Falling Inside The Black~It Chapter 2

Underwater Battle/Bones

    I grimaced, as we climbed through the hole in the well wall, plunging straight into ice cold greywater, the stench overwhelming. Eddie muttered,"Fucking greywater", and I silently followed Bev, watching Mike, as he led us deeper and deeper down the familiar tunnels. I stayed quiet, as the sounds of splashing and shaky breaths echoed off the stone walls, until we reached the room where I'd been left by IT; It was the room where twenty seven years earlier, we'd fought the demon clown, and won, but with a high cost to our own fucking lives. I swallowed hard, shaking, as I looked around, and felt Bev take my hand. I looked at her, and she gave me a look that I'm sure was supposed to be reassuring, but was filled with fear and worry, as her eyes locked on a wall. I followed her gaze, and saw the scratch marks on the rocks, and the blood gleaming in the dim light of the flashlights, then looked away, shaking more, trying to push back all the thoughts of what happened before they'd gotten there.

     Ben whispered,"Fuck.. This is it.. This is where it happened." Mike looked at all of us, and then, led us into deeper water, heading for what used to be Pennywise's stage, where he had taunted and tormented Bev, as she was trapped alone with him. I began getting an eerie feeling as we walked, like we were being watched, and shivered, even the warmth of Bev's hand not making the chill in my bones fade. Eddie made a disgusted noise, as a plastic bag floated past him, and muttered,"Ugh, no, no, NO!" Bev had to let go of my hand so she could use her metal pole to move the plastic bag out of our way, and I followed Eddie, figuring she was right behind me. Bill, Mike, Eddie, and Richie were the first ones to climb onto the stage, Ben close behind them, but he stopped, and whispered,"Bev, what is it?" I turned around to see that she'd stopped, and was looking down the tunnel. She turned to us, and replied,"Nothing.. I thought I heard something." Seconds later, I was thrown off my feet, as a disgusting and ugly ass naked old lady sprang from the water, and grabbed Bev in her vice grip.

    The old lady turned to us, and whispered,"Time to sink", then laughed, and plunged into the water, taking Bev with her. Instantly, Ben and I plunged under the water, soon followed by Bill, Mike, and Richie, and I couldn't see. I was terrified of the dark, but more terrified of losing the woman I loved.. I felt around in the darkness, and felt a ratty old arm, then bony fingers, and the smooth skin of a throat, then wrapped my hand around the arm and tugged, breaking its grip. Moments later, I surfaced for air, and saw Beverly choking on air, surrounded by the boys, and she looked at me, her eyes widening. "Liv, look out!" I didn't have time to move or even look, as bony arms wrapped around my shoulders, and plunged me into the abyss. I struggled against the grip, and managed to surface again for a few seconds, and shouted at Ben,"The knife! Give me the knife!" I saw all of them splashing towards me, Bev in the lead, the metal pole held tightly in her hand, then was dragged under again..

Bev's P.O.V

    My lungs burned from all the water I had inhaled when I was dragged under, but I didn't care, as I saw Liv being dragged underwater by the thing that had tried to drown me. She'd been the one who made it let go of me, and now, it was killing her, and I wasn't going to let that happen. As she surfaced again, I saw the thing smile wickedly at me, and Liv caught the knife as Ben threw it, then disappeared again. I began panicking as the water went still, and dove under, but couldn't find Liv. After a minute, I came up for air, and saw the boys looking, too, but they hadn't seen her, either. I closed my eyes, and shook my head.. I kept leaving and losing Liv, but not this time. She had to be somewhere in that disgusting water, and I would find her, if I had to swim around the entire sewer to do it..

    I jumped, my heart pounding in my chest, as Liv and the thing suddenly surfaced a few feet away. I heard the woman I loved shouting insult after insult, as she plunged the knife into the thing's skin, a horrifying shriek escaping the monster's rotting mouth. I managed to make out,"If you touch Beverly again, I'll fucking kill you!", and my heart skipped a beat, as I swam towards her. I smelled the coppery tang of blood, and then, Liv disappeared once again. I had been so close to reaching her this time, and now, she was gone again. I watched the water around me for any tiny ripples or signs of movement desparately. "Liv? Fuck! Liv, where are you??" I dove under the water, and swam around, but once again, I couldn't find her.

      My heart leapt into my throat, as I felt fingers grab my shirt under the water, and instantly tried to get them to let go. I stopped, as I felt their warmth and familiar shape, and then, Liv burst from the water in front of me, coughing and choking, her face as white as her hair, the knife held in one shaking hand, covered with blood. Instantly, I tossed the metal pole to Ben, who caught it, and wrapped my arms around Liv, burying my face into her neck. I felt her arms wrap around me, her body shaking, and I told her, holding back the sobs of relief inside me,"You saved me.." She replied,"Obviously, Firecracker.. Not gonna let some bitch ass clown drown you. Not when I just got you back. That promise you made me? It goes for me, too.. I'll always love you, and keep you safe, dumbass."

    I laughed tearfully at that, knowing how much it must have taken for her to call me a dumbass playfully, while she was clearly terrified and- A blush spread across my face, as I realised her clothes were sticking to her like superglue, showing off pretty much everything to the boys, and more importantly, me. She saw what I was looking at, and sighed. "We don't have time to give a shit about my modesty.. Let's just kill the clown, so I can go home, change clothes, and possibly have mind blowing sex with you." I blinked, my face heating up even more, and saw the boys' jaws drop, Liv smirking at them. It took me a minute to realise she was trying to lighten the mood after what just happened, and before we went and faced our possible deaths. I watched her swim over to the stage, and climb onto it, and whispered,"Yeah, that's definitely my Liv..", before following her.

Liv's P.O.V.

   I crouched down on the stage with Bev and the boys, eyeing the hatch Mike had found and then crazily opened. Mike climbed down into the hole, and I looked around. No one else was volunteering, so it was up to me to try and inspire everyone else, though a dark enclosed space that terrified me was probably not the way to go. I slid my legs in first, finding footholds on the slippery rocks, and Bev told me,"Liv, wait.." I looked up at her, confused, and then, she knelt down in front of me, and kissed me heatedly, like she'd never see me again, her fingers sliding through my hair. I heard Richie mutter,"Well, this got hot quickly", and kissed her back, then pulled away and looked at her, not needing to say anything, understanding perfectly that that kiss was in case we didn't survive down there; She was telling me she loved me, and I nodded, offering a slight smile, before climbing down all the way into the darkness, following Mike carefully, my hands and feet slipping every now and then, causing me to freak out a little.

    I made it to the bottom after Mike, and heard wind whistling around us, and wondered if we were even in Derry anymore, or if we were in some alternate dimension. I waited for the boys to come down, and watched them run over to a small crack in a wall, then felt a hand gently rub my back, and turned to see Bev standing there. I forced a smile, and then, Ben shouted,"Over here! It's small, but we'll still fit!" I walked with Bev to the crack in the wall, and took a deep breath, then slid through it easily, standing up straight on the other side. Bev stood beside me, as we followed Mike down a tunnel into a large cavern, sharp spine like columns sticking out around the room. Mike whispered," This is where IT hid", and I flinched, as my shoes stepped on something, making it crunch and snap. I slowly looked down, and shrieked slightly, seeing bones and skulls around my feet, and instantly scooted away from that area. 

    Eddie asked,"So this has been under Derry for, like, forever?" Mike replied,"Not forever. Just a few million years." I muttered,"So, basically forever.." Mike walked into the center of the spiny columns, and Ben, Richie, Bill, and Eddie followed him, but Bev stopped, as I froze in my tracks, my eyes glued to a pile of bones in the corner, a familiar leather jacket shredded and tangled around them, bloodstains coating the fabric. I walked over to the bones, and knelt down in front of them, my fingers shaking, as I touched them and the leather jacket. I didn't move, as Mike called,"Liv, we can't start without you!" Bev told him,"Hold on.." I heard her walk over to me, and then she knelt down beside me, looking at the bones. "Is that-" I nodded, and whispered,"It's Jacob.. It's my son." I sniffled, and she pulled me into her arms, kissing the top of my head. "I'm so sorry, Liv.. I know you were a great Mom, and he loved you." I shook my head, and whispered,"I was an awful mother.. But I'm gonna make it up to him." I slowly stood up, and walked over to Mike and the others, Bev following close behind me, and I muttered,"Okay, Mike.. Show us how to kill the fucking clown.."