consequences {reddie}

five

The red balloon seemed to be calling out to him. Taunting him. Richie stopped his bike only for a moment, before following its path. The balloon was moving but there was no wind. Richie knew it was It.

The balloon stopped at the door of the Neibolt house. The house gave Richie the chills, and he heard the voices of kids whispering from the inside. As he stared at the door, the balloon popped. Richie flinched at the sudden noise. He took a deep breath and moved forward, gripping the door handle. He pushed it open and what he saw before him was terrifying.

At first he was confused, it was a hobo. No it was a leper. But why was it there? The leper wasn't his fear. Then he noticed something. The leper was shorter than him, and taking a closer look he realized the tattered, dirty clothes were a pair of very familiar red shorts and a yellow t shirt. A black fanny pack was situated on its waist, coated in dirt. And long white socks, stained almost black, ran up to his knees. The leper was Eddie.

His heart stopped and his knees were weak. It couldn't be Eddie, he'd just seen Eddie healthy at his house. He realized it had to be It. Before the leper could step closer or Richie could
back away, the door slammed shut. Richie whipped his head around to look at it, and when he turned back to face the leper, It was there. Towering over him, with its orange hair matted and out of place and its inhuman grin.

"Hiya Rich." It still spoke in a sickly imitation of Eddie's voice, as if it couldn't decide which fear to go with.
Richie felt it's gloved hand close around his throat, and his feet were lifted off the ground. He felt It shove him against the closed door and was already starting to feel light headed from lack of air.

"Only... only me..." Richie gasped out, averting his eyes from the clown's. He wouldn't let this thing hurt Eddie or any of his friends. Just him.

"Oh yes..." The monster said in a delicate voice. "Just you." Richie felt one hand move from his throat, the clown stroking his face. It's eyes were hungry, and it was drooling with anticipation. It leaned its head back and the last thing Richie saw was layers and layers of razor sharp teeth, and everything went dark.