Title: End Game
Author: Tariq (Formerly Aeris Jade Orion)
Pairing: KW/KL
Rating: R
Timeline: Witch Hunt
Beta Reader: Danie
Authors Notes: This is in response to a challenge I issued sometime ago.
Summary: What if Kerry Weaver was one of the seven chosen children in IT? What if there was something during Witch Hunt that scared her far worse than being gay?
Disclaimer: Not mine. IT belongs to Stephen King and ER to WB.
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Prologue
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Kerry surveyed the hospital room window, trying rather unsuccessfully to ignore the pain in her demolished hip.
" It's finally over. " Mike uttered from a chair beside her bed. " You can feel the difference in the town. "
" We should go back, make sure we destroyed all the eggs. " Kerry said.
" Kerry, it's over. " Mike emphasized again. " IT's no longer influencing the town. My journal of our experiences is fading. "
" The eggs....."
" It's over. "
She sagged helplessly as one of her six best friends traipsed out of the room, leaving her alone with her frightening thoughts.
The second battle against IT had pulverized the loser's club far worse than the first one had. This time Stan had committed suicide rather than face another skirmish.
This time Eddie had died in the sewers. Mike had missed the battle completely having been hospitalized after a run in with their old enemy Henry Bowers, and his heart would never be the same because of it.
Bill had been distracted during the entire thing due to his wife being kidnapped by IT. Bev had a crazy husband to deal with. Richie had been the only one to not be personally attacked by the monster.
While Kerry....
Kerry would never walk without a crutch. The damage IT had done to her left hip could be repaired by nothing except a hip replacement.
Something she refused to consider. She wasn't going to let herself forget, not like Bev and Richie were when they left Derry.
The thing was that they were all so distracted by injuries and loved ones that they couldn't say for sure that they'd gotten all the eggs.
It worried her. If they missed just one egg then they risked the cycle starting all over again. This time with a child monster.
The others wouldn't listen. Bev and Richie had ignored her words, and left town. Bill had quit visiting her rather than respond to her concerns, and Mike was caught in the ' it's over ' mind set.
She wanted to know for sure. She wanted to go back to IT's lair and torch the place. Kerry needed the security of double checking.
She couldn't go through this again. She couldn't take another war or deal with more deaths.
Kerry needed it to be over. Once and for all.
11111
Chapter One
11111
Kerry regarded the closing elevator with Kim inside. She wanted to protest Kim's words, to go after the blond and make her see reason.
The anxiety she felt for Kim kept her feet in place. Anxiety of what might happen to Kim if Kerry was involved with her. Anxiety of what Kim might think if she knew the truth.
Gods above the truth.
She reluctantly pivoted back to the conference room and to what had kept her frozen in fear through out the meeting.
A single orange balloon, on a yellow ribbon, bobbing in an absent wind.
In the time since the recent train crash four children had disappeared and two others had been found dead.
There had been hope that she was reading too much in the events. Hope that she was jumping to conclusions. Even when she'd questioned Wilson in the morgue and learned the details of the children's deaths, she'd hoped she was wrong.
Consequently, early this morning when she'd opened the door to get the paper she'd seen a glint of silver eyes in the storm drain.
There was no hope left. No prayer to pray.
( I'm every nightmare you've ever had. I'm your worst dream come true. I'm everything you were ever afraid of. )
Wasn't that what Pennywise once said to them? Wasn't that what they had used to their advantage?
A disturbing truth that was made reality once more. A deadly nightmare that would kill everyone Kerry ever loved before making her look into IT's Deadlights.
How was she supposed to stop this? The Lucky Seven was no longer seven strong, but four weak. A year earlier it would have been five, except Mike had died of a heart attack.
What about Richie, Bev, and Bill? They didn't remember anything about IT, and they had stopped keeping contact with her shortly after the last memory had faded.
Would the memories return if she called them? Like they had when Mike called so many years before.
Kerry entered the open elevator, and mashed the button for the ER. What ever she did about the situation she had a job to do, and it wouldn't wait while she got herself killed by a psychotic clown.
Her hand clenched at the handle of her crutch, willing herself not to let the horror take over. If she could, she would let herself scream, and shake with the terror that was clawing to get out.
Ding!
She twitched slightly at the noise, almost expecting to see Pennywise to be standing there with his silver eyes and razor sharp piranha like teeth.
She limped from the elevator with jitters that made her concerned about her possible performance in the ER. She couldn't afford to let it interfere with her work, but her body simply wasn't listening.
" Dr. Weaver? "
She considered the plain clothes detectives wearily. They had ambushed her in the hospital parking lot before her shift, both overflowing with questions about the recent Canal Killer murders.
" I've already told you what I know. " Kerry dismissed the two men.
" We found this on the latest victim. " Detective Taylor said, pulling out an old picture.
Kerry took the picture from the African American homicide detective. She could feel several nearby staff members shifting in an attempt to catch a glance at it.
Her face clouded with despair and recognition. The old black and white picture was of the fully formed Loser's Club. Mike had taken it with that camera he always carried around.
The seven of them were bruised, bloodied, and dirtied from the rock fight against Henry and his minions.
They looked so happy, with a hint of cockiness thrown in. The group was on that large junked crane in the Derry gravel pit.
The Gravel Pit.
It hadn't been anything that fancy. Just a lot of weeds and gravel. Fenced in and close to the Barrens it had been a play yard for the abused and dysfunctional children of Derry, Maine.
Like them.
They'd been fearless that day. Nothing could hurt them. They'd faced Henry's gang in all out fight and won.
" Your name is listed on the back. " Detective Perry mentioned.
She flipped the picture over. In Bev's delicate hand writing was a caption for the Loser's Club, and under it was each of their names. At the bottom was the date, almost like an after thought.
July of 1958.
' Was I ever that young? '
" I suppose you won't believe that I don't know anything? " She asked with a trembling voice. She tore her eyes from the picture and nearly laughed bitterly at the sympathy the two officers were showing. " We can use the lounge. "
" Thank you, I know how hard this must be for you. " The blond haired, blue eyed man said.
She discarded his pity. It was useless to her, and to all the children that would die before this was through.
She shepherded the two men into the lounge, making sure to close the door firmly behind her. She wouldn't put it past any of the staff to try and ease drop.
" What do want to know? " She asked.
She grasped exactly what they wanted. They wanted to know who the killer was, where he was hiding, and anything else she might know.
Too bad she couldn't tell them the truth. She could just see how that would go.
' Hey, guess what, the person you want is probably the child of an alien monster named Pennywise, a.k.a. IT, a.k.a. Robert Gray. '
" Who's committing the murders? "
She bounced a few ideas around in her head. She could lie big time and risk being found out, or she could try and stick with the truth as much as possible.
" The man you want is Robert Gray from Derry, Maine. " She settled.
" Was he the one behind the killings in '58 and '85? "
" No, that was his father. "
" His father? " Perry glanced in confusion. " I don't understand. Why his son? "
" What do you know about Derry? " She pried.
" We know about the killings. "
" Then you don't know anything. " Kerry exhaled.
" What do you mean? " Taylor spoke up.
" If you look into the history of Derry from the time of the settlers until '85 you'll find what we used to call the cycle. "
" The cycle? "
" Yes. Robert Gray, or Pennywise, was one of the towns original settlers, and a serial killer. He would mark the start and end of his sprees with a large scale disaster. "
" And? "
" And Gray wanted to be immortal so he had a son, also named Robert. "
" Let me guess, he raised his son to take over the business. " Taylor grimly stated.
" Exactly. Pennywise the Clown, Grays favorite persona is always mentioned during the cycles. 1715-1716, 1740-1743, 1769-1770, all the way up to 1985 when they stopped. "
" Jesus. " Taylor cursed. " What happened in '58? "
" That summer Pennywise stalked the seven of us. We went to the adults about it, but no one wanted to hear it. " Kerry shrugged. " It continued to escalate until the flood. "
" And in '85? "
" Mike Hanlon phoned the others when a picture of George Denbrough appeared at the scene of one of the disappearances. "
" Williams Denbrough's brother? "
" Yes, George was one of the first deaths in the '57-'58 cycle. "
" He was taunting you. " Perry growled.
" When we found out... " Kerry paused unsure how to explain. " Gray would have kept taunting us, making grander gestures, more violent threats, until they came back. "
" Why didn't you go to the police? "
" We did. We gave them pictures, and drawings of Pennywise from each cycle. Packets of history, and even told them where his lair was. " Kerry shrugged. " They ignored it. "
" Damn. "
" Yeah. The adults were good at that. They would go back inside, or turn their backs. Just so they didn't have to know. "
" What happened to Gray? "
" He kidnapped Bill's wife and made it clear that if we didn't meet him that he'd kill her. " Kerry decided to lie on the next point. " Fortunately the '85 flood killed him. "
" There's no chance this is him then? "
They clearly didn't believe her about how he died. Not that she blamed them. She was a bad liar.
" None. " Kerry confirmed. " There were rumors that he had a son however. "
" It would explain the photo. " Perry frowned thoughtfully. " Where did his father hide? "
" The sewers. His ancestors kept detailed blue prints of the system in Derry. Both old and new. " Kerry smiled grimly. " It helped that the sanitation department happened to misfile their copies of the blue prints. "
" Great, so we have a serial killer that probably hiding in the cities sewers. "
" 'Fraid so. " Kerry stood up slowly. " I need to get back to work. "
" We'll post a guard on you. Gray obviously has a vendetta against you. "
" And what? You're hoping to catch him by using me as bait? " Kerry sharply asked.
" No, but if he does come after you... "
" Right. " Kerry erupted from the lounge in a moment of anger.
They had no idea what they were doing. Robert Gray was a monster that could rip apart the entire country with little to no effort.
The singular reason they had succeeded in killing the father was because when it took on their fears then it had a weakness.
As a werewolf it could be killed with silver, a mummy fire. It was physical, it could be hurt, and it had been killed.
They didn't know this though. They thought they were dealing with a normal human. Someone that could bleed and hurt, and could be killed with a bullet to the head.
" Dr. Weaver! We've got two incoming gun shot victims, ETA five minutes. " Randi yelled out.
Weaver headed for the ambulance bay. Sometimes she forgot that humans could be monsters too.
11111
" Hello? "
Kerry nearly cried at the sound of her old friend. She hated the idea of calling the last of the Derry group, but they were in a lot of danger, and they had to be told.
" Hello, this Dr. Kerry Weaver. Is this Beverly Marsh? " She asked into her phone.
" Kerry? Jeez, I haven't heard from you in years. Where have you been? " Bev gushed.
" Chicago. I run the ER at County Hospital. " She answered with ease.
" Wow, you've done great for yourself. "
Just like everyone else in their club. Each and everyone of them had become successful fast. At least job wise, relationship wise they hadn't done quite as well.
Bev had ended up married to a wife beater. Bill was happily married, but like the rest of the group they'd been unable to have kids.
Richie had been unable to find anyone that would stick around the day after. Mike remained a confirmed bachelor until the day he'd died.
Stan had been the closest to have a happy family life, but when it came down to it, he was willing to off himself rather than face IT again.
Eddie had married a woman that was just like his mother. Controlling to the point of abuse, wanting to keep him weak and sick.
Kerry had been just as bad. She'd gone through numerous lovers, and the one guy she'd married had turned out to be a real piece of work.
She had it annulled two days after their happy wedding.
No amount of money or professional success could make up for their failure in life.
" Bev, I wish I was calling to catch up but..."
" Are you okay? Has something happened, Red? " Bev's worried voice asked.
" Bev, we missed an egg. " She whispered the words that haunted her dreams.
Had they though? Had they missed it?
The lair so deep in the old sewer system was a huge cavern. There were tunnels, and they had never mapped them.
She remembered hearing water in the distance and had assumed it was from the sewer system. There were tons of rivers and streams in Derry though, anyone of which could have been connected to the tunnels.
If one of the eggs had somehow gotten into a river, it could have been swept along, away from the danger it was in.
" What? What egg? Kerry, what are you talking about? "
Damn. That meant they didn't remember just as she'd suspected, but she'd hoped....
" Pennywise, Robert Gray, IT. Bev, you have to remember. " Kerry pleaded. " Don't you remember the Barrens, the Gravel Pit? Henry Bowers? "
" Pennywise...." Bev breathed in confusion.
" We swore an oath, that if IT ever came back...."
" We have two children. " Bev whispered.
She remembered. Bev remembered, but the children....
" I see. "
She couldn't ask Bev or Richie to help. Not with children to live for.
" Be careful. " Kerry said.
" Ker... Bill, he has a daughter now. "
She understand what Bev was saying. If she called Bill, he would come. He hated IT so much for his brothers death and had sworn to see IT die.
If he found out that IT had a son, nothing would stop him from going after IT. It wouldn't matter that he had a daughter or not.
" He needs to be warned. " Kerry sighed.
" I'll take the family to visit him. " Bev offered.
" I'll call you when it's over. " Kerry agreed.
" Ker, be careful. We can't lose anyone else. "
" You too. "
Kerry hung up the phone. There was nothing else to say. She couldn't ask them to risk their children, not when they knew what IT would do to them.
Was this why she'd been unable to have children? Why she'd been a failure at any relationship she attempted? Because of IT?
It would make sense. If she had a child or a partner, they would be in danger. Kerry would do anything to avoid that, even leaving IT alone.
She glanced down at her crutch in consideration. She couldn't deal with IT limping around like a three legged snail.
She needed to make a decision. There would be a year to the cycle just like every other, which meant she would have time to recover from having her hip replaced.
On the other hand, she would vulnerable to attack both during and after surgery. It would be a simple matter for IT to influence someone and have her killed.
She couldn't fight IT while dealing with a crutch and limp, though. She had to be able to run fast if necessary, and to be able to squeeze into places that she couldn't like this.
For the moment she would wait. She would see what Pennywise would do next before making a decision.
And IT would make a move.
Soon.
22222
Chapter Two
22222
Kerry was exhausted. She had found it hard to sleep in a large, empty house with the knowledge that IT could appear at any time. With her insomnia, it had left her with little gas to run on.
A crashing brought her attention to the ambulance bay doors. She could see Doris and her current partner wheeling in a bloody body.
" Carter, you're with me. Randi, call surgery and give them a heads up...."
A scream burst from Randi as people began ducking for cover. She locked her green eyes with the patients, ignoring the gun in his hands for the brown eyes that flashed silver briefly.
" Robert Gray sends his regards, Kerry. " The man showed a sickening grin with bloody, split lips. " He'll be seeing you soon. "
Pain exploded in her body. The force of the bullets sending her flying back into the admittance desk.
Her chest burned badly in the ribs, and she could hear the deafening crack of her bad hip shattering.
Yet, never once did she take her eyes off the shooter. Those brown eyes remained filled with sadistic glee, and there was barely a sign of Pennywise left in them.
" Kerry!! " John hollered.
She could see the young resident crawling toward her.
" Stay there!! Nobody move. " She ordered the staff weakly. " Wait for security. "
" Are you crazy, Chief?! " Malucci gaped from the hall where he was huddled.
" I'll...suspend anyone that disobeys....me. " She wheezed.
Damn, her ribs were busted. She could feel one of her lungs struggling to work, and realized that meant one of the ribs had pierced it.
She needed medical care quickly, but she couldn't risk her staff. Not against a human killer, and not against a human psycho being influenced by Pennywise.
" BEEP BEEP Kerry! " The man rasped eerily. " They all float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too. "
She winced as another bullet hit her. This time in her left shoulder, causing blood to soak into her shirt and lab coat.
The glass in the ambulance bay exploded as several shots rang out. The gun fell from the man's nerveless hands, and he fell off the gurney, dead.
" ABBY!! " Carter yelled, scrambling over to her. " Malik, get a gurney, NOW!! "
" I'm fine. " She tried to reassure the resident.
She grumbled under her breath at the surrounding staff. They were ignoring her for the first time in a long time, and she didn't like it one bit.
She let Chuny and Yosh heft her onto the gurney, but made sure to glare at Luka and Carter.
" I'm fine. " She tried again.
She had to admit it would sound more convincing if she wasn't huffing and puffing the ER down.
" Just a few....broken ribs...." She told Kovac.
" Why don't you let us do our job? " Luka suggested gently.
She opened her mouth to tell him what he could do with his job, but she found a oxygen mask over it.
Damn it. She had more important things to worry about then a few broken ribs, and a bad hip.
Her vision bled out to black, and her breath became harder to get. She struggled against her collapsed lung, fighting against the blackness in her vision until finally....
22222
Kim clutched her clipboard to her chest as she stepped into the ER. She'd been rather shocked when her suspension had been retracted, but from what Carl said the investigation against her had been dropped.
Dr. DeRaad had mentioned something about the recent murders. She wasn't sure what Shannon Wallace had to do with a serial killer, but she wasn't going to complain.
She paused at the sight of the stretcher being wheeled in. Or rather at the sight of Kerry Weaver approaching the stretcher.
The scream from Randi brought her eyes back to the patient. She threw herself behind a nearby pillar, and peeked around it.
Kerry wasn't moving. The red head was just standing there with fear on her face. The same fear Kerry had been displaying since the morning the detectives had shown up at Kim's.
The same fear that Kerry had displayed when she'd seen Kim's clown collection. The same fear that Kerry had shown whenever the murders were mentioned.
She started to inch around the pillar. She had to get Kerry to cover. She tightened her muscles prepared to dive for her but the serenity that filled Kerry's face stopped her.
The calm was unnatural. The kind of calm that she'd seen on patients that had decided to kill themselves, or....
No!!
Firm arms closed around her, holding her in place. She struggled against the hold.
" Robert Gray sends his regards, Kerry. " A horrible grin stretched across monstrous lips, scabs breaking open and infection pouring out. " He'll be seeing you soon. "
She screamed out in denial when the patient opened fire. Her ears rang at the sickening crack Kerry's body made hitting the desk.
" You can't help her. " Luka's voice whispered in her ear.
" Kerry!! " John crawled for the red head.
" Stay there!! Nobody move. " Kerry called weakly. " Wait for security. "
" Are you crazy, Chief?! "
" I'll...suspend anyone that disobeys....me. "
Kim blinked back tears, wanting to scream at the ER staff to ignore the red head's orders. Kerry would die if she wasn't seen to now.
" BEEP BEEP Kerry! " The man rasped almost like another voice was entwined with his. " They all float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too. "
Another shot exploded from the gun. She could see the blood spreading from Kerry's shoulder.
Glass sprayed into the ER and the man trying to kill Kerry fell over dead.
" ABBY!! " Carter yelled, already moving toward Kerry. " Malik, get a gurney, NOW!! "
" I'm fine. " Kerry barely spoke.
She stood back in fear of her own as Kerry was taken into Trauma 2. She stayed close enough to keep an eye on the situation, but far enough away that she wouldn't get in the way.
" Oh, thank god. " Carter heaved in relief.
Kim frowned at the heavy vest that was thrown to the side. She picked it up and stared at the bulky ballistics vest.
Four bullets were trapped in the metal plate. She felt her brow furrow and turned back to where they were working on Kerry.
Six bullets had been fired. One had hit the red heads shoulder, but the last bullet....
She moved her eyes down Kerry's body and stopped at her bad hip. She could see blood dripping off the gurney, which meant number six had hit Kerry's bad hip.
The doors burst open admitting a female uniformed cop. Another cop, a male, was settling in the hallway.
" You can't be in here. " Abby glanced at the cop from where she was incubating Kerry.
" My orders are to stay with Dr. Weaver. " The black haired cop shrugged.
" Not in here. " Abby snapped.
" I'm sorry, ma'am, but Detective Perry's orders were clear. "
" And so are mine. " Abby argued. " No non-medical personal in the Trauma rooms. "
" I understand that, but we have reason to believe that her life is in danger. "
Kim inched over to the cop. Her mind latching onto what the short female was saying.
" What do mean? " Kim demanded. " You think this was a deliberate attack? "
Now that she considered the attack she could see why. The gunman called Kerry by name several times.
" I'm not at liberty to say. " The cop hesitated slightly. " However, the detective has kept a patrol car stationed near by, just in case. "
Oh God.
Someone was trying to kill Kerry. They had almost succeeded just now. Kim had nearly lost her.
Oh God.
She backed into the far corner, and let the tears she'd been holding back fall. She couldn't lose her, she couldn't lose Kerry.
Not now, not ever.
It was time to stop acting like a heart broken teenager, and start acting like the brilliant woman she was.
She would be there when Kerry came out of surgery, and when the red head was able, they would talk things out.
Because Kim couldn't lose her.
33333
Chapter Three
33333
Kerry glanced up from her notebook of research and eyed the three individuals that entered her room with trepidation.
Kim was leading the two homicide detectives into the room, with very visible reluctance. The blond was also looking strangely disgruntled, meaning the detectives were avoiding her many, many questions.
Somehow, the red head could see Kim was going to be a huge problem. In the twenty four hours since she was shot, the blond had remained glued to her side.
She had also been argumentative. Kim wanted to know exactly what was going on with the Canel Killer. She'd protested Kerry's refusal of pain relievers. Kim had raised a stink over Kerry's reaction to Romano replacing her hip.
" Dr. Weaver, we owe you an apology. " Perry grimaced with guilt. " It never occurred to us that Mr. Gray would get someone else to kill you. "
Kerry felt her lips twitch slightly at the dark red, almost purple color Kim was turning.
" He wasn't trying to kill me. " Kerry admitted, mostly to see what color Kim would turn next.
" Jim Lane shot you six times. " An exasperated Taylor pointed out.
" He knew I was wearing a vest. "
" What makes you say that? " Perry asked.
" It's a game for Gray. Every move he makes is with a certain purpose. " Kerry smiled gently at the confused officers. " His cycle, his game, has just started. Until his cycle nears it's end he won't kill me. "
" But the shooting...." Kim questioned.
Kerry could see how confused the blond was. Kim didn't know anything about Robert Gray, human or monster. All she knew was what she was picking up from the conversation.
" Was another piece of the game. " Kerry stated.
" You want to explain? " Perry asked sharply, picking up on her avoidance.
" His father was responsible for my bad hip. I.. I was afraid that I would suppress my memories of what happened so I refused the hip replacement. "
" And? " Taylor prodded.
" He wants to face me when I'm at full strength, and since I wasn't going to get the hip replacement on my own...."
" God above. " Perry cursed. " He forced the issue. "
" What about your shoulder? " Kim inquired.
" A reminder. " Kerry soberly said.
" Of what? "
" It's a reminder that he can get to me no matter what. " Kerry lied.
(I am eternal, child. I am the eater of worlds, and of children.)
It was a disturbing reminder of the first cycle they experienced. It was designed to make her remember that day in the old tramp house.
The seven of them had gone there to hunt IT, and instead they themselves had been the ones hunted.
It had been a disaster from the get go. Eddie with his broken arm not being able to climb through the basement window without help.
Bev's nerves with their only weapon. A battered old sling shot and two silver slugs. Stan with the stench of fear and disbelief.
Pennywise had played with their minds from the moment they had broken into the house. The clown had wanted Bev to waste their shots, and had come very close to success.
They had confronted IT in the bathroom of the abandoned house. They hadn't counted on it shape-shifting into a werewolf, or going for Bev.
Kerry had saved the other red head. Throwing herself in front of those large claws. In the process her left shoulder and back had been mauled.
The same shoulder Lane had shot her in.
It was a reminder alright.
" Whatever Mr. Gray's game I've posted a policeman outside your door. " Perry said. " There is another matter, however. The Derry police chief informed us that you were one of the coroners in '85. "
" Not exactly. Home Hospital's morgue had three staff members. The chief who was a spoiled rich boy that refused to go into the field, and two residents, Tom and Jerry. A pair of air heads who's vocabulary was made up of three words. Yo, Dude, and Righteous. "
" And? " Perry probed.
" And despite working in a different field, I am a licensed coroner, so police decided I was the lesser of the evils. " Kerry smirked at Kim's shocked face. " All I did was collect the bodies. The autopsies were left to Morton. "
" I... see. " Perry blinked at her. " We'll let you know if we find out anything. "
She waited for the two cops to leave before turning back to her notebook. Too bad Kim seemed to disagree with her actions.
" Who the hell is Robert Gray? " Kim demanded. " And how does he know you? "
" Stay out of it Kim. " Kerry said.
" Who is he? " Kim asked again.
" A child eating alien. " Kerry half lied, determined to never tell anyone what IT truly was.
She watched, waiting for Kim to explode in fury and then storm out of the room. If there was anything the blond hated more than lesbians in a closet, it was lying lesbians in a closet.
So why was Kim leaning back with a look of deep consideration?
" His eyes flashed silver. " Kim muttered.
" What? " Kerry gaped at the blond.
" The shooter, his eyes flashed silver and I could have sworn his voice blended with someone else's. " Kim said.
' Uh-oh. '
" Kim, I was joking. " Kerry panicked. " There is no such thing as aliens or monsters. "
Thankfully the phone rang, giving a brief reprieve from the extremely and frustratingly open minded blond.
" Hello? " Kerry eagerly spoke into the hospital phone.
" Beep Beep Kerrigan. " Richie Tozier's voice answered back.
" How'd you get this number, Trash mouth? "
" You mean how did we find out about your little adventure. " Richie cheerfully replied. " It's all over CNN. "
" Ah, hell. " She cursed softly.
" No kidding. Bevvie nearly had a heart attack, and Big Bill was ready to come charging in. Damsels in distress, shining knights in armor, the white horse, you know the routine. "
" I'm fine. Just the Lucky Seven striking again. " She said.
Richie would understand what she meant. The summer of '58 they'd had a lot of luck. Like something was directing them, making sure they were prepared for their stand against IT.
It had happened now. Something had made sure that she would have hip replacement surgery so that she would be at her best.
" Your hip? " Richie guessed.
" Replaced. " Kerry stated. " The doctor said I'm healing faster than normal. Instead of three weeks of recovery, I'm looking at two. "
" Damn. " Richie cursed at what wasn't being said by her. " Do you need us, Red? "
" No. I'm fine. "
" Red..."
" Beep Beep, Richie. " She cut in softly. " This isn't your fight, not this time. "
" Bev and Audra can protect the children. " Richie hinted.
" And you know why the three of you could have children. " Kerry gently pointed out.
" The Loser's Club can't help this time. "
" Bill wants to talk to you. " Richie grumbled.
" Richie...." She sighed as she heard the phone being passed to Bill.
" Kerry. "
She smiled at the sound of the groups leader. He sounded much better than he did after the battle of '85.
" Hey Big Bill. "
" We can be there in a few hours. "
" Bill, I appreciate the offer, but you're not meant to be here. "
" You warned us, and we didn't listen. " Bill grumbled. " I was so concerned about Audra that we didn't finish the job. "
" Things happen for a reason. You know that. "
" IT killed Georgie and now it's spawn is alive!! " Bill ranted. " B-b-bastard killed Georgie. "
" He's dead, Bill. Let it go. "
" Not until it's finished. "
" I will. I swear it. " Kerry replied. " I'll even send you a souvenir. "
" If anything happens...."
" I'll call. " Kerry promised. " If I get a paper cut you'll be the first to know. "
" Beep Beep, Red. " Bill gently said. " Watch out for the Deadlights. "
" Protect the others, and leave the Deadlights to me. "
Kerry hung up the phone before Bill put Bev on to continue trying to get her to agree to their help. The problem was that Bev might just succeed.
" Deadlights? "
Kerry frowned at Kim's sharp blue eyes. For just a moment she forgot that Kim was there.
" It's an evil alien thing. " She challenged.
Except Kim didn't take the challenge. If anything Kim seemed to be willing to believe her.
" Hello! Gimpy red head lying to lesbian therapist. " Kerry finally snapped. " You can pull a Road Runner now. "
" You're not lying. " Kim responded. " You honestly believe that Robert Gray is an alien. "
" No I don't. "
" Yes, you do, and what scares me is that I think I believe you. " Kim sighed.
Kerry paused at that strange tidbit.
" Huh? "
" I can't explain the eye flashing thing, or the voice thing. A lot of people in my profession would rattle off various mental disorders but none of them could explain the eye flashing thing. " Kim stared at her. " What's happening, Kerry? "
That simple question was anything but simple. It was a can of worms that would take days to even open, much less explain.
" 1957 my adopted parents......"
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