Mike sighed and looked around the guest room in the Hanlon Family Farm. It was the last time he'd ever be in this house because he couldn't handle living in Derry without Arizona's light shining in it. It had only been a week since the battle, but he relived her last moments every night in the form of nightmares. His eyes were red almost every day due to the excessive amount of tears he cried over the loss of his best friend.

   Mike walked over to the closet and picked out her sweatshirt and held it close to him. It may not have been her, but this was at good as it would get. He stood there for a moment, imaging it was the girl he spent so many weeks pining for, and when he got her, he lost her. The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.

   "Better hurry and meet your friends, the truck will be here in a couple hours," his grandma said. Mike nodded and put the sweatshirt, luckily Arizona liked bigger sweatshirts and it fit him perfectly. He ran out the door and headed to meet the Losers one more time before leaving Derry, probably for good.

--

   "I miss her," Beverly mumbled and the Losers nodded.

   "You and me both," Mike responded, his heart aching for the girl he loved.

   "Bev, what happened when you were, y'know...floating?" Stan asked hesitantly, trying to move the subject off of Arizona.

   "I can only remember parts, but I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like. I saw us, all of us together, back in the cistern. But we were older, like our parents ages." Beverly explained. Mike's mind wondered what Arizona would be like as an adult, but he couldn't fathom what wouldn't happen. She was gone, and he needed to accept that.

   "W-w-what were we all doing there?" Bill inquired.

   "I just remember how we felt. How scared we were...I don't think I can ever forget that." Beverly replied, and everyone got visibly anxious.

   "I don't think we'll ever forget her," Eddie said quietly.

   "She may have been up Henry's ass most of her life, but she was one of us...and she always will be," Richie laughed, trying his best to make the rest of the group smile. For a majority of the Losers it worked, but Mike couldn't hold back his emotions. They weren't violent sobs like they usually were, just silent rivers of tears streaming down his face.

   Eddie and Stan wrapped an arm around Mike as the rest of the group sadly gazed upon the emotional boy. After a moment, Mike composed himself and stared at a spot on the grass.

   "Swear it." Bill said, picking up a piece of glass off of the ground.

   "What?" Richie asked, pushing his glasses up.

   "S-swear, if It isn't dead, if It ever comes back...We'll come back too." He insisted. The Losers looked at one another, making a decision. Beverly stood up first, followed by Mike and then the others.

   "Only for Arizona," Mike commented.

   "For Arizona," the Losers repeated and they made their blood oath. Mike thought about Arizona and wished that one day, she'd come back too.

   Once the Losers held hands for a minute, Stan said, "I hate you," with a serious tone. Until he laughed, and made everyone else in the group laugh too.

   In the distance, they heard the voice of Leroy Hanlon calling for Mike.

   "Guess that's my cue to leave," He muttered.

   Each Loser gave him a hug, holding on tightly as if they hoped he would choose to stay.

   "We'll miss you," Eddie said sadly.

   "I'll miss you guys too, but I have a feeling we'll see each other again. I promise," Mike replied. He looked around at his closest friends for the last time and walked away, wondering where his life away from Derry would take him.

   His grandmother greeted him with a smile and they piled into his grandfather's truck and drove away, not looking back.

--

   Two years after the demise of Pennywise, the cistern still stood. The pile of items were still stacked in the center of the room and it gave off an eerie feeling. Nothing had changed, except for the well sitting near the wall of the cistern, which slightly shook as if someone, or something were moving inside.

   A hand reached over the top of the well, and a body hoisted itself up and over the wall, landing harshly on the concrete below.

   "Shit," the person exclaimed. Taking a look around, the girl realized she was stuck in the same hellhole from two years ago.

   "This will take a lot of explaining."

-

word count: 783

*BONUS CHAPTERS THAT SUBSTITUTE AS A SEQUEL ARE INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK SO PLEASE
CONTINUE READING THANKS*

woohoo!! control is finally finished!! i'll write a whole little note on the next chapter.