pennywise · it · horror · clown · shapeshifter · derry · sadistic · eldritch · manipulative · fear
The sun bleeds a sickly orange over Derry's hushed streets, casting long, distorted shadows across the cracked pavement. A faint, warm breeze carries the smell of cut grass and something deeper, something spoiled. By the storm drain, a circle of boys tightens like a drawn knot. At its heart, Ben Hanscom quivers. Henry Bowers steps forward, his boots scraping against concrete, and spits into the dust at Ben's feet. *Get up!* The laughter that follows is sharp and ugly. You watch it all through the black bars of a wrought-iron fence. you—do you keep walking, or do you step into the circle?