Want your boat, Georgie?' Pennywise asked. 'I only repeat myself because you really do not seem that eager.' He held it up, smiling. He was wearing a baggy silk suit with great big orange buttons. A bright tie, electric-blue, flopped down his front, and on his hands were big white gloves, like the kind Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck always wore. Yes, sure,' George said, looking into the stormdrain. And a balloon? I’ve got red and green and yellow and blue...' Do they float?' Float?' The clown’s grin widened. 'Oh yes, indeed they do. They float! And there’s cotton candy...' George reached. The clown seized his arm. And George saw the clown’s face change. What he saw then was terrible enough to make his worst imaginings of the thing in the cellar look like sweet dreams; what he saw destroyed his sanity in one clawing stroke. They float,' the thing in the drain crooned in a clotted, chuckling voice. It held George’s arm in its thick and wormy grip, it pulled George toward that terrible darkness where the water rushed and roared and bellowed as it bore its cargo of storm debris toward the sea. George craned his neck away from that final blackness and began to scream into the rain, to scream mindlessly into the white autumn sky which curved above Derry on that day in the fall of 1957. His screams were shrill and piercing, and all up and down Witcham Street people came to their windows or bolted out onto their porches. They float,' it growled, 'they float, Georgie, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too–' George's shoulder socked against the cement of the curb and Dave Gardener, who had stayed home from his job at The Shoeboat that day because of the flood, saw only a small boy in a yellow rain-slicker, a small boy who was screaming and writhing in the gutter with muddy water surfing over his face and making his screams sound bubbly. Everything down here floats,' that chuckling, rotten voice whispered, and suddenly there was a ripping noise and a flaring sheet of agony, and George Denbrough knew no more. Dave Gardener was the first to get there, and although he arrived only forty-five seconds after the first scream, George Denbrough was already dead. Gardener grabbed him by the back of the slicker, pulled him into the street...and began to scream himself as George's body turned over in his hands. The left side of George’s slicker was now bright red. Blood flowed into the stormdrain from the tattered hole where his left arm had been. A knob of bone, horribly bright, peeked through the torn cloth. The boy’s eyes stared up into the white sky, and as Dave staggered away toward the others already running pell-mell down the street, they began to fill with rain.
Stephen King
Related I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES What are you smiling at?” I whirled, peering into the gloom. The Darkling’s voice se... LEIGH BARDUGO Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines he wrote a poem And he called it "Chops"... STEPHEN CHBOSKY He couldn't take his eye off that dragon There was something odd about the swaying of his tail<... L'PONI BALDWIN A Boat O beautiful was the werewolf in his evil forest. We took him t... RICHARD BRAUTIGAN I saw his face change. His eyes widen. He lunged at me. I wouldn't let go. We... KAMI GARCIA Hunter woke suddenly. A noise. It was a noise unlike anything he’d ever heard before. Close! ... MICHAEL GRANT Did you learn the rotation of the border patrols?’ said Laurent. ‘Yes, our scouts fou... C.S. PACAT While walking in a toy store The day before today, I overheard a Crayon Box With many thin... ANON. The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was covered in blood. The second thi... MICHELLE HODKIN God saw Hansen tighten his chokehold on Day and he could see his lover fighting to breathe. Day’s ... A.E. VIA The only ghosts, I believe, who creep into this world, are dead young mothers, returned to see... J.M. BARRIE Valkyrie Cain got out of the passenger side. She zipped up her black jacket against the cold, a... DEREK LANDY The little boy was looking for his voice. (The king of the crickets had it.) In a drop of ... FEDERICO GARCíA LORCA So are you going to tell me why Ronowski pulled you into the break room when we got back today?” G... A.E. VIA Promise me we'll stay together, okay?" His eyes are once again the clear blue of a perfectly transpa... LAUREN OLIVER Buckley followed the three of them into the kitchen and asked, as he had at least once a day, “Whe... ALICE SEBOLD Lennie rolled off the bunk and stood up, and the two of them started for the door. Just as they reac... JOHN STEINBECK Hardly had the light been extinguished, when a peculiar trembling began to affect the netting u... VICTOR HUGO Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen ... WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS When Pidge wakes up, let me know, okay?” he said in a soft voice. “I got spaghetti, and pan... JAMIE MCGUIRE Tohrment spoke. "Bella's brother called. He's tabled the sehelusion request and asked that she stay ... J.R. WARD We were both quiet a long time and I was about to fall back asleep in the curve of his arm with his ... KRISTEN ASHLEY After a while Mary said, “Zsadist?” “Yeah?” “What are those markings... J.R. WARD The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make... LEWIS CARROLL Take off your shirt," I said, sitting up and pulling at the hem of the garment. "Why?" he... DIANA GABALDON Stop fighting me!" he said, trying to pull on the arm he held. He was in a precarious pos... RICHELLE MEAD He reached over and took Taylor’s hand. She did not pull her hand away. He moved his hand up ... MICHAEL GRANT So, what did you think of the Unseelie Court?" A slow, wicked smile spread on his face. "... HOLLY BLACK She stared into his eyes and announced, “A good-bye kiss.” It was at that Raid stopped dead... KRISTEN ASHLEY As he looked around the huge ducal bed, he saw everything that meant the world to him. Out... CHARLOTTE FEATHERSTONE According to the conventions of the genre, Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did... JOHN GREEN England once there lived a big And wonderfully clever pig. To everybody it was plain ... ROALD DAHL Villanelle - Roland Leighton Violets from Plug Street Wood, Sweet, I send you overse... ROLAND LEIGHTON Now from his breast into the eyes the ache of longing mounted, and he wept at last, his de... HOMER Season late, day late, sun just down, and the sky Cold gunmetal but with a wash of live rose, a... ROBERT PENN WARREN You know," Cecily said, "you really didn't have to throw that man through the window." "He wasn... CASSANDRA CLARE And everyone saw me. Tobias saw me. I hear footsteps. Tobias marches toward me and wrench... VERONICA ROTH She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes -- her eyes are just like mine, Harr... J.K. ROWLING Syn paid the bill and they headed to the door with lust so thick around them, Syn couldn’t help bu... A.E. VIA It's probably for the best, I told myself. How would I have said goodbye to Mal anyway? Thanks fo... LEIGH BARDUGO Stop!” she screamed. “Don’t hurt him.” “Back off!” Billy shouted. ... KASI BLAKE You are real," she said to herself. "Aye." His voice was deep and resonant, a caress in h... J.R. WARD THERE was a man in our town, and he was wondrous rich; He gave away his millions to the colleges... FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS He grasped her by the wrist , running a thumb along the sensitive skin underneath. "Then let me call... SARAH J. MAAS He stopped the flyers And by his rare example made the coward Turn terror into sport. As w... WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Alan Campbell opened one eye. From somewhere in remote distances, muffled beyond sight or... JOHN DICKSON CARR The Chorus Line: The Birth of Telemachus, An Idyll Nine months he sailed the wine-red sea... MARGARET ATWOOD Mom?” he whispered. “Dad?” They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry look... J.K. ROWLING Is Jase already gonna marry you?” I start coughing again. “Uh, No. No, George. I’m... HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK Last night the rain spoke to me slowly, saying, what joy to come falling MARY OLIVER What. Are. You. Doing. Here?” Day snapped each word this time. "You’re not the only o... A.E. VIA The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on. He took a face from the ancient gallery THE DOORS I was only a child when I learned how to fly I wanted to touch the colors of... TIFFANIE DEBARTOLO I let my head fall forward into his shoulder, breathing in his scent. "Now what do we do?" JESSICA SORENSEN The Lord builds up Jerusalem, And gathers nations to his Name: His mercy melts the stubborn so... ISAAC WATTS Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead ... J.K. ROWLING Unreal City, Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so ... T.S. ELIOT For strangely graven Is the orb of life, that one and another In gold and power may outp... EURIPIDES Caged Bird A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream ti... MAYA ANGELOU Relegated as he was to a corner and as though sheltered behind the billiard table, the soldiers, the... VICTOR HUGO Start by pulling him out of the fire and hoping that he will forget the smell. He was supp... CAITLYN SIEHL You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Travis! I don’t belong to you!” In the second ... JAMIE MCGUIRE Her heart pounded as the door lifted and Hunter got out dressed in faded jeans, a gray and black v-n... SHERRILYN KENYON Across the Reich, the Gestapo recorded increased the activity of anti-state elements. It’s ki... ANTON SCHULZ Drake's whip hand spun Diana like a top. She cried out. That sound, her cry, pierced Caine like... MICHAEL GRANT She chuckled, leaned on him as they headed out of the park. “All in all, it was a hell of a party.... J.D. ROBB He was a strong and noble lord with piercing eyes of grey. He sat upon his noble throne shinin... LAUREL A. ROCKEFELLER Percy, let me go" she croaked. "You can't pull me up." His face was white with effort. She coul... RICK RIORDAN Was I not tempting enough?” I asked him. “Not classy enough?” I didn’t expect hi... CHLOE NEILL Lea stood upon a fallen log ahead of us, staring ahead. Mouse walked up to her. Gggrrrr r... JIM BUTCHER I saw a picture of you and Vincent in a 1968 newspaper that said you died in a fire," I said, turnin... AMY PLUM The Journey One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, thou... MARY OLIVER All right, then,” she snapped, “do as you please! Perhaps afterward we could manage a coherent d... LISA KLEYPAS He tried to measure his day by tallying the hours on his wrist. I wiped it off and called... KAMAND KOJOURI The little group before her finally moved on and Sarah took its place, standing before Tom like he w... BONNIE DEE Perplext in faith, but pure in deeds, At last he beat his music out. There lives more fait... ALFRED TENNYSON The old women in black at early Mass in winter are a problem for him. He could tell by their ey... JACK GILBERT Saiman reached into the trunk and pulled out a pink tulle tutu. “No.” “Yes.” ILONA ANDREWS In the Desert In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, Who, squ... STEPHEN CRANE You’re stuck,” I blurted, his grin died and he blinked. “Come again?” I swallowed,... KRISTEN ASHLEY In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial, Who, squatting upon the ground, Held his... STEPHEN CRANE What,” Mick said softly, “is Lad doin’ in me bed?” Hearing his name, Lad opened s... ELIZABETH HOYT Name one hero who was happy." I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lo... MADELINE MILLER I have the reports from Gemson and Boyd,” Syn replied. His boots were up on the corner of his desk... A.E. VIA Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of ... LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the ... WILLIAM COWPER Puck threw Ash a mocking smile. “You look like crap, Prince. Did you miss me?” Ash fro... JULIE KAGAWA That dog is a wolf, is he not?' 'Aye, well, mostly.' A small flash of hazel to... DIANA GABALDON And then that voice from behind her said her name again. "Celaena." They had d... SARAH J. MAAS Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, The emptiness ... EDWIN MARKHAM All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits a... WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Once upon a time there was a young prince who believed in all things but three. He did not believe i... JOHN FOWLES One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept s... MARY OLIVER And then we jerked to a stop. Jared was blocking the exit. "Have you lost your mind, Ian?" he asked,... STEPHENIE MEYER The Rider A boy told me if he roller-skated fast enough his loneliness c... NAOMI SHIHAB NYE The Poet With His Face In His Hands You want to cry aloud for your mistakes.... MARY OLIVER The Children's Hour Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning t... HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW The little boy who never grew up, He trapped the frog and kills the rat, He flew a kite, t... QUETZAL A Faint Music by Robert Hass Maybe you need to write a poem about grace. ROBERT HASS
More Stephen King
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When it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it... STEPHEN KING A mind's frigidity: frozen steel, dark rage, morbidity. Cold fire. STEPHEN KING Television is all right, I’ve nothing against it, but I don’t like how it turns you away from th... STEPHEN KING Garraty wondered how it would be, to lie in the biggest, dustiest library silence of all, dreaming e... STEPHEN KING I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. STEPHEN KING No, it's not a very good story - its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as ... STEPHEN KING The devil's voice is sweet to hear. STEPHEN KING The soil of a man’s heart is stonier; a man grows what he can and tends it. STEPHEN KING Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret. STEPHEN KING God always punishes us for what we can't imagine. STEPHEN KING I realized the shells were talking in a voice I recognized. I should have; it was my own. Had I alwa... STEPHEN KING Mrs. Cole was a perfect democrat. She hated all kids equally. STEPHEN KING Everything's a lot tougher when it's for real. That's when you choke. When it's for real. STEPHEN KING Calling it a simple schoolgirl crush was like saying a Rolls-Royce was a vehicle with four wheels, s... STEPHEN KING Come on back and we’ll see if you remember the simplest thing of all – how it is to be children,... STEPHEN KING Your hair is winter fire January embers My heart burns there, too. STEPHEN KING It took me twenty years of living with my father to accept the idea that being good could be good en... STEPHEN KING When all else fails, give up and go to the library. STEPHEN KING Party lights hang over the street, yellow and red and green. Sadie stumbles over someone’s chair, ... STEPHEN KING Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?" He stared at me, baffle... STEPHEN KING Kids, fiction is the truth inside the lie, and the truth of this fiction is simple enough: the magic... STEPHEN KING I think that real friendship always makes us feel such sweet gratitude, because the world almost alw... STEPHEN KING Without his even being aware that it was happening, Paul's face rearranged itself into the expressio... STEPHEN KING I was in enough to get along with people. I was never socially inarticulate. Not a loner. And that s... STEPHEN KING There were people who lied for gain, people who lied from pain, people who lied simply because the c... STEPHEN KING Life is like Friday on a soap opera. It gives you the illusion that everything is going to wrap up, ... STEPHEN KING Love leaves scars. STEPHEN KING When you're five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the tim... STEPHEN KING The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them. STEPHEN KING Sometimes [...] real love is silent as well as blind. STEPHEN KING He killed them with their love STEPHEN KING Home is where they want you to stay longer. STEPHEN KING For God’s sake, Larry, grow up. Develop a little self-righteousness. A lot of that is an ugly thin... STEPHEN KING He was a poet who sometimes taught Free University classes or travelled in the western states of Uta... STEPHEN KING She's the Queen Bitch of Castle Hell. If you mess with her, she'll eat you alive. STEPHEN KING When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "One word at a time," and the answer is invaria... STEPHEN KING Get busy living or get busy dying. STEPHEN KING Good books are for consideration after, too. STEPHEN KING And didn't they say that, although curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought the beast back? STEPHEN KING Churchbells were calling the faithful to worship, and outside it was a beautiful day STEPHEN KING I know your mother lives in your head - almost everyone's mother does, I guess - but you can't let h... STEPHEN KING