11

Theme song: In This Moment - Beast Within

11

"Oh God!" A shrill feminine voice through the howl of the wind and the whipping rain. A large storm had blown in from seemingly nowhere, blanketing Derry in harsh conditions that made for poor visibility. "Help me!"

Greg; all six foot two of his muscle bound form, had heard her, even over the high volume of the television. He had been able to rent the three bedroom home last minute thanks to Sterling's connections. He wasn't sure how the man got his money, but he was grateful. Having heard the screams, he jumped off of the couch, socks sliding against the wood floor in his haste to get to the front door. He whipped the front door open just as the small shadow of a woman collapsed onto the front porch in a soaking wet heap.

"Oh God, please help me!" Her voice quivered with fear as she heaved in deep breaths. She was drenched to the bone, dripping sheets of water down her face. Her clothes clung to her petite frame. As he knelt down to help her up, her skin was ice cold and nearly blue.

"Jesus. What happened to you?" He inquired, tucking her much smaller frame beneath his arm as he helped her shaking form into the warmth of the house.

"S-something attacked me. I-I didn't get a good look at it, but I swear to God it was dressed like a clown."

Despite Greg's lack of brain cells, alarm bells started ringing in his head.

"Ray! Get your ass down here!" At his loud bellow, curses and a large crash could be heard from upstairs. Within seconds, a muscle bound brute nearly came tumbling down the stairs.

"Christ, Greg, what's got your nuts in a twi-" He stopped short when he caught sight of the fragile and soaked woman beneath his friend's arm. "What happened?"

"She said she was attacked by something dressed like a clown."

A look passed between the two that didn't go unnoticed by her as she watched them through the curtain of her drenched black hair. Ray's gaze immediately swept over her and noticed that dark stain that still clung to the side of her sweatshirt.

"Are you hurt, darlin'?"

She nodded her head once. "It got a good swipe at me. I-I think it had claws."

"Let me get the med kit and we will patch you up. With this storm I doubt we would be able to get you to a hospital."

"It's alright. I am not a fan of hospitals." She replied, still trembling.

"I doubt we would have anything that would fit you, but we can certainly try to dig something up." Greg interjected, grabbing a hold of the blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapping it around her. "As soon as I get something for you to wear, we will get you patched up and in a hot shower. That should help ward off the chill."

The woman gave a grateful sigh, a tension in her shoulders easing visibly. "Thank you both so much. I am pretty sure I lost it. I don't think it followed me."

"We will keep a look out anyway, just in case."

She gave a faint nod and pushed the curtain of her hair away from her face. The first thin that struck Greg was the allure of her chocolate brown eyes. They seemed to immediately pull him in. He blushed faintly before dropping his hands from her arms. Without a word he turned and left to gather clothes for her while he let Ray search for the med kit. It didn't take either of them long, and they both returned almost as the same time. Greg held a pair of thick drawstring sweats and a hooded sweatshirt folded neatly in his arms. Ray held a large black plastic case that he motioned towards her with.

"I used to be a nurse." He stated in a gruff, deep voice as he gestured for her to take a seat at the kitchen table. His arms were nearly twice the size of her head and his ebony skin seemed flawless. His crooked nose didn't take away from his handsome features until he smiled. His teeth were even more crooked, a slight gap in the center of the lower row causing a slight whistle when he talked.

She let the towel flutter to one side and lifted the side of her soaked sweatshirt with the deepening stain. Four large gashes, deep and oozing had been slashed down from her ribs and stopped just short of touching her navel.

"Good Lord, woman. Are you sure you weren't mauled by an animal?"

She nodded faintly. "They look worse than they are. I think they ripped some when I vaulted the fence."

"How long have you been runnin'?"

Her brow frowned in thought. "I-I'm not sure. A mile, maybe more."

"In this weather? You're lucky."

"More than you know." There seemed to be an ominius meaning to her words, but neither he nor Greg grasped it. She turned her gaze towards the other man, noting his blue eyes had been glued to the wound at her side and hadn't moved. He had turned deathly pale, whiter than he already was. It seemed that this man did not like the sight of blood, or perhaps it was the sight of the wounds that made him nearly green.

"Greg." Ray warned, his voice clinical as his nursing instincts took over. "Why don't you make the lady some tea, or coffee?"

"Coffee sounds heavenly right now." She admitted with another drop of tension in her body. All that running must have worn her out.

"Yeah." Greg mumbled, running a large hand through his short cropped blonde hair before turning away from the grisly scene and starting preparations for the coffee. Within minutes, the scent of it drifted through the air.

"He doesn't like the sight of blood, does he?"

Ray glanced up at her as she swabbed her wound with alcohol. She hissed through her teeth at the sting, but otherwise made no other sound.

"Not really, no. He is a war vet. Served in Afghanistan. He has been through enough horrors."

"I can only imagine." She replied,watching the large man move with surprising grace and skill.

"Good news is you won't need stitches."

"Oh thank God. I don't know if I could have sat through that without pain meds."

He snorted faintly. "I don't know about that, chickie. You seem tough to me."

She smiled faintly, tucking her damp hair behind her ear as a blush threatened to creep up the back of her neck.

"When you go through what I just did, it tends to change your perspective and makes you question everything you know in the world."

He nodded once, smearing some kind of funky smelling gel on the wounds before bandaging them securely. "That gel I put on is waterproof. You should be able to shower with no issues, though try to keep the bandages from getting wet if you can."

"Thank you. Both of you." Ray patted her shoulder and began packing the supplies back up into the kit.

"Here. These should somewhat fit you." Greg handed her the bundle of clothes. "The shower is up the stairs first door on the right."

The woman smiled, her fingers gently brushing his as she took the folded stack from him. She watched him blush again before she stood. She draped the blanket over the back of the kitchen chair and made her way up the stairs. Once both men heard the door of the bathroom click shut behind her, they turned to each other.

"IT?" Greg asked softly, making sure his voice was low enough so she wouldn't be able to hear.

"It is possible, though why is IT attacking a woman her age? I thought IT was going after children?"

"IT didn't just strictly go after children. There have been some adults that IT has killed over the centuries." Greg paced away from his friend. "Have you heard from Nicholas?"

Ray shook his head. "Not since earlier this afternoon. He was supposed to check out a couple of reports then meet us here."

"I thought orders were to report here no matter what? Sterling didn't want us to be separated."

"Yeah, but you know Nicholas. The lone wolf."

Upstairs, she stripped out of her wet clothing and left them in a pile on the floor. Almost immediately, she felt arms slip around her waist.

"You are quite the actress, Preciousss." Pennywise crooned in her ear, white gloved hands drifting up her torso to cup her bare breasts, kneading them with his strong fingers. He purred when she arched back, both leaning back into him and shifting towards his touch.

"It's a gift." She replied, her breath hitching as her hardening nipples stiffened further.

"Mmm. Take your shower. We will play with them when you are finished."

"You could join me." She offered, stepping out from the circle of his arms, shooting him a deliciously wicked grin over her shoulder.

He growled lowly. "Don't tempt me, my love. Once these two are taken care of, I will take you up on that."

"Party pooper." She pouted, turning her back on his amused laughter.