𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 😈𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝙷𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 😈

😈ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 7😈

"Seriously?"

"You're cheating"

"You son of a bitch!"

No one knows better than the Bowers gang that the Barrens is the best place to smoke, drink, and most of all, there is always the chance to catch some Losers club members to bully and harass.

They started by drinking the beer that Victor had with him, (he bought it from Gard Jagermeyer, who had already finished school in Derry and was a couple of years older than them) and ended up playing poker, betting on their savings.

There had always been a sort of hidden competition between Henry Bowers and Patrick Hockstetter, even if they would never admit it, that was perhaps the reason why Patrick spoke to Angie Tozier in the first place. Hockstetter suspected Henry of having some sort of school crush for the cute girl, even though he would never admit it. Henry knew that Victor and Belch were willing to follow their leader's instructions, but, for some reason, he had always felt slightly intimidated in front of Patrick. He was the last to join the group, being more like a lone wolf than a pack animal, but he was tall and intimidating, and Henry liked it. Patrick, on the other hand, followed Bowers for the fun he gave him, but deep down he probably felt superior.

"Fuck" Henry says.

"You keep losing Bowers, something happens?" Patrick asks with his grin.

"Shup up, Hockstetter"

"I won"

"I can't stand this fucking game anymore"

Henry throws the cards and gets up.

"Maybe we should smoke?" Victor suggests.

"Yes, maybe Bowers calms down" Patrick grins.

That was the plan for the afternoon, smoking weed in the Barrens.

"Fuck" Bowers thinks, he had completely forgotten.

Moose Saddler sold him weed after school, he was an older boy, who used to hang out with the gang, every now and then. Moose had a favorable price for Henry, weed was not a habit for Bowers, but, sometimes, it was good for him, especially when he needed to escape from reality.

"Don't overdo it, this stuff screws your brain". Moose warned him.

Considering the fact that people like Hockstetter himself were not really rational even in normal conditions, it wasn't encouraging.

Henry completely forgot about it, he thinks about Moose's weed in his room, hidden in his secret drawer, along with the knife he had stolen from his father, with which he had wounded that fat Hanscom. How did that happen? He come back home from school, he thrown his things on his room's ground, he took off his shirt, he put the ointment on the wounds on his back, they had started to burn like a bitch on the way home, where his father had hit him a few days before, because of a letter from school with his grades. Henry was on the verge of failing some subjects, if that happens, he will be obliged to attend summer school, that means he could not help his father with the farm, that made Butch go crazy, that is the reason why he punched Henry . The thought makes him nervous, "Mrs Douglas, that bitch" he thinks "She needs to mind her own business." Henry was so annoyed he left the weed in his room.

"Who cares?" Belch says, "Let's go home and smoke in your garden".

"Smoking in the sheriff's garden, nice idea" Victor comments.

"It's not a bad idea, Butch is on shift until evening today" Henry says "Let's go".

In the meantime, Mary Sue is waiting for Angie in front of Bowers' house.

"How long does it take? "she thinks.

She looks around, it is certainly a pleasant place, surrounded by fields, but, for some reason, the place also lokks a bit lonely, she can see a red roof from afar, the Hanlons' house, Mike, the son, is riding his bike. He goes to another school, but Mary Sue had sometimes seen him hanging out with Angie's brother and his friend, like the cute one, the one who stutters, Bob, Bill or something like that, she does not remember his name.

Angie is looking through Bowers' desk drawers. She finds his school books, in perfect condition, probably never opened, "that wouldn't surprise me" she thinks, she finds a lighter, her hands keep touching the objects in the drawer, at some point she feels metal under her fingers, scissors maybe? She takes it out, and holds her breath.

"Oh my..." she finds a switchblade. "Who gives a knife to a kid? I can't believe it" She hears a dog barking; it brings her back to reality. She has to hurry, she's about to have a panic attack, her heart is pounding in her chest, she's alone in Henry Bowers' bedroom, if someone comes home she does not dare to think what might happen, not to mention Mary Sue is alone in front of the door, surronded by fields.

Outside the house, Mary Sue hears a noise, across the street, the boy, (Is Mike his name?) is falling from his bike, because of a stone.

"Oh, no!" She runs towards him.

"Hey, are you all right?"

He is holding his ankle, he doesn't have a nice expression on his face.

"I think I twisted it"

"Here, let me help you" Mary Sue helps him getting up, the boy is struggling to stand up, something is clearly wrong with his ankle. The girl feels sorry for the unknown boy. "Do you need help?"

"Oh don't worry, I live there" He points the house on the opposite street from Henry's. He tries to walk, but it is pretty clear that the struggle is real, and Mary Sue can't leave him like that. She looks worried at the Bowers' house.

"Mmm... do you know what time Henry usually comes home?"

Mike turns pale. "Henry who?"

"Bowers"

"Oh... luckily he's hardly at home...he...mmm...he doesn't have a good relationship with his dad, he tries to stay out as much as possible. Luckily for me I would say, the few times that I have had the misfortune to cross him ...." He pauses "Well let's say I did not have a good time".

"Oh, I'm sorry" Mary Sue is relieved, she can take Mike home and come back, after what the boy had told her. After all, it will only take a few minutes, and the kid cannot walk, she cannot leave him like that. The girl takes his bike "I'll take it, ok? Lean on me, we must come back home and put some ice on you...."

Angie tries to breath, the book is nowhere to be find, but she cannot give up, as she repeats to herself :
"In the next drawers..."
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