DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!
A/N: *enters FanFiction room, singing 'The Man Behind the Mask' at the top of my lungs; sees fans watching, and immediately stops* Sorry, guys! Uh... oops... didn't see y'all there! I'm an Alice Cooper fan as well as a Jason fan, I'm sorry!
We have reached the second month of 2020! Happy February, everyone! I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day because I'm single and alone lol What are y'all's plans for the day of love? Mine are staying home and watching the original 'My Bloody Valentine,' because it's one of my favorite 80s slashers! And... maybe burning the Twilight movies since I hate them. :)
ANYWAYS, we have reached the eighth chapter. Just a forewarning, this is NOT the beginning of the final showdown! That will start next chapter. Oh, and there will be a cliffhanger, so please don't hate me!
SuperSentai199: Thank you! I'm glad you didn't expect that scene, I was pretty impressed with how it turned out!
robinmuffins: I'm glad the last chapter was your favorite one! This one is a lot more intense, trust me! And there isn't even Pennywise. Oops, SPOILERS!
MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! And yes, Steph, go get your man!
Connie Hooper: I'm glad I got an emotional reaction out of people lol LET'S DO THAT AGAIN! I'm just kidding lol
.2019: It was sweet, yes.
MusicLover14: Girl, where to even begin with your reviews! THEY MEAN THE ABSOLUTE WORLD TO ME! I'm glad you love my work so much, and I keep re-reading them if I'm not in the best mood! Oh, if you wanna know my YouTube channel, it's called Adalynn's Horror World. Go watch my videos from the beginning. (I have 422 subs!) And I'm surprised I brought you to tears with my last chapter, I was shocked! And Steph and Bill do not have a kid... yet ;) Oh, and you're not gonna read my novelization of 'The Ring?' :'( I thought you were my biggest fan! Just kidding, I understand. But thank you for your amazing and motivational reviews!
Special thanks to SuperSentai199, robinmuffins, MissBeckyJolene, Connie Hooper, .2019, and MusicLover14 for leaving reviews on the last chapter!
Now, without further ado, here is the eighth and intense chapter!
Chapter Eight
The entire room had delved into silence in the fifteen minutes that followed after Steph's nightmare. Ben had explained to her that Henry Bowers got away and they had fixed her arm while she was out of it. Steph was now sitting on the couch she woke up on, staring into space. She subconsciously rubbed her fingers back and forth on the bandage she wore, her eyes blank. She was asking a lot of questions in her mind…
How in the heck did Bowers know where she and the others were? How did he break out of the asylum he was held in? Why did he specifically attack Steph? Was she the first person he went after or not?
There was one problem: she didn't know the answer to any of these questions.
She had no doubt that the events that had occurred in the last fifteen minutes may have been the most terrifying moment of her life. But it was also the moment that helped her to remember everything that had happened during that summer of '89 and most of the years afterwards. In a way, she was relieved that she could recall everything now, but at the same time, she really didn't want to think about it. It was too painful to go through the memories, but she surprisingly didn't cry, but it deeply upset her regardless.
And now, the four of them were sitting in the lobby like they were when she had woken up. They were all thinking about what they should do next. It was around 8:00 PM and they knew that they needed to head towards the library soon to meet up with Mike. Steph, for some reason, began to worry for the man's safety, and she didn't know why at the time. She thought that something terrible would happen within the next few hours, and it gave her a bad feeling.
She was also worried about Bill; she always was. He had told her that he needed to save some kid, that he was in danger, and she didn't even attempt to go after him. She didn't do this for a few reasons: one, she had no idea where the fair he was talking about was; two, she wasn't sure if It was just playing tricks on her husband or not; and three, some sort of force practically demanded that she stay. She didn't know what it was, but she listened to it.
But she couldn't ignore the horrible feeling in her gut, so she stood up from the couch, not acknowledging the confused looks that the others gave her. She grabbed the keys to her and Bill's rental car and went to the front doors, putting a hand on one of them.
"Where are you going, Steph?" came Beverly's voice from behind her. She didn't turn around, instead having her midnight blue eyes locked through the window of the door in front of her. She wasn't sure if she should tell the others about the bad sense she had deep inside of her, or just lie. But she instead made the decision to say something completely different in response.
"I'm just gonna go ahead and go to the library early…" she said calmly, although she was dishonest. "Better to get there before the others."
"You sure you wanna drive?" asked Eddie in concern. "You have a hurt arm."
Steph turned around and gave Eddie a reassuring smile. "It's just a little cut, it doesn't hurt that bad," she said soothingly. I'll be fine, Eds. You guys should start getting ready to go, too."
She then headed outside, gently pushing the doors open with all of her strength and, when she was sure she was out of sight of the others, sprinted towards the rental car. When she got to it, she jerked the door open and got inside. She quickly put the key into the ignition and started the engine. After that, she slowly pulled away from the sidewalk, and practically slammed her foot on the gas pedal, the tires squealing slightly against the road as she sped down the street.
Second by second, the sun was setting even further. Steph couldn't even see the rays of sunlight anymore as she drove, and it unnerved her terribly. The blackness at the moment was hair-rising for her, goosebumps appearing on her flesh. Darkness always meant danger to her, and that was why she hated the nighttime. It meant that something either weird or bad would happen, and that was the perception that she was aware of. She could feel something looming or creeping in the shadows when she turned onto Paramount Street.
It was a ten minute drive, but she managed to find the library. She pulled into the parking lot and screeched to a halt. She unfastened her seatbelt and threw open the car door. When she closed it, she noticed that only one other car was there, and she assumed it to be Mike's.
Good, nobody else is here yet, Steph thought with a sense of relief.
She fidgeted with the car keys as she slowly trekked across the pavement, her nervous heartbeat not slowing down at all. The goosebumps were gone, but the bad feeling remained; however, Steph tried to remain as casual as possible, hoping she wasn't too late. Mike needed to know what had just happened to her and Eddie, but she didn't want to make him even more worried than she was sure he was. From what she herself knew, Mike didn't know anything about what had happened.
Her mind flickered back to Henry Bowers. She shuddered.
If Bowers had attacked her earlier in the day, then that meant he had either already attacked someone else or he was waiting for his ultimate opportunity to strike at nightfall. She knew that the bully-turned-psycho was going after each member of the Losers' Club, and she now acknowledged that It was controlling him once more. She didn't know what to do, but knew that the only thing she was able to do was to just follow her instincts with whatever happened.
She got out her phone and sent a quick text to Mike, telling him that she was there, and shockingly wasn't surprised that he didn't message her back. There was no point in doing so if she was going to see him in a few seconds, anyway. She stuffed the cell phone back into her pocket as her slender fingers softly grasped the golden handle of the front door. She paused for a moment, wondering whether or not this would be a good time to enter the library. She was a little anxious, since all she heard was dead silence and nothing else. There she stood for about thirty seconds, majorly hesitating.
Suddenly, a loud roar of anger sliced through the tranquility, and Steph let out a small cry of shock. But when she realized that the sound wasn't coming from around her, her blood froze entirely.
The yell came from inside.
Steph threw open the door and tried to find out which room the scream came from, since she hadn't been in the library in so long, so she didn't know where to go. After looking around frantically for a few seconds, she heard someone speak up.
"You should've burned, Mike," the voice rumbled, and yet another roar echoed through the building.
Steph barreled into the front room of the library and discovered a horrific sight: Henry Bowers on top of Mike, about to drive his switchblade into the poor man's skull. The woman's heart kicked into overdrive, her hands shaking as she tried to figure out how to help her best friend because if she didn't do something, Mike would be dead in seconds. After several moments of searching for a weapon, she finally decided to pull out her pocket knife and she clicked it open.
She then charged over to where the two were struggling on the floor and drove her foot into Bowers's stomach. He grunted in pain but she managed to get him off of Mike. In that moment, the anger slowly building up inside of Steph was gaining like an impossible build of steam, burning her blood as she stared down at the only man that she hated, and burning her mental state. Finally, the brick walls of her subconscious shattered in an internal explosion as she snarled the words, "It's your time, Bowers!"
Then, letting out a bellow of pure rage, she plunged her pocket knife deep into Henry's shoulder blade as he was getting up. He let out the most horrible howl imaginable, one that did not sit right with Steph. For some reason, it sounded completely inhuman as it was let out, and it made the blonde-haired woman cringe in disgust as she yanked the blade out of the man's skin.
Henry quickly got over the shock and glared at Steph with such intensity that it would have normally scared her shitless. But not this time; she was done being afraid, and she always would be.
When the psychopath swung at her with his switchblade, Steph easily dodged it as she quickly saw Mike trying to get up. She then slashed at him, and the blade sliced his left forearm, and he cried out for a second in pain. But what she wasn't expecting was for him to immediately kick her own knife out of her right hand. She sprinted towards the nearest table, and grabbed one of the wooden chairs. She swerved around and smashed the chair over Henry's back, and he fell to his knees in surprise. But, as she tried to go in the opposite direction, she felt a searing pain across the back of her left leg, and she let out a strangled cry.
She turned around after slumping to the floor in her shock and pain and clutched her leg, her intestines churning at the sight. Blood was slowly oozing out of the slash that Bowers had left with his knife, covering her fingers and dripping between them; a small, but relentless flow of crimson, but however, the agony was slowly fading away.
Before she was able to get up, Henry had her pinned to the floor and he had his switchblade pressed against her throat. Her life started flashing before her eyes as he gave her a demented smile.
"Shhh… Don't worry, it'll all be over soon…" whispered the voice of Henry Bowers. Steph's eyes widened slightly for a small moment, but she also rolled her eyes. Bowers really didn't know who he was messing with, was he?
Still, she remained within his grasp, pretending to be scared, but slowly inching her pocket knife out of her shorts at the same time. She did scream, but his hold over her mouth muffled it so no one could hear her cries of help. Steph then felt cold metal against her throat. A knife of his own. She froze, and didn't make a sound.
"Good girl…" Henry whispered. "Now behave, and it'll be over very quickly, I promise…"
"I should've killed you a long time ago…" Bowers snarled in her face, the knife pressing deeper against her soft skin as she grunted.
"RUN, MIKE!" she screamed, seeing that he could barely get up; he was pretty badly hurt from what she could see.
Bowers leaned in closer, almost as if he wanted her to take a good look at him before she died. She was frozen, although her hand was gripping his wrist and trying to pry the knife off of her neck. "You know what I always thought, Palmer?" he whispered.
"What do you want, Bowers? Oh wait, scratch that! I already know what you're trying to do! I'm not as brainless as you think," she shouted at him.
"I told you to behave, Palmer," Henry sneered. "Now, I'm gonna kill you nice and slow. If you had just stayed freaking still, I would have had it over and done with in a matter of seconds!"
"Yeah, well, I'm just a stubborn twat, aren't I?" Steph retorted, a tiny growl in her voice.
"Now be a good girl, and come here," Henry demanded. And for a split second, Steph could have sworn she saw the bully's eyes glow yellow. She knew she was wasn't seeing things, and internally panicked. She now knew what she was truly dealing with.
"You come here," she snapped back, "just so you can see what I'll do to you if you come anywhere near me. I don't want any trouble, Bowers."
"There won't be any trouble," Bowers replied calmly before charging at her.
"I always thought you were the worst of the Losers…"
Steph could smell his disgusting and foul breath blowing against her face, and she gagged, which made him cackle. Literally cackle. She couldn't find the strength to pull the switchblade off of her throat and she was very close to giving up, grunting as she kept fighting back. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Before you die, I want you to think about everything you did, and every word you said during the rock fight," Bowers snapped at her. "I want you to think about that before you die, you freaking twat!"
Tears welled up in Steph's eyes as she stared directly into Henry's sadistic ones. Her hammering heartbeat surprisingly slowed down, but her breathing didn't as she willed her lips to move for what she was sure would be her final time. "I hope you remember me when you go to Hell, you monster!" she croaked out.
And then she closed her eyes, her happy memories filling her mind.
"S-So wait," Bill said, grinning for the first time in a few months. He was amused at what Steph had just told him. "Y-You stood up to the girl and c-called her a t-t-t-..."
"Twat?" Steph finished for him. Bill nodded, still looking amused. "Yeah, I did. She deserved it, anyway, for treating her that way. Nobody deserves that, not even you guys." Bill looked at her in amazement, thinking about the many times she had stood up for him and their friends. It never failed to impress him.
"I-I guess you're the m-m-mother of the Losers' Club," he declared. Steph turned to him, grinning in appreciation at what he had just said.
Steph's eyes widened for a moment before she rolled her eyes. So they did manage to find him. Her blood boiled when she heard this information though. "I swear, I'm gonna find that freaking jerk and..."
Bill put his hands on her arms to calm her down. "No, you're not. Now calm down, Steph," he assured her. Steph was still angry but she didn't feel anything just weird when she felt his hands make contact with her skin. She actually felt shivers as butterflies erupted in her stomach.
Steph looked at him for as long as he looked at her. She could feel his eyes on her and she felt her heart jump into her throat in glee but nervousness. It was like she was seeing Bill for the first time in her life. Like really seeing him. And she really loved that feeling.
"Thank you for being a great friend, Steph," Bill whispered without stuttering once. She hugged him back just as tightly, her face turning just as red as his, if not more. "It's no problem," she said softly, laying her forehead on his shoulder.
It was a while before they made it to the Barrens that Bill and Steph both realized that they were still holding hands. Smiling and blushing furiously, they let go as they continued walking. But after a few seconds, Steph stopped him, letting the others walk ahead of them.
"Hey, thanks for standing up for me back there. It really meant a lot to me," she said to him.
Bill's face flushed crimson and he smiled nervously at her. "I-It's no problem, Steph," he replied. "I'd d-d-do a-anything for y-y-y-you."
Steph's stomach flipped in happiness as
her thoughts were broken by a sudden and sickening hacking sound.
Time froze for a very long moment. Steph stared upwards in shock when Henry halted his movements, a look of slight surprise on his face. When she saw a slight trickle of blood forming at the corner of his mouth, she knew something had happened. Bowers grunted, and his arms fell, his head slumping forward. And that was when Steph saw what had saved her life:
A hatchet was buried deep into Bowers's head.
She shoved the dead man off of her, grunting a little from the pain in her leg. She looked up and saw Richie standing there, a look of horror on his face. Her heart swelled with pride and relief when she saw this and she was suddenly very happy to see him.
"I guess you could say that was long overdue," quipped Richie, and he seemed very short of breath. "Get it? 'Cause we're in a library…?" Then he gagged majorly, his hands clutching his stomach as he shook his head. He then turned away from Steph, lurching forward as he vomited all over the floor.
"Gross!" Steph scolded him playfully, looking away a little. "You okay, Mike?!"
"Yeah," he replied, getting up and walking over to her. He offered his hand, which she took and she was lifted up, but she had to grip the front desk so she wouldn't fall. "Sorry I didn't come to your aid," he added. She waved her hand dismissively.
"It's okay," she breathed out, shaking her head slightly. Then she looked down and saw a cut on his left arm, and she reached a hand out to him. "He got you pretty good there. You sure you're okay?" Mike nodded, and she retracted her hand from his arm.
Then the front doors burst open and Steph snapped her head in that direction, seeing Beverly and Ben run inside, Eddie close behind them. "Mike?! Steph?!" Beverly shouted, her eyes widening at the shattered glass cabinet behind the front desk. Then she saw the dead body of Henry and cried out in shock, covering her mouth. At that moment, Steph sat down at one of the tables her left leg lifted off of the floor so she wouldn't have to go through more agony.
"You okay?" asked Ben as he looked at Mike with worry.
Richie, seeming to not notice this, glared at Ben. "No, I'm not alright! I just freaking killed a guy!" he exclaimed, gesturing to Bowers's corpse.
Steph glared at him weakly, rolling her eyes as she facepalmed. Ben, seemed just as annoyed as he said, "I was talking to Mike."
Eddie dashed over to Steph, seeing her clutch her leg. "What happened to you this time?" he questioned her, pretending to be annoyed, but the woman knew he was kidding. She chuckled a little.
"He got me pretty good in the leg," she responded, lifting her pant leg and seeing the gash that rested on the skin. She saw Eddie's grimace of distaste, but he quickly recovered from it, pulling out a first aid kit he had in his jacket. "Let me help you with that," he told her, opening the package and getting to work.
He put alcohol on the wound, warning Steph first. She still hissed in pain despite this, but didn't react in any other way. He then got out gauze and placed it over the wound, taping it down as best as he could, and they were both positive that the bandage wouldn't come off anytime soon, no matter what happened.
"At least he didn't get any major veins or arteries," he assured her. "It doesn't look too bad, so you got dang lucky." Steph chuckled even more, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Eds," she replied genuinely.
"No problem, Steph," replied Eddie as he got up, helping her out of the chair. Once she was sure she could walk on her leg without falling over, she let go of his arm just as Mike spoke up.
"Where's Bill?" he asked in a worried tone.
Steph perked up instantly, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at him. "I… I don't know," she admitted in a shaking voice. "He said he was going to save some kid, but… I haven't seen him since…"
Mike then pulled out his cell phone and dialed what she assumed to be Bill's number. She leaned against one of the tables, glancing down at Henry's body. Good freaking riddance, she thought, raking her fingers through her long blonde hair. Beverly came and stood beside her, rubbing her hand over her shoulder soothingly. "You okay?" she asked her.
Steph shrugged. "I don't even know anymore," she told her truthfully, and Bev nodded. "I mean, first It returning, then remembering everything, Bowers attacking me, and now almost getting freaking killed by him… All of this is about to drive me insane…"
Beverly pulled her into a hug that the two of them hadn't shared in so long, and Steph was grateful that the redhead was there for her in her time of need. "You'll be okay," she assured her, "all of this will be over soon, so don't you worry."
"Thanks," Steph replied. "You guys will be okay, too. I'll make sure y'all are."
One thing she didn't notice during the few minutes that passed during Beverly's comforting of Steph was Mike talking on the phone to Bill. And just as she did hear him hang up, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She took it out and saw that it hadn't been cracked once during her fight with Bowers, which surprised her majorly. But her eyes squinted in confusion and her heart fell when she read the notification that she had gotten.
Bill had sent her a text. And her mouth dropped open at what it read: I love you, and I'm so sorry.
"He's going to fight It alone," Mike said.
Steph shook her head. "No, he dang well isn't!" she snapped furiously.
"Are you kidding me?" Richie sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead.
Mike went over to the front desk and picked up a strange object, holding it out for them to see. "The ritual doesn't work without the group," he informed them. "If we do it without him, we lose."
Richie grabbed the object from Mike's hands and gave it an odd look. Mike snatched it back from him, shaking his head.
Steph walked forward, determination embedded into her eyes as she nodded. "Then we go find him," she demanded, "and we do this together."
"Wait for one second," spoke Richie. "If we're going to look for him, where the heck are we supposed to look?!"
"If Bill's going to fight It, there's only one place he'll go," Beverly pointed out, looking at the others. Steph thought about it for a long moment, thinking that Bev was right after all. When Bill had run off after the terrifying moment with the projector 27 years ago, Steph had been the first to go after him, and she knew where he was going instantly. And now, in the present, the exact same place came to mind.
"Oh, we're not gonna like this, are we?" Eddie said exasperatedly, and Steph gave him a sympathetic look.
"Probably not, Eds," she said solemnly, shaking her head. Ben nodded, shrugging slightly. "But we have to do this," he added.
Taking one more glance at the man that had almost killed her, a fire kindled in Steph's vivid blue eyes as her hands clenched into decisive fists. "Let's do this," she said.
And with that, the six of them took off down the streets on foot, Steph not even bothering to take her car as they went. She walked ahead of all the others, her hair swept back behind her as she put one foot in front of the other, not stopping once. She had a blank and set out look on her face that never faltered, not caring that the black sky above her was getting darker by the second. She wasn't going to give up, not now. The fact that Bill could be in danger at the very moment was making her more brave than ever, the courage settling inside of her heart.
Just like that day 27 years ago, she wasn't willing to let Bill do this dangerous mission alone. And she wasn't going to let him do anything alone ever again. She wouldn't let it happen if she had a say in it. She loved him way too much to let that happen.
After what seemed like an eternity, Steph finally turned the corner and stepped onto Neibolt Street. Each one of her legs had a pretty good distance between them as she took each step. And there it was. The very same house that she had gone into almost thirty years ago, and a small chill ran through her when she saw how much more decrepit it looked now; it could've been completely demolished and she would still consider it creepy. But the next thing she saw made her panic.
"Bill!" she screamed as she and the other five walked through the hole in the fence that they had entered 27 years ago. But now, they were adults walking through the eerie area in the pure darkness as each second went by. The blonde woman, who was starting to feel like her thirteen-year-old self again, saw her husband standing on the broken front porch of the house. He turned to her and began shaking his head frantically in fear. But she wasn't having it.
"Bill, I thought we were in this together!" she exclaimed. "We're not about to let you go into that freaking house by yourself! I'm especially not!" To be honest, even though she mostly felt fearlessness, she had to admit that she was a little scared; not of It, but what would happen to her husband or her friends. If they got hurt… if they got killed… She would never forgive herself and take her guilt to her grave.
She felt the presence of the rest of the remaining Losers behind her as they all stood in front of Bill. Eddie, Richie, Beverly, Ben, and Mike. And, unbeknownst to her at the time, Steph felt a little safer with them there as well. She was thankful that they had still stuck by her, even after everything that had happened to them over the past day. She had originally thought that they would flee Derry at the first inkling of something fishy happening. But, although they were all scared, they still remained, deciding that leaving would not be a smart option. She knew this as well, since she opened her mouth again to protest. Bill cut her off, however.
"I s-s-started this," he began in the most stubborn voice Steph had ever heard him use. Truth be told, it almost frightened her as she stared at him. "It's my fault you guys are all here. This curse… this freaking thing that's growing inside you all… it started growing the day I m-m-m-m-made you all go down to the Barrens, because all I cared about was finding G-G-G-G-G-Georgie…"
Steph noticed the sadness etched into Bill's face as he said this. She could immediately sense that he had just went through something equally as traumatic as losing his little brother. Her heart ached when she heard his voice cracking, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and never let go. But now was not the time for that; there were more important things to do. And as her husband pointed to the house, she silently made her decision.
"Now, I'm gonna go i-i-i-in there," he continued. Steph, although secretly missing Bill's stutter, ignored it for the time being as she slowly shook her head. "And I don't know what's going to happen… but I can't ask you all to do this…"
Steph was proud of Bill for how brave he was, but she could easily tell one thing. She knew that he was also scared, although he tried not to show it. She had been married to him for twenty years; she could read him like a book. Every expression he made, or each tone of his voice was so obvious and she knew what he was feeling. And, because of this, she wasn't willing to let him go in there alone. So, ignoring the others around her, she followed him up the front steps, grabbing his hand.
"We're not asking you to, either," she whispered strongly.
"Steph—" Bill started, looking like he was about to cry. Not bearing to see him do that, she cut him off by covering his mouth with her free hand.
"Shut up," said Steph in a low voice. He nodded dumbly, allowing her to continue, although reluctantly. And she did. "I was willing to go into that house with you 27 years ago… I'm willing to go in there with you now. You are not doing this alone. Do you understand?!"
There was a long and agonizing moment of silence. For a second, Steph didn't know what was going to happen in the span of time, and she was worried Bill would refuse her again. But, much to her relief, he finally nodded, closing his eyes, and she released her hand from his face. "Good," she finished.
"Steph's right, Bill," Mike stated. "We didn't go in there alone. We're not going to do this alone now."
The woman nodded, her eyes still locked on Bill's in a determined look. "And just like you helped me last time, I'm helping you now," she added, all the while cradling his left hand in her right one. For the third time that night, she took out the knife from her side pocket. The one Bill had given to her all those years ago.
"Losers stick together," Ben reminded Bill and the rest of them, Steph's statement coming full circle, the memory making her smile.
Steph shook her head as she squeezed his hand. "Bill, remember when you said that I was never going to lose you?" He nodded. "Well, that applies to me as well. You're never going to lose me. We're Losers, and Losers always stick together. Always."
"And most importantly, you and I stick together…" she murmured only to him, taking her husband's hand and raising his palm to her lips. The look he gave her in response made her want to kiss him right then and there. But, knowing that there was something they all had to finish, she just stood there. Her decision had been made. She wasn't letting the love of her life go inside by himself. And she didn't care what happened to her herself along the way.
"So… does somebody wanna say something?" Eddie asked the group, feeling awkward in the silence that followed. Steph turned back to the others, her hand latched to Bill's in a vice-like grip.
"Richie said it b-b-b-best when we were here last," Bill replied, his voice a little more confident than before. Steph glanced at him, then at Richie, thinking long and hard about what her husband had meant by that. But nothing came to mind, and it really frustrated her.
"I did?" Richie asked, sounding more confused than ever. "'I don't wanna die?'"
"Not that," Bill said, shaking his head.
"'You're lucky we're not measuring dicks?'" Richie tried again. Steph gave him an exasperated look, sighing along with the others as she rolled her eyes.
"Beep freaking beep, Tozier. Not that, either," she urged him, now remembering what he had truly said. Another long moment of silence resonated with them as the man in question stared at the ground, his gaze unwavering. But finally, he seemed to be thinking the same thing as he met hers and Bill's eyes in confirmation.
"'Let's kill this freaking clown?'" he tried one more time. Steph and Bill smirked as they nodded, determined not to let go of each other's hands as Richie's head bobbed up and down.
"Let's kill this freaking clown!"
Steph and Bill shared one last look before they all disappeared into the darkness of Neibolt house. At that moment, Steph was ready. She was prepared, a goal set in mind. She was willing to die if it ever came to that moment. She wasn't going to hesitate to sacrifice herself if she had to. All for Mike, Ben, Richie, Eddie, and Beverly…
For Stan…
For her father's soul…
For her mother's soul…
For Georgie's soul…
For Bill…
And most importantly… for Derry…
Whatever it took.
The inside was beyond repairable as the seven adults entered the house. Steph raised both of her eyebrows at the sight of the hundreds (possibly thousands) of cobwebs that clung to nearly every inch of the rooms, and it was practically impossible to get through them. But Steph pushed them out of her way as she also stepped over the rotting or dislodged floorboards. She noticed that parts of the floor were even gone, and it kind of creeped her out. She even smelled the decay and the mold, and she tried her best to not breathe through her mouth.
"Don't breathe through your mouth," Richie warned them. Steph turned to him out of worry. "How come?" she said, her eyebrows scrunched together.
"Because then you're eating it," he replied.
Steph shined a flashlight she had brought with her towards the staircase that led to the second floor, and she decided it would be better to stay away from it. She was proven right when she saw a hissing black fluid slowly trail its way down the steps, making her visibly shudder in repulsion.
"Well, I love what he's done with the place," Richie said dryly, trying to bring some humor into the situation. It did not work.
"Beep beep, Richie," Steph and Beverly said simultaneously in a soft tone.
The blonde-haired woman found it weird to be in this house again, but she knew it was because of the fact that she hadn't been inside of it in over two and a half decades. But she felt that something terrible must have happened in the many years since all of them were teenagers.
They all trekked towards the kitchen, Steph and Bill's hands still linked tightly. She could still feel the presence of the others with her, but she somehow had the sense that they were drifting apart. Almost as if the group were being split up…
When they entered the kitchen, Steph let go of Bill's hand as they looked around the room. She looked in one particular spot, and shivered at the memory of a young Eddie lying against the smashed table, his arm broken all to heck. She shook her head as she looked away. She failed to notice at the moment that it was only her, Bill, Richie, and Eddie in the room.
Steph gripped her pocket knife as tightly as she could in her right hand, seeing the refrigerator that she could vividly remember, as well as every doorway. She noticed how dusty the walls looked and she could see the cracks that had broken through them, and it honestly piqued her curiosity a little bit. It made her tilt her head slightly as she stared at the aging structure.
Suddenly, a gasp of pain cut through the chilling silence. Steph rotated her head around, and she was just barely able to see Ben clutching at his stomach in agony before the door slammed shut. She gasped, afraid for her best friend's safety, as well as Beverly and Mike, who had been blocked away from her as well.
But, before she could move,
that same glove from a few weeks ago snatched Steph by the wrist and this time, It forcefully jerked her further into the room.
She yelled as loudly as she could for the others to hear her as she was dragged by her arm down the stairs. And right as she heard Bill scream her name, the basement door thudded shut, leaving her in total darkness as she kept being pulled.
Suddenly, she hit her head on something she could not physically point out, but she was knocked unconscious.
A/N: I know... ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I'm sorry, please don't hate me! I hope you don't...
Anyways, Steph is in trouble again! Jesus, this woman can't catch a break, can she?! She needs a happy ending lol
Thoughts on this chapter? Was it the scariest one? I think I terrified you guys! MWAHAHAHAH!
Did you guys actually think Steph was going to die for a second during her fight with Bowers? Let me know!
What was your reaction to her getting taken by It? Are you guys on the edge of your seat?
LEAVE DETAILED REVIEWS!
Anyways, this is where I leave! Wait until Wednesday to see what happens next. Again, I'm sorry I'm leaving you guys hanging like this...
Once more, have a great day, and until next time!
- Hermione Romanoff