We get to Bill's house and he takes Stan inside to help him grab something. I see Eddie and Richie whispering and snickering with one another. Ben stares at Bev. Mike is looking around in the garage with Bev for the projector.
"Dee," Eddie calls me over.
"What's going on with you and Stanley?" Richie asks bluntly.
"What?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.
"You're always around him," Eddie points out.
"I met him before I met any of you guys," I quickly explain. "We're just friends,"
"You sure about that?" Richie nudges me with a few winks. I throw my arms up slightly.
"Just friends?" Eddie asks me. I can feel more meaning behind the question then he lets on but I decide not to bring it up.
"Yes," I reply instead. We look at each other.
"WOW, you're short!" Richie exclaims. "I thought Edds was short, but look at you!" He rests his arm on my head. I sigh and move out from under his arm. He moves to Eddie as his next target. I laugh when Eddie gives him a face.
"Okay," Bill and Stan come out of the house with a large piece of paper, Stan has some blankets.
Stan covers the windows with blankets while Bill hangs up the paper. We all step in, Mike closes the garage door behind us. Eddie sets up the projector. He is looking at a circular device, flipping it upside down, then right side up. He looks confused. I walk over to him and gently grab it out of his hands and place it the right way before handing it back to him.
"Thanks," He smiles at me. I nod my head and smile back. Ben hands Bill the photograph from earlier. Bill puts it in as we all grab our seats. I sit on the floor, next to Eddie.
"Look, that's where G-G-Georgie disappeared. There's the ironworks. The black spot. Everywhere IT happens, it's all connected by the sewers," Bill explains while pointing to the map. "And they all meet up at the-"
"The well house!" Ben cuts him off, suddenly realising it.
"You mean the house on Neibolt street," Stan corrects them. He sounds like he wishes he was wrong.
"You mean that creepy-ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep," Richie clarifies.
I hear a puff beside me. Eddie took his inhaler. I understand. I place a hand on his back. I need mine often too. Whenever I get too excited, or scared, or anxious, or- looking at it, I probably need it too often. Eddie sounds like he is freaking out, he's making me anxious.
"I hate that place, it always feels like it's watching me," Bev chimes in.
"That's where I saw IT. That's where I saw the clown," Eddie says, catching his breath.
"Th-th-that's where IT lives," Eddie takes another puff.
"I can't imagine anything wanting to live there," Stan says. I get goosebumps.
"But why there of all places?" I ask, leaning forward. I'm getting too worked up, I need to calm myself down.
"Can we stop talking about this?" Eddie jumps up in front of the projection. "I-I-I-I-I can barely breathe. It-it-it-it's summer, we're kids. I-I-I can barely breathe. I'm having a fucking asthma attack! I'm not doing this!" Eddie yells and rips the map off the wall.
"Eddie! Calm down, you're freaking me out," I yell nervously at him.
"What the hell! Put the map back!" Bill orders.
Eddie shakes his head and makes a disagreeing noise while holding his breath. I feel my heart racing as I notice the slide changed. My lungs sound squeaky. I'm having a small asthma attack. The slide changes again, this time everyone notices. It changes between different pictures of Georgie and his family. Eddie immediately backs away.
"What's going on?" Bill asks.
Mike goes to fix it. Eddie continues to back up. I jump off the floor and grab Stan's hand. One picture seems to move, like a movie at the cinema, but different. Someone has their face covered with hair and it moves to reveal the clown. As it does so, Everyone else jumps up and we cower back, getting as close to the wall as we can. Eddie and Richie are holding on to each other, yelling. I jump into Stan and squeeze his hand. It is harder for me to get air into my lungs.
"Turn it off!" Bev orders.
We all shout in agreement. Mike kicks it over. Stan breaks away from me in the commotion. I hug myself, looking at the projector which is still somehow moving. I notice how close Stan is to the wall where it is projecting.
"Stan, move away from it!" I shout, but my voice is drowned out by the screams of everyone else.
It slowly clicks between slides, moving each time. I hold what is left of my breath. It clicks to a new slide and the clown is gone. My blood runs cold. It goes dark again. My anxiety goes through the roof. It turns on. The clown is out of the projector. It is ginormous, with sharp teeth popping out of its mouth. It looks at Stan. He runs to us. I grab his hand. We run while keeping our eyes glued to the clown. We trip on the other boys and fall to the floor. I land on Stan. The room is suddenly filled with sunlight. I look and see the other boys got the garage door open. I let out a breath of relief and get to my feet. I grab my inhaler and take a couple of puffs. I lock eyes with Stan and he immediately pulls me into a tight hug
YOU ARE READING
All Alone | Stanley Uris
Adventure"That's what adults do. They only think about their problems... And when they don't have any, they make one up. Us kids, we can see the reality of life more than they can, and that's what's truly terrifying. Something they'll never want to come to t...
