Dark Desire

16

Theme Song: Insane Clown Posse - Clown Walk

16

Amanda adjusted the high ponytail she had placed the mass of thick curly black hair in. The tail itself was nearly four inches thick, the curls themselves sitting in clusters that were two inches wide a piece. Expertly applied stark black eye shadow and eye liner had been applied around those eerie demonic yellow eyes that she now possessed. Each wing of liner at the outer corners had been dragged down to the corners of her full lips, giving the illusion of a perpetual, creepy smile that very nearly rivaled Pennywise's. Her face had been smeared white, though it was part of her own illusion, her new glamour and not makeup. This was the form she had chosen for herself to use against her prey, luring them into a false sense of security. Unlike her companion, however, she was not dressed in a clown costume. Form hugging black leggings and a tight fitting long sleeved black shirt hugged her curves and gave her an impressive range of freedom of movement. She would be comfortable and to her, that was what mattered. She didn't know how he could stand the nearly stiff white frilly collar that encircled his neck. On her feet were knee high black boots that looked like flat soled gypsy styled boots. The laces were loose, but the boots themselves were secure, almost as if they had been custom made to fit her.

"Well, what do you think?" She inquired, spinning in a slow circle to show her companion her new appearance. The silence stretched on and Amanda stopped spinning, turning to face him. He was staring at her, though it almost appeared as though he was staring through her. For a moment, she fidgeted uneasily, tugging self-consciously at a loose thread on the sleeve of her shirt.

"Delectable." Pennywise finally purred, moving towards her with a faint jungle of bells. He had shed his human guise and had returned to his favored Clown glamour. His gloved hand reached out, white fingertips hovering over the black adorning her lips. He grinned, a sinister and malicious gesture that would undoubtedly strike fear into the hearts of those who had dared threaten them. They would be a force to be reckoned with. They were much stronger together than they were apart, but he knew that they would have to separate in order to decimate this Cult from opposite ends and meet in the middle.

"Are you ready, Preciousss?" He inquired, tilting his head down to rest his forehead gently against hers. "You remember what you must do?"

She nodded once. "Yes to both."

"I do not like the thought of you being bait." He murmured softly, a flash of disapproval turning his malicious smile into a frown.

"Do not think of me as being bait, Pennywise. Think of it as me laying the ground work."

He chuckled softly, pressing a kiss against her temple briefly. "When this is over, we will take a long rest. I think we both deserve it." He let his gloved hands drift downward over the curve of her hips. "Close your eyes. Teleportation can be very disorienting the first time." When she did as he requested, he closed his own eyes and focused his energy, his power to where they needed to go. Within a split second, both of their forms disappeared.

~~~~~~

A young girl, no older than her mid to late twenties practically crawled up the front steps of the largest church she had ever seen. Though it had once served as a place of worship, there were no markings to indicate that it was still used for such purposes, but the girl didn't notice this. She kept glancing back over her shoulder and into the darkness where she could see two glowing yellow eyes watching her from the pitch black. She nearly screamed as she scrambled up the unforgiving cold marble stairs. They were slightly slick with dew and she almost face planted, nearly breaking the bridge of her nose on the edge of one of the stairs. She was breathing heavy, panting in desperation as she managed to gain her footing and shot straight for the main entrance of the building. The large twin oak doors were flanked by eerily blank stained glass windows. There were no saints depicted, just bright colors of red, yellow, purple, blue and green. With a frustrated cry, she pulled on the ornate wrought iron handle. The door moved out towards her without so much a creak on the nearly rusty wrought iron hinges. She fell in through the door with a grunt, landing in a faint heap against the thick purple rug that ran from the entrance and in a straight line towards the empty dais.

"Are you alright, my child?" Came the soothing voice of a robed figure off to the girls right. He; judging by the tone of the voice, rushed towards her, helping the trembling woman to her feet.

"H-help m-me." She pleaded in desperation, panting heavily out of breath. "T-there is s-something a-after m-me."

"You are safe here, my dear." He continued to croon gently. He held her left hand in his, draping his right arm around her shoulders as he steered her towards the nearest pew at the back of the church. "Take a moment and sit. Regain your breath and tell me what happened."

She nodded once, long dark hair pulled back into a thick ponytail that revealed the natural beauty of her facial features. Rich chocolate brown eyes shimmered with what appeared to be unshed tears. Her dainty hands with their small, thin fingers trembled visibly as she wrung them together nervously. She wore all black, the long sleeved shirt and leggings clinging to her curves rather enticingly despite her obvious distress and the robed man found himself admiring them.

"I was heading home after my shift at the cafe where I work. I walk the same route every night so didn't think anything of it when I noticed that some of the street lamps weren't on. I just assumed that their timers hadn't clicked on yet. I was about half way when I heard the most creepy laugh I have ever heard in my entire life sounded right behind me. I turned to glance behind me, but saw nothing. So, I turned back around to continue on my way, but before I could even take a step, the faint sound of bells jingling sounded. I whipped back around and that was when I noticed a tall, dark figure standing there. He; judging by the size, was holding a bunch of balloons. He asked me if I wanted one."

She turned her gaze towards the man sitting beside her and he was struck by the near almond shape of those eyes. Bedroom eyes most people would call them. They were naturally like that, he noticed.

"There was just something sinister about his presence. Something malicious that I couldn't put my finger on. He frightened me."

Alarm bells began to go off in the man's mind, but he continued to listen to the alluring sound of her soft voice. Even with the obvious fear in her tone, he found himself hanging onto every word. So wrapped up in her presence was he, that he didn't notice the subtle shift in her body. The way she turned towards him, nor the subtle smirk that tugged at the left corner of her mouth. Nor did he notice the thick clusters of curls of her hair begin to move as if alive. Hell, he barely even heard the hiss before it was too late. A thick, writhing snake slid over his shoulder, forked tongue flicking at the lobe of his ear. He shouted and jerked away from the woman in alarm. Terror and fear spiking in his blood almost instantly. He watched in horror as the dark curls of her hair became alive, slithering and rasping against her shoulders. Beady, evil eyes staring straight into his soul. He continued to watch as the damsel in distress guise melted away to reveal the facade of the true woman beneath. Her beauty was still there, but her face had become alabaster white. Stark black lips stretched upward to the corner of her eyes, giving her a wide and mocking grin.

"W-who are you? W-what are you?" He inquired with a shaky voice. Had he been a religious man, he would have fell to his knees and prayed but this Cult was not necessarily about religion. It was geared more towards the destruction of IT and the preservation of the Turtle's memory.

The woman stood, her petite stature surprisingly frightening. She seemed to loom over him with a darkness that was nearly all consuming. There was an unpredictability in her movements that made him all the more on edge than he already was.

"You have heard of Pennywise the Dancing Clown?" She questioned with a subtle tilt of her head. There was no jingle of bells that accompanied her movements, only the hissing of the snakes she had for her hair. As she spoke, the man noticed that her speech was slurred, her own tongue black and forked, slithering out to taste the fear on the air. "Well, consider me the Contortionist."

Without warning, she struck, mouth opening wide to show rows of razor sharp teeth just as her hands gripped his face hard and with surprising strength. He felt nothing but pressure and a burn as those teeth buried deep into the front of his throat and pulled, ripping through flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter. Blood washed over him, painting the lower half of her face crimson like a macabre painting. When he fell to the floor in a heap, Amanda crouched down and rummaged through the pockets of his robes. With a triumphant shout, she pulled free a long chain that held what appeared to be an antique skeleton key. Her keen eyes glanced around her for a moment, before noticing an ornate door at the back of the chapel area. Going on intuition alone, she moved towards it. Testing the key in the lock, she wasn't entirely surprised when it opened. There was a narrow passage that led further into the bowels of the church. Undoubtedly they would find the others of the Cult here.