WHEEZY // an IT story

e i g h t

JUNE 7th, 1989

today was the day. eddie shuddered as he mounted his bike in the early hours of the morning. today, the losers club was meeting at the park to discuss something that made eddie's brain want to explode.

the clown he saw, in the house at neibolt. it wasn't like anything the small boy had ever seen. just the sound of his voice could bring the boy to tears. there was something truly and deeply evil in the core of the clown's being. eddie could shut himself away and never talk about it again. he hated even the thought.
"time to float," echoed through his head as eddie biked through the streets of derry.

as richie was putting his bike in the bike rack, he spotted the losers by a brick wall. he waved to them, but they turned away, looking quite solemn. richie knew this was some sort of 'important meeting' but he couldn't figure out what it was for. he shrugged and waltzed over to the other kids.

eddie was the last to arrive in the club, giving the kids a small smile before bill took over.
"so we're all here for a reason," bill stated, hoping someone would say what he didn't want to. luckily, beverly did.
"the clown," she said, and nothing more. just those two words sent shivers up the spines of the teens, well apart from richie.
"okay. so you guys saw some clown. no big deal! they're just people," richie said, trying to assure everyone.
"i don't think it's a person under all that," eddie said uneasily.
"i didn't just see a clown though," ben told the losers. they all nodded in agreement.
"i was in the library, reading about that easter factory explosion in derry, when there was the red balloon. no one else saw it but me, so i followed it down into the basement. there was a smoldering easter egg on the stairs, but i walked farther in. then, someone starting coming down the stairs. i didn't know who it was at first, but it was this headless boy, and he started chasing me. and then he transformed into this clown and i barely got away in time," ben explained.
"i saw a leper," eddie said. richie lightly brushed his fingers over eddie's, and eddie gave a shy smile. then, his expression turned dark as he had to explain his own tale of horror.
"i was waking home, and i was in front of the house on neibolt street. i stopped because my watch beeped, signifying that it was time to take my pills. so, i pulled them out, and then i dropped them. as i was picking them up, i noticed another pair of hands. really, really gross hands. so i look up, and there's a leper, right in front of my face. so i start to run, and i run around the house, to crawl through the hole in the side of the fence. as i'm doing that, i hear my name, and i turn around. and there's this clown. and he has a ton of red balloons. he told me it was time to float, but i ran." eddie finished, and by that time, he was shaking. richie felt bad because he didn't know how to help the small boy. so, he threw his arm around eddie's shoulders, hoping that the boy would stop shaking.
"i saw georgie," bill said.
"i went down into my basement, and it was completely flooded. but, right in the corner, was georgie. i called out to him, i tried, but then i realized it wasn't georgie. he just kept repeating 'you'll float too' over and over, and i was sacred. then, this clown emerges from the water. it gives me the creepiest grin, and starts running at me. i ran up the stairs as fast as possible, and i made it out," bill recalls.
"i saw my parents," mike said, shuddering.
"y-you're afraid of your parents?" beverly asked, a slight break in her voice.
"not like that," mike replied, holding up his hands defensively.
"you know that house that burned down on quarter street?" mike asked the group. they all nodded quickly.
"that was my only house. i remember i was sleeping and i heard the alarms go off, but i couldn't get out of my room. my parents were banging on my bedroom door, trying to get me out. they were screaming and yelling. when the firemen found their bodies, all the skin on their hands had been melted off," mike told the losers, shuddering.
"so, i was dropping off some meat at the butcher's shop a few days ago, and i saw my parent's hands, at the back door. but there weren't just two pairs. there were so many smoldering hands, and so many screams. then, the door flew open and i saw the clown, hanging from a meat hook," mike finished, putting his hands over his face.
"as you all know i saw blood," beverly said, trying to break the unbearable silence.
"i saw the painting lady," stan said.
"was she hot?" richie asked, hoping to get a chuckle out of eddie. stan gave him a look of pure disgust.
"no! richie! she was not hot! she had fangs! and was trying to kill me!" stan exclaimed, turning to ben, mike, and beverly.
"in my father's study, there's this absolutely horrifying painting that has scared me since i was little. it's a picture of a woman, who has a really long face, and she's holding a flute. so, a few days ago, i went to straighten the painting because it was crooked. i also had come to put a book back on the shelf. i tried to avoid eye contact with the painting, but when my back was turned, it fell. when i kicked it back up, the woman that was depicted in the painting was gone. i looked around for a moment, before hearing flute music. then, she slithered our from the shadows. i don't think i've ever been so scared in my life," stan told the losers.

"wait, guys. what do all of our instances have in common?" mike asked. all the losers gave him a confused look.
"it's using our fears against us!" mike shouted, but really, he was as scared as the other teens. eddie turned towards richie.
"what's your fear, rich?" he asked.
"clowns," richie replied.
"we've gotta take this thing down!" beverly shouted.
"he's gonna ruin us if we don't!"'she continued. bill nodded in agreement.
"my house. tomorrow. we plan," he said.

sorry for a kind of lame chapter :(
i've been super busy but i'm trying. (doesn't help that i'm up at 4am either lol)
i don't even know who reads my story, but i love you. all of you.
thank you for being good and patient.

laurenwrrites