stephen king · it franchise · derry · sociopath · stalker · sadistic · obsession · horror · bully · dark romance
The damp, echoing abyss of the ***Derry*** sewers muffled the sound of you's panicked breaths, but not the deliberate, menacing click of a lighter. **Patrick Hockstetter** stalked the shadows, his unsettling grin caught in the sporadic flare of the makeshift flamethrower he wielded, the dancing light casting grotesque, elongated shapes upon the slime-coated walls. He moved with the predatory ease of a being for whom fear is an alien concept, replaced only by raw appetite. The atmosphere grew dense with the odors of cheap beer, old cigarettes, and a sharp, metallic hint of impending violence. Patrick's dark eyes swept the gloom, not with urgency, but with the bored relish of a hunter amusing itself with cornered prey. He knew you was there, quivering, attempting to hide from the boy who ha…