WHEEZY // an IT story

t w e l v e

JUNE 10th, 1989

"wake up!" richie shouted to the other losers. he ran around the camp, trying to arouse the sleeping teens. slowly, the losers started to emerge from their tents, sleepy-eyed and cranky, to see what their friend had woken them up for.
"do you guys hear that?" richie asked, almost in a state of panic. the other losers stopped and listened for whatever richie was afraid of. then, they heard it. it sounded like children, singing a low, soft hymn. they all knew that pennywise was beckoning them.
"c'mon! let's get ready!" bill shouted. since the children had only brought the clothes they had worn the previous day, dressing wasn't a problem. instead, the teens rushed into their tents to prepare their weapons.

eddie and richie dashed to their tent to grab their weapons, but not before eddie stopped to take a pump of his inhaler. richie, metal bat in hand, watched from the other side of the tent.
"i love you," he told the small boy. but, he immediately took it back. it had just slipped out. eddie blushed, and almost had to take another pump from his inhaler.
"i love you too," he said, giving richie a coy smile.
"we're gonna make it out of here alive," richie muttered, pulling the small boy into his lap. eddie laughed.
"i wish our first kiss didn't have to be in a tent," he laughed.
"first kis-" richie tried to ask, but before he could finish, eddie cut him off with his lips. fireworks seemed to explode, and the impending doom outside seemed to melt away. eddie pulled back, and climbed out of richie's long legs.
"the others are probably waiting," he told the taller boy, before walking out of the tent. richie followed immediately, happier then he had been in a long time.

the low hum of the children's voices seemed to come from every direction. bill lead, obviously, with the other teens in a huddle behind him. no one spoke, so the voices could be hear clearly. slowly but surely, the song was getting louder.

after a while of walking, the losers ended up in a deserted ghost town.
"this wasn't in any of the history books," ben whispered.
"freaky," beverly said back. soon, the losers reached an old schoolhouse near the center of the town. and then the singing stopped. the teens stood, paralyzed in fear, not knowing what was about to happen.
a single red balloon floated from the schoolhouse doors, letting the losers know that was where pennywise was.
eddie gripped his pipe with shaky hands. he was afraid to even talk another step. he could get snatched up by this clown so easily, he was the weakest link in the chain.
richie saw that eddie was having trouble not shaking, so he wrapped his arm around eddie's shoulders. eddie grabbed richie's hand. bill sighed.
"let's go," he said.