Chapter Text
"I-I-I'll find the kil-killer, I-I'll br-bring him back t-t-to yo-you." The demon’s smile widened, his bright shiny eyes breaking through the cracks of the darkness and all the kids took one step back, all exchept for Bill Denbrough. A throaty laugh sounded from somewhere above their heads.
"If you fail, if no soul is found, it could be years down the road even, then what do I get?"
Bill fumbled with his hands and looked back to his friends.
"You're awfully greedy." Richie Tozier remarked. The demon gave a wide smile his way.
"Perhaps it's because I've been trapped down here for a millenia, no food, no contact, no light, I'll take just about anything at this point." He eyed all the kids and none of them coward under its warning presence.
The demon turned back to Bill. "You've so many people who care about you Bill, your brother sure did."
Beverly Marsh stepped forward and looked the demon where she guessed were his eyes and locked it down with her own piercing gaze.
"We've talked as a group beforehand, since it wasn't Bill alone who found you we decided that we'd split whatever is needed to take so we can do good by Georgie’s name," Ben Hanscom stepped up beside her, “and all the other kids so as long as we get the killer."
The demon smiled, his many eyes shone joyously bright. "A prize indeed for a sliver of each."
The demon descended to the ground, the black entity stretching wide across their legs, going over their feet and draping itself on the ground.
"First, I'm going to brand each of you, it won't hurt more than a pin prick." Which was the understatement of the century. The Loser's clasped each others hands to hold each other steady because they were young and they were in this together.
The demon engulfed them in darkness and tediously searched for a perfect spot, somewhere unique, somewhere the demon knew would burn them as they lay in the late hours of night as a reminder of the contract they'd agreed upon. The demon eyed their joined hands, it was perfect. They all felt a searing pain begin to take over their left hands, like a branding iron pressing hot against their palms.
Eddie had tears in his eyes and Richie quickly comforted him.
"Look, we got matching tattoos, sooner than expected though I would have left out the pentagram and gone for a flower." Indeed all seven kids had a freshly seared pentagram on their palms that would very soon fade beneath their skin, but it would itch whenever they thought about death and killing, whenever they were out in the world looking for Georgie's killer and whenever they called upon the demon.
"Now, that the seal has been placed what form should I take? What form is fitting for all seven of you and won't arise any suspicion from the adults?" The demon knew he had to take extra care in his form. He recalled the silly one he had taken all those centuries ago, with a bright red nose, his contracted a ringmaster of that sort. The demon tried it out for laughs in front of the kids, colors emerged from black, a white face popped out from the shadows and he stood in a funny pose for all of them to see. Some of them snickered but Richie crossed his arms and moved closer to Eddie.
"Uh-uh, I hate clowns." The demon waved at him and gave him a silly smile but it felt more taunting to Richie.
The demon’s red hair melted away and his white make up dusted off his face, the clothes he wore were no longer the clown suit he had on, instead he wore a red muscle shirt, ragged faded blue jeans and black combat boots. The face that emerged behind the white makeup was youthful but still older than the kids.
“A...teenager?” Mike spread his hands out wide in question. There in the middle where the demon had stood was a boy no older than 16 with spiky dirty blonde hair that fell down his neck and he had piercing eyes.
“No, I think he’s got a point. We can’t have an adult hanging out with us, that’d be too weird.” The demon swaggered over to them, using his lanky legs for the first time in a long time.
“You’re friend here’s got a point.” He wrapped an arm around Stan’s shoulder like an old companion.
“I can already tell you’re the smart one in the group.” The demon smiled down at Stan and patted his shoulder.
Eddie cleared his throat to catch the demons attention, it was easier this way because he wasn’t staring into black nothingness anymore.
“Hey, de-demon. There’s no way we can keep calling you ‘demon’ either, if anything people would be highly suspicious of that.” Eddie waved around his cast to mark his point. The demon rubbed his smooth chin and thought about it.
“A name must be given then.” Before he could continue there was an echo coming from the mouth of the large sewer drain in which the loser’s club had entered looking for said demon.
“If there’s anyone down here you better speak up. No, this ain’t no place to be lolly-gagging about, you could get seriously hurt.”
It was an adult. He spoke in the same cockney accent Richie mimicked a plenty of times when they were out having good fun, this wasn’t fun though, this was serious business.
“Sh-sh-shit guys we-we better g-g-get going.” Bill grabbed his backpack, Eddie scrambled on the ground to blowout and pick up the various candles they had used in their demon summoning while Richie kept look out and Mike slammed the demon summoning book shut, shoving it inside Ben’s backpack. Beverly and Stan kicked over the dirt on the ground to hide the summoning marks they had copied from book text.
The demon just stood in the middle of their scrambling still thinking about a name.
“John Buyers...no I don’t even buy it...Moses...no…Do you guys got anything better?” Stan seemed to be the only one deliberating in that moment and just shrugged. The demon looked around at each of the loser’s who were already scrambling to one of the many exits out of the sewers.
“How about we make like flies and get the fuck out of here before we get caught!” Richie hollered back to the demon.
“You kids know I can-”
“Hey! I see you kids.” The officer came in, wearing green rubber boots and a flashlight tight in his meaty grip.
The demon went after where the loser’s had run off to and would rather not be caught in the form of a teenager by an officer in the sewers. No one would bail him out and even if the losers tried, they’d only get funny looks.
He caught up to them in a few strides and looked around, shit he really didn’t know where he was going and hoped one of these kids had the mind do get them out, obviously someone must have since they somehow got here in the first place.
“E-Eddie, yo-you sure thi-thi-this leads out t-t-to main ground?” Bill banged his flashlight against his palm and the dull stream shone brighter.
“I’m positive, keep up the pace I don’t want to get caught. If my mom found out-”
“What? That you and your friends made a demonic pact? I think that’d be a hoot for mumsy.”
“Shut up, Richie.”
“I still don’t have a-”
“Don’t make me come over there you hooligans! Get back here and we can sort out your consequences with ease.” The office stood at the mouth of the large sewer pipe, flashlight following their every step.
The loser’s all startled and made a run for it. “Come on guys, this should be a short cut!” Eddie flapped his cast as he ran flanking the front of the group, he clearly didn’t care how his feet splashed the water up around them. He turned cleanly around the corner, the other’s following close. The demon ran alongside them hooting with laughter.
Over the sound of their own feet bounding against the ground they could hear the officer’s clunky rubber boots beating against the ground with less force but he was determined in catching up to them.
Eddie was about to run over an edge but Richie grabbed the back of his shirt collar to pull him back and they both fell into the murky water. The water moved around them dropping over the edge where a path once was, now a gaping crack left in its place.
“Eddie I thought you said it was a short cut.” Mike looked around, perhaps there was another way.
“How was I supposed to know the damn path caved in.” Eddie pulled himself off Richie and helped him up from the floor.
“Thanks, Rich.”
“Are you good?” Richie tried not looking too concerned but he couldn’t hide the fright he had felt when he saw Eddie almost certainly fall to his death. Eddie nodded and they could hear the echoes of the officer gruffly breathing through his nose.
“Let’s make a jump for it.” Beverly suggested and looked around at each of her friends. Stan walked over to the edge and could just barely see the bottom of the long, wet and most definitely jagged drop.
“Uhh…” Beverly spread her arms back and gestured for her friends to follow to step back. “All we need is a little push, come on it’s like at the Quarry.”
“Yeah, but we’re jumping in water not to the other side-” Stan tried to point out. Too late, the others were already in lunging stance and Stan guessed he had to follow or he’d get left behind.
“Oh fuck it.” The adventurous scout jumped out and he put all his skill and prowess from earning all the mountain climbing badges in a week from his scouting troupe.
The path was wide enough for all of the losers to line up side by side and make a run for it, at the ledge they lunged and shouted in bravery, arms flailing out to their sides.
There was no way they could have made it. While suspended in the air there was a momentary panic already settling in as they saw how far the other side actually was.
The demon stood way back in a sprinters lunge, a wide smile taking over his face.
“My first task, this should be fun.” The officer came in time to see all the kids jump over the ledge and most certainly begin falling to their death.
“Ahhh, you kids stay where you are!” Which was a pretty useless phrase given that the kids were falling.
The demon threw himself over the edge straight down and grabbed each of the losers. He had Eddie and Richie under one arm, Ben in the other, Mike and Beverly grabbed his bony shoulder, Bill had a tight grip around the demons neck and Stan wrapped his arms around Bill’s chest and screamed.
The demon jumped up from the drop and landed expertly on the other side where no water ran. He ran for the exit cackling the whole time.
“Whoo!” The other’s gawked in awe, Stan had his eyes clamped shut still screaming against Bill’s back.
Mike was shaking his head, that was sure something else and Bev’s eyes were wide but she was having as much fun as Ben.
“So long sucker!” Richie flicked off the officer as the demon ran with them out of the sewers.
“Really, Richie’s whole ass is in my face!” Eddie tried pushing his head back.
“You know you like the view, spaghetti.” Richie teased and wiggled his behind.
“Richie, I swear to fuck if you fart.”
Bill poked his head from behind the demon. “What else can you do?” The demon looked around and saw an opening way above their heads. He looked down at Eddie gesturing his head to it.
“Yeah, that should do it.” Eddie looked up to examine it.
“Keep your eyes open and hold on tight!” The demon ran at full speed, it was unlike any of them felt before, far from the carnival rides they loved riding so much. The demon jumped high and bound through the hole, breaking the bars with his head alone.
He landed on soft grass and dropped the kids in his arms. Beverly and Mike jumped down and high-fived each other while Bill had to will a shaking Stan off his back.
Richie dusted his glasses off with the hem of his shirt and fixed them neatly on his nose. Ben dusted his shirt and shorts and looked around, the sun was still high.
“What next?” The demon looked around cooly, that had been pretty fun.
“My mom’s making chili for lunch, do you guys want chili?”
Richie wrapped his arm around Eddie’s neck and ruffled his hair, as well as shaking out a few dead leaves that had caught when the shorter boy fell from the demon’s grasp.
“A bite wouldn’t hurt.” Richie turned to his other friends to see what they'd say to Ben’s suggestion
“I’m sure my mom’s got chili for days, she always makes a big heaping pot.” He expectantly looked at Beverly his eyes hopeful.
Beverly nodded her head and gave a soft smile to Ben, the rest following in agreement to the chili.
The loser’s quickly located a path back to where their bikes were parked and saw a police station wagon there too. They noticed a sleeping officer in the car, no doubt the other officer’s partner that was meant to keep a ‘look-out’ in case they came back
They tip-toed by the vehicle and quickly mounted their bikes
Bill got on his bike and nodded to the demon. “Ho-ho-hop on.” The demon arched a brow and saw everyone else speed away out of the brush. He got on behind Bill and they were off.
“High-o silver away!” The demon started laughing. “What’s that you’re saying?”
“It-it’s s-s-so I can go fa-faster, y-y-you try it.” The demon looked skeptical and wet his lips some to try it out anyways.
“HIGH-O SILVER AWAY.” The losers club responded back to him and laughed in unison.