Blood Rose (Completed)

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Katherine's POV

The house inside was nothing like she remembered. There wasn't the scent of fresh flowers, instead it was the sweet and puny scent of something rotten. The wooden ceiling and walls had black fungus that crawled up into the corners. Katherine swallowed hard and couldn't help the tears that pricked behind her eyes.

He really did play a game with her. Even the house hadn't been real, she could see that now. Not for the first time, Katherine felt conflicted about everything.

"W-we hav-v-e to s-s-tick together," Bill spoke up. "Don't l-l-et IT s-seperate us."

Katherine just nodded along with the others and saw, with a slight grin, that Ben took a protective stance over Bev.

"Can't fucking believe we're back here," Eddie muttered with ragged breathing.

All of them seemed scared. They knew what they were up against. Katherine lingered at the back while they made the way through the house. The wood creaked dangerously and dust flew up everywhere they passed. For a moment it crossed Katherine's mind to ask Eddie to use his inhalator, but she thought the best of it.

'Humpty Dumpty'

Katherine stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned towards the sing song voice. The childlike voice sounded far away. She stared down the long hallway and frowned slightly. The corridor looked longer than before, and it seemed her eyes played a trick on her because it seemed to grow.

'Sat on a wall'

She loathed the child song that now echoed louder against the walls and away again. Another step away was taken from the group until a strong hand wrapped around her wrist. Katherine snapped her head back and gazed at Eddie who looked at her as if she grew a second head.

"The fuck are you doing? We need to stay together."

Katherine blinked a few times while she looked at him.

'Humpty Dumpty had a great fall'

"Can you hear the song?" She asked and turned her head back to the sound.

"No," Eddie spoke and pulled her wrist. "IT's playing with your mind. Let's go before we get seperated."

'All the King's horses and all the King's men'

Katherine hesitated, felt Eddie tug on her wrist and slowly started walking with him. She always glanced over her shoulder into the hallway and gasped fearful when she noticed a silhouette standing at the far end.

"Eddie," she murmured scared.

"Where are they?" Eddie cursed when he didn't found the others.

"Eddie," Katherine tried again, saw the short silhouette take a step into the corridor.

It looked like an oval with arms in the distance and Katherine stopped while she pulled herself lose from Eddie.

'Couldn't put Humpty together again'

Her heartbeat sped up frantically and was felt in her throat when the shadow walked faster and faster towards them.

"Eddie!"

Katherine was the one who grabbed him by the arm this time. Her grip tight around his upper arm which made the man turn around to face her. Eddie looked at her in confusion until his gaze travelled over her shoulder towards the corridor.

"What the fuck is that?"

He started to back away together with Katherine.

"Humpty Dumpty," she murmured in panic and Eddie looked at her.

"The fucking egg?"

"Yes! I'm scared of Humpty Dumpty. Ever since I was a child," she urged him to start running when the song was sung again.

This time, it was unbearable loud in their ears and the fat, oval with small arms and legs ran closer and closer towards them. Eddie grabbed her hand, pulled her through the hallway that never seemed to end.

'Couldn't put poor Katherine together again!"

The childlike voice roared into the small space, sending a chill over Katherine's spine and when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw a large Humpty Dumpty. The eyes on the egg were angry-like, with heavy, thick brows knitted together. The lips were pursed shut and the arms clawed towards her.

She screamed. Loud and terrifying.

Which made Eddie pull even harder onto her hand.

"Where the others?" She asked.

"I don't fucking know!"

There was fear in his voice, but Katherine ignored it while he dragged her through another hallway. How big was this damned house? Katherine could only remember the small, cosy one Robert had guided her through. This seemed like another house entirely.

"Bill! Richie!"

Eddie's voice seemed lost in the maze of corridors that seemed to start spinning before their eyes. A sick feeling took hold of her stomach when long fingers tickled the back of her neck.

"Eddie," she croaked, but the fingers slowly wrapped around her throat and pulled Katherine back.

Her hand slipped out of that of Eddie. Katherine saw him turn around to face her with wide eyes and an outstretched arm towards her. She tried to grab Eddie's hand again. All out of vain, because laughter roared in her ear and when she felt some pressure on her stomach, Katherine's eyes travelled down.

A long, white sleeved arm circled around her waist and pressed her back against something hard. Katherine didn't want to, but she glanced over her shoulder and screamed when the bright, ember like eyes of Pennywise stared back at her. A red brim around IT's orbs this time and drool tickled from IT's bottom lip.

"Hi," IT chuckled and glanced at Eddie.

"I'll come back for you," he sang and without too many effort, the clown lifted Katherine up and threw her over his shoulder.

Katherine her fingers found some of the loose hanging fabric of the clown's shirt at the back and grabbed it to hold herself steady. A stifled scream escaped her throat when Katherine noticed how high she was from the ground.

Pennywise started walking and turned around a corner. Katherine took one last look at Eddie who stood still in the distance and hoped dearly he would find the others.

"Let me go," she grunted, her fist pounded against the clown's back.

She got no reaction whatsoever of the clown. Just that IT kept on walking, down another hall, down the stairs to what looked like a basement and Katherine pulled herself slightly up to try and see where IT took her.

"No," she murmured breathlessly.

The clown swung its legs over a hole in the ground and chuckled darkly.

"Hold on tight, my dear. It's a long fall."

As soon as Pennywise was over the threshold of the hole, Katherine stared in nothing but darkness. Her fingers clung tighter around the long sleeved shirt of the clown and closed and Katherine closed her eyes.

'Humpty Dumpty had a great fall," Pennywise hummed while crawling down the water hole.