Mesmerizing Mute ~ Richie Tozier

The Losers all made their way into town to talk about what everybody had been experiencing, well everyone except for Richie that is. He was too busy trying to play a random band marcher's instrument, which didn't seem to get much of a reaction from the others who were being serious about the matter.

"They said they found his hand all chewed up near the standpipe," Stan told the others as they stared at a missing child poster of Eddie Corcoran, the most recent case this year.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben let out in sympathy for the child. Bill walked over to the poster and lifter it up to reveal Betty Ripsom's old poster.

"It's like she's been forgotten because Corcoran's missing," he explained before letting the poster back to it's original state. A faint 'what the fuck' was heard from the street as the marchers had taken his instrument back from Richie.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eddie questioned after appearing from behind a building with two ice cream cones,
one for himself and one for Richie.

"What they always talk about," Richie groaned.

"I actually think it will end... for a little while, at least," Ben announced before the group.

"What do you mean?" Beverly questioned.

"So I was going over all of my Derry research, and I charted out all the big events; the Iron Works explosion in 1908, the Bradley Gang in 35, and the Black Spot in 62, and now kids being..." Ben trailed hesitant of what he was to say next. "I realized this stuff seems to happen every 27 years," Bill realized as Ben explained. They all decided to sit down to listen to what Ben had to say next.

"Okay so, let me get this straight. It comes out from like wherever to eat kids for a year and then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie questioned frantically.

"Maybe it's like, what are they called, cicadas, you know the bugs that come out once every 17 years," Stan suggested.

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed. He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing, any evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry," Mike told the group. It was the best explanation that they had heard.

"But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different," Stan explained.

'No. What I saw changed- right in front of me,' Tate told the others.

"Maybe. Or maybe it knows what scares us most and that's what we see," Mike answered Stanley, not understanding what Tate was doing.

"I saw a leper. It was like a walking infection," Eddie shared nervously.

"But you didn't because it isn't real, none of this is; not Eddie's leper or Bill seeing Georgie or the woman I keep seeing," Stan tried. He tried so hard not to believe what was being said.

"She hot?" Richie asked, earning a glare from Tate, not having cared to listen to the rest of the conversation. He hadn't had an experience with IT.

"No Richie, she's not hot. Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams," Stan kept on trying.

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?" Mike told Stanley in resistance.

"What'd you see? You saw something too?" Eddie asked Mike.

"Yes, you guys know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue? I was inside when it burned down. Before I was rescued my parents were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door..." Mike went on, explaining the death of his parents, "We're all afraid of something," Mike said.

"Got that right," Richie responded.

"Why Rich, what're you afraid of?" Eddie asked. 'Losing Tate, hurting Tate,' he though before his mind trailed, 'being neglected and abused,' but Richie would never admit to these things so he told them his third worst fear.

"Clowns," Richie claimed before putting an arm around Tate, thinking of his true fears.

"I have something to show you guys," Bill said eventually, so the Losers made their way to Bill's garage to see what he had. This entire situation was crazy, how did we get here? Tate could hardly think straight. She wasn't sure whether this could be real or not, I mean, she had an experience with IT, right? Or was it just her imagination? By the time the Losers made their way to Bill's house Tate was sure of one thing, she was really scared.

"Look. Everywhere it happens it's all connected by the sewers. And they all meet up-" Bill started but Stan interupted with his epiphany.

"At the house on Neibolt Street," Stan finished. Tate couldn't bring herself to stop shaking her leg. Her anxiety that hasn't come up since a few months after she woke up. Her leg up down, up down. Her fingers pushing and pulling together, fidgeting. Eddie took a breath of his inhaler.

"That's where IT lives," Bill explained. Up down, up down, the light sound of her fingers brushing together blazed in her ears. Up down, up down.

"You mean that place where all the junkies and the hobos sleep?" Richie questioned, and he probably wasn't wrong. That place was really scary.

"This is worse than a clown. I'm not doing this!" Eddie shouted before ripping down the map on the wall. Up down, up down, uh- down. Tate's leg quit shaking when she felt a warm comfort just above her knee. Richie had put his hand down and moved it to circles on her back. The silent gesture calmed her down a bit. No more shaking, no more fidgeting as she took Richie's other hand in the both of hers.

"What the hell? Put the map back," Bill demanded.

"Uh uh," Eddie hummed in response before the projector started flipping through pictures on it's own somehow. Slowly at first, but the speed of the machine only increased. Tate was now squeezing Richie hand as the both of them went to the back of the room as images of a clown appeared on the wall.

"Turn it off," Bev demanded, but it kept going.

"Turn it off!" She shouted repeatedly before Mike kicked the projector to the ground. They felt a slight relief, but the projector was still on, slowly changing pictures of the clown that Tate had seen the day before. Suddenly, the projector stopped on a picture of some columns behind the clown. The only noise in the room was the heavy breathing of everyone. Richie hand was compressed tightly into Tate's as she sucked in air violently, not as violently as Eddie though. The screen went black for a split second before a huge clown appeared in the room with the Losers. Richie first instinct was to run beside the door, leaving Tate frozen in front of the entity. The only movement she made was her heaving chest.

"Tate!" all the Losers shouted at her to move, but she didn't her feet were glued to the floor. Everything that was running through her mind wouldn't transfer to her body. The giant clown reached out at Tate's throat.

"Open the door!" Richie screamed at Bill.

"Bowers would be proud of me," he muttered, his fingers not an inch from her neck. Tate still was unable to move. Just as Pennywise was on the brink of taking her the boys lifted up the garage door, letting in light and making the clown disappear. Tate immediately fell, her legs pushing her torso behind her. She was now sobbing for the second time in two days. Tate felt weak, and it wasn't a feeling she was fond of. Happiness was the only thing she wanted to feel but that wasn't going to happen for a long time, and she knew it. Richie immediately ran and dropped to his knees at Tate's side, pulling her into him. Tate pulled into him as well, balling up part of the back of his Freese's shirt into her fist. She felt comfort from Richie, yes, but the fear inside of her wasn't going away as he helped her up. The eight of them stood together just outside the garage. Tate's fear causing her to cling onto Richie, but his fear for her holding back just as tight.

"Let's go."

Word Count = 1409