A Clown's Daughter

Chapter 7- The Fair

I met Richie at the fourth of July parade the next day. It was like the many others I had seen. The band marching down the streets, playing patriotic songs. Venders advertising ice cream and other special treats. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except the missing posters lined on the sides of the buildings.

I watched Richie with my hand covering my mouth as he attempted to take a tuba from a band kid. There was a bit of a fight before Richie walked away. He came back shortly after with two ice creams in his hand.

"For my one and only," he said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Sure I am, Richard."

"No, I'm serious," Richie said in a serious tone.

I blushed lightly as Richie looked at the others. "What are they talking about?"

"What they always talk about," I shrugged.

"I actually think it will end," Ben said. "For a little while, at least."

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked.

"So I was going over all of my Derry research, and I charted out all the big events. The ironworks explosion in 1908, the Bradley Gang in '35 and the Black Spot in '62. And now kids being... I realized this stuff seems to happen-"

"Every twenty-seven years," Bill and Ben said in unison. Ben nodded.

We walked to the Derry Town Square and sat on a bench in front of the stage.

"So, let me get this straight. It comes out from wherever to eat kids, for like, a year? And then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie asked.

"Maybe it's like... what do you call it? Cicadas? You know? The bugs that come out every seventeen years," Stanley tried to compare.

"My father thinks this town is cursed." Mike said in a serious tone, with a serious expression. "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 insisted.

"Maybe. Or maybe It knows what scares us the most and that's what we see," Mike said.

"I-I saw a leper. He was... he was like a walking infection," Eddie said fearfully.

"(Y/n)? What did you see?" Stanley asked.

"I've seen a million things," I shook my head. "Blood, dead bodies... you guys..." I whispered the last part.

"But you didn't," Stanley said, confusing everyone. "Because it isn't real. None of this is. Not Eddie's leper, or Bill seeing Georgie, or the woman I keep seeing," Stanley explained, his breath shuddering.

"Is she hot?" Richie smirked.

Everyone glared at him as I smacked his arm.

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

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a dream and real life, okay?" Mike said nervously.

"What'd you see? You saw something too?" Eddie asked Mike.

"Yes. You guys know that burned down house on Harris Avenue? I was inside when it burned 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 the firemen finally found them... the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone... We're all afraid of something," Mike said uncomfortably.

"Got that right," Richie agreed with Mike.

"Why Rich? What are you afraid of?" Eddie asked.

Richie looked at the clown on stage, who was holding out a balloon animal on stage with a creepy smile on his face. He shuddered and readjusted his glasses. "Clowns."

I looked down at the ground. He was practically afraid of me when I wasn't in my human disguise. I looked like Dad as a clown, only without the huge forehead.

"I'll see you at Bill's house tomorrow, okay?" I said quietly to Richie, getting up from my spot next to him.

He took my hand and kissed it with a smile. I blew a kiss to him as I left.