James and Ash decided to start by visiting the local library to learn more about Derry's history. As they drove through the quiet streets, everything looked normal, but James couldn't shake the feeling that the town was hiding something.
The library, a large brick building covered in ivy, was quiet inside, with the faint smell of old books. While Ash approached the librarian to ask for help with local records, James wandered through the aisles.
As James flipped through a book, he heard someone nearby say, "Crazy stuff happened here."
Looking over, he saw a boy, around twelve or thirteen, sitting at a table with a book titled A History of Derry.
James walked over. "Hey, kid," he said. "Did you just say something about crazy stuff happening here?"
The boy looked up, slightly surprised but calm. "Yeah, this town has a messed-up history," he said. "Who are you?"
"Name's Harry," he replied, sitting down. "I'm looking into the weird stuff happening around here. You seem to know something."
The boy hesitated, then shrugged. "I'm Ben. I've been reading about this place for a while. A lot of bad things have happened in Derry for as long as anyone can remember."
"Like what?" James asked.
Ben turned a page to an old photo of a burned-down factory. "There was a fire at the Kitchener Ironworks during an Easter egg hunt. A lot of people died."
James frowned. "Was it an accident?"
Ben shook his head. "That's what people say, but there's always stories like that—'accidents,' people disappearing, or going crazy."
"What do you mean?" James pressed.
Ben lowered his voice. "People still go missing, and it's like the town forgets after a while. Nobody talks about it."
James studied the boy. "And you think all this is connected?"
Ben nodded. "It feels like it. Something bad keeps happening here, and no one does anything to stop it."
James leaned back, impressed. "You're sharp for a kid."
Ben gave a small smile. "You notice things when you don't fit in."
Before James could respond, Ash walked over with a stack of books.
"Making friends, James?" Ash asked, glancing at Ben.
"This is Ben," James said. "He knows a lot about the town's history."
Ash nodded. "Anything we should check out?"
Ben thought for a moment. "The archives are in the basement, but good luck—most of it's falling apart."
"Thanks," James said, standing up. "Take care of yourself, kid."
Ben nodded as James and Ash headed toward the basement stairs.
---
The basement was dimly lit and filled with dusty newspapers and fragile documents. James and Ash began combing through the records, finding stories about disappearances, murders, and disasters spanning decades.
"Every few decades," Ash muttered, "this town has another tragedy."
James held an article about the Kitchener Ironworks fire. "There's no pattern—just one terrible thing after another."
Ash sighed. "This isn't a normal hunt. Whatever's behind this has been here for a long time."
James nodded. "We need to figure out what it is. It's not going to stop on its own."
Just as they were about to leave the basement, the air felt strange. It was as if the whole room had frozen in place. Then, James and Ash both heard a faint sound. They turned and saw a bright red balloon floating toward them, moving unnaturally slow, like it was being pulled by some invisible force.
James frowned. "What the hell?" he whispered, staring at the balloon.
Ash quickly glanced around, his hand going to the pocket where he kept salt. "It's a trap. Get ready," he murmured.
Before either of them could react, the balloon rushed toward them at incredible speed, closing the distance in an instant. With a loud pop, the balloon exploded, and from the burst, a grotesque clown head appeared. Its face was pale, with a huge red smile that stretched far too wide. Its eyes were black, empty holes, and its mouth was filled with hundreds of sharp, gleaming teeth. The head lunged at them with a terrible snarl, its mouth wide open, ready to attack.
James froze. His legs gave way beneath him, and he fell back, landing hard on the floor. Fear gripped him. He could hardly breathe, his eyes wide in terror as the clown's head came closer. He fumbled, unable to move or react fast enough.
Ash, however, wasn't frozen by fear. He quickly pulled out a flask of salt from his coat and threw it at the clown head. The salt hit it, and immediately the clown head stopped, frozen in place.
The room went silent for a moment, but then the clown head sneezed, a loud, messy sound that filled the air. It followed with a disturbing, high-pitched laugh, and then, in a flash, it disappeared, leaving behind only the smell of stale popcorn.
James sat on the floor, his chest heaving with fear. Sweat ran down his face, and he couldn't shake the feeling of terror that still gripped him. It was hard to focus, his heart still racing as the image of the clown head lingered in his mind. He was trying to calm himself, but the embarrassment of how scared he'd been was starting to sink in.
Ash watched him with an amused grin. "You okay, dude?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You look like you just saw your wife with another man!"
James blinked, starting to regain his composure. He slowly stood up, brushing himself off, trying to act normal. His heart was still pounding, but the embarrassment burned more than the fear now.
James wiped his brow, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, just a little... caught off guard," he muttered, embarrassed. "Clowns, man. They're like, the worst."
Ash chuckled. "Who knew the fireman was afraid of some freaking clowns?" He grinned, clearly enjoying the situation.
James' face turned bright red as Ash teased him. "Oh, shut up. I wasn't scared. I just—wasn't expecting... that."
Ash chuckled, giving James a playful shove. "Yeah, right. You look like you're ready to cry in the corner. 'I wasn't scared,' huh?"
Ash continued with a grin. "Don't worry, man. I got your back. Just try not to make it so obvious next time. We're supposed to be the tough hunters, not the ones getting scared by clowns."
James couldn't say anything to that as he really hated clowns. Ghosts, demons, even monsters didn't scare him, but clowns? That was a whole different story. There was something about their big, fake smiles, the painted faces, and how they just stood there, waiting. It felt like they weren't even human—just creepy versions of happiness. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He didn't even like seeing the normal in person or on TV, let alone having one with thousands of teeths appear right in front of him like that.
"I swear," James muttered, shaking his head. "Clowns should be banned from existence."
Ash laughed, clearly enjoying James' discomfort. "I think you're gonna need some serious therapy for that one, man."
James scanned the basement again with his Essence sense, hoping to pick up something unusual. He was used to keeping his Essence sense active at all times, as it didn't take much energy and replenished quickly. But this time, he didn't feel anything strange. This either meant that everything they saw was an illusion, or the clown was much stronger than he thought and could hide from his ability.
He quickly urged Ash to leave, not wanting to stay in that creepy basement any longer. The two of them hurried out of the library and into the car.
As they sat in the car, Ash started the engine, still thinking about what had just happened. "That wasn't a spirit," he said, glancing at James. "The salt didn't even work on it."
James raised an eyebrow. "Then why'd it leave?"
Ash shrugged, tapping the steering wheel. "I dunno… maybe it wasn't even really here."
James frowned. "What do you think it could be?"
Ash chuckled. "Man, you really aren't reading those hunter manuals, huh?"
James rolled his eyes. "Just tell me already."
Ash thought for a second. "Could be a lot of things. Maybe a poltergeist—those things can mess with you without being physical. Or a trickster, like a Loki-type. Or, hell, it could be something like a manifestation of fear. This town's got a history of weird stuff, man."
James nodded slowly, absorbing what Ash was saying. "We need to look into it a little more before we try to figure out what it really is."
"I guess," James said, leaning back in his seat. "Let's just circle the town, like we talked about."
Ash nodded and pulled out into the street, driving through Derry's quiet, creepy roads. As they cruised through town, they spotted a group of kids on a bridge, laughing and playing. But something felt off. One of the kids was holding a knife, and there was a tense vibe in the air.
James's instincts kicked in. He pulled over to the side of the road. "Something's wrong here," he muttered.
Ash squinted at the group. "Yeah, this doesn't look good."
They got out of the car and headed toward the bridge. As they got closer, they saw that one of the kids, Ben, was being pushed around by the others. He was trying to fight back, but the bullies weren't stopping. James's stomach sank when he saw the knife glinting in the sunlight. This wasn't just some bullying—it was bad news.
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