Chapter 23 Chapter Thirteen The Destined Battle

1 Bill got there first.He sat in a chair by the reading-room door and watched Mike greet the last customers of the evening—an old woman, a man, and a skinny child.The novel the boy borrowed was Bill's latest.But Bill wasn't surprised at all—he felt that the surprise had left him, that certain reality would turn into a dream after all. The boy came with his borrowed William.Dunbang's novel came to a girl in a plaid skirt.The girl had just finished printing something on the copier and was sorting the pages. "Just put your printed stuff on the table, Mary," Mike said. "I'll put it in order."

The girl showed a bright smile and said gratefully: "Thank you, Mr. Hanlon." "Good night. Billy. You two go home." "The monster will catch you, if you don't...be careful!" Billy, the skinny boy, muttered as he put his arms around the girl's slender waist. "Well, I don't think it wants an ugly guy like you two," Mike said, "but be careful." "We will, Mr. Hanlon." Mary said solemnly, and lightly tapped the boy on the shoulder with her fist. "Come on, ugly guy," she said with a giggle.She seemed to be 11-year-old Beverly with the ponytail.Marsh... Bill was moved by her beauty as they passed... she was terrified; he wanted to go over and tell the boy he had to go home down the well-lit street and never turn back when someone spoke.

How can you be careful when stepping on a skateboard?gentlemen?A voice said so in his head.Bill smiled sadly.He watched the boy open the door for the girl, and the two walked out affectionately.Billy, little man, he thought, get her home safely now.God!Send her home safely! Mike called out at this moment: "Wait a little longer, Big Bill. I'll be fine soon." Bill nodded and crossed his legs.He thought of the silver arrow leaning against the wall of Mack's garage.Then he remembered the day they met in Barron—all came except Mike—and each retold their stories: the leper under the portico; the mummy walking on the ice; the sewers blood coming out; dead children in water towers; moving pictures and werewolves chasing children down empty streets.

That day was the day before the National Day, and they walked into the depths of Ban Lun.He remembered now.It was hot in town, but cool under the shade of the Kentucky River.He remembered a humming concrete column not far away.Bill remembered the way they looked at him when all the stories were told. They wanted him to tell them what to do next, how to act; but he didn't know.That feeling made him despair. Looking at Mike's shadow on the wall, Bill suddenly felt a kind of comfort: he didn't know how to answer at that time because their people hadn't arrived yet.It was only when they reached that abandoned gravel pit that they were truly complete.The gravel pit has no name and is surrounded by weeds and shrubs.There's plenty of ammunition out there - more than enough to fight a doomed stone fight.

But before that, he didn't know how to say it - what did they want him to say?What is he trying to say?He just looked at the faces—Bence; Beverly; Eddie; Stanley; Richie.He also listened to music. music.low.Two lights flashed in his eyes.He remembered. 2 Richie hung his little radio from a branch of a tree with his back against it.Despite the shade, the sunlight reflected by the radio caught Bill's eyes just right. "T-Take that thing down, down, down, R-R-R-Rick," said Bill. "My eyes are going to go, go, go, go." "Yes, Boss." Richie didn't talk at all, stood up and took off the radio, turning off the sound.The sound of the running water of the small river and the roar of the sewage pump in the distance seemed very loud.

He didn't know how to answer.They all had terrible things happen and needed him to tell them what to do.Why me?He wanted to yell at them, but he knew why.Because he has ideas, because he's lost his brother, but mostly because he's their boss—he doesn't know why. "We don't, can't call the police, police, police." Finally he spoke.But the voice itself can also sound harsh. "We don't, can't find father, father, parents. Unless..." He looked at Rich hopefully. "How about your mother, mother and father, father? Four eyes? They seem to be very, very normal."

"My brother," said Richie, imitating Butler's tone, "you don't seem to know what my father and mother are like. They—" "Be serious, Richie," Eddie said.His little face was wrinkled, looking anxious, and his asthma spray was still tightly clenched in his hand. Richie put on those old glasses again today.He was gad that day by a friend of Henry Powers.Gagmir gave a shove behind him and fell to the ground, shattering his glasses.After returning home, he explained to his mother for a long time, but all he got was scolding.Thinking of this, Richie shook his head. "My parents are fine, but they would never believe such a thing."

"And what about the rest?" Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay. "Who?" Stanley asked suspiciously. "I can't think of a single person I can trust." "O, same..." Bill looked annoyed; there was a moment's silence, and Bill remembered what to say next. 3 If he had been asked which of them Henry Powers hated the most, Ben Hansko would have said him.Because Henry once chased him from Kansas Avenue all the way to Barron and found nothing; because he, Rich and Beverly escaped from the Aladdin Theater that day; Henry is sent to summer cram school, much to the wrath of Henry's psychotic father.

If you ask Richie Duojie, he will say that Henry hates him the most.Because he fooled Henry and two other "Musketeers" at the Frisch stationery store that day. Stanley would say that Henry hated him the most because he was a Jew. bill.Dunbang believed that he was the man Henry hated most.Because he is very thin, not only is he fat, but he is always well dressed. Henry did hate all four of them, but of all the Derry boys he hated most was not in the pre-July 3rd Losers' Club; It was only a quarter of a mile from the Wealth house. Henry's father is that notorious psychopath - Oscar.Bach.powers.He believed that his family's gradual decline was William.Hanlon caused him to sell his new car and lose money to begin with.In Henry's ears, what Chengwu instilled was the curse on niggers.Nigga, nigga, nigga.Everything is nigga's fault.The nigger's home was a nice little white building that was heated with oil; but they lived in a house that wasn't much better than a log cabin.Bachi can't earn any money from farming, so he has to work in the forest.It's all nigga's fault.Even when his well ran dry in 1956, it was the niggers' fault.

At the age of 10, Henry started befriending Mike's dog Chippy, often feeding him treats.Later, he saved his pocket money to buy a piece of meat, mixed it with pesticides he found at home to make a hamburger, fed it to Chippi, and then watched Chippy die in pain. Henry feared, sometimes even hated, his father, but at the same time he loved his father very much.Back home, when Henry told Butch what he had done, Butch was wild with joy: not only did he slap Henry on the back, but he also gave him a can of beer.It was the first beer in Henry's life, and for years to come he would associate the taste of beer with victory and love.

The rest of the Losers' Club had only seen Mike--because he was a black kid from Derry and he didn't go to Derry Primary.His mother was a devout Christian, so he was sent to the Nabert Street Mission School.Mike thinks there's nothing wrong with missionary schools.It's just that sometimes he has a vague sense that he's losing something—perhaps extensive communication with his peers—but he thinks it'll just happen once he's in high school.Although his brown skin makes Mike a little uneasy, seeing people treat their parents well, he believes that if he treats others well, others will treat him in the same way. The only exception, of course, is Henry Powers. To be honest, Mike is still very scared of Henry. In 1958, Mike was thin and well-proportioned, taller than Stanley, but not as tall as Bill.He's fast and agile -- and that's what saved him from flesh and blood on several occasions.Of course, because of different schools and age differences, he and Henry rarely meet each other.Although Mike was the one Henry hated the most among the Derry children, he was also the one who was hurt the least. 4 One day at the end of the month, when Mike was on his way to the library, Henry jumped out of a bush. "Hey nigga!" Mike backed away, looking for a chance to slip away.He thought that if he could escape Henry, he would be able to escape.Henry was big and strong, but he was also slow. "I'll make you a real black man." Henry approached little Mike. "You're not black enough, I have to fix it for you." Mike looked to the left, and then moved to the left.Henry was fooled and also intercepted in that direction.Mike dodged to the right nimbly—if it weren't for the muddy ground, he would have easily passed.But the ground was so slippery that he slipped and fell.Before he could get up, Henry grabbed him. "Nigger nigga nigga!" Henry exclaimed triumphantly, turning Mike over on his back.Mike's shirt, trousers were covered with mud, and his shoes were filled with mud.Henry smeared the mud all over his face, covering his nostrils; Mike started crying. "Now you're black!" Henry squealed excitedly, smearing mud on Mike's hair again. "Now you're really, really black!" He tore open Mike's jacket and stuffed a hunk of mud into his chest. "Now you're as dark as night in the pit!" he cried, stuffing mud into Mike's ears again.Then he stood up and yelled, "I killed your dog, black boy, but Mike couldn't hear at all, his ears were plugged. Henry kicked a piece of mud towards Mike, then turned around and walked away without looking back.After a while, Mike also stood up and kept crying. Mike's mother Jessica was of course very angry, she let William.Hanlon went to Sergeant Burton. "He chased Mike before," Mike heard her say.He was sitting in the bathtub while his father was in the kitchen.This is the second time the water has been changed; the first time he sat down, the water turned black.In anger, the mother speaks a thick Texas dialect, which Mike can barely understand. "You sue 'em, William! For dogs and children! Sue 'em, do you hear?" William waited for her to calm down and tried to persuade her.Sheriff Bolton is not Sheriff Sullivan.If Bolton had been sheriff when the chicks were poisoned, they would never have gotten the $200 back, nor would they have been in the current situation.Some call the shots for you, some don't.Bolton is the latter type.Actually, he's a loose bag. "Mike had trouble with that kid before, yes," he told Jessica, "but it wasn't much trouble because he was careful. He'll be more careful this time." "You mean just let it go?" "I think Bowers has told his son those things," William said, "and so his son is very fond of the three of us. Because his father told him that hating niggers is a natural thing. Our children are black; we can't Change that fact. Henry Powers wasn't the last person Mike had to deal with in his life. He had to learn to deal with that all his life, just as you and I did." Jeshoka looked at her husband sadly, and two lines of tears slowly flowed down from her eyes. "Is there no way to get rid of it?" His answer was kind but sure. "No way. No way to get rid of the word 'nigger.' Not now. Not in me and the world I live in. A nigger from rural Maine is still a nigger. I thought, more than once, I went back Went to Derry to remember it better. But I have to talk to the kids." The next day, he called Mike over from the barn.William sat on the plow yoke, then patted the space beside him for Mike to sit down. "You'd better keep out of Henry Powers." Mike nodded. "His father is crazy." Mike nodded again.He heard the same thing from the townspeople.Occasional glances at Mr. Bowles reinforced this impression. "I think Henry's crazy too," Mike said.His voice was low but firm.William's life has been bumpy, and he even had a narrow escape from the "black spot" fire, but he couldn't believe that a child like Henry could go crazy. "Well, he obeys his father too much, but that's natural," William said.But Mike was right.Henry Powers, either because of his father's subtle influence, or because of other inner things-indeed, was getting more and more crazy. "I don't want you to run away all the time," William said, "but because you're black, you're supposed to put up with a lot. See what I mean?" "Yes, Dad," Mike said, remembering the differences and gaps between him and the other kids. "I know you understand what I mean." William stroked his son's hair. "At the end of the day it's about being careful when you act. You have to ask yourself if it's worth it to run afoul of Henry Powers. Is it worth it?" "Not worth it," Mike said. In fact, on July 3, 1958, his mind changed. 5 Bill and the rest of the Losers' Club were sitting on the banks of the Kentucky River, contemplating their Nightmare questions. "I know, know it, where it is, where it is." Bill finally broke the silence. "The sewers," Stanley said. Bill nodded. "A few days ago, I, I, I asked my father, my father, about the sewer." Zach tells Bill that the whole area of ​​Derry used to be a swamp.The subterranean canal that runs through Center Street and Main Street and out of Basel Park is nothing but a sewer.Most of the time those sewer lines are pretty much dry, but every spring or when a flood comes, they become very important.Due to the low-lying terrain, water pumps were required to pump the water into the river.The concrete cylinders that jut out about 3 feet above the ground in Banron Lowlands are the water pumps.The water pump already needs replacing, but the town council is always crying poor. Zack said, "Those sewer mains are about six feet in diameter, and the branch pipes, in residential areas, are about three or four feet. Believe me, Bill, you can tell your friends: You must not enter In those channels, whether it’s for playing games or curiosity, no reason will work.” "Why?" Bill asked quickly. “Derry has been expanded by twelve administrations since about 1885. During the Great Depression, a second and third underground pipeline was added. The people who managed those projects were killed in World War II. And 5 years later, the Water Bureau found out that most of the blueprints for those works were missing too. I mean, no one knows where or why those damn sewer pipes lead to. Some people tried to dig under the ground, but they Back in vain. It's dark down there, it smells bad, and it's full of rats. The best reason is that you get lost in it. It's happened before." Lost in the ground.Get lost in the sewers.Lost in the dark.Thinking of this, Bill was silent for a while.Then he went on to ask: "Could it be that he, he, they didn't send, send, send people down to investigate—" "I have to work," Zach interrupted his son suddenly, "Go watch TV." "But. But Dad, Dad, Dad—" "Go ahead, Bill," Zach said.Bill felt his father's coldness again.Father and mother had been like that since George's death.One morning before George's death two years ago, his mother taught Bill to say a word to correct his stuttering, "He waved his fist and insisted that he saw a ghost."Sometimes Bill would lie in his bed, imagining himself uttering that phrase fluently in front of his mother, and she would hug him and say, "Awesome! Bill! What a boy!" But on July 3, Bill didn't tell his mates about his fantasy—he just told them what his father had said about the sewers.And he also fabricated that his father and he were sitting in front of the TV while chatting, drinking coffee while watching TV. "Did your dad let you have coffee?" Eddie asked. "Dang, of course," Bill said. "Wow," Eddie said. "My mom never made me drink coffee. She said it had caffeine in it." He paused and said, "But she drinks it all the time." "My dad would let me drink if I wanted to," Beverly said, "but if he knew I smoked, he'd kill me." "How can you be sure it's in the sewer?" Richie looked from Bill to Stanley, and then his eyes fell on Bill again. "Every, everything comes down to that," Bill said. "Be, be, Beverly listen, hear, hear, sound, come, come from, sewer. So does blood. Little, When the clown was chasing me, when we were, those orange, orange buttons, buttons were down, by the side of the sewer. And Joe, Joe, George—" "That's not a clown, boss." Richie said, "I'm telling you, it's a clown." His eyes were firm. "Swear to God. I saw it with my own eyes." Bill said, "Yeah, to you, it's a wolf, wolf, werewolf." "what?" Bill said again: "Don't, don't you understand? You, you saw wolves, werewolves only because, because you watched, watched that horror, horror movie at the Aladdin Theater." "I do not understand." "I think I get it," Bens said quietly. "I went to map, map, library and looked it up," Bill said. "I think it's a gram, gram, Gran's magic." "Gran Mord?" Eddie was full of doubts. "G, G, Glenmor," Bill told them, which he'd read in the "Facts of the Night" chapter of the encyclopedia.Gran'mor is the Gaelic name for the monster that haunts Derry; other races and cultures have had different words for it at different times.The Indians sometimes called it the Maniyang, and it could sometimes take the shape of a lion, a deer, or an eagle.They also believed that the spirits of Maniyang could enter their bodies and possibly turn them into animals.The Himalayans call it Tanles, which means a magical spirit; it can know your thoughts and transform into your worst fears. In Central Europe it is called "Arakh", the brother of the vampire.Known in French as a doppelganger, it can turn into anything: a wolf, an eagle, a sheep, even a bedbug. "Then did they tell you how to deal with Gran Mord?" Beverly asked. Bill nodded, but he didn't seem to have much hope. "Xi, Xi, the Himalayas have a rite, a ritual that can get rid of it, but, but the appearance is quite, very, terrible." Everyone looked at him, didn't want to hear but had to. "That ceremony is called 'Exorcism'." Bill went on to explain the process of the ceremony: If you are a Himalayan sage, you can find that Tanners.Tanylus sticks out its tongue.You also stick out your tongue.You overlap its tongue, and you bite its tongue. "Oh, I'm going to throw up." Beverly bent over and retched.Ben gave her a light thump on the back, then checked to see if she had been seen.Of course not—the rest of the group stared at Bill dumbfounded. "And then?" Eddie asked. "Well, then," said Bill, "listen, it sounded crazy, crazy, but the book said he started telling jokes, jokes, riddles, riddles." "What?" Stanley called out. Bill nodded, and then said, "First, first, Tanners starts to talk, talk one, then, then he has to talk, talk one, then, then you do, talk again, then, then it goes, and then Let’s just go on like this, round, round, round—” Beverly straightened up, sat with her hands crossed over her knees, and said, "I don't understand how tongues stick together." When Richie heard this, he immediately stuck out his tongue, pinched his hand and said, "My dad works in the cesspit!" Everyone laughed. "Well, maybe telepathy, telepathy," Bill said, "no, anyway, like, if a man laughs first, laughs, then Tan, Tanles will kill, kill him, put him Eat, eat. I, what I want to eat is his spirit, spirit, soul. But, but if people make Tan, Tanles laugh first, it will have to be gone for a hundred years or so." "Does the book say where that thing came from?" asked Ben. Bill shook his head. "Do you believe it?" Stanley's tone seemed sarcastic. Bill shrugged and said, "I almost believe it." He seemed about to say something more, but shook his head and fell silent again. "It explains a lot," Eddie said slowly, "clowns, lepers, werewolves . "This job sounds like it was arranged for Richie Dorje." Richie imitated the voice of a movie narrator, "a person who has 1,000 jokes and 6,000 riddles." "If we let you do it, we'll all be killed," said Ben, "slowly, and tormented." At that, the group laughed again. "So what do we do about it?" Stanley asked.Bill could only shake his head again... But he felt like he was about to know the answer.Stanley stood up and said, "Let's go somewhere else, I'm tired." "I like it here," Beverly said. "It's cool in here." She glanced at Stanley. "I think you want to go to the garbage dump and throw rocks at bottles." "I want to smash the bottle." Richie stood beside Stanley.He turned up his collar, looked melancholy, and scratched his chest. "They hurt me. You know. My parents. School. Society. Everyone. That's pressure, kid. That's—" "That's shit." Beverly finished, sighing. "I have some firecrackers," Stanley said, pulling a pack of Black Cat firecrackers from his pocket.As soon as they saw the firecrackers, everyone forgot about Gran Moore and Manedo; Rich also stopped pretending to be cool.Even Bill asked in surprise, "God, Stanley, where did you get that?" "I traded a few comic strips of Superman and Little Lulu for a fat kid," Stanley said. "Let's set it off!" Richie yelled excitedly. "Let's set it off, Stanley. I'm not going to tell anyone that you and your dad killed Jesus. I swear, what did you say? I'll tell them you You have a small nose, Stanley! I'll tell them you're not circumcised. Beverly squealed in delight, then quickly covered her face with her hands. Bill laughed, Eddie laughed, and after In a moment even Stanley was laughing. The laughter echoed on both banks of the Kentucky River—but none of them saw the peering eyes in the bushes to their left. On the concrete post in the middle of the bushes, the two The distance between the eyes is two feet. 6 On the same day, Mike was stalked by Henry Bowles and his gang.Because the next day was National Day, the church school would hold a parade, and as the trombonist of the band, Mike had been looking forward to this event for a long time.Although he didn't play the trombone as well as Richie did, he liked it a lot.The rehearsal wasn't until 2:30 in the afternoon, but Mike left at one. When he approached Nabert Avenue, Henry led a group of people to attack from behind. Mike himself, years later, believed that none of them had complete control over their fate during the events of the summer of 1958, and that they had only one choice.He'd point out many similar coincidences, but there was at least one he wasn't aware of.That day in Banron, Stanley.The firecrackers that Julius took out broke up the "meeting" of the "Losers Club", and then they set off to set off firecrackers at the garbage dump; and Henry and his group also because they were going to set off firecrackers, but they chose the location of freight The coal pit beyond the field. Henry's friends, even Belz, would have liked to go to Henry's farm on a regular basis—first because of Henry's crazy father, and second because they always had to help Henry with chores: weeding, picking stones, hauling logs, fetching water , drying hay, picking beans, planing potatoes and so on.Not that they were allergic to the work, but Henry's father went berserk—once, Victor.Chris dropped a blue tomato on the ground, and he couldn't help but hit it with a stick. But Henry's firecrackers were as hard to resist as the siren's singing. At 9 o'clock that morning, Victor called Henry out and said, "Let's meet at the coal pit around one o'clock, what do you think?" Henry replied, "I have too much housework. It's ok at 3. My M-80 is awesome." Victor hesitated for a while, then agreed to come and help Henry with the housework. The rest of the people also came, including Henry's 5 older children, who worked hard on Henry's farm and finished their work in the afternoon.Henry asked his father if he could get out, and Powers released them with a lazy wave. As soon as they got on the main road, Henry saw the back of Mike Hanlon ahead. "It's the nigger!" he exclaimed excitedly, his eyes shining like a child seeing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. "Nigger?" Beltz said.Hudgens is a little confused—he's seen Mike very little—and then his eyes light up. "Oh yes! Nigger! Let's get him, Henry!" As soon as the voice fell, he was about to rush out.Henry quickly grabbed him.He knew that black boy was not easy to catch. "He didn't see us, let's go faster and shorten the distance." So the five kids started walking as if they were participating in a race walking competition—seeing that the distance to Mike was getting closer—200 yards, 150 yards, 100 yards—but the black boy was still unaware, and didn’t move towards Mike at all. look later.They heard him still whistling. "What do you do with him, Henry?" Victor.Chris asked quietly.He seemed interested, but actually he was a little worried.Recently Henry has been worrying him more and more. Victor wouldn't have cared if Henry had just slapped that nigger, ripped his shirt off, or thrown his trousers and underpants up a tree; but he didn't know what Henry was thinking right now. something.Henry had always been free to fix the furry kids at Derry Elementary School - what he called "little shit" - but since March he had been frustrated repeatedly.Once Henry and his friends chased a kid named Four-Eyed Richie to Frisch Stationery, only to let him escape.And the last day of term when they chased a kid named Ben—Victor didn't want to think about those things anymore.All that worried him was that Henry might go too far. "We caught him and took him to that coal pit," Henry said, "and put firecrackers in his shoes to see if he could dance." "It's not the M-80, is it? Henry? Is it?" If Henry did that, Victor would have to run away.Stuff an M-80 in every shoe and blow that nigger's feet off--that's really going too far. "I only have four." Henry said, his eyes fixed on Mike's back.It's only about 75 yards away now.He whispered again, "You think I'll waste two on that nigger?" "No, Henry. Of course not." "We just put a few 'black cats' in his shoes," Henry said, "and then stripped him and threw them into the Banron River." "We're going to roll him in the coal pit," Beltz said gleefully. "How about it, Mike? Cool enough?" "Very cool." Victor didn't like Henry's casual tone. "Let's roll him in the coals, like I rolled him in the mud last time. And..." He grinned, showing teeth that had rotted away when he was just 12. "I wanted to tell him something else. I don't think he heard me when I told him last time." "What?" Henry asked Pete. Pete Lorton seemed interested. He was from a "good family" in Derry; he lived on West Broadway, and he believed he would be sent to Gorodom for preparatory school. He Smarter than Victor, but he hasn't been with Henry for a long time, and he doesn't know what Henry has degenerated into. "You'll know," Henry said, "shut up now. We're getting close." They were only twenty-five yards behind Mike; just as Henry was about to give the order to charge, James hiccupped.Last night he ate 3 plates of fried beans, so the hiccups were no less than the sound of firecrackers. Mike turned around, and Henry saw his eyes widen. "Get him!" Henry howled. Mike froze for a moment, then ran, on his way to survive. 7 Bill and his gang meandered through the Bamboo Forest of Banron Lowlands in this order: Bill; Rich; Beverly; Ben; of the nozzle. The tall bamboo forest blocked their sight.The ground is black and oily and slippery.There was a smell in the air, half of the stench of garbage heaps; half of the musty smell of rotting vegetables. At last they came to a section of the Kentucky River where the water was shallow enough to cross by throwing stepping stones. Following Bane's direction, they laid out stepping stones and began to cross the river. "Bill!" Beverly yelled anxiously. Bill stopped short.He didn't dare to look back, but stretched out his arms to balance his body. "What's wrong?" "There are piranhas in the water! Two days ago, I saw them eat a cow with my own eyes. In just one minute, there were only bones left in the cow. Don't fall in!" "Okay," Bill said, "be careful, guys." They became cautious one by one. When Eddie was halfway there, suddenly there was a train whistle.He was taken aback and almost lost his balance.At that moment, he saw a few rays of light in the clear water in the sunlight - he saw the piranha.It wasn't his hallucination, he was sure.The fish were all orange, like the buttons on clowns' clothes you sometimes see in circuses. They formed a circle and waited in the water with their mouths open. Eddie swayed. "I'm going to fall in," he thought, "and they'll eat me alive as soon as I'm in the water—" Stanley grabbed his wrist.Eddie stood still. "Be careful," Stanley said, "if you fall in, your mother will show you." Now Eddie had completely forgotten about his mother.He stared frantically into Stanley's eyes, then looked into the water.A bag of potato chips floated by and nothing else.He looked at Stanley again. "Stanley, I saw—" "what?" Eddie shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just a little nervous. Let's go." The west bank of the Kentucky River — the Old Cape — can get muddy during the rainy season, but after two weeks without rain, the soil cracks.About 20 yards further on, a cement pipe poked its head out, discharging brown sewage into the river.Ben said quietly, "It's creepy in here." Everyone nodded. Bill led them up the river bank, through thick undergrowth, and at last they caught a pungent smell; a plume of smoke rose from the rubbish heap into the sky.The closer you get to the garbage dump, the more garbage there is on the path, and there are notes flying from the branches. The group of them climbed a small ridge and looked down; below was the rubbish heap. "Oh, fuck!" Bill put his hands in his trouser pockets, and the rest of the group gathered around him. Below the ridge, Mandy Facchio, the dump watcher, burns waste.He drove an old-fashioned bulldozer and shoveled the garbage into several large piles for centralized incineration. "Can't go down," Ben said.Mandy wasn't bad, but whenever he saw children playing here, he became fierce--first of all because of the rats and the possibility of falling.Cuts, burns...but most of all, he didn't think the dump was a place for kids to play. 他们坐下来等了一会儿，看着曼迪干活，期待着他会突然放弃然后走开。但是看见推土机座位边上放着的收音机，他们觉得没戏了。曼迪在听收音机，看来他整个下午都要干活了。 说起放鞭炮，没有比垃圾堆更好的地方了，你可以把它们放在罐头盒子下面，看着那罐头盒被炸得高高飞起；或者你还可以放在瓶子里…… “真希望我们能有一些M－80。”理奇叹了口气。他还没有意识到很快就有一个会在他的头上炸响。 比尔想了想，说道：“我知、知道一个地、地方。就在货、货运场的边上，有一个废、废弃的砾、砾、砾石坑——” “对了！”斯坦利站了起来。“我知道那个地方！你真是个天才，比尔！” “那里有回音。”贝弗莉也同意。 “好，咱们快去。”理奇说。 8 几个人，绕着那个小山脊，走了下去。曼迪·法基奥抬起头，看见了蓝天下那几个孩子的剪影——就像是一群就要出猎的印第安人。他想吼一声——班伦可不是孩子们玩的地方——但是他又继续干活了。至少他们没来他的垃圾堆这里捣乱。 9 麦克·汉伦一刻不停地跑过教会学校，沿着内伯特大街向德里铁路货运场跑去。他知道教会学校里现在只有一个清洁工叫坚德伦，但是他人又老耳又聋，夏季总爱午睡，等麦克擂门叫醒那位老人的时候，可能他的脑袋已经被亨利·鲍尔斯掐掉了。 于是麦克就不停地跑。 但是他并不盲目。他尽量调整步伐，控制呼吸，不敢耗尽全力。亨利、贝尔茨和姆斯就像是些受伤的野牛在麦克身后紧追不舍；维克多和皮特甚至跑得更快一些。当麦克跑过比尔和理奇曾经看见过小丑——或者狼人——的那间房子时，他朝后瞥了一眼，看见皮特。格顿几乎缩短了距离，他吃了一惊。 不远处货运场大门上的牌子——闲人免进——进入了他的视线，麦克尽量不让自己超越极限。他的呼吸很快，胸口还不疼，但他知道如果这么跑下去，他一定受不了的。 大门半开半掩。麦克向后瞅了一眼，看见自己和皮特的距离又拉开了。皮特身后大概10码处是维克多，其余的人还在40或50码处。即使那飞快的一瞥，麦克也瞅见了亨利脸上的怒气。 他猛地从门口冲了进去，然后一转身，甩上了大门。只听见咋塔一声，大门锁上了。刚停了一下，皮特就撞在了门上；随后维克多也赶了上来。皮特气急败坏，竟然说：“快点，孩子，打开门。 那样不公平。 " “什么是公平？”麦克喘着气反问，“五个对一个？” “公平点。”皮特好像根本没有听见麦克的话。 麦克看看维克多，看见他眼中那种复杂的表情。就在此时其余的人也赶了上来。 “开门，黑鬼！”亨利咆哮着。他疯狂地晃动那扇铁栅门，皮特惊讶地看着他。“开门！快开门！” “我不开。”麦克平静地说。 “开门！”贝尔茨也嚷叫起来。“开门，操你妈的黑惠子！” 麦克向后退了退；他的心在怦怦地跳。他的耳边似乎又响起了曾经听过的那些骂人的话——黑鬼，黑小子，黑息子，黑货，黑家伙……他几乎没有意识到亨利从口袋里掏出一个东西，然后划着了一根火柴——一道红色的弧线越过栅栏飞了过来。他本能地向后一闪，一个“炸弹”在地上炸响，溅起一片尘土。 那声巨响让所有的人都静了下来——麦克带着难以置信的目光看着他们，他们也都向后看去。皮特。格顿看上去完全惊呆了；甚至连贝尔茨也呆住了。 他们都害怕亨利了。麦克心里想。突然，一个声音出现在他的脑袋里，也许是头一次，而且很明显是一个成人的声音：“他们害怕了，但是这不能阻止他们。快走吧，麦克，要不然会出事的。并不是所有的人都想让它发生——但是它总会发生的，因为有亨利。 move.赶快逃走吧。 " 他又向后退了两三步，就在此时听见亨利·鲍尔斯说：“我杀了你的狗，黑鬼。” 麦克好像被什么东西击中了肚子，一下子震住了。他盯着亨利的眼睛，明白亨利说的是事实：就是他杀了奇皮。 那一刻麦克简直终生无法忘记——看着亨利那疯狂的眼睛和愤怒的脸庞，他一生当中头一次懂得了很多事实。他明白了亨利比他想象的还要疯狂得多。但更重要的是，麦克意识到这个世界并不和善。他终于骂了出来：“你这狗屎杂种！” 亨利气得大叫一声，抓着栅栏就往上爬。其余的几个犹豫了一下，也纷纷爬上了栅栏。 麦克转过身又狂奔起来。他的耳边只听见自己的呼吸声和铁栅栏味喀咋塔的声音。 就在他要跨过三根并排的管子时，他的脚绊在了上面。他跌倒在地上，感到脚踝上一阵疼痛。但他爬起来，又开始跑。这时，只听得身后“通”的一声，亨利从铁栅栏上跳了下来。“看我收拾你，黑鬼！”亨利在咆哮。 麦克现在觉得班伦是他惟一的机会了。如果他能藏身在那些灌木丛，竹林中……或者如果情况太紧急，他还能爬进那些排水管暂避一时。 但是现在他的心中迸发出了怒火。亨利追他，他可以理解，但是他的狗奇皮呢？我的狗不是黑鬼，狗杂种！麦克一边跑着，怒火在不断地聚集。 他的耳边响起了父亲讲过的话：我不想让你总是逃跑……就是当你采取行动的时候一定要小心。你必须问问自己和亨利·鲍尔斯发生冲突值不值得…… 麦克一直穿过货运场，朝那些活动房仓库跑去。过了仓库，还有一道栅栏把货运场和班伦低地分开。他原打算翻过栅栏，跳到那边去；但是他突然向右转身，朝煤坑跑去。 麦克一边跑，一边脱下了衬衣。他跑到了煤坑的边上，回头看去。亨利从小路那边跑了过来，而他的伙伴们则跟在他身后不远处。 麦克飞快地捡起了6块煤，包在自己的衬衣里，然后又向那道栅栏跑去。跑到栅栏边上，他没有爬，而是背靠着它，然后他把衬衣里的煤块抖在地上，挑出几块大的拿在手上。亨利没有看见煤块；他只看见那个黑鬼困在了栅栏下面——他叫嚷着冲了过来。 “这是为我的狗，杂种！”麦克没有意识到自己已经哭出声来。 他用力将一块煤掷了出去。“啪！”煤块砸在亨利的前额上，又蹦了起来。亨利一下跪在了地上。他连忙用手护住脑袋，但是鲜血已经顺着他的指缝流了下来。 其余的人都停了下来，每个人的脸上都是不敢相信的表情。亨利痛苦地叫了一声，站了起来，仍然护着自己的脑袋。麦克又掷出一个煤块。亨利躲了过去。他朝麦克走去。当麦克扔出第三块煤时，他用手将煤块挡了出去。他显得很随意，而且还咧嘴笑着。 “哦，你会很惊讶的，”他说，“这样——哦，天哪！”他的话噎住了——麦克又投出一块煤，这次不偏不倚正好打进了亨利嘴里。 亨利又跪在了地上。 “你们还等什么？”亨利挣扎着说出一句话。他的声音很嘶哑。 “抓住他！抓住那个混蛋！” 麦克丢下他的衬衣，转身跳上了栅栏，就在他要爬到顶端的时候，一只手抓住了他的脚。他低头一看，看见了亨利那张沾着血迹和煤黑的扭曲的脸。麦克一用力，他的旅游鞋脱到了亨利手里。他抬起光脚，朝亨利的脸上蹬了下去。只听见咔嚓一声，亨利尖叫着，双手护着自己的鼻子向后跌倒了。 麦克的一条腿迈过了顶端，但是什么东西砸在他的脸上。鲜血顺着脸颊流了下来。然后又是什么砸在他的臂部、手臂和大腿上。 原来他们在使用麦克准备的“弹药”了。 他翻过栅栏，一下子栽了下去，在地上翻了个滚。脚下的泥土很松软，也许就是那救了麦克的眼睛甚至他的生命。亨利又接近了栅栏，点着一个M—80扔了过来。随着一声可怕的巨响，地上的草皮都炸起一块。 麦克的耳朵嗡嗡地作响，他晃晃悠悠地站了来。现在他已经在班伦的边上了。他抹了一把右脸，手上都是鲜血。鲜血他倒不担心，他并没希望不挂点彩。 亨利又扔过一个爆竹，但是麦克很轻易就躲过了。 “抓住他！”亨利咆哮着，又开始爬栅栏。 “嘿，亨利，我不知道——”皮特觉得这一切已经走得太远了。 他从来没有见过这么野蛮的情景。 “你最好清楚点。”亨利回过头看着皮特。他吊在栅栏上就像是一个人形的毒蜘蛛。他那双充血的眼睛狠狠地盯着皮特。“你最好明白，要不然我会叫你好看，操你妈的。” 所有的人都开始爬栅栏。皮特和维克多有些不情愿，而贝尔茨和姆斯还是像以前那么急切。 麦克转身跑进了灌木丛中。身后亨利在吼叫：“我会抓住你的，黑鬼！会抓住你的！” 10 “失败者”们已经到达砾石坑的外围。3年前这里的砾石已经被挖空了，现在它只不过是一个杂草丛生的大坑而已。现在所有的人都围在斯坦利的身边，热切地欣赏着他的那包黑猫牌鞭炮。突然传来“乓”的一声。艾迪吓得跳了起来——刚才看见吃人鱼使他的神经高度紧张。 但是其余的人还是全神贯注地盯着斯坦利手里的那包鞭炮。 “快打开，斯坦利。”贝弗莉说道。“我有火柴。” 鞭炮的包装纸上印着奇怪的黑色中国字，而且还有一行英文警告：“引线点着后，不要用手持放。” 理奇吃吃地笑了起来。“我以前总是用手拿着放的。我还以为那样能除掉手指上的倒刺。”斯坦利去掉了红色的玻璃纸。露出了一个个可爱的小鞭炮。蓝的、红的，还有绿的。它们的引线编在一起。 “我来解开——”斯坦利的话还没说完，又传来一声更大的爆炸声，声音在班伦上空回响。一群海鸥从垃圾堆那里飞了起来，不停地惊叫着。这回大伙都跳了起来。斯坦利的鞭炮掉到了地上，他连忙捡了起来。 “是炸药吗？”贝弗莉不安地问。她抬起头看着比尔：他昂着头，他来没有像现在这么英俊——但是他显得那么警觉，就像是一头嗅到空气中火药味的雄鹿。 “是M－80，我想。”班恩静静地说。“去年国庆节我去公园，看见一些高中生在那里放炮。他们把它放在垃圾筒，发出的就是这样的声音。” “把垃圾筒炸破了吗？干草堆？”理奇问道。 “没有，只是把垃圾筒一边炸得凸出来了。他们最后全跑了。” “爆炸声离我们不远。”艾迪说完，看了看比尔。 “你们到底还想不想放鞭炮？”斯坦利问。他已经解下了几个鞭炮。 “当然想了。”理奇说。 “把、把它们收、收拾起、起、起来。” 他都看着比尔，有点害怕——只是因为他突如其来的那种口气。 “收、收、收拾起、起、起来。”比尔好不容易才把那些调吐出来。“出、出、出事了。” 艾迪舔舔嘴唇。理奇用手指捅了捅鼻梁上的眼镜。班恩则又往贝弗莉身边挪了挪。 斯坦利刚要开口，又是一声爆炸。声音低了一些，是“红炸弹”。 “石、石头。”比尔说。 “什么？比尔？”斯坦利问。 “石、石、石头。弹、弹、弹药。”比尔开始检石头，把它们塞进自己的口袋里。其他人都看着他，好像他变疯了……艾迪有一种不祥的预感，好像班伦要经受一场大劫难。 班恩也开始检石头，然后理奇也加入了。理奇的眼镜滑落下来，掉到了地上，他心不在焉地折起来，放进了衬衣里。 “贝弗莉，也许你到垃圾堆那边比较好。”班恩说着。他的手上都是石头。 “狗屎！”贝弗莉也弯下腰开始捡石头。“那是狗屎。班恩·汉斯科。” 看着一伙人在那里疯狂地检石头，斯坦利也动起手来，他的嘴唇抿成了一条线。 艾迪的嗓子眼又是一阵发紧。 “不要，妈的！”他突然想。“在朋友需要我的时候千万不要。 像贝弗莉说得那样，那是狗屎。 " 艾迪也开始检石头。 11 亨利·鲍尔斯太胖，通常情况下他一点都不敏捷；但是今天不同：过度的疼痛和怒火使他一时间变成了一个没有痛感的超人。他的意识已经消失，只有怒火在熊熊燃烧。他追逐麦克就像是～头公牛追逐一块红布。麦克沿着小道跑，而他则不顾一切地超近路，荆刺树枝打在身上他毫无感觉——他的眼前只是黑鬼那颗越来越近晃动着的头颅。只要他抓住那个黑鬼，他就毫不犹豫地点燃M－80的引信，然后像炸垃圾筒那样…… 麦克知道亨利他们越来越近了。他非常害怕，他只是凭着直觉在控制那即将使他崩溃的恐惧。而他的脚踝也越来越疼了，他只能一瘸一拐地跑。 小路前面一下子开阔了。麦克几乎是滚进了那个砾石坑，而且一直滚到底部才停住。在他的面前站着6个孩子，他们站成一排，脸上都是可笑的表情。 “救命。”麦克趔趄着朝他们跑去，而且凭着直觉对那个红头发的高个男孩说：“孩子……大孩子——” 亨利冲进了砾石坑。看见前面几个人，他猛地停了下来。他回过头，看着自己的“部队”正在接近，然后又转过头笑嘻嘻地看着“失败者”们。麦克此时正气喘吁吁地站在比尔身边稍微靠后的地方。 “我认识你。”他跟比尔说。然后他又看看理奇。“我也认识你，你眼镜哪儿去了？四眼？”理奇还没回话，他又转向了班恩。“好呀，婊子养的！犹太人和胖息子也在这里！那是你的女友吗？胖意子？” 班恩不由得跳了一下。 这时，皮特。格顿跑到了亨利身边。维克多赶过来，站在了亨利的另一边。贝尔茨和姆斯也跑了过来，分别站在皮特和维克多的两侧。两个阵营终于正式对峙起来。 亨利气喘吁吁，说道：“我可以随便挑你们所有人的刺，但是今天我不想理你们。我就要那个黑鬼。你们几个小惠子滚一边去。” “没错！”贝尔茨随声附和。 “他杀了我的狗广麦克叫嚷。他的声音颤抖着。”他自己说的！ " “你马上过来，”亨利说道，“也许我不会杀你。” 麦克战栗着，但是没有移动。 “班、班伦是我们的。你、你、你们离开这、这里。”比尔的声音不高，但是却非常清楚。 亨利的眼睛瞪大了。他好像是被人突如其来打了一巴掌。 “谁允许的？”他问，“就凭你？” “我、我、我们。”比尔说道。“我、我们要你滚、滚、滚开，鲍尔斯。快、快滚吧。” “你这给巴的畸形人！”亨利骂着，低着头朝比尔冲了过来。 比尔手中摇着一大把石头；除了麦克和贝弗莉一人拿了一块石头之外，其余所有的人都是每人一大把。比尔开始向亨利投向头；他不慌不忙，但是投得又准又狠。第一块没打中；第二块打在亨利的肩膀上。第三块如果打不中的话，亨利就能冲过来，把比尔掀翻在地；但是第三块石头谁确无误地打在了亨利的后脑上。 亨利痛苦地叫了一声，抬起了头……又是4块石头飞来，他的胸口、肩膀、小腿和肚子上都中弹了。四块石头是理奇、艾迪、斯坦利和贝弗莉打过来的。 亨利的眼中满是不信的目光，但是突然间又是一阵石头雨飞过来。亨利向后退去，他的脸上都是痛苦的神情。“快点上！你们！” 他叫嚷着，“救命！” “冲、冲、冲锋。”比尔低声说完，不管他的伙伴愿不愿意，向前冲去。 所有的人都跟着他冲过去，这次他们开火的目标不只是亨利而是亨利一伙所有的人。那些大孩子都手忙脚乱地在地上捡石头，但是还没有等他们捡到，身上早已挨打了。班恩的一块石头打破了皮特的脸颊，他疼得叫了起来。他退了几步，停了一下，还击了一两块石头…然后逃之夭夭了。他已经受够了。 亨利疯狂地在地上拢了一把石头——大部分都是小卵石，这对“失败者”们来说非常幸运。他挑了一块稍大一点的石头掷向贝弗莉，打破了她的手臂。She cried out. 班恩吼叫着向亨利冲了过去。亨利见势不对，想要躲闪；但是躲闪不及，被班恩撞得飞了出去。150磅对60磅，亨利当然吃亏了。他仰面朝天倒在地上。班思又冲了过去，他模糊地意识到耳朵上热乎乎地刺痛——那是贝尔茨的佳作。 亨利刚想站起来，班恩已经冲了过去。他重重地在亨利的臂部踢了一脚。亨利被踢得翻了个滚，他恶狠狠地盯着班恩。 “你竟敢欺负女孩子！”班恩吼叫着。他从来没有像今天这么愤怒过。“你竟敢——” 他看见亨利的手上火光一闪；原来亨利点着了一个M－80，向班恩扔了过来。班恩下意识地用手臂一挡，M－80又飞了回去。 亨利瞪大眼睛，尖叫着想要打滚；爆竹已经落在他的背上，熏黑了衬衣，而且炸飞了一块。 就在这时，班恩被姆斯在身后猛击一下，跪在了地上。他的牙齿合在一起，把舌头咬出血来。他向后一看，愣住了。姆斯就要冲到他身边；说时迟，那时快，比尔及时在姆斯身后出了手。姆斯转回身去，大声吼叫：“背后伤人，胆小鬼！操你妈的！” 他做势要冲锋，但是理奇、艾迪、斯坦利和贝弗莉都过来帮比尔了。石头四处乱飞。贝尔茨被石头砸中了麻筋，他揉着肘部，不停地跳动。亨利此时刚站起来，班恩的一块石头飞来，把他打得又跪倒在了地上。 维克多是亨利一伙中给“失败者”损伤最大的人。一开始他没有其他人那么急切地投入战斗，他多花了些时间，捡了一把大个的石头。正当比尔他们聚到一起时，他就开火了。他先打了艾迪一石头，正打在他的下巴上。艾迪哭喊着倒在地上，鲜血流了出来。班恩刚想过去帮忙，艾迪已经又站起来了。 维克多的石头砸向理奇，打在他的肚子上。理奇马上还击，维克多一边轻易地躲过去，一边又向比尔打来了。比尔朝后仰头，但是不够快，石头把他的脸颊划了一道大口子。 比尔向维克多怒目而视。两个人互相对视；比尔那骇人的目光真的把维克多吓坏了。 接着，两个人都朝对方走过去。仿佛是心电感应，两人都同时开了火，而且越走越近。维克多不住地躲闪而比尔根本不躲。维克多的石头打在他的胸口、肩膀和肚子上。还有一块擦着耳朵飞了过去。比尔毫无惧色，只是一块又一块地投掷石头，每投一下都使出浑身的力气。第三块石头打在维克多的膝盖上，只听“啪”的一声，维克多痛苦在嚎叫起来。维克多的手里已经没有石头了，而比尔还剩最后一块。那是一颗鸭蛋大小的卵石。 “立、立、立即从这、这里消、消失，”比尔的声音很严厉，“要、要不然我、我会让你、你的脑、脑袋开、开花。” 看见比尔来真的，维克多一句话也没说，顺着皮特逃走的方向跑了。 贝尔茨和姆斯不安地向四周张望。姆斯的嘴角和贝尔茨的头上都在淌血。 亨利的嘴动了动，但是没发出声音。 比尔转向了亨利。“走、走、走开！” “要是我不走呢？”亨利想让自己变得强硬一些，但是比尔看出了他的胆怯。 “要、要是你不、不走，”比尔说，“我、我、我们会一起收。 收拾你。我、我们六、六个会把你送、送到医、医院去。 " “7个。”麦克·汉伦说话了。他的每只手里都拿着一块大石头。 “试一试，鲍尔斯。我很乐意奉陪。” “操你妈的黑鬼！”亨利几乎要哭出来了。他的声音最终解除了贝尔茨和姆斯的斗志；他们后退着，手里的石头掉了下来。 “离开我们的地方。”贝弗莉说。 “闭嘴！贱货！你——”亨利的话音未落，4块石头从不同的角度飞了过去。他尖叫着，趴在了地上。他看着贝尔茨和姆斯。根本没人帮忙。姆斯尴尬地转过头去。 亨利站了起来，一边抽泣着，一边抹着鼻子。“我非杀了你们。”说着，他突然撒腿就跑，一会儿就跑得无影无踪了。 “快、快滚。”比尔对贝尔茨说：“不、不要再来这、这里。班。 班伦是我、我们的。 " “我希望你别再遇见亨利，孩子。”贝尔茨说，“走吧，姆斯。” 两个人耷拉着头走了，没有回头。 现在7个人站成了一个半圆形。所有的人身上都挂了彩。战斗持续了不到4分钟，而比尔觉得好像是打了一场世界大战那么久。 静默被艾迪。卡斯布兰克的嘶哑的呼吸声打破了。 班恩刚想走过去，可是觉得五脏内腹一阵翻腾，连忙跑进了树丛中。 理奇和贝弗莉忙走了过去。贝弗莉搂住了艾迪的腰，理奇把他的哮喘喷雾剂掏了出来。“吸一口，艾迪。”理奇按动开头，艾迪深吸了一口。 “谢谢。”艾迪挣扎着说。 班恩擦着嘴从树丛中走了出来，他的脸涨得通红。贝弗莉跑了过去，抓住了他的双手。 “谢谢你为我出头。”她说。 班恩点点头，看着自己肮脏的运动鞋，说了一句：“无论什么时候。” 他们一个个都转过头来看着麦克，每个人的目光都很仔细而且很小心。麦克从来没有感觉到过这种好奇的目光——他很坦率地看着他们。 比尔的目光扫过麦克，到了理奇身上。理奇也看着他。比尔似乎听见——“咋嗒”一声，就像是机器最后一个部件安装完毕。他的背上一阵发凉。“我们都在一起了。”他心里想。这个想法那么强烈，他几乎就要大声说出来——而在理奇、班恩、艾迪、贝弗莉和斯坦利的眼中他已经看出来了。 “我们现在都在一起了。”他又想。“哦，上帝保佑。现在真的开始了。上帝，帮我们吧。” “你叫什么名字？”贝弗莉问道。 “麦克·汉伦。” “你想跟我们一块放鞭炮吗？”斯坦利问。 麦克的笑容已经做出了回答。