[ Location: Aladdin Theater - Storage Room ][ Date: October 15th, 1962 - 6:30 AM ]
Morning light peeked through the cracks of the heavy steel door.
I hadn't slept a wink.
I spent the whole night sitting on a dusty sofa, focusing on my Aether so my powers wouldn't fade in this broken timeline and inside my head, the older Pennywise was silenced by my blood seal but I could still feel him in the dark waiting for me to mess up.
Across the room, Hank and Ronnie were asleep on some old curtains.
They looked pale and totally exhausted.
'If I wasn't here, they'd probably be dead already...NO, this change probably happen because of me ' I thought, rubbing my tired eyes.
I stood up and stretched my muscles.
"Wake up," I said quietly.
Hank jerked awake instantly, grabbing his revolver from the floor and Ronnie sat up, hugging her knees, looking like she hoped yesterday was just a bad dream.
"Time to go to work," I told them.
I walked over and held out my hand. "Give me the gun, Hank."
Hank gripped the wooden handle tight. "Why? It's my only protection."
"Normal bullets don't kill monsters," I said flatly. "You shot that weird bird yesterday and it didn't even care and if I'm taking you into his area, you need to actually do some damage."
Hank swallowed hard and slowly handed the gun over.
I popped the cylinder open.
Click.
Five unspent bullets.
I bit my thumb hard enough to draw a bead of dark blood.
'Fuinjutsu.'
I smeared a tiny drop of blood onto the tip of each lead bullet.
Then, I pushed a spark of white Aether from my finger into the metal and the blood sizzled and soaked right into the bullets, leaving behind glowing, magical symbols.
I snapped the gun shut with a satisfying clack and tossed it back to Hank.
He caught it, staring at the glowing weapon in pure awe.
"Make them count," I warned him, adjusting my jacket collar. "Those bullets will burn right through dark magic and aim for the head, It will slow him down a bit."
Ronnie stood up, gripping her heavy metal flashlight. "What about me, Vivan?"
"Stay right behind me and keep that light steady," I smirked, hiding my own exhaustion. "We're going hunting."
[ Location: Derry Main Street ][ Time: 7:30 AM ]
The freezing storm was finally over, but Derry still felt like a graveyard.
The morning streets were surprisingly busy.
Milkmen were delivering bottles, kids were riding bikes, and shop owners were sweeping the sidewalks.
It looked like a perfectly normal town.
But I could feel it.
There was a thick, gross smell of fear hiding right under the pavement and the whole town was a trap, and these people were just bit sleepwalking inside it.
"Where exactly are we going?" Hank muttered and his hand was shoved deep in his pocket, resting on the magic gun.
"The clown took Matty," I said, scanning the brick alleys as we walked. "He uses the sewers to travel unseen and we need to find the biggest entrance."
"The old pumphouse," Ronnie said quickly, stepping closer to me. "At the edge of the woods. All the main sewer lines dump out there."
"Perfect," I said. "Lead the way."
We turned down a narrow, damp alley to take a shortcut.
Crunch.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
My enhanced hearing caught the sound of a boot stepping on broken glass right behind us.
'Seriously? Now? The clown is sending a welcoming committee?'
I slowly turned around.
Blocking the alley exit were two Derry police officers.
They wore crisp blue uniforms, but they smelled like dirty swamp water and they stood completely stiff, their arms hanging weirdly at their sides.
"Hank Grogan," the taller cop said and his voice was overly cheerful, Unnaturally happy.
Hank froze. "Officer Higgins? What are you doing? We're just taking a walk."
"Going for a walk, Hank?" Higgins grinned, his lips stretched way too far across his teeth. "The theater is closed today But the circus... oh, the circus is wide open."
The second cop chuckled.
It sounded exactly like a giggling little kid. "She's going to float, Hank. Just like little Matty."
They slowly raised their heads.
Their eyes were glowing, metallic silver.
'The Clown is taking over the locals to do his dirty work,' I realized.
Both cops reached for their weapons.
The shorter one pulled out a wooden club and higgins rested his hand on his pistol.
"Dad!" Ronnie panicked, backing up against the brick wall.
Hank whipped out his glowing revolver, his hands shaking. "Stay back, Higgins! Don't make me shoot!"
"Hank, put the gun away," I ordered sharply, stepping right in front of him. "If you shoot a cop in broad daylight, you go to prison for murder. I'll handle this."
I cracked my neck.
"You're in my way, Old man" I said coldly.
Higgins drew his pistol.
He never even got his finger on the trigger.
I blurred forward with my enhanced speed, the world seemed to move in slow motion and crossed the twenty-foot gap instantly.
I grabbed the steel barrel of his pistol and crushed my fist inward.
CRUNCH.
The metal bent and warped under my bare fingers like cheap tin foil.
The silver-eyed cop opened his mouth to scream, but I swept his legs out from under him with a brutal kick.
He hit the concrete hard.
I spun around, easily ducking under a wild swing from the second cop's club and stepped in close and shoved an open palm right into his chest.
THUD.
The impact lifted the cop clean off his feet and he flew backward, crashing into some metal trash cans, and slumped to the ground, out cold.
Higgins tried to scramble up from the pavement.
I simply kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out too.
The fight lasted exactly four seconds.
I stood in the alley, casually dusting off my jacket.
Hank and Ronnie stared at me like I was an monster.
Hank slowly, numbly, put his gun back into his pocket.
"You... you just took out two armed cops," Hank breathed. "With your bare hands."
"I took out two puppets," I corrected, walking past the bodies. "The clown is getting desperate. Let's move before he sends the whole police force."
[ Location: The Barrens - Old Pumphouse ][ Time: 8:15 AM ]
We jogged into the overgrown woods, finally reaching the Barrens.
The smell hit me immediately.
Rotting meat, old water, and pure evil.
The old pumphouse stood at the bottom of a muddy hill.
A massive, rusted iron grate covered a dark tunnel leading deep underground and the heavy metal bars were already bent open, peeled back like a tin can.
Something huge had squeezed inside.
"Matty's down there?" Ronnie asked, her voice trembling.
She clicked on her flashlight, shining the beam into the pitch-black tunnel.
"Yeah," I said, staring into the dark. "He's down there."
Suddenly, a voice echoed up from the dripping pipes.
"Help... Ronnie?? Help me!"
Hank gasped, his eyes going wide. "Matty!"
He started to run toward the open grate, completely forgetting the danger.
"Don't!" I said.
I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him backward hard.
"Let me go!" Hank fought my grip, pointing at the pipe. "He's right there!"
"Help me!" the small voice cried out again.
But this time... it wasn't just one voice.
It was two.
Then five and then a dozen.
Dozens of identical little boy voices echoed from the dark and they were giggling and crying at the exact same time.
It was a terrifying, creepy chorus bouncing off the concrete walls.
Ronnie dropped her flashlight into the mud.
"Look at the shadows, Hank!" I yelled, pushing him behind me. "That's not him! It's bait!"
I stepped directly in front of the dark tunnel entrance.
I raised my right hand.
A sphere of blinding white fire ignited in my palm, pushing back the freezing dread pouring out of the sewer.
'He's not hiding,' I thought, listening to the voices giggle louder. 'He's waiting for us and this will be his last stand.'
I let the flames die down just a fraction, narrowing my eyes at the dark tunnel.
"I have a plan," I said, my voice cutting through the psychotic giggles. "But we need some preparation."
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