enclosed : b.h {1}

chapter three - the barrens

Bill and Maddie were now walking their bikes home. Bill was practicing his stuttering. "He thrusts his fists against the posts... He thrusts his fists against... Shit!" Bill said when he stuttered. "It's okay, Bill. Just keep practicing." Maddie encouraged. "Post." He said finishing due to his sister.

The two parked their bikes and walked into the garage where their father, Zack, is operating a saw. He turns around as Bill and Maddie entered. "Need some help? We..." Bill was interrupted. "I thought we agreed." Zack said to the twins. The two looked at a set of hamster tunnels on a table. "Before you say anything..." Maddie began causing her father to say, "Maddie..."

"Just let us show you something first." Maddie said and Bill picked up a small green figure and dropped it into the tube-like tunnel, then Maddie placed a hose nozzle inside and turned the hose on. Zack watched as water pushes the little figure through the tubes into a small tray marked that said, "The Barrens" on the floor.

"The Barrens. It's the only place that Georgie could have ended up." Bill said. "Bill, Maddie, He's gone." Zack said and Bill began to say, "But if the storm swept Georgie in, we should have gone..." Zack stood up saying to them, "He's gone! He's dead! He's dead! There's nothing we can do! Nothing! Now take this down before your mother sees it."

Zack walked to the wall and taking down a map that the twins put up there. "Next time you two want to take something from my office... Ask." Zack walked out of the garage taking the map with him. Maddie glanced at their hamster, "I guess you get your tunnels back."

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The next day, they were supposedly going to the Barrens... But now the sewers. The twins met up with Richie and Stan, heading to Eddie's house next. Maddie, Bill, and Richie knocked on Eddie's door and Eddie let them in while Stan stayed outside. They went into the kitchen.

They opened some of the kitchen's cabinets and looked at some food to put in their bags. "Take everything but the Delicious Deals, guys. My mom loves them. Hey! First you said the Barrens, and now you're saying the sewer. I mean, what if we get caught?"

"We won't, Eds. The sewers are public works. We're the public, aren't we?" Maddie said as she was next to her brother. Richie opened the medicine cabinet and said, "Hey, Eddie, these your birth control pills?" Eddie told him, "Yeah, and I'm saving it for your sister. This is private stuff." Eddie said.

The four began to head to the front door to leave. "Eddie Bear, where are you kids off to in such a rush?" Mrs. Kaspbrak said. "Um... J-ju-just our backyard, Mrs. K. We got a new..." Bill said and couldn't think of anything. "A new croquet set." Maddie said. "Okay. Oh, and sweetie, don't go rolling around on the grass. Especially if it's just been cut. You know how bad your allergies can get." Mrs. Kaspbrak said.

"Yes, Mom. Let's go." Eddie said as they soon were leaving but his mom said, "Aren't you forgetting something?" Eddie walked over kissing his mom's cheek. Richie was quietly laughing as Bill and Maddie smirked, trying not to laugh. "Do you want one from me too, Mrs. K?" Richie said and Eddie pushed the three out and said as he closed the door, "Sorry, Mommy."

The next day, Maddie, Bill, Eddie, Richie, and Stan arrived to the sewer entrance. "I don't know. I guess." He dropped his bike as opposed to putting the kickstand down. Stan kept pointing at some of the plants around them. "That's poison ivy. And that's poison ivy. And that's poison ivy."

Eddie asked, "Where? Where's the poison ivy?"
Maddie turned towards Stan due to being annoyed, "Nowhere. Not every fucking plant is poison ivy, Stanley." Maddie, Bill and Richie entered the sewers. "Okay, well I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure this is not good for my..." Richie interrupted, "Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?"

Eddie replied, "Sometimes, yeah." "Then you probably have crabs." Richie told them. Bill and Maddie walked into the sewer together. "That's so not funny." Eddie said and Richie looked back at Eddie and Stanley, who are just standing outside. "Aren't you guys coming in?" Richie asked.

Eddie said as he pointed at it, "Uh-uh. It's greywater." "What the hell's greywater?" Richie asked and Eddie said, "It's basically piss and shit. So I'm just telling you, you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons of Derry pee. So..." Richie picked up a stick and sniffed it. "Are you-- Are you serious? What are you...?" Eddie asked and Richie said to him in a Spanish accent, "Doesn't smell like caca to me, señor."

Eddie told Richie, "Okay, I can smell that from here." Richie replied, "It's probably just your breath wafting back into your face." Stan rolled his eyes, annoyed at the fight between Richie and Eddie. "Have you ever heard of a staph infection?" Eddie said after he scoffed.

Richie said to him, "Oh, I'll show you a staph infection." "This is so unsanitary. You're literally... This is literally like swimming inside of a toilet bowl right now." Eddie said and Richie used his stick to pick up a grimy trash bag. "Have you ever heard of Listeria?"

Richie grinned deviously and threw the trash bag at Eddie. He screamed as the bag landed at his feet. "Are you- Are you retarded?!" Eddie yelled and soon the twins discovered an abandoned shoe. "You're the reason why we're in this position right now." Eddie said. Bill and Maddie turned around after examining the shoe. "Guys!" Bill yelled.

Stanley, "Shit. Don't tell me that's..." Maddie said as Eddie felt tense, "No. Georgie wore galoshes."
Eddie asked them, "Whose sneaker is it?" Maddie shined her flashlight over the shoe so she, Bill and Richie can examine it more closely, and they see the words "B. Ripsom" on it.

Richie told the two who were at the entrance of the sewer, "It's Betty Ripsom's." "Oh, shit. Oh, God. Oh, fuck! I don't like this." Eddie told them. "How do you think Betty feels? Running around these tunnels with only one frickin' shoe?" Richie said and he lifted his foot off the ground with some amusement and chuckled. He then looked at Bill and Maddie, realizing this is nothing to joke about.

Stan asked, "What if she's still here?" Maddie, Richie and Bill go further into the tunnel as Richie said, "Eddie, come on! Dude, Maddie is in here and she's a girl!" Maddie looked at Richie but then continued looking in the sewer. Eddie said, "Okay, I got shown off by Maddie... Again! But if my mom will have an aneurysm, okay? If she finds out we're playing down here. I'm serious. Maddie? Bill?"

Bill turned to face Eddie and he said, "If... If I was Betty Ripsom, I would want us to find me." "Georgie too." Maddie said finishing for her twin as she looked at them. "What if I don't want to find them? I mean, no offense, Bill, but I don't want to end up like... I don't want to go missing, either." Eddie told them.

Stan told the twins, "He has a point." "You too?" Bill asked and Stan told them, "It's summer! We're supposed to be having fun!" Richie looked at the Denbrough twins and shrugged. "This isn't fun. This is scary and disgusting." Stan told them.

At that moment, Ben collapsed from exhaustion in the water behind them. Eddie and Stan jump and turned around at the sound of the splashing water. Ben attempted to stand up, but lost his balance and fell back to his knees again. Maddie, Bill and Richie came out of the tunnel to see Ben.

"Ben?" Maddie asked. "Holy shit. What happened to you?" Richie asked. Ben looked up at them as Maddie rushed over to help him. "Ben? Are you okay?!" Maddie asked kneeling down. Maddie saw his cut and blood on him. "Eddie, Stan help me get him on my bike." Maddie said.

"Maddie, how do you know this kid?" Richie asked. "Richie, just shut up! Come on!" Maddie said and told Ben, "Hold on." She felt Ben put his arms around her as he was still in pain. They then started heading towards town to get stuff to help Ben.