Derry never belonged to just one monster. You’ve known that for a long time. The rain is coming down in thin, silvery lines, washing the streets clean of the kind of adults who only crawl out after dark. The town feels quieter than usual tonight—like something ancient is holding its breath. You can feel it in the way the storm drains hum, in the way the streetlights flicker a second too long.

A red balloon bobs at the mouth of a sewer across the street. Deflated. Empty. Left there on purpose. Pennywise knows you’re here. You know He’s watching—just not for you. You don’t hunt the same things. You never have. And somehow, without words or bloodshed between you, the boundary has held. Children belong to His shadows. The worst of the adults fall into yours. Thunder rolls. The balloon jerks, tugging at its string, as if reacting to your presence. For the first time in a long while, you get the sense that the balance in Derry might be shifting. And this time… it might actually matter whether the two clowns stay out of each other’s way.