The late morning sun was already slowing its ascent, and the warmth from its rays comforted Chris in a way that it hadn't all summer. Possibly even longer than that if she really thought about it.
She didn't really know what she expected. Some great weight lifting off of her shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief as the clouds would part with ethereal rays of heaven's light? Instead, she walked back home. Back to the parents that ignored her more fiercely than ever, back to the room that was more like a fortress of solitude than anything. Washing away all the sewer grime as best as she could, she went straight to bed, letting herself be lost in a dreamless dream.
And when she woke up that morning, everything was the same. She would've screamed had she not forced herself into believing all the madness was as over as summer. For the sake of her sanity, she had to.
She had barely finished breakfast when she got a call from Beverly. She was expecting the worst, but she was only met with a simple request to meet in the Barrens, out where the bridge to the outside world sat over the Kenduskeag. She rushed over as fast as she could.
It didn't take her long to get there, and a few minutes after her arrival all 8 of them sat in a circle by the bank of the river. The only sound for a long while was the rushing of water and the somnolent hum of birds and insects. Chris' attention had been diving in and out of the shallow conversations between them, preferring to stare at the weeds shivering in the last of the summer breezes as August faded into September. There was a lot on her mind, and if she thought about it hard enough she'd feel the push of tears behind her eyes. She hated that feeling, but since then she had come to realize that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to feel.
Eventually, someone had gathered all of their attentions - Bill, to no one's surprise.
She hadn't heard it clearly enough, but she assumed it was about yesterday, in the cistern. Something about Beverly. Bev tensed a little before relenting.
"I can only remember parts, but.." she wrung her hands in her lap. "I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like."
Chris turned her head slightly, gaze switching from the girl sitting next to her and the river behind her, scratching off pieces of bark from the log they sat on.
"I saw us, all of us together - back in the cistern." she began, voice soft and hesitant. "But we were older, like, our parent's ages."
"Wh-Wuh-What were we all doing there?" Bill asked.
"I just remember how we felt. How scared we were." she rubbed her arms, brows knitting together in mild distress. "I don't think I can ever forget that."
Chris scratched the back of her head. "Were we all still friends?"
Beverly's smile returned, but just barely. "The best."
"Am I still handsome as an adult?" Richie asked brusquely, framing his face in the most un-handsome way he could (which wasn't hard in Chris' opinion).
Everyone chuckled.
"You grow into your looks." Beverly said with a grin.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Richie giggled.
"What about me?" Stan perked up.
Something changed in Beverly's expression, but it was so minuscule that Chris paid it no mind.
"Like now, but..taller." she said with a certain wistfulness.
Suddenly, Bill stood, picking up something shiny off the ground.
"Swear it." he said.
Chris realized that it was a broken piece of glass from a coke bottle.
"S-S-Swear," he continued, considering his words. "If It isn't dead, if It ever comes back..we'll come back too."
A silence fell upon them all, and somewhere in the distance a bird began to sing. All of us are here, Chris thought. And in that moment, she sees them - really sees them. As though it were the last time she'd ever see them, because in some somber way she understood that things will never be the same again. That they will never be the same again. That voice in the back of her mind, the one she could never quite place, seemed to think so too.
No one talked as Beverly rose, or when Chris followed suit. When Richie and Eddie stood in unison, or when Mike, Ben and Stan all joined the circle, they were all consumed by an incomprehensible silence.
And then Bill sliced his own palm, hissing slightly in pain.
Starting with Richie, he went around the circle. Richie gripped Eddie's arm in support, and after passing them both, the shorter boy's med watch began to beep. One by one they took their oath, and when it was Chris' turn she bit her lip, fighting back the instinct to tug her hand away at the sight of the glass digging into her flesh. When it was Beverly's, she barely flinched.
A breeze washed over them, shaking the weeds and the trees and the bushes that hid them from the rest of Derry, and as she felt the blood trickle down her fingers Chris felt as though she had become a part of it all. Like she could sing along with the birds in the Barrens, that she could fly away right then and there. She longed to take the others with her.
Holding out her hands, Beverly reached for Bill and Chris. She took it, feeling the warmth of their blood tying them together like glue. The others joined in, and they stood in a circle, all of their hands now sealed in way that felt beyond permanent. Something a little more akin to fate.
And that was it. It was so simple.
Though the oath had already been completed the moment they locked hands, they stood there for a while longer, feeling the power that flowed through their circle. Chris watched how the late morning sun painted their faces in shades of gold, and how it made Beverly's hair burn like the brightest fire. This place is nice, she thought simply, letting the Barrens fill her senses. This place is nice and I don't think I ever want to be down here again. The thought was sudden and startling all at once, but in a way that she found that the thought wasn't entirely terrible, but instead tremendously liberating.
At last they dropped their hands.
"I gotta go," Stan said, and with the slightest hesitation he looked directly at Bill. "I hate you."
Bill looked solemn, until a mischievous grin grew on Stan's face, and they all broke out in giggles.
"I'll..see you later." he said before turning away.
"Bye, Stan," Bill said softly, watching him disappear down the trail that led to the road.
Shortly afterward, Eddie turned to Richie, clapping his back as they hugged goodbye.
"Bye, guys," he said, shaking his cast in an attempt at a wave.
Mike was the next to leave, and Richie followed.
"See you later, losers." Mike said with a warm smile.
"See you around, Bill."
Bill waved at them both. "See you, Rich."
"See you guys later." Ben said softly before leaving a short while later.
"Bye, Ben." Bev replied.
Eventually, inevitably, it was just them three, sitting on the log at the bank of the river in comfortable silence. Basking in each other's presence.
"Y-Yy-You-You all packed for Portland?" Bill asked.
"Pretty much," Beverly said quietly. "I'm going tomorrow morning."
Chris winced. She remembered - vaguely - hearing some mention of that the previous afternoon, but so much had happened that she pushed it to the back of her mind. But now she was back in the real world.
"How long will you be g-gone?" Bill continued.
"My aunt, she says I can stay for as long as I want, so.."
"You'll come down to visit, right?" Chris said.
Beverly's lips quirked to one side in a half-smile. "Of course."
She wasn't sure if there was any truth to what she said, but Chris never doubted her. Beverly looked down at her hands.
"Just so you know," she said, twisting the key that hung around her neck. "I never felt like a loser when I was with all of you."
Bill didn't respond, instead, looking away from her and somewhere over the river.
"I-I-I gotta go." he said, standing up. "My parents started packing for our camping trip this weekend. We're supposed to leave later today."
"See you around." Bev said quietly.
"Later, Bill." Chris said, lying down in the grass.
There was a moment of silence as they watched Bill disappear down the trail. And once he was gone, Chris got up, brushing dirt from her shorts. Although it was likely the last day she'd see her in what would undoubtedly be a long time, she wasn't ready to be alone with her. Not after yesterday.
"I should get going too," she said, even though she didn't have much else to do other than collect her pay for the week.
"Wait," Beverly fingers wrapped around her wrist before promptly retreating back to her lap. "Could you stay? Just for a little longer?"
Chris gulped, slowly sitting back down on the log. She could see the girl staring at her out of the corner of her eye, and no matter how much she avoiding making any amount of direct eye contact, she was just too magnetic.
Chris opened her mouth to say something, but Beverly beat her to the punch.
"Yesterday...back at the cistern..did you-"
"I'm sorry, I-I - I didn't know what I was thinking, I was just,"
"Chris."
" -I was scared- "
Beverly held her hands. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Before Chris could pull them away, Beverly leaned in, closing the gap between them. Her eyes fluttered closed, while Chris' remained wide open, shoulders tensing. The kiss was fleeting, and Beverly leaned back after a beat. Chris sat there, completely speechless.
"Take care of yourself, okay?" she said, getting up from the log and starting down the path.
But before she got too far, Chris ran after her. The entire world seemed to fade into background fuzz, the only tangible thing being the girl in front of her. Grabbing her arms with a feather-light touch, Chris closed her eyes and kissed her back. Now, Beverly froze, before melting into her, one hand hovering over her shoulder and the other laying itself flat against her cheek. Taking a breath, they pulled away from each other. Beverly's smile was warmer than the sun.
She tilted her head to the side. "Don't you owe me an ice cream?"
"H-Huh?"
Smearing blood across her cheek, her hand fell back at her side. "That new parlor that opened up near Memorial?"
Chris' eyes lit up. "Oh..I, uh, I thought you would've forgotten about that."
Beverly chuckled. "'Course I wouldn't."
Turning away, Beverly began to walk before looking over her shoulder. "Well? You coming?"
Blinking, Chris nodded, feeling the wind rustle her hair as she caught up to her. As they walked up the trail out of the barrens, Beverly's hand left her pocket, probing the air for Chris'. Finding it, she squeezed back.