Previously on She'll Float Towards Us
Somewhere, Nowhere.
Child, awaken!
Lorie gasps and her eyes fly open. She looks around and sees she is in a white and gold room. She looks down and sees she is clothed in cream silk and satin shoes. Her eyes move around the room and settle on two blurry figures. One is a short thin boy who looks to be wearing some kind of bright yellow jacket. The other seems to be a woman dressed in ancient toga clothing. She almost looked like a Greek Goddess. Once her eyes focus, she realizes who she is in the presence of.
"Oh my God! Georgie?!?! What's going on?! Why are you here little bub? What're you- Holy Shit! Y-You You're Katerina! Katerina Jacinta! Pennywise's wife!" She rambles frantically and backs away from her. If Katerina was mated to Pennywise, she obviously has some evilness in her. The woman nods calmly.
"Hi Lor! Look! My arm is all better!"
"Hello, Lorie. We need to talk."
Now
Lorie stares at the two in shock. She's honestly not sure what's going on. The last thing she remembers is the faint mumbling of what she thought were her boys. But she couldn't be sure. Georgie looks at the woman, questioning in his eyes.
The woman smiles, and nods, making him grin excitedly. Georgie gives her a soft 'thanks', and darts to Lorie. He slams into her body, knocking them both into the golden silky sheets covering a soft bed.
"Lor Lor! I missed you! You were right! It's so fun here! I hate that you're here though, but I'm so happy to see you! And it IS like watching a movie an- " Georgie rattles out through his excitement, sad but elated that she's here. He was devastated to not see her the next time he opened his eyes, because it meant that she was in that horrible place where he died, with that monster. But after talking to Katerina, he knew it was for the best. Plus, he got to sit with his Peepaw Denbrough as they watched their loved ones grow. He had someone there to comfort him when he saw his brother lose himself the way he did- how all of his family and friends did. And he was infuriated to see Lorie and Pennywise and the things that happened there. So, while this was a sad situation, he was glad Lorie was now safe and at peace.
But Lorie jumps away from the child and lands on the floor, terrified that someone is in her personal space. Not only that, but the someone is one that Pennywise used frequently to torture her. She breathes deeply and stares at the child. Georgie frowns, and let's his eyes fill with tears as he realizes her justified reaction
"Lor? It's me. It's Georgie. The clown isn't making me up. I'm really here." He tells her seriously, and slowly walks to her and sits a bit away at first, but slowly gets within arm's reach.
Lorie sat there dumbfounded and a little scared for a second, and then her eyes water as she lets herself believe what she is seeing to be true. Georgie - the real Georgie. No more Pennywise screwing with her head. She grabs Georgie's shoulders and tugs his little body to her, wrapping her arms tightly around the boy. When Georgie hugs back, she cries softly, running her hand over his hair.
"I'm so sorry, Little Bub. I tried to save you. I really did. I told him to let you go, to help you. But he wouldn't. I never wanted him to take you, to hurt you. I'm so sorry. I failed you, I failed Bill. Oh god I've missed you so much!" She whimpers, making Georgie let out sniffles. Oh, how he missed her too.
"Oh Lor. You didn't fail me. And you certainly didn't fail Bill. None of this was your fault, Lor. He grabbed you, and there wasn't anything you could do. It was out of your control. There was nothing you could've done to protect me. He would've come for me either way. I was just glad I got to see you one last time. You helped take the pain away. And when I opened my eyes, I wasn't hurting anymore at all. You did the best Lor. And I can't thank you enough." Georgie whispers in her ear. Lorie hugs him tighter, but then comes to a realization. She pulls away from the child and looks between the two.
"W-Wait a second. You're both dead, so that means if I am here, if I can see you- " Lorie couldn't finish as she cried softly. She didn't get to see her boys one more time. Lorie didn't get to tell them that she loved them.
Her thoughts were cut off by the soft voice of her murderer's wife.
"Yes dear, you have passed on. Your soul is on the other side and is on its way home as we speak." Katerina spoke sadly. She hated the initial rush of emotions when a child dies. Most of the time they cry, begging for Katerina to send them back. They would scream and sob about how much they would miss, whether it was loved ones, or even precious moments. But the guide would sit and cradle them to her chest, and rub their back. And when they would calm down, she would tell them that it wasn't possible. That they needed to let go, and be at peace. It just wasn't possible.
Until now.
"You should know, Lor. About Billy and the others. They never really gave up. They might not have been able to say your name, or hear people talk about you, but they never gave up hope. They loved you so so much. You were the rock that held them all up." Georgie spoke quietly while snuggling into her side. Lorie looked at the boy only now, and searched his eyes.
"They never gave up?"
"Never ever. They couldn't. You were it for them." Georgie smiled before gesturing to the blank wall in front of them. Lorie watched, as the wall turned into a screen. It showed her whole life, from when she was a child taking her first steps, to each memory of her meeting the boys. It showed her grow closer to them as they went through school. Then after it showed her getting taken, it didn't go to her time with Pennywise. It showed everything happening on the outside. Lorie saw her parents trudging up the steps of Bill's house to tell the boys she was missing. It showed Bill running to his room slamming the door in despair. It showed Richie growing angry, and storming out of the house, and Eddie collapsing to the ground in despair. And then it showed Stan, frozen in place before her parents offered to take the two home after they talked to Bill's parents. It showed them all grieve and mourn, and the sad Thanksgiving, the devastating memorial on her birthday, and the depressing Christmas. All the way to a moment she didn't know.
Her breath quickened into panicked wheezes as she saw the cistern on the wall again, her mind beginning to go back in itself to cope with whatever trauma Pennywise would bestow on her. But her heart stopped when she looked closer. She could see herself, lying limply on her back. Her eyes were softly shut, almost as if she was sleeping. But judging by the expressions on the people surrounding her, she wasn't sleeping.
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.
"Is that a hand sticking out of that toy box?" The unnamed teen breathes out, letting go of Bill to get closer. Bill furrows his eyebrows at it, but leans in as well. Everyone looks over to the two and follows their line of sight. They see the object and grow slightly worried. What if this was another trick? The redhead notices him getting closer to the object in question and rushes to him.
"Ben, be careful! It could be Pennywise playing another trick on us!" She worries to the newly named Ben. It was obvious that they were soulmates.
Upon hearing this, the dark-skinned teen backs up, having had enough today.
"Man, seriously?! The clown has taken all of my sanity today. I canNOT deal with the ghost of a dead person." he groans. The blonde girl laughs at him in adoration.
"Awe! It's okay Mikey, I'm here to protect you!" she mocks playfully while pinching his cheek lightly. Mike pushes her hand away and glares at her antics, not finding any of this amusing. Ben pushes his hand forward to touch the dirty arm timidly. Upon the slightest of touches, the hand twitches slightly, but no sound is made.
"Holy Shit! Guys the hand is moving!" Richie screams freaking out.
Bill with the little bit of determination and energy he has left lifts the lid of the toy box, and out falls a body landing hard on the ground.
Everyone besides Bill and Ben step back, scared of what they expected was to come next. Four teens see a bright white glow outlining the body. Richie keeps his eyes trained on the body, unsure if it really was her when he sees something. And it sends him back to a memory.
That shirt on the body. She had that on her in the closet at Neibolt. She had it on the day she disappeared a year ago. Pennywise never used that shirt when he took the form of her.
"Oh my God is that- " Stan gasps out and Eddie finishes his sentence.
"Lorie?" the germaphobe squeaks out. He steps closer to her body, now needing confirmation.
"L-Lorie? Oh, for fucks sake, now I sound like Bill." He manages to get out faintly before he crashes to the ground, knocked out cold.
"Shut Up Richie!" Eddie snaps not seeing him faint, rolling his eyes at his second love's dramatics at a time like this. Stan was the only one to see Richie at first and immediately goes to him.
"Uhhh guys? Richie fainted!" he calls out, hands shaking slightly as he props Richie up to lightly slap his cheek. But no one pays them any mind.
Nobody else moves at first, still afraid this is a trick. Bill is the first to move again, slowly moving towards the glowing figure. He gently grabs the girl's shoulder and turns her over.
And there, laying right in front of the traumatized teens is Loretta Anne Sympox. And it's not fake, it's not in a dream. It is really, truly, physically her.
"Bill, is she breathing?" Eddie squeaks out, needing to know. Bill leans in closer to her and lays his head on her chest. Tears fill his eyes, and he begins to become hysterical. He doesn't let his head rest there too long, because he can already tell. Her unmoving body is ice cold, her skin white as snow. Her chest isn't moving up and down, and Bill doesn't hear a heartbeat. Bill breathes heavily before he lets out a loud cry of horror, sending everyone into a panic.
"Bill answer the fucking question! Is Lorie breathing?!" Richie, who had become conscious quickly from Bill's crying, yells.
"No! No no no no no!" He wails in grief, and melts over her body. He felt like this whole thing, his whole plan was pointless. Neither his little brother nor his soulmate is alive. What was the point of living, now? Bill wasn't sure of the answer to that. Immediately his other three best friends rush to him, worried and confused.
"S-S-She's dead! Lorie is dead! That Clown killed her!" he shouts with no stutter before falling into a pit of hysteria. Those words ring out loudly in every teen's head upon hearing them. Richie, Eddie, and Stan crumple into each other as the reality sets in.
And then the screen turns black
*-*-*-*
Lorie sniffled loudly, before shuddering a breath as she let the grief take over her body. What was the point of it all? Trying to be strong for her boys, only to be ripped away from them in the end. How was this fair? What had she or her boys ever done to fate to have this happen? They were good people. Well in Richie's case, he was good most of the time. But they were all good people nonetheless.
This was just not fair.
"We mustn't dwell on whether life is fair. Life is never fair, but everything happens for a reason, my love." Katerina looks at the scared young girl with kind eyes, before she knows she has to get this over with. She wanted to comfort the girl more, like how she did when Georgie died, and how she was there for all the children and people her soulmate murdered. But there wasn't time for that.
"What do you mean? Are you saying that me dying was supposed to happen? What! Speaking of! A-Are you here to take me to heaven? I-I don't want to go yet! I haven't seen my boys in a long time! I-I need to see then! It can't end like thi-I-I'm not ready to go yet! Pl-Please send me ba- " the panicked girl rambles and is politely cut off by the older woman.
"While my position and job is to guide those to heaven, I am not necessarily here to guide you to peace, my love. " Katerina tells the girl, and Georgie smiles excitedly. Lorie eyes the two warily, still not sure she isn't hallucinating.
"If you aren't here for that, then why are you here?" the young blonde questioned hesitantly. She didn't trust this, not one bit. This had to be one of Pennywise's tricks, or if this was Katerina, and if was she working with Pennywise?
"This is not one of my husband's tricks, I assure you. I am Katerina. When I died, I became a guide for the lost. I was told my soul was too pure to not put to use, that I would be doing the world a great service to help. And since I am considered pure and Penn is tainted with darkness and evil, we are not to see each other. I have been separated from my love for 2 millennia. So no, I am not working with him. And there is a difference between my Penn, and Pennywise." the woman says amused. Lorie's cheeks flush.
"Did I say that out loud?" Lorie asked awkwardly, embarrassed that she wasn't quiet. Katerina chuckles.
"No, but if you do the job long enough, you learn a few things. But we are getting off topic. I am here to give you a choice, Lorie." Katerina tells the girl.
"A choice? What choice?" Lorie asked.
"If you want, I can and will send you back," Katerina states, making the girl's eyes widen drastically in hope, and she moves to immediately agree. But she's cut off before she can.
"But I must warn you, it comes at a price." The woman stated.
"Okay?" Lorie hesitantly says.
"You can go back, but when Pennywise returns, and he will, you must kill him. His soul has gone almost too far, and if it gets worse, we will never reunite. I was given the opportunity to save him a year ago, and I agreed instantly. There was only one rule I had to abide by. I must use the first soul he took to do it. You were the first he tried to take, and I knew when he first looked at you what he saw. He saw a girl, a soul so pure and kind that he had only seen now twice in his lifetime." Katerina states.
Lorie stands there shocked, not saying anything for a moment, which makes Katerina continue.
"And because you and I were so similar, I was able to attach myself to you slightly. I made sure you gave off that vibe even more once he got you. I hoped he would've been kinder to you, less violent or murder prone. But I was sorrowfully wrong. I am so sorry my love. Because I was selfish, because you reminded him so much of me, he kept you alive, and hurt you in so many ways." The woman spoke slowly, making sure Lorie was understanding. When the blonde girl nodded, and hugged Georgie closer.
"But! If you agree to go back, to help do this, here is what will happen. It is foretold that He will come back. It will be a long time before he does, which will give you the chance to be happy and live a good life with your family. You'll be able to grow, get married, and have children." Katerina says, and waves her left arm. When she does, a picture materializes on the blank wall again. Only this time, it's not of Lorie's past. It's about her future.
*-*-*-*
A man with dark curly hair and glasses and a man with dark feathered tendrils sat laughing on a rock outside of a nice big house. Moments later, a golden blonde woman came into view holding a baby boy. She walked over to the two men and gave the baby to the man with glasses, who immediately started playing with him, bouncing him on his leg. The baby smiled and seemed to be laughing, before he made an awkward face. Before anyone could warn the man threw up milk on his shirt. The man with glasses instantly scrunched his face up in disgust.
Two more men came in the picture laughing hysterically. One had neatly styled brown hair and was carrying lemonade, and the other had curly light brown hair and had a toddler thrown over his shoulder, the little girl shrieking loudly in laughter.
*-*-*-*
Lorie sees this, and immediately knows who each person was, and she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to make that a reality.
"When he wakes up next, you will have to come back and kill him. We can't let him get too much worse. This is the only chance." Katerina speaks. Lorie gulps already considering her options and turns to Katerina to ask.
"And if I say no, what is my other choice?" Katerina smiles, appreciating her challenging demeanor.
"If you decide to not go back, that you are ready to be at peace, you will come with me to Heaven and I will teach you to be a guide to the lost. I watched you with every one of Pennywise's victims. How you put aside your own pain and fear to make their last moments on earth peaceful, it was very kind of you. It's just what is needed for a guide. You would be perfect."
Lorie thinks it over for a moment. On one hand, she could have her peace. There would be no pain, no trauma. She would never be sad, or hurt again. She would get to see Georgie, and her grandparents. And she'd be able to look over her boys, and be able to help others who need guiding to the other side. Which is something she wants to do in life anyway- help people. Lorie knew this would be great for her.
But on the other hand, Bill, Eddie, Richie, and Stan would live a painful sad life. They would go through an entire lifetime, never experiencing true happiness again.
So, the question now is, what will Lorie decide? Will she choose her peace, or her boys'?
"Well, Lorie. What do you choose?" Katerina speaks, knocking the girl out of her thoughts. Lorie blinks and opens her mouth to give the angelic woman her answer.
A/N:
Last story related Posty-Post for She'll Float Towards Us!
Omfg I am so thankful for you guys to make it to this point, and for coming on this journey with me! This was but a small idea and the fact that it made it to this point is astounding! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!
I had to have another Georgie/Lorie moment, because how could you NOT want that? They are the duo we wished we had more of! Anyway, Hope you enjoyed!
And make sure to look at the next part in regards to information on a sequel!
Thanks Again!
All My Love,
Savannahxx