SHE WAS FEARLESS ~ CHRIS CHAMBERS

Not If I See You First

~ Gordie's P.O.V ~

Ray Brower's body was found, but neither our gang nor their gang got the credit. We decided an anonymous phone call was the best thing to do. We headed home, and although many thoughts raced through our minds, we barely spoke.

We walked through the night and made it back to Castle Rock a little past five o'clock on Sunday morning, the day before Labour Day.
We'd only been gone for two days, but some how the town seemed different. Smaller.

"Well, see you in school." Vern broke the silence.

The five of us sent each other weary glances.

"Yeah." Chris and I said simultaneously.

"See you soon, Vern." Skye nodded, smiling weakly.

"See you in Junior High." Teddy brought up, making us think about how much we've grown together. The five of us felt like completely different people.

Vern walked away, our eyes glued to him as he kneeled down on the pavement. "Penny!"

"Well guys, I better get home before my mom puts me on ten most wanted list." Teddy almost chuckled, heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly, he turned around.

"Hey, Chris?"

They shared a look.

"No hard feelings, okay."

Chris smirked.

"No way man."

He walked off, singing Half Gun Will Travel as last three of us trudged forward.

As time went on, we saw less and less of Teddy and Vern until eventually, they just became two more faces in the halls. Although Skye made an effort to keep the group together, life just goes on. Friends come in and out of your life like bus boys in a restaurant.

I heard that Vern got married out of high school, had four kids, and is now the forklift operator at the Arsenal Lumberyard.

Teddy tried plenty of times to get into the army, but his eyes and ears kept him out. Last I heard, he'd spent some time in jail. He was now doing odd jobs around Castle Rock.

The three of us stood in a straight line, overlooking the artsy horizon. We stayed silent for the longest time.

"I should probably get going, I shouldn't have been gone this long. Have a good night guys." Skye sighed, dark circles forming under her eyes. She turned her heel, slowly making her way down the path.

Skye's someone I reconnect with constantly. We keep in touch from time to time, catching up and reminiscing over our years together. She's important to me, a sister you might say. I've tried calling her multiple times after the incident, and she finally picked up a couple of days ago. We talked for hours on end.

Growing up, I'd always thought Skye was fearless, a force to be reckoned with. However, when she opened up to me during that dreary Monday morning, she made me realize otherwise.

When it came to Chris Chambers, she was absolutely terrified

"I'm never gonna get out of this town, am I, Gordie?" Chris thought aloud, reluctant to meet my eyes.

"You can do anything you want man." I told him, speaking from the bottom of my heart.

"Yeah, sure." He scoffed, momentarily doubting himself.

He turned to face me, revealing a genuine look of hope. "Give me some skin."

"I'll see you."

He smirked, both of us completely aware of how special we'd been to each other.

"Not if I see you first."

Chris did get out. He enrolled in the college courses with Skye and I. And although it was hard, he gutted it through like he always did.

Wearing a wide grin, he caught up with his future wife, jokily bumping into her.

"Careful, Chambers, I'm tougher than I look."

"What d'you mean? I've always seen you as unstoppable?"

He faded off into the distance.

Last week, he entered a fast food restaurant. Just ahead of him, two men got into an argument. One of them pulled a knife.

Chris, who would always make the best of peace, tried to break it up.

He was stabbed in the throat.

He died almost instantly.

~

"Dad can we go now?"

"You ready?"

"Yeah, we've been ready for an hour. Do I have to pack for visiting Aunt Skye tomorrow?"

"Nope just bring yourself, and I'll be right there."

"He said that an hour ago."

"Yeah, my Dad's weird, he gets like that when he's writing."

~~

- Although I haven't seen him in more than ten years, I know I'll miss him forever. -

- I never had any friends like the ones I did when I was twelve. Jesus, does anybody?-

~~~~~~

A/N: And were here, the final chapter!
I've sucked at updating this book because I wanted to make it worth reading, so I hope that didn't bother anyone too much. I'm going to be updating more regularly in the sequel :) I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Thanks you guys so much for the support, I love you so much!