𝔸 ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝔹𝕪 𝔸𝕟𝕪 𝕆𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖 - reddie

#𝟙𝟡: 𝕀 𝕂𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝔻𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥

Bill clicked the door open when the friendly exchange had been completed, and everyone drew in a deep breath. The only noise that was heard seemed to be the creaking of the door. Our gaze traveled cautiously as we all leaned in one direction, our eyes fixated on the contents inside the door.

It seemed to be a whole new room, and we recognized it right away; it was where Pennywise kept Its keep. Its where It kept Its prizes, or Its collection, or Its large assortment of items left on the body of every child Its ever eaten.

It was a disgusting, terrifying pile of filth and torment. Bad memories, nothing but bad memories that resided in every object. Last time we were here, Bill found Georgie's raincoat. We all knew what was here, though, along with the horrid bundle that nearly reached the ceiling of the tunnel like a mountain. The final form of Pennywise. Its normal form. Its actual form. Its demon form.

Nothing pretty. Nothing I ever wanted to see again. But that was a choice I just couldn't win this time.

There were small immediate pauses every now and then as we continued to look around the clearing, and I felt Eddie come up beside me. He took my hand, subtly, without much intent, wrapping one palm around mine. Then, as if he was uncomfortable with the position, he quickly interlocked our fingers together, his thumb brushing against my wrist.

Eddie usually took people's hands when he was nervous or spooked by something; it was a defense mechanism he's had since we were kids, and it probably made him feel safe or protected.

I glanced down at him with a questioning look, and he scoffed, almost defensively. He scowled slightly, avoiding my eyes. "I hate the way you hold hands, by the way."

I hoped that he couldn't feel my hand trembling in his. I rolled my eyes, but felt comfort in the physical touch. "Fuck off."

Eddie hated the way I held hands, sure, maybe it was a little awkward; but he sure as hell didn't let go.

The more I looked around, the more memories and deja vu crowded my mind. This wasn't pleasant deja vu, of a nice country side with beautiful iris skies that were dotted with mashed potato clouds, and lush rolling fields; this was bad deja vu. A reoccurring dream that made you wake up in a cold sweat. Every fucking time. Over and over. In the same spot. 

I had been here before, and I remember. I hated how I felt younger and weaker as I walked through every tunnel of these sewers. I was thirteen now. I was back where I had left things. And nothing had changed. We were down a man, and this demon was more hungry than before.

The walls were lined with spiderwebs and grime and more dirt than any germaphobe could picture. Eddie was probably losing his goddamn mind. I bet that if I scraped all the dust from the walls, centuries and centuries worth of Maine dust, I could fill more pools than there were on earth.

I tried to avoid the huge mound of random dead kid's obsessions; it was practically a large mound of colorful garbage, like buildings and buildings of teddy bears, kites, and basketballs that glowed red like Pennywise's stupid nose. It stretched above a current of running grey water, almost like a moat that ran near different pipes and different sewer tunnels. 

At first glance, I thought that's all that the room contained, a large clearing of collected objects that belonged to the clown's murder victims. Practically just a pile of items that Pennywise didn't have the ability to eat, so It just threw it off to the side like a zebra bone. But no. I glanced up at a large funnel-shaped clearing that was almost raised upward. If I stared long enough, it looked like a drain that would suck me down in a water spiral.

And suddenly, my stomach twisted into knots as I realized that it wasn't just any helix that went on and on until the top of a storm drain above the surface; it was a spiderweb.