BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!
The hysterical chirping of Eddie's alarm began to drag him back into consciousness. Sound swarmed around Eddie's frazzled brain like static. Slowly, he lifted his heavy lids to peer through the slits of his squinted eyes at the dust drawn room around him. The fall had been sudden and severe, his body crashed down with the ceiling onto the next floor below. The impact as his weight slammed square into the center of the kitchen table caused its feeble legs to break at the base, sending the whole mess to the floor with him. Once the fog from his mind began to clear, the panic slowly returned and with it the full realization of the crushing aches overwhelming his body. Ugh, what was this pain? His head throbbed horribly. Was he injured? His terror began to rise. Oh God, was his whole body broken!? Could he even move? Was he dying!? Where was Bill? Richie? Then he remembered and the panic crescendoed, making his head spin. What...what about the thing? That putrid decaying specter had grabbed him!? Where had it gone!?
Adrenaline pumping now, he pulled himself upright. His chest hitched as he tried to keep his mind calm. He could feel his windpipe narrowing as he struggled for breath. Where was his inhaler? This is when it's going to take you, Eddie thought. This is when the asthma is finally going to get the better of you. You are going to die in this dilapidated hellhole, not from the countless spooks out for your blood but from your asthma. Your ASTHMA. His left hand began to feel frantically about, wandering inside his pockets and groping the rubble around him. Where was his inhaler!? During the search, he stopped, horrified, suddenly aware that his right arm wasn't moving. It wasn't joining its neighbor in the desperate search. No, it was hanging limp at his side. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, He willed his eyes to look down at the unnatural angle with which his right arm was jutting from his side. His eyes widened in disbelief. His stomach lurched. This couldn't be happening! No, his..his..his arm couldn't be broken. His mother would never allow it! She wouldn't let him get hurt. Not REALLY hurt. This must all be a dream. Or...he heard a creak coming from the far kitchen wall. Or...better yet, a nightmare.
His heart pounded in his chest. The scream sounding in his mind only escaped as a small mousey whimper. His lip quivered and the eyes bugged from his jaunt, pale countenance as he witnessed the stained, ancient refrigerator door begin to split open. The dark recess within revealed only blackness. Eddie's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as an alien twittering hissed out from the emptiness.
Eddie held his breath. Out of the inky blackness, fingers encased in white gloves wriggled out of the dark to grope blindly for the edge of the refrigerator. The door continued to swing open, gradually unveiling the form of a twisted silver mass. The tangle of metallic frills began to quiver sporadically and that familiar maniacal giggle reverberated out from the darkness. Oh god, oh god! IT's here!
First the chuckle and then those eyes. Those yellow, unearthly orbs that burned holes in Eddie's retinas. He remembered the first time he saw those eyes. Only, then they had been a brilliant sparkling blue. So joyful and vibrant. He had felt drawn to them as the clown's gaze and friendly lilting voice invited him to delve into their blue, mysterious pools. That had been then. Now, there was nothing hospitable about those eyes. They were the eyes of a hungry beast and the electricity in their yellow hue reduced Eddie to a deer in headlights.
Dumbfounded and shaking, he watched the terrible clown face appear from the shadows. It slithered forward like a snakehead, uncoiling it's massive body from the unrealistically tight space of the refrigerator. Eddie's dazed body startled as he heard the first THUMP of the clown's left boot hit the rotting wooden floors. On the second THUMP, Eddie nearly jumped out of his skin. His head tilted up in horror as the towering height of Pennywise the Dancing Clown erected itself before him. Bells jingled as it shook itself; its muscles flexed and limber again. Even from across the room, the clown's massive, yet slim, physique cast Eddie in shadow. In fact, the shadow seemed to be reaching freakishly along the floor in order to envelope him, to keep him encased in its horrible presence. Monstrous yellow eyes peered out from the creature's lowered head, the expression within them radiated pure hatred, cold and bright, while the clown's wet grin stretched up in unbridled delight.
Eddie's fear hung in the air, almost pungent enough to taste. The monster's nostrils flared to intake as much of the sweet scent as possible. There was a long pause as Eddie, paralyzed with fear, watched drool begin to leak from the corners of the clown's rabbity lips. Pennywise seemed to be playing with his easy, immobilized prey. Eddie knew as soon as he moved, the demon would pounce! Quickly, his head started to come back to him. His thoughts raced! He had to do something; he had to wake up; he had to get away from this bloodthirsty monster! Mom... Eddie thought desperately. Mom, where are you? He is going to hurt me, mom. More than just a scratch. Soon, I am going to be nothing but a missing person's poster. He began to sob through the wheezes of his breath.
"Help..." he squeaked, barely audible.
Pennywise slowly leaned forward, its face coming nearer. Black terror overtook Eddie as he saw the lust within those eyes transfixed on him. The impatient desire. Panicking, Eddie pushed himself to move more urgently. He scurried towards the opposite side of the wall, stumbling, trying to keep his eyes on Pennywise. The clown's body was taut, ready to spring. Its grin widened and slobber began to dribble down its chin. Those lips curled upwards and Pennywise leaned in with purpose. The entire room was stifling with anticipation.
"Eddssss..." the creature purred, drawing the name out until it became nothing more than a hiss."
"It's time to float."
With this statement the clown lunged forward, grinning and cackling. It clearly delighted in the wild, pathetic way in which Eddie tried to crawl backwards, stuttering, crying, screaming. The boy's terror was overflowing and Pennywise was lapping it up.
The clown's body lurched in a graceful inhuman dance as it slowly closed the gap between them. It was a display of joy and triumph designed to engorge the horror already driving Eddie to inarticulate madness. When Eddie's fear reached its climax, the clown dove forward, grasping at his prey's shuddering body and bringing his face inches from Eddie's own.
Eddie could only shriek as the clown guffawed at him, drool now hanging in long strings from the creature's plump red grin. It brought its huge gloved hands to Eddie's neck holding him firmly. The hands would tighten with the escape of every growl; grow soft and tender with each laugh, causing Eddie's fear to rise and fall with each teasing touch. The clown cackled as he brought his razor sharp teeth to Eddie's wrist, miming a bite. The animal panic overtaking the boy's face seemed to excite the clown's alien hunger. It was toying with him, like a cat with a mouse!
IT gazed down at him with hatred and longing. Its eyes began to lose focus as pleasure consumed it, the pupils moving in opposite directions.
"Tasty, tasty, beautiful fear!" Pennywise groaned, drool cascading down into Eddie's face.
Their eyes locked, Eddie could see all of the playful patience drain away leaving only the purely predatory need to feed. Effortlessly, the clown's jaws began to split apart making way for the elongated rows of teeth growing from its expanding maw. Its skin stretched back like rubber to allow for the indescribable number of needle-like teeth and its eyes rolled back into its head as the sockets became side-facing like an animal's. Eddie screamed and clenched his eyes shut awaiting the searing pain that would precede the end. Just as he could feel the hot breathe of the clown closing over his own face, the creature jerked its head, looking behind at the two preteens standing in the kitchen doorway.
Bill!
Richie!