It works for them... why not?

The Body

The Body

Gordie continued walking with his head down, until the group finally reached the road to Harlow. They began searching the area, until finally Vern exclaimed -There he is! I see him! Look! Look over there! I see him! I see him!-

And then, with great dismay, they walked to the nearby river and there they saw it, among the bushes. As they moved aside the branches, they found the body.

To say they were stunned was an understatement. The color drained completely from their faces, and they looked disgusted. Vern walked a few steps away and, with a loud gag, pulled the hamburger he had eaten the night before out of his stomach.

Teddy asked -What the hell... what kind of train was that?- with obvious disgust, clearly wanting to back away and imitate Vern.

Chris replied angrily -Don't be stupid... a train didn't do this-

Ray Brower's face was contorted with complete terror; his jaw was dislocated, both arms and legs were bent in impossible ways... and both eyes were gouged out, as if fingers had driven them into his skull.

Chris swallowed hard, saying -Someone did this- Vern and Teddy reluctantly nodded.

Teddy asked -What do we do now?- Chris looked visibly disturbed, but he took a deep breath and replied -We have to tell the police... grab some branches, we'll make a stretcher-

The other two boys moved quickly. The only one who hadn't moved since he saw him was Gordie, who, still bewildered, walked a little farther and sat down on a fallen log and asked aloud - Why did he have to die, Chris?-

Chris told them to go ahead and get the branches, and while he sat down next to Gordie, who was still wondering why "he" had to die, and clearly wasn't referring to the boy in front of them.

Gordie murmured - It should have been me...- Chris immediately retorted angrily -Don't say that- He said - I'm no good. My dad said it, I'm no good -

The blond boy calmly explains -He doesn't know you- The brown-haired boy shrinks back and murmurs -He hates me... he hates me- while his friend hugs him and repeats that it isn't true.

Gordie, sobbing, says -My dad doesn't love me... he would have preferred me to die and Denny to live, Mom too, and everyone else...-

Chris replies -To hell with them all... You gonna be a great writer someday, Gordie. You might even write about us guys if you ever get hard up for material.... whatever happens, I'll be here, okay? I'll...-

But Gordie interrupts him, still crying -I'm moving-

Chris whispered -What...?- The sound of surprise coming from the bushes made it clear that this wasn't just a one-on-one conversation.

But they ignored him, and Gordie continued -Mom says she can't stand him anymore. She's going to Indiana with Grandma. She says I can go if I want... but I think she only said that because I caught her packing-

Chris, also fighting back tears, asked -Are you going?-

Gordie lowered his head and said desperately -I can't stay here with him, Chris... I can't. Every time he looks at me...- and he began to sob again.

Chris, with obvious pain in his expression, only pulled him closer to the hug. Teddy and Vern, very uncomfortable, emerged from the bushes and joined the group hug.

Then a voice behind them said angrily -What the fuck do you know about this? -

It was Ace, who was approaching them along with Billy and Eyeball. The group of children quickly relaxed and looked at them nervously.

Then Teddy said hesitantly -Wait... this is good- Then he looked at the group of older boys and said -This isn't what we thought it was-

Ace, clearly disgusted, asks -What the hell are you talking about, Four-Eyes?- He points to the body and says –Look-

They approach Ray Brower, and Ace, still disgusted, remarks -Ugh, what the hell... DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?- asking Eyeball.

Eyeball shrugs, startled, even dropping his cigarette, and says -No... no, it was in the branches, we didn't get a good look. What the hell?-

Teddy starts to say -We have to get him out of here, and you guys have a car, we could...- but Ace immediately cuts him off -FORGET IT... we have to get rid of it-

Vern asked, startled -What?- and Teddy added, bewildered -What the hell are you talking about?-

Even Billy, confused, asked -Dude, what are you doing? That's not what we agreed on- But Ace, indifferent, asked -That was when it was an accident. THIS is homicide. And who do you think old Clint Bowers is going to blame when we tell him the Castle Rock gang "found" him?-

Vern's brother seemed to be having an internal argument until, defeated, he nodded to his friend. Ace said -Grab his legs... we'll throw it into the Royal. With any luck, it'll carry it far enough away that he won't have to...-

But Chris stepped between them and the body and said -You can't do this. The police need to see this. Whoever did this is still...-

But Ace, ignoring him, added disdainfully -Take care of your... little brothers- as he walked toward the body. While they chased after him, he bent down, but just before placing a hand on the corpse...

The sound of a gunshot shattered the atmosphere. When everyone turned, they saw Gordie holding the revolver up in the air and then lowering it to point it at the group of older boys.

Then he declared with conviction -You're not taking HIM. An' nobody is taking him- Ace tried to regain control of the situation, even attempting to emotionally manipulate him with the memory of his brother.

This only enraged Gordie further, who declared -Suck my fat one you cheap dime-store hood-

Seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, Ace nods his head and the other boys head back to the car.

He turns around, but Gordie stops him -Stop... my hat, put it on the ground- Ace glares at him angrily, but finally throws it down and adds - We're not gonna forget this if that's what you think... and you'd better not tell anyone we were here- Finally, he follows the rest of his group.

Nobody moves until they hear the car drive away.

Chris turns to his friend and exclaims -Suck my fat one? Who ever told you had a fat one, Lachance? - To which Gordie replies -Biggest one in four counties-

The four boys surrounded the body, and Vern asked -Should we take it?- Gordie shook his head, and Teddy commented -Ace's an idiot... but he was right, they'll blame whoever finds it-

Then Gordie took his cap and put it on, spread out his blanket, and they covered the body.

"In the end, we decided that an anonymous call from a payphone was the best thing to do... but something strange happened. As far as I know, they never found the body, there was no news about it, we thought they'd ignored us... but then Teddy called me to say he'd gone back alone to look for it... and it wasn't there anymore."

Okay, I know it's not what many of you were expecting, but as I said, this isn't a "watching" video. I promise your comments won't be ignored; I analyze every idea in depth, but some just don't fit with my narrative. I'm sorry.

And I suppose you can already guess what happened to Ray Brower in this universe.

We're nearing the end. Next up is the end of the movie (plus a post-credits scene). Then we'll return to Liam, and we'll move on to something I think no one will see coming, but I hope you enjoy it.

Give me Votes and add Libraries.

Criticism and comments are welcome.