The Light Of The Darkened Path

-Part Six-

Rosita Andres:
    We were  riding past the library when  Bill shouted his famous catchphrase, "Heigh-ho, Silver!" Me in the back, like usual, laughed at my friend's outburst.
  "Slow down Bill your bikes too fast for us." Richie cried jealously.
     We neared the Barron's so I tried my best not to be left behind.
      XXXXXXTime SkipXXXXXX
"That's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy, that's poison ivy," Stan said pushing me behind him I laughed. "Not every fucking plant is poison ivy Stanley." Richie shouted knowing Eddies gonna freak out.
       I looked at Stanley "He's right, Poison ivy has three red leaves and a small red stem." 
"Good to know," Stanley shrugging his shoulders Smiling proudly.
     "Yeah, well I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure-" Eddie was cut off. "Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Richie asked.
     "Sometimes, yeah," Eddie replied.  "Then you probably have crabs," Richie said plainly.
        Richie and Bill got in the water.
  "Aren't you guys coming in?" Richie asked turning around to look at us.
"Nuh-uh, that's Greywater," Eddie replied.
"What the hells grey water?"
       "It's basically piss and shit, so I'm just telling you,  you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons of Derry pee," Eddie explained throwing his hands into the air dramatically.
        Stan pushed me further behind him. Richie grabbed a stick from out of the water and sniffed it, "Doesn't smell like caca to me senor." Richie Joked with a terrible Mexican accent.
     "O-ok, I can smell that from here." Eddie gagged.
     "Maybe, it's just your breath wafting back into your face."
    Eddie puts his hand  in front of his face, "Have you ever heard of a staff infection?" Eddie Started.
      Richie puts the stick between his legs and says "Oh, I'll show you a staff infection."
     Stan rolls his eyes and I grab his hand and laugh quietly so only he can hear.
     "I mean literally this is so disgusting, it's like living inside a toilet bowl right now, have you ever heard of listeria?"
      Richie throws something at Eddie, he blocks it with his fanny pack and screams making me laugh so hard I put my face in Stanley's chest to muffle it.
      "I-I, your retarded, I mean can't believe you just did that, you know, you're the reason we're in this mess in the first place." Eddie stammers on only to be cut off by Bill holding up a shoe.
   "Guys!" Bill shouts. Bill is now way ahead of the group down the tunnel.
      "Shit, don't tell me that's-" Stanley's voice cuts out. He looks at me trying to see my reaction, Eddie does the same.
         "Georgie wore Galoshes." Bill and I said In sync, Eddie and Stan looked at me in surprise.
           Eddie then yells across the tunnels "Who's sneaker is it?"
       Bill and Richie look in, Bill shines his flashlight in the shoe as if to read something.
     " It's Betty Ripsoms." Richie gulped looking into the shoe as well.
      "Oh shit, oh god, oh Fuck, I don't like this," Eddie said throwing out all the profanity that came to his mind.
     "How do you think Betty feels, running around these tunnels with one fricken shoe?" Richie joked hopping on one leg for emphasis.
      None of us thought it was funny, well besides Richie. We all just stared at him unimpressed.
    Suddenly in one quick movement, Richie turned to Bill realizing what he had said.
     "What if she's still here?" Stanley questioned looking down at me our hands still intertwined.
         Everyone started looking at each other realizing that Stanley was right, for all we know she could still be down here.
      Richie then called for Eddie (knowing that Stanley wouldn't let me in there even if I tried) But Eddie disinclined his offer by saying something about his mom, making me roll my eyes and shake my head.
          "I-if, I was Betty I would want us to find her, G-g-Georgie too," Bill stated nodding his head.
        Eddie then looked at me and Stanley, then said, "What-What if I don't want to find him?"
      Bill and Richie turned around to look at him. "I mean, no offense Bill but I don't want to end up like G- I don't want to go missing either." Eddie finished looking at me.
      Stanley looked down at me and I looked up at him curious to what he was going to say.  "He has a point." Only to be cut off by Bill.
    "Y-Y-You too?" I looked at Stan with shock, but deep down I understood what he was saying.
Stanley continued "Its Summer! Were supposed to be having fun, this isn't fun, this is scary and disgusting."
       Suddenly we heard something in the creek behind uscausing Stanley to jump and almost causing us both to almost fall into the tunnel.
      I turned around to see Ben Hanscom standing in the water covered in dirt and grime struggling to catch his breath.
"Holy shit what happened to you." I heard Richie shout from behind me.
      I ran over to Ben before anyone else could, I heard the guys following close behind. I tried my best to hold him up and walk him over to the opposite side of the stream nearly tripping over uneven terrain.
        We all got on our bikes heading to the pharmacy to help the new kid, Ben Hanscom.

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Thank you for continuing to read this story, I promise more chapters are on the way.