The clown throws Bill to the side and gets up.
"Welcome to the losers club asshole!" Richie screams at the clown and hits it in the face with the bat.
Civilized conversations are over, now it's time to fight for our lives. The clown stumbles back. Before it can recover, Mike rushes at it with the metal pole. The clown caught it with burnt hands coming out of his mouth. They scream for Mike and claw at him, pushing the pole down the clown's throat. Stanley runs around me and grabs a pipe off the floor. He hits the hands, stopping them from bringing Mike any closer. The clown looks at Stan and gets hit in the back. His face changes into the woman that tried to eat Stan. She runs at Stan but he screams and swings the pipe at her face. She stumbles to the side and the clown face returns. Mike runs at it but is thrown over and onto the floor. The clown grows crab legs and tries to stab Mike while he rolls away from them. I grab a short shovel and hit the clown in the back with a loud battle cry. He turns and looks at me with a maniacal smile. Ben runs at it with a sharp pole. It impales the clown. His blood floats up like ribbons of silk. Ben tries to push it down but its head turns into a mummy. He bites at Ben's face. It's bandages wrap around Ben's face, pulling him close. I gasp and use my shovel to hit it over the head. It stumbles back again. Bill grabs chains. Bill beats it to the floor, using the chains. We all surround it and hit it with our weapons. It turns into a leper and throws up on Eddie's face. He spits it out in a gagging motion.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Eddie screams at the clown with intense anger which catches me by surprise. He kicks the clown in the face as hard as he can. The clown rolls over to the side and its face changes into a man. He looks at Beverly.
"Hey, Bevvie. Are you still my little-" He doesn't get the chance to finish. She stabs a metal pole down its throat. His face slowly goes back to the clown. He spits the pole out.
"Shit!" Eddie exclaims. I breathe heavily. The clown looks at all of us and falls back, stumbling away from us. I tilt my head, is this another trick? Everyone walks closer to the clown, closing off space between us. I stay back, in case it is another trick. He gasps for air and winces in pain.
"That's why you didn't kill Beverly," Bill says. I fell safe to take steps closer to the clown, closer to my friends.
"Cus' s-s-s-s-s-she wasn't afraid, and we aren't either. Not anymore." Bill says to the clown. He looks fearful, almost sad.
"Now you're the one who's afraid... because you're gonna starve." Bill remarks. The clown gurgles and defies gravity, rolling backwards over a small ledge into a hole. He holds on and makes an odd noise.
"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts." The clown mumbles. Stan hands the metal pipe to Bill and uses his now free hand to grab mine. He interlocks his fingers between mine. I smile softly at him. I feel safer instantly, how odd that is.
"He thrusts his fists against the p-p-p-p-p" The clown stutters. I step slightly back. Just as Bill raises the pipe over his head to hit the clown, he seems to get dragged down. I don't step closer and look like Bill does.
"Fear..." I hear the clown say. Bill and Eddie jump slightly. I assume that the clown either fell or was dragged down. I finally step closer, along with everyone else. Pieces of the clown's caked on face float up, the clown is gone.
"I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay," Richie says and sighs deeply.
"We did it." I breathe out, relieved, pulling Stan into a hug. Bill and Beverly hug also.
"Guys, guys," Eddie says softly, grabbing our attention. I pull out of the hug but keep Stan close to me.
"The kids are floating down." I look up. He's right. I hope they will be okay. Bill walks forward to a little yellow raincoat. He bends down and picks it up. I understand now. I walk over to him, soon followed by the others. Richie bends down next to him first. Bill starts to sob. We all get down and hug him as he cries into our embrace. He lost his beloved brother.
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...
