the weapon in. Sheriff Shoupe was slightly irritated to see the teenagers again, having to prepare himself for another one of the 'crazy' stories. But he still gave them a chance and welcomed them into his office where they revealed the gun to him.
"Y'all are telling me that this is the firearm Rafe Cameron killed Peterkin with?" Shoupe questions.
"That's exactly what we're telling you." JJ replies.
"And the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin." Pope adds.
"Where's that corpse again?" Shoupe asks.
"Didn't you look?" Kie fires back.
"I checked the hospital. I went by his house." Shoupe informs. "He was out."
"No shit, he's dead!" Delilah exclaims. "Listen to yourself. It makes perfect sense."
"Just because he's not in his damn home does not mean he was a victim of a homicide." Shoupe argues.
"You've got to be kidding me." JJ mutters through gritted teeth, angered.
"Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics and shit, or are you just gonna sit on your ass?" Kie asks.
"No, he's gonna sit there and wax that damn moustache." JJ fires back. "Is that even real?"
The sheriff doesn't respond to the fours comments, rising from his seat and pushing past them. Pope hisses for his friends to be quiet, but they continue to shout out of annoyance — JJ feels careless about hurting the man's feelings. Shoupe just walks over to the door and tugs at the handle, opening it as a clear indication that he wants them gone.
"Get out." Shoupe orders. "I got work to do. And y'all are smelling up my damn office."
"Did Ward bribe you?" Kie asks as she makes her way out of the room. "This doesn't make any sense."
"You ain't gonna do shit." JJ mutters to the sheriff, following closely behind the brunette.
"We brought you the murder weapon. There's no logical reason for you not to send it in." Pope states.
"Go with your friends." Shoupe instructs.
"Just believe us." Delilah pleas. "I don't understand what your fucking problem is, but just listen."
"Del—" Pope begins.
"I was there on the tarmac, whether you'd like to admit that or not." Delilah continues. "Do you know the trauma I had from that afterwards? I wouldn't stop crying. Ask JJ how many times he was there trying to comfort me."
"Out." Shoupe demands. "I'm not standing around listening to this again, Delilah."
Delilah scoffs. "Are you serious right now? Peterkin was wrong. I shouldn't trust you guys."
The man freezes at the mentioning of the old sheriff being mentioned by name, brows furrowing together in confusion to what the girl is talking about. Pope just grabs ahold of Delilah by the shoulders where he then pushes her out of the station, not wanting the argument to progress any further. The redhead tries to fight against her friends grip, eventually giving up as they make their way over to JJ and Kiara.