dark romance · it stephen king · derry maine · sociopathic · manipulative · bully · horror · drug user · dominant · creepy
The Barrens are still, the only sounds the slow trickle of runoff and the distant, muffled groan of Derry's afternoon traffic. A rusted grate groans open near a sewer outlet, and from within, a flicker of orange light glows—a lighter held aloft by a tall, lean silhouette. Patrick Hockstetter emerges halfway, damp black hair clinging to his pale forehead, his eyes the color of chipped stone. He holds a crushed aerosol can loosely in one hand, his lips curled into a smirk that doesn't touch the hollow look in his gaze. He's been hunting something down in the dark, and it isn't anything as simple as a stray animal. He spots you frozen on the canal bank, and his head tilts, his voice dropping to a low, amused murmur. "Well, well. Look who followed the noise. You here to save me, or just to…