| game of survival; it&st&tua

chapter O14 - Goodbye For Now

Next Day

         The Losers, the Party, Five, and Francine was sitting near the river under the bridge. The day before was an eventful one, and the three teams were exchanging stories of what happened to them.
That morning, they had visited Will in the hospital. He was doing fine although he was quite shaken from his experience.

"So the both of you went to the upside down and found Will?" Dustin asked in awe. "After a bit of a struggle with Dr. Brenner," Francine said, sharing a laugh with Five. "Yeah it was crazy down there."

Mike was silent as the rest exchanged stories of triumph. All of them had what they wanted. Beverly was alive, Will was found, and the shapeshifting clown was gone for now. But Eleven was gone too.

For all he knew, she was dead.

"Mike, you okay?" Richie asked his cousin, noticing that he was quiet.
"Yeah...no." Mike frowned. He looked at his cousin expecting a joking face but instead he saw a genuine concerned one.

"Hey I know we haven't been the best of friends in the past, but I know how you feel." Richie sighed. Mike gave him a confused look.
"I mean. I haven't liked anyone yet or dated and stuff. But I hope we can work it out and be friends?" Richie held out a hand.
Mike gave him a small smile and took his hand. "Friends."

"Plus. You're totally into her."

"Who?" Mike said, slightly turning pink. Richie laughed.
"Eleven, stupid." The glassed boy said. "I am not." Mike argued.
"Yeah sure. 'oH Eleven will you marry me?' " Richie mimicked his cousin in a girly voice. "I don't sound like that!" Mike frowned. "And I did NOT say that!"
The two argued and laughed some more. They had a lot to catch up on.

"So where are you headed now?" Francine asked Five. The two had gotten closer after their adventure below and was now good friends. "I dunno. Maybe I'll go back
home." The boy decided. "How about you?"

Francine sighed. Upon hearing of Brenner's death last night, she was set free from the clutches of the lab. As long as she finds a place to live in, she won't be placed into foster care.
"I have no idea." she shook her head.

"You can come with me." Five suggested, looking at her hopefully. "My dad, although he's not very fatherly, he trains us. I have six other powerful siblings. He'd probably like one with precognition. " He smiled. Francine thought of this and smiled. "That would sound nice."

"What was it like?" Stanley suddenly asked Beverly. "I mean.. Floating down there." Everyone went silent and looked at the girl.

Beverly squinted and tried to explain it. "I saw this...dark place filled with vines." She said.
"The upside down." Five said.
"Yeah we were all there. All of us together and this huge shadow creature emerged out of nowhere and headed for us. Then I woke up and saw you all." Beverly explained, seeing all of their worried faces.

It wasn't over.

"Swear it." Bill stood up and grabbed a stray shard of glass. Everyone looked at him confused.
"Swear that i-if IT isn't dead. If IT comes back, we will too. No matter how far our lives take us, we'll be together and kill IT." Bill said. The group exchanged looks and one by one they stood up determinedly. Bill grabbed the sharp glass and cut through his palm, wincing slightly in pain.
He walked over to the others, cutting through their palms.
Once they were finished, they joined hands, making a promise to come together once more.

The group let go of each other and stayed silent for awhile.

"I hate you." Stanley muttered to Bill then slowly his mouth formed into a joking smile. They started laughing softly, smiling that it was all over for now. "I better go." Stanley sighed. "I'll see you both soon?" He turned to Francine and Five. The two smiled sadly, knowing that they'll have to leave all of them behind when they go.
"Bye Stan."

Next went Five and Francine.
"We better go. I wanna use a bus this time. I don't wanna end up in the upside down." Five sighed. Francine smiled and turned to the others. "You guys are the bestest friends anyone could ask for." They all shared a group hug and bid the pair goodbye.

She turned to Mike W. and gave him a sad smile. "She'll be back." Francine said, referring to Eleven.
Mike sighed and gave her a sad smile back. "She's strong and I know she's still alive somewhere. Looking for us." The two shared a hug and it was time for them to leave.

"Goodbye for now" Five said, smiling sadly. "See you soon!" Richie yelled. And with that,
Five and Francine joined hands and disappeared with a flash of blue. They were gone.

One by one everyone started going, bidding each other a
'see you later'.
The oath they did here bound the group together, promising each other that they'll never leave each other's side. It would happen again and soon as well.

When everyone went separate ways, they said "See you later" because it wasn't fully goodbye.
It was just goodbye for now.

Same goes for the enemy.

The End

Extremely Long Author's Note

Oml we're done.
It's over for now.
And I'll really miss this.
And I LOVE ALL OF YOU.
Only a few read this book as it was made and I'm extremely grateful for that. I love my special small group of readers. I'm here to say THANK YOU SM FOR SUPPORTING THIS BOOK! AND ILY ALL SO FREAKING MUCH.
There's gonna be like, a qna in the next chapter so go and scroll:)