Floating On Air

by Winchestergirl123

Gwen Tozier always had a sinking feeling that something was off in the small town of Derry. So when her younger brother and his close group of friends tell her an evil entity in the form of a clown is the one responsible for all the deaths and missing kids, she believes them. She finds out for herself though just how real this clown is and what IT wants from her.

24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own IT or any of the characters. That all belongs to the awesome and talented Stephen King. I only own my OC and other characters I make up along the way.

A/N: *Comes out of hiding behind huge rock* Hey guys! I know it has been along time since I updated this story but I really do hope this chapter makes up for it. I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays for those who don't specifically celebrate Christmas. Since I finally finished this chapter, we now just have the Blood Oath scene and then an extra chapter before we head into Chapter 2. Exciting, huh? I am seriously anxious to see whatever teaser/trailer they are going to release. They already finished filming. I'm guessing they are going to release at least something during the summer. Hopefully. Since Chapter 2 is coming out in September. Anyways...since I am now on Winter break the next chapter should be up soon.

Did you guys see the new post for season 3 of Stranger Things? OMG I am excited. The release date is July 4th and I'm ready for new episodes. I'm gonna re-watch seasons 1 and 2 again for the Stranger Things/IT crossover I have. I hope to update that story as well. No promises that it'll be out soon but keep an eye out for an update nonetheless.

I also saw the movie the Summer of 84 and omg...my heart. I was in tears. I recommend it for those who haven't watched it. The movie gives off a Stranger things/Disturbia vibe. It's a total popcorn flick. Just a forewarning though be prepared for angst...those who have seen the movie know what I am talking about. But in a way the sadness I felt totally helped when writing the ending of this chapter. It was really emotional and I needed to get into that specific mood. Watching that movie and listening to its soundtrack definitely helped. No matter how much it left a sting in my heart. Listen to End Of Summer by Le Matos. That score is amazing but also heartbreaking.

I kind of wanted to write more on this author's note but since I've kept you guys waiting I'll just end it here...happy readings...or is it really happy? Idk...I'll let you guys decide. I'm gonna go hide under that rock now. Bye.

*Warning*

There is mentions of sexual assault in this chapter. Sorry in advance. Once again, read with caution.

---

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

― Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953

---

Chapter 24: The emotional battle of 1989

Getting the others to join them wasn't as difficult as Bill and Richie thought. They knew already in a way that there wouldn't be a struggle. Not once Bill and Richie explained that IT had taken both Beverly and Gwen. After that was told their remaining friends reunited without any issues whatsoever. Each of them felt such power in strength when they rode their bikes through the seemingly peaceful neighborhood leading to the Neibolt House. They knew the truth, though. There was no peace in that neighborhood, or in any that resided in the town of Derry.

On that specific day, as they rode their bikes together, and as the wind passed their ears and went through their hair, they each felt gallantry coursing through their veins. Richie especially felt this and his determination to save his older sister remained just as strongly when he and the others finally arrived at the Neibolt House.

A bit of the boys sudden bravery did falter when they got off their bikes. However, that didn't stop any of them from passing the old gates of said house. As this happened, Eddie without any reluctance took off his fanny pack and threw it in the air. Not at all caring where it landed. The others saw this and were quietly proud of the smaller boy for finally taking charge. Eddie couldn't really bask in his sense of control when it came to finally standing up to his mother. And there was a reason for that.

Out of all of them, (aside from Richie) Eddie felt the most guilty regarding Gwen's capture. He'd been the last one to have seen Gwen. Maybe if he had stayed with her IT would have never taken her away with Beverly. They would have still gotten together to rescue Beverly but Gwen would have been with them in their rescue group. Instead she, like Beverly, needed saving now. Which was exactly what he and the others were going to do to. They were going to rescue Beverly and Gwen. The two most important girls in their lives.

"Guys spikes." Bill instructed them. Right away the rest of them began handing Bill any loose metal spikes they were able to find on the lawn. The Denbrough boy carefully put them in the backpack he had brought along to carry now said weapons. Richie and Mike on the other hand already carried weapons of their own. Richie had his older sister's baseball bat inside the sports bag he was carrying, and Mike had his bolt gun on him. The bolt gun he learned how to use when working at his grandfather's farm. The others quickly looked around to find anything else that they they could use against IT.

After letting his gaze wander, Richie saw a beer bottle on the ground. An idea then quickly came to mind. Setting down the sports bag to the side, he grabbed the beer bottle and then hit it against the front porch railing. His planned to make a weapon failed once he saw how short the beer bottle came out to be. The others stared at the bespectacled boy in bemusement. Richie got a sheepish expression on his face. "Oops." He uttered in slight embarrassment. He dropped the beer bottle to the ground. It appeared that Gwen's baseball bat would have to do.

After getting enough weapons and checking they had everything they needed, the six of them were finally ready to enter the Neibolt House. Uneven breathing could be heard when the front door was opened by Bill. Seeing as he was the leader of the group, Bill was the first to enter. The others followed closely behind him.

As they made their way inside the Neibolt House none of them saw the blue Trans Am that was parked in the grassy field. Nor were they aware of the bloody faced individual that was watching them from inside the drivers seat. They had no idea of the other danger that lurked closely behind them...one that would soon make their appearance known.

Ben was the second to last to enter the eerie house. Once inside he right away got a feeling that told him to glance back. As soon as he did this he caught sight of something that halted his movements. "Stan?" He called out once noticing the curly haired boy wasn't following them anymore. By now the others stopped walking and turned their attention onto their bird loving friend.

There stood Stan the Man frozen in place outside the front door of the Neibolt House. Just as he was about to enter his body froze from consternation. His light brown eyes were wide from trepidation. The valor he had before mysteriously disappeared. He now looked at his friends almost as if he were going to have a panic attack any second now. Bill quickly took the chance to try to get him to see reason. Bill and the others needed Stan but more importantly Stan needed to find the courage within himself in order to continue. Just like the others had.

"Stan, we all have to go." Bill calmly told him. He stuttered what he had to say next but that didn't take away the value his speech contained. It was just as powerful as the one he had given the first time he entered Neibolt. "B-B-Beverly and Gwen, they were right. If we split up like last time, that clown will kills us one by one. But if we stick together, all of us, we'll win."

"He's right, Stan." Richie earnestly added. "We can win this. We just need to stay together. Stan...we need you." He softened his voice with what he said next. "Gwen, needs you."

Stan instantly felt his heart rate go faster, but not from fear. It was because of the love he felt for Gwen. When Bill and Richie told him and the others about her and Beverly's capture he right away raced over to meet the group. He already failed Gwen once the last time they had been inside the Neibolt House. He couldn't fail her again. Despite being immensely afraid, Stan knew he had to do this. For Gwen. For the girl he was in love with. For the girl he would be willing to give his own life if it meant saving her life. As he thought about the girl he loved, Stan finally manned up and entered the Neibolt House. Something he would later do again twenty-seven years from now when all the Losers were together.

The group carefully followed Bill further into the house. They each carried flashlights allowing them to see again just how old and stomach-turning the house looked on the inside. Bill told them to watch their footsteps as soon as they started going down the staircase. The same one he took the last time he'd been there when he ran after IT. Bill and the others were not at all shocked to see dried blood on the edge of the well. They knew the blood was in result from Beverly stabbing IT in the eye.

The boys were quiet. Each of them staring at the dried blood with several different emotions racing through them. The silence didn't remain long. "Hey Eddie, you got a quarter?" Richie found himself asking. Despite the horror of the situation they were all in his natural self defense of using humor still came out to play.

Eddie now looked further down into the well with wariness and disgust. "I'd wouldn't want to make a wish in that fuckin' thing."

Ben took a step forward and looked down at the gaping hole the well had. "Beverly!" He shouted as he continued to gaze down the well. From the looks of it (thanks to his flashlight) the well appeared to have a long way down. Much to his disappointment (but not shock), there was no response from the red haired girl he harbored feelings for.

"How are we supposed to go down there?" Mike finally asked the question that had been running through all the boys minds.

Luckily it didn't take long for Bill to come up with a solution. The Denbrough boy managed to find some long rope on the ground. When asked who was able to tie some knots in order for the rope to hold it had been Stan who answered. Stan knew how to tie rope knots fairly well because that was something his dad taught him when he'd been in Boy Scouts during his elementary school years.

Mike offered to go last, saying he would make sure the rope held in place in case anything happened. If that were the unfortunate case he would be there to pull up the rope with the person hanging onto it. Mike knew for sure he was strong enough to do so based on all the jobs he'd been doing at his grandfather's farm. The first person to go was Bill. It didn't take long for the Denbrough boy to find a side opening enough to go in once he started going down the rope. He called out to the others letting them know of this discovery before the next person went.

The next person was Eddie. Mike and the others that were still up made sure Eddie was secure before letting him go down the rope on his own. The smaller boy took his time due to his broken arm but that was fine with the others there to support him. After Eddie finally made it safely with Bill it was then Ben's turn. Followed by Stan and then Richie. That just left Mike.

When it was Mike's turn to go down the rope he was suddenly hit rather harshly on his back. He let out a pain filled scream by the unexpected hit as he fell to the ground.

"Mike!" All of the boys started to shout from down the well. They all heard him release a scream before a loud thud sound was heard. That was not good. "Are you okay?!" Richie called out as the others shouted questions of their own. Their concern for Mike's well-being only increased when there was no answer. Richie once again spoke up. "Mike answer us!"

It was then that he and the others saw a bloody faced individual step into view from the well's opening. It didn't take long for them to recognize who this person was. Even with the blood that covered their face making them look even more crazed than usual.

"Bowers!" Richie said in sheer panic.

Immediately after saying this, Richie and the others tried to grab the rope but unfortunately Henry beat them to it. The older boy grabbed the rope himself and pulled it up before any of the Losers were able to take hold. Henry threw the rope elsewhere before turning his attention onto Mike who was still on the ground, groaning from the pain the hit Henry had given him.

Despite hearing Richie alerting him that it was Bowers, Mike was still shocked by his presence. Although to be fair it had more to due with Henry's face covered in blood, and those eyes of his taking an deranged look. Mike's panic only increased as Henry narrowed those crazed filled eyes onto him.

From down in the well Mike was able to hear his friends yelling for Henry to back off, but sadly that did nothing to stop the older boy's threatening advances on him. No, Henry looked like he was a lion ready to strike for the kill any second now. Mike gulped, his breathing uneven.

"You didn't listen to what I told you, did you?" Henry rhetorically asked him as he walked towards him. His steps were nothing but intimidating. "You should have stayed out of Derry. Your parents didn't and look what happened to them." A cruel smirk appeared on Henry's blood covered face. "I still get sad every time I pass by that pile of ashes. Sad, that I couldn't have done it myself."

Suddenly as if turning on a different switch, Mike's distress turned into fiery anger. The topic of his parents, and Henry talking so disrespectfully about their death, infuriated him. With a glare aimed towards Henry, Mike immediately went to grab his bolt gun that had fallen next to his left side when he lost his balance. Henry already knowing he was going to do that moved a lot faster. Before Mike was able to fully grab the bolt gun, Henry jumped on top of him, pinning his hands down as Mike tried fighting him off. This royally pissed him off. Mike's protests just reminded him of Gwen and how she'd given him a few good hits.

"Stay the fuck down!" Henry shouted in annoyance. "I told that little bitch Gwen the same thing and look what happened to her!"

That surprised Mike but it did not stop his fighting as he asked his next question. Dread filled him with whatever answer Henry was going to give him. "What did you do to her?"

"What do you think?" Henry replied gleefully. That cruel smirk that was now planted on his face haunted Mike. "Who do you think some of this blood belongs to?"

Mike's eyes widened. Some? He thought frightfully. Had there been more people Henry hurt than just Gwen? If that were even true. What if Henry had done worse to her? God, Mike hoped not. Gwen couldn't be dead...she couldn't.

"And now you're next." Henry announced, sneering down at him.

Throughout this whole time they were conversing with one another, Mike didn't stop his movements. Just as he thought he was slipping through Henry's grasps, the older boy swiftly used one of his hands to punch Mike right in the face. The impact faltered Mike's fighting and Henry right used this as an advantage. He grabbed Mike's bolt gun from the ground and aimed the bolt right on his forehead. By that point Mike's composure had come back and he now stared at a laughing Henry Bowers ready to pull the trigger.

The strangest thing then happened next. It was as if time slowed down for Mike Hanlon. Henry was still holding him down, but the panic he was feeling momentarily went away. Mike's breathing evened out as he began hearing his grandfather's voice.

"There are two places you can be in this world. You can be out here, like us, or you can be in there, like them. You waste time hemming and hawing and someone else is gonna make that choice for you. Expect you won't know it, until you feel that bot between your eyes."

Soon after hearing those words of wisdom his grandfather had told him, a different voice then entered his head. A much kinder, softer, voice. Mike right away recognized it to be Gwen's.

"You're so much more than an outsider, Mike Hanlon."

That was what Mike needed to hear and remember. With all the strength he had, Mike managed to move his head to the side once Henry finally pulled the trigger. This caused the bolt gun to miss him completely. Henry was clearly thrown back just as much as he was angered by this unexpected outcome. Using Henry's disbelief in having failed killing him, Mike grabbed the nearest rock that was on the floor and with a mighty swing hit Henry right on the side of his head.

The hit he received from the rock was hard enough that it knocked Henry off of him completely. Mike didn't waste any time and quickly got up. He right away took notice that Henry was getting up as well. Mike narrowed his eyes at him, and with a powerful yell that was created by all the merciless bullying Henry had done to him and his friends, Mike ran towards him. With a single push, Mike had Henry falling down the well, his screams echoing as he entered the darkness.

"Holy shit!" Richie exclaimed, as he and his friends watched Henry Bowers' figure escape from their eyesight. He and the others soon began calling out for Mike as their flashlights aimed upwards. They all felt instant relief when Mike came into view at the top opening. The group felt even more relief once they heard Mike speak.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Mike answered as he tried controlling his heavy breathing. He was still in slight shock from what just happened. Due to his heightened emotions by accident he knocked over the ammunition he brought into the well. With a dissatisfied face he watched the ammunition disappear into the darkness just as Henry Bowers had done not so long ago. Mike sheepishly told the others this but they did not fault him. How could they after the fight he just had with the insane Henry Bowers? Plus, they still had others weapons on them. Gwen's baseball bat and the few metal spikes they were able to collect from the front of the Neibolt House.

Once Mike made it down with the others, he handed the bolt gun to Bill who put the item into his backpack. Bill was ready to get the others prepared to continue on with their journey. Mike stayed put, knowing that he needed to tell them about what Henry told him. He knew already that Richie out of all of them wasn't going to take what he would say well.

"Guys, Henry said something about Gwen." Mike nervously admitted staring directly at Richie.

Richie felt his stomach drop hearing this. From beside him, Stan's posture became stiff. Eddie and Ben were shocked to hear this. Their concern for their dark haired and dark eyed friend increased. Bill remained quiet as he fretfully waited to hear what Mike had to say.

"What?" Richie asked anxiously. The bespectacled boy's patience was wearing thin and his trepidation only grew when Mike remained silent. "Mike, what did Bowers' say?"

Mike lowered his eyes. "He made the impression that he'd done something to her...that I think...he killed her."

Richie right away shook his head. One word kept popping up in his head. Deny. "No, that's bullshit. He didn't. How could he? IT has her."

"IT took Gwen. I-I-I found her ring. The one Stan gave her." Bill added urgently. There was also that strong knowing feeling he had inside that kept telling him that IT had taken Gwen along with Beverly, along with the determination that made him want to save them even more.

"His face was covered in blood. And he said some of it was Gwen's." Mike weakly said. He didn't want to believe Henry but the deranged boy did have a lot of blood on him. What if Gwen had run into him before IT took her? Maybe Henry did do something to her. He was about to voice out this thought but Richie wouldn't have it. As if already knowing what Mike was going to say, Richie spoke up.

"No..." Stan finally voiced, now shaking his head. "She can't be...Gwen has to be alive." He could literally feel his heart close to breaking into a thousand pieces with just thinking about the love of his life being dead. The alternate choice of her being under ITs mercy was not any better but at least having been captured meant she was still alive...possibly. Stan quickly shook his head again. Gwen was alive. She had to be. Thinking otherwise was not an option.

"Exactly." Richie hurriedly said. "I don't give a shit how much blood was on his face. Henry Bowers did not kill my sister!" He cried out. His voice cracking as he said this. "IT has her and we're going to get her and Beverly. Then we are going to end that evil looking Ronald McDonald piece of shit clown."

Right after Richie finished saying that an earth-shattering scream erupted.

"Did you guys hear that?" Eddie asked once the scream ended. His voice shook with dread. If he wasn't so frightened he would have realized right away just how foolish that question sounded because who out of all of them wouldn't have heard a scream that loud? But the truth was little Eddie Kaspbrak was scared. He was scared just as the others were but even more now after having heard that particular scream.

"Of course...it sounded like..." Bill drawled on, unable to finish that sentence. Though he really didn't need to. All of them knew right away (especially Richie) who that scream belonged to.

Without saying anything else they all ran towards the direction they heard the scream come from.

---

The group of six at the moment really had no idea where they were going. They were just following the path where that pain filled scream came from. Bill was up front taking the lead, aiming his flashlight forward as were the others. By now all of the boys shoes were soaked by the disgusting sewer water. None of them could find the time to complain about that. Not even Eddie who'd been the most against being near grey water. His determination to find Gwen and Beverly outweighed his hatred for germs. Him finally standing up against his mother was a factor to that.

Soon enough the friends arrived at a part of the underground sewer where there were four different tunnels they could go through. The boys stared at each other, unsure and troubled. They were now at a crossroads on which one to take. If they chose the wrong tunnel who knows where they would end up. More importantly, if they chose the wrong tunnel they wouldn't be able to find the source of where the scream had come from. A source they all knew who it was but they were too in denial admit it aloud to themselves yet.

As his gaze went to each tunnel individually, Richie suddenly felt a gentle breeze on him. For a moment there he expected to smell more of the revolting sewer air. Much to his surprise the smell didn't worsen when the breeze occurred. No, instead Richie got a warm feeling go through him. It was very brief but it had made him look directly onto the second tunnel. Behind his glasses, his dark eyes narrowed. He aimed his flashlight at said tunnel and he found his voice.

"This way!" Richie announced strongly.

The others quickly moved their flashlights to the tunnel the bespectacled boy was now gesturing to. Before any of them moved the rest of the Losers looked at Bill, waiting to see what he had to say based on Richie's sudden declaration. The Denbrough boy found no reason to go against Richie's choice. Just like with Richie, he too had a feeling that said that was the right way to go. With a single nod, Bill took charge and followed the path Richie had chosen. The others dutifully followed.

On the positive note there was far less sewer water in the tunnel they were going through. Whatever sheer luck they had though quickly went away. It didn't take long for the group of friends to come across something that immediately had them stopping dead in their tracks. None of them needed to shine their flashlights forward to know who was laying on the floor right in front of them. Something inside those six individuals made them realize who exactly that person was. Still, denial was the path they chose to take. And it would be until one them finally aimed their flashlight forward.

"Is that a body?" Ben finally shakily asked. It felt like hours before any of them said anything else. They all just stood there in trepidation. Ben's eyes started to get glossy. Please don't let it be who I think it is. Whatever shield he had cracked when he heard Eddie speak. The smallest out of all of them aimed their flashlight, not all ready to accept the truth, but he could no longer live in denial.

"Oh my God! It's Gwen!" Eddie shouted in sheer panic. His flashlight made it clear enough for all them to see the Tozier girl. They'd all hoped it hadn't been her...but them hoping got them nowhere at the moment. Gwen's pancaked scream they'd heard should have indicated that.

Everyone reacted right away at the sight of Gwen's unconscious body. Bill, Eddie, Ben, and Mike were as shell-shocked as ever. Stan remained still as a statue, his face turning white as a sheet. The first to move was Richie. The Tozier boy without wasting another second ran to where his sister was lying on the sewer floor. He put aside Gwen's sports bag as he quickly came to his older sister's aid. His stomach sank when he looked down at Gwen. A horrible thought entered his head.

She's dead. I wasn't able to save her in time and now she's dead.

Richie right away disregard this thought. "No! Gwen! Please! no!" He begged getting on his knees for support. The bespectacled boy started to shake his older sister as a way to wake her up.

"Careful." Mike announced as he and the others approached him and an unconscious Gwen. They all hoped she was just unconscious because thinking the other option was too heartbreaking. However, based on her outward appearance that seemed the most logical route to take. "Something bit her." Mike uneasily informed them. "Look at her right shoulder."

Richie immediately stopped his actions. He carefully moved around until he put Gwen's head on his lap. He asked Bill to shine his flashlight on Gwen and the Denbrough boy did that without any questions. Gasps filled the air when the bite Mike pointed out became more noticeable. There he and the others saw a wound. The only semi-good thing one can say was that it wasn't gushing out blood...at least not anymore. The wound looked angry and they knew from a simple glance that it'd to have hurt Gwen a lot. Richie's heart clenched with awful realization. Something had bitten Gwen. The bite looked like an animal bite but the Losers knew that it hadn't been just some animal that had bitten her. Especially not with the scream she had released.

"Why is she wearing a dress?" Ben nervously asked.

The Losers, especially Richie, knew how much Gwen hated wearing dresses. So of course they took notice of the red dress Gwen had on at the moment. It was puzzling as it was troubling for various reasons. Why was she wearing a dress that clearly didn't fit her anymore? One that was now revealing on her because of the small size. Richie felt disgust and anger at whoever forced Gwen to wear the dress. Someone either made her wear the dress, or they changed her without her consent. His thoughts immediately went to Henry Bowers. He saw a flash of red and he was ever glad Mike had thrown him down the well. If he hadn't, Richie would have killed Henry for doing that to Gwen. Richie then thought of IT. Another feeling he had was saying that IT was the reason Gwen was like this at the moment. Based on the bite mark she had, Richie knew that was because of IT. That fuckin' clown touched his older sister...and now all Richie wanted to do was end that piece of shit malevolent being.

As for the rest of the Losers, they all felt terrible for even looking at Gwen right now. Sure, they had seen her at the quarry (aside from Mike), but somehow seeing her now in that red dress made it more revealing than when she had on her undergarments. The wound on her shoulder and how beaten she looked added to that terrible feeling. The Losers knew she'd been through so much and they felt awful that none of them had been there for her.

"She wasn't wearing this the last time I saw her." Eddie added, sniffling. He hadn't even noticed when he'd started crying but he was. Him saying that caused more panic to arise in Richie. What Bill said next made him want to pass out from anger.

"There's b-b-blood on her legs." Bill solemnly pointed out.

All of them had been focusing solely on her shoulder wound that none of them noticed the blood going down her legs. Richie gazed down and he felt his own blood run cold from looking at the redness that was there. It wasn't gushing out or anything but clearly something had been done to her.

"Scratch marks." Ben uneasily said as if reading the question from inside his head. He shakily pointed to the long marks that were going done her exposed legs. "There's scratch marks all over her legs."

There were scratch marks and the others saw them. Somehow that explanation didn't sit well with Richie. Was that really all it was? Scratch marks? What exactly did IT do to her? Based on the wounds Gwen had, Richie knew she'd been physically attacked but something within him was saying there was more to the story. Something really bad. It was his and the others remaining child innocence (innocence that would soon disappear after today) that made all of them look over the other awful possibility that happened to Gwen. An experience that the Tozier girl would later finally speak about twenty-seven years when they returned to Derry.

At the moment all the Losers could do was watch, hoping for the best. She had to wake up. She just had to. Richie was very adamant about this with the way he was acting.

"Come on, Gwen." Richie said gently putting both his hands on her cheeks. He thought she would wake up with the way he was softly speaking to her but she didn't. Her being unresponsive added to his distress. The Tozier boy began calling out her name more loudly this time, but once again there was no result. Not even the endless tears that fell down his face onto her own woke up Gwen Tozier.

The other Losers soon began to cry as well. Eddie more sorrowfully than before. All they saw was how their friend Gwen Tozier wasn't waking up. Their tears were for Gwen but also for Beverly. They ended up finding Gwen in that awful state, so who knows what kind of state their red haired friend was in. Both Bill and Ben thought that as their concern and anxiousness grew. The word failure kept popping up in all of their heads.

One individual felt more like a failure than the others.

I'm sorry, Gwen. I failed you...again.

As he kept staring at the girl he'd fallen in love with, bloody and unconscious, Stan felt as if his soul was leaving his body. It almost didn't feel real but one pinch to the right hand and he knew it was real. As the others went to comfort Richie as he was holding onto his older sister, Stan, who was heartbroken, backed away, full on crying by now. When he moved to wipe his blurry eyed vision, he suddenly felt dizzy, and when he looked around his surroundings he noticed he was somewhere different. Away from his friends and the girl he loved.

Unfortunately, the others who were too despaired from finding Gwen on the ground all bloody and broken, didn't even notice the sudden curly haired boy's disappearance.

---

Gwen felt like she was floating around a large body of water. Back and forth. She had to admit that it was peaceful. Looking up she could see the reflection of the sun hitting the water. For a brief moment she saw a shadow of a turtle...a massive turtle. The size didn't disturb her. No...she still felt rather at peace. Which was extremely odd considering what had just happened to her.

What just happened to her...

Gwen's eyes widened from the memory of not that long ago. She started to thrash around the water remembering how IT pinned her down...bitten her shoulder...and then she felt that pain from down below before passing out. Gwen shut her eyes, her movements not at all stopping. She was about to ready to open her mouth and let out a scream. She did not at all care that she was under water and how her scream wouldn't even be heard and she would most likely die from drowning. Not that she was actually worried about drowning. Something told her that wasn't the way she was going to leave the world. Her rapid movements finally faltered when she heard a voice enter her head. It wasn't a voice she recognized right away, but it instantly relaxed her.

"My child, can you hear me?"

Gwen weakly opened her eyes again but all she could see around her was a bight light from above. It was warm and soothing. This light was not at all like the lights that came from IT.

Remembering ITs attack made Gwen's stomach drop. For brief second she felt a sting come from the wound on her right shoulder. ITs attack did a number on her. Gwen realized now that she must have been hallucinating or something because of the blood loss. She was still strong enough to be surprised to hear such a caring voice reach out for her. If that voice was even real. Even if it wasn't real, she knew right away whoever that was, wasn't IT. This was a benevolent being...the complete opposite of IT. Using all the strength she could muster, Gwen called out for this assistance.

"Please help!" She cried out without actually opening her mouth. Everything she was saying was coming from her head. It didn't take long for the voice to reply back the same way.

"You have what you need already."

"What are you talking about? I don't have anything!"

"Yes, you do." The voice calmly replied back to her. "Look within yourself as you have in the past and once you find what you need use the silver."

"What? You mean my necklace?" That was only silver item she had...but how would a necklace be able to help her out? That wasn't a weapon! Not to mention she wasn't even wearing it because she had lost it. "Please." Gwen cried out, frantic. "You have to help me some other way!"

"I already have. Now hurry, your time is near."

However, before anything could happen the voice spoke again. This time the voice sounded more solemn than before.

"But remember this for later..." The voice started off, lowly.

Gwen frowned, deep down already knowing what was about to be said wasn't going to be good. "Remember what?"

There was silence again, and then that benevolent voice spoke.

"You'll find love but not the kind of love you wish to have. For the love you want will never last."

That last sentence confused Gwen as much as it would haunt her later on. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You know what it means." The voice soberly told her. "You don't even have to dig deep to know. You've already figured it out."

Repeating what the voice just said caused Gwen's heart to ache. She now knew exactly what that meant. Her reasoning to stay away from Stan had been justifiable all along. That didn't make it any less painful. She loved Stan...but now she knew for certain she couldn't be with him...or with anyone for that matter. Not that she actually wanted to be with anyone else. Stan was the only person she could see herself with. But that was just a fantasy. All she could think about now was the loss opportunity of happiness she could have had with Stan.

"You can hate me all you want." The voice softly said sensing the emotional pain she was going through. "What I did to you was unfair but it had to be done. You were the protector they needed. You may not see that now, nor will you for a long time. One day, when you're older and wiser beyond your years you will understand. Until then...goodbye, my child."

Gwen felt her heartbeat against her chest. The protector they needed? What did that mean? Gwen took a moment to think and then tried connecting the dots. Did the voice mean she was chosen to watch over Richie and her friends? She was their so called protector? If so, Gwen didn't see herself as a protector. Yes, she cared immensely for each and everyone of them and would be anything to ensue their safety, but being officially named as their protector didn't sit well with Gwen.

How was she this supposed all mighty protector? She was a nobody. She was just this ordinary lousy human being who suffered through depression and had hyperactive tendencies. There was nothing extraordinary about her that made her qualified enough to be a protector over the lives of seven kids. The mystical voice had surely been wrong in that part that was told to her.

Gwen was ready to protest this but before she was even able to say a single word the shadow from the massive turtle passed by again. The light was much brighter this time and warmer. Her need to argue what was said before went away as Gwen basked in the peace that now surrounded her. She was in such peace that she was not at all bothered when she felt a strong pull, making her go swimming up the surface of the water. Before she reached the top, her vision became blurry and she lost consciousness again.

---

"Gwen, wake up. Please, wake up." Richie desperately cried out. He had no idea how long he had kept this up, but he didn't care how much time he spent trying to wake his sister. By now his pleading came out needy and not at all put together anymore. The thirteen year old was falling apart right then and there. All the Losers could do was offer side support as they watched their usually facetious friend cry for his older sister.

Richie hiccuped as he tasted the tears that fell down his face. His nose was now runny but he payed little attention to that detail. He really didn't care on how broken he looked at the moment. All he cared about was for Gwen to wake up. She had to. His begging did not cease. "Please wake up." I can't live without you, big sister. What am I supposed to do if you're not in my life? Please...come back. God, if you really exist please bring her back. Please.

And then suddenly (just when he was about to reluctantly accept that his older sister was really gone), with a heavy intake of air, Gwen Tozier woke up letting out a loud gasp. All the others (including Richie) were surprised by this. It was not at all an unwelcome surprise though. Richie was quick enough to move out of the way as Gwen lifted herself up, now getting into a sitting position. Her dark eyes were wide, and her breathing was all over the place. She took a few seconds to collect herself, all while the others silently watched. They all were waiting to see what Gwen would do next.

Once having gained enough composure, Gwen slowly turned to look at Richie, her eyes narrowed a bit. "Richie?" She asked, unsure. Was this real? Was he and the other Losers there with her? Or was she still dreaming?

Richie rapidly making his way towards her made Gwen more aware of where she really was. "Oh, thank God!" He exclaimed, relieved. "Jesus Christ..." He muttered into her hair as he hugged her. He did not at all care how messy and tangled her dark locks were. He just needed to hold her, as if not being near her meant she was not actually awake and talking again. "I thought you were gone for good." He sadly said he as tightened the hug. "I don't know what I would have done if you..."

Gwen now officially knew she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. Nope this was real. The pain she got from her right shoulder wound proved it. As she felt the pain, the memory of what IT had done hit her like slap to the face. She felt another uncomfortable sting but this time the discomfort didn't come from the bite that was on her shoulder. She felt it more downward. She closed her eyes as she kept hugging her brother, pushing away the tears that wanted to leave her. She could feel the scratch marks IT left on her when she had passed out. However, the pain she felt downward wasn't only because of the scratch wounds that were left by ITs claws.

No...there was pain in a specific area Gwen did not want to think about. She refused to acknowledge this pain aloud. If she didn't say it aloud then it couldn't be true...right? Either way, she would never talk about it, let alone tell anyone. Especially not to her younger brother and the other Losers. By now they had already no doubt seen the scratch wounds on her legs They must have assumed that the blood on her legs had only come from her scratch wounds. Gwen would continue to let them think that because telling them the awful truth was too heart breaking and humiliating for her. Not to mention she did not want to see the reaction on Richie's face. She remembered how he reacted when she brought up the whole Patrick locker room incident. He'd been angry, and with this incident Gwen had no doubts that Richie would be angry as well. He'd probably also find reasons to blame himself. And that was the last thing Gwen wanted him to do.

So no...Gwen would never tell him, or any of her friends about what IT really did to her. As she continued the hug with her younger brother, she felt a single tear go down her cheek. She tried to shake away these thoughts of IT but that was a rather difficult thing to do when she was still in the sewer, only now her younger brother and friends were here. Not to mention, Beverly was still floating in the air from the last time she had seen her red haired friend. Things were far from being over.

As the hug between brother and sister was coming to an end, Gwen swiftly disregarded the pain she was feeling. When he pulled back, Gwen saw how there were tears on his face but she could tell they were now happy tears this time. Richie then stood up and offered one of his hands to her. Gwen took hold and was gently brought up to stand.

Richie wanted more than anything to ask Gwen what happened. What IT did to her? If she was truly okay? If she'd seen Beverly? And so on. Like all the others wanted to ask. However, he knew the time for explanations will come later. Right now what Richie needed to do was make Gwen understand how sorry he was and how he didn't hate her. Now that she was standing up again, Richie took hold of her hand. A brotherly gesture that made Gwen want to cry.

"Gwen, I am so sorry that I said I hate you." Richie tearfully started to say. His voice cracking with emotion. "That's not true. I don't hate you. I never could. I am so sorry. Please, forgive me."

Hearing her brother say that he didn't hate her finally caused the dams in her eyes to break. Gwen released a cry and then a round of tears as she brought Richie into a hug. This time it was her turn to ugly cry. As she hugged her younger brother, Gwen made eye contact with Bill and the soft look alone made him and the others to join the hug.

Gwen felt a whole lot better now that her friends were there with her. It almost made her forget what IT put her through...almost.

After pulling away from the hug with her brother and friends, Gwen was a bit surprised yet thankful when Richie took off his white Hawaiian button-up shirt, leaving him in his white t-shirt, jeans, and old sneakers. She thanked him after he offered said clothing item to her. Gwen felt less exposed now that she had on the Hawaiian button-up. It wasn't an exact match and it felt a little tight, but at least she felt more covered now with it on. Sadly, there was no way the white button up was going to be blood free because of her shoulder wound, but Richie said he didn't care.

After thanking her younger brother again, Gwen then became puzzled when she stepped on something hard. At first she thought it was a rock and thought nothing of it but once gazing down the flash of Silver made her freeze momentarily. She stared at said items with wide eyes before picking it up. She looked at it muddled but also awed.

It was her silver Turtle necklace. Her eyes flickered to Richie as she held the necklace between her fingers.

"Did you bring this?"

Richie shook his head. "No." He looked at the necklace with as much confusion as Gwen.

Suddenly, Gwen remembered that voice from when she had been unconscious.

Use the silver.

This kept repeating in her head even after putting the necklace safely inside one of the pockets the button-up shirt had. Gwen felt complete in a way now that she was wearing her necklace again. That strength that had been missing before was there with her again, and she felt a sense of courage building up inside. The moment she was having with herself didn't last long and she felt her world fall apart once more with what Eddie said next.

"Guys, where's Stan?" Eddie asked looking around them. He'd found it beyond odd that Stan wasn't partaking in this heartfelt moment now that Gwen had awoken. It was then he realized once looking around that there was no sight of their curly haired friend.

Gwen looked at each Loser with wide eyes. Stan had come down with Richie and the others? When she hadn't seen Stan during the group hug, Gwen just assumed the bird loving boy was keeping look out from above. She never actually thought he would find the will to come down here. Stan hated the sewers. He hated anything dirty. But to hear he actually came down here impressed her. Unfortunately, concern pushed away how impressed she was by his bravery because the reality was that Stan was now missing somewhere down in the sewers...where IT surely was somewhere, ready to cause him horrors.

"Stanley!" Gwen shouted, but her distress increased when she didn't receive a response from him.

---

Stan was in a daze.

He spun around several times trying to figure out where he was. From the looks of it he knew he was still in the sewer, just somewhere different from where he was before with the others. It was dark where he was but not that dark where he couldn't see his feet on the floor or the outlines of the pipes that were around him. He luckily still had his flashlight. With the extra support from the flashlight he was able to see a rusty door several feet away from him. It was closed, but he hoped that it wasn't locked if he tried opening it.

Aiming his flashlight, the light gave him some type of comfort allowing Stan to hurriedly start making his way there. The chills he got all over his body made him stop walking halfway. He could feel that he was being watched at that very second. It was the same eerie feeling Stan got when he'd been in his father's study. The curly haired boy almost expected to see Judith when he glanced over his shoulder. Much to his relief there was nothing there. He sighed before turning forward again. The relief Stan felt though went away.

Stan's fear skyrocketed when he saw IT in clown form standing in front of the door. Pennywise. That name only made Stan want to run and hide. But just where exactly was he supposed to go? He had no idea where he was. He came close to screaming out for Richie and the others but would that work? What if they were to far for them to hear his cries for help? What then? Stan felt his body start to shake as he slowly backed away.

As IT watched the boy start to back away, a jocular wide smile appeared on ITs white painted face. The entity raised a white gloved hand and waved a slow hello to the boy. An almost friendly gesture had it not been done by an malevolent entity such as IT.

"Already leaving so soon?" IT tsked. "Naughty naughty, boy." The clown vigorously said to him.

Stan by that point had put a large distance between him and IT. However, he no longer could continue his retreat because he'd backed into a wall. Stan wanted to find another way to escape ITs view but there really was nowhere for him to run. All he could truly do was look at the clown in fear. He kept the light on the entity, thinking that maybe (in some kind of miracle) the light would keep IT anyway from him. It was a childish thought but it was all he had. A sorrowful dark thought then entered his head. Maybe he deserved to die this way. After failing Gwen again...perhaps he deserved this. His eyes teared up as he thought about Gwen. He felt goosebumps all over his arms when he saw ITs smile widened even more and the laugh that escaped the entity made Stan feel ill. He felt even more scared when the smile on the clown's face went away and the laughter came to a momentary end.

"Fear isn't the only thing I can smell on you." An angered growl escaped from ITs throat. "You like her. I can smell it on you. It's the same disgusting lovey dovey smell that Chase boy had. And it was because of her." The clown bared ITs teeth making the entity even more frightening. "Young love...always ends the same. With one lover dead buried deep in the ground and the other suffering. Or perhaps two dead buried deep after what you saw..."

Stan released a cry furthering ITs joy from seeing him in such a desolate state.

"Any-who... " IT chuckled darkly. "Care to guess what happens to you now?" Another terrifying sounding laugh filled the air. "Stanley boy..."

Stan jumped in place when he saw IT disappear right before his eyes. One second the clown was there and then the clown was gone. That did nothing to stop the fear that resided within Stan. He didn't feel safe enough to move forward again to where the door was at. It had to be a trap somehow. Stan inhaled and then exhaled as he slowly moved the flashlight around the sewer room he was trapped in. The sound of incoming footsteps made Stan's stomach twist with uneasiness. Nonetheless, he moved the flashlight towards where the sound was coming from.

As soon as he did this, Stan saw the horrific looking woman from his father's painting Judith running towards him. He let out a piercing scream before he was thrown onto the dirty sewer ground. The last thing Stan saw was Judith's sharp inhuman teeth lowering onto his face.

---

"I-I-I think it came from this way!"

Bill yelled from up front. The Denbrough boy once again was leading the group. Richie was in close second with Gwen closely by his side. The other Losers were behind them as they kept up. Out of all of them, Eddie had been the most worried at first. The smallest boy thought they all would get lost but Bill along the way had told them that this was the right way to go. Despite his worry, Eddie knew he could trust Bill to lead the way.

The group of friends soon enough came across a rusty old door with a large valve on the outside. Right away Gwen knew she and the others had to open up that door. Stan was on the other side. It was like she could feel his presence...and she could tell he was in danger. Her and the others followed Bill's actions and began twisting the large valve. It was a struggle, but with all of them there they managed to get the door opened.

None of them wasted another second and the moment the door was opened they all bolted inside. They right away began calling Stan's name. Gwen's worry only escalated when there's was no answer. Eddie quickly noticed an abandoned flashlight that was on the ground. The others followed him as he went to grab it. The smaller boy aimed the flashlight forward. The Losers were then met with an nightmare inducing sight.

There in front of them was an unrealistic disfigured woman dressed in black, feasting on Stan's face. The moment Gwen saw this horrific scene play out she honestly thought Stan was already dead. Her knees became weak and she felt close to passing out from having thought that. Her actually see that happen to Stan was gut-wrenching. However, it was obvious their sudden appearance threw off the entity because the disfigured woman backed off. When this happened, Gwen and the others saw blood pour out from the teeth marks left on Stan's face.

Despite the blood, Gwen felt instant relief when Stan took a huge intake of air. He was alive. Her relief was short lived when she realized that disfigured woman was still there. It was almost like she was hissing at them. Gwen jumped in place, but she relaxed when Richie held onto her hand. She was scared, just as he was but she greatly appreciated the comfort he was still trying to give her.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Richie asked in horror. He stood in front of Gwen, trying his hardest to block her from this creatures view. He noticed though how the creature took a step forward and hissed again. This did nothing to falter Richie's protectiveness over his older sister.

Gwen's fear went away as she was mentally preparing herself to take a step forward if needed. She wasn't just going to stand there and let Richie and the others suffer. If she had to, Gwen would fight this horrific looking woman IT had taken the form of. "Get away from him!" She heatedly screamed making the disfigured woman back away. The creature retreated to a nearby pipe where it went behind. For a few seconds the Losers actually thought the creature went away, only to reappear again as Pennywise.

They all gasped, aside from Gwen.

The Tozier girl just kept silent as she glared at the clown. The entity right away could sense her anger, causing the smile on the clown's face to have more of a wicked meaning for Gwen. She also about lost it when she noticed ITs yellow eyes gleamed with satisfaction as it once again hid behind the pipe. This time IT was gone. Gwen knew it wasn't for good. She knew her and the others would run into the entity again. And when they did, IT was going to pay...but for right now she needed to check on Stan.

"Stanley!" She and the other Losers yelled before rushing to where the curly haired boy was lying at.

The second they had surrounded him, Stan lost it. He was in complete hysterics. The others tried calming him down but his behavior only got worse when Stan caught sight of Gwen kneeling down between Richie and Eddie. The curly haired boy continued to shake his head, thrashing his entire body.

"Stan, it's me!" Gwen persisted, but Stan was too traumatized at the moment. The image of Judith running at him with her sharp teeth was now permanently engraved in his head. Not only that, but the image of an unconscious Gwen haunted him. That's what caused to him to deny that she was actually there with him.

"No, no, no! You're not Gwen!" Stan frantically shook, not at all seeing reason. "I saw her! Sh-Sh-She's dead!" He tearfully shouted.

"Stanley! Listen to me!" Gwen shouted before an idea came to mind. Birds. Perhaps naming a few names of the birds she read in the book she gave him would calm him down. She knew how much Stan loved birds. It was perhaps a long shot but she still went with it. Gwen knew some of the bird names from memory right away, and the others just magically popped into her mind. Almost as if they had been hiding there for this exact moment. "Robins!" She ardently started to name loudly. "Grey Egrets! Sparrows! Loons! Hummingbirds! Chickadees! Wrens!"

That instantly got Stan to stop his rapid movements. His eyes focused on the dark haired girl kneeling in front of him. "Gwen?" Stan called out. He sounded a lot calmer and softer this time.

Gwen nodded her head. She sniffled as a few tears escaped her. "Yes, it's me."

Stan immediately wrapped his hands around her. "I thought you were dead!"

"No, I'm here Stan." Gwen soothed as she hugged him tightly against her. "I'm here." What Stan said next almost made her end the hug but she found the will not to. She instead hugged him even closer to her, if that were even possible.

"I love you, Gwen." Stan proclaimed as tears ran down his injured face. "I love you so much."

Out of the moment that was happening between them, Gwen wasn't afraid to admit her true feelings for him. Everything that was told to her during her dream, or whatever that was, was momentarily forgotten. "I love you too." She whispered into his ear. I think in some unexpected tragic way, I always have. Despite me being too stupid to not notice. Those four words she had just said to Stan in that kind of context were words Gwen would only ever say to him and actually mean it. Even with all the partners she would have later on in her life, none of them would ever make her feel the way Stan did during their youth (and later on adult life). Those other guys would never be on the same level of the love she had for the curly haired boy who had a passion for bird watching and cleanliness. Gwen would only ever love one person that fiercely in her life. "I really do." She softly said to him.

The two of them continued to hug, completely forgetting that the other Losers were there. That was until Gwen ended the hug and then silently welcomed the others to comfort Stan. As the others hugged Stan and whispered words of love and encouragement, his soft brown eyes never once left Gwen.

As this was happening, Bill caught sight of his little brother wearing his yellow raincoat outside the door they had come through. Without clearly thinking, he grabbed the bolt gun Mike had set down when comforting Stan, and chased after Georgie's retreating form. Right away the first one to notice Bill's absence was Eddie.

"Bill?!" Eddie called out once noticing how their friend was taking off without them. "Bill?!" The only response he and the others got was the sound of footsteps, going further away from where they were.

---

With the help of Mike and Ben, Stan was able to get up. The curly haired boy was still shell-shocked but having Gwen near him made it easier for him to continue on. The Tozier girl held onto Stan's hand as she walked behind Richie and the others. The group had left the sewer room they had found Stan in and were now waking in the tunnel they assumed Bill had gone through. This tunnel unlike the others they had gone through had higher water, making it more difficult for them to walk, let alone for them to run.

Sooner or later, Gwen knew one of them would fall, and not much to her surprise it had been Eddie who had fallen victim to high levels of the sewer water. Eddie tripped, dropping his flashlight fell out of his hands and causing water to splash around.

Richie made a face when he saw his small friend fall into the sewer water. "Ugh, get out of there, dude. That's grey water."

"Wait, wait, wait. Oh my God, where's my fuckin' flashlight?" Eddie frantically asked as he began searching for said item.

"I think it's over here." Gwen said reaching for it. She saw something move and naively thought it had been Eddie's flashlight. Except that wasn't Eddie's flashlight. Her face twisted into absolute horror when she realized the item she grabbed was a corpse. She let go of Stan's hand from shock, and fell in the water. The sudden movement somehow caused the corpse to land right on her. They all screamed and everyone's terror only increased once they recognized who that corpse was.

"Oh shit! It's Patrick!" Richie informed them in absolute shock and disturbance. After he said that more dead bodies started to appear in the sewer water. Gwen could only find herself freaking out over the dead body that was on her.

"Get him off! Get him the fuck off me!" Gwen hysterically yelled. Having Patrick's decomposed body on her felt like she was being pinned down by IT again. She couldn't handle the extra weight on her. It disgusted her the same way IT had done so not that long ago.

Richie and Stan were quick to get Patrick's body off of Gwen. Once she was on her feet, Stan took hold of her hand again. The horror Gwen had felt before was slowly going away now that Stan was comforting her again.

"Come on, let's get the fuck out of here!" Richie yelled as he was already leading the way in the direction they were going towards. Away from the dead bodies they had just encountered.

---

After finally getting out of that nightmare filled tunnel, the group made it to a chamber where there was dry ground. They all felt a sense of accomplishment when they caught sight of a large opening that led into a massive room. Gwen right away recognized the place because she'd been there before IT had severely messed around with her.

Having seen the familiar area, Gwen thought about Beverly. She was still in there...floating. With determination on wanting to save her best friend, Gwen took a step forward. By now she had left go of Stan's hand, but the curly haired boy was still staying close to her. Close enough that he bumped into her when she'd come to a halt. Stan didn't need to know why that was.

Richie had given Gwen a look before she passed him.

"Don't do anything reckless, Gwen." Richie told her in such a serious tone of voice that it made the Tozier girl unsure on how to answer. Nothing else was said before they all went inside the large opening.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were met with the sight of Beverly...and it was a strange one. Even for Gwen who had already seen such a scene from earlier. It still felt surreal.

"Bev?" Mike called out but their red haired friend made no response. Beverly was floating mid-air, and they were able to see her eyes were white, dazed.

"How is she in the air?" Richie asked beyond bewildered. His voice shook a little when he asked this questioned.

"Guys." Eddie uttered raising his flashlight up high. "Are those..."

"The missing kids?" Stan finished saying.

"They are." Gwen sorrowfully clarified. "Floating." Despite the sadness she felt for all those kids who had their lives ended so soon, Gwen knew there was a bigger task in hand. She looked up at Beverly. Her eyes already watering. She was strong enough to push the tears away again. She cleared her throat. "We need to get her down."

"Here, help me up." Ben said to them. The Losers quickly gave Ben a boost as he managed to grab one of Beverly's ankles. He carefully brought her down to the floor, where she was now eye to eye with Ben. Much to his distress she still had that milky lost look in her eyes.

"Bev." Ben called out her name as he gently shook her head. "Beverly." He spoke again, this time a little louder. His red haired crush remained unresponsive. His panic increased.

"The deadlights." Gwen muttered without even realizing.

"The what?" Richie asked as he turned to look at his older sister.

"The deadlights." Gwen replied, more loudly and surely. "IT tried to do the same thing to me. Putting me in some catatonic state, but it didn't work."

"Well, how come she isn't waking up?" Ben asked fervently. "What's wrong with her?"

Gwen swallowed the lump in her throat and a few tears escaped her. It hurt a lot to watch Ben suffer from not having Beverly wake up. "I-I-I don't know. Ben, I'm so sorry."

Ben shook Beverly again. The tears on his face never stopped falling as he did this. "Beverly, please! Come on!" He let out a cry and then hugged Beverly. Gently pulling back, Ben looked at Beverly. In his eyes she was perfect. Inside and out. He loved her. She was the first girl he ever loved and he had a feeling she would be the only one. It hurt him a lot knowing he was never going to get a chance to actually tell her how much he loved her. He should have listened to Gwen and just signed his name on the poem he had given her. Now it was too late...or was it?

With tears still going down his face, Ben leaned in and placed a delicate, yet loving kiss on Beverly's lips. That caused Gwen and the others to react right away. Gwen's reaction was her going wide eyed as her mouth opened a little. She was definitely shocked that Ben had done that but she also felt proud that he finally stepped up with his feelings for Beverly.

"Wow." Richie awkwardly stated, but like the others closely watched to see what would happen.

Each of them felt immediate relief when they saw Beverly blink away the cloudiness from her eyes. A more lively look appeared on her freckled covered face as she started breathing normally again.

"January embers?" Beverly softly said as she stared at Ben. Although Bill's kiss from the school play had been nice, Beverly couldn't help but think that Ben's kiss had been nicer. Magical even. And it was that gentle kiss Ben had given her that made her realize that it had been him who wrote her that lovely poem.

Ben brightly smiled. "My heart burns there, too."

True loves kiss...huh. Gwen thought to herself, almost causing a small smile to appear on her face. Who would have thunk it?

"Jesus, fuck." Richie breathed out in relief. He brought everyone into a group hug, aside from Eddie and Stan. The two boys were still scarred by the floating kids they'd just seen.

It was after the hug was over that Beverly caught sight of Gwen. She really caught sight of the older girl. Beverly remembered seeing Gwen passed out when she had woken in the sewer. She tried reaching out to the older girl, only for IT to do that crazy dance before pouncing on her. And then the lights...the awful deadlights. Looking at Gwen now had Beverly feeling more emotional pain than when she had been under the deadlights.

"Gwen?" Beverly called out softly. One look at the older girl and Beverly knew. It wasn't necessarily the outfit that gave it away, or the wounds that were on her. Yes, those were huge clues but even if Gwen didn't have any of those indicators, Beverly would have known anyways. One assault survivor detecting another. After what her father had tried doing to her, Beverly could just tell. The redhead brought the Tozier girl into a hug, giving her enough time to pull away if she didn't want to be touched. Gwen didn't object.

Instead the Tozier girl hugged Beverly as tears ran down her cheeks. Gwen told herself she wouldn't tell anybody, and that was still the case. From the looks of it, Beverly figured out on her own and that made Gwen's heartache because she had an awful feeling Beverly suffered something similar as her. There was no other way her red haired best friend would have been able to tell what she had been through otherwise.

The other Losers watched as the two girls embraced each other, not at all knowing of the full extent of their sufferings. When Gwen ended the hug she gave Beverly a look that said, 'please don't tell.' All Beverly did was give her a discreet nod, letting her know that she wouldn't. Gwen let out a sigh of relief.

"Where's Bill?" Beverly asked once she noticed that Bill wasn't there with them.

Unknown to the Losers, as they reunited, Bill was there with them. The Denbrough boy finally found his little brother. Georgie was wearing his yellow raincoat but Bill right away noticed something wasn't right. Dread filled him when he saw that Georgie only had one arm. His right arm was completely gone. The little boy came out into the open, walking slowly towards Bill with the paper boat in the left arm he still had. The same paper boat Bill had made him all that while ago.

"Georgie?" Bill softly called out, almost in complete disbelief.

"What took you so long?" Georgie's voice sounded so little and hurt as he continued to walk towards Bill. There was a limp with each step he took, adding more to how vulnerable he appeared to be.

Bill's eyes burned with upset emotion. "I-I was looking for you this whole time."

"I couldn't find my way outta here." Georgie lowly said. He too sounded close to breaking down into tears. "He said I could have my boat back, Billy."

Bill smiled sadly. He thought back to the day he had made Georgie the boat. How they'd been all smiles and laughter before Georgie left their house on that rainy October day. Oh, how things had been much simpler back then. Filled with less heartbreak. "Was she fast?" He asked him.

"I couldn't keep up with it." Georgie solemnly answered, finally coming to a step in front of him.

That response made Bill see things clearly now. The real Georgie wouldn't have said that. "She, Georgie. You call boats she." By now Bill was fully crying because he realize that this wasn't Georgie. This was not his little brother. No matter how much he wanted it to be.

This impersonation of Georgie continued. The entity had yet to catch on how Bill figured everything out. "Take me home, Billy." He cried, his face scrunching up sorrowfully. "I wanna go home. I miss you, I wanna be with mom and dad."

By now the Losers were behind where Bill stood. They were all shocked to see little Georgie Denbrough. Gwen's shock didn't last long because she knew that wasn't really Georgie. This was not the sweet little boy she had come to view as a little brother. The same boy she'd befriended and would plays Legos with. No, this was IT trying to trick Bill. Despite knowing this, Gwen couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes again. It still hurt a lot to see Georgie, even when it was just a fake version of him. And the missing arm didn't lessen the sadness Gwen felt because she just thought of the real Georgie, and in how much pain he must have been when IT did that to him. The naive, sweet, defenseless, boy she'd come to care for as if he were family never stood a chance against the evil entity.

Bill could sense his friends presence behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and his gaze quickly found Gwen's. The Tozier girl didn't shake her head but she didn't need to. The look she had on her face was all Bill needed for a final conclusion. He swiftly turned to face forward again. His voice shook with what he said next. "I want more than anything for you to be home. With mom and dad, I miss you so much." He took a few steps until he was close enough that he could reach him.

"I love you, Billy." Georgie tearfully said, as he gazed up at him.

Bill felt his heart ache hearing this. "I love you too." He cried out. With a heavy amount of pain yet sureness, he aimed the bolt gun right on his forehead. The sadness in his voice was long gone now. "But you're not Georgie." He said earnestly and then pulled the trigger.

Gwen flinched when she heard the little boy's body hit the ground. There he was on the ground with a hole on his head. His eyes slightly still open. It was an awful sight to see but Gwen and the others knew Bill had done the right thing. So she and the others were not at all surprised when Georgie's body began thrashing around, almost as if he were having a seizure. Even though none of them were surprised by this outcome, the roars that began to fill the air certainly caused their fears to rise. They were horrific sounding roars. Not at all what a human, let alone an animal would make. No, there was only one thing in this world that was able to make a sound that spine chilling.

What happened next caused the Losers to watch with trepidation. Little's Georgie's body started to transform into the clown Pennywise. The transformation was weird, and they were creeped out having to watch Georgie's arms and legs grow rapidly into that of the clown's. Finally, when the clown's body was complete, IT stood up in a very inhuman like way. It was almost puppet like. The clown's body was slouched, with ITs head staring down at the ground.

Seeing as IT wasn't one hundred percent in focus yet, the others started to shout the same thing.

"Kill it, Bill! Kill it!"

The Denbrough boy aimed the gun at the clown, fully intending to shoot. He like the others had forgotten that there was no more ammunition, aside from Gwen who'd not known this piece of information.

"It's not loaded." Mike said lowly. Gwen, who was standing next to Richie, still heard him. A look of worry appeared on her face and it was seen by Mike. The boy returned the expression before switching his gaze onto Bill. "Hey, it's not loaded!" He shouted this time.

Bill thought otherwise and pulled the trigger. A sense of imagination, of hope could be a lot stronger than fear. And that was exactly the case when Bill pulled the bolt gun's trigger on IT.

Despite there being no ammunition, the evil entity sure reacted as if there had been. As soon as Bill pulled the trigger, the clown's forehead started to crack, almost as if it were glass. IT then leaned back, causing the Losers to think the shot Bill delivered had been fatal but that was not the case. With a screech that had Gwen's hands trembling, IT leaned forward again. Yellow eyes flashing before IT launched at Bill.

"Bill watch out!" Richie warned his friend. He and the others had jumped back from the entity. Luckily his friend took his warning and Bill managed to block the bite IT was trying to give him by using the bolt gun as a shield. He put the bolt gun between ITs sharp teeth. However, Bill was struggling keeping IT away. The entity kept fighting the hold the Denbrough boy had against the entity.

"Leave him alone!" Beverly shouted raising the piece of rebar she had found on the ground. She was ready to stab IT right in the eye again like the last time she'd confronted the malevolent being.

ITs actions against Bill came to a halt. The entity looked to the side causing the bolt gun from ITs mouth to be thrown. The entity now glared at the redhead instead, swiftly blocking her hit. Ben saw this and cried out Beverly's name with great concern. Luckily Mike jumped in front of Beverly before IT could do more damage to Beverly. Mike held onto a piece of metal spike, and much like Beverly was going to stab IT. Before he could do anything, IT with a might force threw Mike.

"Mike!" Gwen yelled in panic when she saw him land hard on the ground after being thrown by IT.

Her yelling caused ITs focus to go on her. The entity's yellow eyes gleamed as the clown began hurriedly running towards her. Before the clown was able to reach her, Bill jumped on ITs back. He swiftly put a piece of rebar between the entity's sharp teeth. This caused the entity's running to stop. Instead, IT was now thrashing, angered by the boy's attempts of fighting and saving Gwen.

Despite all this, IT managed to catch a glimpse of Gwen. With a snarl the entity started to make ITs way towards her, even with the Denbrough boy. Bill pulled on the rebar hoping that would stop IT. Bill's panic only increased when the entity just keep going forward.

The problem was quickly solved. Richie who'd been beside Gwen decided to run forward. Having enough with the clown trying to get her, Richie jumped on top of Bill, who was in return on top of IT.

"Get the fuck away from my sister!" Richie shouted in complete hatred at the entity.

"Help them!" Beverly yelled once seeing Bill and Richie in such a life threatening predicament.

Thinking only of their friend's safety, both Stan and Ben ran at IT. They each took hold of the clown's arms and held onto IT as the clown began manically spinning them around. Each of them became disorientated, ultimately losing their grip. The first to be flung off was Stan, and then Ben. Ben had fallen to the ground right away. He was quickly brought up to stand by Beverly, Mike and Eddie. Stan was thrown with such force by the entity that he hit a wall before he fell to the ground.

"Stanley!" Gwen cried out as she hurriedly made her way over to the curly haired boy. She felt instant relief when she saw that Stan hadn't lost consciousness. She offered her help and quickly got him to stand up. Stan leaned against her for support and comfort. He just needed to feel close to her after what happened. He knew full well that the fight wasn't over.

The both of them realized that when they saw IT throw Richie to the ground. The bespectacled boy landed with a loud thud. Both Gwen and Stan went to his aid. Once she was close to her younger brother, Gwen wrapped her arms around and him and grabbed the front of his shirt, intending to pull him up. Her actions ceased though at the horrific view of Bill being in ITs grasps. From the way the entity was holding him this time, they knew with just one wrong move and Bill's neck could be snapped. All the Losers could do now was watch with wide eyed, scared, and worried expressions.

"No, don't. Let him go!" Beverly ordered.

The entity shook ITs head. "No, I'll take him. I'll take all of you. And I'll feast on your flesh as I feed on your fear." IT grew eerily silent but then rose one of the clown's white gloved covered fingers. "Or..." IT shook that finger in the air before lowering it. "You' just leave us be." IT said and then harshly started petting Bill's face, as if he were a pet. "I will take him, only him, and then I will have my long rest and you will all live to grow and thrive and lead happy lives, until old age takes you back to the weeds."

"No, just forget about me." Bill right away said, his voice wavering. That didn't take away the sincerity that was behind what he was saying. "Leave. I'm the one who got you all into this. I'm s-s-sorry."

"S-S-Sorry." Pennywise mocked, laughing at his and everyone else's distress. ITs smile to the remaining group of friends was patronizing.

"Go." Bill shakily insisted.

Beverly remained in place as she looked at each of her friends. Her expression troubled but also stern. "Guys...we can't."

ITs yellow then stared solely into Gwen's dark eyes. They gleamed with with an emotion that Gwen couldn't tell if it was either elation or impatience.

"Or..." The clown began speaking again. "How about I take you instead and let him go."

"No!" Richie right away protested. Stan was who standing next to Gwen had been close to yelling out the same thing. The bespectacled boy beat him to it. Neither of the boys by any means wanted IT to take Bill or Gwen. In fact, none of the Losers wanted this. They weren't about to sacrifice a friend to save another. They were all friends...and friends didn't just abandoned one another.

IT could already sense the power that was beginning to grow within the group. The entity knew IT needed to act fast. Narrowing ITs yellow eyes onto Gwen, the entity spoke again. This time sounding more suave than before.

"Stay with me, young and pretty you will continue to be. Not old and senile ready for a deep grave underneath."

Gwen took a step forward. Her face was calm on the outside but she certainly wasn't feeling that way on the inside. And the teen knew well enough that the evil entity could sense that fear. Still...she proceeded onward as if nothing was bothering her. "This is what you want, isn't it?" Gwen asked, despite knowing the answer. She slowly lifted her hand that had some of her blood from the shoulder bite IT had given her. As soon as the blood was shown, ITs yellow eyes glowed with interest and hunger. "You want me. That's why you did what you did to me." She fiercely said. She wasn't just talking about the bite IT gave her, but the others despite Beverly didn't know that. IT chuckled darkly sensing her distress. Her dark brown eyes hardened with what she said next. "Fine, take me but you let Bill go." Right away after she said this, all the Losers looked at Gwen as if she lost her mind.

"Gwen no!" Bill shouted. He let out a noise of struggle when IT tightened the hold on him.

Gwen and the others noticed this. Which in result did nothing to waver Gwen's determination on saving Bill. Perhaps what that voice had said was true. Maybe she really was this so called protector. Because she'd be willing to spend her rest of her years with IT, even after what had been done to her. If it meant saving Bill and her friends lives...then she'd sacrifice herself for them. Gwen kept her steady gaze on IT. "You let him go and everyone else." She evenly spoke. "You do that, and I'll stay with you."

An even bigger eerie smile appeared on ITs face having heard this. The hold IT had on the Denbrough boy lessened ever the slightest.

Richie couldn't take this nonsense anymore. He got up and looked at his sister with disbelief and anger. "What the hell, Gwen? I thought I told you not to be reckless."

Gwen spared her younger brother a side glare. "Seriously, you want to do this now?"

"Hell yeah I do." Richie said determinedly. What his sister wanted to do wasn't heroic...it was tragic, and he wasn't about to stand by like an idiot and not intervene. He walked passed Gwen, and now stood in front of her. She and the others could now practically feel the anger that was radiating off of him. One might have thought his anger was directed only onto Bill, but Richie's anger wasn't aimed at his friend. Not that he needed the evil entity to know that yet.

"I told you, Bill. I fuckin' told you." Richie announced, his expression set into an intense one. "I don't wanna die. It's your fault." He began pacing as he started using his fingers to count down everything his best friend had put him through. "You punched me in the face, you made me walk through shitty water, you brought me to a fuckin' crackhead house."

After complaining about that last part all the Losers noticed the angered expression that crossed ITs clown form. They did their best to ignore said expression as Richie continued talking. "You got my sister involved in all this fucked up shit, and now..." Richie's lowered his hands, and his voice then turned away from absolute anger and switched it over to determination. The glare that was behind his glasses shifted onto IT. The ferocity behind such glare made the entity stagger just a bit because it reminded him of the anger that resided within Gwen. As this was happening, Richie discreetly grabbed Gwen's baseball bat that had fallen to the ground..."I'm gonna have to kill this fuckin' clown." Richie declared raising the baseball bat real up high. "Welcome to the Losers' Club, asshole!" He shouted before rushing forward to the malevolent being, not at all afraid.

IT growled before throwing Bill to the side. The entity's mission now was to block Richie's hit. IT never got a chance to. The Losers saw how the hit got IT good on the face. The swing Richie delivered had been strong enough to send the entity on ITs back. Seeing as how the entity was now at a weak point, Mike ran at towards IT with the piece of mike spike he still had. Before he could strike, the entity gained composure and grew burned hands out of ITs throat. The various hands took hold of Mike's weapon. Mike felt his grip start to loosen when he started to hear voices. Voices that sounded a lot like his mother and father.

Stan interfered once he saw how Mike was struggling. Grabbing a broken pipe from the ground, the bird loving boy whacked the entity. IT was not at all expecting a hit from Stan but quickly recovered. The evil entity right before the Losers eyes changed into Judith again. With a hiss, Judith ran towards Stan. The curly haired boy didn't run. He instead released an angered yell before hitting Judith right in the face. All Stan could think about when delivering this blow was the pain IT had caused Gwen earlier. That hit had been pay back.

ITs attention then went onto Mike again. The entity arms then transformed into what looked like large spider legs. That caused Gwen to nearly have a panic attack but fought against that from happening. She instead with the Losers watched in alarm as IT tried stomping on Mike with those horrific looking legs. Thankfully, Mike managed to get away and once he was in the clear Ben made his move.

Ben grabbed a metal spike from Bill's backpack and rushed at the entity. He stabbed IT on the back but before he could see how much damage he had done, IT twisted the clown's head. Only this time it wasn't a clown's head that was looking down at Ben. It was instead a head of a mummy. The loose bandages started to wrap tightly on Ben's head bringing him up closer to the mummy's teeth.

Bill saw a metal chain on the ground and went for it. With an angered expression, Bill hit the entity causing IT to release Ben. The Losers then closed in on the entity. Each of them ready to start beating the living shit of out said being.

"This is for hurting my sister! You fuckturd!" Richie shouted as he yet again hit IT with Gwen's baseball bat. This hit was much more stronger than the first one and that's saying something considering his first hit had left IT in a daze.

Bill hit IT again with the metal chain causing the entity to fall on ITs back. With another yell, Stan hit IT with the broken pipe he had. The hit he delivered this time felt more satisfying than before because Stan was starting to see IT start to lose strength. A few more hits were delivered by the others before IT flipped onto all fours. Yellows eyes connected with Eddie's brown eyes. The smaller boy shook a little when he saw the clowns face transform into the Leper he feared. However, his fear turned to anger after having the Leper throw up all over his face.

The other Losers expected Eddie to full on freak out, but that was not at all what happened next. Instead the smaller boy stood up, trembling with anger. "I am so going to kill you!" Eddie screamed. He used all the strength he had to kick IT right in the face.

The entity twisted ITs body until Beverly came into view. When the redhead caught sight of the entity it wasn't a Leper head that was staring at her. It was instead her father. For a brief moment, Beverly felt fear course through her body. Except she then remembered the fight she had with her father. She won that fight when hitting her father on the head with the toilet seat. She had no idea if he was dead or alive but at the moment Beverly didn't seem to care...not after what he tried doing to her. So the entity taking the form of her father didn't scare her as it would have before.

"Hey Bevvie." The entity in the form of her father chuckled. "Are you still my little girl―"

Beverly cut off what IT was about to say with a powerful yell. As she did this, she swiftly brought the metal spike she had taken hold of and shoved the weapon into ITs mouth. Not expecting that, IT backed away as the metal spike was spit out. Very briefly the Losers thought they'd finally weaken IT enough to finish the entity off...but they were wrong.

The entity released a loud roar before IT stood up. The Losers were taken back when they saw how the entity's eyes were now a blood red color. IT then hurriedly looked around until the blood red eyes landed onto Gwen. The Tozier girl knew what was about to happen. That's why she didn't scream when she saw IT jump her way. Nor did she scream when IT landed on top of her. She immediately heard the other Losers coming her way to help her. Her brother's cries of worry ringing in her ears the loudest. She wouldn't need help...not with what she was about to do.

"You wanna eat something?" Gwen finally spoke, her voice held nothing but hatred. "Fine! Eat this you stupid motherfucker!" She shouted as she skillfully reached for her silver Turtle necklace that was inside her brother's button-up shirt. Using her right hand she then shoved the item into the entity's mouth. She felt the razor teeth scrap her hand but she ignored the pain long enough to push down the necklace way into ITs throat. Once she knew the necklace was really in there she quickly pulled her hand out.

Gwen felt immense joy when she started to see ITs form start to shake. The entity was still in the clown form but for a brief moment there Gwen thought she saw the same spider legs from before. It was hard to tell though because of how fast fast IT was moving. Gwen had enough with being in ITs grasps. Using her knee she hit the entity right between the clown's legs. Gwen had a feeling if she hadn't used the necklace that hit wouldn't have hurt the entity, but she had used the necklace. And the hit that once would have not hurt now caused IT immense pain.

The clown fell off of Gwen, allowing her to escape. From the looks of it, the clown appeared to be choking on the necklace. ITs head was shaking back and fourth as if the taste of the necklace was revolting. The Losers just watched as IT continued to suffer from the sidelines. The entity looked to be in absolute pain. Good. Gwen looked at IT with a new a sense of strength. Seeing the clown in such state made the fear she had for the creature slowly start to go away. She now looked at the clown with such fierce valor. Try messing with me again right now. Try it! I dare you.

IT tried to stand up again but failed miserably. IT sensed her loss of fear, along with the others. She was growing stronger, and in return influenced the courage of the others to flourish. Low dread started to grow within the malevolent being. NO. NO. NO! IT wanted to rip her wide open for making the entity question the power IT had. At the moment, thanks to the necklace that was down ITs throat, that was impossible to do so. The throb in ITs throat increased until IT was finally able to vomit the necklace out. The necklace was no longer intact, but was quite broken. That did nothing to cause ITs pain to vanish. The entity felt incredible weak now. The blood and icky greenish black goo that IT vomited went everywhere all over the ground was proof of that. IT wanted this to scare the Gwen again, but IT hadn't enough power to do. She still looked at IT with such boldness. Knowing IT wasn't going to win, IT started to back away into the shadows.

"Oh shit!" Eddie said as he and the others watched IT shake oddly. The entity's shaking halted when IT backed up against a huge drain that lead further downwards. The Losers circled the entity, who now looked to be laughing. The Losers were smart enough to not fall for that. Despite ITs low laughter, each of them now knew for sure they had weaken the entity enough to put an end to the madness.

"That's why you d-d-didn't kill Beverly or Gwen because they weren't afraid of you." Bill announced strongly as he and the others approached closer. ITs laughter from the form of Pennywise stopped as IT looked at Bill. The entity's stare did nothing to scare Bill. His gaze on the clown hardened. "And we aren't either. Now you're the one who's afraid, because you're gonna starve."

Gwen stepped forward, her dark eyes filled with such fearlessness that made IT actually want to fade away.

"Seeing is believing, and although I see you, I don't believe in the power you have over me!"

That was the ultimate wound right there. That last sentence got to IT. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, IT felt truly afraid. The powerful malevolent entity that thought IT was unstoppable, felt full fear towards this group of eight individuals who saw each other as friends. The power their friendship created sickened IT as much as it frightened IT. Their glares made IT more vulnerable, but the glare coming from Gwen made IT want to disappear into the darkness. IT knew what had to happen next. The entity gave a growl before using ITs remaining last strength to do a back flip. The entity was now holding onto the edge of the huge drain.

"He thrusts his fists against the post and still insists he sees the ghosts."

Gwen knew this was a saying Bill would say to himself in order to get a handle on his stuttering. She right away assumed IT was now using it as a way to handle the fear IT now had towards them. She had nothing to worry over though because she knew they were going to win.

Stan kept his stare on IT as he quietly passed the metal pipe he had been holding to Bill. The Denbrough boy right away took it. He then raised the metal pipe ready to strike IT one final time. However, he never got the chance because the entity went even lower in the opening. Too far down for Bill or any of the Losers to reach IT. Those haunting yellow eyes Gwen hated as ITs cackling entered her ears. She along with the others then saw how ITs clown painted white covered skin began to break a part and slowly started to float on up, away from the evil entity. IT then uttered one last final word. But the entity made sure to make eye contact with Gwen when IT spoke.

"Fear."

Flashes of IT pinning her down flashed in Gwen's mind. She shoved them away as soon as they appeared, and she once again told herself she would never tell anyone what truly happened to her with what IT did. Never. Beverly figured it out on her own but the others hadn't. And Gwen was going to keep it that way. Right after she thought this, an eerie smile appeared on the clown's now practically nonexistent face.

Before anything else could be said or done, IT finally let go. The Losers could only silently watch as IT went down the well, disappearing into the darkness. Once they entity was completely out of view, they all looked at each other. None of the friends could figure out what to say to each other after having gone through all that. But of course it was Richie who was the first to speak amongst the group of close friends.

"I know what I'm doing for my summer experience essay." Richie halfheartedly jested.

Gwen scoffed lightly but she gently brought her brother into a side hug. She made sure it wasn't the side that had her shoulder wound. "Summer experience essay?" She quipped. "Think about the college application essay you can write one day." That got Richie to really smile. It was a small smile but it was as genuine as any of his jocular smiles.

When Gwen turned to her left to look at Stan, she noticed how his gaze was on the ground. She reached for one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. Stan lifted his gaze and his light brown eyes landed onto her dark brown eyes. The moment they had before when she and the others found him played in Gwen's mind. The meaningful words that were exchanged between them caused Gwen's heart to race in both merriment and sadness.

"Guys." Eddie sorrowfully said gaining their attention. Bill and Beverly who had been hugging pulled apart to look at what Eddie and the others were now looking at. "The kids are floating down."

As they continued to watch all the kids that had been reported missing in the town of Derry, something down below caught Bill's eye. His eyes became glossy having realized what it was. Georgie's yellow raincoat. The one he had been wearing the day Bill had thought he had just gone missing. Now after going through everything, Bill knew the awful heartbreaking truth. His little brother had never been missing. IT had killed him, just like with the other missing children. Bill slowly approached the yellow raincoat. He got on his knees and then clutched the yellow raincoat tightly against his chest. He looked at the clothing item and when he saw Georgie's name on it he released a cry.

The others saw this and slowly approached their grieving friend.

Richie was the first to hug Bill. Then Gwen, Beverly, Ben, Mike, Stan, and lastly Eddie who was careful in placing his broken arm. All of them hugging Bill and each other, giving comfort for everything they have each been through and even lost. They all cried because each of them had lost something that day. A part of their childhood innocence.

Gwen Tozier had felt that loss painfully.

The dark haired and dark eyed girl cried harshly that day. She cried for Georgie. She cried for Chase. She cried for Victor. She cried for all the innocent lives IT had taken. But most importantly, Gwen cried for not only herself and what she went through down in those dirty sewers (an experience that would haunt her even without fully remembering as time went by), but for her friends. For the horrors they each endured throughout the summer of 1989. Horrors that traumatized them individually.

However, it was through those traumatic experiences that made them closer to each other. It was definitely bittersweet. Still...deep within the sewers, Gwen Tozier cried for what felt like a lifetime, with the only warm security blanket being that she was surrounded by her friends. By the people she cared for to the point of her even willing to die for them. The people who she loved the most in this beautiful, yet cruel, and dangerous world they lived in.

Those same individuals she would later reunite with in order to finally finish what they had started in summer of 1989.