The Sun is Shining

010

"Okay," Eddie paced around the main room, frightened out of his wits, "So, what do you mean that you've seen us all die?"

"Yeah, cause I gotta be honest. That's a fucked-up thing to just drop on somebody," Richie stood nearby, catching Stanley's eyes. Stanley felt his heart pounding, as his gaze shifted to Violet. She was openly crying now, knowing the truth.

"Every night since Derry," Beverly sniffed, trying to dry her eyes, "I've been having these nightmares. People in pain. People dying. People..." She trailed off, not wanting to see them again. Tom already had to deal with her nightmares, she didn't want anyone else to deal with them. Of course, having just realized that the same thing happened to Violet made everything feel worse.

"So, you have nightmares," Eddie stated. Violet looked up and rolled her eyes, wiping away stray tears. He clearly didn't get it. "I have nightmares. People, they have nightmares. But that doesn't mean that your visions are true."

"Would it give you enough proof to learn that I've had the exact same nightmares?" Violet spoke softly. The tension in the room rose. "That I've also watched every single one of us..." She choked, as Stanley kneeled down next to her chair and grabbed her hand. Violet felt instantly safer, as he held her.

"You've seen every single one of us what?" Bill questioned from the doorway. The group turned, seeing him and Mike now present. He walked over to Beverly in concern. Beverly breathed out, before speaking again.

"We've seen how we all end," Beverly stated, making Bill freeze. The both of them?

"Hold on, hold on," Stella interrupted the commonly found silence, "I am so lost. First, Stanley wasn't supposed to be here and now he is. And second, you think that my cousin and you have a sixth sense? Is that it?"

"Blondie has a point," Stella crossed her arms and glared at Richie as he spoke, "How come the rest of us that used to live here aren't seeing that shit? I mean, what makes Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy so different?" The Losers remembered that instance when Richie called Beverly Molly Ringwald. It wasn't a great moment for them, but they were remembering.

"The Deadlights," Mike spoke, gravely. The Losers remembered as soon as he said it.

"The what?" Richard exclaimed, but received no answer.

"The Deadlights," Bill repeated Mike, as he saw Beverly and Violet in the cistern. "They were the only ones of us that got c-caught in the Deadlights that day. A-and Violet got caught almost a second time earlier in m-my garage." Richie and Bill shared a look, remembering them yelling for It to let Violet go, as her eyes glistened.

"We were all touched by It," Mike explained, "Changed. Deep down. Like an infection or a virus. A virus, slowly growing." Eddie and Richie were slowly sneaking toward the door, not wanting to hear anymore. "That virus, it's been growing for twenty-seven years. This whole time, metastasizing." Beverly pulled out a smoke, hoping to haze her way out of this.

"What the girls have seen, should, and should've, come to pass," Everyone took a look at Violet and Stanley, "It's what'll happen to all of us, eventually..."

"But, wait," Eddie called out, "If Stan was supposed to die, how come he's in front of us, alive and breathing? How do you explain that, Mike? Huh?" Mike looked at Violet, who was looking right back at him. She was always a mystery to him, but this was more a mystery than she ever was.

"Violet?" Beverly asked, as Violet looked around the room, everyone looking at her expectantly. She wiped her eyes, yet again, and let out a heavy breath.

"Yeah, I've seen all of us die, including Stanley," Charlie ran a hand through his hair, sharing looks with the twins. "But I wanted to see if I could stop it from happening. That's why I asked you if I could call Stanley." Violet gave Mike a look.

"I knew it was going to take more than that dumb oath of ours to make sure Stanley came with us, and I was right. The oath would've gotten all of us killed, so instead I made a promise. I wasn't able to save Ashton and you know how much pain that's given me. I couldn't afford to lose anymore of my family, no matter what." Charlie sat down at the mention of Ashton. Violet hadn't mentioned her brother's name in years. "I say we stop It, and we stop It now."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Eddie questioned.

"The Ritual of Chüd," Mike answered, mere seconds later. "The Shokopiwah. The first ones who fought It, they have a saying. 'All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit.'"

"A tribal ritual? Are you fucking kidding me, man?" Richie shook his head at the thought. "All right, there's gotta be another way. This thing comes back, what, every twenty-seven years? Let's just kick the can down the road and do it then." Richard laughed at that. "What the fuck's so funny?"

"You do realize you'll all be seventy years old then?" Stella and Charlie tried not to laugh, as they pictured their cousin's friends at seventy.

"It doesn't work that way." Beverly stated, as Ben gave her a side hug, "None of us make it another twenty years in the way it happens." Richie took a shot, realizing they were essentially screwed.

"So, if we don't beat It this cycle, then, we die." Ben stated, making everyone fearful for their own lives. At least, those who's lives had already been at risk twenty-seven years ago.

"Okay, so now that we know the basis for you guys," Charlie walked over to Violet, "We need to hear about you, personally. Tell us about Ashton, about how you know that Richard was named after this nerd, about everything." Richie yelled a hey, after being called a nerd, but was shushed by Eddie. All eyes once again were glued on Violet.

"I'd always hoped I wouldn't be the one to tell you three the truth." With that, Violet spilled everything.