Chapter 3: Strangers in a House
Bill brings more boxes inside the empty house, feeling empty himself.
The house looked old; the wallpaper was rather dilapidated and fades, ugly floral curtains hung across all the windows, a lot of the furniture was old and ragged, and the hardwood floors squeaked constantly as he walked across it. He carries his things up the staircase, each step creaking so loudly, that it would disturb the dust overhead. Bill looks at the narrow hallway, with two doors on each side and one at the end of the hall. The first one was the bathroom, small with a window that looked onto the backyard. The tub stood on four legs and the taps were mouldy and dripping. There were several rust spots across the base heater near the toilet. The next door was already open, showing a rather small room with what looked like a canopy draped over the top of the head of the bed. He realized that the room was colder than the rest because the window was open. It blew the white curtain back and forth in the autumn breeze, almost giving the image of a ghost. It had a sort of hazy pink colouring to it, making it more feminine. No doubt this would be Mia's room when she came to stay.
At the end of the hall was another bedroom. It was already full of boxes and toys indicating that it would be Georgie's room. It had a bed shoved up against the wall and a rocking chair facing the closet for some strange reason. There were shelves on either side of a window that also looked out into the backyard, with a big oak tree's branches casting shadows all over the room.
To the left of his brother's room was the only one with a queen bed, which meant it was automatically his parent's room. It was a four-poster bed with bars reaching almost to the ceiling. An antique dresser sat in the corner of the room and Bill could see that his dad was struggling to get the closet door open.
So that meant by default, that the bedroom closest to the stairs was to be Big Bill's room. The preteen peeks inside, not quite sure what to make of it. It was just a bit smaller than his room in Derry, with a bed leaning against another wall. There was a desk to the far left, facing near the window that looked out at the house next door and there was a closet against the back wall. It was a lot like his old room, which made Bill feel a little more comfortable. The one thing that set it apart was the bulletin board next to the light switch. It was covered in newspaper clippings of all different kinds, which felt bizarre to the preteen.
He puts the box on his bed and turns on the light. His dad had already got the electricity working. His room had a ceiling fan that shook almost unnervingly above the light. A chain hung down and rattled every time the fan made a full spin.
Knowing that this would drive him crazy, plus summer was ending so it would not be needed to cool him down. Bill tries to stand on the bed and grab for the chain. It was extremely difficult, and he had a hard time not getting dizzy by the blades whipping around in a frenzy. He grabs the chain, pulling down hard until the fan started to slow down.
Satisfied the teen begins exploring the room further. He stares at the newspaper clippings. All of them had bizarre headlines.
Hawkins Boy Found Alive
The Boy Who Died for a Week
Where is Barbra?
Justice for Barb
Strange Sightings Seen at DOE Facility
Missing Russian Child
DOE Facility Linked to MK Ultra
Strange Beasts Roam Hawkins
All of the articles look rather pathetic, all conspiracy junk about secret government facilities and a couple of them probably talked about UFOs and Bigfoot. Bill scoffs to himself, never having believed in crazy conspiracies before, that is until he and his friends battled IT. A monster that lurked in the sewers. But despite the menacing presence in Derry, UFOs were still a stretch for him. The only person who would be interested in them is Richie, and that was because of his science-fiction obsession. Bill begins taking all of the scraps of paper down until he hears a thump behind him.
His heart leaps into his throat as he turns to look at his closet. He becomes nervous, scared of something that might be lurking in the closet. His hands shake, thinking of the worst possible thing inside... Had IT followed them from Derry? Could there be a dead body? Someone inside?
Despite his anxiety, he goes towards the closet, afraid, but also curious about what was inside. He knew he couldn't just let whoever or whatever was in there jump out in the middle of the night and kill him. He had to be brave. His hand grips the doorknob. He opens it...
A large bucket of golf balls comes pouring out of the closet, raining down as if it were hail. Bill steps back in surprise but is relieved that it wasn't something lurking inside. The tiny things pound and bounce against the floor in a myriad of noises.
His parents and Georgie come in at the sound of the noise and watch as the last of the white balls fall to the floor.
"Are you okay Bill?" his mother asks.
"F-Fine, these just f-fell out."
"The man who lived here before must've liked golf," his father says, carefully manoeuvring around them. "I think this was his office."
Bill and his father get down on their hands and knees and begin picking up the balls and putting them back in their basket.
"A strange place to keep them though," his mother says.
Georgie picks up a ball and begins bouncing it up and down, until it gets away from him and bounces down the stairs, making an ominous rapping noise as it goes.
"I think it's time for someone to go to bed," she says, taking her youngest son's hand and guiding him into his room.
"Night Billy," Georgie says before he's dragged out of sight.
"Night-t Georgie," he says.
Once the golf balls are all picked up, his dad offers to take them down to the basement or garage so there was room for his son's things.
"Think about going to bed soon Billy," his dad says. "You have school in the morning."
"R-Right," Bill nods. "Good night-t Dad."
"Good night Big Billy," his dad says before going down the stairs.
Bill drags over one of the boxes and puts it inside the closet, which is pretty tiny. But it would have to do for now. As he searches for his pyjamas, he sees a note stapled to the back of the closet door. Curious, he rips it from his place.
To whoever finds this note,
What is in this closet are projectiles, very useful in the heat of battle. There is also a radio in the basement that is used for any secret use only. Beware, there are ears everywhere. There are extra supplies with the directions below in case of The Great War. Please do not share them with anyone, also, never turn off the fans in any of the rooms.
E. W.
Bill looks over the directions, it looked like a map to some buried treasure or something. All of this confused him. He looks up at the fan, which had now stopped spinning: Why would anyone want to keep their ceiling fans on? It was a waste of electricity.
Projectiles? Great War? Radio? None of it made any sense. Bill decides that tomorrow he's going to ask his father about the mental states of the previous owners. He crumples up the note and tosses it into a nearby wastebasket. He then takes down all the newspaper clippings, throwing them out too, knowing that he now had the space to put up his art projects and other things.
He didn't think about much else as he got ready for bed. He puts fresh sheets on the bed and climbs in. The mattress is lumpy and uncomfortable, the bed frame squeaks every time he rolls over. But despite everything, Bill curls up, willing himself to fall asleep. He leaves the door open because he just wasn't comfortable sleeping in complete darkness tonight.
...
"Bill?"
The preteen turns over to see a shadow standing by his bed. He nearly jumps out of his skin in fright until he realizes that it's Georgie.
"What's wrong G-Georgie?" he asks, turning on his light.
"I don't want to sleep in my room."
"W-Why not?"
"There's a monster in there."
"N-No there isn't," Bill says.
"Yes, there is! ... I heard it breathing in the closet. It makes noises Billy."
"Georgie, it was probably the radiator. I-It's an old house t-too and it's new t-to us. It'll make n-noises."
"I still don't want to sleep in there. Can sleep with you tonight?"
"Sure," Bill says, not really in the mood to battle with his brother about the existence of monsters in the middle of the night. He knew they existed, but Derry was so far away now, that there's no way IT could've followed them here. Right?
He moves over to make room for his brother. Georgie curls up in bed, clutching his favourite blanket. Once the six-year-old is settled in, Bill shuts his eyes, trying to find sleep again.
He only opens his eyes once after what sounded like heavy breathing coming from down the hall and what he thought was a golf ball rolling past his door in the darkness.