maskormenace

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[Eddie paces as he talks. There's a cast on his arm with the word loser written in black, with a red V written over the s to spell lover.]

Hello? Can you hear me? We're all kidnapping victims here; you guys know that right?

This nanite stuff sucks. There are tiny germ sized robots crawling around inside us! Something's gotta be powering them. They could be hanging out in our stomachs eating our food. Or they could be eating us and making tiny little holes inside our bodies. They could all build up in one place and block off the blood flowing through our arteries and our veins. Or build up in our organs, our lungs and our brains! And, our bodies are mostly water. They could be rusting inside us.

[He stops pacing and starts scratching his face with his cast-free hand]

I think I'm allergic to them! Everything's itchy. I'm gonna break out into hives!

[He starts wheezing and rubs his chest.]

I could be allergic to the tattoo too. I'm just a kid. I shouldn't have one. I think it's starting to swell up. I could have an infection. Or a blood disease. I don't trust these government people to be clean.

[The wheezing continues and his voice becomes strained with each word. He takes his inhaler out of a fanny pack and uses it, only speaking again when he's breathing is back to normal.]

How are we supposed to deal with this shit?

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They’re all fun, duh. Plus, better than Derry. ‘Cept Jeopardy, there’s a creepy-ass cult that worships a spider goddess there. Only go there if you really have to, and if you do bring someone along.

[Like Richie wouldn’t immediately invite himself along and spend the whole trip with a baseball bat glued to his hands, practically attached to Eddie’s side.]

Well. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. But if you do want to then—I saw you kick the clown clear across the room, you’re way tougher than you think you are. [And braver, too. Richie barely had the guts to stand up to Bowers, but Eddie stood up to his mom, and that takes bravery.

It takes bravery too to say what you feel, and Richie is not that brave, because his heart wrenches at the very thought of Eddie going after the “hot chicks”. He covers up fast, and snorts out a laugh.] Nah, they’ll just think you’re cute as a button and pinch your cheeks. Don’t worry, I’ll save you before your cheeks get all numb from the pinching.

Yeah, I'll stay out of there. Who the fuck worships a spider? A goddess that can be stomped on is bullshit. We'll have more fun at the beach and the arcade. [Paintball sounds dangerous, like it could take out an eye. He'll work up the courage later, for Richie.]

[Eddie gives a little smile and blushes slightly. Richie's sees a strength in him that his mother never did. If anyone else said that, he'd call it b.s. He trusts Richie though.] Okay. Thanks, Rich.

[He rolls his eyes, but isn't really annoyed.] They're not gonna do that. Are we supposed to be like famous celebrities? They'll be all impressed.

Apparently a bunch of people do? I don’t know, I think they all got dropped on their heads as babies, that’s why they have a whole church dedicated to spiders now. [Eugh.] I found an arcade in Nonah! And another in Heropa, too. Just the one Street Fighter machine between them, though, which is fucked up.

[sagely:] Any time, keed.

[The shine of celebrity’s worn off for Richie since November’s almost-apocalypse, so he just makes a face instead at the idea.]

Yeah, by how adorable you are. ‘S’okay, that just means they have eyes and can see what I’ve always seen: that you’re cute as a fucking button.

That's just weird. A can of bug spray must be a sin to them. They're all gonna get spider bites. [He shrugs.] It's 2020. They got to have newer games now. Besides, you always win at Street Fighter.

Stop it. [He rolls his eyes.] You sound like an old lady. You should get a bunch of cats and call them cute.

They have Mario Kart. Hell, we don’t even have to go to the arcade for that, my friend had a copy and I borrowed it after—after. [Caleb wouldn’t mind, he’s sure.] I kicked his ass all the time at it, I could definitely kick yours.

[A snort of laughter, then Richie’s voice shifts to an old lady’s Voice, picked up from an old German grandma he met in the park:] Is that little Eddie Kaspbrak I see! I say, I say, dearie, you just get cuter every year! [He laughs, then switches back to his regular voice.] Why would I need cats? I’ve got you. You’re better than cats.

We'll see. You've got to give me extra points or something. I don't know that one. [As if there's a game that Richie wouldn't have played more than Eddie.] Is it like Super Mario Bros. 2?

Your new voices are way better than the British guy. I'm not little. Everyone else is tall. [He shrugs.] 'Cause that's what old ladies do. You could knit something cute. Old ladies do that too.

A little bit? Sort of? [A beat.] It's Super Mario Bros., but with go-kart racing. The controller's kinda weird, but after a few rounds you get used to it. I'll give you pointers, make it fairer on you. It's not as fun to kick your ass if you don't even know how to kick back.

[And Richie very obviously preens. Eddie thinks his Voices are cool now! This superpower is useful for many things, clearly, among them being Impressing Eddie. (Annoying Eddie is, of course, still very high on the priority list.)]

I probably might. How hard could it be? [Famous last words.] Hey, how often are your roommates around? [Or he could just knock on the front door and ask them, but old habits die hard and Richie is far, far too used to sneaking into Eddie's window whenever Mrs. K was distracted or out of the house.]

Okay, cool. [He grins.] Can we try real go-karts here too? [His mom always worried to the point that she acted like they were more dangerous than a real car]

Seriously? Just don't stab yourself or me with the needles. And don't leave the needles on a chair. The doctors would laugh their asses off if you sat down and stabbed yourself in the butt that way. [He shrugs.] Not much, I guess. Or they're in their rooms. I haven't met them yet.

Of course! [He doesn’t even have to ask.] There’s gotta be something in De Chima.

Yeah, seriously. And how the fuck would I stab anyone with knitting needles? I’ll be too busy trying to knit one, purl two, whatever the hell that means. [But duly noted about leaving the needles on a chair, he will leave them on someone else’s chair instead.] Cool. Can you let me in? I’m at your kitchen window and I don’t wanna make them think someone broke in and stole something.

Cool!

By accident. You might drop them on someone's foot or you could be carrying them with the sharp part out and bump into someone. All kinds of ways. Doctors probably have a ton of stories about knitting needle injuries. You got to treat them like scissors or knives.

[He grins and can be heard running to the door.]

Yeah. I'm opening the door now.

[Oh right he can use the door. He is way too used to having to sneak in through the window. Hang on, he immediately sprints towards the door, and by the time Eddie opens it Richie is taking the steps two at a time.]

Eds, hey—your superpower’s just knowing where to go, right? If I give you the name of an arcade or a real go-kart course, you’d know how to get there immediately, yeah?

Yeah, it is. I can find stuff too. So if I just think about arcade games or go-kart carts, I could find the closest ones.

[A pause as he thinks it over.]

It's better if we have a name of an actual place. I don't want to lead us to some weirdo with arcade games in his basement. [Because his mom warned him about strangers like that.]

[A pause as he digests this idea. Then:] So, okay, if I told you to take us to the nearest bakery, would you just end up leading us to my house? 'Cause I got a coupon from a bakery once and I bought, like, a fuckton of bread.

[No, really, this is something he's actually curious about now. And, hell, they're already testing this superpower, right? After the arcade, he'll float the testing idea past Eddie, see if that gets them somewhere.]

Try the Gamerz Zone. I get turned around looking for it all the damn time.

I think if you said bakery, I'd find a bakery. I could draw it on a map too. But if you said bread, I would only go the kitchen 'cause there's bread there.

[Probably. He hasn't met his roommates yet; who knows what they eat?]

Gamerz zone. [He repeats it, already seeing a path in his mind. No major roads to cross or anything else dangerous.] Yeah, we could go there..But maybe we could stop at your house first and let me borrow something warm to wear?

[He hasn't been shopping, still in summer clothes. Richie's clothes'll be too long on his arms and legs, but better than being cold and risk getting sick.]

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