STAND BY ME: Chapter 4
Chapter 4
THE TRAIN TRACKS
My room is on the second floor, and it is very hot. I am glad I am not sleeping there tonight. When I think about where we are going, I feel excited again. I roll up two blankets and tie them with an old belt. I take all my money. It is less than a dollar. Then I am ready.
I go down the back stairs because I do not want to see my dad. I walk along Carbine Street to the treehouse. Then Chris runs up behind me. His eyes are bright. “Gordie! Do you want to see something?” “Sure. What?” “Come down here first.”
He points to an alley between two shops. “What is it, Chris?” “Come on!” He runs, and I run after him. At the end of the alley, the smell is terrible. “Chris, I think I’m going to puke!” But then I stop. Chris puts his hand in his backpack and pulls out a big gun. “Do you want to be the Lone Ranger or the Cisco Kid?” he says with a grin.
“Jesus, Chris, where did you get that?” “From my dad’s desk.” “Man, your dad’s going to beat you when he finds out.” Chris just smiles. “He isn’t going to find out. He and his friends are drunk. I’ll put it back before then.” Chris hates alcohol. He has seen what it can do. He is the only one in our group who does not drink beer.
“Do you have bullets?” I ask. “Nine,” he says. My dad will think he used them.” “Are there any bullets in it now?” “No, of course not.” I take the gun. It feels heavy in my hand. I feel like a man from a story. I point it at a big metal can full of garbage. I pull the trigger. KA-BLAM!
The gun jumps in my hand. Fire comes out of it. My wrist feels like it is broken. My heart jumps into my throat. A big hole appears in the can, like evil magic. “Jesus!” I shout. Chris is laughing loudly. “You did it! Gordie Lachance is shooting Castle Rock! Be careful!” “Shut up! Let’s go!” I shout.
I grab him. I give the gun back. He puts it in his backpack. We run out of the alley. When we reach the street, we walk slowly. We do not want anyone to see us. Chris is still laughing. “You should have seen your face,” he says. “That was great.” “You knew there was a bullet in it, didn’t you?” I say. “That was a bad trick.” “I didn’t know, Gordie. Really. I just took it. My dad always takes the bullets out. Maybe he forgot.”
He looks innocent. When we arrive at the treehouse, Vern and Teddy are there. Chris starts laughing again and tells them everything. They laugh too. Then Teddy asks why we needed a gun. “Nothing,” Chris says. “Maybe for a wild animal. The forest is scary at night.” We all agree. Chris is the strongest in our group. “Did you put the tent in the field?” Teddy asks Vern. “Yes,” Vern says. “I put two lamps inside. It will look like we are in the tent at night.” “Great!” I say. “So let’s go,” Teddy says. “It’s almost twelve.”
Chris stands up. We all stand around him. “We walk across Beeman’s field,” he says. “Then we go to the railway tracks and cross the bridge to Harlow.” “How far is it?” Teddy asks. “I don’t know,” Chris says. “Maybe 30 kilometers. What do you think, Gordie?”
“Yeah. Maybe more. Forty kilometers.” “Even thirty is okay,” Chris says. “We can get there tomorrow, if no one is a pussy.” “No pussies here,” Teddy says. “Miaow,” Vern says. We all laugh. “Come on,” Chris says. He picks up his backpack, blankets, and water bottle. And we go.
It is very hot by the time we reach the train tracks. We are sweating a lot. The train tracks are raised on a high bank of earth. We climb up the bank and stand there, looking down the tracks. I will never forget this moment.
My watch shows twelve o’clock. The sun is very strong. Behind us is Castle Rock, the town where we grew up. There are houses and schools and businesses. And the factories, with smoke polluting the sky and waste going into the river.
In front of us are the railway tracks. The sun shines on the metal. It feels like the tracks are calling us. The river is on our left. On our right, there is empty land with small bushes. We stand there for one quiet moment. Then Chris says, “Come on, let’s go.”
We start walking along the tracks. Our feet kick up black dust. Vern starts singing, but soon stops. That is better. Only Chris and Teddy have water bottles. We all drink from them. “We can get more water at the dump,” I say. “There is a tap there. My dad told me.” “OK,” Chris says. “We can rest there too.”
“What about food?” Teddy says suddenly. “I didn’t bring anything.” Chris stops walking. “Shit! I didn’t bring any food either. Gordie?” I shake my head. I feel stupid. “Vern?” “Nothing,” Vern says. “Sorry.” “Let’s see how much money we have,” I say.
We take all the money we have out of our pockets, and put it all onto my shirt. Vern does not give me his money immediately. He looks nervous. Finally, he puts his coins in my hand. “Seven cents, Vern?” I say. “I still haven’t found my pennies yet,” he says. I add all the coins up.
We have about two and a half dollars. “Not bad,” I say. “There is a shop near the dump. One of us can buy some hamburger meat and Cokes.” “Who?” Vern asks. “We flip a coin when we get there.” I take the money and put it in my pocket. Then Chris shouts, “Train!”
I put my hand on the track. I can feel it shaking. I can already hear the train. Chris and Vern jump down the bank. The train is loud now. But Teddy does not move. He turns and looks at the train. The sun shines on his thick glasses. “Come on, Teddy,” I say.
“No. I’m going to wait until it is close, then jump.” He looks excited. “Trucks are nothing. I’m going to dodge a train!” “You’re crazy! Do you want to die?” “Just like on the beaches at Normandy!” Teddy shouts. For a moment, I cannot move. I cannot believe what he is doing. The train is very loud now. And very close.
Then I grab him. I pull him off the tracks. He fights with me the whole time. Then I push him over the edge of the bank. I jump down after him. We crash into each other at the bottom of the bank. We fall and start fighting. We roll on the ground. We hit and scratch. “You little son of a bitch!” Teddy shouts. “Don’t act big with me! I’ll kill you!” Teddy moves forward, swinging his arms crazily.
“Teddy!” I shout. I move out of the way of one of his punches. “You can dodge whatever you want later. We came to find the Brower kid. But we can’t let anyone see us. We’re not supposed to be out here! Do you understand?”
Chris and Vern pull us apart. Chris holds Teddy until he is calm. Teddy stands there. His glasses are bent and hanging from one side. “He is just trying to help you,” Chris says. “Come on, you guys, peace. Peace.“ “Ok,” I say. I put my hand out with the palm up. “Peace, Teddy?” I say. “You know I could have dodged the train, Gordie,” Teddy says. “Yeah, I know,” I say.
The idea terrifies me. “Okay, peace, then,” Teddy says. “But you’re a pussy, Lachance.” He slaps my open hand with his hand. We are now at peace. “Come on, you guys,” Vern says. “Let’s go.”
