Fanon:Big Nate: IT

Prologue
It was a rainy day in Rackleff, Maine. Having nothing better to do, Chad Applewhite decided to pay his friend Nate Wright a visit. At the moment, Nate was pulling pages out of his notebook to make an origami sailboat for Chad. Even though he didn't want to waste paper for drawing comics, Chad had seemed bored, and Nate had sailed his own origami sailboats in the rain gutters of Rackleff countless times as a child. Chad, meanwhile, stared through the window at the rain outside, drawing a smiley face with his finger in the condensation on the window.

"Sure I won't get in trouble, Nate?" Chad asked. "Don't be a wuss. I'd come with you if I weren't dying," Nate replied with a cough. "You're not dying," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Didn't you see the vomit coming out of my nose this morning?" Nate asked. "That's disgusting," Chad replied, appearing to lose his appetite for once. "Okay, go get the wax" Nate ordered, putting the finishing touches on the boat. "In the cellar?" Chad asked nervously. "You want it to float, don't you?" Nate asked. "Fine," said Chad. He grabbed a walkie-talkie from Nate's desk and scurried downstairs.

Upon reaching the door to the cellar, Chad paused. He had been afraid of the dark ever since he was a little kid, but he didn't like to admit it out of fear of being mocked by his peers. Summoning as much courage as he could muster, he flung the cellar door open. The dark abyss stared back at him. He was instantly seized with fear, his mind populating the dark shadows with slimy monsters and one-eyed murderers no matter how hard he tried to resist. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled, causing him to jump and scream. "Chad, hurry up!" Nate demanded, sounding annoyed.

Chad tentatively ventured into the dark void. He desperately ran his hand along the wall, trying to find the light switch. Upon finding it he felt a brief surge of hope, but that quickly vanished when he tried turning it on several times, and nothing happened. "Okay, I'm brave" Chad said to reassure himself. He quickly scampered down the remaining stairs, then frantically looked along the shelves in the cellar for the wax. "Where's the wax, where's the wax?" he repeatedly whispered to himself, wanting to leave as soon as possible. He nearly passed out from relief when his fingers closed around the wax. "Yes! There's the wax!" he exclaimed. Turning his head, he felt another bolt of fear slice through him when he saw what looked like two pairs of eyes staring back at him in the darkness. He quickly grabbed a flashlight on the nearby shelf and turned it on, sighing in relief when it turned out to be nothing more than a pair of spare lightbulbs reflecting the light from upstairs. His relief was short lived however, when a sudden crash of thunder sent him scrambling back up the stairs.

Back in Nate's room, Chad watched over his shoulder as Nate applied the wax to the boat. "There you go, she's all ready captain," Nate said upon finishing. "'She?'" Chad asked. "Yeah, you always call boats "'she,'" replied Nate. "She," Chad repeated, trying to understand. "Thanks Nate! You're the best!" He wrapped Nate in a hug, much to the other boy's surprise. "Okay, okay, it's not a big deal. Relax," said Nate, prying the other boy off of him. "I'll see you later," Chad said. "Bye!" He put on his yellow rain coat and ran outside into the storm. He turned back and waved at Nate, who was watching him from his bedroom window. "Be careful," Nate warned on the walkie-talkie.

Chad put the boat in the rain gutter and watched the rushing water carry it off. Chad eagerly ran after it, as fast as his short legs would carry him. Coming across a couple of road blocks, Chad ducked under the first one, but didn't have the same luck with the second one. *Crack* His forehead hit the road block and he fell onto his back. He sat back up, and, to his horror, saw the boat heading towards a storm drain.

"No!" he yelled. He got up and frantically ran after the boat, but he was too late. The boat disappeared into the drain. "No! Oh man, Nate's gonna kill me!" he whined. He peered into the dark abyss of the storm drain. Suddenly a pair of eyes stared back at him, causing him to jump back. The figure came into the light, revealing it to be...a clown?

"Hiya, Chad," the clown greeted him. "What a nice boat. Do you want it back?" "Um, yes please," Chad replied, still not really understanding what was happening. "You look like a nice boy," the clown observed. "I bet you have a lot of friends." "Yeah, uh, I guess I do," replied Chad. "Nate's my best friend." "Where is he?" the clown asked. "In bed. Sick," Chad responded. The clown looked saddened at that news. "I'll bet I can cheer him up. I'll give him a balloon. Do you want a balloon, too, Chad?" "Uh, I'm not supposed to take stuff from strangers," Chad responded. "Oh...", the clown responded, seeming disappointed. "Well, I'm Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. 'Pennywise?' 'Yes?' 'Meet Chad.' 'Chad, meet Pennywise.' Chad chuckled. His anxiety was starting to leave. "Now we aren't strangers, are we?" Pennywise asked. "What are you doing in the sewer?" Chad asked. "A storm blew me away," Pennywise responded forlornly. "Blew the whole circus away. Can you smell the circus, Chad? There's peanuts, cotton candy, hot dogs, and..." "Popcorn?" Chad finished. "Popcorn!" Pennywise repeated. "Is that your favorite?" "Uh-huh," Chad responded. "Mine too," Pennywise chuckled. "Because they pop, pop, pop!" Pennywise continued, imitating the sound of popping popcorn. "Pop!" Chad repeated, finding the clown's enthusiasm infectious. The popping soon turned into laughter, until Pennywise stop laughing and gave a threatening growl, ruining the fun atmosphere. Chad felt his anxiety returning again. "I, uh, I should get going now," he said. "Oh, without your boat?" Pennywise asked. He held up the missing boat. "You don't want to lose it, Chad. Nate's gonna kill you. Here, take it. Take it, Chad!" he demanded. Chad was feeling extremely uneasy. He wanted to just grab the boat and get out of there. He reached his hand into the storm drain. Pennywise suddenly opened his maw, exposing his cactus-like teeth, and bit Chad's arm, severing it from the rest of his body.

"Help!" Chad screamed. He slowly tried crawling away from the storm drain, but Pennywise reached out, grabbed his ankle, and helplessly pulled him back in. "NAAAAATE!" Chad screamed, his scream echoing through the empty street.