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vii. the parade and the projector
AS SOON AS THE OTHER LOSERS SPOTTED VERITY cycling frantically towards them, they knew something was wrong.
She sped up the street, brakes screeching in protest as she stopped.
"Ver, are you okay? What happened?" Beverly asked, noticing how pale the other girl was.
Verity was close to tears. "It's gone, it just vanished-"
"It's alright, you're okay." Stan said, trying to soothe her. "Just take a minute, then maybe you can tell us what happened, okay?"
She nodded, taking a deep breath before telling the story.
"A while ago, I was looking through some photos I'd gotten developed and I sotted-" she lowered her voice. "the clown."
"Where was it?" Mike asked.
"In the trees, near the town hall. I thought maybe it was some weirdo in a costume, but look.." she reached into her bag, pulling out the photograph and showing it to them. "I looked at it again this morning and it's gone."
"Holy shit," Bill whispered.
They went quiet, and for a few moments the only sounds that could be heard were the music of the parade, and the muffled noise of Richie grappling with a tuba that he'd more than likely stolen from a kid in the marching-band.
"And do you think that the clown's what's mur- I mean," Ben looked apologetically at Bill. "What's causing the disappearances?"
"I think so, it can't just be a coincidence," Mike pointed at the countless "missing" posters that clung to the wall behind them.
"They said they found part of his hand, all chewed up near the standpipe," Stan said nervously, nodding at the poster that read Edward Corcoran.
"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben said, looking at the ground.
Bill pulled the poster back, revealing another - Betty Ripsom's. "It's like she's been for-forgotten," he muttered. "because Corcoran's missing."
"It's all bullshit, why can't they just get their fucking act together?" Verity said, her voice uncharacteristically bitter. "How many kids are gonna go missing or die before they realise there's something wrong!"
They stood in silence, watching as the tuba-player managed to take his instrument from Richie, eliciting a loud "What the fuck, dude?"
"What're you guys talking about?" Eddie asked, coming over to join them.
