The weekend came and gone for the Losers without much hanging as each went along with their own agenda. They all thought Monday would be more of the same.
Until Beverly called.
"I need you guys to come over to my place, as soon as possible. My old man isn't home so now would be a perfect time. I'll explain everything then; bye."
Each of the boys received that phone message, and without a second thought, all of them raced over to Beverly's apartment in the late morning.
"Hey," Bev greeted the boys as all hopped off their bikes, "I have something to show you, something that has me losing my mind, and I need to confirm that you guys can see it, too."
"…Okay," was Ben's answer as he was the first to approach.
"My dad would flip if he knew there were guys here, so we need a lookout."
"I volunteer…Richie to be the lookout," Stan said, looking back at the teen.
"Well, why not? I can always smooth talk people out of a shitty situation."
As the rest of the group went up the fireside escape walkway and into Beverly's apartment, they were all curious in knowing what she was going to show them.
"Okay, here it is," Bev said as she slowly opened the bathroom.
Gallons of blood were splattered on every inch of the small room; as each stepped inside, their feet felt sticky and wet.
"Good thing we kept our shoes on," Stan commented.
Eddie was still standing on the outskirts of the bathroom, his right hand covering his mouth, looking ready to puke.
"Dude, there's a toilet right here for you to hurl if you need to," Ben said, pointing to the blood-covered toilet.
Eddie furiously shook his head, not wanting to step in or be part of this another minute longer.
"Wh-why don't you go ou-outside with Richie," Bill said.
The youngster breathed a small sigh of relief with his hand still covering his mouth, and in a matter of moments, he was outside in the fresh air. Pulling out his inhaler from his fanny-pack, he took a few puffs and settled down before meeting up with Richie.
"Hey, what gives? Too much for you?"
"Way, way too much…her bathroom was covered in blood."
"Eww, like…her own, or—"
"I don't know, trash; let's talk about something else, or I will vomit."
Richie raised his hands in defense, "Alright, I just wanted to know."
"You have a habit of taking things way too far."
Richie solemnly nodded, knowing that Eddie had a fair point.
"Look," Eddie said, "there are times that you need to shut it, for real, and not let that brain of yours control what you speak."
"I know," Richie responded, "but it's something I can't help."
To be honest, you have more control over your mouth than you do your penis.
Richie's face scrunched up as he said, "What the…oh my god."
"What, what?" Eddie asked.
Perfect, now your little lover thinks your psychotic!
"Shut up!" Richie yelled, grabbing his head and shaking it frantically.
Seeing his friend in hysterics, Eddie grabbed a hold of Richie and shook him.
"Snap out of it, Richie; you are acting scary, even to me."
"It's not me," Richie replied, "it's my fucking brain!"
"Tell it to shut up."
"What the fuck do you think I was doing the first time!"
Richie couldn't take anymore – he pushed Eddie off of him and curled up in a ball on the ground, shaking uncontrollably, on the verge of tears.
Eddie fell to the ground and looked up at his friend in his current state.
'I…I need to help; fuck whatever happens, he needs help.'
The youngster went up and plopped right down next to Richie, hesitant in reaching an arm around for comfort. After a few seconds, he did just that.
"Hey, I'm here, you remember me?"
"Yes, I do," Richie whispered hoarsely.
'I know you all too well, Eds.'
"Good, because I don't want you to go off the deep end, ever. If you have anything, come to me and we'll talk it out."
Richie uncurled and looked at Eddie, adjusting his glasses in the process.
"I needed…to hear that; thank you."
With that, he reached out for a hug to which Eddie accepted.
'He cares for you so much – maybe that's why it's hard to come out.'
So, you admit – you're not normal.
Richie shut his eyes at the sound of his conscience sneaking in.
'I guess…I'm not, but what does that make me?'
Before Richie could ponder, Eddie broke off the hug.
"I wonder what's taking them so long?"
"…You said it was bloody, right?"
Eddie nodded to Richie's question, "Like, there was not one clear spot in that bathroom."
"That sounds…nasty. I should have gone in there and—"
"Done what, help clean? What happened if you broke down in there? Who would have helped you?"
"…Eddie, I—"
"I know you have the other losers in the mix, but I tend to think we're somewhat inseparable."
Richie smiled, "Really? You think of me like that?"
"You're my friend, and…yeah, I think very highly of you."
The smile wasn't going to come off anytime soon, but he was snapped out of his trance when he heard Beverly exit her apartment, shouting that they were finally done.
"You know, we were—"
"What, trashmouth? Sitting down just talking?" Eddie winked at Richie, to which the elder boy chuckled.
"Yeah, just talking."
"Well, it's good to see you two were not unbearable to each other," Stan said.
As the group hopped on their bikes and started to ride away from the complex and onto the open road, they noticed a few miles away an all-too-familiar blue car and a bike near the side of the road.
"Oh boy," Stan said, "this doesn't look good."
"We s-should – we need to help," Bill said, and as the rest silently agreed, each hopped off their bikes and raced down to the point of conflict, thankful that they were general noise to guide them.
When they reached the terrain, they found Henry Bowers pinning the homeschool kid down to the ground, a rock in his hand right above the head.
Beverly shook her head and took it upon herself to throw a rock directly at Henry's face, hitting him directly, which allowed the homeschooler to pin Bowers down – the tables were turned.
"Get your ass over here!" Beverly cried out, to which the saved kid obliged.
"Hey, there…"
"It's Mike."
"…Mike, good to have you—"
"You want to play dirty?"
Stan's courteous hello was interrupted by Henry's question, with him now off the ground. His comrades stood behind him, ready to aid.
"Don't fret," Henry continued, "all you have to do is succumb to the little game we were playing."
"In your wildest dreams," Mike responded, shaking his head.
"Alright then…let's tangle."
As soon as Henry picked up a rock, it was game on.
"Rock War!" Richie cried out before being knocked out by the rock thrown by Henry.
"Richie!" Eddie cried out, picking up the nearest rock and standing in front of his comrade threw the rock towards the leader.
Minutes rolled by as each side kept on pelting each other, neither one giving up an inch. Some rocks successfully hit their targets while others failed.
Belch and Victor looked at each other in defeat, nearly exhausted having to work twice as hard to defeat the Losers. They both raced up the hill, leaving Henry to defend himself.
"Hey, where the fuck are you all going?"
Just as Henry turned around, a rock that was thrown by Mike landed square in the chest, knocking Henry down to the ground.
"Take that, you…"
"Go back to blowing your old man, you asshole!"
Mike was impressed at Richie's gusto attitude after being severely hit in the head. As the group went along their merry way, with another person in their pack, they all raced towards their bikes up on the road.
"So, what brought you down there?" Stan asked.
"I was just…interested in going for a stroll when I was attacked by the Bowers gang. Thanks for saving me back there."
"Eh, it's what we typically do. We befriend people and help them along their merry way," Richie explained.
The group all hopped on their individual bikes and started to pedal down the street, unbeknownst to them that a figure was watching in the distance.
"Soon, my friends…very soon."