Chapter Text
It only took about three seconds for the Losers to realize something was very, very wrong.
For one thing, there was a kid they didn’t know, and for another there was two kids who they barely knew.
Mike Hanlon, the homeschool kid who worked out a farm, seen occasionally in town going to a meat shop.
Beverly Marsh, kind of an outcast at school, mostly by the other girls.
It was so strange. One minute they’re all doing their normal daily activities, and the next?
They’re stood in a strange room with a bunch of chairs, and more importantly, no way out.
“What the fuck is going on!?” Richie asked in disbelief as he looked around the room frantically.
Eddie struggled to breath, taking out his inhaler.
“Billy…what’s happening?” Georgie asked fearfully as he clung to his older brother.
Bill frowned, resting a hand on Georgie’s shoulder as he looked towards the front of the room. A large screen was set up, much thinner and larger than any TV Bill’s ever seen.
And emerging from the shadows was a woman, much older than them. She had short, red hair just like Bev, and wore a nice pantsuit.
She looked just as surprised as they felt. “It worked.” She breathed, beginning to grin. “It actually worked!”
“Who the hell are you!?” Stan hissed. “Did you kidnap us!?”
“Where’s the door out of here!?” Richie snapped.
The woman took a deep breath. “Look, I can explain everything, but you guys need to calm down. You’re not in any danger, I promise.”
Bev hesitantly approached her, looking up to meet her gaze. “…You look like me.” She muttered in mild awe.
The woman smiled down at her. “That’s because I am you.”
“Holy shit we were kidnapped by a psycho.” Richie breathed.
“I-I don’t remember being drugged or passing out, do you guys remember passing out? I would remember if I passed out!” Eddie insisted frantically.
The older Beverly chimed in. “You weren’t kidnapped, or drugged. Okay I mean I guess you were kind of kidnapped,” When they started shouting again she quickly continued. “But there’s no danger! Look, this is, this is gonna take some explaining so…would you guys please sit down and listen to me?”
To the disbelief of most of them, the kid they didn’t know complied in an instant and sat down, which caused them all to slowly sit down as well.
She smiled at them. “Thank you. Okay, so…this is going to sound a little…insane, I’m from the future-“ They all opened their mouths to yell, but she held up a hand to silence them. “Look, some really bad stuff is going to happen to you guys and you need to listen to me so we can prevent it.”
“What are you smoking?” Richie questioned.
Beverly chuckled. “Beep-Beep, Richie.”
The Losers looked at her with alarm.
“Y-You know about beep-beep?” Stan asked in disbelief.
“What’s beep-beep?” Mike questioned in confusion.
Bill awkwardly spoke up. “I-It’s what w-w-we say when R-Richie s-s-starts talking t-too much and w-we need him to s-slow down.”
“But you wouldn’t know that unless you were in our group.” Richie frowned.
She merely smiled. “Exactly.”
“Hold on, HOLD ON-“ Eddie started in shock and horror. “You’re from the future, oh my God-“
Beverly laughed. “I am. See, about a year from now I join the Losers Club, as does Mike and Ben.”
“Ben?” Richie’s eyebrows furrowed.
The boy in question awkwardly raised his hand. “Um, that’s me.”
“He joins your class eventually,” Beverly explained. “And you all band together when strange stuff starts happening in your town.”
“H-H-How did you g-get here?” Bill asked hesitantly.
Beverly frowned. “Derry is special. See, there’s a sort of…ritual, that can be done, and it can grant wishes…” Her gaze darkened. “But not without a price.”
“What kind of price?” Eddie asked quietly.
Beverly swallowed hard. “In order to come back here, your future selves had to be erased.”
“WHAT!?”
She scrambled to continue. “I-I know, it’s really fucked up, but you have to know, I didn’t…” She let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t force anyone to comply. You all agreed to it and sacrificed yourselves.”
“Why would we do that?” Stan hissed. “Even if things aren’t perfect in the future, that’s-“
“Look, so much is lost, okay?” She continued desperately. “We were miserable and…and you guys don’t understand…” She took a moment to calm herself. “But you will, that’s why I’m here. I’m going to show you the future, in hopes that you can change it.”
Richie scoffed. “And we should trust your bullshit, why?”
“If you want all of you to be alive in 28 years, you will listen to me.” Beverly told him sharply, before looking at her younger self. “Well, little me, what’s your take?”
Bev stared up at her timidly. She could see it so clearly.
They had the same eyes.
Hesitantly, she nodded. “Show us.”
“Seriously?” Eddie asked in disbelief.
“Well, if it’s true, we don’t have much choice.” Mike shrugged.
Bill scowled. “T-T-This is c-crazy. A-And you s-s-still haven’t explained enough. W-W-Where are we!?” Georgie clung to him fearfully.
“You’re in a sealed off space. It’s kind of like…being in a bubble. When you’re released, no time will have passed at all.” Beverly explained. “But this space can only hold as long as I have stuff to show you about the future, that was the deal.”
Everyone still seemed awfully skeptical, and she couldn’t blame them.
“Look, I get you guys obviously have your doubts, and that’s fair, but please, just watch and listen to me. If only for your future selves. Don’t throw away this chance they gave up everything to give you.” She pleaded.
It was insane. This woman claiming to be from the future had locked them in some kind of magic bubble to show them their future?
How could they possibly believe that?
And yet…
“Well, we’re stuck in here either way,” Mike chimed up, making the others look at him. “And if what she’s saying really is true…” He swallowed hard. “We better take notes.”
Stan whipped out a notepad and some paper. “I’ll play note taker, I don’t trust any of you to write clear enough.”
“Hold on, you’re buying this shit?” Richie asked in awe.
“No,” Stan huffed. “Not completely. But whether I believe it or not, do you see an exit?” He sassed, gesturing around him. “At the very least, the sooner we do this, the sooner we’re out.”
Bev frowned. “I believe it.” They looked at her. “She has my eyes.” She explained softly. “Even if it sounds crazy, if there’s even the slightest chance it’s real…we should take it seriously.”
Beverly smiled in relief. “Thank you…me.” She chuckled a little. “So, you’ll listen to me?” She asked the others.
Everyone looked at one and other, trying to get a feel for everyone’s opinions.
And then, they all moved to sit down.
Beverly let out a breath as she held up a remote. “First off, I want to thank you, for at least giving this a chance.” She swallowed hard. “And…I’m sorry,” She told them softly. “I’m sorry that, me and the older versions of yourselves couldn’t do better.”
Before anyone could ask anymore questions, Beverly turned the TV on.
It was time to begin.