The Sun is Shining

007

"I mean, it's weird, right?" Ben questioned them all, "Now that we're all here, everything just comes back faster and faster." He took one look at the empty chair between Beverly and Richie, a sense of yearning came back to him. He wanted Lettie back, he really did. 

"Yeah, you know," Richie started, "when Mike called me, I threw up. Isn't that weird? Like, I got nervous. I got, like, real sick and I threw up." He paused, wondering why he even mentioned it, "I feel fine now. I feel very relieved to be here with you guys. Why is everybody looking at me like this?" The whole group seemed to understand Richie's reaction, yet their hearts started to beat much faster.

"When Mike called me, I crashed my car," Eddie spoke up, getting concerned looks from everyone. 

"Shit, man, I hear you," Ben said, clearing his throat, "I mean, my heart was literally pounding right out of my chest."

"I thought it was only me," Beverly looked at the whole group, seeing them nodding with her.

"It was like pure..." Bill couldn't finish his sentence. Everyone heard him trying to say a word, but all that came out was a stutter. Bill hadn't had the stutter since high school.

"Fear," Mike deadpanned them, "It's fear. What you felt."

"Why did we all f-f-feel like that, Mike?" Bill asked him. Mike looked down at the table, a series of pictures filling his head. The Barrens, the Rock Fight, Neibolt; it was all still there. "You remember something we don't, don't you, Mike?" Bill asked once more seeing his face.

"Something happens to you when you leave this town," Mike began, "The farther away, the hazier it all gets. But me, I never left. So, yeah," he looked back at Bill, "I remember. I remember all of it." The Losers tried to wrack their brains for what he could be telling them, but nothing came to them.

"Pennywise," Beverly muttered, loud enough for them to hear. The fear in the room rippled even more, as though all their heartbeats were matching each others.

"Oh, the fucking clown," Eddie let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His fear heightened to the point of needing his inhaler. Every single Loser at the table reacted to hearing It's name by having more memories seep back into their minds.

"Mike, you said you wanted our help with something. What was that?" Bill questioned. 

"There's an echo here in Derry that bounces back every 27 years-"

"What are you talking about?" Eddie interrupted, looking scared out of his wits.

"We thought we stopped It back then. We thought It was done, but..." Mike flipped pages in his notebook that he used to keep up with the police broadcast, "A week ago, a man, Adrian Mellon, slaughtered. A girl, Lisa Albrecht, the other night, went missing." The Losers began to yell back at Mike. "There've already been others and there will be more. More death. More pain."

"Calm down," Ben spoke, placing a hand on Mike's shoulder, "You guys need to let him explain."

"That echo... we might have changed It... just like It changed us. But we didn't stop It. Because It just bounced back," Mike exchanged looks with each of them. "We made an oath. That's why I brought you here. That's why you're here. To finish It. For good."

The Losers went silent. A silence that was immediately broken by Richie.

"Well, that shit got dark fast." Each of the Losers broke open their fortune cookies, hoping they could get a little bit of faith from them.

Only a couple blocks away now, Stanley, Violet, and Violet's family were staying silent the whole car ride. The only sound in the car was the GPS. Stella and Richard were playing rock, paper, scissors in the back seat, with Stanley next to them. He gazed at Violet in the passenger seat, wondering what else could've possibly happened to her. Charlie was whistling a song that his cousin sang to him when he was younger.

Violet looked out the window at the dark sky. She kept having to remind herself that it was just the night sky. Her mind went to Stella George. Not her family member Stella, but she might as well have been.

Stella George was Violet's first friend when she started high school. Unfortunately for Stella, while she was able to make Violet her happy self, she didn't live past her junior year. She never graduated, never got married, never made Violet her maid of honor or a godmother, and she never would. Violet began pray to the God Stella prayed to, for good luck and hoping a sense of peace would enter her, getting rid of her nerves.

Violet took a breath, seeing the neon lights on the restaurant building, and got out of the car. Three slamming doors followed hers as they made their way into the restaurant. A hostess stood at the counter as the five of them entered.

"Hi, how many for you tonight?" She asked them, prepping some more menus.

"Actually, we're here for the Hanlon party. Are they still here?" Stanley asked the woman. She nodded and guided them. As they neared the area, Violet could pinpoint Mike's voice.

"It's not real! It's not real!" Violet thanked the hostess, who then left, seeing as the bill she just rang up for them now had five more people to potentially add to it. Violet went around the corner to see Mike slamming a chair on the table and the rest of the group pressed up against the walls in fear. Stanley took one look at the black goop overflowing the table and make eye contact with Violet, who nodded.

"Uh, Mike?" Violet voiced, suddenly seeing all of them get out of the trance Pennywise had given them. Mike was about to slam the chair again, until he realized who it was.

"V-Violet?" Bill asked her, as though he had seen a ghost. Violet tugged some hair behind her ear, as everyone eased up a bit. They all looked so surprised to see her there. Charlie, Stella, and Richard filed into the room behind Violet and Stanley, wondering what had happened to rile up all these adults. Of course, Violet and Stanley both could sense what had happened, as goosebumps hit the back of their necks.

"Holy shit!" Eddie exclaimed, after taking yet another puff off his inhaler. Beverly took a couple steps forward, not believing her eyes.

"Vi?" The woman in question connected Beverly's gaze, then showed them all the biggest smile ever. She ran to Beverly's arms and choked down a sob she didn't know she was going to let out. Beverly soon let go of her, also showing tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe it's you!" Violet chuckled, as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned, not really recognizing the man standing behind her. He engulfed her in a hug, as she was slightly confused.

"I missed you, Lettie," the man whispered. Those words were all she needed to hear to know who it was. She immediately returned the hug, her heart swelling from the reunion with her best friend. She made eye contact with Richie next, before Richie's eyes switched to someone behind her.

"Stan?"