Richie winced and a whimper escaped when the metal touched his skin. He stopped struggling, remembering how Ben had looked when Bowers had cut him up. He may have joked at the time, but it had scared him. And it had just been Ben's belly, Richie's was already in the tar, there were only so many places that knife could go.
But oddly, the thought of Ben made him feel...stronger. It made him think of his friends, not just the ones here but the ones still back in Derry too. And his family. He sniffed decisively and ignored the question, "If you could do whatever you want then why you going after kids? And waiting til they're all alone?"
His voice wasn't as strong as he would have liked it, and maybe he hadn't thought it all the way through, but he didn't want to go without a fight.