No one had called Rich Chambers "Eyeball" in a long time. He had moved to Portland when his old man had finally croaked. He hadn't married, or fathered any children, that he knew of. He worked at a gas station, filling up tanks and checking oil. He made enough money at it to eat and pay rent for a one room apartment. He hadn't thought about Ace in a long time. He hadn't thought about Castle Rock in even longer. He was aware that his brother had been stabbed to death. His mother had called him the weekend before, crying. He had taken the news in stride. He and his younger brother had never been close. He did feel sorry, though. After all, he had known Chris since he had been born. He did not return home to attend the funeral, regardless. There were too many memories there. Sometimes the nostalgia he felt for his youth was too much to bear. He would give anything to have the summer of 1959 back in his hands.
In those days, all that mattered were cars, girls, and beer, in that order. It had seemed like the nights lasted forever and there was always someone up for excitement. He didn't have any friends in Portland. He spent most of his nights eating Dinty Moore beef stew on his couch and watching reruns of The Lone Ranger. Occasionally he would pick up a girl, although as he got older it seemed less worth the trouble.
When the phone range, he was just coming in the door after work. He was still wearing his greasy mechanic's shirt and work boots as he picked up the receiver. He couldn't imagine who would be calling him, but he answered none the less.
"Hello?" He asked, curiosity filling his voice.
"Eyeball? Your mother gave me this number…I didn't know how else to reach you." A familiar, soft, voice explained from the other end of the phone.
He knew who it was immediately. It had caught him off guard, but he recognized Ace Merrill just the same. "Ace? Jesus Christ, Ace is that you?" He laughed heartily. "God, I sure as fuck havn't heard from you in a while. Where ya been?"
"I could say the same for you. What do you say we meet up somewhere? I have a proposition for you. A real opportunity." Ace answered.
Eyeball wasn't sure was to think of this. He knew whatever Ace had in mind, it was criminal. Eyeball had gotten into a bit of trouble about two years back, and he was still under close watch. But if there was one person in the world he was willing to take a risk for, it was Ace Merrill. "Yeah. Where at?" He spoke into the telephone.
Ace smiled on the other end of the phone, Eyeball could hear it in his voice, "Can you make it back home? Meet me at the Mellow Tiger, huh?" He asked.
"Yeah, I could do that. My ma's been bitchin' at me, so I was going to have to head there in a few days anyway. Thursday night?"
"I'll be there." Ace said and hung up without saying goodbye.
For the first time in a long time, Eyeball allowed himself to think about Castle Rock. It was true that his mother had been pestering for him to stop by for some time, especially after Christopher had been murdered, but he had planned on continuing to avoid her, possibly forever. But with Ace, it was different. That was a person that was worth going back to Castle Rock for. Although it had been years since they had last spoken, Eyeball still considered Ace his best friend. He was sorry that they had ever been separated.
Eyeball had a feeling that when he left his shitty apartment in Portland on Thursday, he would be leaving it for good. He didn't know where he would be afterwards. Jail, on the lamb, dead; they all seemed likely possibilities. He didn't really care one way or the other. All of those options seemed better than continuing on in the fashion that he had settled into. None of this, however, stopped him from being painfully curious about what Ace had up his sleeve.
He sat down in his sagging recliner and cracked open a beer. He thought things would seem even better if he had a good buzz going. He closed his eyes and thought of a group of boys who he hadn't thought of in a long time. A group of boys who called themselves The Cobras. Young, handsome, and tough, they had ruled Castle Rock. Eyeball wondered if maybe it was time for two of those boys, who were now undoubtedly men, to re-seize the throne. A few towns over, Ace was contemplating the same thing.