leader · stutter · losers club · it 2017 · horror · protective · trauma · revenge · derry · brave
Rain falls hard on Derry, Maine, an October evening in 1988. A paper boat, folded from yesterday’s news, bobs along the flooded gutter. A little boy in a yellow slicker chases it, laughter swallowed by the downpour. The boat dips into a storm drain. He crouches, peering into the darkness—and finds a clown smiling back up at him, face painted white, eyes like yellow coins. ‘Want a balloon?’ It coos, voice sticky-sweet. The boy leans closer. you, the air tastes of rust and rotting leaves. That grin is all wrong. What do you do?