𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 ; 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 ✗

𝟏.

Derry, Maine | Mon 4:51 PM
Richie Tozier

The concrete was sizzling along with the small family in the car, who wore glossy foreheads along with their short sleeved shirts. The woman on the radio hyperbolized the obvious weather, making them sweat even harder and causing Maggie Tozier to take a hand off the wheel and twist a knob to silence her. She turned to her husband, Went, who kept his head in an old map as he relayed coordinates to her. He could be rather old school when it came to getting places.

"Are you sure we're going the right way honey?" The woman asked with concern in her voice. She worried they'd accidentally gone in a circle or made a wrong turn somewhere since they had stayed in a familiar area for most of the ride: a road with grass that was messy and overgrown on either side, much like their son's dark locks.

"Positive. This map never fails me." He reassured her, confident in his skills. It had always been an inside joke between the three of them that he should switch professions and become a cartographer.

"You ok back there Rich?" Maggie asked while staring at her son through the rearview mirror.

The boy would usually yammer on about anything that came to mind, but today he wasn't in a particularly chatty mood. His bitter glare and pout were permanently engraved onto his face at this point, emphasizing his dissatisfaction with his parent's decision to relocate once more. He tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, blame it on their job, but how many more excuses could he make? The truth was his parents were full of greed and went wherever the money called. It was a surprise they even settled down long enough to start a family.

"Mhm." He grumbled while peering out his rolled-down window. He had been sitting for so long that he felt like he would morph into the leather cushions if he didn't switch positions or at least stretch his legs. From the looks of it, they wouldn't be stopping anytime soon, especially not for his needs. It was like they were stuck an eternal road that got longer with every mile they crossed and every milestone he thought they reached, not a rest stop or a 7/11 in sight.

When the car began to incline a bit, Richie felt a glimmer of hope in his chest that diminished as soon as they came back down from the hill, and more of the cracked, gray concrete continued. The only difference was that now, a threshold of towering timber was approaching. The trees replaced the buildings he was customary to and offered the trio shade from the sun's unforgiving heat. The dim road underneath was covered with twigs and rocks that scratched up the tires and the bent engine that Went never got around to fixing, it's excruciating noise causing them all to cringe and Maggie to roll the windows back up.

Then, just ahead, he saw it. Welcome to Derry! in large calligraphic font, hanging just above the entrance to the town.

Someone must've put in a lot of effort to make Derry look elegant from the outside, and Richie didn't trust it. He felt it was too inviting, like the obnoxious letters were a cover-up or a warning sign camouflaged in plain sight. He bet the crystal waterfalls beside it were the collective tears of everyone who inhabited this desolate area and the wilderness was nourished from the decaying bodies hidden away in the soil. Derry was dressed up like a present, but he wouldn't accept this gift so graciously.

Before getting to the main town, they passed a few neighboring farms. Most of the land was empty, only having a few trees scattered around the acres and small houses in the middle. The mailboxes had names on them: one said Hanlon, another Bowers. The wooden fences blocking off these spaces were short and could be easily jumped over, but it's not like Richie was thinking about breaking into one. Just an observation.