Control // It (2017) // Stanley Uris

Thirty-Four- "Now you're the one that's afraid."

Each of the Losers reached for a weapon to attack the clown with. Mike swung his metal rod directly at Pennywise's face, but his hit was deflected.

Out of the clown's mouth, four burnt and charred hands reached out and caught the weapon. They reached toward Mike's face.

"Mike! Mike!" Horrified screams emitted from the clown's manifestation, the same screams Mike had heard all that time ago from his parents. His worst fear had become reality; IT had become the fear of that terrible house fire.

Stanley lunged at the clown, smashing it over the head with a lead pipe. IT let go of Mike and turned towards the Uris boy, morphing its face into that of the distorted woman. IT ran towards Stan, who stood frozen in place.

"Stan! Look out!" Mia screamed.

Stanley held the lead pipe over his head and swung with all of his might, slashing the side of the woman's demonic face. 

Surrounding the demon, the Losers each held a weapon of choice in their hands. Pennywise kneeled into a ready position, like a lion preparing to strike. IT turned towards Eddie, who stood the closest in proximity and morphed into the leper. The leper opened his mouth and projectile vomited all over the Kaspbrak boy, drenching him head to toe in a black tar substance.

"I'm going to kill you!" Eddie screamed, attacking the clown with his metal rod.

Each of the Losers began to beat down on the clown, latching themselves to its every limb. Screams of terror and rage emitted from the clown as it morphed into everything each kid feared most. IT began to spin, flinging each of the group off of IT's limbs one by one.

Pennywise threw Mia to the ground and followed quickly behind her, separating her from the rest of the Losers. The Bowers girl scrambled to her feet, feeling both dizzy and disoriented. She'd hit her head one too many times that day.

"Little Bowers, little Bowers..." Pennywise croaked, smiling widely as he approached her. He began to morph, shrinking in height and width, growing long brown hair and green eyes. Soon enough, Mia Bowers was stood directly in front of herself. The manifestation was identical to Mia, wearing the same clothes and sporting the same bloody injuries. "Don't pretend that you're part of this group, Mia... You know you'll never be one of them." IT taunted, moving closer and closer.

Tears streamed from the Bowers girl's eyes. Her mouth was slightly agape, she could hardly breathe.

"Admit it, you get a happy feeling when you see me hurt them," the manifestation continued, "deep down, I know that you do..."

"Mia, don't listen to it!" Eddie yelled.

"You like seeing them suffer," the manifestation smiled, "you and I aren't so different." 

Mia looked away, searching desperately for her friend's reactions. Each of them had their eyes wide, listening intently to her exchange with the demon. Mia and Stanley made a firm eye contact. Stan shook his head at her, smiling lightly. He believed in who she was. He knew the real her, the her that didn't hurt people, the her that truly cared for him.

"No..." Mia mumbled to herself.

"I am you, Mia. Look at me." She smiled, reaching her hand out and gripping Mia's chin in her hands. "Look at me!" She screamed in the Bowers girl's face. Meeting Mia's gaze, the demon smiled maniacally. "You're scared of me, you're scared of yourself."

The small girl glared at the monster, yelling profanity after profanity into IT's face. She was stuck in her own manifestation's grip, unable to escape.

"See, Mia? Maybe we should all be scared of you." IT smiled widely, wrapping IT's hand around Mia's neck and lifting her into the air. She was choking, sobbing, growling.

"God damn right!" Mia yelled, kicking her feet forward and smashing the demon in the chest. The manifestation fell back, releasing the Bowers girl from its grip. Quickly regaining her balance, Mia lunged forward and punched her other self, square in the face. Morphing in shape, Pennywise fell back towards the toy pile and returned to his normal form. Mia's knuckles bled and her throat was covered in bruises, but she stood tall over the demon. 

The group reconvened in front of Pennywise and held their weapons firmly in hand. Beverly Marsh pushed her way to the front of the pack.

Taking the form of her father's face, Pennywise smiled. "Hey, Bevvie. Are you still my little girl?"

Bev screamed in both rage and fear, shoving her metal rod down her father's throat. 

The demon stopped moving, stood completely still. IT's face seemed to be stuck in transformation, resembling both Beverly's father and the all-too-familiar renaissance clown. After several seconds, Pennywise spat out the rod and fully morphed back into himself. He stumbled back in fear, shaking and panting.

He crawled back along the floor until he reached a concrete well in the corner of the room. He was surrounded by the Losers, confused and terrified about how he'd ended up here. 

The clown was choking, spitting, shaking, and everything in between. If IT'd been an actual human being, one might think IT was having a heart attack or a stroke, or both all at once. Pennywise sobbed as he stared around the group.

"That's why you didn't kill Beverly..." Bill mumbled, standing directly in front of the demon. "'Cause sh-sh-she wasn't afraid," The clown began to hyperventilate, "and we aren't either. Not anymore."

"Now you're the one that's afraid." Mia quipped, her voice shaky and coarse from the bruising. Her eyes were bloodshot and her head was bleeding, her skin turning a grey colour the longer she stood. Her hand was throbbing. "Because you're going to starve."

Pennywise shook in fear, then flipped himself over the side of the well. He held his arms out and peeped his eyes out the top of the darkness. "He thrusts his hands against the post... And still, insists he sees the ghost..." He delicately whispered.

Stanley held Mia up, being careful she wouldn't fall over. He lightly wrapped his hand around hers, careful not to touch her blistered and festering knuckles. The two of them together were like a walking flesh wound, bleeding everywhere. Stanley passed his weapon to the Denbrough boy, nodding his head. 

Bill pulled the metal rod from Stanley's hands and held it over his head like a baseball bat. He lunged forward, startling the demon clown. IT retreated another foot into the darkness of the well, holding itself up by only its fingertips.

Staring blankly at Bill, the clown's face began to peel open, revealing an empty skull on the inside. It was falling apart, it was close to being defeated. Pieces of the clown's skin floated around its head.

Bill lowered his weapon in confusion, wondering what was happening to Pennywise.

"Fear..." IT growled, then fell into the darkness below, defeated.