Chapter 27 Chapter 17 Another Disappearance: The Death of Patrick Hoxett

1 Eddie finished his story and poured another beer.He looked at Beverly and said, "You saw it, didn't you? You saw it take Patrick the other day." Everyone's attention was concentrated at once. Beverly brushed her hair back, fished a cigarette out of the pack—the last one—and lit her lighter; but her hand was shaking so badly that Bill reached out and took it lightly. She touched her wrist before lighting a cigarette.Beverly looked at him gratefully, and took a long puff of smoke. "Yes," she said, "I saw it." After speaking, she trembled. "He's crazy, crazy," Bill finished, thinking about the past.It was that summer that Henry befriended an oddball like Patrick...either because Henry was losing his charm, or because Henry's own madness had grown to a point where Patrick seemed to match him.It's all the same thing—Henry is getting more and more... depraved.In terms of what he did himself, and where he ended up going, I think he was right.

There are other facts to support such a view, Bill thought.But he only remembered vaguely.He and Ricky and Beverly had been to the Turek brothers' house--it was the beginning of August, and Henry's summer school days were coming to an end--didn't Victor approach it first? Their?That horrible Victor Chris?Yes, it happened.It was coming to an end, every kid in Derry felt that way--the Losers first, of course, and Henry's gang.But that's for later. "You're right." Beverly's tone was flat. "Patrick is crazy. In school, no girl wants to sit in front of him.If you are sitting in front of him doing your homework, you can immediately feel a hand... lightly, but fleshy and full of sweat. "She swallowed, and then said: "That hand will be on your waist, or on your chest.As soon as you feel it, turn around and Patrick is grinning.

He has a pencil-box--" "It's full of flies," Richie interrupted suddenly. "He killed the flies with that green ruler and put them in the pencil case." Eddie nodded. "You turn around and he's probably opening the pencil case to show you the dead flies in it." Beverly went on, "The worst part—the horrible thing is—he just laughs and doesn't say a word. I think Mrs Douglas was quite afraid of him, too." "What happened to him? Beverly?" Bill asked. Beverly remembered the nightmarish things that had happened that day.With her own roller skates on her back and the slingshot Bill had given her in her pocket, she came to Banron.

"Do you remember that slingshot?" she asked Richie—all nodding. "Bill gave it to me," she said, "I didn't want it, but...he..." She gave Bill a pale smile. "You can't say no to Bill. That's why I came out that day. To practice the slingshot. I still know I don't have the guts to use it. Unless... that day. I had to use it... and kill one of them One of... a part of it. It was horrible. Even now I don't want to think about it. And a part of it grabs me. You see." She raised her arms and turned around for everyone to see.All could see a distinct circular scar on her arm.

"You're right, Richie," she said. "That slingshot is really nice. I'm afraid of it, but kind of like it at the same time." Rich laughed, patted Beverly on the back and said, "I already knew, silly girl." "Really?" "It's true," Richie said. "It's in your eyes." "You punched a hole in something with that slingshot the other day," Benth mused. Beverly nodded. "You put Patrick—" "No, God! No!" Beverly quickly argued. "It's something else... wait a minute." She stubbed out her cigarette, took a sip of her drink, and regained her composure. "I went roller skating, but I fell; so I decided to go to Barron for target practice. I went to the club first to see if you were there. But you weren't there, just the smell of smoke. You all remember the smoke How long did the smell last?"

All smiled and nodded. "So I went to the garbage dump." Beads of sweat appeared on Beverly's head. "Because there we used to have a... selection, and I was really looking for a live target, like a rat... to practice on. I'm glad I came from the Kansas Avenue case, not from the old Cape Over there, or they will find out." "He, they are, who are they?" "They're Henry Powers, Victor Chris, Beltz Huggins, and Patrick Hoxett. They're all over there at the dump, and—" Suddenly, Beverly giggled like a child, her cheeks flushed with rose.

"What's going on? Beverly?" Richie couldn't help it. "Let's have fun with everyone." "It's really ridiculous." Beverly said, "But if I let them know at that time, they would definitely kill me." "I remember!" Ben exclaimed, laughing too. "I remember you told us!" Beverly laughed until tears flowed down her cheeks."They're taking off their panties and trying to set their farts on fire!" she said. There was silence for a while, and then everyone burst out laughing. Beverly touched her cigarette case and found it was empty.Rich handed her his cigarette case.

Beverly lit a cigarette and resumed her story. 2 That day she walked in the direction of the garbage dump. As she came nearer, the trees grew larger and the bushes thinner.The seagulls kept calling in the air, and the air was filled with the smell of burning things. Now, to Beverly's right, against a spruce stump, was a rusty refrigerator.Beverly glanced there, vaguely remembering when she was in third grade and a policeman came to their classroom and told them it was dangerous to talk like a disused refrigerator—if a kid playing catch-and-seek ran into it Go, it's easy to suffocate.

Suddenly she heard a cry that startled her.There was another burst of laughter, and Beverly smiled.It must be one of our own.They must have had trouble staying at the club to get here. She picked up the pace. She emerged from a small patch of bushes.In front of her was a pile of abandoned cars, more than a dozen of them.The laughter came not far from the old car.Beverly went around the last car.She raised her hand just as she was about to say hello, when suddenly her hand came back.softened. God!Why did they take off their clothes? Then she woke up suddenly.Those people are Henry and the others, not their own people.For an instant, if any of the four of them had looked up, they would have seen her.

Beverly quickly retreated to the back of the car.In that glimpse, she saw that they were not completely naked, but had their panties down to their ankles.Her heart was pounding violently.She looked around to see if she could get away.It's not far from the bushes here, but there are few shelters, and when she retreats there, she can be easily spotted. Also, a shameful curiosity suddenly rose in her heart: what are they doing? She quietly peeked from behind the car. Several of them are forming a circle.Books and papers were scattered on the floor.Henry and Beltz were heading in her direction, and she saw their naked parts.She was both curious and scared.

Beltz roared suddenly, startling Beverly.Then Henry yelled, "Three inches! That's right! Beltz! Isn't it? Victor?" Victor nodded, and they all burst into laughter. At this moment, Patrick pouted his butt, almost standing on Henry's face.Henry held a shiny thing in his hand.It took a while before Beverly recognized it was a lighter. "I think you can feel it coming out of it," Henry said. "I'll tell you when I come," Patrick said. 'preparation!Get ready, it's coming!Pre... coming! " Henry lit the lighter, and then there was a ~fart.A blue flame burst from the middle of Patrick's ass. Henry's group burst out with shocking laughter.Beverly backed away from the car and couldn't help giggling.She was terrified, for it was something she should not have seen; but what they were doing was so ridiculous that she had to laugh. She covered her mouth, trying to control herself, but it was useless. "Damn it! It hurts me!" Victor yelled. "Twelve inches!" Henry bellowed. "Swear to God, Victor, fucking 12 inches! I swear it on my mother's name!" "I don't care how fucking long it is, you're going to burn my ass off!" Victor howled, laughing again. Beverly hid in the back of the car, laughing until her stomach ached, tears streaming down her face. 3 Henry, Victor, Beltz, and Patrick Hoxett came to the garbage dump to fuck, all because of Raina Davenport. Henry knew what it was like to eat too many beans.The best expression is his father's doggerel when he was a child: "Beans, beans, play music! Eat more to enlarge the situation! The more farts, the more breathable!" Raina Davenport has been flirting with Henry's father for 8 years.She is a 40-year-old fat woman who is often overgrown. Reina's beans are her pride.She soaks her beans every Saturday and slowly roasts them all day Sunday.Henry thought baked beans were delicious at first - but he would get tired of eating them for 8 years. On that morning, Henry took out the leftover beans from yesterday's meal. The four of them sat under the shade of a tree and ate for a whole noon. Their stomachs were about to explode. It was Patrick who suggested going to the dump.He said it was quiet there.Once they got there, the beans worked. 4 Beverly slowly got herself under control.She knew she had to leave quickly, it was too dangerous to stay here.Just when she was daring to slip away, she heard Victor speak. "I've got to go, Henry. My dad asked me to break corn for him this afternoon." "Damn it," Henry said, "Leave him alone, it's fine." "No. He'll get me. It's happened before." Beverly listened carefully, suspecting that they were talking about Eddie's broken arm. "No, I have to go," Victor said. "I think his ass hurts." It was Patrick's voice. "Keep your mouth shut, damn it." Victor seemed annoyed. "I have to go too," Beltz said. "Did your dad let you break the corn too?" Henry asked angrily.Henry may be confused, Beltz's father is dead. "No, but I have to deliver the Weekly Shopping Paper." "What's the Weekly Shopping News?" Henry's voice sounded frustrated. "It's work." Bell Huo said patiently. "I have to make money." Henry hummed in annoyance.Beverly ventured another glance.Victor and Beltz are wearing their belts, while Henry and Patrick are still naked. "You're not a coward, are you?" Henry asked Patrick. "No." Patrick replied. "You don't have to break corn or anything like that?" "No." Patrick replied simply. "Okay," Beltz said. "Goodbye, Henry." "Go." Henry finished, spitting thick phlegm on Beltz's feet for a day. Victor and Beltz walked towards the abandoned vehicle...to the car where Beverly was hiding.At first Beverly was frightened, and lay there like a rabbit.She then went around the left side of the car and got into a doorless Ford.She lay prone in the car, not daring to vent her breath.She heard Beltz and Victor whispering and walking past. She thought she could go now if she was careful.But she didn't have the courage, what if she was found out?Now that two of them had gone, the other two should soon follow.Then she went back to the club; and she wanted to pee.After a while, she heard Patrick howl again. "Six inches!" Henry exclaimed. "It's a fucking torch!" There was another moment of silence. "Fuck! You're burning my ass!" Henry yelled. "Ten inches." Patrick laughed. "Give it to me." Henry hummed. Get out!idiot!Beverly cursed inwardly. "I'll get you something pretty," Patrick said. "Very comfortable." "What?" Henry asked. Another long silence. Beverly couldn't help but peeked again, only to see that Patrick was rubbing Henry's lower body with his hands. what is he doing Beverly felt sick. At this moment, Patrick's voice came: "You will like it." "I don't like it!" Henry exclaimed. "I'll kill you if you tell anyone! Fuck you gay!" The footsteps were getting closer.Henry yelled: "If you tell anyone, I'll say you're gay! I'll kill you!" "Don't scare me, Henry," Patrick laughed. "If you give me a dollar, I won't tell." Henry turned away. "If you dare, I'll tell people what you do with the cats, and the dogs. I'll tell them about the fridge. Do you know what's going to happen, Hoxet? They'll put you in an iron cage Patrick stopped talking. Henry is gone.Beverly turned her head and saw him walking past the cab of the Ford.After a while, she heard Henry walking in the direction of Victor and Beltz. That leaves Patrick. Beverly waited patiently, but five minutes passed and nothing happened. She couldn't help it, so she took another sneak peek, and saw Patrick was still sitting there with his schoolbag on his neck; his trousers and underpants still hadn't been lifted up; he was playing with Henry's lighter. Beverly quietly climbed out of the car, then ran back along the same road.When she ran into the pine forest, she glanced back.No one is there anymore.Her mood suddenly relaxed. She hurriedly ran to a secluded place, then squatted down and relieved her hands.Just when she was about to stand up, she heard footsteps coming from the garbage dump.Through the bushes she saw faded blue trousers and a check shirt.It was Patrick. She squatted down again, waiting for him to walk by, toward Kansas Avenue.Now she is in a very hidden place, so she doesn't have to worry about being discovered. But Patrick didn't go.He stood on the path almost facing her, looking at the rusty refrigerator.Beverly felt that even if she was discovered by Patrick, she could get rid of him.Although he wasn't as fat as Ben, he was fat enough.She slapped the slingshot out of the back pocket of her trousers.Then put 6 small projectiles in the breast pocket.When escaping, a few small projectiles can also block it for a while. At this point Patrick was standing in front of the old refrigerator humming like someone in a horror movie summoning a ghost. A chill ran through Beverly's body.What is he doing? If she had known what would have happened when Patrick opened the refrigerator, Beverly would have escaped. 5 No one, not even Mike Hanlon, knew how crazy Patrick Hoxett was.He was 12 years old, the son of a paint merchant.His mother, a devout Catholic, died of cancer in 1962, four years after Patrick disappeared in Derry.Although his IQ is only slightly low, this year he has to attend a summer cram school, which is the fifth time he has attended it. At school, the teachers separated Patrick from the girls because of his dishonest hands.Generally speaking, he is more "dutiful"; although he always fails in his exams, he is not like Henry or Victor who makes a fuss and is obsessive. No one expected that there would be such a terrible thing hidden behind that pale round face-at the age of 5, Patrick murdered his younger brother Evan. Patrick didn't like the little brother his mother brought back from the hospital.He doesn't care how many children his parents have, but there is one thing: no one can interfere with his life.Patrick found that to be exactly the case in Evan.The crying of the children will wake him up at night, and it seems that the parents care more about Evan.He felt that since Evanli, like him, existed at home, his parents could get rid of him when Evanli grew up.That terrified Patrick very much. So one afternoon at about two-thirty, he came back early from kindergarten and walked into Evanley's room.It's January weather, it's snowing outside, and the wind is howling.Mother was sleeping in the bedroom - Evan had another night of tossing last night.Father went to work. Patrick turned Evan's head over and laid it on the pillow.Evan struggled and cried.The struggle was slight; Patrick let go.Then he fell asleep again. The wind was shaking the windows.Patrick waited a while to see if the crying would wake his mother.The result is not. There was ecstasy in his heart.Very carefully, he pushed Erwin's face back onto the pillow.Evan struggled, and Patrick's hands tightened.The little one wanted to cry out loud - he was awake.Patrick didn't let go, still gripping tightly.Finally the struggle stopped.Patrick pressed for a while longer, feeling his agitation fade away before giving up. He went downstairs, got himself a box of biscuits, and made another glass of milk.After an hour and a half, my mother came downstairs.She sat next to him and asked how he was doing at school. Patrick replied fine.Then he showed her his painting again.She finished it and said it was very good.Every time Patrick brought home a painting that looked exactly the same.Sometimes he would say it was turkey, sometimes it would be tree, sometimes it would be child...but mother always said it was very good. It wasn't until almost 5 o'clock that she found out that Evan was dead.During that time Patek had been watching TV.When the doctor arrived and Patrick's mother screamed in his father's arms, Patrick was so calm that the doctor thought he was scared out of his wits. The final diagnosis was that the baby fell to death.The child was buried.Patrick finally felt it was over—and eating on time again.At night, Patrick's father stood stupefied by the empty cot in Evan, unable to believe what had happened.He lowered his head and suddenly saw two rows of small footprints on the ground.It was the melted snow on Patrick's boots.He looked at the two sets of footprints, and a terrible image flashed in his mind.He opened his mouth and opened his eyes.Before the image became clear, he left the room and slammed the door. He never asked Patrick any questions. Patrick never did anything like that again.But as time went on, he came to realize what could happen if he was caught.There are always some rules.If you break them and get caught, you end up in jail or the electric chair.But that kind of excitement always made him unforgettable.He couldn't get rid of that ecstasy completely.So he started shooting flies; what made him even more miserable was paying two cents for a piece of flypaper and watching the flies get stuck and struggle on it.Sometimes he would steal a sewing needle from the house and needle the beetle and watch it slowly die. One day last year (the day George Dunbarn was murdered), he found the old, rusty refrigerator, right next to a dump. He has a new idea. He secretly caught the pets, dogs or cats from the neighbors, put them in the old refrigerator, and watched those little lives struggling, slowly starving or suffocating to death. At the beginning, he often caught something, but in the summer, the prey gradually became less and less, and with his intuition, he felt that people began to suspect him. But he found that the refrigerator had a magical power.Sometimes at night he would dream of the refrigerator: it was like a huge white tomb in the cold moonlight; the door would open suddenly and there would be a pair of huge eyes staring at him.He often woke up sweating profusely, but he found himself completely unable to resist the pleasure brought by the refrigerator. Today he finally found out who was suspicious of him.None other than Powers.Henry knows his secret - Patrick is horrified. His latest kill was a pigeon he caught on Kansas Avenue two days ago.The pigeon is now dead, but the carcass has not been disposed of.Maybe he would get some water to rinse it off and wipe it down with a rag. "Even if Henry said it, I'd say he broke Eddie Cusblanc's arm," thought Patrick. "An eye for an eye." No matter so much, the most important thing now is to get rid of that pigeon.Then immediately go back to get water and a rag. Patrick opened the refrigerator door. He froze. All that was left of the pigeon was the skeleton and the pile of feathers underneath.There was a flesh-colored beetle-like thing wriggling inside the refrigerator.He frowned. Suddenly one of the beetle-like things spread its wings and flew up, and landed on Patrick's left arm.There was a fever in his left arm.I saw that the original flesh-colored thing suddenly turned blood red, which made Patrick feel very sick.He screamed and slapped him with his hands.In an instant it had become the size of a tennis ball.Patrick pinched the thing with his fingers and pulled it out.A large hole appeared in Patrick's arm without pain.The thing was still writhing in his fingers. Patrick tossed it and was about to turn around...more beetle-like things flew over and landed on his hands, arms and neck.Another crawled up to his forehead.Patrick stretched out his hand to grab it, and saw 4 more lying on his hands, first pink and then blood red again. He just swat like crazy. But there is no wound but no pain. Patrick stumbled toward those scumbags!The car ran away.Some of the things that fell on him became the size of balloons.He could feel something in his mouth too, and it was getting bigger and bigger.Finally he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a man rolled out from behind the last car.At first, Patrick thought it was Mandy, the man who watched the garbage dump, and there was still hope of being rescued.But the man got closer, and Patrick saw the face wriggling like wax, freezing suddenly, becoming something—or someone—and moving again. "Hello. Goodbye." The human-shaped thing finished speaking indistinctly, and dragged him towards the depths of Ban Lun.There was still a blood-stained schoolbag hanging around his neck. Patrick wanted to scream, but was unconscious. 6 At first Beverly wasn't sure what she saw... Patrick was screaming, jumping, and dancing.She held the rubber band of the slingshot with one hand and held two projectiles with the other, and stood up. This is a trap!Patrick knows he can't catch you and wants to lure you out.don't go!Beverly! But it seems useless to think about these.There was so much pain and fear in Patrick's screams. Patrick's screaming stopped.In a moment Beverly heard someone talking - but she knew it must be hallucination.Because she heard her father say, "Hello. Goodbye." Her father was out of Derry that day; he was with Joe at eight o'clock in the morning.Tamerley went to Brunswick to buy a truck.Must be hallucination. She came out of the bushes, walked to the path, and saw a lot of blood on the ground. fake.she thought.You can buy a bottle of red ink for four cents and nine cents.Be careful, Beverly! She knelt down and touched it quickly with her fingers.Not fake! Suddenly her left arm felt hot, just below the elbow.Something is wriggling in there.It took a moment before she realized the thing was biting her.She quickly slapped it hard, spattering blood.She took a step back, about to scream...but saw the thing's head still in her arm. She screamed and quickly tore the thing off, only to see that the straw on it was dripping blood like a dagger.She understood what was going on. Her eyes fell on the refrigerator. The refrigerator door is closed.But there are many beetle-like things attached to the outside.Suddenly another one flew towards her.Without thinking too much, Beverly picked up the slingshot, stretched the rubber band and shot it out. Oops!Didn't hit! Just when she started to regret it, she saw that the bullet drew a long arc in the air—it just hit the flying thing impartially, and it smashed into pieces all at once, and the yellow thing flew to on the ground. Beverly backed away slowly, her eyes wide and her lips quivering. The things attached to the refrigerator squirmed slowly. She turned around sharply and ran as fast as she could. She ran to the place where the old cars were kept.Just in front of her there was a big pool of blood.Panting heavily, she stopped.In front of the blood there were two shallow trenches that ran down to the garbage dump and then into the depths of Banron. move!Beverly!go! I thought so in my heart, but Beverly held the slingshot tightly and walked down the two shallow ditches. The land ahead slowly sloped up and became softer and softer.Beverly gritted her teeth. There is something on the ground ahead.Beverly picked it up.That's a wallet.Inside was a library card with Patrick Hoxett's name on it. She tossed her wallet aside and wiped her fingers on her trousers. There is a sneaker 50 inches in front.Now the bushes were getting thicker and thicker, and it was almost hard to move on.Beverly pushed aside the branches and continued walking along the bloodstains. The trace finally meanders to the sluice.Beverly was sweating all over by now, and her breathing was becoming more and more rapid.Here comes the Kentucky River. Patrick's other shoe, covered in blood, lay in the road. She slowly approached the river.The two shallow ditches followed the bank until they came to a stop at one of several concrete columns—a pumping station.She walked to the side of the concrete column and looked down.Suddenly there was a strange laugh from inside. Beverly was so frightened that she quickly turned around and ran towards the open field desperately. She couldn't care about the branches hitting her face and body. Seventy-four hours later, all the losers except Eddie were at the place where Beverly saw Patrick open the refrigerator.The sky is gloomy, and a heavy rain is about to come. The six pooled all their money and bought Beverly a Band-Aid, which Bill carefully applied to Beverly's wound. "Sue, tell your father, your parents that you fell, fell, and fell while rowing or roller skating." Bill said. "My roller skates!" Beverly called out.She completely forgot. "There!" Bill said, pointing.The roller skates are next to a mound not far away. Beverly hurried over and brought back the roller skates.She remembered that when she urinated, she put them aside.She didn't want anyone else going there. Bill walked carefully to that!Next to the Japanese refrigerator, a long strip of cloth was tied above the handle.All the people gathered around carefully.There was still blood next to the fridge, but the horrible stuff was gone. "It's useless for us to call Mr. Borton and Mr. Nell, and call a hundred policemen here." Stanley's voice was a bit bitter. "They can't see anything," Richie said. "How's your arm, Beverly?" "It still hurts." She paused, looked at everyone and asked, "Will my mom and dad see the wound on my arm?" "I-I don't think so," Bill said. "Difficult, get ready, I, I'm going to pull, pull." There was a thunder in the sky, and everyone jumped up.The rain began to fall. Bill jerked the cloth strip, and the refrigerator door slammed open, releasing many orange buttons.Stanley let out a cry of pain.The rest of the people stared, dumbfounded. It was raining heavily.Thunder kept exploding above their heads.The refrigerator door is fully open.Richie screamed when he saw what was on it.Bill let out an angry growl too. Just on the inside of the refrigerator door, it reads bloody words: STOP NOW BEFORE I KILL YOU ALL A little advice from an old friend Pennywise the rain is pouring down and the writing is slowly blurring, drop by drop drip down. Bill pumped his fists wildly. "I, I, we're going to kill, kill, kill you!" Thunder and thunder.At the flash of lightning, a tree was knocked down. "Bill, come back!" Richie yelled.He tried to move forward, but Ben pulled him back. "You killed my brother George! Son of a bitch! Bastard! Come out if you can!" Bill yelled. "Bill, come back!" Beverly called desperately.Another thunderstorm drowned out her voice. "Come out if you have the guts! Fuck you!" Bill kicked wildly at the pile of orange buttons.Then he turned around and walked back with his head down. He was about to walk towards the bushes again, but Stanley held him back desperately. "Okay, Bill." Ben put his arm around his shoulders. "Yes," Richie said, "don't worry. We're not cowards." His eyes were on everyone. "Who got cold feet?" They all shook their heads. Bill wiped his eyes and looked up. "It, it fears, fears me, us. I know, know. I. I swear, swear, swear to God." Beverly nodded seriously. "You're right." "Help, help, help me," Bill said. "Please, please help, help me." "We will," Beverly said, wrapping her arms around Bill.She felt Bill's heart beating violently, and she felt their hearts were very close.That feeling is warm and strong. Rich also reached out and put his arms around the two of them.Then Ben Stanley opened his arms.Finally there is Mike.He hesitated, but also held them down. They hugged so tightly. Thunder and lightning, wind and rain. Beverly remembers it best: their tight embrace.The sound of the rain, their silence, and the lack of Eddie's absence mingle together.