An Inhaler Isn't Needed

Chapter 8

Eddie looked at him as if he were crazy, (which after all he’d seen, Richie wouldn’t completely deny). “Kill him? Are you insane? We can’t...There’s no way...Rich, the last time we went after him, we all almost died! I did die!”

Richie held up his hands to calm the other boy down, “But, you all didn’t die! I mean, I’m all for staying alive and away from some spoopy-” Did he really just say ‘spoopy’? Man, that’s a new low. “-clown thing, but Ben’s been talking about kids dying left and right.”

Eddie licked his lips, “That’s....I think….I think Bill said something about going back and killing it after that first time when I broke my arm, but they never did. I guess I’m sorta to blame for that.” Eddie shrugged, “But, it’s better you didn’t. It’s going to destroy you.”

Richie moved his hand as if to wave the thought away, “Big Bill’s been saying some stuff, too. He apparently read that It’s some sort of shapeshifting monster, so there’s a way to kill it. You gotta hit it-” Richie tapped on the side of his head, “-in here.” He went on, “Billy Boy also said that there’s a certain power in number, or something. Seven being the strongest.”

Eddie quirked his eyebrow, “Well, too bad, ‘cause there’s only six of you.”

“Ah contraire, mister...something that rhymes with contraire!” Richie spoke in a French Voice that had to be offensive, “We’re going to figure out how to get you outta here!”

Eddie’s mouth gaped open, “That’s impossible. I wish I could, but…” He shook his head.

Richie put a careful hand just hovering, (floating), above Eddie’s. He smiled, “We’ll figure it out.”

If Eddie were alive, his breath would’ve been knocked out of him. He hadn’t grown up to be accustomed to real warmth, real affection. His mother, his teachers, even his friends for some reason treated him as if he were fragile, like he’d break if someone were to really hug him.

Eddie returned Richie’s grin, and focused his energy on the simple act of pushing his fingers up to touch Richie’s. There it was. That connection.

Richie’s grin grew until it filled his entire face, “Yowza! How’d you do that? Earlier-”

Eddie cut him off; the grin turned sheepish, “Ghosts...We can only make contact with people we...It takes a certain amount of energy to...It’s hard to explain.”

It was actually easy to explain. Eddie just couldn’t bring himself to tell Richie...not yet, anyway.

“Oh!” Richie’s expression was somehow even brighter, “That’s why you could touch the rest of the Losers, right? They have to be your friends!”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, that’s it.” That wasn’t it. Eddie loved his friends. He loved them as friends. Maybe that’s why this connection with Richie feels different to him. Is this different…?

Richie took the opportunity to hug Eddie with full force, “Coolio! That’s one barrier struck down by the mighty Richard Tozier! Next up: Getting Eddie out of his room!”

Eddie felt a small flutter in his chest, though he wasn’t sure whether it was caused by the the possibility of leaving his personal prison, or if it was because of Richie’s arms, which were still wrapping him up in a warm hug.