Chapter Text
The sewers were dark, humid, and cold, and a static sensation filled the air dulling everyone's senses. The air smelled like stale water, mildew, and shit that had been left to rot for several weeks in the sun.
We had done it. We had killed that fucking piece of shit clown, but now we were trapped in the middle of nowhere shit-n-slide, USA with no map; not even a goddamn flashlight by this point - somehow when you're fourteen and fighting an extra-dimensional shapeshitting murder hobo from hell small little details tend to slip through the cracks; like, oh I dont know, making sure you had a spare set of batteries so that you dont blindly fumble around the sewers for hours relying solely on the light produced by the flame of a single bic lighter.
The next while was spent aimlessly wandering, searching for whatever sections seemed like an incline, sometimes getting turned around and ending up right back where we were ten minutes later. Somewhere along the way amidst the occasional sniffle, or sob Bev spoke up, suggesting we all play a game. After some discussion we decided upon I Spy because, well, there weren't exactly many options, and started throwing random stuff out.
"I spy something the color blue," Bev would start.
"That graffiti over there?" Ben would ask, getting it right.
"I spy something the color green," he'd start, and so on.
Eventually we'd gotten so worn out that we forwent the "I Spy" part entirely and simply shouted out the name of a color like a blind man taking LSD for the first time and losing his fucking shit.
"Red," I would say.
"The label on that beer can," Eds would guess incorrectly - It was actually his shirt, but I couldn't bring myself to correct him at that point.
"Yellow," Eddie said.
"Th-the r-rain c-coat..." Bill stuttered out, tone hitching into a sob toward the end as he made the connection.
We stopped playing after that.
It had been around three hours since the encounter and our water supply had completely run out - and I say supply as if two 20oz Dasani bottles and a flask Mike had stolen from his grandparents counts as one - by the time any significant change had occurred.
"Hey! Guys! I think I see light!" Bev eventually cried, pointing up towards the crest of a slope a head of us where natural light shone down, illuminating the gravely slope and moss caked walls comprising the sewer's inlet.
"Oh thank god!" Ben cried, doubling over and taking a moment to breath and process his relief.
"Woah woah woah..." I said, catching my breath - which is quite hard to do when the only air around you smells like shit and dead people, "Why are we bringing Eddie's mom into this?"
"Beep... beep!" Eddie managed through his little wheezes.
I obviously took the hint, and we all climbed up, and for the first time since the previous afternoon we saw sunlight again.
I heard a slight hiccup from my left, which turned into a sob, which turned into full blown bawling turning into a ripple effect that cascaded through each of the losers until we were all a hysterical mess on the grass - even me! And thats coming from the dude who talks about fucking mom's and dad's left and right and up and down to mask the fact that I hate my life!
When everyone had managed to get themselves together, we vowed to come back. If this thing EVER came back, we'd end it again so that no other kids ever had to grow up as fast as we did. So that no other children had to die like... so many had.
The image of Big Bill and Georgie playing and laughing in the dirt flashed through my head at that thought, and I shook the memory from my head. That kid was so loved that his older brother and six others - some of whom he had never even gotten the chance to meet - journeyed through shit and piss to kill wannabe Gacy from hell or the macro verse or whatever the fuck its called, and now he was gone. He had been taken off this plane before he had even had the chance to attend school.
After the vow we made our way through the familiar route from the barrens (where the sewer exit we found had let us out), along the ridge around the dam we had built weeks prior, onto Kossuth Lane, right onto Kansas St, left onto Jackson and right again onto main street. With no words spoken we arrived at Big Bill's house. I dont know why thats where we went, if I had to guess it was because Bill usually knew what to do, he was who we turned to to guide us when we were lost, and after all that had happened not even today's GPS technology could have saved us, so naturally we followed our leader.