Hullo!
I'd just like to send out a quick thank you to Izout for reviewing/following! Thanks a bunch!
XOX,
-StandingByChambers
It was weird seeing the little, ramshackle treehouse late at night. Almost creepy. The old place was stuck peacefully into the branches of the old tree, which was placed on the edge of a little prairie, near the woods. The treehouse overlooked all of Castle Rock, all the little lights twinkling from houses and shop windows.
Chris had brought a flashlight, thank God. None of the four said a word, just walked as silently as possible across the dried out, high grass.
Chris lead them up the ladder to the tree house, not bothering with the secret knock, because they all knew nobody would be there.
The boys piled into the tree house, and Chris lit a single flame on a candle on the small crate that served as a table in the center of the cramped room. Teddy sat himself down on a crate across from Chris at the table, Gordie at the couch-like pile of pillows that sat by the window, and Vern on the stool opposite the couch.
"Gordie, get Teddy some bandages or something," Chris commanded as he lit a cigarette from the almost-empty emergency packet that they kept on a shelf.
Gordie obliged, grabbing an old cloth, and set to work, dabbing at Teddy's open wounds.
Even though they were itching to know what Chris had called them there for, none of them asked, waiting for his friend to think for a moment, let his eyes wander to the window, and out at the city.
Chris wet his lips absently. He seemed to not even be there. He was in his own world.
"Well?" Vern finally wined, "What are we here for?"
Chris thought for a bit.
"Ray Brower wasn't hit by a train."
He said the words so quickly, they didn't even sink in. It was like a bullet leaving a shallow cut. The boys were so shocked, they didn't even let it get deeper. They just stared at him, each frozen.
"He was murdered." Chris continued.
"Holy shit…" Gordie muttered, putting his hand on his forehead and leaning his elbow on the table, "Holy…By who?"
"My brother." Chris said, leaning back in exasperation.
"Eyeball?!" Teddy managed.
"Yeah. And the rest of the Cobras, too." Chris said. His lip trembled.
"We're screwed…" Vern muttered, "Shit, man, this is really bad. I don't like this. Sincerely."
"But how do you know?" Gordie asked, the boys leaning in, intrigued.
"I woke up couple hours ago, and Eyeball had Ace and some of the other guys in his room. They were talkin'. But I decided to eavesdrop on them, cause they're the Cobras, you know? So I hear what they were saying through the wall. 'Sucks for those kids. Little shits thought that Brower really got hit, didn't they?' they said. 'Yeah, good thing. Kid knew too much, saw too much…heard too much.
"And that's when I came here. They killed him. They killed him, guys! My own brother killed Ray Brower!"
"Shit, Chris, what the hell are we going to do?" Gordie asked with bated breath.
"Tell the police, of course!" Teddy said, turning to Gordie, "What else are we going to do? Keep it to ourselves? The guys murdered a kid!"
"But not right now, right?" Gordie asked.
"Hell yeah, right now!" Chris cut in, "When else?"
"Chris, it's midnight."
"So what?"
"We can't just go storming Castle Rock in the middle of the night!" Gordie insisted, leaning in towards the table.
"It's not storming, it's telling!" Teddy argued his point without fail. "We can't wait another minute."
"I don't know, guys…more talking just means more trouble with the Cobras." Vern said in a mumble, looking down at his feet, "And this is big. It's murder."
"Vern's right, guys." Gordie said, "And plus, if we tell the cops right now, they'll know it was us! You were the only one in the house, besides your folks, but if they'd heard that, they would probably confront them first."
Chris sighed defeatedly.
"Yeah, I guess so." He said.
"No way man! That's pussy!" Teddy wined.
"He's right, Ted!" Chris gave Teddy a look, who sighed and obliged.
"I rest my case." Gordie said with a smile.
"Don't be so smug, Lachance!" Chris countered with a white grin. "We're still gunna tell em."
"But not tonight, we're not." Gordie smiled evilly.
It was blistering hot when Chris awoke the next morning. He looked around his room, the morning sun seeping through the drawn shades, a new bruise slicing it's way through the canvas of his pale skin, sending a stroke of black and blue curling across his cheekbone. Chris wasn't in the mood. For anything. At all.
Especially school. And the looks and glares that he would get when he walked into the collage cores at 8:30.
Quietly, as not to wake is father from his alcohol-matted sleep, Chris got out of bed and began to dress. His dad had been asleep on the couch downstairs nearly all night, and couldn't be bothered with Chris at the moment. Good thing, because Chris couldn't be bothered with his father at the moment, ether. When Chris had come home late that night, his father caught him, and what had gone down had brought him the bruise across his face.
It wasn't easy being a Chambers. That was why Chris wasn't looking forwards to taking the college courses. Not because of the learning; God, Chris was excited for that. More excited than he let himself admit. Chris was, actually, looking forwards to rising above his pre-assumed identity. The identity that was just another no-good Chambers kid with a fast mouth and blood on his face. Maybe this would change that…
Chris shook his head as he pulled a white tee-shirt over his head, tied his shoes and grabbed his backpack before tiptoeing down the stairs and out the front door. His father was still snoring on the living room couch.
Chris pulled his dark blue bike up at the bicycle racks, taking the rusted chain from his backpack and locking it in place. He looked up at the big old school. Junior high. There it was. Castle Rock Middle School. Even though it was small, the brick structure looked tall and menacing, making Chris want to turn back around and run.
Kids pushed past him, and he became vividly aware the amount of children streaming into building. Boys and girls filing right into hell's armpit.
Chris sighed, and began to walk towards the place, swinging his backpack over his shoulder.
He had not taken three steps forwards before Teddy came up from behind him.
"Chambers!" He said, grinning a psychopath smile, "Junior high, huh? Can't wait to be chillin' it in the shop courses with Vern and I, eh?"
Chris froze for a second. He blinked.
"What?"
"Shop courses." Teddy said, giving Chris a long, hard stare, "You're taking them. With us. You're taking the shop courses with the rest of us retards, aren't you? And Gordie'll be taking the college courses?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, right," Chris said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. How was he going to break it to Teddy and Vern that he was going to be actually learning shit that year?
"Let's go then." Teddy urged him, pulling Chris towards the school. "Onward!"
A whole new year awaited him.