L I A R - it 2017

t w o

      Macy woke up early the next morning and quietly got herself ready. Opening her bedroom door, she tiptoed past her mother's room and peeked inside. The dim light from the hallway spilled across the unmade bed and a half-empty glass of water on the nightstand. A small orange pill bottle lay beside it, catching the faint glow. It was no surprise to see her mother still asleep, the room feeling heavy and still.

The silence was suddenly broken by the doorbell ringing, making Macy jump.

When she opened the front door, she was met by the sight of the four boys she had last seen in the schoolyard. Her eyes widened as she stared at Richie, Bill, Eddie, and Stan standing awkwardly on her front porch.

Still caught off guard, Macy panicked and slammed the door in their faces.

"Macy, who was that?" Mrs. Ripsom called from her bedroom, her voice thick with drowsiness. Macy glanced out the window beside the door. She tapped on the glass to get their attention and mouthed, "I'll be right out," before turning back around towards her mother's room.

"I told you yesterday, Beverly and I are gonna redecorate her room." Macy lied as she quickly tied her shoes and grabbed her backpack. When her mother didn't respond, she quickly slipped out into the Derry heat without another word.

"I didn't mean to slam the door like that. I just didn't want my mom to see you guys. She would've never let me leave. " Macy explained as she picked her bike up from the front lawn.

"I get it," Bill shrugged, taking the lead as the group started riding towards the sewers.

When they finally arrived, the kids tossed their bikes on the ground. Macy stepped away from hers and immediately cringed at the smell surrounding them. "That's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy," Stan warned, pointing to the plants nearby. Eddie jumped, and Macy leaned closer, squinting to make sure she wasn't standing too close to any of it.

"Where? Where's the poison ivy?" Eddie asked, frantically dodging every plant in sight. "Nowhere! Not every fucking plant is poison ivy, Stanley," Richie shouted as the group moved closer to the entrance of the sewers.

Now standing before the dark, gaping tunnel, Bill stepped forward first, his flashlight cutting through the shadows. Macy and Richie followed close behind, the air thick with the damp metallic smell of water.

Behind them, the sounds of Eddie and Richie bickering about the color of the water echoed off the walls, but Macy and Bill paid no attention. They made their way deeper into the sewer, and Macy froze as something brushed against her skin, making her heart skip a beat.

She looked down and saw a shoe drifting beside her, the murky water nudging it against her leg. Her heartbeat quickened, every instinct telling her not to touch it. But after a shaky breath, Macy crouched and reached for it.

The show was small, worn, and waterlogged. Turning it in her trembling hands, she noticed faded black writing on the inside. She angled it towards the light and felt her stomach drop.

B. Ripsom

Macy's eyes widen as her hands begin to shake almost uncontrollably. She was holding her dead sister's shoe.

"Guys!" Macy shouted, her voice echoing off the sewer walls, silencing the boys' argument. "Don't tell me that's?" Stan began, his voice soft as she looked at her with sympathy.

Macy didn't look up. Her gaze stayed locked on the shoe as she gave a small, wordless nod, confirming what they all feared.

"I don't like this," Eddie muttered, his voice tight with anxiety.