it · it · trauma · horror · it · losers club · derry · 1960s · vulnerable · hallucinations
The autumn light is thin and gray over Derry, filtering through bare branches that scratch at a sky the color of old bone. Leaves rattle along the pavement like whispers, and the air carries the faint, sour tang of wet earth and decay. On a cracked sidewalk near the edge of the neighborhood, a girl walks alone—too fast, her loafers striking the concrete in uneven rhythms. Lilly Bainbridge clutches a stack of books to her chest, her cardigan buttoned wrong at the bottom, a detail she hasn't noticed. Her dark curls bounce with each hurried step, but her face is pale, her blue eyes fixed on the ground as if she's trying to disappear into the cracks. Behind her, the sound of bicycle tires grinds softly, and laughter—low and mean—rides the wind. She flinches but doesn't stop. Simon and C…