𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐄 - 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬

under the warm afternoon sun, chris, gordie, teddy, vern, and caroline gathered to embark on their adventure of finding ray brower's dead body. the train tracks awaited them, composed of wooden planks bordered by sturdy steel bars. they seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. they also held a mysterious allure, making it difficult to fathom that this winding path would lead the gang to the very discovery they sought. 

they came prepared. caroline and gordie wore their knapsacks on their backs, while chris, teddy, and vern had their sleeping bags draped over their shoulders, ready for the night ahead. additonally, gordie had a canteen slung over his arm.

as the gang ascended the rocky hill towards the tracks, vern couldn't help but to voice his curiosity.

"what do we need a pistol for anyway?"

chris, with a matter-of-fact response, explained, "it's spooky sleeping out at night in the woods. we might see a bear."

"or a garbage can," said gordie who was referring to the later incident.

the comment brought out chuckles from the group, and caroline appreciated how gordie could now reflect on the incident and crack a joke, instead of being ticked off.

then, the group walked in a straight line. their eyes were fixed on the train tracks that stretched ahead of them, surrounded by a sea of lush green trees, rocks, and dirt. the air was filled with anticipation.

in the midst of the quiet walk, vern pulled something white from his pocket. he held it up and cheerfully declared that he brought a comb.

chris curiously asked, "what do we need a comb for?"

without missing a beat, vern responded, "well, if we get on tv we wanna look good, don't we?"

caroline smiled at the boy and said, "that's some real smart thinkin', vern."

"thanks!"

teddy, who was sporting his olive green shirt and pants with thick black glasses dominating his face, playfully pretended to punch vern. in their usual goofball fashion, the two often found themselves fooling around, which added a lighthearted touch to the group dynamic.

"two for flinching," stated teddy, followed by two playful smacks on vern's arm.

"ow!"

the group then paused, standing at the start of their journey down the train tracks that led all the way to south harlow. the realization of what they were about to do settled in for the five of them. 

softly, teddy asked, "how far d'you think it's gonna be?"

chris, holding his sleeping bag, responded, "if we follow the tracks all the way into harlow, it might be around twenty miles. sound about right to you, gordie?"

caroline's eyebrows raised at the mention of twenty miles--a considerable distance on foot.

gordie replied, "yeah, yeah. it might even be thirty."

vern did not like the sound of that.

"gee, maybe we should just hitchhike."

teddy disagreed, "no way, that sucks."

after a moment of contemplation, caroline took the initiative to start walking.

"well," she paused, "let's get a move on."

the boys followed right behind her, their feet crunching on the rocky path beneath them. the adventure had officially begun.

as they continued walking, tessio expressed his reluctance to cover the twenty-mile distance.