Two For Flinching. 🌼 Stand By Me + The Body

- epilogue -

October 18th, 1964

"Why are you taking me here?" Annie pleaded, crossing her arms over her black blouse. She looked at Chris as they walked in the door with questioning eyes. "You know this place gives me the creeps."

"Because it has good chicken, that's why." Chris replied, throwing his cigarette to the ground.

'"We cant even go in here anymore. It's eighteen and up!"

Chris smiled. "You think I don't know that, Annie?"

She huffed as she let it go. Annie had grown up to become that kind of person. Laid back, cool with anything. But this place always gave her a weird feeling in her gut, and she didn't like it.

Though, soon enough, she would find out why.

"Hey, Chambers!" One of the barmen yelled out to the both of them with a jubilant smile. "What're you having? The usual?"

Chris quickly nodded, and stepped in line with Annie behind two other men.

Those two men looked too burly and tough for a small town like Castle Rock, with their tattoos and stance, but Annie minded her own business.

"Hey." One of them said, his muscles pushing the other man to the side. "I was in line first."

"Nuh-uh." The other argued. "I was."

"You wanna go there?"

"Hell Yeah!"

"Then I'll-"

"Hold on, guys. What's wrong? What's the fight here?"

Chris, unfortunately, was standing between these two men. He was breaking up the fight. His heart was racing, his eyes were menacing, and he couldn't stop bringing up the fact in his mind that not alot of eighteen-year-olds had done this sort of thing before.

He was right.

Annie, on the other hand, was there too. She was holding onto Chris's shoulder, squeezing it tight in an effort to have him mind his own business. That firm hold on his shoulder should've brought back a familiar sensation, but it didn't.

It tragically didn't.

The latter of the two men pulled a knife from his pocket and pointed it at the other man, right over the top of Chris's head. If Chris is 6'1", you can only imagine...

The first man's eyes grew wide at the knife, but they wouldn't know what to do just ten seconds later.

"Hey." Chris said, grabbing a tight hold of the knife-wielding-man's forearm. "It's okay, we can work this out."

"Leave us alone, kid."

"Sir." Chris said once again.

"Chris." Annie whispered.

Chris looked the man straight in the eyes. "Calm."

"Chris, that feelings coming back, come on." Annie whispered through her teeth

"Down."