27 years later, the losers have split up into their own different paths - their memories of Derry and of each other, left as nothing but a foggy cloud (or possibly a lone balloon) in the distance.
But with one phone call from an old friend, they fin...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TWO: Promise?
Words: 587 (including non-story related words such as these)
Author's note: mikey boy supremacy ill say it again and again and again
***
"It's back."
Her heart stopped beating for a second, then resumed, beating fifty times harder than it did prior.
It was back.
What was back?
It was back.
Did she know what 'it' was? Not a clue.
But his words sent a snake of doom slithering down her spine and down to her knees.
"What do you mean?" Val gulped.
"27 years ago." Mike cleared his throat. "Do you remember that promise you made? That if it ever came back, you would too? You and the others?"
27 years ago?
Promise? Others?
What was Valerie doing 27 years ago? 27 years ago, she would've been 11-12 ish?
She would've been living with her aunt and her mom, right?
Where did they live again?
Oh, That's right.
Derry, Maine.
How long did they stay there? Val couldn't pinpoint for how long exactly.
Two years.
Yes, that's right. Two years.
Then they moved halfway through her freshman year of high school.
Yes. Yes, that's right.
Was she sad about leaving? Why couldn't she remember the place she lived in for those two years of her life?
But most importantly, what was that promise she made?
Why did she have to go back?
Why did the others have to go back?
And even more so, why was she so horrified to hear those words? Despite not knowing why?
When Valerie didn't say anything, Mike continued.
"Don't you ever wonder why you've got that scar on your hand?" He said, an eery sensation creeping into his voice.
The palm of her right hand suddenly began to itch. She stared at the jagged scar lining across it.
Her scar.
He knew about her scar?
But, she got that scar after a skiing accident...didn't she?
"Swear it...if it ever comes back...we come back too..."
No, that's not it.
There was a knife - no, a shard of glass.
She stared down at her scar as an image of a warm summer day formed in her mind.
Someone had been holding her other hand as someone else made the cut that scarred her palm for the rest of her life. But she wasn't focusing on that someone, wasn't she?
No, she was focused on the person - the boy - clasping her hand in support.
"Ed..." Val whispered under her breath. "Eddie..."
"You remember Kaspbrak." Mike's voice grew soft. "Though you would. That's a good start, Val. Look, everyone else has forgotten too, don't worry. But you made a promise, Val. And we really can't afford doing this without you. Fly down to Derry when you can. Okay?"
Her heart racing and her blood run cold, Val shook her head.
But before she could decline audibly, she reached into her mind, searching and scanning for any answers that she could find.
Who was back?
Why did she need to go back to Derry?
Why was Mike so urgent about this?
What was the thing that they couldn't afford doing without her?
Why was there a scar on her hand?
Why did that boy cut her hand?
Eddie? Who was Eddie?
Despite her mind begging her to say no, Val found herself suddenly nodding.
Her knees were numb and so shaken, she was so scared. And she didn't even know why?
