𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙔𝙊𝙐 ! 𝙐𝙍𝙄𝙎 (abandoned)

xxiv.

your pov

a bright white light illuminates the sewer map taped to the back wall of bill's garage. the light is from an old carousel slide projector that was positioned on a couple of stacked boxes.

the losers and i all huddle closer like we were sitting around a campfire. "did you bring the map?" bill asks ben who pulls a slide out from his pocket and hand its to him. bill inserts the slide into the tray of the projector and clicks the advance button and the carousel tray rotates.

the old map of derry is overlayed with the sewer one "okay look, storm drain. that's were georgie disappeared, there's the ironworks, and the black spot. everywhere it happens it's-it's all connected by the sewers and they all meet up at the-the well-house."

"you mean the house on neibolt street?" stan asks from one side of me while eddie takes a puff of his inhaler from the opposite.

"you mean that creepy ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" richie gawked "i hate that place. it always feels like it's watching you." beverly looks over at me. "well yeah, it's not the most welcoming place." i retort turning back to bill.

"that's where i saw it. there i saw the clown." eddie breathed out "tha-tha-tha-thats where it lives." bill pointed to the well house. "gross. why would anyone want to live there?" i slump further into my chair.

eddie goes over to the sewer map and rips it off the wall. gah-guh! the projector clicks "can we stop talking about this? i can barely breathe. it's summer, we're kids- i can barely breathe having a fucking asthma attack and fuck doing this!" he shakes his inhaler before sucking in some of the air again.

"i agree with eddie but this is ser-" i started but bill rushes over trying to retrieve the map "what the hell?! put the map back!"

the projector tray rotates, so it's back to being a white square of light shining on eddie. mo more map of derry.

"what happened?" bill's looks back at the projector in confusion. it rotates again. and again. each time making the same noise. "guys." i slowly sit up, mike trying to make an attempt to stop it.

suddenly, old vacation slides from acadia national park appear. the denbrough family in happier times, when georgie was still alive.

there they are hiking. there they are swimming. there georgie is on the edge of the lake. then a family picture with them all standing in front of a church.

mrs. denbrough's red hair covering her face. click. but it was the same photo. the carousel continues to spin, that same slide. but now it looks as if her hair is moving piece by piece.
bit by bit. and the entire scene is becoming animated. her hair starts to move away put reveals a different face. the clown.

something in me sparks as i stand up, walking towards the picture. stan grasps my wrist loosely trying to stop me but i simply shake out of it.

"y/n.." eddie's eyes grow wider in pure fear. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" richie yells "it's it." i slowly move closer to the still moving picture. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" i turn completely away from the group.

"come y/n. come join the clown. you'll float too."

the voices in my head grew louder, almost hypnotic and i couldn't control myself.

"turn it off." i can no longer hear what's going on behind me, too fixed on this event. stanley runs to the side of me and pulls out the cord. but it doesn't do anything.

the carousel spins faster and faster, which makes the hair move away smoother and smoother until in the span of a click, pennywise appears right up against camera.

screams. mike kicks the boxes and the carousel crashes to the ground. no more pennywise on the wall. once i realized he wasn't there the voices stopped completely.

"are you okay?" they ask as i turn around. "i don't know, how'd that even happen?" eddie shrugged "it saw us. it knows who we are now."

"it always did." ben looked at bill then to the rest of us "at least it's gone now." "guys." we look over at beverly. she's staring at something above them. i follow her gaze to where the carousel is now projecting. with more space between it and the ceiling, the square frame is bigger now.

we think nothing of it until pennywise pops out of the frame. fast at first but then almost in slow-motion as if he's diving into the frigid waters of our reality.

he reaches out towards me, where i fall to the floor to try and so badly wanted to move away. but i was frozen, paralyzed in fear. he grabs my arms in a restrained.

from below i see stan running over to me, then the garage door opens. flooding the room with light which in turn makes pennywise disappear. i felt my body fall but luckily it wasn't a far drop, and stan was there to help me.

we look over at them. thanking ben for his good and quick thinking. then to richie with a face pale, his mouth open, his mind blown, his fear palpable.

"no jokes this time, rich?" stan crosses his arms while richie shakes his head. for once he doesn't have anything to say. for the first time in his life. the uneasy silence broken by bill "alright stan, lets go." he starts walking towards the open garage door.

"go? go where?" i pulled myself closer to stan basically clinging onto him from being so shaken up. "neibolt. that's where g-g-georgie is."

stan shook his head, putting an arm around my waist. "after that? no way, we don't know what it could've done to y/n and i sure don't want to." he looked down at me, "yeah it's summer. we should be outside-" richie starts but bill puts his hand up silencing him.

"if you say it's summer one more f-f-f-fucking time." he storms out, most of us still planted in our place. "bill? wait!" mike went after him, but he doesn't wait. bill hops onto his bike.