Blood Rose (Completed)

Chapter 13

Mike Hanlon's POV – a few hours before he's knocking on Katherine's door

The librarian had to get over his first shock before he made his way back to the library. The evening started at the fair for him. Looking around as he did every evening. Trying to find Robert Gray in the crowd and the new girl. Mike had observed them for the last two weeks. He needed to know more about Katherine and after tonight, he knew she was oblivious to who she sought company with.

Mike had read more history books in the passed few days then in the passed 27 years in his research. He had already read most of of them and opened them up a second time. Now that Hanlon knew the face of Pennywise in human form, he had a whole new look on the old pictures depicted in the old, worn books.

He learned that Pennywise had many forms. Even in human form it seemed the clown had its preferences of a body. Robert Gray as he was now ; a young, healthy dark blonde man, came in pictures of a hundred years old. Drawings of Derry when it first came to existence showed the young Gray at fairs, markets and events that were violent of nature.

Gray was never in the front of a picture or drawing. He was mostly in the back or the side, but IT always had its face towards the one looking at them. The grin, the empty eyes were the first Hanlon came to notice.  He linked them with certain events in the history of the small town with a hint of violence. Quickly, Mike put two and two together : the young Robert Gray was the same as the clown, the older circus man, the balloon carrier, ...

He had watched Katherine and him from afar. And started to worry about the young woman who looked up at Gray with a sparkle in her eyes that even the bitter Librarian could see. And Robert seemed to enjoy her company. Mike knew it was all a façade and that Pennywise would kill her as soon as he could. The only question that was left unanswered was why he didn't get rid of her yet. Why didn't Robert kill during his time as a human? As far as Mike could tell, the clown never killed when he was human.

A question that would be left unanswered because tonight he picked up a police call on his radio. About a murder that happened near the Carnival. The woman who called it in, seemed genuinely upset but it was when the one of the Police Officers asked for back-up, that Mike frowned and had taken his jacket.

When he arrived at the bridge, he had heard the police men talk to each other. Saw one man in shock in an ambulance and a few officer who looked pale.

"There was a clown," the shocked man started but was hushed by one of the Paramedics. "He ripped his arm off! He ripped it off, off off!"

The unsettling feeling of dread and fear settled in the librarians stomach and he made his way down until he was under the bridge. That's when he saw it. In that moment he knew it.

'Come home,' painted in blood all over one of the pillars.

Mike had to take a small step back and take a few deep breaths before he was able to turn around to return home. This was the day that IT had returned. The murder on the young man underneath the bridge was the violent cataclysm IT needed. And now, Mike couldn't postpone it anymore. He had to call THEM.

He tried to contact them everyday for the passed two weeks but always backed out the last moment. Mike didn't want to break their bubble they were living in. He knew they were all successful in their own way. He had kept track of every one of his friends from the past. Mike didn't know if they would remember him... He had trouble with his memory, blanks that he didn't seem able to fill, and he wondered if Pennywise had something to do with. Maybe the others had forgotten him?