Over the next hour, Richie's body wouldn't let him eat or drink anything without vomiting. Eddie sat beside him while Richie was leaned over a bucket, throwing up nearly nothing. Eddie normally hated the sound of someone getting sick but he needed to be there for Richie, still feeling partially responsible for what happened.
Eddie rubbed Richie's back in soft circles while he kept his face in the bucket. "G-God I hate this.." Richie groaned and finally put the bucket down.
"It's okay Rich, Stan and Bill will be here soon with meds to make you feel better," Eddie told him and continued to dab the cold cloth on Richie's head.
Soon, Eddie heard a knock at the door and ran downstairs to see who it was. He opened the door and Beverly ran inside with Ben and Mike, panting. "Those assholes tried to follow us again." Beverly put her hands on her knees and tried to catch her breath.
"What about Stanley and Bill?" Eddie asked, panic rising in him after realizing Henry was hunting them down.
Ben let out a deep breath and drank some water. "They're on the other side of town…" He answered, and Beverly stood up straight. "Shit…" Bev exclaimed. "We need to help them. Ben, you stay here and keep an eye on Richie." Ben nodded and the rest of them headed to the pharmacy to find Stanley and Bill.
After a few minutes of biking, the Losers approached the pharmacy and saw that Stan and Bill's bikes were gone. "You think they're on their way back?" Eddie asked.
Beverly got off her bike and looked around. "No, they would've taken the back road as we did. Unless they got panicked and took the main road. I'm going to check to make sure they were here. You guys search the area." She ordered and entered the pharmacy.
She looked around and knew the only person who would give her an answer about where Stan and Bill were was Gretta. Beverly walked up to the counter and saw Gretta smacking her gum, reading a magazine, as she usually did during her shift.
"What do you want, slut?" Gretta scoffed at her and put her feet up on the counter.
Bev knew she didn't have time for her stupid games and ignored her comment. "Stanley Uris and Bill Denbrough, were they here?" She asked, trying to sound polite to get out of there as quickly as possible.
"Never heard of 'em," Gretta said, staring her dead in the eyes as she blew a bubble with her gum and popped it. Beverly knew she was running out of time and slammed her hand on the counter, causing Gretta to slide her feet off the counter and back away.
"Did you... Or did you not see Stanley Uris and Bill Denbrough come in here 5 minutes ago?" Beverly's eyes locked onto Gretta's.
What I would give to throw this bitch onto the counter...
But she knew she would get nothing out of her.
Gretta saw how serious her expression was and backed up slightly. "Jesus, you are crazy. They came in here, grabbed medicine, and left in a rush."
"Which way did they go?" Beverly took her pale hand off the counter. "I saw them go towards the bike path but ended up riding the other way in a rush."
"Thank you. Have a good day, Gretta." Beverly said and walked out of the store.
Beverly walked out of the store and got on her bike, following the path Stan and Bill rode down. She soon met up with everyone else and they collectively rode faster, trying to catch up to Stan and Bill. After a moment, they heard a yell from the forest and saw Stanley's bike, which had seemed to crash into a tree. Bill's bike laid alongside it.
Henry's car wasn't far from where the bikes were and the Losers rushed down the hill to see the burly, crazy-eyed boy with a knife over Bill's face; it's silver blade glistening in the afternoon sun. Patrick was eagerly holding down Stan while Belch and Vic watched with cruel smiles on their ugly faces. "Let them go!" Beverly yelled; the remaining Losers charged down the hill.
"L-L-Look Billy, your girlfriend is here to save you." Henry laughed. "What the fuck are you waiting for? Get them!" Henry yelled at his buddies as he held the knife closer to Bill's face. Bill tried to move his head back but couldn't move away from the glistening blade.
"How about I cut out your eye, B-B-Billy?" Henry taunted, mocking his stutter with a guttural laugh. "S-Stop!" Bill yelled out, his voice cracking with fear.
Belch and Vic moved in on the three remaining Losers and before they got too close, Mike pulled out a knife and flicked open the blade. After Richie was attacked, Mike kept it on him for emergencies, and as far as he was concerned, this was an emergency.
"Get back!" Mike yelled. Belch backed up while eyeing the knife. Beverly grabbed a broken bottle and Eddie grabbed a large stick. Henry looked up from Bill and saw Mike with a knife. He was distracted enough for Bill to ram his knee into Henry's crotch, causing him to yell in pain and let go of Bill.
Bill quickly grabbed the knife out of Henry's hands and pushed him off, standing up. "You're g-gonna leave uh-uh-us alone, Bowers!" Bill pointed the tip of the knife against Henry's throat.
"Or what? You gonna stab me like I stabbed your friend?" Henry knew Bill couldn't hurt him and Bill knew hurting him wouldn't do anything.
"You tried to KILL HIM! What the hell is wrong with you?" Bill yelled.
"That little faggot deserved what was coming to him, this town doesn't need people like him." Henry laughed. Bill considered cutting him but backed off.
Henry stood up but still backed away. "Give me my knife." His tone was threatening but Bill knew giving it back would only give him the upper hand again. Bill started backing up the hill with the rest of the Loser's following behind him. They all made it up the hill beside Henry's car and Bill glanced over at their bikes.
"GIVE ME THE KNIFE!" Henry yelled, sick of Bill's disobedience. Bill quickly stabbed Henry's car tire with the knife and left the knife in the tire. "RUN!" Bill yelled and the Losers grabbed their bikes and ran to the bike path.
They heard Henry yelling from behind them but the yelling soon faded when they got far enough away. "You two okay?" Mike asked Stan and Bill. "My bike's fucked but yeah... We're okay. We got Richie's meds." Bill said and pulled the bottle out of his pocket.
The Losers biked quickly to Richie's house and went upstairs, Richie was feeling awful and he was extremely pale. Beverly went beside him and put a hand on his forehead. "He's getting worse." She tried not to worry Richie but she knew that if he couldn't pull through the fever, they would have to go to the hospital.
Bill went over to Richie with the pills and a glass of water. "Help sit him up s-so he can take the medic-c-cation." Eddie and Beverly carefully put their arms around Richie and heard him groan.
"It's okay Rich, it's just for a minute and then you'll start to feel better," Eddie told him softly and Richie nodded. They carefully sat Richie up, causing him to groan in the soreness of his body. The bruises were only slightly healed but still painful when he moved and his stab wound but barely healing.
Bill gave the pill to Richie and he put it in his mouth then drank some water. Beverly and Eddie kept him stable until he swallowed the pill then they carefully laid him back down. "W-We need to give one every 12 hours until the infection is gone," Bill said and Eddie nodded.
Richie's head was pounding and all he could think about was sleep. He heard the Losers getting up but Eddie's hand was beside his. Richie grabbed it and squeezed it with his eyes closed and Eddie kept his eyes locked on Richie.
Beverly was the last to leave the room but she turned back and saw Eddie looking at Richie and holding his hand. She smiled slightly and closed the door.