Chris sat up,and leaned back against the tree. His crying had stopped,but his heart still felt like it had been stabbed multiple times. He stared up at the sky - it was a calm blue,and the clouds were nowhere in sight.

"I wasn't there to save him." He whispered."Or,even if I couldn't have saved him,I could have at least held his hand through the pain." Chris's hand curled into a semi-fist,before releasing. The warmth of Gordie's hand wasn't felt any more,nor was the sight of his brilliant smile.

Instead,the image of Gordie,splayed out like that,stuck in Chris's mind and he squeezed his eyes shut. But,the image was still there,so he pressed his palms against his eyes until he saw blurs of grey,dancing across the pitch-blackness behind his eyelids.

"Geezus,shit." He whispered,fighting back the tears again. All his happiness had faded,and he started to feel lethargic; he couldn't get himself to stand up,or even pass Gordie's final resting place. He couldn't even face Teddy and Vern again. Teddy wouldn't crack a joke anymore,and Vern would probably remain quiet for the rest of his life.

A dull pain in Chris's head made him grit his teeth. It was a throbbing that boomed against his temple,and he rested his head beetween his legs to get rid of it. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears,and he had to spit out saliva that was gathering in his mouth,before he let loose his stomach again.

Chris wouldn't know how to tell Gordie's parents - not that they'd give two shits anyway. Chris could imagine him going up to Gordie's house,telling his father,and getting told to be a 'little shit' and accused of playing a sick joke. They wouldn't believe a 'Chamber's kid'. And Chris would be too pained to show them Gordie.

He thought about how their tree-house days would eventually draw to a close. The private club was nothing without Gordie,because he made up the brains of the group. They would be sitting there,remaining quiet,if Gordie wasn't there. No card games would go on,and Chris would probably go through five packs of smokes before feeling fine.

They wouldn't be able to go on adventures anymore,as it would remind Chris too much of Gordie,and they would have to go back home before Chris got angry,or upset.

Chris stared down at his shoes,and his mind became distant as he day-dreamed. He couldn't think anymore,so he simply remained staring at his dirty trainers,his eyes rubbed raw and red. The tears had run dry,and the dull pain in his temple had grown stronger.

Teddy and Vern were still at the embankment,but they strayed nowhere near it. They were a couple of feet away,and Teddy had sat down in realisation; ol' Gordo was dead. He was gone.

Guilt nagged in him for making fun of Gordie all this time,and creating tension on their adventures. Teddy felt it was all his fault for crossing Chris's line,and making him angry.

'You provoked him.'

"That's right...I provoked him." Teddy muttered,running a hand through his hair and sighing deeply. He didn't know what to do,but blame himself for alot.

He had always made fun of Gordie,because opportunities to do so would always arise,and Teddy Duchamp would never miss an opportunity to make fun of somebody - after all,he was always made fun of because of his glasses and ears,so it was nice every-once-in-a-while to turn the tables around,and make fun of somebody else for a change.

But,now,it was all one sick joke and Teddy was the horrid joker.

Teddy didn't know how he would be able to live with himself after making fun of Gordie. All those crude comments,and jeers would have stuck in Gordie's mind and: was any of those comments in Gordie's mind,before he got mowed down by the freight? Teddy thought,his lip trembling as the guilt built up,eventually causing him to shed tears. His vision was already bad,but now it was worse.

The atmosphere was tense,and eerily quiet,but Teddy's whimpers broke the silence. The sun was beating down,and the day was calm. Teddy lay down on his side,and stared across the path he was lying down on. The path was bumpy,with pebbles and leaves dusting the top. From this angle,it looked like a desert,and Teddy was the giant that had laid down to rest.

Teddy continued to stare across the path,his hands held out in front of him as he played with a leaf,crumpling it up into tiny pieces in his hand."I shouldn't have provoked Chris.." He whispered.

Vern was a small way from Teddy,and he was also sat down. He was digging up some dirt,and making a small pile. And then he realised it looked like a grave and he placed the dirt back in the hole,and strongly patted it down.

Getting back up,Vern walked over to Teddy and stood over him."Do you think we should find Chris?" He asked,quietly. Teddy remained quiet,and didn't budge.

Vern sighed and walked away. Vern was the only one who had managed to contain his feelings,which wasn't like him at all. He hadn't cried,nor gotten angry. He was neutral,and tried his best to get through this.

He knew that Gordie was dead,but it hadn't hit home completely and he wandered over to the embankment. His stomach did a flip as he slowly made it to the edge.

Vern didn't know why he wanted to look again. It wasn't his decision,but his legs seemed to have carried him there,and he was now looking down at the still Gordie below.

"Gordie.." Vern said,his mouth tugging down as he stared at his friend."You managed to miss trains all these years,but this one.." He trailed off,and sighed.

Vern was about to look away,when he thought he saw Gordie move. But,he knew it was just his conscience trying to block out the sadness and give him hope,so he turned around again.

Yet,this time,he swore he heard Gordie emitt a small groan."I'm going mad." Vern commented,holding the side of his head as he stared down at Gordie again.

Then his blood froze: Gordie shifted,and his head lolled to the side,his eyes were moving under the eyelids. This was not the movement of the dead,and Vern held in a deep breath - don't count your chickens before they've hatched.

"Teddy.." Vern breathed as he watched Gordie's eyes open slowly."Teddy." He tried louder,and this time Teddy grunted in reponse.

Gordie lifted up his head for what seemed like an eternity,and eventually his torso lifted up as well as he dragged himself to a sitting position. He looked about sluggishly,as he didn't know where he was at first. Then he looked up,straight at Vern.

"Gordie!" Vern called down,wriggling in his place as his hope mixed in his stomach,along with disbelief."Oh-oh-oh!" Vern shouted."Teddy,get over here!" Vern instructed,as Gordie slowly got to his feet,wavered slightly,before getting steady and looking up at Vern again. Gordie didn't speak at first.

Teddy turned over and glared at Vern."What are you shouting about?" He asked,getting to his feet and walking over to Vern."He's gone,Vern. We can't shout him bac-" But when he looked down,he stumbled back in shock."Holy fuck!" He shouted,his eyes wide as he stared at Vern."Is he..is he fucking standing up?" Teddy askd.

Vern nodded excitedely.

Teddy came back to the embankment and looked down at Gordie.

"I fell off the edge." Gordie shouted up,coughing slightly as his lungs were painful. He thought he had broken ribs,but they were only bruised. He had gotten away without any broken bones,or serious injury.

"Chris: he needs to know." Teddy remembered,knowing that Chris had run off before-hand,crying hard."Gordie,Chris thinks you're dead!" Teddy called down.

"Bring him back." Gordie called up."Hurry." He added - he didn't want Chris to think he was dead.

Teddy nodded and ran off in the direction that he saw Chris go.

Vern was left,and he sat down on the embankment,looking down."Boy,Gord. We thought you were dead." Vern explained."Chris was crying real hard,and we were all real silent." He added further."Things wouldn't have been the same without you,Gordie."

Gordie felt a small pang of guilt at Chris crying. So,he really cared about him - there's nothing like a brush of death to bring out the true side of people.

"Is there anywhere I can get up?" Gordie asked,looking around the area he had fallen in.

Vern stood up and looked about also. He couldn't see anything at first,but then he noticed the embankment sloped down further to the right."If you start walking to my right,then you'll get to a lower bit that you could climb up onto." He explained,pointing over to said point.

Gordie nodded and started to walk - limp - towards the allocated place. Once there,he noticed that the embankment had,indeed,become lower and he hoisted himself up. It was a struggle at first - what was his bruised ribs - but he was once again on the top of the embankment where he had fallen down.

Vern met up with him with a broad smile."This is like a zombie game!" He said."The dead coming back to life and walking around. But,I don't think we'll be shooting you in the head anytime soon." Vern commented,laughing shortly.

Gordie couldn't help but grin. Vern knew how to lighten the atmosphere,even with his idiotic comments,or suggestions."Yeah." He simply said,walking away from the embankment edge. He didn't want to fall down it again.

Teddy eventually found Chris,slumped against a massive tree."Chris." He called forward,making it over to the shuddering form."Chris,are you alright?" Teddy asked,trying not to express his happiness of Gordie being alive. He wanted to make sure Chris was able to stand up first.

"Do I fucking look alright?" Chris hissed,looking eyes were blood-shot,and he looked terrible.

"Look,Chris." Teddy began,settling down next to him."I have something to tell you."

"Don't try and comfort me,Duchamp." Chris said,and when Teddy was about to speak,he interrupted."No - don't talk tome. Gordie 's dead,and I don't feel like talking to anybody. Most of all you. You made me feel angry,and jealous,and that made Gordie leave. You make everything worse,Duchamp!" Chris yelled,his face twisting into anger."I wish you'd never joined our club,you four-eyed pile of shit!" He added.

Teddy looked down as Chris started shouting. He supressed the urge to shout back,because that was his initial reaction,but he decided to leave Chris to rant,and get his anger out...

Than provoke him.

"Gordie was the only best friend I had,Teddy." Chris began again,his tears starting up once more."He was always there for me when my dad beat me,and he would always listen. He would never judge me. He would never see me as that 'Chamber's kid',or a thief. He would always see my point of view,and see me as any other kid." He explained,looking ahead."And when I found out he liked me back yesterday - it was like everything bad had been put behind me,and all this happiness had arrived." Chris's bottom lip twitched as he finished the sentence. He took a big gulp of air before continuing."And now this. I'll never hear his voice again,or see his smile,or hear his laugh. I'll never be able to hang out with him anymore,or hold his hand,Teddy. I'll never see him again." Chris let out a sob,before hanging his head down again and staring down at the ground below.

Teddy hesitated for a moment,before putting a hand on Chris's shoulder."Come with me,Chris." He said,before standing up. Chris looked up.

"Why?" Chris asked.

"C'mon,just follow." Teddy said,nodding his head towards the forest where Vern and Gordie were currently."Everything's gonna be alright."

Chris was reluctant at first,but after a bit of persuading from Teddy,he eventually followed and was led back to the forest path.

Teddy had gotten Chris talking throughout the walk back to the embankment. It was mostly on how Gordie was nearly run over,and how much of a wet end Ace Merrill was. Chris had gone quiet for most of the walk back,and he had asked Teddy repetitively about what they were going back for. He didn't want to go back to the embankment,and he had stopped at one point,but Teddy reassured him and said it was for the better.

"I don't want to see his body again." Chris said,strongly. But,Teddy wouldn't let him turn back."I don't want to fucking see his body again!" He shouted,but he couldn't seem to stop walking.

"Trust me,Chambers." Teddy replied back.

"Trust you?" Chris said,shaking his head."I don't think I can."

"I know you can't,but just this once. You'll thank me later." Teddy quickly said,noticing that they were drawing closer to the embankment,and the other two would come into view soon.

Chris looked away from Teddy,and tried not to retort back. And he remembered that his anger got to this situation in the first place,and he sighed."I didn't meant to shout." He mumbled.

Teddy looked at him side-ways,and nodded."It's alright,Chambers." Then he nodded forward."Have a look."

Chris did just that.

And by God,did he look.

Chris stopped walking,and stared in front of him. Up ahead,Vern was there - which he expected - but he definitely didn't expect the second figure,which was Gordie,staring right back at him.

"He wasn't hit by a freight. He fell off the embankment and fainted." Teddy explained,quietly. He watched as Chris walked towards Gordie,his eyes set only on him.

Teddy joined Vern and allowed the situation to take place. Vern remained quiet,with a smile on his face.

Gordie made his way towards Chris and stopped in front of him."Hey." He began. He could see in Chris's eyes that he was stunned. And then Chris reached up and touched Gordie's face lightly.

"You're alright." Chris breathed,and broke out into a broad smile as he fully held Gordie's cheek."Fuck - you're alive." He added,before pulling Gordie towards him and holding him tightly.

Gordie hugged Chris back,just as strongly,and was good to have Chris's warmth against him again,and he didn't want to let go. A few seconds before he fell off the embankment,Gordie thought for sure he was going to die,and he thought about how he wasn't going to feel Chris's warmth again,but now the warmth was back.

Chris buried his head in Gordie's neck,and squeezed the thin frame he was holding so tightly. If anybody tried to pull him away now,there'd be trouble. There were no words to describe how Chris felt in getting Gordie back,even if he hadn't been dead in the first place.

By God - he would be able to see that dimpled cheek,brilliant smile again.

Thinking about doing a sequel..