THE GHOST IN YOU - IT [2]

chapter fifteen

The losers climb into the cave that It had swung Eddie into. At the bottom, his paled body lays motionless, pained noises coming out of his lips along with a stream of blood. They crowd around him, tears streaming down their faces. Beverly helps Eddie sit up properly while Richie shrugs off his jacket.

"We-- we gotta get him out of here!" Richie insists weakly, leaning down to press his bundled up jacket against Eddie's wound. Suddenly, Victor's stomach wounds seemed a lot more minuscule.

"How are we supposed to do that, Richie?" Beverly sobs.

It taunts them from the cave opening, maniacally begging them to 'come out and play.' This falls on deaf ears to the losers, who are far too consumed with their friend dying in front of them to pay any mind to the psychotic clown.

"I'm sorry, Eddie." Jaime cries. "I'm sorry."

He only forces a tiny smile up at her, brows knitted together.

"I... I almost killed the leper. My hands were around his throat, I could feel him choking. I made him small."

Rocks and debris rain down from It's incessant clawing. Victor scowls up at the clown, "Just a minute, fuckface!"

"He seemed... so weak." Eddie continues obliviously. "He seemed so weak."

"All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit!" Mike reminds them.

"Guys, there's a passageway through here." Ben motions over to a slim-fit tunnel in the cave.

"The tunnel! Pennywise has to make himself small to get through the entrance of the cavern! So, if we get back there, we can force him down to size. We make him small, small enough so we can kill him." Beverly explains.

"I can smell the stink of your fear!" It sings.

"Let's go!"

Beverly, Ben, Mike, Bill, and Victor rush through the tunnel without hesitation. Meanwhile, Jaime and Richie linger back with a half-alive Eddie. She rubs his shoulder gently, forcing a smile through her tears. Blood had pooled under his wound and seeped out from under his body, staining Jaime's shoes.

"You saved Richie," she says, "you saved him, Eddie. You're a hero."

Eddie scoffs. "'M not a hero. I did what I had to do." He looks up at her deliriously. "Keep him in line, Jaime. Make sure he starts writing his own fucking material."

She laughs brokenly. "I'll try, Eds, I'll try."

"And Richie..." Eddie coughs. "I fucked your mom."

Jaime leaves after that, not forcing Richie to come with her. He deserved to stay with Eddie during his last moments alive. He didn't even spare her a glance as she wormed through the tunnel and emerged on the other side. She jogs up to the other losers just in time to catch the tail-end of Beverly's sentence.

"--have to make him believe that he's small."

"What?!" Bill cries, voicing Jaime's inner dialogue.

"Make him believe he is!" Mike repeats.

"Me? Small?" It cackles. "I am the eater of worlds!"

"Just how much world-eating have you done lately?" Victor remarks sarcastically.

"Not to us, you're not." Mike says. It's face falls. "You're just a clown."

"You're a weak old woman!"

"A headless boy!"

"Imposter!"

"A fucking phony!"