A day later from the fight The Losers Club and I made it to the fair and I couldn't help but stare worriedly at the missing poster sign on the wall close to me, I was also surprised to see Patrick Hockstetter on it. Since I had no idea he went missing. Was it his scream I heard back then in the sewers? I flipped the missing poster and saw Betty Ripsom under it. Bill and I had the same thought in our heads.

"It's like she's b-been forgotten."

Annoyed by the awful tuba sound I glance back to see who's horribly playing it, and see Richie holding the instrument with a guy trying to take it back. "Richie! Leave the poor man's tuba alone" I scold and the an successfully stole it back.

"What the fuck, dude?"

"Is it ever gonna end?" Bill asks himself and I wrap an arm around his shoulder. "That's why we gotta figure out what's happening. Maybe we can out an end to this."

"What are you guys talking about?" Eddie asks after coming back from buying himself and Richie some ice cream.

"What they always talk about." Richie says almost not caring at all and grabbing his ice cream from Eddie's hand. I facepalm and look back to see him happily eating the frozen treat. "Alice is right. I actually think it'll end. For a while at least."

Bev confused looks at him then me, "With some help from Ben's book, we've been going over some Derry research and we charted out all the big events."

I say and Ben continues "The ironworks explosions in 1908, the Bradley Gang in '35."

"And The Black Spot in '62." I finish and see Richie and Eddie quite impressed.

"Damn that it sounds hot when you say that." I give him a weirded out look so Eddie nudges him to stop being so weird. "And now the kids being..I realized this stuff seems to happen. "Every 27 years." Ben, Bill and I say at the same time.

************

"Okay, 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?"

"Maybe it's like..What do you call it? Cicadas. You know, the bugs that come out once every 17 years." Stan says trying to answer Eddie's question. We were all seated in a circle while the event around us continued to happen, we just decided to talk here since we're surrounded and it feels safer to us. I look at my surroundings and wave my hand up when I notice my Mom's far ahead holding hands and drinking what appears to be some lemonade. We stay silent trying to figure out just what this all is and means. "My grandpa thinks this town is cursed. He says that all the bad thing's that happen in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry."

Mike says staring us ahead and Stan glances back at him, "But it can't be one thing."

"We all saw something different. Maybe. Or maybe It knows what scares us most, and that's what we see."

"I saw a leper." Eddie says first. "He was like a walking infection."

"But you didn't." Stan says looking at his friend, "Because it isn't real. None of this is. Not Eddie's leper, Alice's shadow demon people or Bill seeing Georgie, o-or the woman I keep seeing."

"Not to sound like a bitch, Stan. But how is all of this not real? How was I capable of seeing myself in front of me with blood pouring out of my face-"

"It could've just been an hallucination. You did hit your head after all." We stare at each other almost glaring at one another.

"She hot?"

The both of us look at Richie when he asked that sudden dumb question. "No, Richie. She's not hot. Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams." I look at Mike who quickly continues what he was saying.

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay? Maybe Alice seeing herself can mean something deeper." I look down at my legs and clench my fists trying to remain calm.

"What'd you see? You saw something too?" Eddie asks next to me and holds my hand so I would stop shaking.

"Yes. Do you guys know that burned down house on Harris Avenue?" We nod our heads at his question. "I was inside when it burned down. Before I was rescued my mom and dad were trapped under the next room from me. They were pushing an pounding on the door, trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When the fireman finally found them, the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone. We're all afraid of something." Mike finishes saying and I see Stan looking frightened and Eddie's hand is now tightly holding onto mine.

"Got that right." Richie says and looks back to see a stage with a clown performing on it with the band and a few cheerleaders practicing.

"Why, Rich? What are you afraid of?" the boy holding my hand asks.Richie glances at us both shaken back and pushes his glasses up, "Clowns."