▌Chapter 7 ─ Real Enough ▌

━━━━━ HOLLY AND BEVERLY was the first to come to a sudden stop on their bikes. Holly had her eyes on Bill as he walked up the steps of the run down house.

"Bill!" Beverly called out. Holly climbed off her bike letting it fall to the ground. "Bill, you can't go in there. This is crazy."

Beverly also dropped her bike and proceeded to move past the fence. Holly was right next to her while the others walked into the yard standing behind them.

"Look, you don't have to come in with me. But what happens when another Georgie goes missing? Or another Betty? Or another Ed Corcoran? Or one of us? Are you just gonna pretend it isn't happening like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home, and all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals, but... He isn't. So walking into this house, for me, it's easier than walking into my own."

"I'm coming with you." Holly said, as Bill started to turn around. He stopped however and looked back at her. Then he turned back around and proceeded to move up the steps. Holly herself soon walked up the steps following behind Bill.

"Wow." Richie said.

"What?" Ben asked.

"He didn't stutter once." Richie proceeded to walk forward heading up the steps, ready to go in there with Bill and Holly.

"Wait." Stanley called out. Bill, Holly, and Richie to turn back and look at him while the rest of their friends also looked at Stanley.

"Um... Shouldn't we have some people keep watch? You know, just in case something bad happens?" Stanley asked, looking around at his friends.

"W-w-who wants to stay out here?" Bill asked them. Holly watched as everyone minus herself, Bill and Beverly lifted their hands. Holly even noticed that Prudence and Violet had done the same thing. Richie sighed turning back around to look at Holly and Bill.

"Fuck." Eddie and Richie walked up behind Bill and Holly as Bill turned the door knob and pushed open the door. Richie followed behind Bill while Holly and Eddie stood next to each other, terrified of what might happen. She honestly didn't know why she herself had gone into the house but she didn't want Bill to go in by himself.

"I can't believe I pulled the short straw. You guys are lucky you're not measuring dicks." Richie said.

"Shut up, Richie." Eddie replied. The four were close to each other as they walked through the house that seemed to make some kind of noise every second.

"I can smell it."

"Don't breathe through your mouth."

"How come?" Eddie started to walk away from them, while Holly looked around at what rested in the front of the house. It was really starting to freak her out and she just wanted to get out.

"Because then you're eating it." Eddie proceeded to gag and unzip his fanny pack grabbing his inhaler, using it. Holly placed her eyes on him making sure that he was okay. She then noticed that Richie was not with them anymore.

She looked into the room as Eddie turned back around. Richie was holding onto a crumpled piece of paper. Both him and Bill follow her eyes to look at Richie.

"What?" Bill asked him, the three proceeded to walk into the room.

"It... It says I'm missing." Richie said, starting to freak out.

"Y-You're not missing, Richie." Bill said, attempting to calm him down but it didn't seem to work.

"'Police department, City of Derry.' That's my shirt. That's my hair. That's my face."

"Calm down, this isn't real." Bill reached his hand forward trying to knock the paper out of his hands.

"That's my name. That's my age! That's my date!"

"It can't be real, Richie." Richie crumpled the paper while Bill reached for it again, forcefully taking the piece of paper from his hands so he couldn't look at it.

"No, it says it! What the fuck?" Holly seemed a little freaked out at what was happening. But she wasn't the only one. Bill proceeded to throw the crumbled paper to the side and grab a hold of Richie.

"Am I missing? Am I gonna go missing?" Richie went on to ask him.

"Calm down. Calm down." Bill told him.

"What the fuck?"

"Look at me, Richie. Look at me. That... That isn't real. It's playing tricks on you."

"Hello?" A voice called out causing the four to look around. Noises proceeded to come from upstairs. "Hello?"

Bill was the first to walk out of the room they were in. Shortly after Richie followed behind him followed by Holly and Eddie who stuck close together.

"Help me, please!"

They moved towards the steps, slowly moving up them as the girl gasped in and out. As they made it to the second floor rats squeaked running away from them. Holly looked up seeing cobwebs decorating the rest of the house.

If it was Halloween she would've thought that it was a great set up, but it was summertime and well they were being terrorized by a clown. So really the cob webs fit in with everything else that belonged in the house.

They continued to move forward until they came to a stop at the front end of the hallway. At the very end was a door creaked open and a girl gasping and coughing out. Holly and Eddie moved closer to each other.

The girl turned her head staring back at the four still gasping for air. "Betty?" Bill asked.

"Ripsom?" Richie questioned.

She was pulled away from the door screaming out loud. Eddie, Holly, Richie and Bill jumped back at the sudden scream. Of course they all started to walk towards the other end of the hallway heading towards the room where Betty was supposed to be.

Holly went to follow behind them. "Guys, can you hear that?" Eddie asked.

The brunette stopped in her tracks turning to look back at Eddie as he stared into nothing. She knew he had heard something, and being the person she was she didn't want to leave him behind so she stayed with him.

"Holly?"

Holly turned slightly towards another room, the door was slightly cracked so some light was wandering into the room. She proceeded to leave Eddie and head into the room searching for the voice that had called out to her.

However as she made it into the room it slowly shut behind her. "Guys! Guys!" Eddie shouted from outside.

Holly went to turn back towards the door but it slammed in her face stopping her from leaving the room. She still ran to it slamming her hands on the door.

"Eddie!" She called out from the room she was in. She could hear Bill and Richie calling out for him as well. She even heard her names a few times. The brunette pulled onto the door knob trying so hard to get out.

"Holly." The voice called out once again.

It was a familiar voice, she had heard it back when she was in the garage at her house and she knew at that moment that her mom was right behind her. The brunette slowly turned around, pushing herself up against the door. She looked to the ground not ready to look at the person that was supposed to be dead.

Holly really didn't want to lift her head up and go through the same thing all over again that she had gone through while she was alone in the garage. But being trapped in a garage seemed a little better than being trapped in an abandoned house that really fit the part.

"Oh, come on sweetheart don't you want to give mommy a hug?" Holly didn't answer the question instead she continued to look down hoping that It would go away and leave her alone. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

"You're not real." Holly shouted, still looking at the floor.

"I'm as real as I'll ever be." Holly lifted her head up, but kept her eyes closed. The brunette breathed in and exhaled, then she opened her eyes and looked at the figure. It was her mother, but blood had been falling down her body.

"You're not real. You're not real." Holly screamed.

She turned back around and placed her hand on the doorknob. The figure then transformed into Pennywise, soon he brought his hand down onto her arm cutting into it. The brunette yelped in pain. Turning the doorknob she opened the door and ran out. She then stopped looking to see that he was no longer there. She looked back to see Richie and Bill with each other.

"Oh, thank fuck." Richie said.

"W-Where's Eddie?" Bill then questioned.

"Help!" Eddie shouted from downstairs. "Help!"

The three took off running heading back down the hallway and eventually down the steps. When they made it down stairs they ran towards the door pushing it open only to come to a stop to see Pennywise in front of a distressed Eddie. Holly held onto her bleeding arm as she looked at the clown in front of her. Pennywise pushed his hand into Eddie as he looked at Bill.

"Holy fuck." Richie breathed out. "Eddie!"

"This isn't real enough for you, Billy? I'm not real enough for you?" Pennywise asked him.

"Oh, shit."

"It was real enough for Georgie." Pennywise said.

He then leaped forward towards the three roaring as his teeth came out. They all backed up however Holly tripped and fell down to the floor. Beverly came into the kitchen with a piece of the fence from outside.

"Holy Shit!"

She screamed out loud slamming the piece of fence into Pennywise's face. Soon he started to wail. Prudence and Violet ran in with Ben, Stanley and Mike coming to a sudden stop to look at the clown. Beverly backed up towards Bill and Richie. Holly watched as some of the blood that had come from Pennywise lifted up in the air.

"Get Eddie! Get Eddie!"

Prudence and Violet ran over to Holly helping her off the ground and holding onto her as Bill, Richie and Beverly ran over to Eddie to help him off the ground.

"Oh, fuck! We gotta get out of here!" Pennywise released a deep growl and turned back towards them, fear resided on all their faces.

"Get Eddie. Let's go!"

"Guys!" Eddie shouted.

"Guys, watch out!"

Holly could feel the tears falling down her face as they watched the clown walk towards the rest of their friends. His hand slowly started to get sharper, the way it had when he was in the room with Holly and had scratched her.

He stepped forward screaming at them, causing Beverly to move back to a wall. He then laughed standing back up straight. He turned around, taking the piece of fence and using it to cut into Ben's stomach.

Ben fell back into Mike who caught him. "Ben!"

Pennywise looked at them all as he moved back towards the door. He grunted, lifting his hand up in the air and doing a slight bow for them. Pennywise then disappeared down the steps leaving them behind.

"Let's get out of here!"

"Don't let him get away!" Bill said, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Bill don't!" Holly shouted, wanting to go after him. But she was being held back by both Prudence and Violet.

"Bill we have to help Eddie!"

"No! No!" Eddie said, as Bill ran back into the room and over to Eddie.

"I'm gonna snap your arm into place." Richie told his friend.

"Rich, do not fucking touch me." Eddie yelled back.

"Okay, one, two, three."

"Do not touch me!"

Richie cracked Eddie's bone back in place and he screamed as loud as he could. After that they all ran out of the house leaving it behind.