it.
" hey, if you're the king of losers with the paper crown, where's your queen of dirtbags "
the story of eight young teens fighting a force of nature to survive , or
in which the local loser-girl gets her official title
book one of two
ocxbill
I...
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CHAPTER EIGHT well holy shit.
...
Tires screeched on rocks.
"Bill!" Nicole's voice sliced through the previous silence. Her voice was hard, yet cracked-- spider-web cracks across her glass face. She wanted to be mad, but how could she? Her bike fell to the earth, scraping down her jean-clad leg as it did so.
"G-go away, guys." Bill spun to face them from his spot on the top step. "I-i have to d-d-do this. "
Richie shook his head. "No way, josè. We don't leave a friend behind."
"You don't have to do this, Bill. Please-- what if... if you get hurt?" Nicole's voice was soft and strained as she stepped onto the first stair, emotions swirling in her head.
But Bill still shook his head. "N-no, I have to do it... I know you guys don't want to, but... but w-what happens i-if another Georgie goes missing? O-o-or another Betty Ripsom-- or one of us?" The question hung in silence. "I can't pretend like n-nothing's happening like e-everyone else in this town. I go home and... and all I see is th-that Georgie isn't there. His room, his toys-- even his stupid stuffed animals... they're all reminders that he's still missing. That they're there, but he's not. S-so... walking into this house, for me, is... is easier than walking into my own."
Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. Of course they couldn't stop him from doing this.
"I'll go, too." Danielle piped up from Nicole's side, where she had previously been completely quiet.
"No way." Nicole shook her head vigorously. "Bill's not doing this alone, but you for sure are not going in that house. Stay out here with Beverly... I'll go."
Stan hesitated. "Uh, shouldn't we have some people standing guard?" From the waved in his voice Nicole guessed that he just really didn't want to go in, but it was a smart idea nonetheless.
"We don't need everyone in there getting in each others way. Who wants to stay out here?" Nicole asked. Everyone but Dani, Beverly and herself raised their hands. She sighed.
Richie adjusted his glasses. "Shit."
...
"Ah, fuck. Watch that board." Nicole grunted from where she had tripped to. She waved Bill off and rose to her feet as she winced through the pain resonating off of the scrape on her knee.
A pressing odor of mold, old metal and dust surrounded her, choking a cough from her lungs.
"Holy shit, look at this dump." Richie grunted as he followed Eddie in. "Of course I had to pull the short straw... you guys are lucky we weren't measuring dicks."
