Chapter Text
The feeling of terror was back. For what not had been for twenty-eight years all started with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper, floating down the gutter swollen with rain and snow.
The boat swam fast down the stream. It bopped side to side as it dived bravely through treacherous whirlpools, and continued on its way down to Main Street. The street was deadly quiet due to the heavy rainfall that has been going on for a week now, and in the last two days the snow was kicking in too. Nobody was too be seen.
Nobody but a small boy in a yellow slicker. He runs cheerfully alongside the newspaper boat in his red galoshes. He laughed and giggled as the paper boat raced through the streets of South Park. It had already made it past all the kids houses, and was almost reaching the park. The boy in the yellow slicker was Ike Broflovski. He was six. His thirteen year old brother, Kyle, was at home with a nasty cold he picked up from the blizzard.
Beforehand, Kyle decided it was his turn to play on the computer. He saw his little brother still playing his favourite game, PacMan, on the monitor he wanted to play on and thought of a great idea to keep Ike busy so he can play video games as long as he’d want. His idea was to fold and flip a sheet of newspaper into the shape of a boat.
“Ike, I think you should go play outside. The snow looks pretty cool!” Kyle suggested.
“I don’t want to Kyle, it’s raining”
“Look, I made you this. You like boats right? It’ll float with all this rain. I think that would be fun” he smiled.
Ike’s face lit up as Kyle held the little boat in his hand.
“It will?” Ike smiled as he looks at Kyle.
“For sure! You can even splash around in those new boots Mom bought you” Kyle added.
Ike jumped off the chair that he had been sitting on for the last two hours, and took the boat right out of his brothers hands.
“Thanks Kyle!” he went in for a hug. Kyle brightened up as he stared at the empty chair while holding Ike in his arms.
“Are you going to come with me?” Ike pulled out of the hug and plead as his shiny eyes met his brothers. His dainty hands were holding the tiny boat.
Kyle’s eyebrows softened. He then snapped out of his gaze. “Oh-I can’t Ike” he remembered. He did a light cough into his hand. “I don’t feel too good”.
Ike’s eyes moved to the floor. “Okay, i’ll see you soon” he looked back at Kyle before giving a smile.
Kyle waited for his little brother to run off into the hallway before he sat down at the computer.
The heavy rain swept relentlessly against the bedroom window beside him. Shiela was downstairs tidying away while Gerald sat on the couch staring at the TV. “Latest update on the heavy rainfall that is now expected to stay in South Park for the next week” played from the news. “We’ve never had weather this bad Gerald” Shiela mentioned as she joined in on looking at the TV.
The little boy in the yellow coat was now catching up with the boat that sped in-front of him. It was moments away from making it to the end of the street. Little Ike Broflovski did not know that he was running to his soon strange death. But as the boat was making it’s way up Main Street the only feeling that filled him was joy as he giggled and cried. Water splashed out from beneath his galoshes in the wet weather as he bounced along the road. However, despite the love he had for this paper boat it did not come close to the love he had for his brother Kyle, and how he was so excited to describe that moment to him when he got home… but Ike couldn’t help but feel a sink of regret and guilt that he left his older brother to not be able to see that moment for himself.
Of course, Kyle was smart enough to make his own decisions. He was the smartest in his class. He was good at reading and writing, and had all of the teachers approval and praise for nearly every essay he did. He was a great friend, and boyfriend at most times. But most importantly, he was a good brother. Kyle always loved being around his brother. They did everything together. From movie nights to video games, to absolutely destroying the house anytime their parents were away, they did everything. Kyle had a kind heart and wouldn’t let anything hurt his little brother since the day he was born. Yet the only thing that hurt Ike in the end was in the hands of himself.
But now here he was, still running alongside the boat that his eyes were so heavily focused on he didn’t see the roadwork sign up ahead. A loud thud echoed through the streets as Ike laid on the concrete floor soaking up the snow and rainwater. “Ouch..” he rubbed his head. He then clicked that his boat was racing away. He stood back up on his feet just missing the boat fall into a small drain against the curbing. “Shit shit shit!” Ike got down onto the ground trying to see if he could reach the toy. Silence filled the streets as Ike hopelessly reached out into the drain in hopes he could feel his paper boat. He gave up. He stood back up from the ground and walked away dolefully looking at the floor. That was until a small humming sound came from the drain he just came from. The sound made him jerk. “Huh!” he turned back round to face the hole.
Beaming yellow eyes then blinked from the darkness, staring right at the little boy. The sort of eyes that Ike had nightmares of before. ‘It’s an animal’ he thought. He shook off the sudden fright. ‘Maybe some cat got down there- that’s all it is. Just a cat’. Although he told himself these reassuring words, he was still ready to run.
“Hi, Ike” it said.
Ike blinked and looked again. He could barely credit what he saw. Something that he had not seen before. In fact, he didn’t think anyone has seen before. A clown. A clow stood inside the stormdrain. The lighting was terrible, but somewhat good as he could only see part of his face, especially his glowing innocent looking eyes. It was definitely a clown. Like a circus clown. Or ones on the TV. It reminded him of the silly tv shows he used to watch with his brother - or maybe that one Terrence & Philip episode when they met Clumsy the Clown (his favourite episode). But this clown looked nothing like Clumsy. His face was white, and were funny tufts of red hair on either side of his balding head. Even the big red smile painted over his face made him look creepy.
The clown held a bunch of balloons, in all colours, and especially Ike’s favourite colour, blue. But in the other hand, the clown held Ike’s newspaper boat.
“Want your boat, Ike?” the clown smiled.
The clown’s soft voice made Ike smile, he couldn’t help it; it was the kind of smile you had to smile back to. “I sure do” he said as he kneeled back down.
”That’s good! That’s very very good! And how about a balloon?”
“Well…sure!” he hesitated for a second. He reached forward…and then drew his hand reluctantly back. “I’m not supposed to take things from strangers. That’s what my mom said”
“Your mom is very wise” the smiling clown said. Ike fixated on the clown’s eyes for a second. They’re not yellow. They’re blue. A bright, dancing blue.
“Very wise indeed. I’ll introduce myself. I, Ike, am Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Pennywise, meet Ike, Ike, meet Pennywise!..” the clown giggled.
“Now we aren’t strangers anymore” the clown stared at the boy.
Ike giggled lightly. “I guess you’re right” he reached forward again. But drew back his hand again. “How did you get down there?”
The clowns smile turned into a frown. “The storm…it blew me away. It blew the whole circus away. Can you smell the circus, Ike?”
Ike leaned forward..suddenly he could smell peanuts. Roasted peanuts! And salt..like from french fries. He could smell the cotton candy..and the sweet smell of hotdogs..and yet. And yet under it all was the smell of flood and decomposing leaves and dark storm drain shadows. The smell was rotten. But not for Ike.
”Yeah!” Ike smiled. “I can smell it!” he exclaimed.
”So.. you want your boat now Ike?” Pennywise asked. “I only ask again because you don’t seem that eager” he held it up smiling.
He was wearing a baggy silk suit with great big orange buttons. A bright tie, in blue, flopped down his front, and on his hands were big white gloves.
”Yeah, sure” Ike said looking into the stormdrain.
”And a balloon? I got your favourite colour” Pennywise grinned.
”How do you know?” Ike questioned.
”Because, we’re friends, I know a lot about my friends. Do you have any friends Ike?”
“Only a few” Ike started to feel unsure.
”Well, you can take one for them too!” Pennywise insisted.
”Do they float?” Ike asked.
”Float?” the clowns grin widened. “Of course they do! They do indeed float! And don’t forget the cotton candy..and the peanuts”
The clown’s sentence dazed as Ike reached out his arm for the final time. The clown seized his arm. And Ike saw the clown’s face change.
What he saw was worse than any nightmare he ever had. In fact, it made any of his nightmares he had look like sweet dreams.
The clown had Ike’s arm in his thick wormy grip. He sucked on his arm and dragged him down into the terrible darkness. Ike screamed into the rain. He gripped onto any possible thing that could stop him from being forced into the final blackness. His screams were shrill and piercing, and all up and down Main Street people looked out their windows and bolted out their porches.
“They float..” it growled. “They float, Ike, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float too”