WHEEZY // an IT story

n i n e t e e n

JUNE 12th, 1989

"eddie?" richie asked, in the softest, smallest voice he could've mustered. deep down somewhere, richie hoped it wasn't eddie. he didn't want to see his boyfriend all banged up, and well, dead. but mostly, if eddie was alive, richie wanted to see him. people can live without an arm, right?
"richie!" eddie's voice cried. but the volume of the cry was not human. it was so loud that the walls and the windows shook. richie kneeled to the ground with his head wrapped in his arms.
he turned around to see what bill was doing, and it seemed as if he hadn't heard the cry at all. bill was carefully inspecting what looked like a bedroom.
suddenly, the bedroom door slammed, locking bill inside. this meant that richie was completely isolated from all of his friends.
the room he was in started to spin wildly, like a carnival ride that was much too fast. normally, he would be laughing and screaming at the thrill of spinning so fast, but this was not a happy summer day. richie wanted off this ride, now!

the spinning cane to a halting stop, sending richie flying into a wall. after he had stood up, he saw an open door, one that hadn't been there before. he stumbled through the peeling doorway, to reveal a dark room. he felt a bit more relaxed, as this room was empty. the door slammed behind him, but richie still wasn't worried. the only sound that could be heard was the heavy sounds of his own breath, huffing and puffing.

then it hit him. the smell. it was an earthy, rotting smell. richie gagged, and tried not to puke. it also didn't help that the room was nearly pitch black. maybe there was more in this room than richie had originally thought.
a large, overhead light flicked on, nearly blinding him. richie had no idea where anyone would get a light that bright. after his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he glanced around the room.
the room seemed to be growing from its original size, the cracked walls stretching like taffy. he also noticed the wallpaper, that was once dotted with white and pink flowers, had not only faded with time, but they were now bleeding with the stretching of the walls.
"hey! bucky beaver!" a voice called. richie turned around so quickly that he was dizzy for a moment.
there, in front of the door he had just walked through, was a dead girl. maybe it was a boy in a dress, he couldn't tell, because the kid's face had need completely torn to shreds, leaving only a nose with eerie, white flesh on it. its eyes and mouth were dim, crimson holes.
"wanna play hopscotch?" the kid asked him. richie quickly shook his head and looked for some way, any way out of this horrid room.
"rich?" another voice called behind him. richie didn't want to turn his back on the faceless child, so he backed darted out from in between the two children and backed up to a wall.
the other child was none other than eddie kaspbrak. but it wasn't him. his skin was pale, almost green in hue. he wore a white raincoat, and he was missing an arm.
"eddie?" richie whispered. he suddenly couldn't breathe. for a moment, he wondered if eddie had his inhaler, and maybe he could borrow it.
"i though i wouldn't see you again," eddie said softly.
"i had to find you, eds! oh my god! i'm so sorry, your arm, and this!" richie rambled, sobbing so violently that he couldn't stand any longer. he crashed to his knees. the faceless child just watched the pair in silence.
"it's okay richie, i'm having fun!" eddie cheered. richie was struck by a strange feeling. eddie was so pale, and he didn't have an arm..
"there's a whole circus down in the sewers! and there's all sorts of kids! and there's rides, richie. rides!" richie wondered about this. a world under derry seemed impossible, but if it were there he wanted to be a part of it.
"and the best part is, we float! we all float! and if you come with me, you'll float too! you'll float too!" eddie chanted. richie realized that eddie's eyes had changed. normally, they were a deep, chocolate brown. now, they were so bright green that they were almost glowing. the faceless kid had been silent until now, and she was chanting with eddie.
"you'll float too!"

richie screamed, but the chant was all he could hear. he covered his face with his hands and prepared for the worse.
suddenly, the chanting stopped. the faceless child dropped to the floor, and didn't move. eddie seemed to be in great pain. suddenly, the color returned to his skin, the white rain coat turned back to his old polo shirt, and his eyes became brown again. the only problem was, it looked liked he was straining, fighting something.
"run," the real eddie groaned.
the door swung open, and richie ran towards it.
"c'mon eddie!" he called, hoping that maybe he could save his boyfriend. eddie just shook his head and let it drop.
the white raincoat replaced his polo shirt. the color drained from his face. but, worst of all, his brown eyes flicked back to the glowing green.
fake eddie cackled maniacally, and the faceless child got back up. richie squealed and slammed the door. he spotted a vacant hallway and jogged down it, hoping to find someone he could team up with.
he held back tears, because there was no way he had time to cry right now.
the turned a corner and nearly smacked right into bill, who was also running.
"richie? oh my god! i was looking everywhere for you!" bill cried.
of course richie was happy to have found bill, but there was a grip around his heart. he missed eddie, more than ever.

"i saw eddie."