Chapter 43

"Is this Officer Jackson? I'm Randy."

"Randy, how's your day been?"

"I'm fine, thank you, and… ahem."

Randy quickly cleared his throat and adjusted his tone: "Officer Jackson, I heard the police department is very busy right now. You must be working hard, right?"

"Yes, I'm really overworked. Today was supposed to be a day off, but the chief pulled me in to work!"

Jackson couldn't stop talking as he began to complain to Randy and also revealed a lot of information.

The police department had been receiving missing person reports since yesterday, and Jackson shared them all with Randy, including the especially disturbing and brutal case that left a significant impact on him.

"I'm telling you, the crime scene was terrifying. The head of the male victim was crushed like a watermelon…"

"What's going on? Wow, that's so horrifying. Oh!"

Randy played along with various reactions of shock and concern, making Jackson very animated in his recounting, and then he continued to ask about the ongoing situation.

"Are there still similar cases happening today?"

"Ah, these cases are confidential and can't be publicly disclosed to avoid causing panic. But since you asked, I'll definitely tell you. Anyway, you'll find out in a few days."

Randy reciprocated: "Next time I visit Mrs. Beverly, I'll contact you. We can go together; I can create an opportunity for you!"

"Good job, Randy!"

Jackson's tone became much more spirited, and he then described the cases that had occurred from last night until noon.

Around midnight, the police received the first call.

It was from a mother whose child had mysteriously gone missing at home. The room's window glass was shattered, and there was a broken balloon on the floor.

Half an hour later, a report came from a suburban farm.

They reported that a beast-like creature had attacked the sheep in the pen, and even the Bible cross was ineffective.

Then, another call came from a man.

He said he had a rendezvous with his lover outdoors. In the middle, his lover went to the river to clean herself, but she never came back. In the early morning, he received a distress text from his girlfriend, saying she had been abducted by a big, foul-smelling man, and then he lost contact with her.

Another call came around one or two o'clock, this time another missing child case…

"In short, I survived last night on coffee alone. It seems like the town has lost its main protection. I can't believe so many cases happened in one night, a total of ten! And it's not over yet. This morning, in the town center park, a group of children mysteriously disappeared. There were five children, the oldest being fourteen and the youngest only ten!

The police searched all morning without finding any clues, and the surrounding surveillance did not show any abnormalities!

Mike, always mumbling, said he suspects the missing children cases are caused by a figure called 'Pennywise'. If I find him, I'll definitely crush his eggs!"

Having obtained the information he wanted, Randy lamented the madness of Pennywise. As long as children were missing, it was most likely his doing.

Given the situation is snowballing like this, Randy doubted whether the Losers' Club could solve it.

At the same time, Randy opened his laptop and looked at the local town forums. Even though the situation was so severe, the forums remained calm.

The latest posts today did not mention the missing persons cases.

Some people were asking where to have a picnic, others were posting selfies looking for their girlfriend, and some complained about unsanitary ingredients at a newly opened Indian restaurant in town.

It seemed that in this town of nearly a hundred thousand people, a few missing persons were not considered a big deal.

Everyone appeared to be going about their lives as if nothing was wrong. Even David, who had firsthand information, did not truly grasp the severity of the situation.

The townspeople seemed to live in denial.

Don't doubt the American public information blackout. For example, in Ohio, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed and caught fire, leaking multiple toxic chemicals and causing pollution in several tributaries. However, the local authorities kept the incident hidden.

Nearby residents were completely unaware of what had happened, only knowing that the train derailed and caused a forest fire. It wasn't until large numbers of dead fish appeared that people realized something was wrong, and only then did they discover the pollution incident. Yet, there was almost no news coverage, and over half of the town remained completely unaware of the situation from beginning to end.

"Thank you, Officer Jackson. Thank you for your outstanding contribution to the peace of the town. I understand the anger of a righteous person like you…"

Randy continuously praised and flattered.

"Not at all!"

Jackson was pleased with Randy's praise and felt quite smug after hanging up the phone.

He was taking a break during lunch but would soon have to face the heavy cases again. It was nice to vent his frustrations to someone.

"But, the captain said these cases should not be spoken about casually. Hmm… next time Randy calls, I won't disclose any information."

Jackson found an excuse for himself and got up to head back to the office. On the way, he ran into Beverly, who was dressed in a trench coat.

She was already a mother but still very attractive, and Jackson couldn't take his eyes off her when he first saw her.

"Ms. Beverly!"

"Hmm? Hello, Officer Jackson."

"Hello, hello. Ms. Beverly, are you here for the police department?"

"I'm here to see Mike about something."

"Ah."

Jackson nodded, then looked troubled.

Beverly looked puzzled: "Is something wrong?"

Jackson wanted to invite Beverly to dinner but lacked the courage to ask.

No, it's not that I lack courage; it's because I might have to work tonight, and meal times are uncertain, so I can't invite Ms. Beverly. Yes! That's it, I'll invite her when I have time tomorrow!

So Jackson spoke more confidently: "No, no, it's fine. Please go ahead."

Beverly nodded and then went into Mike's office.

At that moment, Mike, wearing glasses, was comparing several photos.

"Beverly, you're here. Regarding Carl's case, I…"

"No need to say more. I'll find the real culprit."

Beverly interrupted Mike, took out a cigarette from her bag, and lit it herself.

"Ah."

Mike sighed and, instead of saying anything more, thoughtfully placed a half-empty can of Coke next to her chair.

"The clown is back, and I suspect that Carl and the other two were consumed by the clown."

Beverly's hand holding the cigarette became stiff, and her eyes started to wander.

Various scenes flashed through her mind: being bullied and splashed with dirty water in the school bathroom, that perverted father at home, and the endless blood flowing from the sewers…

"Hmm."

Beverly felt a sharp pain in her palm and opened her hand to see a deep knife scar. This wound had accompanied her for half her life, but she had never thought about how it came to be, as if those terrifying memories were sealed.

Mike said seriously: "I didn't want to disturb your life, but Pennywise is back for revenge. It's so powerful that it made us forget everything. I guess you've even forgotten that we once defeated it!"

Beverly looked shocked. The image of that monster started to become clearer, but the memory was still blurry and chaotic.

"We? We once defeated it?"

Randy had a sudden recollection of the Losers' Club. The group consisted of seven members: Beverly, Bill, Richie, Ben, Andy, Stan, and himself.

Beverly had an additional memory: she had once foreseen that after growing up, they would return to Derry to deal with Pennywise.

Mike smiled and said, "We swore back then that if Pennywise was not dead, we would come back to kill it! The scar on my hand is proof! Now that our old friends have left Derry, only the two of us are left."

Beverly's confused expression cleared up, and she immediately threw the cigarette into the Coke can.

She was supposed to leave and pursue her life in the big city, but some changes in her life had made that impossible.

After Pennywise was defeated, she had hoped to move on, but her life continued.

As Beverly grew up and became more beautiful, her beastly father began to make advances on her.

In her resistance, Beverly killed the beast but was sent to juvenile detention. When she got out, her friends had all left, leaving only Mike.

Without education or a good reputation, she had to start from the bottom, eventually meeting a new husband. But her judgment remained poor, and her husband was like her father: moody, alcoholic, and abusive.

After a violent outburst, Beverly couldn't stand it and fought back, killing her husband once again.

She spent over ten years in prison, and her son was sent to a welfare institution. Only recently did she get out and fought hard to regain custody.

Her son, Carl, was her only family, but he seemed to have inherited his father's violent tendencies…

"Ah."

Beverly sighed, now her son was dead too.

"Beverly, Pennywise needs us to deal with it. The reason I called you was to ask for your help in bringing them back."

Mike opened his notebook, which contained information on the remaining five people.

"It's time to call back the old team. Today or tomorrow, we'll have to face that monster together."

After saying this, Mike didn't wait for Beverly's reaction and dialed the first number on the list.

The phone was quickly answered.

"Hello? Sorry, I'm in the middle of a shoot right now. I'll call you back later."

On the other end, there was a lot of noise, and someone was loudly saying "Cut."

"Bill Denbrough? This is Mike."

"Mike… Mike? Which Mike?"

Bill's voice began to stutter involuntarily.

"Mike Hanlon, from Derry, Maine. 'It' is back. You need to come back to Derry."

"Ah!"

There was a painful gasp on the other end of the phone, as if a wound on his hand had been stimulated, bringing back buried memories.

While Mike was on the phone, Beverly also took out her phone and dialed the number listed in the notebook with a blank expression.

…

Randy had been checking the lotus plants by the sea in the afternoon.

The growth was vigorous!

A particularly thick branch was standing on the seabed, about to bloom into a real lotus flower.

However, it could be confirmed that the blooming time would be tomorrow.

By then, transplanting the blooming lotus flower to his heart would transform his body.

The divine power in the lotus would quickly take root and spread throughout his body, leading to a complete transformation, achieving a balance between nature and man. The vigorous life force of the plant would replace human functions and cause mutations.

Relying only on photosynthesis and water, Randy would quickly replenish his energy.

Both vitality and magical power would undergo earth-shattering changes.

He would be fearless of thunder and impervious to fire.

Of course, this depended on surviving the night.

Pennywise would definitely come to make trouble again.

After it left last night, it continued to create chaos, even daring to break into children's homes to steal food. It was completely outrageous.

Perhaps it lacked confidence after being defeated by the Losers' Club last time, so it had gone mad trying to quickly enhance its power in a short time.

"Well, solving it would be considered a service to the public, right? Later, I'll have the entire town change their faith, which isn't too much to ask?"

However, a transitional figure was needed as a middleman for faith storage.

Too much chaotic faith would pollute the quality; he didn't have time to pick and choose.

Before the sun set, Randy rode his bike back home.

After parking the bike, he noticed something unusual next door.

In addition to Margaret's car, there was another car parked at Carrie's house.

He wondered why there was a guest at her house.

As he was curious, the door to Carrie's house suddenly opened. A nun dressed in black and white ran out, and Margaret also appeared with a serious expression, but she did not follow the nun out. Instead, she stood at her door, casting a cold glance before closing it.

Randy was already used to this and didn't mind being looked at. He could afford to watch for Carrie's return.

He was just curious about the nun. She seemed young and delicate, probably not much older than him, and she looked like she might be Latin American, with black hair and eyes. She appeared somewhat fragile.

As she left Carrie's house, she came directly toward him.

At the gate, she prayed devoutly: "Amen!"

Then she asked from outside the yard: "Is this Randy? May I come in?"

Randy had not interacted much with church people before but still waved her in.

"Come in."

The nun then walked into the yard and took steps toward the door.

"Hello Randy, I am Catherine from the convent, sent by the Lord to convey a message to you."

A message from the Lord?

Randy was startled by her words, thinking that maybe his recent thoughts of preaching had been detected by God, and now someone was sent to admonish him.

But after a moment, he thought it was unlikely; it was probably a result of Mike's phone call.

But such a young nun claiming to bring a message?

The church probably didn't take it seriously and just sent a nun.

Randy had no intention of discussing faith with church people.

"Sorry, I'm not ready to embrace faith yet, but I still appreciate your visit."

Saying this, he went inside and took out some change from a drawer, placing it in the nun's palm: "This is a small token of my appreciation. I truly support your efforts to spread the word of God."

The nun looked at the money in her hand, bewildered, then frowned: "Our church does not accept money casually."

She attempted to return the money, but Randy immediately stopped her.

"Oh? I understand. How much for a Bible? I'll add some money to buy a Bible and study it carefully. Once I grasp the true meaning of the Bible, I will contact you for further guidance."