.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

【 𝐈𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 】

vi. the lucky eight

THAT NIGHT, AS THE REST OF DERRY SLEPT PEACEFULLY, Verity Summers was woken up by a strange noise coming from upstairs.

She jolted up in bed, wondering where the sound was coming from.
It sounds like.. crying?
Grabbing her flashlight, she padded out of her room to inspect it.

The ladder to the attic hung down, looking eerie in the dark.
She paused, listening. It's coming from up there.

She ascended into the dusty silence of the attic, and noticed how loud her heart was; beating away frantically as though hoping to escape her chest.

"Is there anyone up here?" She whispered, casting her gaze to the corner where an old rocking chair stood.

I remember how Isaac used to love that old thing, she thought wistfully, remembering how he'd giggle whenever she played with him. How he'd look up at her and say-

"Verity,"

She spun around, eyes widening in shock.
It couldn't be, she thought wildly. It's impossible.

Her brother stared at her, his face uncharacteristically blank, which sent a chill creeping up her spine. She gazed at him, dumbstruck at the ghost standing before her. He looked... different. Changed, somehow. He was dressed in the same sweater and pair of jeans he had worn on that rainy day, all those months before; but it was his face that was the most unnerving. His eyes were dull, void of their usual cheeky gleam, and his skin was deathly pale."I've come back," he rasped, causing Verity to step back in alarm. 

"You- You can't have-" she stammered, "I saw them bury you,"

He smiled, and there was something wrong about it, something manic.
"I've come to bring you with me, Verity. To a place where we never grow up.. where we float. We can be young forever... we don't have to be big kids anymore,"

She wanted to run but she couldn't. Her feet were firmly planted as the thing that wore her brother's face moved towards her. "Isaac- This isn't you talking... it's the clown, isn't it?"

"Come on Verity, join us. Play with us. Float with us." The thing giggled, ignoring her words as his face twisted into a grotesque smile.

"No," she said weakly, shaking her head. "You are not my brother,"

He stopped laughing, face falling as his lip trembled in faux-sadness. "This is your fault," he stared at her, tilting his head to one side. 

"No-"

"Yes. You sent me out on my own, and then, I died... You killed me," 

Verity inhaled sharply, black spots dancing in her vision. For he had spoken aloud what she had been thinking all this time. The thoughts that had swirled around her mind like a choking fog, all of those sleepless nights spent staring at the ceiling, too numbed even to cry, as she blamed herself. She had sent Isaac on his way, had told him he was able to make the errand on his own. And he was dead because of it, because of her.  She felt as though all the air had been removed from her lungs, leaving nothing but emptiness in its wake. 

"No, don't say that, please," she gasped, knees going weak, hardly noticing as he crept closer, teeth bared. "I didn't know-" 

He charged at her, arms outstretched. Without thinking, she threw the flashlight at the creature, which hit his forehead before clattering to the ground. Without looking back to see if she was being followed, she raced down the ladder, banging her knee on one of the rungs. She fled to her room, slammed the door shut, and burst into tears.

◇

"You okay, Verity?" Bill asked. "You l-look kinda tired,"

"Huh?" She looked up from the road. After the events of the night before, she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Instead, she had stayed frozen in bed until the sun rose, clutching an old umbrella to her chest in a desperate attempt to defend herself, lest the creature returned. Dark circles lay like purpled bruises beneath her eyes, her face wan and pale. 

"I didn't get a good night's sleep, that's all," she said quietly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stan asked, moving his bike to cycle next to her.

"I'm fine." she said firmly.

He looked at her doubtfully. "If you say so,"

"So why'd Beverly ask us over anyway?" Verity asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, what'd she say exactly?" Eddie added.

Stan frowned. "She didn't say anything, she just said 'you guys need to hurry over'"

"Oh, okay,"

As they approached the old redbrick apartment building, Verity could see the red-haired girl in question perched on the back stairwell, smoking a cigarette listlessly and looking around for her friends. Coming to a halt, they parked their bikes on the grass behind the apartments, as Bev ran down the rickety metal stairs. 

"You made it," she said breathlessly. "I need to show you something."

"More than we saw at the quarry?" Richie asked suggestively.

"Shut up! Just shut up Richie!" Eddie snapped.

"My dad will kill me if he finds out I had.. boys in the apartment." Bev said, looking at the ground.

"Then we'll - we'll leave a lookout," Bill gestured behind him. "Richie,
s-stay here,"

"Whoa whoa! What if her dad comes back?" The other boy protested.

"Do what you always do, start talking!" Stan said exasperatedly.

"It is a gift!" Richie called after him.

"Sorry, Rich," Verity shrugged, jogging to join the others.

◇

Bev showed them inside, stopping in front of a locked door. "In there." She said, a slight tremor in her voice. 

"What is it?" Stan asked.

"You'll see," 

"Why- Why are you taking us to your bathroom?" Eddie said nervously, wringing his hands as his eyes darted this way and that. "Did you know that eighty-nine percent of the worst accidents happen in bathrooms?" 

"No Eddie, I don't think any of us knew that," Verity muttered. 

"A-And it's where all the bacteria, and fungi are. It's not a very sanitary place..." He trailed off feebly.

Bill pushed on the door, and it swung open slowly, revealing something from a nightmare. The entire bathroom was covered in a thick layer of scarlet liquid. It had splattered onto the light fixture, casting the room in a sickly shade of dark crimson, and even ran sluggishly down the walls.

"Let me put it this way," Verity said under her breath. "I doubt that's cherry-ade,"

Eddie gagged. "I knew it,"

"You see it?" Beverly asked in a low voice, relieved when the others nodded.

"What happened in here?" Stan asked quietly, frowning.

"My dad couldn't see it.. I thought I might be crazy," 

Ben looked around, speaking in hushed tones, "Well if you're crazy, we're all crazy," 

"We c-can't leave it like this," Bill said, stepping inside. 

"Well ladies," Verity said, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "Anyone got a mop?"

The boys ventured down the hall to find the closet as the girls stood there, observing the bloodied walls with a sort of grim fascination. 

"Wait," Verity said suddenly, turning to the other girl, eyes bright. "Bev... have you got any cassettes?" 

◇

After she had raided Bev's music collection, the group got to work; donning rubber gloves and wielding buckets, cleaning as the tune of Six Different Ways played in the backround. A wide grin had spread across Verity's face when she had spotted The Cure's name on one of the tapes, so of course she had put it on. 

Each person had a specific task; Beverly washed the mirror and walls; Stan cleaned the window over and over again with precise strokes; Bill worked with a mop, trying in vain to clean the floor as the blood spread around under his feet; Ben wiped the tiles with a cloth; and Eddie worked with his inhaler in his mouth, whimpering as he drained the dirtied rags. 

"This is stranger than I'd ever thought," Verity sang along under her breath, scrubbing the inside of the sink. "Six different ways inside my heart,"

She didn't notice as Stan stole a glance at her, a pink blush creeping over his face.

Soon all of the blood had washed away, and the room was sparkling. 

"Having a bit of trouble there?" Verity asked, shaking her head at Stan as he almost dropped the buckets he was holding. "Here, let me help with that,"

"They go in the closet, just over there," Beverly pointed down the hall.

They found the closet and stood together in the small, dimly lit space, almost nose-to-nose. 

"You've, uh, got some blood on your face," Stan murmured, putting his bucket down as he studied her face.  

Verity pulled a face of disgust. "Ew, really?" 

"Here," he fumbled around for a rag before dabbing at her cheek, gently.  

She looked at him, not daring to say a word, not wanting to shatter the quiet that had fallen, their breathing loud in the cramped darkness. Her lips parted as she watched him, his hazel eyes trained on hers.  They stayed like that for a few seconds, even after he had long since put the rag down. She straightened up suddenly, clearing her throat. "So- uh- think it's gone now?" 

His gaze lingered on hers for a moment, before quickly dropping to his feet. "Yeah, all gone. Oh, I think Bill's calling me," He muttered quickly, exiting the room. 

Verity's breath hitched in her throat. What was that?

◇

"No, I love being your personal doorman, really. Could you idiots have taken any longer?" Richie complained, biking in circles around the group as they walked their bikes down the street.

"Shut up, Richie," Eddie said.

"Yeah, shut up Richie," Stan added, rolling his eyes.

"Ohh okay! Trash the trashmouth, I get it! Hey, I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor and imagining the sink went all Eddie's mom's vagina on halloween!" he continued, going behind the group and looping back to the front.

"Dude, that's gross," Verity said, wrinkling her nose.

"She didn't imagine it," Bill admitted, slowing his pace. "I s-saw something too," 

The others stopped in their tracks, staring at him, while Verity looked at him, astonished; had he seen his worst fear as well? 

"You saw blood too?" Stan asked. 

"Not blood. I saw Juh-Juh-Georgie. It seemed so real, I mean, it seemed like him, but there was this..." he trailed off.

"The clown..." Eddie finished, his face pale. "Yeah, I saw him too," 

Ben nodded, followed by Stan. 

"I.. I saw it as well," Verity said in a small voice, remembering the clown's twisted face as it grinned at her from the photograph. "I also saw– well, someone that died a long time ago. Then, last night, I saw... Isaac," The others looked at her in shock, eyes wide.

As always, Richie was the first to break the silence. "Can only virgins see this stuff?" He asked. "Is that why I'm not seeing this shit?"

"Beep beep, Richie," Eddie said tightly.

Bill frowned at his friend. "Yeah, R-Richie, not the time,"

"Oh shit," Eddie said nervously, pointing ahead of them. "That's Belch Huggins' car," 

"Which means that our old pal Henry Bowers will be close by," Verity said, a chill going down her spine at the thought of running into the bully. "We should probably get out of here," 

"Wait," Bill said. "Isn't that the homeschooled kid's bike?" He motioned to the silver bike lying discarded on the asphalt, a few feet away from where they stood. Verity peered at it. It belonged to Mike Hanlon, the boy who lived on a farm on the outskirts of town. He didn't go to public school so she had never spoken to him, but the pair always exchanged a polite smile or wave whenever they passed each other on the street. 

"Yeah, that's Mike's.." 

"We have to help him," Bev said, looking at the bike as a look of grim determination clouded her face.

Richie frowned. "We should?" 

"Yes," she glared at him.

They discarded their bikes, sharing nervous glances as they crept further into the trees. As they got closer, they could hear Mike's cries as he struggled, followed by the trollish laughter of the bullies. They burst out of the bushes, watching as Henry Bowers brandished a rock at the Hanlon boy's head, while Belch Huggins and Victor Criss looked on, grinning stupidly. 

They watched, wide-eyed as Bowers shoved the boy's head to the ground, forcing him to touch the raw meat that lay there. The older boys hurled racist insults at him, making Verity's hands tighten into fists at her sides. "Hey! Let him go, assholes!" she shouted.

"What are we gonna do?" Eddie whispered, and was swiftly answered as Beverly hurled a rock right at Bowers, hitting him square between the eyes.

"Nice throw," Stan said in an awed voice.  

Verity let out a burst of laughter. "Good one, Bev!" 

"Thanks," the girl nodded, watching as the group followed her lead, bending down to grab their own rocks. 

Mike scrambled away from Bowers, dragging himself across the stream towards them. Verity bent down, taking his hand and helping him to his feet. "Thanks," he said, trying to catch his breath. 

The bully sneered at them, surveying the odd bunch of his usual targets. "Let me see... Stuttering Bill, Wheezy, Bucky Beaver, Jewboy, Fatty, the Camera Freak, and the slut," his eyes roved over the group, lingering on Verity and Bev. "You losers are trying too hard," he continued, leering at the redhead as he motioned to his crotch. "She'll do you. You just have to ask nicely, like I did," 

Outraged, Ben let out a furious cry and threw his rock, his usually kind face screwed up in anger. 

Once again, Bowers took a blow to the head and went down. He staggered to his feet, enraged.
"What the fuck?" He gasped.

"Better not take another whack to the head Bowers," Verity taunted, hoping her smile hid the anxiety coursing through her veins. "It might knock your last braincell loose. God knows you need it," 

Bowers turned his eyes on her, running them up and down her body as she cringed. "Looks like Jewboy's little girlfriend has something to say, huh?" he mocked, drawing more laughter from his friends. "You know, you should ditch these little queers and hang out with us. I'm sure you'd... have more fun that way," he kept his gaze trained on her, licking his lips as she shivered in disgust. 

The next second, another rock whipped through the air, clocking Bowers on the temple. Astonished, Verity turned to stare at Stan, who was breathing heavily, mouth set in a thin line. "Go to hell, you piece of shit!" he spat.

"You've really done it now," Bowers seethed, bending to pick up a rock as his friends did the same. 

It was utter chaos; the riverbank erupted into a mess of angered cries and profanities, stones flying everywhere.

"ROCK WAR!" Richie screamed wildly, before promptly taking a hit to the face, going down.

Victor Criss scrabbled in the dirt, before flinging a stone that caught Verity on the head, making her suck in a breath as it made contact with her skin. She brought a hand to her forehead, a wave of anger crashing over her when she saw the blood that now coated her fingertips. 

Eddie noticed this, hurling a string of screeched curses at Victor as he pummeled him with rocks. "Suck on that, you fucker!" he screamed, then high-fived Verity as the bully turned tail and ran, fleeing with his arms over his head.

Verity looked at Bowers then, remembering all the times she, and other kids, had been harassed by the boy and his gang. Ignoring the blood that now plastered her bangs to her forehead, she drew her arm back, letting her rock fly. "Take THAT, you greasy motherfucker!" She yelled, then laughed triumphantly as it hit Bowers right on the nose.

"Good one, Agent Summers!" Stan laughed, grinning widely.

They turned to see Belch, ruddy face contorted with rage as Beverly got him, square in-between his eyes. "Fuck you, bitch!" 

It was Bill that delivered the final blow; adding a fresh bruise to Bowers' already beat-up face. 

"Nice one, Big Bill!" Richie crowed.

They all watched in amazement as the bully hunched on the ground, defeated. He slowly got to his feet, a humiliated look in his usually cruel eyes. His friends had bolted, and he was alone; just as scared, and hurt, and full of shame,  just as his victims had been. 

The kids shared a look, before turning back the way they had come, leaving their former tormentor in the dust. Stan put an arm around Verity, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze as they shared a look, breathless and smiling with sheer exultation. 

Richie hung back, flipping Bowers off, "Go blow your dad, you mullet-wearing asshole!" he hollered, voice ringing through the still air.  

Verity laughed, before looping her arm through his, pulling him along. "Richie, come on,"  And so, the three of them followed the others through the bushes, and didn't look back.

◇

"That was fucking brilliant," Verity exclaimed as they walked, her eyes sparkling with glee as the others nodded in agreement, laughing giddily. 

"I can't believe we did that," Eddie said faintly. "We actually beat Bowers!" 

"Beat the shit outta him," Richie corrected.

Mike turned to them, concern written on his face. "Thanks guys, but you shouldn't have done that. He'll be after you too now," 

"Ah no, Bowers? He's always after us," Eddie reassured him. 

"I guess that's one th-thing we all have in common," Bill said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Homeschool," Richie called. "Welcome to the loser's club."

They hadn't known it then, but after that day, when Mike joined their group, they had become part of something so much more. After all that time apart, the group of eight. United at last.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
if y'all get a notification for this chapter being republished, it's just cause i've been editing a few things :)