𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 ↱ 𝐈𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕 (hiatus)

𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 || 𝟓

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME."

   A strangled laugh escaped Amelia's lips as she listened intently, Taylor's sobbing sounding muffled over her houses telephone. Amelia couldn't believe her ears as the fearful blonde explained what had happened to her the night prior. It all seemed like a sick joke to Amelia.

"Taylor I think you're hallucinating, or at least going crazy. There is no way a clown, let alone a zombie chased you down the road!" Amelia all but yelled, Taylor's sobs growing louder on the other side of the phone.

"I'm telling you! The clown was there one moment and then the next I look behind me and there's a rotting corpse! I felt it's disgusting breath on my neck, I swear!" Taylor managed to squeak out between her sniffling.

Amelia wrapped the chord of the phone around her finger and then unraveled it, repeating the process as she attempted to make sense of what her friend was telling her. Clowns were a real thing, sure. But zombies? This wasn't one of those low-budget horror movies that played at the local theater, this was real life.

"Listen Taylor, how about I call up Patty and the three of us can meet at the quarry. There we can discuss what you saw and maybe make sense of this crazy situation."

Taylor sighed shakily before agreeing meekly, ensuring her that she would meet them there before hanging up quickly. Amelia slammed the phone back onto its post, fingers rigorously combing through her hair as she paced the dirtied tiles in her old canvas shoes. This was beginning to become too much for her.

Amelia's eyes widened as she could feel her breathing become labored, horror creeping into the girls thoughts as she scrambled to the kitchen. Her hands found her way to the drawers as her vision was dotted with black spots, dizzily rummaging around for her inhaler as she started to have an asthma attack. The stress was too much.

If she had enough air she would've sighed out in relief as her hands wrapped around the familiar container. Amelia hastily brought it to her lips and pressed down before inhaling, the medicine working instantly as fresh hair finally entered her lungs.

Her legs gave out on her as she collapsed to the floor, hollow tears streaming down her graying face. She wanted to stay like that forever.

"Amelia, dear are you alright?"

The frail voice of her grandmother was enough to cause Amelia to bolt up, rubbing away any stray tears before smiling lovingly at the crippled woman. Her grandmother sighed before wobbling her way over to her granddaughter, thin arms wrapping around the taller girls frame as she embraced her. Amelia's heart swelled as they stood there for a few minutes, soaking each other's joy and love up before pulling away.

The old woman smiled knowingly and gestured to the phone hanging on the wall.

"Best to not keep your friends waiting."

And just like that she walked away, leaving Amelia to grin and ring the platinum-haired girl she had yet to invite to the quarry.

———

"AMELIA I SWEAR TO ALL THINGS HEAVEN AND HELL, WHY ARE YOU RINGING ME THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING."

   Patricia was not a morning person. She did not find joy in the birds chirping, nor did she like when the sun streamed through her shutters. All in all, Patricia despised any hour before noon so when the phone rang obnoxiously from downstairs it took all of her will power not to go down and smash the damn thing.

Bob and Martha Downey watched as their eldest trudged down the stairs, mumbling profanities under her breath as she went to grab the phone. They exchanged grimaces as they took in her matted hair and glazed eyes, the nightmares she had been having since Kate's disappearance making the insomniac struggle to sleep even more than she already did.

The two parents loved their daughter dearly, but the constant screams and shuffling that came from her room at night were enough to drive them to the brink of insanity. They honestly did not understand how she was able to get up in the morning, let alone at all.

With both their heads in the clouds, the two parents failed to notice said girl climbing down the stairs and out the front door with her tattered rucksack secured around her shoulders and her walkman tucked into her pocket. Patricia looked back at the dazed expressions her parents held before slamming the door shut, the adults not even noticing.

With her feet strapped into her bubblegum rollerblades Patricia took off down the street, recalling the conversation she had just had with Amelia. According to her best friend, Taylor had been (apparently) stalked by some guy in a clown costume and one of the undead. While Amelia claimed to have wanted to meet up at the quarry in order to console Taylor, the sharp tongued bubblegum bitch wanted to talk some sense into her friend.

There was no way in hell that there was some undead creature following Taylor the night before. Things like that didn't happen, especially in Derry, Maine.

Ignoring her raging thoughts, Patty focused on the road ahead of her and the song she was blasting through her walkman. 'Got to Be There' by Michael Jackson was officially one of her favorite songs. She hummed along as she continued to skate, having to pull over and place the tethered sandals on her feet as the road cut off.

The sun was blistering as she trekked to the quarry, the tank top she had decided to wear being a big mistake as she could already feel her shoulders burning. She knew she should've packed sunscreen.

The familiar white bike that belonged to none other than Taylor Wood sat against a tree in the distance, Patricia's aching legs speeding up as her two best friends came into few. She all but collapsed on top of the towels they had latex out, letting out a huff as she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes.

Only when she heard the giggle of the two behind her did she look up, eyes squinting against the sun. Taylor smiled slightly, digging into her own bag before hanging Patty a pair of neon star sunglasses. Placing them on her face, Patricia began to interrogate Taylor about her experiences from the night before.

"So, Amelia told me that you had a strange encounter with what, clowns and the undead?"

Taylor nodded, head bobbing dramatically and her blue eyes wide.

"Yeah. I was just walking home when all of a sudden this clown appeared across the street. I didn't think anything of it until I tripped and looked back up and it was gone."

Patricia raised her eyebrows confused. Derry's annual circus wasn't for a week or so, so why was there a clown hanging around their town. She nodded her head for the freckled girl to continue.

"I thought it was like some sick joke but then I turned around and there was a zombie behind me! Rotting flesh and everything!" Taylor exclaimed, arms waving spastically.

"So let me get this straight. You encountered a clown and a zombie last night." Patricia countered, lips pulled in a thin line.

"Yes! And the zombie chased me home!"

Patricia's palm met her forehead and her eyes rolled, finding the whole situation quite annoying.

"This isn't 'The Dawn of the Dead', Taylor."

———

a/n

double update? ofc. next chapter the loser club will finally get to meet the mean girls!! remember to comment a like!!

happy valentine's day🖤