The Future Lies Ahead

Disclaimer: I own nothing (unfortunately). All rights and characters in this fic belong to Stephen King and other respective owners and creators. I gain no profit from this. It's purely for fun. I only own my OC's.

Note: The following is a rough outline of what was to happen in this chapter. I apologise for not being able to write the full chapter as intended, however, life has proven hectic and along with my plans to start writing original stories, I don't have the time needed to finish all my stories. I didn't want to leave them abandoned, so I decided to give a rough outline of the story's events so that you could see how it would have progressed and ended. I hope that you understand. Maybe one day I might come back and fully finish them as intended, but as that's up in the air, I thought that I'd end things this way rather than leave unfinished. Thank you for your time.

Chapter 1 (Rough Outline)

Carrie White had always known that someone, or something, was watching her.

Her mother always did warn her of God looking down upon her, judging her for all the sins she was committing. But, Carrie felt that this was something different. She couldn't figure out if something was being drawn to her, or if she was being the one drawn to something. The sound of violins sharply scraping against the string made her head pound furiously. That sensation was only heightened after today.

Her first period. She didn't know it at the time. She panicked, fearing that her body was punishing her. Going to the other girls for help did nothing, as they laughed and mocked her. Even her school principal failed to address the situation properly, not even bothering to remember her name. She had never felt more humiliated and embarrassed. All she wanted was to lock herself away and pray that this day would end, and the next day would never come.

Still, the pain in her head persisted. Until a curious smell caught her attention. It took her a moment to realise what it was. Popcorn. She'd never had popcorn before. She remembered many years ago when Sue Snell secretly brought some popcorn into school to share with her classmates. Carrie never got a taste, but she remembered the smell.

It helped to lift the pain. Her ears relaxed as the soothing sound of a child's laugh made her head turn in the other direction. She stared down at an open drain on the side of the road. Her nose scrunched as the smell of popcorn grew stronger.

It couldn't possibly be coming from there, could it?

Once again, that feeling called to her, beckoning her to take a step closer. Her legs moved at their own accord. Clutching her school books tightly to her chest, she approached the drain, trying to look down to see something. All she could find was darkness. But, it was a darkness that felt strangely welcoming to her. How could something so scary-looking have such inviting smells and sounds?

One step at a time, she got closer and closer. Her heart was racing. She didn't know why. For a brief moment, she thought that she could see eyes shining in the shadows of the underground world. The lights called to her.

''Creepy-Carrie, Creepy-Carrie!'' A boy on a bike came hurtling down the road, mocking Carrie and dragging her out of her daze.

She stared at the boy riding around her, taunting her and even showing her the middle finger for good measure. It felt as if she had come crashing back down to Earth. Heaven was not open for her yet…if it ever will be. Maybe even Hell didn't want her?

Lowering her head, she hurried back home. The only time she looked back was to check on what happened to the boy who rode past her and near where the drain was.

She sighed with relief when she couldn't find him anymore. It didn't even bother her that he had disappeared so quickly.

Michael Hanlon stared at the empty bottle on his desk for a long time.

He received the call. Another child had been reported missing in Maine. This was the fourth one this month. He wished that he could wake up from this nightmare. But, there was no hope of that ever happening. There was only the lingering guilt he felt for waiting so long to take a course of action and confront the monster that he had faced more than two decades ago.

Sweat poured down his brow. He knew that he couldn't stall any longer…not if he wanted to prevent more lives from being lost to It.

He grabbed his coat, collected his keys and marched out of the door. He didn't stop until he finally reached his car. His eyes stung with tears, wanting so desperately to escape, but he held it together to the best of his ability.

''It'll be different this time,'' he whispered to himself and anyone else that wasn't with him who wanted to listen. ''We'll get It this time, Bill.''

To Be Continued…