Cynophobia I Stanley Uris

chapter five

"Okay, look," Bill spoke up, pointing to the Derry map, precisely the marked spot which contained the words 'Storm Drain'. "That's where G-Georgie disappeared. There's the Ironworks, the Black Spot. Everywhere it happens, it's all connected by the sewers. And they all meet up at th-"

"The well house." Ben realized, causing the group to look closer at the red lines.

"It's in the house on Neibolt Street." Stan exclaimed, as DJ, who stood behind him, put her hands on his shoulders.

"You mean that creepy-ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" made Richie sure, when Eddie took a puff from his inhaler.

"I hate that place." Beverly said, while DJ kept an eye on Eddie. "It always feels like it's watching me."

"That's where I saw It. That's where I saw the clown." The Kaspbrak boy informed the group, leaning forward as if to regain control over his breathing.

"Th-Tha-That's where It lives."

Eddie took another puff from his inhaler, which caused DJ to grow more and more worried.

"I can't imagine anything wanting to live there." Stanley commented, when Eddie shot up from his seat.

"Can we stop talking about this?" He questioned, beginning to stutter slightly. "I-I- I can barely breathe. This is summer. We're kids. I can barely breathe. I'm up here having a fucking asthma attack." His words bubbled out of him faster and faster, then he gasped loudly. "I'm not doing this."

After that he ripped the map from the wall, causing Bill to protest, "What the hell? Put the map back."

Eddie shook his head, "Mmm-mmm."

Just then the projector started to click, showing different photos on the screen. DJ didn't like that at all, since no one was touching the projector and it made her uncomfortable how the lights began to flicker.

"What happened?"

"What's going on?" She wondered, asking the same question that Stan asked.

Eddie walked away from the screen, while DJ couldn't help but stare at the Denbrough family photos.

"I got it. Hold on." Mike spoke up, moving towards the projector and trying to fix it, to no avail. "Guys..."

The group stared at the screen as if spellbound and DJ could feel the fear radiating from each of them. She was also starting to breathe more frantically, making Stan grab the hands that were on his shoulders to soothe her.

Finally, it stopped on one photo that showed the Denbrough family. Bill was holding his brother's hand in the image, while Mrs. Denbrough held Georgie's other hand in her own. Apparently, it had been windy that day, hence her hair was covering her face.

"Georgie." Bill breathed, taking a step back.

"Bill?" Stan called, as the projector magically zoomed in on Georgie.

The projector was clicking rapidly at this point, the lights from the projector flickering. Then it was zoomed in on Bill's mom, who seemed to change within the photograph. DJ gasped loudly, along with the others, when Mrs. Denbrough suddenly turned into It.

"What the fuck?" swore Richie loudly.

"It's It!" Bill pointed out the obvious, causing DJ to swear just as loudly as Richie had.

Then DJ and Mike ran backwards to the wall, pressing against it. She knew it was a bit silly, seeing as it was a small garage, but she was simply trying to put as much distance between the clown on screen and her as possible.