IT 2017 - Blonde Hair, Black Lungs.

IV

I drop my bike, not even bothering with the peg to stand it up. I look at Mike seeing his stoic expression. He doesn't let anything get to him. That's something to envy, really.

"Bill!" Beverly yells at him once we step onto the house's property. Bill turns around looking at us all. "Bill, you can't go in there." She says and follows up with, "This is crazy."

I look at her, it wasn't crazy, at least not entirely. It was irrationally rational, maybe the clown thing was crazy, psychotic even. But he wants his brother back. It's horribly sad if you were to call it anything solid, the desperation of getting his brother back alive. When we all knew he was gone.

"Look, you don't have to come in with me. But what happens when another Georgie goes missing? Or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran? Or one of us? Are you just gonna pretend it isn't happening like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home, all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals, but...He isn't. So, walking into this house for me, it's easier than walking into my own."

I stood stunned, but happy, by his un-stuttering determined speech. He could just've said the first part and he would have me beside him. He turns around and wipes his eyes. I let out a sigh knowing I was going to go in for this boy.

"Wow." Richie exhales breathlessly, just as in awe.

"What?" Ben asks him, looking over at the boy.

"He didn't stutter once." He says with a bit of pride in his tone, I follow Richie up the rotted steps.

"Wait!" Stanley suddenly yells nervously; I stop and look at my newly found geeky friend as he fidgets nervously.

"Um... shouldn't we have some people keep watch?" He questions unsurely. "You know, just in case something bad happens?" He asks, looking around at us all.

"Wh— Who wants to stay out here?" Bill asks his hand on the doorknob, everyone but me and Bev raises their hands, I stare at Mike, surprised. I figured he may have been the first one to be up here. But I guess not.

Richie looks around and sighs, "Fuck."

꒷꒦

I step into the rotted damp smelling house. Richie, Eddie, and Bill beside me. "I can't believe I pulled a short straw." Richie says while looking around, "You guys are lucky you're not measuring dicks."

I glance at him letting out a small laugh, "I don't have one of those, Richie." I pointed out to which he giggled at and smirked.

"Shut up, Richie." Eddie quietly chastised.

I followed beside Bill as we walked deeper into the foyer of the house, "I can smell it." Eddie whispered grossed out.

"Don't breathe through your mouth." Richie says almost conversationally, like it was an everyday thing being in here.

"How come?"

Richie with a straight face begins his torment, Eddie just walked right into his trap. "Cause then you're eating it." He, nonchalantly, stated.

Eddie gagged and I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't wanna further his grossed-out state. The thought of how I'd be eating the mold particles burnt into my brain.

Eddie takes a deep inhale of his inhaler, like it'd help. I look at Richie as he walks off, I follow him shortly after, watching as he pulls a mildly yellowish white paper out of dead vines and cobwebs.

He slowly looks up at me with wide, terror-filled eyes as he grips the paper tightly in his fists. "What?" Bill questions from behind me.

"It— It says I'm missing." He stammers on his words, for the first time I've ever heard.

Bill goes beside Richie and so do I, we both read the paper to see for ourselves. "You— you're not missing, Richie."

He begins shaking as his voice heightens in volume, " 'Police department, city of Derry. That's my shirt. That's my hair. That's my face." He starts to obviously panic.

Bill pushes the paper down, or well attempts to. "Calm down, this isn't real."

"That's my name! That's my age! That's the date!" He starts to shout, his voice echoing a little.

Bill tries taking the missing poster from his hands, "It can't be real Richie!"

I gently urge Bill off of Richie and grab him by the wrists, my hold soft, to comfort him not scare him. Forcing him to look at me.

"Richie, you are not missing. You're here with us, right now. You won't go missing. Bill and I will make sure of it, okay?" I sternly say, giving him a pointed look, he breathes heavily as his eyes race over my face.

"Fuck, no! It says I'm missing, am I gonna go missing?" He only seems to just panic even more, fighting against my grip on his wrists.

"Richie! No. You're not gonna go missing, you're here now! You're gonna stay by our side. It won't take you!" I yelled over him; he stopped moving and all was heard were his heavy intakes of breaths.

"Hello?" A gravelly voice echoes from upstairs. We all snap our attention to that, my grip on Richie falling as I stare at the dark abyss of the upstairs level. "Hello?" the female voice repeats itself.

I fidget with my fingers as we start to walk towards the voice. "Help me, please!" The voice pleads from upstairs somewhere.

We slowly went up the rotten wood staircase, I heard labored gasps, the type you'd hear if someone just vomited, or just got gut punched. We stop by a hallway entrance, all in sight was a cracked open door.

Audible choking and wheezing coughing noises came from the room. I looked more closely and noticed a girl with short brown damp hair lying on the ground, her upper half visible through the cracked door.

"Betty?" Bill quietly asked, trailing off.

"Ripsom?" Richie finished for him, I jump back with fear as she screams and gets pulled back suddenly.

We, to my displeasure, continue forward to the room. I look at Eddie after hearing a distant voice say his name, I let the other boys walk ahead, my attention now on Eddie's safety.

Bill and Richie could help one another, Eddie being alone would be bad. He was... I don't know, an easy target?

"What are you looking for?" The voice croaks from the darkness the other way, I felt my anxiety prickle at my skin, my arms grew cold and itchy.

"Guys can you hear that?" Eddie questions quietly, almost like he was paralyzed with fear.

I nodded slowly and grabbed Eddie's hand, at this point I didn't care if he'd freak out about me. I wanted him safe, and this didn't feel safe. I let his hand go when his breathing started picking up, frantically searching for his inhaler. He grabs the small blue bottle and shakes it before inhaling some of the air inside.

"Guys." He whispered, he still sounded like he couldn't breathe. I offer my hand to him again and he instantly grabs it tightly, his fear probably controlling him now, I know it was definitely controlling me.

A door opens nearby, and I felt him start to shake and his breathing pick up again. We both look behind us expecting the boys to be there only to see them in the room that Betty was in, and the door was shutting. I was now completely fucking terrified.

I run towards the other room with Eddie pulling me, "Guys. Guys!" He shouts but we don't make it in time, the door shutting with a loud slam. "Guys! Guys!" Eddie screamed again, both of us now in a frantic panic.

The ground splits open right before we reach the door, and I pull Eddie back before we go tumbling down into it. "What the fuck!" I freeze when a hand placed itself on Eddie's shoulder, my eyes following the length of it, behind us. I let out a petrified scream.