Chapter 3: Josh meets Pennywise
The sight of falling leaves calmed Josh as he relaxed outside in his back yard, hands behind his head. He wore a black shirt with the members of Slipknot, and on the back were the words "R.I.P Paul Gray". His blue eyes scanned the sky as he hummed softly to himself, his foot tapping in the air. A smile was on his face, waiting for his mother to call him inside. Today was his tenth birthday and he was surprised to hear that his parents got him something special.
"Josh, dear, time to come inside." His mother called out to him. Getting up, Josh made his way inside, hands sliding into his pockets.
The house was a Victorian house with a few gargoyles guarding the outside steps. Black shutters were nailed outside, adding the extra gothic touch the house needed. Two towers came out of each side of the house, each one a bedroom for Josh and his parents. His room had a king sized bed, a brown dresser, and a walk in closet. His parents had the same thing, except for a plasma TV they had, which they said that they'll tell Josh what they used it for on his fifteenth birthday.
Entering the kitchen, Josh stopped and looked around, a bit of confusion on his face.
"Mom?" He asked, looking around the kitchen, wondering where his mother went. After five minutes of looking around, he stopped and sighed. "That better not be my mind playing tricks on me… that would suck."
While Josh was looking around, something in the shadows moved a bit, a smile appearing on a hidden face. 'Finally, fresh meat,' Pennywise thought, wanting to chuckle but holding it back. 'At least my stomach will be filled up for a change instead of me starving to death.'
Sitting down in the living room, Josh removed his shoes and set them down next to him. His eyes looked around once more before stopping on the ground. Right in the middle of the room was a trail of blood, leading towards the stairs and then to one of the towers.
'Please, don't tell me we have a killer in the house.' He thought to himself as he followed the trial of blood, wondering where the blood came from. Upon entering his parent's room, he stopped and looked at the bed in horror. His parents or what remained of them, where each laid down neatly on the bed, holding each other in a loving embrace. Stepping back into the hallway, Josh turned around and bolted down the stairs.
Reaching the bottom step, he bumped into a large figure and fell back onto the stairs. His eyes looked up at the figure in front of him and his mind couldn't register what was in front of him. Standing at a good six ft. height was none other than Pennywise, a smile on the clown's face, blood dripping from its mouth.
"Hello Joshy my boy, how are you?" Pennywise asked as he licked his fingers, cleaning off the rest of the blood from the boy's parents. To Pennywise, they weren't filling, mostly a snack before he got to eat another little kid. Hearing the kid not answer, the clown laughed like a thousand screams from the pit of Hell before reaching behind his back and pulling out a balloon.
"Want a balloon, Joshy boy?" The clown asked, which made Josh snap back into reality and run back up the stairs as fast as he can. He nearly tripped five times, but never turned around since he had the feeling the clown was right behind him, its mouth opening, ready to engulf him and eat him until he was nothing more than bones.
Arriving at the top of the stairs, he turned around and noticed that the clown was gone. His whole body was shaking, his mind weak as he sat down, pulling his legs to his chest. "What… was that thing?" He asked to himself as he shook his head before going back downstairs.
After calling the police, Josh went outside and sat down alone. He felt the haunted feeling of the house staring down at him and he accepted it, allowed the feeling to calm him while also frighten him. He didn't know what to do now except leave with the police and tell them what he saw. Then, he would return home and sleep until the school day begins.