[ CHAPTER XXVI:
WHAT DID YOU SEE ? ]
ALICE WAS pacing back and forth before Judy and Beverly walked inside the building both holding fear in their eyes. "Oh thank god you're both okay" Alice cried as she hugged the two girls.
Beverly hugged back the brunette woman before pulling away. Soon the door opened and Ashley was trying to catch up to Richie who was speed walking. "Richie?" Alice asked.
Richie ignored his sister and walked up the stairs, stomping on the wooden steps. Ashley let out a sigh and Alice looked over at her daughter. "Ashley, what happened?" Alice asked.
"The clown,,," Ashley said. "The clown said something that made uncle Richie so afraid, the clown told him that he know Richie's secret, I tried to tell the clown to back off but then It told I had the same dirty secret as him" Ashley said.
Alice looked over at Beverly. "I know what this is about, I'll go talk to him" Alice said as she walked up the steps as she heard Judy ask Ashley if she was alright.
"You should've heard what he said, Alice" Richie said as he ran his hand down his face. "He asked if you and the others knew, he asked if fucking Eddie knew" Richie sighed.
Alice walked towards Richie as she placed a hand on his arm. "Richie please, calm down" Alice said.
"I can't—I can't fucking calm down, Alice!" Richie exclaimed. "The clown knew, he fucking knew about the thing that I've hated about myself since I was twelve!" Richie said.
Alice placed her hand on Richies' shoulders as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm leaving" Richie said as he grabbed his suitcase.
"What? Richie, you can't just leave" Alice said.
"I'm not gonna stay here and die for this town! I don't even remember half of the people here, it's been 27 goddamn years, I risked my ass for beating up the clown the first time around I'm not doing that shit again" Richie said as he threw his clothes in his suitcase not even bothering to fold them.
Alice paused, the silence was nearly suffocating before Alice finally spoke up: "If you really are leaving I want you to take the girls then" Alice sighed. "Beverly—Beverly only saw Ashley in her vision she never saw Judy" Alice admitted.
Richie turned to look at Alice his brows dipped in confusion. "I don't want Judy to get seriously injured or worse by that fucking clown, I also don't want Ashley here either if she's going to get hurt" Alice said.
Richie stayed in silence before nodding. "Do you want me to drop them off in Atlanta?" Richie asked.
Alice nodded, "the hospital, Stan should still be staying in there" Alice said. "Please make sure that once you get there, to tell Stan not to worry about me or the others. He cannot leave the hospital unless the doctors say so" Alice said.
Richie nodded. "You tell the girls I'll take them to go grab Mike real quick" Richie said. "I don't think Ashley will budge if I tell her that we're leaving" Richie admitted and Alice nodded in agreement.
"Okay" Alice said.
Surprisingly, Ashley and Judy fell for the fib. "Richie isn't going to take them to see Mike, is he?" Beverly asked from her spot on the steps.
Alice stared down at Richie's artifact, it was a token from the arcade that the two siblings would go to when they were younger. "No, I told him to take the girls back to Atlanta, to drop them off at the hospital Stans at" Alice said.
"You think the ritual will still work? Without Richie?" Ben asked.
"I know why he has the artifact and what memories it holds. It'll be like a white lie to the ritual" Alice said. Richie had told Alice everything she needed to know about his token and Alice felt like killing Henry Bowers once again.
"Guys!"
Ben, Beverly, and Alice ran up the stairs towards Eddie's voice. Eddie was slanted against the wall as his cheek was pouring out blood, Beverly screamed. "Bowers is in my room" Eddie said before blood starting pouring out his mouth as he went to wipe at it. "The bathroom."
Ben and Alice ran towards the bathroom and peered out the window where an older Henry Bowers stood. Henry looked up at the duo before taking out the knife that was embedded in his chest and jogged over to his car.
"Is it bad?" Alice heard Eddie ask before Beverly winced.
Alice walked out of the bathroom. "He's gone" Alice said. "We need to get Mike and Bill, now" Alice said and the three nodded in agreement.
"You lied to us!"
Richie sighed as Ashley and Judy were shouting at Richie to take them back. "Look, your mom said to take you back to Atalanta with your father. I'm gonna take you back!" Richie said.
"We can fight that thing!" Ashley said, wanting to stand her ground.
"This is for your own safety, Ashley! You shouting in my ear will not change my mind young lady! You're far too young to indulge into this danger" Richie argued.
Ashley scoffed. "You fought this thing with your friends and my mom when you were younger than me!" Ashley shot back.
"It was the 80s!" Richie tried to reason. "Besides none of the adults cared about kids in Derry!" Richie said.
"What does this thing even do that makes it so dangerous?" Judy asked.
Richie sighed as he ran his hand down his face. "He makes you see your fear, he can make any stupid fear into a real nightmare" Richie said. "Alice just wants to keep you both safe, especially Judy" Richie said.
"Why me?" Judy asked.
"Your parents don't know your fighting a demon clown that eats people, right?" Richie lied. It was better to lie to Judy then to tell her that she would possibly die if she stayed in Derry any longer.
That seemed to make Judy and Ashley quite. "You didn't tell us that thing eats people" Ashley muttered.
"Well now you know" Richie said. The silence only lasted a few minutes before Richie hit the brakes, outside of a museum. "You've got to be shitting me" Richie said staring at a blue car.
"What? What is it?" Judy asked.
"That's Belch Huggins car" Richie said before climbing out of his own car. "But that's impossible, he's supposed to be at the mental hospital" Richie muttered walking towards the building.
Ashley and Judy then climbed out of the car and joined Richie where they heard grunts, and smashes. "Someone's fighting in there" Ashley said.
Richie slowly opened the door and waved the two girls inside. The three slowly walked into the building and they took in the sight of a man holding a knife against Mike.
Richie then reached into a glass case and pulled out an axe without with double think, Richie raised the axe above his head and smashed it into the other mans skull.
Mike shoved the corpse off of him. "I'd say 'karma' but—" Richie then cut himself off as Richie turned his head as he vomited onto the hardwood floors.
Ashley and Judy helped Mike up and a scream made them turn to look at Eddie, Beverly, Ben, and Alice who had just walked inside. "Holy shit" Alice muttered. "I thought I'd be the one to kill that douche again" Alice shrugged.
"Mom!" Ashley said with a weirded tone.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked.
"No I'm not okay, I just fucking killed a guy" Richie replied gesturing to the corpse.
Ben looked over at Richie, "I was talking to Mike" Ben said.
"I'm good" Mike said. His phone then started ringing, Mike answered the call.
Alice kicked the corpses leg lightly. "Holy shit, you really got Bowers. I thought you'd like beat him over the head with the end not go full on horror movie killer on him" Alice said, not really showing any remorse for the corpse. "But it's what he deserves" Alice shrugged.
"Alice!" Beverly said.
"What?" Alice asked with raised hands. "I'm just stating what we're all thinking" Alice said.
Mike then turned to the group. "Bills going to Neibolt" Mike announced.
"What?" Eddie asked, with widened eyes.
"He said something about a kid and the carnival" Mike said. "He's gonna face it alone" Mike said.
Alice picked up the axe from the ground. "Like hell he is!" Alice said as she walked towards the exit. "Bill didn't go alone the first time around, and he certainly isn't now" Alice shouted before slamming the door shut behind her.
"She's gonna gets herself killed" Judy muttered.
"And so are we" Ashley said as she grabbed Judys hand, intertwining their hands together as they left with the others to go after Alice.
AUTHORS NOTE
I UPDATED AGAIN :DD
also just a heads up shits
about to hit the mf faN
real soON