Chapter 31
Ale, Georgie, and Mike walked further down the trail and looked around. Ale sniffed the air for Richie's scent while Mike and Georgie looked through the tall grass.
"Look, there's footprints!" Georgie pointed out.
Mike and Ale looked and saw what Georgie was seeing. There were footprints hidden in the grass, almost big enough to be Richie's, and the path the footprints were found had obvious signs of the grass being disturbed. Ale sniffed the air, quietly, Richie's scent was fresh.
"They must be Richie's." she said.
"I'll call Bill and the others and tell them to get over here." Georgie said.
"Alright." Ale said.
While Georgie radioed for Bill and the others, Mike followed the trail of footprints and went down a steep hill. The area Ale, Georgie, and Mike were at was a field with tall grass and a few flowers. The field was mostly surrounded by pine and oak trees, but there was a steep hill on the right side of the field and past the field was the back of several buildings. Mike got to the bottom of the hill and looked around. Ale and Georgie were about to follow him, but Georgie looked and saw something different.
"Hey Ale, come look at this." He said.
Ale came over and looked over to find another set of footprints. However, these footprints were smaller, almost like a child's, and they were leading towards a different path. Ale sniffed the trail, but it was an unfamiliar scent. However, it was recent.
"They almost look like Henry's or Edward's. Are they faint or could they belong to someone else?" Georgie asked, wondering.
"No, but what would a child being doing over here?" Ale asked.
Georgie didn't have an answer, he wasn't sure if he should follow the trail of footprints or follow Mike. Out of nowhere, Georgie thought he saw a boy past a few bushes and the tree branches. He could barely see the boy, but he saw what looked like Henry behind the tree branches.
"Henry?!" Georgie called out.
The boy didn't respond; instead, he ran off.
"Henry!" Georgie shouted.
"Georgie, wait!" Ale warned.
Georgie ran after the boy, with Ale following him. Meanwhile, Mike was still looking around, looking for any signs that Richie was around. Alarmed, he cautioned his surroundings, especially since Pennywise could be anywhere. Mike walked into an alley, there were trash cans and graffiti covering the walls; possible hiding places for Pennywise to hide. When Mike got close to the other side of the alley, he saw the sign of the butcher shop he delivers the meat from his grandfather's farm to.
"Oh no, no, no, what am I going to tell him?" Mike wondered, scared.
He covered his forehead, he wondered what he was going to tell his grandfather and the butcher. Mike knew what he was going to tell his grandfather, but the butcher was different. Mike finally figured out what he was going to tell the butcher, but suddenly, he felt someone cover his mouth and a knife on his throat.
"If you scream or yell, I will cut you, got it?" a voice threatened.
Mike nodded, calmly.
"Good." The voice said.
The unknown figure guided Mike to go farther into the alley, towards the field, than turned him around and pinned him on the wall. Mike couldn't believe it, it was Richie; he seemed fine, if excluding the fact that he was covered in blood. Mike knew this was Pennywise, not Richie, but he couldn't believe the fact that Pennywise really did make Richie kill Patrick. If it hadn't been for Pennywise, Mike wouldn't have been attacked the Bowers gang. Pennywise made a sinister smirk, as he stroke Mike's hair.
"Finally, I have you." Pennywise smiled.
"R-Richie, I…" Mike choked.
"Be silent!" Pennywise ordered.
He couldn't believe it, he had the grandson of one of the people that beat his father, at his mercy. Now came the next part, kill Mike's grandfather, and then the last one. The idea of his plan coming full circle made Pennywise gleefully happy and he couldn't wait for it to be complete. Mike was scared, silent, and didn't know what to do. He thought about knocking the knife away from Pennywise and make a run for it, and he did have a chance. Unfortunately, it was too late. Pennywise stroke Mike's hair again.
"Ahhh. Mikey, Mikey, Mikey, you're so much like your grandfather." Pennywise said, sinisterly.
Mike was confused, he looked nothing like his grandfather; maybe personality wise, but looks, definitely not. It wouldn't be long before he realized what Pennywise meant.
"Y-You." Mike choked.
Before he could finish, Pennywise left Richie's body and entered Mike's. Once that last bit of Pennywise's spirit entered Mike's body, Richie collapsed to the ground unconscious. Mike was trying with all his strength to fight this, and Pennywise had to admit, this was by far the strongest he had ever felt a host resisting him. It was taking everything for both Pennywise and Mike to fight for control, but in the end, Pennywise won the fight. It will take more of an effort for Pennywise to keep Mike from regaining control, but that wouldn't be a problem. Once he took Mike's fear, he would be too weak to fight back; just like Georgie, Eddie, and Richie. Pennywise opened his eyes and looked at his hands; he was in Mike's body for sure. Pennywise laughed victorious and he approached Richie. Richie was unconscious and covered in blood, but it wasn't his blood. Pennywise stroke Richie's hair.
"Oh Richie. Thank you for luring Patrick to his death and your cries, they were so joyful." He said.
Pennywise grabbed the knife, but he heard a door open and was alarmed. Whoever was coming would see Mike standing over Richie with a bloody knife and Richie was covered in blood, so someone would think that Mike stabbed Richie. Pennywise moved Richie a bit, than hid behind one of the trash cans. Thankfully, it was the butcher and he was putting his trash in the trash can close to his butcher shop. Once the butcher went back inside, Pennywise came out and headed back into the woods. Suddenly, Henry came out of the bushes and approached Pennywise.
"Henry, what are you doing here?!" Pennywise asked, shocked.
"Master, your father is hungry. He says he needs something alternative to the fear and sinner's blood." He explained.
Pennywise sighed, of course his father was hungry, he should've realized that his father's appetite would return after years of hibernation. Thinking quickly, he had the perfect idea that could satisfy both their wants. Pennywise smiled and put his hand on Henry's shoulder.
"Henry, return to the lair and look after my father. Stay with him and tell him that I'll bring food soon." he commanded.
"Yes, master." Henry nodded.
He ran back into the woods and headed back to one of the many sewer tunnels that led to Pennywise's lair. Pennywise approached Richie and stroke his hair, one last time.
"Ta ta, Richie, we will meet again." He warned.
Finally, he retreated far from the buildings and into the field. Meanwhile, Georgie and Ale lost sight of the boy and stopped in front of a river. Both of them were catching their breath and looked around.
"I don't understand, I know I saw Henry." Georgie said, panting.
"Georgie, you barely saw anything through those bushes. Maybe it was another kid." Ale guessed.
"Maybe, but I know what I saw." Georgie said.
After looking around for a bit, Ale realized that someone was missing.
"Wait a minute, where's Mike?" Ale asked, alarmed.
Georgie and Ale looked around, they realized that they left Mike behind at the field.
"Shit!" Ale said.
Ale and Georgie ran back to the field, each one hoping that it wasn't too late. When they got to the field, they skidded down the steep hill and approached the alleyway, where they met a horrifying sight. There was Richie, laying on the wall unconscious and was covered in blood. Mike was nowhere to be seen.
"RICHIE!" Georgie shouted.
Ale ran over to Richie and checked on him, while Georgie took out his walkie-talkie and radioed for Bill and the others.
"What's taking them so long?" Georgie wondered.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long, as Beverly and Ben were the first to arrive, followed by Stanley, Eddie and Bill. Each one skidded carefully down the steep hill and approached Georgie and Ale. Eddie, Bill, Beverly, Ben, and Stanley couldn't believe what they were seeing, here was Richie, covered in blood and unconscious, and Ale checking for a pulse. Everyone hoped and prayed that Richie wasn't dead.
"He's got a pulse." Ale said.
"Oh thank God." Stanley said, relieved.
Ale took off Richie's shirt, hoping to stop the bleeding if there were any open wounds. Surprisingly, there wasn't, just a few bruises. Everyone was surprised, but it did confirm one thing, Richie really did kill Patrick. Beverly looked around, she realized that Mike wasn't with them.
"Where's Mike?" Beverly asked, scared.
Bill, Eddie, Stanley, Ben, and Beverly looked around, they realized that Mike wasn't with them. Their stomachs dropped, when they realized that they had found Richie and Mike was nowhere to be seen, making them think the worst. They looked at Ale and Georgie, both of them shared an uneasy glance.
"Mike was gone when we found Richie, Bill." Ale explained.
"Oh my God." Beverly whispered shocked.
"Unbelievable, you guys sp-sp-splitted up?!" Bill yelled, enraged.
"Bill, don't yell at her, it was my fault." Georgie defended.
The group looked at Georgie.
"What do you mean?" Bill asked.
"I thought I saw Henry in the bushes." Georgie explained.
"Henry? Do you mean Henry Smith?" Beverly asked.
"Yes, I saw him through the bushes." Georgie continued
"He barely saw anything through the bushes and trees, Georgie ran after the kid and I tried to stop him." Ale interrupted.
Bill sighed and covered his head, of course this was a trap, or at least a diversion, and Georgie and Ale fell right for it. Now they had more problems than ever before, Mike was now possessed by Pennywise, Richie was covered in Patrick's blood, and Georgie may be seeing things. Bill had realized that he hadn't really talked to Georgie about Henry and wondered if this was part of the grieving process. Beverly however, was convinced.
"So Pennywise, does have an accomplice. Bill, we need to take Richie to a hospital." she said.
"Beverly's right, the hospital is a few blocks from here." Ben said.
"Alright, we'll drag him. Ben help me carry Richie, Ale, Stanley, run to the hospital and tell them we're bringing Richie." Bill ordered.
Stanley nodded and he and Ale ran as fast as they could to the hospital. Ben and Bill put Richie's arms around their necks and carried him to the hospital with Georgie, Beverly, and Eddie following them.