Chapter 20: Get Mad and Even
Richie pedals as fast as he can away from the school, trying to avoid seeing his friends, especially Eddie… the big fat blabbermouth. Could he have uttered anything more humiliating than the size of his member? Yeah sure he'd provoked the outburst, but he was only dicking around. Besides, Ed knew better than anyone that Richie was a trash mouth and if he gave you shit, it meant that he liked you... plus he never actually meant what he said… except for now. He'd meant what he said that morning and he was going to follow through until Wheezy apologized.
After running away from Bill and Bev, Richie had run to the far end of the school and hid in the boy's bathroom. He locked himself in a stall and took off his glasses. He attempted to wipe the tears from his eyes. Some of it was from physical pain, but most from losing his best friend. He did his best to keep his crying quiet, using toilet paper to muffle the sounds of his nose running, but whenever the door swung open, he lifted his feet up to make the place seem empty.
He ignored the first bell signalling first period and he continued to sulk for a long time, knowing that he'd have the peace and quiet to do so. Even after the second bell rang, and the third, he stayed scarce for as long as possible.
Eventually, his stomach started growling and decided to go for lunch… besides, his legs and butt were falling asleep from sitting so long.
When he was sure he would not be seen, he exited the stall and went to the bathroom mirror.
He stared at himself; he was covered in dirt with several scratches on his cheek that had bled and then dried up. He also had a lousy shiner coming in his left eye. There were other marks on his arms and legs from fighting, plus a bad tear in his shirt and one of the screws in his glasses was loose. Richie continued to stare, unable to recognize himself. Why that was he didn't know, nor did he care, but he set about cleaning up his face and arms. If the teachers had heard about the fight by then, he wanted to get rid of the evidence. While the shiner was going to take a little longer to heal, he could always make up the excuse that he walked into a door.
He knew that he would have to have some sort of excuse ready for when he got home to tell his parents. If his mom heard that he'd gotten in a fight, she'd freak out and his dad would chew him out for being so stupid. It was the last thing he needed, especially because of how shitty he felt.
Richie spent the rest of the day avoiding his friends because of the risk of encountering Eddie again. He even hid in the library during lunch, which felt wrong to him and the minute school let out, he was gone. He'd seen a few glances from other kids, no doubt the story of the fight had spread, but since he was a new kid, most people just shrugged it off and ignored him. Either that or they were afraid that he'd attack them first.
The trash mouth begins pedalling away, having no direction or destination in mind. He begins riding through town, just taking everything in, stalling to avoid going home.
He's on the outer edges of town when the revving of a car engine takes him off guard. It sounds like someone is trying to burn the rubber off their tires. If there was a street race going on, he's all in, but only if he's watching from the sidelines. He cycles to the side to let the guy pass, but out of the corner of his eye, he can see a flurry of blue racing towards him, the engine getting louder and louder.
He barely has time to react before having to steer his bike into a ditch to avoid being hit. He skids to a halt at a weird angle, cursing under his breath as he receives more scratches from the gravel and surrounding brambles. He ditches his bike and goes up a small slope to see a blue Camaro coming to a stop on the opposite side of the road. The trash mouth knows that this was not an accident and that this guy was trying to run him over if he hadn't gotten out of the way. It was like it was a f***king game to him, playing chicken with cyclists and the motorist had stopped to revel in his deed.
Loud rock music is blaring inside, and smoke is billowing from the open windows. Richie can feel the anger boiling up inside of him. He's ready to confront the asshole and give him what for, but the car is put in gear and begins to race away from the scene.
"F*** you, asshole!" he shouts, flipping the guy off.
Of course, the only sound is the car revving off into the distance. Richie glares and feels the same rage overcome him from earlier. A boiling hatred and then a raging inferno of anger and disdain. He grinds his teeth down and his whole body shakes with uncontrolled emotion. The thoughts of wanting to kill and needing to destroy or do something… to make someone hurt and feel similar pain.
He goes over to his bike and kicks it in frustration. At least now he has an excuse for the scratches and bruises to explain to his parents. The worst that he'll get is a lecture about riding on the roads
Something inside Richie snaps…this emotion has to be channelled… he needs a reason to vent his anger. The dickhead was not going to get away with this… not while he walked this Earth.
SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY!
A plan begins to form in his mind as he looks around. He knew that the driver had headed toward the edge of town and if he was a local, he'd have to come back the same way.
Richie goes down into the wooded area and looks for the sharpest and heaviest rock that he can find… the one that would do the most damage. He does a few practice throws with it, knowing where he'd want to hit the car. He then brings his bike over to the other side of the road and keeps it nearby in case he needs to make a getaway.
He then crouches in the ditch, ready to strike.
…
It feels like an eternity before the sound of a revving engine is heard in the distance. Richie had a few close calls, nearly chucking the rock at random cars that were passing by, but when a spot of blue appears on the horizon, it's go time!
Wait for it…
Adrenaline begins to pump through his veins, which will help in his quest to get even with this bastard. His heartbeat pounds in his ears and the only other sound he focuses on is the approaching car. Richie squints, able to see the driver in all his ugly glory, one of the high school kids who liked to show off.
Wait for it…
His hand grips the rock so tightly that streaks of sweat are forming on the surface.
Wait for it…
The car is nearly in front of him, the headlight mere inches from his hidden position.
NOW!
Jumping up, Richie pitches the rock through the side window, causing it to shatter and land in the back seat.
The car screeches and careens around the entire roadway, obviously, the driver is startled by the projectile and is trying to get control again.
A sense of déjà vu and karma is felt between the two perpetrators. Justice has been served and revenge is the sweetest dish ever served cold. The bespectacled teen cannot be more excited, his plan was a complete success. He then goes for his bike and mounts it, ready for an escape. He watches with glee as the car comes to a stop on the side of the road.
A kid with a permed mullet gets out of the driver's side; he's dressed in a jean jacket and torn blue jeans. He has a cigarette hanging from his mouth and he can barely contain himself with his arms jerking around in a frenzy of pure unbridled rage. No doubt it would cost a lot of money for his precious car to be fixed. Maybe he'd learn a lesson about trying to mow people down.
He goes to inspect the damage before a voice calls out to him.
"Ain't karma a bitch!" Richie shouts at the guy, smiling like a cat who ate the canary. "That's what you get for trying to kill people."
"WHAT THE F*** DID YOU DO?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY CAR!"
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME! YOU THINK TRYING TO KILL PEOPLE IS FUNNY? GO AND SLEEP WITH CHARLES MANSON AND SEE WHERE THAT GETS YOU!" The icing on the cake for Richie is that he gets to flip the guy off again.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU'RE F***ING DEAD!" the mullet teen shouts, he tosses his cigarette into the ditch and prepares to charge at the pipsqueak. "F***ING DEAD"
"Oh Yeah? GO BLOW YOUR DAD YOU MULLET WEARING ASSHOLE!" Richie shouts with a smile.
He then peddles away as fast as he can, not caring where he ends up after this, but lord did it make him feel good. He can hear the moron shouting obscenities in the background and the scraping of his shoes on the gravel in a futile attempt to chase the little turd on foot.
Despite the pleasure of getting even and finding a different way to vent his frustrations, Richie peddles frantically away, not wanting to risk the guy getting back in his car and giving chase… then he really would be dead. When he reaches an intersection, he turns and speeds along one of the back highways never looking back.
He rides until his legs are ready to fall off, despite the obvious distance he is putting between him and the mullet asshole. He breathes through the pain, the adrenaline still fueling him. While this was the most exercise he'd gotten in a while, he gasps when he hears a car approaching. His heart skips a few beats in fear and the teen veers off into the wooded area… immediately regretting his decision to ride down through the ditch, picking up unwanted speed.
"Shit… shit… shit!" he says trying to maintain control while weaving around trees.
Unfortunately, his wheel hits a bump and he collapses sideways into the leaves and brush.
"F***!" he hisses, kicking out from under his bike for the second time in less than an hour. He brushes the leaves from his hair and tries to wipe more mud from his knees. "Stupid… god damn..."
He continues to grumble and clean himself off, but at least he was out of sight for the time being. While checking his bike to ensure that it wasn't bent, he notices a chain link fence not too far from where he crashed.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he leans his bike against a tree and begins to approach.
He notices two signs:
Hawkins National Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy
And
Restricted Area
No Trespassing
U.S. Government Property
Richie walks along the fence, trying to get a better view of this so-called laboratory that is surrounded by decaying trees.
He finally finds an opening and sees a tall, weirdly shaped building that stretched into the skyline. It was gray with what appeared to be bars on all the windows and huge-ass satellite dishes on top. It was also completely abandoned and had all kinds of caution tape over the entrances.
It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, leaving the nerd from Derry very intrigued. He could tell that it was more than just an energy lab… maybe this was what that kid at Scoops Ahoy was talking about, a small town is filled with secrets.
"Holy shit… town full of secrets my ass!" he says excitedly.