Scared; A Richie Tozier Story

09

Previously on Scared; A Richie Tozier story

We're cut off by a slow, menacing creak. We turn around to see the door of an old fridge swing open.

Fuck.

I start breathing heavily and scooting backward away from the fridge. Inside, we can see the body of a folded up clown, almost like a contortionist at the circus. The hand of the monster unravels first, followed by a deep, menacing chuckle. 

Eddie whimpers and pushes himself back with his good arm. The head and upper body fall out of the fridge upside down, and the cracking and popping noises of bones breaking echoes through the room. 

The legs of the clown untwist from above its head and there, standing in front of us is the 7ft monster that has been terrorizing us. IT bends over to our level on the floor and looks Eddie and me straight in the face.

"Time to float," he says with a grin that portrays nothing but impending doom. Eddie moans and I push myself back with my heels, too scared to get up and run but trying desperately to get as far away as I can. 

The clown swings his arms to the side and takes a dramatic, drawn-out step forwards, the grin never leaving his face. He continues to do this over and over, while Eddie and I frantically scramble backward. Tears begin rolling down my face and Eddie keeps moaning and groaning. I know his arm must hurt like hell.

All of a sudden, IT's face turns to a frown. He starts making gut-wrenching moans and walking like he's crippled. It only takes me a moment before I realize that the clown is mocking us. Its making fun of us for being scared. I'll realize later on that he feeds off of the terror of children, which is why he goes through so much trouble to freak us out. 

The clown lets out a high pitched shriek and swoops down to grab Eddie's face in his hands aggressively. She shakes the poor boy around a bit and all I can do is cry.

The clown starts making half-yelling half-crying half-screaming noises and I can feel my heart in my throat. Eddie hits him in the face and I promise myself I'll tell him how brave I think he is if we get out of this alive. When we get out of this alive. The clown grabs his hand and fake bites it.

Eddie is sobbing at this point and I'm trying to make myself seem invisible, as if I'm not even in the room. There's a voice in my head telling me to help Eddie, to fight back and to stop your friend from getting murdered right in front of you. But my fear, my terror of getting killed myself, is so strong that I can barely move. 

"Tasty, tasty, beautiful fear" the clown stares directly at me as he speaks, large clumps of drool pouring from his mouth. All of a sudden the clown's hand is around Eddie's throat and his long, needle teeth are out and I can barely see through my tears and Eddie's gasping and then I'm thinking about my parents and how I'll never see them again and about Richie and how we're not anything but we could be but I have to make it out of here alive first and-

Bill and Richie burst through the door and stop in their tracks, taking in the sight before them.  I try to get to my feet and run to Richie, but the clown grabs my arms and hauls me back. A fierce pain shoots through my shoulders and I cry out, hauling desperately and trying to get to my friends. 

"Holy fuck" Richie breathes out, looking at us, "Anna, Eddie!"

I can hear Eddie's fast-paced breathing and I wonder if I'll ever see any of these boys happy again. 

"This isn't real enough for you Billy?" the clown says in a sing-song voice, tightening his grip on my arms causing me to let out another cry. 

"I'm not real enough for you?" The clown is fake crying now and I make eye contact with Richie.