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THE GROUP TRUDGED AFTER BILL, the murky water now up to their knees. Cordelia had moved up by Richie and Eddie after Stan yelled at her. She occasionally wiped a stray tear on her cheek as the group called out Bill's name. Stanley noticed this and felt guilty, but he was still upset with her. If she had not convinced him to go inside, he wouldn't have been attacked by the flute lady. He wouldn't have bleeding puncture wounds on his face that stung with every movement.
Lia had grabbed onto Eddie's hand as the water grew deeper. The bottom of her skirt touched the greywater, staining the hem. She let out a soft cry when she looked down at her tights that were a brown from her knee down instead of the white they once were. Richie glanced over at the two, wanting to also comfort Lia but he didn't know how.
"Bill!" Eddie screamed which caused Cordelia to wince at the loud sound. "Bill!" Eddie tripped over his feet and fell over into the water, pulling Lia with him. They both gagged when the water infiltrated their mouths. Richie quickly pulled Lia out of the water because he was the closest to her.
"Come on. Get out of there, dude," Richie told Eddie as he held onto Lia. Her leg was still healing from when she fell through the stairs and falling down hurt her leg very badly. "That's greywater." Lia wiped the dirty water off of her face, and Eddie started panicking.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he shouted as he splashed around in the water. "Where's my fucking flashlight?" Suddenly, a head popped out of the water. Everyone let out a scream as more came out from under the water. He quickly found his flashlight before Richie let go of Lia and grabbed Eddie by the back of his shirt.
Pushing Eddie forward, Richie and the others quickly sprinting away from the heads. Water splashed onto all of them as they ran through it. Lia and Eddie were unbothered by the water, seeing as they were already soaked from falling in it.
When they finally found the end of the tunnel, Mike was the first one to run out. He was soon followed by the rest of the Losers' Club, excluding Bill, who gasped at the sight of Beverly. She was floating in the air with her eyes a hazy shade of white.
"Bev!" Ben called out when the flashlights were shining on her.
"H-h-how is she in the air?" Richie stuttered even though nobody knew the answer. Eddie's mouth dropped as he looked around, pointing his flashlight at the large pile of objects. Near the top were bodies of children who were all in the same state as Beverly—unconscious and floating. He quickly tapped on Lia's arm to get her attention, and she raised her hand to her mouth in shock at the sight in front of her.
"Guys," Eddie choked out. The others turned to Eddie, their attention drifting to the bodies in the sky. "Are those..."
"The missing kids," Stanley finished with a tremble in his tone. Lia wanted badly to hold onto his hand to not only calm him down, but herself as well. But, she didn't want to risk him yelling at her again. "Floating."
"You'll float, too," Cordelia whispered as she shared a glance with Eddie. Her bottom lip quivered, and her shoulder shook when she breathed. Stanley's hand found its way onto her shoulder. Lia looked at it before looking at him in shock; he looked equally as surprised by his action. She gave him a slight smile as a 'thank you' as the others tried to get Beverly down.
Mike boosted Ben up, with slight help from Richie, and the Hansom boy was able to grab a hold of her ankles. Mike gently lowered Ben to the ground, and Richie helped Ben bring Beverly to the ground. Ben put his hand on the back of her neck as she stared upward with a blank expression and white eyes.
"Bev," Ben called out, worried for the girl he had pining after all summer. Cordelia bit down on her lip as she watched the scene in front of her, wondering if they were going to be able to wake her up or if she was dead. "Beverly. Why isn't she waking up?" he fretted as he shook her shoulders. "What is wrong with her? Beverly, please! Come on!"
Cordelia watched him with a large frown on her face. He cared about Beverly so much, and the red-haired girl was oblivious to his true feelings. Tears started to well in her eyes as the thought of Beverly never waking up crossed her mind.
Stan's hand fell from her shoulder, causing Lia to grow more upset. However, Stan only moved his hand off of her shoulder so he could hold her hand because he knew that it would calm her down. She glanced up at him and was met with a kind smile on his face.
Ben wrapped his arms around Bev as the others grew upset. After pulling back from the hug, Ben placed his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her. The others let out shocked exclamations at the Hanscom boy's action. Lia and Stan shared a surprised look before a sharp gasp was heard. Bev's eyes fluttered open, the white completely gone.
"'January embers'," she said as she looked down at the smaller boy.
"'My heart burns there, too'," he finished quoting with a smile. The others gave each other confused glances before Richie let out a laugh.
"Jesus, fuck!" he chuckled before putting his arms around the two. Mike joined in the hug next. Eddie was about to, but something caught his eye. He started walking away from the group, water splashing every step he took. Beverly broke apart from the group and looked around.
"Where's Bill?" she asked them. The friends started looking around before there were voices heard from the other side of the cistern.
"I was looking for you this whole time," Bill confessed to his younger brother who moved out of the shadows.
"I couldn't find my way outta here," Georgie said with a frown on his face. Tears were in his eyes as he added, "He said I could have my boat back, Billy." Bill let out a few short breaths as he tried to keep himself from crying.
"Was she fast?"
"I couldn't keep up with it." Bill's heart dropped. He became very choked up as he stared at the young boy.
"'She', Georgie," he reminded him. "You call boats 'she'." Bill clenched his jaw as tears pricked at his eyes.
"Take me home, Billy." The others had made it around the large pile of objects and saw Bill talking to his younger brother Georgie. The youngest Denbrough was holding onto his paper boat in his left hand because from his right shoulder down, his other arm was missing.
Lia let out a gasp and turned around so she didn't have to look at it. Stan's arm slowly wrapped around her as she buried her head into his shoulder. Richie let out a chuckle when he saw them, earning a glare from Stan in response. Richie's face turned back to stoic when he looked over at the Denbroughs.
"I wanna go home," Georgie cried. "I miss you. I wanna be with Mom and Dad." Tears slipped from Cordelia's eyes as she heard the pleads from the young boy.
"I want more than anything for you to be home," Bill sobbed. The two brothers both had tears streaming down their faces. Bill took a few steps forward towards Georgie as he added, "With Mom and Dad. I miss you so much." He let out a sniffle as he stood in front of his brother.
"I love you, Billy."
"I love you, too." Bill raised Mike's gun from his hand and placed it against Georgie's forehead. Stanley clutched onto Lia harder to make sure that she didn't turn around and watch. Georgie let out cries as the cool metal pressed against his head. "But you're not Georgie."
Bill let out a gasp as he pulled on the trigger, the reverberation of the gun being fired echoed throughout the cistern. The small body hit the ground with a thud!, and Lia jumped. Stan's grip tightened around the Watson girl as he stared at Georgie's body. It stayed still for several moments, causing the group to be worried that Bill actually killed his brother.
However their thoughts were soon cut off when the body started to violently shake. 'Georgie' started to morph back into the clown as he let out screams. The screams soon became distorted, and Stan pushed Lia behind him. The group started moving backward as the clown sat up and then pushed himself all the way up, towering over the children.
"Kill it, Bill! Kill it!" Eddie screamed. The others soon joined in, urging Bill to use Mike's gun to shoot the clown. Mike gripped onto a metal spike as he looked at Bill in realization.
"It's not loaded," he muttered, but his voice was drowned out by the others. Bill cocked the gun and aimed it at the clown before Mike shouted, "Hey! It's not loaded!" The gun clicked, but nothing came out. The skin peeled away on the clown's ghostly white face as IT started grunting maniacally, shaking his head.
"Oh, fuck," Richie muttered, earning a nod from Cordelia who was too scared to say anything. The clown let out a loud growl as it started chasing after the kids who separated and ran. IT loomed over Bill, who had to use Mike's gun to prevent the clown from biting him.
"Bill!" Lia screamed. She had grabbed a pipe that she had found on the ground and ran over to the clown. "Leave him alone!" She raised it above her head but was unable to hit the clown because he grabbed it from her hands. IT tossed the pipe to the side and took a step closer to the Watson girl who backed up in fear.
"Cordelia, no!" Eddie screamed. Mike quickly ran in front of Lia to make sure she didn't get hurt. The clown had hit Mike, and his body soared through the air. He let out a yell before his body hit the wall and fell to the ground. Cordelia ran over to Mike to make sure that he wasn't too injured. She placed her two fingers on his neck to make sure that he was still alive.
Bill jumped on the clown's back, forcing a metal pipe horizontally in ITs mouth. Beverly shouted out that someone needed to help him, and Richie jumped onto Bill's back. The clown's hands grabbed onto Ben's shirt with one hand and Stan's with the other. IT spun around several times before letting go.
Stan and Ben flew out of his grasp before he grabbed onto Richie and pulled him over his head. Cordelia apologized to Mike before running over to Ben. She checked for any serious injuries before running toward Richie to see if he was okay. When he told her that he was, she had finally made her way to Stan.
By the time she helped him stand up, the clown slammed Bill onto the ground. The Denbrough boy grunted in pain before the clown held him tight within ITs grasp. The white gloves wrapped around Bill's throat.
"Bill, don't," whimpered Beverly as everyone stared at Bill and the clown. They were helpless against IT, and Bill was in ITs grasp. They had no idea how they were going to save him. "Let him go," she demanded.
"No," IT responded with a shake of ITs head and a sinister smirk. The yellow eyes were a bright contrast to the darkness that cloaked them all. "I'll take him. I'll take all of you. And I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear." Lia's hand quickly found Stan's as the clown lifted his finger.
"Or," IT continued as IT dragged out the 'r', "you'll just leave us be. I will take him, only him, and then I will have my long rest, and you will all live to grow old and thrive and lead happy lives until old age takes you back to the weeds."
"Leave," Bill choked out as the clown tightened ITs grip. "I'm the one who dragged you all into this. I'm s-s-s-s-sorry." The clown mocked Bill's sutter before letting out a cackle. "Go!"
Beverly looked around at the others, and frowned, "Guys, we can't." Bill apologized once again as Richie stood up from where he was on the ground.
"I told you, Bill. I fucking told you. I don't want to die." Lia stared at Richie in disbelief. "It's your fault." He started pacing as he counted on his fingers. "You punched me in the face, made me walk through shitty water, you brought me to a fucking crackhead house! And now..." Richie pulled out a bat from within the large conglomeration of stuff, "I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown. Welcome to the Losers' Club, asshole!"
Richie swung the bat at the clown as IT let go of Bill and roared. He hit the clown in the face with the wooden bat. The clown had stumbled backward, and Mike ran forward with his spike and went to hit IT. The clown opened his mouth, revealing burnt hands that had grabbed onto the spike.
Stan's brown eyes travelled down to Lia's pipe that was discarded on the floor. He ran over towards it, picked it up, and ran over to the clown. Hitting it over the head, Stan stumbled backward when ITs head morphed into the lady from the painting. Richie was quick to hit the lady's head with his wooden bat.
Her eyes narrowed at the Uris boy before she let out a scream and chased after him. Stan let out a yell as he hit her in the face, swinging the pipe like a baseball bat. Lia grabbed a spike from Bill's backpack and went to hit the clown, but IT quickly mutated into a giant black widow. Lia fell back on the ground in shock as the spider crawled above her.
Ben grabbed the spike that she had dropped on the ground before quickly stabbing IT through the chest. Blood spewed from his chest in an upward motion. Ben's hand was stuck inside the clown's chest as ITs head morphed into a mummy. The wraps around his head latched around Ben's head and pulled him closer. Ben let out a scream as the mummy's mouth grew closer to him.
Bill found a chain on the ground, and he quickly grabbed it before beating the clown with it. Him, Richie, and Mike took turns hitting the clown. The clown, on all fours, turned towards Eddie as IT started gagging. After shifting ITs face to a leper's, the clown had regurgitated a brown liquid onto Eddie. The Kaspbrak boy spit out the liquid that had gone into his mouth as his face twisted in rage.
"I'm gonna kill you!" he screamed before kicking IT in the face. IT rolled backward and when he looked back at the group, Alvin Marsh smirked at the group. Beverly stared at her dad with a look of horror.
"Hey, Bevvy. Are you still my little—" Before he could finish his sentence, Beverly let out a scream before shoving a metal spike down his throat. Al's face slowly changed back into the clown's white one. Lia grabbed onto Beverly and pulled her backward before the clown spit the metal pole out from ITs mouth, saliva going everywhere.
"Oh, shit!" Eddie yelled out. Cordelia glanced over at him and pursed her lips at the sight of him. He was covered in the brown liquid and was continuously shaking his head to try and get it out of his eyes without using his hands, seeing as those were dirty too.
The clown had stumbled backward before falling on ITs back. IT crawled away from the Losers' Club who grew closer to him with their weapons raised. The clown's back hit a well, and IT continued to grunt and shake vigorously. IT chuckled maniacally as Bill took a few steps forward.
"That's why you didn't kill Beverly," he told the clown. "'Cause sh-sh-she-she wasn't afraid. And we aren't either. Not anymore. Now you're the one who's afraid. Because you're going to starve." The clown flipped backward into the well, holding onto the ledge so he couldn't fall in.
"He thrusts his fists against the post and still insists he sees the ghosts," the clown muttered as Stan handed his pipe to Bill. Lia recognized what IT was saying. The clown was mocking Bill, using the saying that he used to learn how to not stutter. "He thrusts his fists against the p-p-p-po-po-posts."
Bill raised the pipe up but was unable to hit the clown because IT slipped down further into the well. The group watched as the clown's forehead started to peel away, floating up into the air. The Denbrough boy lowered his weapon as more of ITs head started to disintegrate.
"Fear," IT whispered before letting go. The Losers' Club ran forward as they watched as the clown's body disappeared into the dark abyss. Lia's arms wrapped around Stan's as she let out a soft cry, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. She was so overwhelmed from the whole situation and released her emotions through her tears. Stan's arms made their way around her waist as he glared at where the clown was.
"I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay," commented Richie, earning a look from Beverly. Bill's head turned to his right and walked towards Beverly. The two embraced as Beverly let out a sniffle. Eddie's attention drifted upward, and his mouth parted at what he saw.
"Guys," he muttered to gain the attention of the others. Cordelia lifted her head and turned to look at her best friend, her arms still around Stanley's neck. "The kids are floating down."
The bodies that were once floating near the top of the cistern were slowly making their way down to the ground. Bill and Beverly had let go of each other, and his heart dropped when he saw a bright yellow object near the bottom of the pile. He walked over towards it and picked up the yellow raincoat that had a missing sleeve. He read the tag and let out soft cries when he read his brother's name.
Cordelia parted from Stan and made her way over towards the Denbrough boy. She gave him a hug as his cries turned into sobs. Lia felt another person join in the hug, and then another. Soon the entire group was hugging each other, surrounding Bill. Sobs racked his body as he clutched onto Georgie's raincoat.
Bill finally had closure on his brother's death.
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this chapter was complete garbage. i have no idea how to write action scenes, especially because i have no idea whether to use "he/him/his" pronouns or "IT" for pennywise
don't be a silent reader :)
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