Summer was a time of fun and games for children who no longer had the responsibilities they were held to during the school year. However, for August it was lonely. It was another day and she once again found herself walking through the streets of Derry. The warm sun felt especially hot against her scalp. She spent a lot of time outside during the day. It was the only time her mother was home, and August found it within her best interest to avoid her mother at all costs. Most times she would go to the library or walk through mains street area thinking to herself. The quiet calmed her and made her feel safe. Which she never felt like at home.
She thought about Ben and wondered how he was doing after the attack from Bowers. His cut didn't seem that deep, but she knew he was scared and exhausted by the time the other kids from school had found him. She knew the other boys from school fairly well by noticing them in halls. Richie, she understood was a clown, but it seemed more like he liked to use his comedic effect to distract from his insecurities. Stan was a timid and quiet boy, very reflective of his religious statutes. However, like Richie he seemed to resent many of the things his religion didn't allow him to do. Eddie was always afraid of his environment and he used his pills and medicines to protect him, they were his shield. And Bill. Bill was quieter ever since he lost his little brother, Georgie. She felt his grief radiate off of him sometimes in class. They were extremely close friends and also happened to be common enemies of Bowers. So, it seemed to be the perfect coincidence when Ben washed up with his injuries shaking with fear. They hopefully took him somewhere safe and made sure he was okay. August hadn't followed them, she knew he would be in good hands.
August hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings while she was thinking. Her mind was a very strong entity of its own and very often her thoughts would take control and she would walk for hours without paying attention to her destination. She took in her surroundings and noticed where she had wondered off to. To her right stood the Neibolt house. An especially strong cold shiver crept up her spine and alerted her that danger was near. Eyes were on her. Her intuition told her that a presence was inside the house and it was watching her very closely. The dark condemned building loomed over her, but she didn't feel as afraid as she probably should have. Curiosity tapped on her shoulder and told her that whatever was in the house was worthy of investigating. The voice of fear was too small to overpower it as her sneakers crunched over the decaying weeds of the front steps of the Neibolt house.
The inside of the house was just as she had expected from a condemned building. The cobwebs stretched over every inch of the house seemingly trying to protect the house from spying eyes. The feeling of being watched grew stronger. The presence didn't feel the same as another human's presence would. It felt much stronger and malevolent than that. However, her curiosity remained and merely grew stronger.
Would it be stupid to address such a being directly? If her intuition was right and whatever was here was supernatural and dangerous then perhaps it would be unwise of her to try to make contact with such a being. However, it wasn't as if she were just an ordinary person, so if need be, she could protect herself. But what would be the best way for her to try to make contact with it?
"Show yourself. Scaring me is not going to work." Perhaps, directness would be her best choice (if it didn't end up getting her killed). Her voice was confident. There was no fear in her.
Pennywise had been watching her ever since she drew near the house. He had prepared himself for a lingering scare and attack from the moment she walked toward the house, but hadn't expected her know he was watching her, much less that she would know his intentions. He had killed a few people in Derry so far, but he shouldn't have been THAT well known or predictable. Perhaps this girl was similar to the fat kid and was aware of the history of Derry and his pattern of behavior. Maybe she was foolish and had come here to challenge him.
Pennywise decided that it couldn't hurt to show himself; she would be scared by him either way and could still serve as his meal. Perhaps this way it could be easier. He appeared on the long end of what could have once been a living room and waited for her to notice him.
August waited patiently wondering if the creature would appear or leave her in indefinite suspense. She was looking towards the hallway that led deeper into the house when she suddenly felt a presence to her right. Looking over she saw it. A tall creature dressed in a Victorian style clown costume with a large bulbous head. His ruby rep painted lips were gently smiling at her, but his smile didn't seem friendly. The aura of foreboding seemed to fill the room around her, and she understood the ominous feeling was emanating from the creature. She couldn't but also notice how amazingly blue his eyes were. They almost made the creature look attractive in a certain light.
Instead of being antagonistic she decided a soft confrontation would be better; if she became aggressive it could easily lead to a fatal mistake. She gently reached out with her mind and prodded his before he had the chance to speak to her. His eyes grew wide with surprise as she searched through his brain for answers to his existence. He tried to push her out, but she proved too powerful even for Pennywise. He didn't know whether to be impressed at her abilities or angry at her nerve to intrude into his mind.
August quickly recovered all the information regarding his identity. His origin was the Macroverse and he seemed to be a malevolent creature even when he existed there. Once here on earth he appeared after every twenty-seven-year hibernation to feed. Feed on people. He liked to appear in the clown identity named Pennywise as it appealed to children the most. He seemed to favor children because of their fear and the way they… tasted when afraid. August pulled away from his mind in disgust. She stumbled falling onto the dust covered floorboards and tried to resist the urge to throw up.
As the girl kneeled along the floor, Pennywise took this opportunity to reach into her mind since she already took her turn without asking first. He reached out and instead of her mind he met a brick wall. It was thick. She had built up a protective layer along her psyche so that no one would be able to get into her private thoughts and secrets. It was impenetrable even for him.
"How did you do that?" Pennywise gleamed with curiosity at this girl. She fascinated him more than any other human he had ever met. A human that could match his psychic powers? The idea was almost impossible. Yet the 'almost' stood in front of him.
August raised herself from off the floor and made direct eye contact with Pennywise. "My name is August."
"I don't remember asking you that," he replied with a sneer.
August ignored his rudeness, it's too be expected from an evil entity from another universe. "Your name is Pennywise?" She would still try to be polite.
Pennywise couldn't believe why she was acting so nice to him after all that she discovered. "Yes. What do you want?" He growled at her warning her keep her mind games to herself. August looked down, somewhat disappointed at his aggressive behavior. Although she couldn't have expected a warm welcome from such a being. "A satisfied curiosity and maybe some company." Her statement was only met with a confused expression from Pennywise. "You want me to be your FRIEND? I am the eater of worlds? Why would I want to be friends with a mere human?"
"Because you're all alone. And not even a creature of darkness can stand that."
Pennywise held back the thought that she could be right and instead chose to become angry. With a deep growl he replied, "you need to leave before you become my meal for the afternoon."
"You can't eat me as long as I'm not afraid of you. It would do you no good."
Pennywise grew even angrier at this girl and decided he was done talking. He leapt on top of her knocking her onto the floor. "How DARE you talk to me as if I am your equal. I could rip you to shreds!" The rows of sharp teeth were revealed, but the girl was looking at his gold glowing eyes instead. The way they chased away the beautiful blues saddened her for some reason and made her feel sorry for the creature. Pennywise stopped. She wasn't scared.
Pennywise saw the pity in her eyes and didn't know what to do. He stood up, removing himself from on top of the girl. She sat up but remained sitting on the floor looking up at him. He then noticed her appearance. The other girls that lived in town usually had their hair long or at least shoulder length, it seemed to attribute to their human femininity. They would also wear clothes that furthered this feminine need. However, the girl in front of him could easily be mistaken for a human male if one didn't look close enough. "Why is your appearance misleading?" It slipped out before he could try to catch it. Curiosity seemed to be mistreating him today.
"Your one to talk about misleading appearances," she replied with an accusatory tone.
"What are you protecting yourself from?" The walls in her mind combined with her confusing appearance proved her distrust of people. However, that was an extreme amount of protection for a young girl to put up, even for an evil clown to try to break through. Combined with her desperate willingness to befriend him confused him even more.
She was silent as she stood up and dusted herself off. Staring through the window facing away from him she seemed far away. She stood thinking of something for a moment while silenced gathered in the air around them. Her voice was extremely quiet when she finally spoke, "everything." A deep sigh escaped her, and her shoulders sank with the weight of the world. Walking towards the door she stopped and spoke without turning around, "I'll see you around Pennywise," and walked outside.
Pennywise stood silently as she left thinking about how to handle this new occurrence. She could be an extremely dangerous adversary if he let her roam free. At any moment she could use the knowledge she had just gained to destroy him. However, Pennywise for some reason didn't believe that was her intention. He decided that for now, instead of pursuing her as his next meal, he would study her. Perhaps he could understand more about this girl and her abilities. As he disappeared into his well waiting for nightfall to pursue his next victim, he silently thought more about the strange girl he met.
