CHAPTER 2 ;

THE BARRENS

"not every fucking plant is poison ivy stanley!" richie exclaims walking over rocks. eddie turns around and sees kenzie pop out from behind a tree. "holy fucking shit!" he screeches making her laugh. "what are you doing here?" 

"this is my hiding place, for when i want to be alone" she sighs leaning on a tree, she holds her sketchbook with a pencil through the side. "what are you boys doing here?" she asks.

"j-just looking around" bill smiles. "looking around in the sewers?" she questions, walking away from the tree. "fine, we want to help look for betty ripson" stan says. kenzie chuckles and shrugs, "alright then" she says and then pauses. "mind if i tag along? i was about to head out when i heard you guys come down here." 

richie immediately pops up from behind bill, "yes of course!" he smiles. "thanks" she then continues to follows them to the sewer pipe. 

she stands inside the sewer next to richie, tucking her blonde locks behind her ear. "okay, well i'm starting to get itchy now." eddie complains getting a groan from kenz. "do you use the same bathroom at your mother?" richie asks.

"sometimes yeah,"

"then you probably have crabs." 

kenzie chuckles. "that is so not funny."

"aren't you guys coming in?" she asks. eddie looks around and back at the kids. "uh-uh, thats grey water" 

"what the hell is grey water?" richie asks, rolling his eyes. "its basically... piss and shit so i'm just telling you! you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons of derry pee."

richie picks up a stick and starts smelling it. "ar-are you serious? what are you-"

"doesn't smell like caca to me señor!" he says immitating a spanish accent. 

kenzie holds her hand up to her face while she laughs at his joke. "okay, i-i can smell that from here!" eddie whines. "its probably just your breath whofting back into your face" richie says with a big smirk, still holding the stick.

"have you ever heard of a staph infection?!"

"oh i'll show you a staff infection!" 

stan rolls his eyes and looks like hes completely done with everyone and everything. 

eddie starts going on about how unsanitary the sewers are when richie uses the stick to pick up a piece of cloth and throw it at him.

"no!!" eddie shrieks and almost fall over. 

"are you retarted! your the reason why we're in here-"

"guys!" bill yells holding a shoe. "shit don't tell me thats.." stan starts. "no, gerogie wore gumboots."

"whos sneaker is it?" kenzie says as she walks towards them and peers inside the shoe.

in all caps it reads: B. R I P S O N.

"i-its betty ripsons" richie stutters. 

"shit, oh god oh fuck!" eddie screaches. "i don't like this"

"how do you think betty feels? running around in these tunnels with only one frickin, shoe?" he smiles and hops, kenzie glares at him and he pipes down. 

"what if shes still here?" stan asks, looking in a bit more. "eddie come on!" richie shouts as they go in deeper. 

"what if i don't want to find her?" eddie stutters. "yeah, its summer! we are supposed to be having fun!" stanley yells. "this isn't fun, this is scary and discusting-"

suddenly a boy falls down the river, giving all the kids a fright. kenzie runs out and notices that its the new kid, Ben. they all run out  and see the boy try stand up.

"holy shit what happened to you!" richie shouts. 

the kids jump onto their bikes, bill offering ben to sit with him. they pedal through town, while eddie nags about how Ben could have millions of infections and eventually kill them. 

"but how do you amputate a waist!" he yells as they throw their bikes on the ground. "uhm richie w-wait here" bill says as him, eddie, mackenzie, and stan run into keenes pharmacy.

"glad i got to meet you before you died" richie says looking down at ben, who gives him a confused look. 

✰♫

the kids run into the first aid aisle, and eddie starts filling his hands with unnessacary medical supplies. "eddie i think you're going a bit over board" kenzie objected. "well, hes probably crawling with infection, did you see his cuts!" he whispers and kenz rolls her eyes. 

stan holds up around $3, "c-can we afford all that?" bill asks. kenz reaches into her overalls pocket and rumages around. only thing she can find is a couple guitar picks, lint and an eraser. "nope, got nothing" she sighs. 

"wait you have an account here don't you?" bill asks. "if my mom finds out i bought all this stuff for myself, she will have me sitting in the emergancy room all weekend getting x-rayed." eddie sighs. 

"thats a bit over protective" kenzie sighs. "i'll look in the next row to see if we can do something" whe mumbles and walks over.

there standing in the middle is beverly marsh. surrounded by different period items. she looks a bit stuck. "hey bev from english" kenzie says as she walks over. "oh h-hey"

"stuck?" she asks and beverly nods. "hm, get these if you just starting" she says and takes a box of tampax on the shelf, "if it gets worse get the next size up" she smiles.

beverly nods and starts to go to the counter. "uhm hey, can you do me a favour?" kenzie asks as beverly turns around. "yeah sure, whats up?" 

✰♫

beverly soon nods at the kids and they start to rush out with the supplies, eddie crashing into a stand of band-aids on the way out. 

"just suck the wound!" richie yells as kenzie wipes the blood off bens face. "i need to focus right now!" 

"can you pass me my 2nd fanny pack!" eddie yells. as richie grabs it, "why do you have two fanny packs?" kenz asks, while tipping some ointment onto a cotton pad.

"you have to suck the wound, before you apply a band aid, this is 101!" richie complains. "are you okay? that looks like it hurts!" beverly says as she walks over. 

"oh no i'm good i just fell," ben says for the first time. "yeah right into henry bowers" richie snorts.

"shut it r-r-r-richie!" ben shushes. "why? its the truth!" 

"you sure you got the right stuff, to fix you up?" beverly asks smiling. ben starts to blush and kenzie winks at him. "i-i think we giot him covered. thanks again b-beverly" bill smiles. 

"sure! maybe i'll see you around?" she smiles, "uh yeah, we were thinking about going to the q-q-quarry," bill stutters.

"good to know, thanks" she says and gives us a smile as she walks away. 

"nice going bringing up bowers infront of her!" stan yells as kenzie stands up, finishing bens face. "yeah dude you hear what she did?" eddie whispers.

mackenzie scoffs and leans against the wall with her arms folded. "what did she do?" ben asks, turning to face eddie. 

"more like who'd she do? from what i hear the list is longer than my wang!" richie laughs as he touches his crotch. "thats not saying much" stan scoffs.

"anyways they are j-just r-rumors" bill sighs. "yeah, rumors that, the bitch gretta made up. shes been targeting bev for like ever since elementry." kenz sighs. 

"anyway, bill had he back in third grade. they kissed in the school play, the review said you can't fake that sort of passion!!" richie explains while stan smirks at bill, who start to blush. 

"now! pip pip and tellyho my good fellows! i believe that this chap needs some attention. get in there dr k! come on fix him up!" richie says in a british accent. 

"why don't you shut the fuck up because i know what i'm doing, and i don't want you doing the british guy on me-"

"suck the wound, get in there!" richie says purposely to annoy eddie.