The Body

Gordie wakes up in the middle of the night to Vern squeezing him tightly and pleading with God. Chris crouches in a wary, listening stance staring into the dark woods. Then, Gordie hears the sound that woke the others, an otherworldly scream. Teddy thinks it’s Ray Brower’s ghost, but he still offers to investigate. Gordie and Chris stop him. The boys hear another scream, maniacal laughter, then silence. If they’d been closer to home, say in Vern’s field where they told their parents they’d be, Gordie knows they would have run away. But out here, there’s nowhere to go. They take turns standing guard, with Vern going first.

Gordie falls back asleep and into a nightmare. He and Chris are swimming at White’s Beach. Their meanest elementary school teacher, Mrs. Cote, drifts past on a raft and orders Chris to recite Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” from memory. Treading water, Chris makes it through the first line before starting to go under. Gordie looks down to see Teddy’s and Vern’s naked, drowned corpses clinging to Chris’s ankles. Desperately, Gordie looks around for help. There’s none to be found, and instead of offering Chris his own hand, he swims desperately toward the shore. A hand grips his ankle and starts to pull him under. Then Teddy shakes him awake for his turn standing guard.