PAPERCUT ━━ IT 2017

? Chapter 8: The Apocalyptic Rock Fight ?

"Fuck you dyke!" Belch shouted after a slew of shouting that had all merged into one raucous sound.

Chris froze, her teeth bared in a snarl. Before she could aim for his head, Belch hit her square in the stomach, sending her stumbling backward into Bill. Beverly splashed into the water ahead of her, hitting him in the eye with a growl. Eddie followed, landing nearly in the center of the stream as he jumped off the raised ledge they were on. Soon enough, almost all of them had found themselves in the river - even Mike - pushing back together as a single force.

Something had changed in the air at that moment, with all of them on the bank of the stream and the Bowers Gang scrambling for cover. The circle had closed, and Chris found herself smiling just a little more.

By the time the fight had ended, Victor and Belch had disappeared behind the cover of trees, leaving their leader beaten and bloody, curled up in a fetal position. He trembled pathetically, his arms stiffly covering up his face. Bill, standing at the forefront of the group, looked back at them. That was when Chris knew the fight was over.

Helping each other back up the ledge and down a "trail" (that was less of a trail and more of a thin strip of space where the firs hadn't completely blocked them), Eddie, Stan, and Ben led Mike out of Henry's sight. Stan rubbed at his jaw, the skin there a screaming red. Chris helped Beverly and Bill back up, ignoring the dull pain in her abdomen. Richie strayed behind.

"Go blow your dad, you mullet-wearing asshole!" he shouted victoriously, throwing up both fingers for effect.

_____

They had made their way to the train yards, surrounded by rattling train tracks and a field of dandelions and other scratchy weeds.

"Thanks guys, but..you shouldn't have done that. They'll be after you too now." Mike said softly, looking a little guilty as he rubbed his arm.

"Oh no no no, Bowers?" Eddie called from the front of the line. "He's always after us."

"I guess that's one th-thi-thing we all have in c-cuh-common." Bill added.

"Yeah, Homeschool." Richie said from the back. "Welcome to the Losers' Club."

Chris swat a dragonfly that flitted a little too close to her face for her comfort. "So how far did you say this place was?"

"It shouldn't be far." Eddie answered quickly, looking mildly surprised with himself. Chris turned to Ben.

"He's right, it's just a little further up ahead."

He wasn't wrong. After about five minutes the clearing had closed up into Barrens again, and the sun had partly disappeared behind the cover of trees. And it took them five minutes more until they stopped in the middle of a small patch of dirt and grass encircled by bushes. Ben stepped ahead of them, pushing away loose dirt and fallen branches and leaves. Underneath was a wooden trapdoor, and with a little effort Ben lifted it, the door hitting the ground with a thud.

As Ben took a careful step down a thick ladder that seemed to be made from logs, he called to the others once he reached the bottom.

"It's all good, guys, you can come down!"

Looking around at each other, Beverly was the first to take a step forward, climbing down the ladder and hopping to the ground. Followed by Richie, then Chris, and Bill.

"What the dick is this?" Richie adjusted his shirt. "How'd you build it?"

"When did you b-bil-build it?"

The rest filed in cautiously. It wasn't deep, it was barely taller than them all, but the structure was impressive. Chris stared in mild awe at the huge logs that held up the small fort. The walls were fortified by metal sheets, and running along the roof were wooden beams and wires connecting to small lights. Besides this, it was almost completely bare. Roots crept in from beneath the planks of wood and metal.