𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚//𝐁.𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡 [1] ✔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

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WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
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"They said they found part of his hand all chewed up near the standpipe." Stan commented. They were looking at a missing posters that was tapped onto a brick wall. On it the name read: EDWARD CORCORAN.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once." Ben spoke up.

"I never met him." Aubrey quietly said to herself as she looked at the picture of the young boy. Bill lifted up the poster to reveal another one that had Betty Ripsom's name on it.

"It's like she's been f-f-forgotten because Corcoran's missing." Bill stuttered and Aubrey frowned. She had never met Betty Ripsom either.

"Is it ever going to end?" Stanley asked, but Aubrey was too busy laughing at Richie. He had taken one of the band members instruments and started to play it very off tune. She chuckled as he had finally ripped his instrument from Richie's grasp causing him to say, "What the fuck dude?"

Eddie appeared with Richie walking over to the group. He handed Aubrey her chocolate ice cream cone she had requested as well as giving Richie his vanilla one before saying, "What are you guys talking about?"

"What they always talk about." Richie answered. Aubrey licked her ice cream, savoring the milky-chocolate flavor.

"I actually think it will end," Ben said, grabbing Aubrey's attention as she continued to lick her ice cream, "for a little while at least."

"What do you mean?" Aubrey asked, her accent thick as a board causing a snicker from Richie. Aubrey looked over at the boy before slapping him upside the head.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" Aubrey ignored him, turning her attention back onto Ben as he answered her question.

"So I was going over all of my data research and I charted out all of the big events. The Ironwork's explosion in 1908. The Bradley Gang in '35 and The Black Spot in '62. And now the kids being..." He trailed off, but they all knew what he had meant. The kids being kidnapped. That sent shivers down Aubrey's spine. "I realized that this stuff seems to happen every 27 years." Bill had said the last part in unison with Ben.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. IT comes out from wherever and eats kids for like a year, and then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Richie asked. They were now sitting on a series of benches that were placed in front of a giant Paul Bunyan statue. Aubrey had finished her ice cream and was now sitting on the ground, her back leaning against the bench Beverly was sitting on.

"Maybe it's like... what do you call it? Cicadas. You know the bugs that come out every seventeen years." Stanley suggested.

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed." Mike started, and Aubrey couldn't help but agree with that. "He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry."

"But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different." Stanley commented, looking over at the dark skinned boy.

"Maybe. Or maybe IT knows what scares us most and that's what we see." Mike explained. Aubrey frowned deeply. She didn't like this, no, she didn't like this one bit.

"I-I saw a leaper. He was like a walking infection." Eddie said with pure disgust and discomfort, but Stanley wasn't having it. He didn't want to believe it.

"But you didn't. Because it isn't real. Not Eddie's leaper, or Bill seeing Georgie, or the woman I keep seeing." Stanley was terrified, and Aubrey could tell. Their was absolute fear laced in his voice, and quite frankly, she couldn't blame him. She was just as scared as he was.

"Is she hot?" Richie asked, and if he weren't so far away, Aubrey wouldn't slapped him so hard upside the head he wouldn't be able to stand.

"No, Richie! She's not hot! Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams." Stanley tried.

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?" Mike sternly stated. He believed this so passionately that it made Aubrey feel sick. Why would you want to believe that something so horrible could actually exist?

"What did you see? You saw something too?" Eddie quickly asked.

"Yes." Mike answered before he started to explain. "You guys know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue? I was inside when it burnt down. Before I was rescued... my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When firefighters found them the skin on their hands were melted down to the bone." He paused before saying, "We're all afraid of something."

"Got that right." Aubrey mumbled, hoping no one had heard, but unfortunately Richie had heard her.

"Why, London? What is the Aubrey McClain scared of?" Richie asked, all eyes were now on the blonde. She sent daggers toward Richie who actually seemed interested for once in his life. She sighed.

"My greatest fear? Losing someone I love. What about you, Tozier?" Aubrey asked, cocking her head to the side. Richie looked at the girl before glancing at the several people that was behind him. He looked back in front of him, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose before answering Aubrey.

"Clowns."

Authors note: I'm so done with everyone and everything. Thanks for listening to my TedTalk. Hope it entertained you.

I'm tired. Here's a new chap. My wrist hurts. Hope you enjoyed! Bye loves!

~K.J.