He Likes Boys//It (2017)

s e v e n t e e n

Chapter Seventeen:

The floorboards creaked beneath him as Hom entered the house, trying to hold open the door that was almost falling off it's hinges for the person behind him.

Beverly entered next, feeling as though the wood would collapse beneath her any second now, as they entered she stayed near Hom with her slingshot, ready to protect him from any upcoming danger.

Slowly, making sure to stay in a group as to avoid any horror movie clichés, they check the house room by room.

Until the monster tears them apart.

Each beckoning them to a separate room for the losers to face their fears.

It smiled darkly, down at the little spiders trapped in her spider web. She was very happy today. Very happy indeed. So many little children to play with. So many little children to eat. Their hearts were all flavoured with fear. Although quite a few were also poisoned with bravery. It would get to them somehow. It would get inside their tiny little minds and eat them alive then It would lick the blood from the walls, wasting a drop.

It started with Richie, trapped in a room filled with musty old boxes. It could smell the fear on him, making it's stomach rumble.

"Come out you mother fucker!" Richie screamed. "I'm not afraid of you!" He yelled so more as he pulled at the door handle.

What a precious little creature....

Good thing it wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Hello Richie." It whispered to him in a sinister voice, coming to him in the form of a clown.

"I'm Pennywise!" It beckoned. "The Dancing Clown!"

Soon more clowns popped up from the boxes all jumping and crawling toward Richie as he trembled with fear.

"I'm not afraid of you!" He yelled.

It felt itself weaken every time he said it. This time it was slowly becoming more and more real. The boy really didn't fear him. Now it was getting angry with Richie. The little boy had lost all his flavour, and It had lost all it's powers against him. Richie stumbled out of the room, trying to open the other doors to the house in search of his friends.

It started on the next child, fear still fresh in his heart as he trembled. This one neither screamed nor yelled. It was going to have much more fun with this one.

Hom jumped as he heard something make the floorboard creak. He turned to see it was his mother. She had her arms across her chest in a defensive position. He approached her.

"Mom!"

His mom looked mad at him.

It squealed with delight as Hom started to fall into the trap it had left for the boy.

"What right do you think you have to approach me?" His mom said, her voice filled with venom, dripping from every word. "What right do you think you have to call me mother?"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" The hopeful look fell from his face. Hom started to realize that this definitely wasn't his real mother. This was It pretending to be her. This was what the losers had meant when they talked about frightening it was, about how It was luring kids into it's clutches.

"I didn't raise a son like you! I didn't raise a faggot!" His mom screamed at him.

He knew it wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

"Mom-"

"-Burn in hell where you belong!"

"Stop!" Hom screamed back. "I know this isn't you!"

"Filthy abomination!" His mom screamed, moving as though she was a puppet, being controlled by some fucked up puppeteer for his own personal gain. His mom would never call him that. Because he would make sure his mom would never know. No one would ever know.

"You aren't my real Mom." Hom replied in protest. The whole thing was fake, although it chilled him to the bones. He knew the monster wanted him to be afraid. To feel pain. Which is why Hom would never let it show. He would put on a strong mask. He would hide his fear away where It could never see.

It started to feel it's defences cripple as once again one of the children had managed to escape it's clutches. Hom turned and left the room as his mom started to make her way towards him. It stopped chasing Hom.

There were plenty enough of other children It could feed on.

So many little children to eat.

It's stomach rumbled loudly, sounding like thunder to those outside the house.

Next it decided to play on that pathetic little one with the stutter. The one who didn't quite know how to talk and when he did it sounded like a broken record. He'd been that way since the time It had eaten his brother. And now It would eat him as well. It's mouth drooled at the thought of how good and flavourful his little brother had tasted.

This time It knew exactly what to show Bill.

It showed him his little dead brother, dancing around and pretending to be alive.

But then Big Bill knew.

Big Bill knew alright.

It frowned down at the scene before her. This isn't what was supposed to happen. What was supposed to happen was that It was supposed get another snack. It was supposed to be able to eat again. But one by one they went free from her spider's web, determined to kill her off.

It had no choice but to try.

It had no choice but to survive.