STAND BY ME: Chapter 5
Chapter 5
THE DUMP
We reach the dump at about half past one. We slide down the side of the bank and walk towards it. The dump is surrounded by a high wire fence. There are signs. The signs say the dump opens from four to eight in the afternoon. No one can enter at any other time. NO TRESPASSING! We climb over the fence and jump down into the dump.
We go straight to the tap for water. It is the old kind of well that you have to pump to access the water. Teddy pushes down and pulls up on the pump handle. He is pumping very fast, like a wild person. Finally, clear water comes out of the tap. Vern puts his head under the water. It is cool and clear. Then Teddy begins to argue about who goes next.
“Teddy’s crazy,” I whisper to Chris. “I know it,” Chris says. “He won’t live to be twice the age he is now.” Then Chris has a strange look on his face. “Do you remember the time Teddy and me were in the tree?” he asks.
Last year, Teddy and Chris were climbing the big pine tree behind my house. They were near the top. Chris stopped. The branches above looked dry and weak. “We can’t go any higher,” he said. But Teddy got that hard, stubborn look on his face. “I’m going,” he says. “I want to touch the top.”
Chris told him to stop, but Teddy didn't listen. He climbed higher. And he made it to the top! Teddy was very light. He stood at the top, holding the tree with one hand. He shouted something loud and proud, like he was king of the world. Then…
There was a loud crack. The branch broke. Teddy fell. What happened next makes you think there really might be a God. It happened very fast. Chris moved without thinking. He acted only on reflex. He reached out and caught Teddy’s hair. He held on. Even though Chris could not use his hand for two weeks after the accident, he did not let go of Teddy’s hair. Teddy was screaming and swearing and cursing. His feet moved in the air. Then he found a strong branch and put his foot on it. He was safe.
If Chris had not caught him, Teddy would have fallen all the way down, forty meters below to the ground, hitting branches as he fell. When they came down from the tree, Chris was pale. He looked sick from fear. And Teddy was angry. He wanted to fight Chris because Chris pulled his hair. They almost fought. But I was there to make peace.
“I still dream about that day from time to time,” Chris says. “But in my dream, I don’t catch him. I always miss him. Teddy falls all the way to the ground, screaming. That’s a weird dream, isn’t it?” “Yeah, that’s weird,” I agree. “But you didn’t miss him, Chris,” I say. “Chris Chambers never misses.” For just one moment we look into each other’s eyes. We can see the important things that make us friends. Then we look at Teddy and Vern having a water fight at the tap.
While they argue and fight, I look around. There is so much stuff in the dump. It hurts my eyes to see it all. It feels like all of America is here. Everything people do not want anymore is here. There are animals too. But not nice animals like in films or zoos. These animals are wild. Town dogs come here. They fight each other for old meat.
But they never attack Milo Pressman, the man who works here, the dump manager. They don’t attack him because Milo always has his dog with him. The dog’s name is Chopper. Chopper is the most feared dog in all of Castle Rock. And he is also the least seen dog. People say many things about him. They say he is very big, very cruel, and very ugly. The meanest dog in one hundred kilometers. There are legends about Chopper. Most people say Milo trained Chopper to attack people. To sic them.
So if an unfortunate kid comes into the dump illegally when it is closed, they might hear Milo shout: “Chopper! Sic! Hand!” Then Chopper will grab the kid’s hand. He will rip skin and tendons and crush bones until Milo tells Chopper to stop.
People say Chopper can take anything — a hand, an ear, an eye, a foot, a leg. But if a kid is caught in the dump illegally a second time, they will hear the most feared cry: “Chopper! Sic! Balls!” Then that kid will be a soprano singer for the rest of his life.
Every kid in town fears that. Even Teddy is afraid of Chopper. But today, Milo and Chopper are not here. “Come on,” Chris says. “I’ll race you to the tap!” “In this heat?” I say. “You’re crazy.” “Come on, on my go.” “Okay,” I say. “Go!” We race to the tap. It is a tie! We both arrive at the same time. Teddy and Vern show us their middle fingers. We fall on the ground and laugh.
Chris and I drink water from the tap. After we drink water and throw some water at each other, we all sit under the only tree in the dump. “This is really a good time,” Vern says. He does not mean just the dump. He does not mean just walking on the tracks. He means everything. Right now, everything feels right. We know who we are. We know where we are going. It feels good. We sit there for a long time. The shadows grow longer.
Then we remember we need food. “The dump opens at four,” Vern says. “I don’t want to be here when Milo and Chopper get here.” “OK,” I say. “Odd man goes?” “That’s you, Gordie,” Chris says. “You’re odd all right.” I smile and give them each a coin for the coin toss. Whoever has the different face of the coin “loses”. They will have to go and get the food.
“Flip,” I say. The coins turn in the air. We catch them and slap them onto our wrists. We look. Two heads. Two tails. We flip again. Four tails. “Oh, Jesus, that’s bad luck,” Vern says. Four heads means very good luck. Four tails means very bad luck.
“Nobody believes that garbage,” Teddy says. “Come on, flip again.” We flip one more time. This time, Teddy, Chris and Vern all get tails. I get heads. Suddenly, I feel afraid. They still have the bad luck. Then Teddy laughs his wild laugh and points at me. “Eeee-eee-eee! Gordie’s going to get the food! Go on, Lachance, you loser!” The feeling of fear goes away. “Go and get the food!” Teddy shouts.
“Go on, Gordie,” Chris says. “We’ll wait by the tracks.” “You guys better not go on without me,” I say. Then I go. I never have any friends later like the ones I have when I am twelve. Do you?
