What Lies Beneath (Pennywise x Reader)

Chapter 8

Chapter Warnings: Manipulation, frightening/monstrous imagery, voyeurism, non-consensual activities, sexual assault, dubious consent, public sex, agoraphilia, copious amounts of sadism

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No words were exchanged between the two of you as you drove erratically to the hospital. You threw concerned glances towards her here and there, just long enough to catch a few glimmers of falling tears leaving tracks on her face.

It was hard to breathe at this point. Your throat felt swollen with emotion. There was so much that you wanted to say to her, but couldn't bring yourself to form the words. You were also still reeling over the fact that Pennywise had let the both of you go, even after you promised to trade yourself for Sara. You should have felt relieved, but instead, you were slightly terrified. There was no way that he had let you go out of the goodness of his heart. He was obviously going to expect something from you, and the thought of that was almost more frightening than if he would have just kept you there. Maybe that was what he was trying to achieve.

When you pulled up to the hospital and helped her into the urgent care, she seemed oddly calm, which you assumed was just a mix of shock and relief. The receptionist greeted the two of you kindly, though she didn't bother looking up from whatever she was furiously typing about on her computer.

"Good evening, how can I help you?" she asked candidly, still not giving you her full attention.

Annoyed, you impatiently replied, "She's dehydrated, malnourished, and has some sprains in her wrist and her ankle. I'm not sure if anything is broken, and she might have some internal bleeding. She needs to see a doctor. Now."

Still rudely looking at her computer, the receptionist replied with a bored tone, "Okay, have a seat and we'll-"

Your fists pounded loudly on the counter as anger took over your body, finally making the receptionist meet your enraged gaze with a shocked one of her own. "Did you not hear me?!" You shouted loudly for the entire waiting room to hear. "She needs help! Now!"

"Oh... oh my, of course," the woman replied, standing up to further inspect Sara's injuries. "What happened?"

It was then that you realized that you hadn't come up with a valid reason for her injuries. What is it that the two of you were supposed to say? Was she going to follow through with her original story and tell the world about the demon clown that haunted Derry had kidnapped her and tortured her?

What came out of her mouth next shocked you. "I went for a walk in the woods and I got lost. It got dark and I fell down a ravine and hit my head. When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. My memory finally started to come back after wandering around for a few days in the woods, and my cousin found me just in time."

You stared at her, open-mouthed at the way she smoothly explained that; as if she fully believed it herself. It was pretty far-fetched, and not really believable at all... but it was probably more convincing than a story about a sadistic demon-clown.

"Okay. Just sit tight for a minute, I'll go and grab the nurse to escort you to a room immediately."

The two of you nodded before sitting in the corner of the waiting room, away from anyone who could overhear your conversation before you started to question her. "Sara... why didn't you mention Pennywise at all?"

"What?" she asked, a dazed look on her face.

Sighing with awkwardness, you continued, "Listen, I'm sure it's really hard for you to try and remember what you went through, but you're safe now. Are you not going to tell people about him?"

She looked genuinely confused and took a moment to read your own perplexed expression before replying. "Um... what are you talking about? Who's Pennywise?"

"The clown!" you began. "The one whose creepy house we just left after he had kidnapped you and tortured you for the past couple of weeks? Does none of that ring a bell?" You asked sarcastically, losing your patience, which really wasn't fair to her at all.

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth a few times to speak before she was actually able to verbalize her thoughts. "Are you high?"

You met her confused look with one of your own, mirroring her expression. "Sara, what is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you? You just found me in the woods literally, like, 20 minutes ago."