[ CHAPTER NINE:
NO, I'M NOT OKAY ]
BILL STOOD in front of the moldy house when Alice dropped her bike. "Bill wait!" Alice shouted. Bill turned to the girl as she was taking in slow breaths. "I said I was gonna help you find those missing kids, they don't deserve to stay missing" Alice said.
"R-r-remember whatever we s-see in there it isn't real" Bill said.
Alice nodded as the two were gonna take a step further before Beverly called out to them. "Bill! Alice! You can't go in there. This is crazy" Beverly said.
"Look, you don't have to come in with me, but what happens when another Georgie goes missing, or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran or one of us?" Bill asked and Alice looked down at the ground. "Are you just going to pretend it didn't happen like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there,
his clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals
but he isn't. So walking into this house for me,,,it's easier that walking into my own" Bill said.
"Wow" Richie whispered.
"What?" Beverly asked.
"He didn't stutter once" Richie said.
Once Bill turned around and Alice decided to go with Bill, Stan spoke up. "Wait!" He said gaining everyone's attention. "Shouldn't we have some people keep watch? Just in case something bad happens?" Stan asked.
"Wh-wh-who wants to stay out here?" Bill asked.
Everyone's but Beverly's and Alice's hands went up.
Bill was the first one to walk inside the house, Richie and Eddie followed behind him as Alice nervously chewed on her finger nails watching them disappear into the decaying building.
Alice wished it was only her that drew the short straw, the absolute terror on Richie and Eddie's faces made Alice want to trade spots with them both but she knew they'd refuse to let Alice sacrifice herself.
It was only four minutes before Alice stepped onto a step, she was gonna walk inside the house before a hand grabbed her own. "Bill said to wait out here, Alice" Stan said.
Alice didn't look at Stan, she would've done anything for Stan even if it meant letting her brother and his two friends go inside the dangerous building, Stan could hypnotize Alice with his pleading eyes and Alice would fall for it every time. But Alice refused to let the boy she liked hypnotize her once again.
"It's been too long, what if something bad happened to them already? What if they're dead? What if—"
Stan squeezed her hand and Alice listened to her heart instead of her head as she turned to look down at Stan, those fucking warm brown eyes were filled with unsaid pleads. "Alice, it isn't safe" Stan said.
Alice let out a shaky breath. "I'll be in and out in a few seconds, I promise, I'll just get them out of there" Alice said.
Stan then let go of her hand. "I trust you" He said.
Alice smiled softly before running inside the house and up the stairs, it looked like maze. "Bill? Richie? Eddie?" Alice shouted, her fast movements turned slow. "Guys come on!" Alice said.
"Alice"
Alice turned to the sound of Richie's voice, it came from a dark room. Alice took small steps foreword. "Richie? Richie where are the others?" Alice asked.
"Alice, we're in here!" It was Bill's voice.
"It was really dark and the door wouldn't open" it was Eddie's voice.
Alice stepped inside the room and then the door slammed shut, Alice took a small step back, she had fallen for one of It's tricks. "It isn't real, it isn't real" Alice said trying to repeat the words Bill told her before the others caught up to them.
Alice then crouched to the ground covering her ears. "It feels real" Alice whispered softly to nobody but herself.
Alice then saw the light turn on and refused to turn around. The shadow of a body lying the on the ground had already sent Alice into sobs, Alice covered her mouth and tightly shut her eyes. It was obviously Stan, the shadow had a head of really curly hair.
Alice couldn't do that to herself but she listened to her aching heart and turned and couldn't help but let out a scream. "No!" She shouted. The tears were more rapid.
Stanley Uris laid on the ground, dead. His pleading brown eyes that Alice would do anything for we're empty and lifeless. His blue polo shirt was ripped at the sides and his khakis were covered in dirt. Stan had a deep gash on his chest and Alice couldn't help but crawl over to the dead body.
Alice's shaky hands ran through his still soft curls, his lips that Alice imagined were really soft, were now cracked. "No, no" Alice said bringing the corpse closer to her and sobbing so hard she felt like she was going to hurl.
"Alice in wonderland, stuck in her own wonderland is such a poetic thing" An unfamiliar voice said, it sounded cheery, like a clowns voice. "Don't you think—" suddenly Stan's corpse was ripped out out of her arms and was held by his hair as the clown from the basement and Bill's garage stood there. "Stanley?" It said turning to the corpse before throwing the corpse on the ground.
Alice scrambled away from the clown. "Don't you fucking come near me! I'll kill you, you sick son of a bitch!" Alice said as she held a piece of wood that was sharp at the other end.
"I know what your afraid of" It giggled like a little kid finding out a friends secret. "But you wouldn't want your friends to know, you wouldn't want them worrying about you! You can't keep sacrificing yourself, little Al" It wagged his finger in front of her. "I promise you their deaths will be painless" It said. "I always keep my promises" It cackled.
Alice covered her mouth, trying to mute her sobs. Death, that's what she was afraid of. Alice was afraid of her friends dying, that's why she didn't want to believe she was friends with Richie's friends or liked Stan, it would just cause more pain. Alice loved it though, she loved every minute with the group but god just knowing one day that they'd be ripped away from her? That terrified her, so she refused to get close with them. Unknowingly, she was getting closer with them.
Soon the door was swung open and a pair of hands grabbed her and dragged her out of the room and the door was slammed. Alice's tears didn't stop neither did her gasps of air. "Alice, Alice" Stan's voice. It was just Stan and the others.
Alice looked up at Stan and grabbed his arms frantically trying to make sure he was real, that he wasn't a corpse. "It was scarier the second time around" Alice whispered to Stan.
Before Stan could say anything else a scream was heard. The group then went running down the stairs trying to follow the screams.
Beverly picked up a pipe on the way down and when they found Bill, Richie, and Eddie. Beverly stabbed the pole through the monster head, the blood seemed to float up rather than down. The group then went over to Eddie.
The clown whirled around and the group screamed in terror, in fear. The clown stalked foreword and Alice began crying again. She couldn't save all of them even if she tried.
Claws stretched out of his gloves earning more louder screams and shouts. Richie tried to get Eddie to look away from the clown and only at him and Alice closed her eyes tightly hugging Stan who she could feel was trembling.
When Alice opened her eyes the clown was gone but Ben was bleeding and Bill was gone. Alice went to stand up to find Bill but Stan grabbed her hand he didn't want her to leave and truthfully? Alice didn't want to either.
Bill came running back and Eddie was shouting but Alice didn't understand through Eddie's pain in his voice. "I'm gonna—I'm gonna snap it back into place!" Richie said, talking about Eddie's broken arm.
"Do not fucking touch me!" Eddie protested holding onto his broken arm. Richie ignored Eddie's protests and grabbed onto his arm and snapped it back into place earning a sickening 'crack' that made Alice cringe.
The group then ran out of the house screaming, as strings of 'holy shit!' and 'oh fuck!' were all that were shared amongst them. Alice was silent but the tears never stopped.
AUTHORS NOTE
OOP—So Alice isn't afraid
of corpses of her loved ones,
she's afraid that if she gets
to attached to her friends
they'll die and Alice will be
left alone, so Alice tries to
protect them or not get to
close. As you can see she's
very close to Richie and Stan
hence why IT uses them to
scare Alice :), just if y'all were
confused