Chapter 25 Chapter 15 Smoke Hole

1 Ricky Dorje pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose (although he has worn contact lenses for 20 years, this action is still quite familiar), feeling a little surprised in his heart.The mood in the room changes as Mike recalls his encounter with Big Bird at the ironworks, bringing back memories of his father's photo album and the moving photo. Richie felt an exciting, exhilarating force swell in the room.That inexhaustible force that you drank so eagerly as a child fades away from age 8 to 24, and is replaced by something more prosaic and false: purpose, or purpose.The most frightening thing is that that power doesn't disappear all at once.How can you stop being a child all of a sudden?That child is like the air in a tire, leaking out bit by bit.Then, suddenly one day you look in the mirror and see a grown face looking at you.You can continue to wear jeans and dye your hair, but still see an adult face in the mirror.While you were asleep, everything changed.

But now that power is coming back.No, not all come back - not yet - but are coming back.And not just in him; he could feel it everywhere in the room.There was that power in everyone's face, in their voice, in their movements. God, Richie thought, opening another can of beer for himself.It doesn't matter what kind of monster it is, and it doesn't matter that it draws power from their fear. Eddie broke the silence. "What do you think it knows about everything we're doing now?" "It's here, isn't it?" Ben said. "I don't think that explains the problem," Eddie said.

Bill nodded. "Those are just images," he said. "I don't think that means it can see us, or know what we're doing." "Those balloons weren't just images," Beverly said, "they were real." "That's not true," Richie said.Everyone looked at him. "The images are real. They must be. They—" Suddenly something new came back into place: coming so strongly that Ricky had to cover his ears and keep his eyes wide open. "Oh, God!" he exclaimed suddenly.Just as he was about to get up to grab the table, he slumped down on the chair again, feeling weak.He pulled up the beer can he knocked over and drank what was left.He looked at Mike, and everyone looked at him in surprise and concern.

"That hot feeling!" he almost growled. "That sting in my eye! Mike! That sting in my eye always—" Mike nodded and smiled slightly. "R-Ricky!" Bill asked him. "Yes, what is it?" But Richie could barely hear him, the flood of memories pounding him constantly. "We saw it coming!" he said to Mike. "We saw it coming, didn't we? You and me... or just me?" He grabbed Mike's hand. "Did you see it too, Mike, or was it just me? Did you see it? A forest fire? A bomb crater?" "I saw it." Mike said calmly, and squeezed Rich's hand.Rich closed his eyes, feeling so warm, so strong, so relieved, that he had never felt in his life.

"What are you two talking about?" Eddie looked at them puzzled. Rich looked at Mike, who shook his head. "Go ahead, Richie. I've finished my story tonight." "You don't know, maybe you can't remember, because you're all gone." Rich told them. "Me and Mike, we are the last two Indians left in the smoke hole." "Smoke hole." Bill was lost in thought, his blue eyes looking so far away. Richie said, "It was four or five days after Mike brought his dad's photo album to Barron. I think it was about mid-June. Our underground club was finished. But... the smoke hole thing, it's your idea , haystacks. You read that from the book."

Rich remembered that day Bill took him to the old place on Kansas Avenue on the Silver Arrow, hid the car under the small bridge, and the two of them walked along the path toward the open space. 2 While chasing mosquitoes and acorn worms, they walked forward. They crossed the clearing... a ten-by-three-inch piece of land creaked open to reveal a dark eye.That stare in the dark really scares Ricky.It was Eddie. There was giggles below, and a flashlight. "This is the Mexican Mounted Police, sir." Richie squatted there, pretending to stroke his beard, imitating the voice of Mexican policeman Panco.

"Really?" Beverly asked from below. "Let's see your epaulettes." "Epaulettes?" Richie yelled happily. "We don't need some dog buckle epaulettes." "Go to hell, Pankor," Eddie said, and slammed the hatch shut.There was a burst of laughter from within. "Hands up!" Bill ordered in his deep, mature voice.He started stomping around on the turf cover of the underground club, the ground bouncing up and down under his feet. "You have no chance!" he roared, imagining himself a fearless hero. "Come out, you idiots! Or we'll kill you!"

He jumped and jumped up there, and there were screams and laughter from below.Rich looked at Bill the way a grown-up looks at a child at play. He didn't know he wasn't always, Rich thought. "Let them in, Ben, or they're gonna knock the roof down," Beverly said.After a while, the flap snapped open like a submarine hatch. Bill and Richie jumped down, and Ben closed the hatch.All of them were there, kicking their legs, huddled warmly against the wooden walls. "In, on, on, how's it going, how's it going?" Bill asked. "Not too soon," said Ben, "we're—"

"Tell 'em, Ben," Eddie interrupted, "tell 'em that story! See what they think." "That won't do your asthma any favors," Stanley told Eddie in a very matter-of-fact tone. Rich sat with his hands on his knees between Ben and Mike.It's cool and private here.He temporarily forgot the surprise of eating outside just now. "What are you talking about here?" "Oh, Ben's telling us about an Indian ritual," Beverly said. "But Stanley's right, it won't do your asthma any good, Eddie." "Maybe it won't do any good." Eddie's voice was disturbed. "I only get sick when I get excited. Anyway, I want to give it a try."

"Try what, what, what?" "Smokehole Ritual," Eddie said. "What, what, what?" "Oh, I saw a book in the library last week," explained Ben, "it's called Ghosts of the Great Plains, and it's about a tribe of Indians who lived in the West 150 years ago. Know Well, almost all Indian tribes have a special ritual, our underground club reminds me of this. Whenever they have to make a big decision - whether to migrate with the bison, find new water sources, fight the enemy ——They all have to dig a hole in the ground, and then cover it with branches, leaving only an opening for the wind.”

"Smoke... smoke... smoke holes," Bill said. "After the smoke hole was dug, they lit a fire underneath. Green branches were used so that the smoke would billow out. Then all the warriors went down and sat by the fire. There was smoke everywhere. The books said it was a religious ceremony, It's also a kind of contest, understand? After about half a day, most of the brave soil will withdraw because they can't bear the stimulation of the thick smoke. There are only two or three left. It is said that they will have hallucinations." "Yes, if I were to breathe the smoke for five or six hours, I would definitely hallucinate." Mike's words made everyone laugh. "The hallucinations tell the tribe what to do," Ben said. "I don't know if it's true or not, but the books say that most of the time, those hallucinations are true." There was a silence as Richie looked at Bill.He could feel everyone looking at Bill.And he also had a premonition—Ban's story about the smoke hole should not be read from the book, but he had to try it himself.He knows it, they all know it.Ben knew best.This is the one thing they were meant to do. They are said to hallucinate...and, for the most part, those hallucinations are true. Richie thought: I'm sure if we asked him, Haystack would tell them that the book actually jumped into his hands.As if something wanted him to read that strange book and tell us all about the smoke hole ritual.Because there's a tribe right here, isn't there?right.us.And, we do need to know what's going to happen next. Which brings him to another question: Was this all meant to happen?How much of it is thought of by ourselves, and how much is thought of for us by others? In a way, that thought should be comforting.Wouldn't it be nice to have someone stronger and smarter than you think of everything for you?Rich believed in the power that brought them together.The idea of ​​that power bringing them the smoke hole, using Benth as a messenger.This power can fight against... against--it.But at the same time, he doesn't like being controlled by others, and he doesn't like the feeling of being controlled and driven. Everyone looked at Bill, waiting for Bill to speak. "You, you know, know, know," he said, "that sounds like a really, really good idea." Beverly sighed, and Stanley turned around uneasily...there was no response from the others. "Really, really, really no, not bad," Bill repeated.But Rich thought Bill was pale and frightened, even though he was smiling. "Maybe we can use, use illusion. Illusion to tell us how to solve. Solve, solve me, our question, question, problem." If anyone could hallucinate, Rich thought, it would be Bill.But he was wrong about this. "Well," began Ben, "maybe that only works for the Indians, but we're a little too reckless for that." "That is, we may be fainted by the smoke and die inside." Stanley was pessimistic. "It's really reckless." "You don't want to try, do you?" Eddie asked. "Well, sort of," Stanley said, sighing. "I think you guys are driving me nuts, you know?" He looked at Bill. "when?" Bill said, "Well, right now, right now, right now?" Everyone was surprised and thought in silence.Then Richie stood up and opened the flap, letting in a ray of light. "I brought the ax," said Ben, and followed him out. "Who will cut the branches for me?" Finally, everyone prepares together. 3 It took about half an hour for them to have everything ready.They cut down four or five handfuls of green branches.Beverly and Eddie went to the banks of the Kentucky River and came back with carefully selected stones.On the way back from carrying the stone, Richie said, "You can't go, Beverly. You're a woman. Ben said that only the brave can enter the smoke hole, not women." Beverly stopped and looked at Rich with mixed joy and anger. "I could knock you down any time, Richie." "So what, Miss Scarlett!" Richie heard the voice of a little black slave again, staring at Beverly with wide eyes. "You're still a woman and always will be a woman! You'll never be an Indian warrior!" "I'm going to be a heroine," Beverly said. "Listen, do you want to carry these rocks back with me, or wait until I smash your head off?" "Forgive me, Miss Scarlett, I don't want to lose my head!" said Richie sharply.Beverly laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten up, and the stones were scattered all over the ground. While Rich didn't mean it when she said she shouldn't go in the smoke hole because she was a woman, Bill meant it. Beverly stood in front of him, hands on hips, flushed with anger. "Say it nicely, Bill Stuttering! I'm in too. Am I no longer a member of your wretched club?" Bill showed great patience. "No, it's not that, that's what it is, Bei, Bei, Beverly, you, you know, you know. Someone has to stay up, up, up." "why?" Bill struggled, but still couldn't speak.Had to ask Eddie for help. "Because of what Stanley said," Eddie told her quietly. "Smoke. Bill said that might have happened—we all passed out there. And died. Bill said that's what happens with house fires. They didn't burn. They choked on the smoke. They—" She turned to Eddie. "Good. He wants someone to stay up there in case there's trouble?" Eddie nodded painfully. "Okay, so why not you? You have asthma." Eddie fell silent.She turned again and looked at Bill.The others gathered around and bowed their heads in silence. "Because I'm a girl, right? That's the real reason, right?" "Bei, bei, bei, bei..." "You don't have to talk," Beverly said angrily. "Nod or shake your head. You don't stutter, do you? Is it because I'm a girl?" Bill nodded reluctantly. She looked at him for a long moment, her lips trembling, and Ricky thought she was going to cry.Instead she smiled. "Oh, fuck you!" She turned to look at the others.None of them dared to meet her burning gaze. "If you're all thinking that, you're all bastards!" She turned to Bill, speaking faster and faster, scolding him. "This ain't some kid's game of sticking plasters and hide-and-seek, you know that, Bill. We're meant to Do it. It's God's will. You can't exclude me just because I'm a girl. Understand? You better be like this, or I'm leaving now. If I go, I'm gone. Forever. Understand?" Bill looked at her and seemed much calmer.But Rich was terrified, feeling that their chances of winning, of catching the killer who had killed George and the other children, of getting close to him and killing him were going to naught. Seven, Riki thought.That's a magic number.Only 7 people can be present.As fate would have it. From somewhere, there was a bird song, it was quiet, and then it sounded again. "Okay then," Bill said, "but there's got to be, there's got to be, stay on, stay on. Who'll, will, will?" No one answered. "Quick, quick, quick, quick," Bill urged.Everyone knew it was dangerous, but no one flinched.Richie was suddenly proud of them, proud to be with them, having been excluded for so many years, and finally included this time. He didn't know if they were still losers, but he knew they were together.is a friend. Very good friend. "I know what to do," Beverly said, taking out a box of matches from her pocket.She struck a match and blew it out.Then he took out 6 unburned matches and put them together. She clenched her fist, and the matchstick rushed out. "Pick." She held out the match to Bill. "Whoever gets the burnt match stays on it. If there's trouble, drag everyone up." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. All 6 boys got an unburned match. "I guess it's you, you, you, Beverly," Bill said. Beverly opened her fists in frustration. The remaining match was also unburned. "You, you, you lied to them," Bill scolded her. "No, I haven't." Her tone didn't seem to be justifying, but she was extremely surprised. "I swear to God I didn't." She held out her hand, and they all saw the ashes of a burnt match on the palm of her hand. Bill looked at her and nodded.Everyone tacitly handed the match to Bill. 4 An undamaged match.Stanley and Eddie searched on the ground for a long time, but there was still no trace of the burned match. "I didn't." Beverly defended herself. "So what do we do now?" Ricky asked. "We all, all, down," Bill said, "because it's me, me, we bet. Destined to do things, things. " "What if we all passed out?" Eddie asked. Bill looked at Beverly again. "Like, if B-Beverly said, told the truth, she. She did, I. We wouldn't." "How do you know?" Stanley asked. "I, I guarantee, guarantee." There was another bird song in the distance. 5 Ben and Richie went in first, and built a small smoke hole in the center of the floor with stones handed out.They walked into the underground club one by one, each holding a handful of green branches in his hand.Bill was last.He closed the flap and opened the little window. "That, that, there is our smoke, smoke, hole. Who has, has something to lead, lead, light?" Mike gave a little book, and Bill solemnly tore the book page by page. Everyone sat against the wall, shoulder to shoulder, watching quietly.There was tension in the silence. Bill put the twig on the paper and looked at Beverly. "You, you, you have. Fire, matches," he said. She strikes a match, and a yellow flame dances in the darkness. "This shit may not light up." Her voice was trembling, and she lit a piece of paper after speaking. The flames burst into flames, making crackling noises.Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.Rich imagined long ago those Indians knee to knee, shoulder to shoulder, in their smoke holes, watching the flames jumping, listening to the hiss of sap, waiting for the vision to arise. Yes.Sitting here now he believes it all...everyone here believes it. Branches burned, and smoke began to fill the underground club.The acrid smoke irritated the eyes and throat.Richie heard Eddie cough twice, and everything became calm again. Bill threw two more twigs over the smoldering flames and asked, "Has anyone hallucinated?" "The hallucination of wanting to get out," Stanley said.Beverly laughed, but the laughter was quickly replaced by a cough. Richie leaned against the wall, looked at the smoke hole, and thought of the statue of Paul Bunyan... But that was just an illusion, an illusion. "The smoke is choking me," Ben said. "Then get out," Richie whispered.He felt light, that the underground club had grown bigger.Absolutely.Just now he sat there with Ben's fat leg on his left and Bill's thin shoulder on his right.But now he couldn't touch them.He glanced idly left and right. Ben was a mile away from him, Bill even further away. "The place's getting bigger, my friends," he said.He took a deep breath, coughing badly, and felt a stabbing pain in his chest.Then Bill beat his back for him, and the cough passed. "You don't know you haven't always," Richie said.He looked at the smoke hole again.how bright it is!Even with his eyes closed he could see the rectangle, floating in the dark, but bright green, not white. "What do you. What do you mean?" Bill asked. "Stuttering." He paused, and someone coughed again. Suddenly a ray of light shot into the underground club.It was so sudden and bright that Ricky had to squint his eyes.He recognized the figure of Stanley, struggling to get out. The flap was closed.Mike threw a few more twigs into the fire.Richie couldn't feel the passage of time, only felt that this small space was getting better and hotter. Rich looked around, at his friends.The smoke was so thick that it was hard to see clearly. Beverly leaned her head against the wall, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks to her earlobes.Bill sat cross-legged, forehead resting on his chest.BAN--Ban stands up suddenly and pushes back the flap. "Ben's gone," Mike said.He sat across from Rich like an Indian, his eyes were red. Eddie is out. Beverly is out. After a while, Bill stumbled to his feet and was dragged up. "Looks like it's the two of us, Mike." Rich said and coughed. "I thought it was Bill—" He coughed worse, fell on his knees, coughed dryly, and couldn't breathe.There was a buzzing in his head, tears streaming down his face.Seemingly from far away, he heard Mike's voice: "Go up if you can't, Richie. Don't be rash. Don't hurt yourself." He waved at Mike.Mike is right, something is about to happen soon.He still wanted to be here then. The cough made him dizzy, and now he seemed to be floating on air.It's a wonderful feeling.He took a short breath and thought: One day I'm going to be a rock star.definitely will.I will be famous.Make records, make albums, make movies.I would own a Cadillac.They'll be so jealous when I get back to Derry.I wear glasses, so what does that matter?I'll be Maine's first rock star.I will - thoughts become ethereal.It doesn't matter.He found himself no longer having to take short breaths.His lungs have adapted and he can breathe the smoke freely.Maybe he's from Venus. "How are you feeling, Richie?" Mike asked. Richie smiled. "Much better. Very good. How about you?" Mike nodded and smiled. "It feels good. Do you have any weird ideas?" "Yes. Just now I thought I was Sherlock Holmes. Then I thought I could dance like a rock star. Your eyes are red." "Same as yours. We're a pair of weasels in a corral." "yes?" "That's right." "Are you OK?" "It's all right. Did you hear me?" "Yes, Mike." "Okay, that's good." They smiled at each other.Richie leaned his head against the wall again, looking at the smoke hole, and after a while he felt himself starting to drift away.No...not drifting away.up. He is ascending.like a balloon. "You, you, you two, two, two are okay, are you okay?" Bill's voice was transmitted from outside the smoke hole, as if from Venus, full of worry.Richie felt himself fall back with a thud. "It's okay." Richie heard his own voice, far away, a little annoyed. "It's okay, I said it's okay, be quiet, Bill, let's listen to God, we want to say we hear the instructions of (world) God." Subterranean clubs became very large, with slick floors and smog everywhere. floor!God!As big as a stage for an absurd musical.Mike looked at him from the opposite side like a shadow lost in the thick fog. You're here, Mike? Right next to you, Richie. Are you still going to say no problem? Yes...but hold my hand...is it enough? I want to. Rich stretched out his hand, even though Mike was standing on the other side of the big room, he still felt that strong hand grasping his wrist.Great, he tilted his head back slightly, looking at the smoke hole, transparent and small.Getting higher and higher.Miles high.Skylight on Venus. it has started.He floated in the air, quickly cutting through the smoke. 6 They're not in there anymore. The two of them stood side by side in the hinterland of Ban Lun.It was already dusk. This is Ban Lun, he knows, but everything is different.The plants are more lush and exude a strong fragrance.There is a lot of vegetation that they have never seen before.There was the sound of running water, but it was surprisingly loud—not the gentle flow of the Kentucky River, but the roar of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. It's very hot here.He had never experienced such a hot and sticky feeling in his life.Thick fog curled up in the valley, hovering around the two children's laps.It exudes a faint pungent smell released when the green trees are burning. He and Mike walked in the direction of the sound of running water through the strange vegetation in silence.Ropey vines tangled among the trees; Richie heard something fall in the bushes, louder than a deer. He stopped and watched for a while, turned around, and looked at the distant horizon.There should have been a big white water tower there, but there wasn't.Nor the railway viaduct leading to the freight yard at the end of Nabert Street, nor the houses of the old Cape - just the cliffs, the red sandstone and the rocks, under the thick, huge grasses and pine forests. There was a popping sound overhead.The two children hurriedly lowered their heads, dodging a group of huge banners.The silence and strangeness of this land is terrifying, but the sense of déjà vu is all the more chilling. Don't be afraid, he encouraged himself.Remember this is just a dream, or a fantasy.Me and Mike are actually at the club.Confused by the smoke.No answer from us, Bill and Ben will come down in no time and drag us out.All this is false. But with his hazy eyes, he saw the ragged wings of the bat.As they passed under a huge fern, he saw a fat yellow caterpillar crawl over a broad fern. They walked toward the sound of the water, stepping through the thick fog that wrapped around their knees.Richie wondered if his feet were on the ground.They came to a place where there was no cloud and no land.Rich couldn't believe what he saw.It's not the Kentucky River--yet it is.The river leaps jubilantly in narrow channels and through crunchy rocks.You can't cross a river by stepping on stones; you need a rope bridge, and if you stumble, you'll be swept away by the rushing water.As Richie stared dumbfounded at the sight, a pink and golden fish leaped out of the water to prey on flying insects. Birds screeched through the air.Not one group, two groups, but overwhelming, covering the sun.Another animal ran under the bushes, and then more animals galloped by.Richie turned around suddenly, heart beating violently.He saw an antelope-like animal fleeing in panic to the southeast. Something is going to happen. The birds flew by and seemed to all land somewhere in the south.Another animal sprinted past them...another one.Then there was silence except for the sound of the Kentucky River.It seems to be waiting and brewing in silence.Richie didn't like the atmosphere and felt his hair stand on end.He held Mike's hand tightly. do you know where we areHe yelled at Mike.Have you heard God's instructions? God, I hear you!Mike answered loudly.I heard!This is the past, Richie!past! Richie nodded.In the past, long long ago, all living things lived in the forest.Ban Lun lived thousands of years ago.They were in an ancient time longer than the Ice Age, when New England was still a tropical region like South America today... He looked around nervously, thinking that he would definitely see the long neck of the brontosaurus, stuffed in its mouth. Dirt and uprooted plants, looking down at them; or a saber-toothed tiger emerges from a bush. 7 5 minutes, 10 minutes passed, and the surrounding area was still silent.Suddenly a loud thunderous noise pierced the sky, and the purple clouds piled up higher and higher, shining with a strange purple-yellow light.The wind stopped.There was a strong smell of gunpowder in the air. We are in ancient times, maybe 1 million years ago, maybe 10 million years ago, maybe 80 million years ago, but when we come here, great changes are about to happen.I don't know what, anyway, everything is about to happen.I'm scared, I want this to be over, Bill, Bill, please pull us back.It's as if we've fallen into a picture, please, please help - Mike's hand is tight on him, and he realizes that the silence has been broken.The ground was shaking, pressing on his eardrums, spreading to every bone in his body.The sound is getting louder. no tone; just—(the first word is world) A harsh, soulless voice.He held onto a nearby tree, and the moment his hand touched the trunk, he felt the tremor from within.His feet were also trembling, spreading from his ankles to his calves and knees, and all the muscles in his body turned into rattling dinner forks. It's getting louder.It's getting louder. The loud noise came from the sky, and Richie raised his head involuntarily.Like a molten coin, the sun burned in a ring of fire in the low-hanging sky, surrounded by a dreamy circle of water vapor.The lush Ban Lun was silent.Richie understood what the vision was: seeing it coming. The tremors carried a sound—the rumbling was deafening.He covered his ears tightly and screamed, but couldn't hear himself.Mike next to him is the same.Richie saw that Mike's nose was bleeding. The clouds in the western sky were illuminated by a piece of fire, and that ominous color radiated towards them.Then, a flaming object fell, piercing the clouds and carrying the hurricane with it.Hot, scorching, smoky, suffocating.The flaming behemoth in the sky shone blindingly.For a while there was thunder and lightning. spaceship!Richie screamed, covering his eyes, and fell to his knees.Oh my God, it's a spaceship!But he believed it wasn't a spaceship at all, though the thing had traveled through space to come here.The object that fell one day long ago came from a place farther away than another star or another galaxy. Then there was an explosion—a loud bang, followed by a powerful shock wave, knocking them both to the ground.This time it was Mike who grabbed his hand first.Another explosion.Richie opened his eyes and saw a cloud of smoke rising into the sky, accompanied by a blazing fire. it!He spoke to Mike aloud, fear and surprise in his voice.it!it!it! Mike pulled him up, and they galloped along the banks of the young Kentucky River, not caring about the danger of falling into the river at any moment.Mike fell and slid far out on his knees.Richie also fell, scratching his calf and pants.The wind picked up, blowing billows of smoke from the burning forest toward them.The smoke was getting thicker, and Richie vaguely felt that it wasn't just him and Mike running.All the animals were running, out of the smoke, out of the fire, out of death.Get out of it - newcomers to their world. Richie started coughing.He heard that Mike beside him was also coughing.The smoke was thicker, covering the forest and the sky.Mike fell again and Richie couldn't catch him.He groped, but couldn't find anything. Mike!He cried out in horror.Mike, where are you?Mike!Mike! But Mike disappeared, and there was no sign of Mike anywhere. Ricky!Ricky!Ricky! "Ricky! Rich! Rich, you—" 8 "Are you okay?" He blinked and saw Beverly kneeling beside him, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.The others—Bill, Eddie, Stanley, and Ben—stand behind her, solemn, terrified.Richie's face was badly hurt.He tried to talk to Beverly, but his voice was hoarse.He cleared his throat so hard that he nearly spat out.The throat and lungs seemed to be filled with smoke. Rich struggled to sit up, the world surging before his eyes like a wave.When everything in front of him calmed down, he saw Mike leaning against a nearby tree, his eyes were dazed, and his face was pale. "Did I throw up?" Rich asked Beverly. She nodded, still wiping tears. Richie tried to stand up, but instead sat down on the ground.The world is still shaking before my eyes. He started coughing again.He hurriedly turned his head away, vomited acid water all over the place. Richie finally opened his eyes and saw thin puffs of smoke rising from the club's windows and flaps. This time Richie finally stood up, still feeling nauseous and dizzy.When the feeling subsided, Rich walked over to Mike.Mike's eyes were still red, and his trouser legs were wet. Bill came over, and the others followed. "You dragged us out?" Richie asked. "Me, me and Ben, Ben. You, you screaming. You, you, both of you, but, but, but—" He looked at Ben. Bane said, "It must be the smoke, Bill." Rich said flatly: "You mean what you say?" Bill shrugged. "What, what do you mean. Mean, mean, Richie? " Mike took his words. "We weren't there at first, were we? You went down when you heard us, but we weren't there at first." "There's smoke everywhere," Ben said. "I heard you two yelling like hell. But the yelling... sounds like..." "Listen, listen, sounds far, far, far, far, far." Bill stammered even more.He said that when he and Ben went down, he couldn't see Ricky or Mike.The two of them searched the smoke hole for a long time, very scared, worried that if they didn't hurry up, the two of them would be smoked to death.Finally Bill found a hand—Ricky.He was nearly unconscious when Bill put him on.Ben also found Mike and carried him out. "Listening to you, our club seems to be bigger than before." Rich said. "It's only 5 feet square." Everyone was silent and looked at Bill.He stood there frowning, thinking. "Yes, yes, it's big, it's much bigger." It took him a long time before he opened his mouth. "Yes, yes, yes, Ban Siguang and Ban Si shrugged." It seemed to be so, if it wasn't for the smoke. " "It wasn't smoke at all," Richie said. "Just a split second before it happened—before we went out—I remember thinking that the place was at least as big as a musical stage. I could barely see the Mike." "Before you went out?" Beverly asked. “嗯……我是说……像……” 她一把抓过理奇的胳膊。“真的发生了，是吗？真的发生了！就像班恩的书里说的那样，你有了幻觉！”她的脸红扑扑的。“真的发生了！” “发生了什么？”班恩和艾迪异口同声地问道。 “过去。”麦克说。 “不仅是过去。是远古。”理奇说。 “对，没错。我们在班伦，但是肯塔斯基河水水流湍急。很深很深，真他妈的荒凉。河里还有鱼。鲑鱼，我想是。” “我、我爸、爸、爸爸说、说肯、肯塔斯、基河早、早、早就没鱼、鱼了，因、因为污、污水。” “那是很久很久以前。”理奇说。他看看大家。“我想至少是一百万年前。” 大家都惊呆了。贝弗莉打破了沉默。“但是到底发生了什么？” 理奇觉得话就在嘴边，但是他费了好大力气才说出来。“我们看见它来了，我想是。” “上帝，”斯坦利嘟波着，“哦，上帝。” 又听到艾迪喷哮喘药发出的尖锐的喘息声。 “从天外来的，”麦克说，“我这辈子再也不想看到那种场面了。 它燃烧着，那么热，你都睁不开眼睛。它还放出问电，打雷。那声音……“他摇摇头，看着理奇。“听起来像是世界末日到了。当它落地的时候，引起了森林大火。 " “是宇宙飞船吗？”班恩问。 “是。”理奇说。 "No." Mike said. 他们看着对方。 “哦，我想是。”麦克说。这时理奇又说：“不，不是宇宙飞船，但是——” 他们又不说话了，大家迷惑地看着他们。 “你说吧，”理奇对麦克说，“我想我们说的是一个意思，但是他们没听懂。” 麦克咳了一声，好像很抱歉似地看着大家。“我不知道该怎么说。”他说。 “试、试、试着说。”比尔焦急地说。 “它来自天外，”麦克重复着，“但肯定不是宇宙飞船。也不是陨石。更像……嗯……像身体里有上帝的神灵……不过这个不是上帝。只要感觉它，看到它的到来，你就知道它代表着邪恶，它就是邪恶。” 他看着大家。 理奇点点头。“他来自……外边。我有这种感觉。来自外边。” “什么之外，理奇？”艾迪问道。 “宇宙之外，”理奇说，“当它落地的时候……它砸出一个特别特别大的坑，把这么高的山便炸成面圈，差一点。它就落在现在的德里镇中心。” 他看着大家。“你们听懂了吗？” 麦克说：“他一直住在这里，从远古的时候起……在人类还没有出现之前。现在那个大坑已经消失了，可能是冰川时期山谷被削得更深，改变了附近的地形，填平了那个大坑……但是那时它就在这里了，沉睡，也许吧，等待冰川溶化，等着人类的诞生。” “那就是为什么它总是利用下水道的原因吧。”理奇插进来。 “对它来说，那里肯定是高速公路。” “你们没看见它长的样子卢斯坦利突然问道，声音有些沙哑。 They shook their heads. “我们能打败它吗？”一片沉默中艾迪问出这个问题。“像那样的东西？” No one can answer.