.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

SHE'S TALKING AGAIN

CHAPTER TEN

x. the projector

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THE NEXT DAY CAME and it began with the club meeting at Bill's house at noon. Heading into the garage where the original five losers grew up, Stan pinned up blankets to the windows to block out light, Mike shutting the garage door, and Bill set up a map on the wooden wall as the rest got situated around Eddie who set up the projector.

Ben hands Bill a slide from the public library titled 'Old Derry' and dropping it into the projector. He begins to line up the pictures to the map. The rest sit and watch, intently.

"Look, that's where Georgie disappeared. There's the iron works. The Black Spot. Everywhere it happens, it's... It's all connected by the sewers and they all meet up at the-" Bill speaks, pointing to each area when the projector is settled in place. Ben finishes Bill's statement, eyes wide.

"The well house!" He pipes up.

"The house on Neibolt Street.." Stan mumbles, an edge in his voice.

"You mean that creepy ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" Richie squints, looking at Veronica while pushing up his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"That place is fucking terrifying. It gives me the heebie-jeebies" Veronica says, making eye contact with Richie as Eddie pulls out his aspirator and takes a puff.

"Agreed, V. I hate that place. It always feels like it's watching me," Beverly adds, rubbing her leg and gazing at the screen.

"That's where I saw it, that's where I saw the clown," Eddie chokes out, aspirator still in hand. He breathes heavily.

"T-T-That's where IT lives," Bill replies, Eddie instantly taking another puff, covering his mouth in fear.

"I can't imagine anything wanting to live there," Stan comments, looking at Bill, holding his knees tightly. His fingers turning white.

"I'm not sure if IT has a choice, Stannie," Veronica replies, shuddering at the mere thought of the rundown molding house. She snaps her scrunchie against her wrist.

Just then, Eddie jumps up in front of the screen.

"Can we stop talking about this? I-I-I can barely breathe, this is summer! We're kids! I can barely breathe! I'm about to have a fucking asthma attack! And I'm not doing this!" Eddie rants, choking for breaths, throwing his hands up in the air in a panic before ripping the map down.

"Ed's, calm your shit! You're okay," Veronica attempts to coax the boy, standing up and trying to get the map from him.

"What the hell! Put the map back," Bill scolds, pointing his finger up while Eddie shakes his head, no.

"Eddie, fucking give it!" Veronica snaps while Eddie moves the map around to keep it away from the shorter girl.

The projector begins to move on its own. A clicking noise filling the room, switching slides. Everyone looks to the moving projector in shock before looking to the wall where both Eddie and Veronica stood.

"Ronnie, Ed's... Come over here," Richie breathes out while staring at his best friends who are frozen staring at each other. Eddie has dropped the map.

"Come over here now!" Mike snaps them out of their daze and they begin towards the others. Veronica next to Richie staring at the clicking projector. Eddie next to Stan.

"Bill... What the fuck type of sick joke is this?" Veronica asks as the pace of the clicks progressively get faster.

"I didn't do a-anything..." Bill responds, looking at the blonde, who stood more to the front than Richie and some others who had begun backing away.

The screen begins flashing to photos of Bill's family, zooming in on Georgie. Mike begins fiddling with the projector in hopes to stop it - turn it off - something. Anything. The screen stops. On a photo of the Denbrough's in front of a church. Bill's mother's hair was covering her face. The clicking continues. Faster now.

And the screen goes blank.

The clicking begins again, the club nervously looking at each other as the air gets caught in their throats. The photo comes up again but now zoomed into Bill's mother. The photo begins moving. The hair-whipping as if it was a video of it blown in the wind. Richie and Mike quickly grab the star-fixed Veronica back. Closer to the group. Panic begins setting it more now.

"What's that!?" Eddie shouts out, eyes wide as the hair begins whipping faster to reveal a face.

"It's the fucking clown, dipshit! what else?" Veronica screeches back while grabbing onto Richie and pulling him closer to her in fear.

"Turn it off," Beverly speaks up, calmly. Only to be ignored by the rest. All transfixed on the screen.

"Turn if off!" She repeats, more panicked. Mike then kicks the projector. It flies to the ground, slides falling out and scattering to the floor. It turns off.

For a moment. Just a moment.

Everyone had backed to the wall. Except for Stan, who stood right beside the screen. Suddenly, it switches back on. The clown still on screen, a menacing smile on face as it stares at the frightened children. Stan left petrified alone in the corner.

Again, it goes black. A click. And it's gone. The clubs heavy breathing fill the room. The lights go out. The panic increases. Everyone beginning to panic. Screams through the room.

"What the actual fuck!" Veronica screams out, clutching onto Richie's shirt tightly. Her cheeks burning.

"The lights!" Mike yells out, searching for the switch.

Another click. Causing more panic among the kids before Veronica loses control and shouts out, "make it stop!", letting go of Richie's shirt and covering her ears.

Suddenly, the lights are back on and the clown pops out of the screen. Eddie screams out in horror while Beverly backs into a wall. Ben grabbing on Eddie and pulling him back with him, Veronica freezing on the spot and Richie pulling her towards him as Bill looks over to Stan.

Their screams and shrieks and shouts fill the air before IT crawls out of the screen. Stan quickly breaks out of his trance and runs towards the rest of the group. Seven of them backing up into a wall, clutching onto each other while their screams drown out any other noise.

And they notice the clown wasn't going for them. It was going for Beverly. Who was caught in a corner, lip quivering and body shaking. Her screams the loudest of them all.

Quickly, the boys run to the garage door and pull it up in hopes for it to have some sort of effect on the clown. It does.

Everything stops. Ben has pulled up the door. They all let out sighs of relief, wiping the sweat off their faces, fixing their clothes. Veronica lets go of Richie's t-shirt which was scrunched in her hand. He quickly hugs her, noticing her shaking and glossy eyes.

"It's okay, Ronnie. It's over now," He whispers into the small girl's blonde hair, fixing the tangled which had formed.

Beverly quickly grabs Ben's arm, thanking him sincerely before hugging Bill tightly.

It all goes so fast, Bill and Beverly mid hug before Eddie breaks the silence.

"IT saw us! IT saw us and it knows where we are!" Eddie breathes out, raising his voice, eyes widening in panic.

"IT always did. S-so, lets go!" Bill comments, pushing past the group as they follow him with their eyes, turning to them once he reaches the outside of the garage.

Ben speaks first.

"Go? Go where?" Voice cracking while he squints his eyes at the boy who stared at them with determination in his eyes.

"Neibolt! That's where G-G-Georgie is," Bill explains, looking down while stuttering.

"What the fuck kind of drugs are you on!? We nearly fucking died! Bev could've get taken! Or worse, killed!" Veronica speaks up, looking at Bill with erratic eyes and shaking her head frantically.

"After that?" Stan shouts out, pointing back to the dimly lit garage where the projector resides.

"Yeah.. It's summer. We should be outside," Richie says, voice devoid of any joke while looking down in fear.

"If you say it's summer one more f-fucking time," Bill snaps before turning and mounting his bike.

"You're fucking with us, right? You've ought' to be fucking with us!" Veronica shouts after him while he bikes off.

"Bill! Wait!" Beverly calls while raising her hands up in frustration, looking between the club.

"Fucking hell, we're gonna fucking die!" Veronica stamps her foot to the floor while inhaling sharply and grabbing onto Richie's hand out of habit.