Bill sat there, lifting a missing person's poster off of a different missing person's poster. An Eddie Corcoran missing poster was taped directly over a Betty Ripsom missing poster.

"It's luh-like sh-she's been f-f-f-forgotten because Cocoran's muh-muh-missing." Bill said disappointed.

"Is it ever going to end?" Charlie asked.

"What the fuck dude?" Richie faintly complained in the background because some dude took away a trumpet or something.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eddie asked while approaching with two ice cream cones. One of them was offered to Charlie, in which she refused so he gave it to Rich.

"What they always talk about," Richie said whilst accepting the ice cream cone.

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

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked, concerned.

"So I was going over all of my data research and I charted out all of the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908, The Bradley Gang in '35, and The Black Box in '62. And now kids being . . ." Ben's voice trailed off. "I realize that this stuff seems to happen-"

"Every 27 years." Bill and Charlie finished.

All of the friends go to sit around a green bench. Charlie, Stan, Mike and Bev sat on the bench - Charlie on the arm of the bench, with her right hand perched up on her right knee that was perched on the arm of the bench, while her left leg rested on the seating of the bench. Her left hand had a burning cigarette that she puffed on every now and then. Stanley sitting on the back bark of the bench; Eddie, Richie, Ben, and Bill all sat around the bench on their bikes that were standing on kick-stands.

"So, let me get this straight." Eddie started with his small voice. "IT comes out from, like, wherever and eats children for like a year. And then what? It goes into hibernation?"

"Maybe it's like-what do you call it?" Stanley shifted uneasily where he was sitting, making Charlie do the same for some reason. "Cicadas. You know, those bugs that come out every 17 years?"

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed." The young Hudson girl grew suddenly interested in what Mike said. "He says that, all the bad things that happen in this down is because of one thing. An evil thing, that . . . feeds off of the people of Derry."

"But it can't be one thing," Stanley protested, deviating his eyes to Charlie who was looking off in the distance; puffing a cigarette. "We all saw something different."

"Maybe . . ." Mike agreed. "Or maybe it knows what scares us most and that's what we see."

"I-I saw a leper. He was like a walking infection." Eddie's expression grew disgusted.

"But you didn't," Stanley said, worriedly, "b-because it isn't real. None of it is. Not Eddie's leper, or Bill seeing Georgie." He shakily paused. "O-or the woman I keep seeing."

"Is she hot?" Richie grinned.

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

"I don't think so," the homeschool kid stated. "I know the difference between a bad dream a-and real life, ok?"

"You saw something, too?" Charlie asked. "What did you see?"

"You know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue?" Homeschool kid started. "I was inside when it burnt down. Before I was rescued. . ." It was as if his mind trailed off and inserted itself into the story. "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." He took a deep, long pause. "When the firefighters found them, the skin on their hands melted down to the bone." He paused again, looking back up to the group. "We're all afraid of something."

"Got that right. . ." Richie glanced over his shoulder to the stage.

"Oh yeah? What are you afraid of, Rich?" Charlie was suddenly amused.

"Clowns."

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