Chapter Four
Or: Great, and what was –that- guy thinking?
Our suspicions are confirmed; the sickness Campion was busily spreading is a military biological weapon gone wrong. It is referred to as both Project Blue and the A-Prime Flu. We learn this by spending a little time with an army higher up and one of his underlings.
They also learn about the cop in Arnette who let the good old boys know about the Health Department people sniffing around. Said cop was driving all over the county and likely spreading the flu everywhere he went. Things are clearly getting out of hand.
Chapter Five
Or: Rat on a cat
We are introduced to Larry Underwood, who is sitting in a parked car in front of his mother’s brownstone in the wee hours of the morning at the beginning of the chapter. He reflects on how he got to this point; basically an overnight musical success who got way in over his head and ended up skipping town after a week long party gone bad. We learn about his hit single, “Baby can you dig your man.” He falls asleep and his mother comes out to wake him up. They have breakfast and chat, revealing their complicated dynamic. He is welcomed to stay with his mother. Larry, exhausted and emotional, gets teary eyed before eventually going to bed and sleeping his troubles away.
The Stand Summary Posts
Prologue
Or: What the fuck was this guy thinking?
Summary:
Charlie and family flee a military base (presumably somewhere in California) when an accident occurs. We are left with Charlie coughing steadily as he drives.
Chapter One
Or: Old Time Tough
Summary:
We are introduced to the small town of Arnette, Texas. A group of good old boys, including Stuart Redman, sit around shooting the shit in front of a gas station until they are rudely interrupted by a chevy crashing into the gas tanks (which Stuart turns off before impact). The four men pull out our good buddy Charlie Campion, who is sick as a dog. They see a mother and daughter in the car, who are obviously already dead. An ambulance comes to pick up Campion, who dies en route to the nearest hospital. It occurs to them all that whatever this guy had could be catching, and they hope this is not the case.
This chapter brings everyone’s attention to Stuart’s character, making him a guy to watch. He is set up as both sympathetic and tough, a quiet sort with a fair bit of wisdom.
Chapter Two
Or: Enter the Whine
Summary:
We are introduced to Frannie Goldsmith and her boyfriend, Jesse. We learn that Frannie is knocked up, not intentionally, and she tells her boyfriend. There is a bit of a scene. They part ways with things somewhat unresolved as far as what they’re going to do now.
Chapter Three
Or: Damn Kids
Summary:
Norm, one of the Arnette Texas good old boys, notices he is getting sick. He still has the previous night’s events on his mind. Hap is at the gas station again, and has also fallen ill. A police officer visits the gas station and gives the guys a heads up; there are health department guys sniffing around. It is connected to Campion. There is talk of a quarantine. Apparently pathologists took a look at Campion and something scared them. They learn Campion is AWOL military. The guys are more scared then ever because they are getting sick. Chapter ends with Norm’s wife displaying symptoms along with the baby she is watching.
And so the chain reaction continues…
Verileah
16 years ago
ROzbeans
16 years ago
You know this is way more interesting reading your viewpoint than reading the book, Billie 
This is really awesome...to the rest of us - POST YOUR THOUGHTS. I'm going to sit down and catch up to where this is and post mah thoughts. =)
This is really awesome...to the rest of us - POST YOUR THOUGHTS. I'm going to sit down and catch up to where this is and post mah thoughts. =)
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter Six
Or: Do you still like me Daddy?
Back in Maine, Frannie meets up with her father, who she seems to have a very loving relationship with. They work together in the garden and eventually she tells him she is pregnant. They discuss her options, effectively eliminating marrying her boyfriend and abortion. We learn that Frannie had an older brother who passed away and how this effected the family, particularly her mother. Overall, Frannie’s father takes the news in a supportive way, but warns that her mother will not take the news well and urges her to wait a few days before telling her.
Chapter Seven
Or: What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Opens with one of the good old boys from Arnette, delirious and in a hospital. He is clearly going to die despite the doctor’s attempts. We switch to Stu, where we learn that the town was rounded up in army vehicles and placed in the Atlanta Plague Center. Stu is perfectly healthy but he is frustrated with the lack of information he is receiving and finally refuses tests until he can talk to a doctor. A doctor comes but provides no useful information, though he does add to Stu’s piling suspicions. A small but significant detail; there is nothing on the news about the quarantine of Arnette.
Chapter Eight
Or: A sinister chain letter.
This is one of several ‘chain reaction’ vignettes that are meant to give us a sense of the big picture and the overall timeline as well as demonstrating how the flu is transferred from one person to another. It contains no significant characters (that we’ll ever see again, anyway) but provides us with a ‘step back.’
The chapter follows the flu from one individual to another, sort of a grisly ‘soandso begat soandso begat soandso’ style, heh.
Or: Do you still like me Daddy?
Back in Maine, Frannie meets up with her father, who she seems to have a very loving relationship with. They work together in the garden and eventually she tells him she is pregnant. They discuss her options, effectively eliminating marrying her boyfriend and abortion. We learn that Frannie had an older brother who passed away and how this effected the family, particularly her mother. Overall, Frannie’s father takes the news in a supportive way, but warns that her mother will not take the news well and urges her to wait a few days before telling her.
Chapter Seven
Or: What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Opens with one of the good old boys from Arnette, delirious and in a hospital. He is clearly going to die despite the doctor’s attempts. We switch to Stu, where we learn that the town was rounded up in army vehicles and placed in the Atlanta Plague Center. Stu is perfectly healthy but he is frustrated with the lack of information he is receiving and finally refuses tests until he can talk to a doctor. A doctor comes but provides no useful information, though he does add to Stu’s piling suspicions. A small but significant detail; there is nothing on the news about the quarantine of Arnette.
Chapter Eight
Or: A sinister chain letter.
This is one of several ‘chain reaction’ vignettes that are meant to give us a sense of the big picture and the overall timeline as well as demonstrating how the flu is transferred from one person to another. It contains no significant characters (that we’ll ever see again, anyway) but provides us with a ‘step back.’
The chapter follows the flu from one individual to another, sort of a grisly ‘soandso begat soandso begat soandso’ style, heh.
ROzbeans
16 years ago
You're making me wait for these posts and avoid reading the book again I have the book though!!!
I have the book though!!!
Verileah
16 years ago
Eh, these posts are pretty bare boned; just trying to get the basics down somewhere.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter Nine
Or: Jailbird Rock
We meet Nick Andros, who is getting the crap beat out of him by a group of locals. He is beaten unconscious and left for dead. He wakes up in a jail cell, where he finds out from the sherriff that the town doctor found him. We also find out that Nick is a deaf mute. He was traveling around the southeast, working as he went. He and the sheriff agree to try to get the people that beat Nick up, in spite of the fact that one of the guys is the sheriff's brother in law.
We also learn that the sheriff is sick.
Chapter Ten
Or: You ain't no nice guy.
Larry wakes up in a strange bed after a drinking binge that ended in some late night...action...with a young woman. He wants to leave immediately because he never called his mother, who he reasons would be concerned, not to mention he figures he behaved very rudely. The young woman is not understanding and throws a spatula at his head, cutting him. She claims he 'ain't no nice guy' and throws more things at him while he rushes for a cab.
He feels like a bit of an ass.
Chapter eleven
Or: You're a taker
Larry goes to meet his mother at her work. She is unhappy with him. She tells him that she knows he's in trouble. She calls him a 'taker'. More harsh words are spoken, and Larry offers to leave. His mother insists that he stay and they both try to lighten the conversation. She sends him off to see a movie and tells him to take some money from her purse. He sees a Freddy movie and notices someone coughing in the back row.
Chapter Twelve
Or: Bad Puppy
Fran compares her mother's parlor to her father's workshop while she sits in the former, remembering bits of her childhood. She liked the workshop, but associates the parlor with the most negative elements of her mother. She tells her mother that she is knocked up. Her mother reacts badly, ranting angrily, and ends with accusing her of 'rut[ting] with a boy like a bitch in heat' and calling her a 'bad girl'. Fran tries to say something consoling, which is not well recieved. She tries to leave, but trips and falls, knocking over a vase, echoing back to a memory of having an 'accident' on that same rug when she was a little girl.
Her mother asks her about her plans, and Fran explains that she wants to stay with friends, adding a smart assed remark to the end. Her mother slaps her. They continue in this vein for some time while Fran continues to reveal her future plans, none of which please her mother.
Finally dad steps into the drama. Mother goes apeshit, father gives her a good slap...wow, lots of yelling and slapping in this chapter, what a family.... Father gives mother a lecture. Frannie cries. It's a big mess. Mother storms off.
Or: Jailbird Rock
We meet Nick Andros, who is getting the crap beat out of him by a group of locals. He is beaten unconscious and left for dead. He wakes up in a jail cell, where he finds out from the sherriff that the town doctor found him. We also find out that Nick is a deaf mute. He was traveling around the southeast, working as he went. He and the sheriff agree to try to get the people that beat Nick up, in spite of the fact that one of the guys is the sheriff's brother in law.
We also learn that the sheriff is sick.
Chapter Ten
Or: You ain't no nice guy.
Larry wakes up in a strange bed after a drinking binge that ended in some late night...action...with a young woman. He wants to leave immediately because he never called his mother, who he reasons would be concerned, not to mention he figures he behaved very rudely. The young woman is not understanding and throws a spatula at his head, cutting him. She claims he 'ain't no nice guy' and throws more things at him while he rushes for a cab.
He feels like a bit of an ass.
Chapter eleven
Or: You're a taker
Larry goes to meet his mother at her work. She is unhappy with him. She tells him that she knows he's in trouble. She calls him a 'taker'. More harsh words are spoken, and Larry offers to leave. His mother insists that he stay and they both try to lighten the conversation. She sends him off to see a movie and tells him to take some money from her purse. He sees a Freddy movie and notices someone coughing in the back row.
Chapter Twelve
Or: Bad Puppy
Fran compares her mother's parlor to her father's workshop while she sits in the former, remembering bits of her childhood. She liked the workshop, but associates the parlor with the most negative elements of her mother. She tells her mother that she is knocked up. Her mother reacts badly, ranting angrily, and ends with accusing her of 'rut[ting] with a boy like a bitch in heat' and calling her a 'bad girl'. Fran tries to say something consoling, which is not well recieved. She tries to leave, but trips and falls, knocking over a vase, echoing back to a memory of having an 'accident' on that same rug when she was a little girl.
Her mother asks her about her plans, and Fran explains that she wants to stay with friends, adding a smart assed remark to the end. Her mother slaps her. They continue in this vein for some time while Fran continues to reveal her future plans, none of which please her mother.
Finally dad steps into the drama. Mother goes apeshit, father gives her a good slap...wow, lots of yelling and slapping in this chapter, what a family.... Father gives mother a lecture. Frannie cries. It's a big mess. Mother storms off.
Vulash
16 years ago
Making me want to reread it 
Verileah
16 years ago
More quick and dirties...
Chapter Thirteen
Or: That's classified
Stu converses with a doctor. He finds out most of the people who were quarantined are dead. He gathers that the flu has spread, and learns that he is immune, though they don’t know why. They want to study him to see if a cure can be found.
Later, he dreams of a cornfield and a man with no face.
Chapter Fourteen
Or: The Prince
A doctor from the plague facility gives his report, confirming Stu’s suspicions. We learn for certain that Stu is the only one immune to the flu; the others from Arnette are either dead or dying. The doctor muses that no one will even go to see a doctor for the illness; they’ll just stay in bed and die there.
Chapter Fifteen
Or: Reading Comprehension
Somehow the flu has gotten into the Atlanta plague facility at large in spite of all precautions. A nurse goes about her shift, spreading it all around.
Chapter Sixteen
Or: Small time shit gone wrong
Poke and Lloyd speed along a highway, smoking weed and waving guns. They are fugitives. We learn that Poke and Lloyd met in prison and worked out a drug dealing job that would be of benefit to them. They ended up going on a tri state killing spree in the south west. In any case, they run low on gas and want some munchies, so they decide to rob a gas station. It turns into a bloodbath; Poke is shot and killed, along with two people in the store. Lloyd is arrested and jailed.
Chapter Seventeen
Or: The First Ammendment
Starkey learns that the press is cottoning on. He orders one of his men to carry out an operation that involves gunning said press down.
Chapter Eighteen
Or: Reversing the roles
The people who beat up Nick Andros are being held in the county jail. Nick, meanwhile, is working at the jail for the sheriff and developing a friendship with both him and his wife. Said wife observes that the sheriff is sick and insists that he deputize Nick so that he can cover the jail. The sheriff wants to know Nick’s history (having turned up nothing by looking up his criminal records) and Nick agrees to write it down while babysitting the prisoners that night. In short, Nick was orphaned at a young age and ran away from the state home at sixteen. He’s spent the last several years wandering from place to place and trying to get his education.
The town doctor comes to visit both Nick (for his injuries) and the sheriff. The doctor, who is clearly sick, thinks that the sheriff has a respiratory infection and sends him home. Nick is meant to wait for someone in the nearest city to pick up the prisoners, but the sheriff’s wife comes to tell him that no one will arrive until tomorrow because too many were out sick.
Nick dreams of a corn field.
The sheriff does not show up the next day, and Nick leaves to find the doctor (because one of the prisoners is sick) and get the prisoners food. He finds the doctor again, who tells him that the sheriff died in the night. Nick learns that the town is very sick and people are dying. The doctor is piecing together what is going on, but it’s too late and he couldn’t do anything anyway.
Nick ultimately decides to stay in the town because the prisoners are his responsibility now, and he is also concerned for the sheriff’s wife.
Chapter Thirteen
Or: That's classified
Stu converses with a doctor. He finds out most of the people who were quarantined are dead. He gathers that the flu has spread, and learns that he is immune, though they don’t know why. They want to study him to see if a cure can be found.
Later, he dreams of a cornfield and a man with no face.
Chapter Fourteen
Or: The Prince
A doctor from the plague facility gives his report, confirming Stu’s suspicions. We learn for certain that Stu is the only one immune to the flu; the others from Arnette are either dead or dying. The doctor muses that no one will even go to see a doctor for the illness; they’ll just stay in bed and die there.
Chapter Fifteen
Or: Reading Comprehension
Somehow the flu has gotten into the Atlanta plague facility at large in spite of all precautions. A nurse goes about her shift, spreading it all around.
Chapter Sixteen
Or: Small time shit gone wrong
Poke and Lloyd speed along a highway, smoking weed and waving guns. They are fugitives. We learn that Poke and Lloyd met in prison and worked out a drug dealing job that would be of benefit to them. They ended up going on a tri state killing spree in the south west. In any case, they run low on gas and want some munchies, so they decide to rob a gas station. It turns into a bloodbath; Poke is shot and killed, along with two people in the store. Lloyd is arrested and jailed.
Chapter Seventeen
Or: The First Ammendment
Starkey learns that the press is cottoning on. He orders one of his men to carry out an operation that involves gunning said press down.
Chapter Eighteen
Or: Reversing the roles
The people who beat up Nick Andros are being held in the county jail. Nick, meanwhile, is working at the jail for the sheriff and developing a friendship with both him and his wife. Said wife observes that the sheriff is sick and insists that he deputize Nick so that he can cover the jail. The sheriff wants to know Nick’s history (having turned up nothing by looking up his criminal records) and Nick agrees to write it down while babysitting the prisoners that night. In short, Nick was orphaned at a young age and ran away from the state home at sixteen. He’s spent the last several years wandering from place to place and trying to get his education.
The town doctor comes to visit both Nick (for his injuries) and the sheriff. The doctor, who is clearly sick, thinks that the sheriff has a respiratory infection and sends him home. Nick is meant to wait for someone in the nearest city to pick up the prisoners, but the sheriff’s wife comes to tell him that no one will arrive until tomorrow because too many were out sick.
Nick dreams of a corn field.
The sheriff does not show up the next day, and Nick leaves to find the doctor (because one of the prisoners is sick) and get the prisoners food. He finds the doctor again, who tells him that the sheriff died in the night. Nick learns that the town is very sick and people are dying. The doctor is piecing together what is going on, but it’s too late and he couldn’t do anything anyway.
Nick ultimately decides to stay in the town because the prisoners are his responsibility now, and he is also concerned for the sheriff’s wife.
Verileah
16 years ago
And more...
Chapter Nineteen
Or: Mommy dearest part 1
Larry’s mother is ill. He goes out to Times Square to get a break from caring for her (and to give her one as well). He calls a friend from California and finds out that he can safely return to pay back the loan sharks. However, his friend advises him to wait because of the flu. He returns home with mixed feelings to find his mother worse than ever. He tries to call an ambulance or at least get some advise from the hospital, but cannot get through.
Chapter Twenty
Or: Mommy dearest part two
Frannie is staying in a hotel, where she is writing a friendly letter and reflecting on her day. She has found a friend to stay with while she finishes school. Her boyfriend has pretty much been booted out of the picture.
She discovered earlier in the day that her mother was sick, and her father calls to tell her that it’s gotten worse, and so many people are sick that it is difficult to get care. Frannie blames herself.
Chapter Twenty One
Or: Same shit, different place
Stu is getting pretty freaked. He knows that the plague center somehow got contaminated, and they moved him to another plague center in Vermont. Doctor/nurse visits are sporadic and they are always accompanied by someone with a gun. He can look out the window and see the town shutting down, and watch the news and see all the sick people.
He is still healthy as a horse.
Chapter Twenty Two
Or: At Ease
Starky is relieved from duty and gives his underling his final orders, which involve spreading the flu virus around the rest of the world. Starkey is morose. He goes down into the facility where the flu was first released, under the ground, and offs himself with his pistol.
Chapter Nineteen
Or: Mommy dearest part 1
Larry’s mother is ill. He goes out to Times Square to get a break from caring for her (and to give her one as well). He calls a friend from California and finds out that he can safely return to pay back the loan sharks. However, his friend advises him to wait because of the flu. He returns home with mixed feelings to find his mother worse than ever. He tries to call an ambulance or at least get some advise from the hospital, but cannot get through.
Chapter Twenty
Or: Mommy dearest part two
Frannie is staying in a hotel, where she is writing a friendly letter and reflecting on her day. She has found a friend to stay with while she finishes school. Her boyfriend has pretty much been booted out of the picture.
She discovered earlier in the day that her mother was sick, and her father calls to tell her that it’s gotten worse, and so many people are sick that it is difficult to get care. Frannie blames herself.
Chapter Twenty One
Or: Same shit, different place
Stu is getting pretty freaked. He knows that the plague center somehow got contaminated, and they moved him to another plague center in Vermont. Doctor/nurse visits are sporadic and they are always accompanied by someone with a gun. He can look out the window and see the town shutting down, and watch the news and see all the sick people.
He is still healthy as a horse.
Chapter Twenty Two
Or: At Ease
Starky is relieved from duty and gives his underling his final orders, which involve spreading the flu virus around the rest of the world. Starkey is morose. He goes down into the facility where the flu was first released, under the ground, and offs himself with his pistol.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter 23
Or: A man of wealth and taste
We meet Randall Flagg walking down a desert highway. He is described as a ‘tall man with no age’ and wears denim and cowboy boots. He also wears a couple of buttons and carries pamphlets on various (and often contradictory) causes.
It is made clear that this guy is bad news.
At the end of the chapter, Flagg senses that something is coming and believes it is his rebirth. And then he levitates, because…well hell, he –can-.
Chapter 24
Or: The baby faced killer
Lloyd discovers that his crimes have made him something of a celebrity in the prison, but he still isn’t having that great a time of jail.
He notes that some of the guards are sick.
He meets with his lawyer; prospects are quite horrible but they will still try to make their case to avoid the death penalty. Together they agree on a story and part ways. Later Lloyd gets a knee to the crotch from one of his fellow inmates, and the chapter ends with him writhing in pain on the ground as his lot in life becomes clear.
Chapter 25
Nick tends to a sick and delirious sheriff’s wife. He also has to care for his three prisoners, who still have not been picked up.
He is forced to break into the truck stop when he has to feed the prisoners, and when he returns with the meal he discovers one of them is dead. The other prisoners are very upset, and one goes on a hunger strike that lasts all of ten minutes. The other is too sick to put up much fight. He moves the dead body and tries to sleep.
He dreams of the cornfield again, but at the end he senses a malicious force, and thinks of weasels.
The next day, his prisoners are worse, as is the sheriff’s wife. The doctor cannot be reached. He bikes through the neighborhood, looking for help, for someone who could drive the prisoners somewhere else. After discovering that the town is pretty much dead or dying, he reluctantly returns to the jail and eventually lets out the last living prisoner.
Nick gets a television set and observes the breakdown of various channels. What few newscasts are available are telling people that the superflu epidemic is under control and there will be a vaccine soon. He throws the bullshit flag and comes to the conclusion that the media is being coached to tell lies.
The sheriff’s wife dies, and Nick carries out her final wishes; to wear the dress she wore on her honeymoon. Then he carries her to the funeral home.
Chapter 26
Or: Crazy College Kids
This is another general ‘what’s going on in the country’ chapter with no particular character point of view. It is used mostly to transition time from a broad perspective and I think this chapter wraps up the bulk of the superflu deaths.
A group of college kids print flyers exposing the lies the government is telling regarding the superflu (though they are also misinformed; they believe three quarters of the population will die when in reality it is much more.)
Newscasters take over their television station and broadcast the truth about what is happening; Nick was correct, the media is being coached by the military. They expose the burning bodies, soldiers, etc…until the transmitter is blown up and the television crew is executed for treason.
A man spends the last hours of his life printing a special edition exposing the super flu cover up. As an aside, I –think- Stephen King made a Billie Holiday reference here; he refers to the newspaper pages that get stuck in a tree as ‘strange fruit’. Like the song. Heh. Okay maybe I’m reaching.
LA Times prints what they claim is a sales circular, but is really another ‘attack’ on the government. The people printing the story are shot down and the building is blown up, but a few copies get out.
A group of people beat up one of those guys who wears a sandwich board and claims it’s ‘the end of days’. They tell him as they walk away that that will ‘teach [him] to scare people!’
A talk radio host takes calls on the super flu, where listeners call in and tell the truth about what’s happening. Soldiers break in and some gun him down, but some of the men gun down the shooters…it’s a big blood bath.
An army communication reveals that the soldiers are dying at their posts. They are trying to keep New York City quarantined. Deserters are being shot.
In Boulder (OMG THIS IS IMPORTANT LATER) people believe that a Meteorological Air Testing Center is really a biological warfare installation. They flee the city en masse and some crazy blows up the harmless center.
Another memo indicating that the military is unraveling.
Ah! A reference to one of my favorite poems: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. ‘When the evening was spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table…’
A group of unarmed college students organizes a march. Campus Security tries to keep them away from the blockade of soldiers, to no avail. Rocks are thrown and it quickly turns into another blood bath as the soldiers mow the kids down, then start on each other.
More army communications reveal that ‘Things fall apart. The center does not hold.’ The military is turning in on itself. Some ex military people take over a television station and hold a room captive. They collect driver’s licenses and hold a ‘death raffle’ to decide who to execute.
Someone spends their last hours driving around playing records through a loudspeaker.
The President makes a bullshit speech between coughs.
We wrap up the chapter with this note, spray painted on the side of a Baptist Church:
“Dear Jesus. I will see you soon. Your friend, America. PS I hope you will still have some vacancies by the end of the week.”
Chapter 27
Or: I need a fix ‘cause I’m goin’ down
Larry in Central Park. There is a man shouting about ‘monsters coming’ somewhere in the city, and it bothers Larry. He’s spoken to a few people, but most of the city is dead.
He dwells on his past, remembering a friend he lost over an argument about money, and an old flame that died out when he became famous. We learn that his mother died; he left her body in a hospital with a note pinned to her blouse. He takes a walk and meets a woman named Rita. They are both trying to come to grips with what’s happening and have a stilted, awkward conversation, but end up going to lunch together.
Or: A man of wealth and taste
We meet Randall Flagg walking down a desert highway. He is described as a ‘tall man with no age’ and wears denim and cowboy boots. He also wears a couple of buttons and carries pamphlets on various (and often contradictory) causes.
It is made clear that this guy is bad news.
At the end of the chapter, Flagg senses that something is coming and believes it is his rebirth. And then he levitates, because…well hell, he –can-.
Chapter 24
Or: The baby faced killer
Lloyd discovers that his crimes have made him something of a celebrity in the prison, but he still isn’t having that great a time of jail.
He notes that some of the guards are sick.
He meets with his lawyer; prospects are quite horrible but they will still try to make their case to avoid the death penalty. Together they agree on a story and part ways. Later Lloyd gets a knee to the crotch from one of his fellow inmates, and the chapter ends with him writhing in pain on the ground as his lot in life becomes clear.
Chapter 25
Nick tends to a sick and delirious sheriff’s wife. He also has to care for his three prisoners, who still have not been picked up.
He is forced to break into the truck stop when he has to feed the prisoners, and when he returns with the meal he discovers one of them is dead. The other prisoners are very upset, and one goes on a hunger strike that lasts all of ten minutes. The other is too sick to put up much fight. He moves the dead body and tries to sleep.
He dreams of the cornfield again, but at the end he senses a malicious force, and thinks of weasels.
The next day, his prisoners are worse, as is the sheriff’s wife. The doctor cannot be reached. He bikes through the neighborhood, looking for help, for someone who could drive the prisoners somewhere else. After discovering that the town is pretty much dead or dying, he reluctantly returns to the jail and eventually lets out the last living prisoner.
Nick gets a television set and observes the breakdown of various channels. What few newscasts are available are telling people that the superflu epidemic is under control and there will be a vaccine soon. He throws the bullshit flag and comes to the conclusion that the media is being coached to tell lies.
The sheriff’s wife dies, and Nick carries out her final wishes; to wear the dress she wore on her honeymoon. Then he carries her to the funeral home.
Chapter 26
Or: Crazy College Kids
This is another general ‘what’s going on in the country’ chapter with no particular character point of view. It is used mostly to transition time from a broad perspective and I think this chapter wraps up the bulk of the superflu deaths.
A group of college kids print flyers exposing the lies the government is telling regarding the superflu (though they are also misinformed; they believe three quarters of the population will die when in reality it is much more.)
Newscasters take over their television station and broadcast the truth about what is happening; Nick was correct, the media is being coached by the military. They expose the burning bodies, soldiers, etc…until the transmitter is blown up and the television crew is executed for treason.
A man spends the last hours of his life printing a special edition exposing the super flu cover up. As an aside, I –think- Stephen King made a Billie Holiday reference here; he refers to the newspaper pages that get stuck in a tree as ‘strange fruit’. Like the song. Heh. Okay maybe I’m reaching.
LA Times prints what they claim is a sales circular, but is really another ‘attack’ on the government. The people printing the story are shot down and the building is blown up, but a few copies get out.
A group of people beat up one of those guys who wears a sandwich board and claims it’s ‘the end of days’. They tell him as they walk away that that will ‘teach [him] to scare people!’
A talk radio host takes calls on the super flu, where listeners call in and tell the truth about what’s happening. Soldiers break in and some gun him down, but some of the men gun down the shooters…it’s a big blood bath.
An army communication reveals that the soldiers are dying at their posts. They are trying to keep New York City quarantined. Deserters are being shot.
In Boulder (OMG THIS IS IMPORTANT LATER) people believe that a Meteorological Air Testing Center is really a biological warfare installation. They flee the city en masse and some crazy blows up the harmless center.
Another memo indicating that the military is unraveling.
Ah! A reference to one of my favorite poems: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. ‘When the evening was spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table…’
A group of unarmed college students organizes a march. Campus Security tries to keep them away from the blockade of soldiers, to no avail. Rocks are thrown and it quickly turns into another blood bath as the soldiers mow the kids down, then start on each other.
More army communications reveal that ‘Things fall apart. The center does not hold.’ The military is turning in on itself. Some ex military people take over a television station and hold a room captive. They collect driver’s licenses and hold a ‘death raffle’ to decide who to execute.
Someone spends their last hours driving around playing records through a loudspeaker.
The President makes a bullshit speech between coughs.
We wrap up the chapter with this note, spray painted on the side of a Baptist Church:
“Dear Jesus. I will see you soon. Your friend, America. PS I hope you will still have some vacancies by the end of the week.”
Chapter 27
Or: I need a fix ‘cause I’m goin’ down
Larry in Central Park. There is a man shouting about ‘monsters coming’ somewhere in the city, and it bothers Larry. He’s spoken to a few people, but most of the city is dead.
He dwells on his past, remembering a friend he lost over an argument about money, and an old flame that died out when he became famous. We learn that his mother died; he left her body in a hospital with a note pinned to her blouse. He takes a walk and meets a woman named Rita. They are both trying to come to grips with what’s happening and have a stilted, awkward conversation, but end up going to lunch together.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter 33
Or: No Helen Keller jokes, if you please
The power goes out in the police station, reminding Nick of his now frequent nightmares of the dark man. He goes to fetch some candles and one of the men who attacked him (who evaded arrest) attacks him again. Nick ends up shooting him, but not before he has a good go at his eye and roughs him up pretty badly.
Chapter 34
Or: Playing with matches
We meet Trashcan Man, a psychotic with a fondness for fire. We learn of his traumatic past in a series of flashbacks that alternate with the present, in which he is heading toward a gas company. Like everywhere else, the entire town is dead, though Trashcan Man is still haunted by the voices of his past. He blows up the oil tanks at the gas company and in spite of getting hurt in the process, decides to go on to the next town and burn that too.
Chapter 35
Or: You want me to go in –where-?
Larry and Rita resolve to leave New York City. Their relationship is becoming strained, mostly because they are just very different people and neither are all that well adjusted. He thinks over their reasons for leaving the city; the smell, for one, and the fact that with no law and order they do not feel safe.
They gear up to go, being sure to arm themselves. They find that they need it as they walk through NY, because there are still people alive who are not all that nice.
They end up fighting because Rita wore inappropriate shoes and Larry feels she is a burden. It escalates and Rita storms off, leaving Larry to make his own way through NY.
Larry works through his apprehension and goes into the Lincoln tunnel alone. It’s pretty creepy in there with the dead bodies and such. He hears someone following him and gets spooked, shooting blindly behind him in the tunnel. The someone turns out to be Rita, who is fortunately unhurt by the gunshots. Together they make it out of the scary tunnel only to discover a blockade on the other side.
Chapter 36
Or: What would Harold do?
Frannie tends to the last of the dying in her town, then goes to see Harold. Harold is having his own reaction to the death of the town, dealing with grief and whatnot. Once he has calmed down, though, they discuss where to go. Harold suggests the Plague center in Vermont (where Stu just broke out). Fran thinks this is a good idea and they plan their trip. First Harold goes to paint a sign on the roof of a barn in case anyone still alive might come by. Then they get geared up and decide to head out the next day.
As a side note, all through this chapter Frannie is sending Harold some serious mixed signals, which in my opinion is really kind of cruel.
Or: No Helen Keller jokes, if you please
The power goes out in the police station, reminding Nick of his now frequent nightmares of the dark man. He goes to fetch some candles and one of the men who attacked him (who evaded arrest) attacks him again. Nick ends up shooting him, but not before he has a good go at his eye and roughs him up pretty badly.
Chapter 34
Or: Playing with matches
We meet Trashcan Man, a psychotic with a fondness for fire. We learn of his traumatic past in a series of flashbacks that alternate with the present, in which he is heading toward a gas company. Like everywhere else, the entire town is dead, though Trashcan Man is still haunted by the voices of his past. He blows up the oil tanks at the gas company and in spite of getting hurt in the process, decides to go on to the next town and burn that too.
Chapter 35
Or: You want me to go in –where-?
Larry and Rita resolve to leave New York City. Their relationship is becoming strained, mostly because they are just very different people and neither are all that well adjusted. He thinks over their reasons for leaving the city; the smell, for one, and the fact that with no law and order they do not feel safe.
They gear up to go, being sure to arm themselves. They find that they need it as they walk through NY, because there are still people alive who are not all that nice.
They end up fighting because Rita wore inappropriate shoes and Larry feels she is a burden. It escalates and Rita storms off, leaving Larry to make his own way through NY.
Larry works through his apprehension and goes into the Lincoln tunnel alone. It’s pretty creepy in there with the dead bodies and such. He hears someone following him and gets spooked, shooting blindly behind him in the tunnel. The someone turns out to be Rita, who is fortunately unhurt by the gunshots. Together they make it out of the scary tunnel only to discover a blockade on the other side.
Chapter 36
Or: What would Harold do?
Frannie tends to the last of the dying in her town, then goes to see Harold. Harold is having his own reaction to the death of the town, dealing with grief and whatnot. Once he has calmed down, though, they discuss where to go. Harold suggests the Plague center in Vermont (where Stu just broke out). Fran thinks this is a good idea and they plan their trip. First Harold goes to paint a sign on the roof of a barn in case anyone still alive might come by. Then they get geared up and decide to head out the next day.
As a side note, all through this chapter Frannie is sending Harold some serious mixed signals, which in my opinion is really kind of cruel.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter 37
Or: Dignity at all times
Stu is hiking about New Hampshire when he hears a dog barking. Realizing that most of the dogs have died in the flu, he follows the sound. In reflecting on the last few days, we learn that he has resolved to walk to the ocean and then decide what to do. He’s still a little screwy from being locked up but the fresh air is doing him good.
He finds the dog (or the dog finds him) and makes fast friends; he also meets the dog’s de facto owner, a sociology professor named Glen Bateman. (Let’s all give three cheers for Glen, because he’s the man). The dog, by the way, is named Kojak.
Stu and Glen have lunch and get to know each other. Glen makes up for Stu being a man of few words. Then Glen goes back to his (very bad) painting and they talk some more about their situation. They throw around a lot of interesting ideas, one of the main ones being that all the weapons are laying around waiting for someone to pick them up.
Glen brings up his dreams but Stu stays silent on his own. They head to Glen’s place and Stu accepts an invitation to spend the night.
He dreams of his escape from the hospital, and of the dark man.
Chapter 38
Or: The final cut
This is another little set of vignettes from no particular point of view. Saying that they’re the post flu equivalent of the Darwin Awards seems an unkind way to put it, but it deals with the various people who, for whatever reason, were not equipped to survive in a work with no people. It’s kind of a cold, sad chapter and the running theme is ‘no great loss’.
Chapter 39
Or: Leg of Trask
Lloyd is still locked up, starving and going mostly out of his mind. He manages to unscrew a support from his bed and uses it like a fishing rod to pull one of the dead inmates in a nearby cell closer to him.
We cut away, and in the next scene Lloyd hears a voice in the prison. At first he is frightened and doesn’t answer, but finally he calls out, hoping for rescue. He conceals his cannibalism before the man arrives, and oddly he is still filled with dread even though he’s about to be saved.
The man (who is, of course, Flagg) and Lloyd converse. It is clear Flagg already knows Lloyd’s situation, including how he kept from starving. Flagg eventually lets Lloyd out after Lloyd promises his loyal service. Flagg presents Lloyd with a black stone with a red flaw.
They head out to get some dinner.
Or: Dignity at all times
Stu is hiking about New Hampshire when he hears a dog barking. Realizing that most of the dogs have died in the flu, he follows the sound. In reflecting on the last few days, we learn that he has resolved to walk to the ocean and then decide what to do. He’s still a little screwy from being locked up but the fresh air is doing him good.
He finds the dog (or the dog finds him) and makes fast friends; he also meets the dog’s de facto owner, a sociology professor named Glen Bateman. (Let’s all give three cheers for Glen, because he’s the man). The dog, by the way, is named Kojak.
Stu and Glen have lunch and get to know each other. Glen makes up for Stu being a man of few words. Then Glen goes back to his (very bad) painting and they talk some more about their situation. They throw around a lot of interesting ideas, one of the main ones being that all the weapons are laying around waiting for someone to pick them up.
Glen brings up his dreams but Stu stays silent on his own. They head to Glen’s place and Stu accepts an invitation to spend the night.
He dreams of his escape from the hospital, and of the dark man.
Chapter 38
Or: The final cut
This is another little set of vignettes from no particular point of view. Saying that they’re the post flu equivalent of the Darwin Awards seems an unkind way to put it, but it deals with the various people who, for whatever reason, were not equipped to survive in a work with no people. It’s kind of a cold, sad chapter and the running theme is ‘no great loss’.
Chapter 39
Or: Leg of Trask
Lloyd is still locked up, starving and going mostly out of his mind. He manages to unscrew a support from his bed and uses it like a fishing rod to pull one of the dead inmates in a nearby cell closer to him.
We cut away, and in the next scene Lloyd hears a voice in the prison. At first he is frightened and doesn’t answer, but finally he calls out, hoping for rescue. He conceals his cannibalism before the man arrives, and oddly he is still filled with dread even though he’s about to be saved.
The man (who is, of course, Flagg) and Lloyd converse. It is clear Flagg already knows Lloyd’s situation, including how he kept from starving. Flagg eventually lets Lloyd out after Lloyd promises his loyal service. Flagg presents Lloyd with a black stone with a red flaw.
They head out to get some dinner.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter 40
Or: Why the hell do I want to worship a creepy dude with no face?
Nick is in bad shape from his beating. He can’t see more than shades of grey out of his injured eye and the bullet graze down his leg is infected. In his delirious dreams, Flagg comes to tempt him. He escapes that dream and falls into another, where he meets Mother Abagail in the corn field.
When he wakes up, it would appear the antibiotics have done their thing. He resolves to leave town and head toward Nebraska in search of Mother Abagail. By the end of the chapter he is camping under the open sky.
Chapter 41
Or: Oh say can you see?
Larry and Rita are traveling up the coast. Larry celebrates the fourth of July by singing the star spangled banner outside, then goes into the tent to wake Rita up. Only she’s apparently offed herself with a handful of pills.
Larry takes it badly on many levels. He’s too squicked to bury her. Now that he’s alone he’s nervous about riding the bike; a few minor spills and he ends up walking instead.
He thinks someone might be following him.
Chapter 42
Or: Three’s company
Stu is hanging out on a rock when who should come by but Frannie and Harold! Harold is all paranoid and stuff but Fran and Stu seem to hit it off. Stu breaks the news about the plague center to Fran and Harold, but Harold isn’t buying it. In fact, Harold isn’t buying any of this and has a cow when Stu asks to join up with them. Finally they come to an understanding and head toward Glen’s place. Stu hopes to convince the loner to come with them too.
At the end of the chapter Stu decides he has the hots for Fran even though he promised Harold he wasn’t going to chase that particular skirt. Ah well, looks like Harold is shit out of luck as usual.
And that, my friends, is the end of Book 1
Or: Why the hell do I want to worship a creepy dude with no face?
Nick is in bad shape from his beating. He can’t see more than shades of grey out of his injured eye and the bullet graze down his leg is infected. In his delirious dreams, Flagg comes to tempt him. He escapes that dream and falls into another, where he meets Mother Abagail in the corn field.
When he wakes up, it would appear the antibiotics have done their thing. He resolves to leave town and head toward Nebraska in search of Mother Abagail. By the end of the chapter he is camping under the open sky.
Chapter 41
Or: Oh say can you see?
Larry and Rita are traveling up the coast. Larry celebrates the fourth of July by singing the star spangled banner outside, then goes into the tent to wake Rita up. Only she’s apparently offed herself with a handful of pills.
Larry takes it badly on many levels. He’s too squicked to bury her. Now that he’s alone he’s nervous about riding the bike; a few minor spills and he ends up walking instead.
He thinks someone might be following him.
Chapter 42
Or: Three’s company
Stu is hanging out on a rock when who should come by but Frannie and Harold! Harold is all paranoid and stuff but Fran and Stu seem to hit it off. Stu breaks the news about the plague center to Fran and Harold, but Harold isn’t buying it. In fact, Harold isn’t buying any of this and has a cow when Stu asks to join up with them. Finally they come to an understanding and head toward Glen’s place. Stu hopes to convince the loner to come with them too.
At the end of the chapter Stu decides he has the hots for Fran even though he promised Harold he wasn’t going to chase that particular skirt. Ah well, looks like Harold is shit out of luck as usual.
And that, my friends, is the end of Book 1
Verileah
16 years ago
Okee, on to part two. Longer chapters here but we’re going to try to keep the summaries short (since they are mostly a way to find stuff in the book and jog people’s memories.).
Chapter 43
Or: And the Heart of the Stand is born *grins*
Nick Andros meets Tom Cullen, a blonde, mentally retarded man. What with Nick not being able to speak and Tom not being able to read, it’s a bit of a trick to communicate, but they end up forming a solid friendship and decide to head to Nebraska together. They go by bike; Nick can’t explain where they’re going but Tom is content to follow him anywhere.
Tom ends up saving both of their asses from a tornado during their journey. They hide in a storm cellar until it passes. It’s damn creepy down there.
Throughout the journey dreams plague both men, and Nick struggles with the idea of going to see a woman from a dream. It seems they are being followed by the Dark Man, even Tom senses that. Nick is restless to meet people because he can’t communicate with Tom as much as he would like.
They come to a town where there is a survivor named Julie. She’s a few screws loose and kind of obnoxious. She’s also mean to Tom Cullen and not particularly kind to Nick either. Finally Nick tells her to take a walk. She runs off and then shoots at them from her window until they leave town.
They push on, until at last they are picked up by a man driving a truck, named Ralph Brenter.
Chapter 44
Or: The writing on the barn
Larry continues up the coast alone. He’s having a rough go of it; nightmares, his conscience, some paranoia and loneliness all take their toll on him. He gets a little sick, too.
A woman and a little boy are following him, named Nadine and ‘Joe’ respectively; Nadine doesn’t know Joe’s real name because he’s sort of gone feral. Larry realizes someone is behind him shortly after he decides to get a bicycle to continue on. He concludes that they are scared and will talk to him when they are ready. He goes on his merry way until he reaches the coast. He chills and checks out the view until Joe runs at him with a knife.
So that’s how Larry and Joe and Nadine meet up. Eventually Larry gets Joe to –not- try to stab him, mostly by way of a found guitar that Joe takes a liking to.
A significant point; Larry cuts out the petulant –I’m sorry and I expect you to forgive me- crap when he does things people don’t like. He changes a good deal in this chapter, in fact.
In any case, they fall in together and travel north until they come across…Harold’s sign! They decide to head to Vermont. Larry follows Harold’s trail and figures out what he needs to do to get ready. They work out how to ride the bikes and head south again.
Larry continues to dream as they travel, learning more details of Mother Abagail and the Dark Man. In other news, there’s some obvious sexual tension between Nadine and Larry, but Nadine’s playing hard to get.
They meet a woman named Lucy as they travel. Together they learn that they’re all having the same dreams…except Nadine, who admits nothing.
They make it to Vermont, only to find that Fran and Harold, in addition to Stu and Glen, have moved on to Nebraska. Nadine doesn’t take this news well.
Chapter 43
Or: And the Heart of the Stand is born *grins*
Nick Andros meets Tom Cullen, a blonde, mentally retarded man. What with Nick not being able to speak and Tom not being able to read, it’s a bit of a trick to communicate, but they end up forming a solid friendship and decide to head to Nebraska together. They go by bike; Nick can’t explain where they’re going but Tom is content to follow him anywhere.
Tom ends up saving both of their asses from a tornado during their journey. They hide in a storm cellar until it passes. It’s damn creepy down there.
Throughout the journey dreams plague both men, and Nick struggles with the idea of going to see a woman from a dream. It seems they are being followed by the Dark Man, even Tom senses that. Nick is restless to meet people because he can’t communicate with Tom as much as he would like.
They come to a town where there is a survivor named Julie. She’s a few screws loose and kind of obnoxious. She’s also mean to Tom Cullen and not particularly kind to Nick either. Finally Nick tells her to take a walk. She runs off and then shoots at them from her window until they leave town.
They push on, until at last they are picked up by a man driving a truck, named Ralph Brenter.
Chapter 44
Or: The writing on the barn
Larry continues up the coast alone. He’s having a rough go of it; nightmares, his conscience, some paranoia and loneliness all take their toll on him. He gets a little sick, too.
A woman and a little boy are following him, named Nadine and ‘Joe’ respectively; Nadine doesn’t know Joe’s real name because he’s sort of gone feral. Larry realizes someone is behind him shortly after he decides to get a bicycle to continue on. He concludes that they are scared and will talk to him when they are ready. He goes on his merry way until he reaches the coast. He chills and checks out the view until Joe runs at him with a knife.
So that’s how Larry and Joe and Nadine meet up. Eventually Larry gets Joe to –not- try to stab him, mostly by way of a found guitar that Joe takes a liking to.
A significant point; Larry cuts out the petulant –I’m sorry and I expect you to forgive me- crap when he does things people don’t like. He changes a good deal in this chapter, in fact.
In any case, they fall in together and travel north until they come across…Harold’s sign! They decide to head to Vermont. Larry follows Harold’s trail and figures out what he needs to do to get ready. They work out how to ride the bikes and head south again.
Larry continues to dream as they travel, learning more details of Mother Abagail and the Dark Man. In other news, there’s some obvious sexual tension between Nadine and Larry, but Nadine’s playing hard to get.
They meet a woman named Lucy as they travel. Together they learn that they’re all having the same dreams…except Nadine, who admits nothing.
They make it to Vermont, only to find that Fran and Harold, in addition to Stu and Glen, have moved on to Nebraska. Nadine doesn’t take this news well.
Verileah
16 years ago
Chapter 45
Or: Old –woman- tough
This marks the first chapter from Mother Abagail’s point of view. She’s pretty much just what one would expect from the dreams. She’s one of those people who, uh…talk to God a lot. Out loud.
At the beginning of the chapter she’s reminiscing, as really old people tend to do, and we learn that she’s not exactly thrilled with living to see the end of the world; nor is she bouncing with excitement over all the crap left to deal with and her part in it. We also learn that she runs her house old school without a lot of technology, which is useful considering there’s no electricity now.
In any case, she finally rolls out to get some chickens from a neighbor’s hen house. It’s a long walk and she has a run in with some weasels (friend of Flagg), but she dreams that her visitors will be there shortly and that serves as a good motivator along with a healthy dose of prayer.
Nick’s party arrives; there’s Nick and Tom and Ralph (the guy driving the truck) and some others they picked up along the way, including Dick Ellis, a vet. They have a nice meal and afterward Nick and Ralph sit down to talk.
Those three get down to business, discussing Flagg and also Abagail’s role in all of this. Abagail tells them that God sent her a dream telling her they had to gather in Boulder. She basically tells them that their in the midst of a battle between good and evil, and so on.
After another day of chilling in the nice cornfield, they get ready roll out. One of the cool things they do is to get a CB radio and set a channel for communications as groups get closer. The chapter sorta shifts to Nick’s point of view for a bit, where we learn that he’s not buying this God bit but doesn’t have a better explanation for what’s happening. He also has leader angstyness.
Mother Abagail is having some angst too, not wanting to leave her home of one billion years. But, she does; the chapter ends with them driving off.
Chapter 46
Or: The oddest motorcycle gang…
Fran, Stu, Glen, and Harold are headed west, along with a couple they picked up along the way. I suspect Stephen King only put them in there because the name Perion is kind of cool.
Harold is starting to give Fran the creeps…she feels he might be more than a little unstable. The group has started taking pills to block the dreams; they know where they’re going and Flagg is just bothering them now, showing some sick an’ twisted stuff. Also, Frannie –totally- wants in Stu’s pants but doesn’t want to cause a lot of drama with Harold, since he might be crazy and all.
Harold wakes Frannie up in the dead of the night. Seems one of the people they picked up has appendicitis. OMG what will they do!
They’ll cut away to read Fran’s diary, apparently. Blah blah blah, drama with Harold (she writes about Harold more than Stu; which one is she in love with again?), Glen talks –a lot- (she’s apparently his stenographer), they decide to head for Mother Abagail, holy shit, they’re all having matching dreams….
Okay back to the present. They eventually decide that they have to at least try to operate. They are not successful and he dies. Later, the woman they picked up offs herself.
More of Fran’s diary…mostly just personal drama and discussions about what’s happening in the world.
Or: Old –woman- tough
This marks the first chapter from Mother Abagail’s point of view. She’s pretty much just what one would expect from the dreams. She’s one of those people who, uh…talk to God a lot. Out loud.
At the beginning of the chapter she’s reminiscing, as really old people tend to do, and we learn that she’s not exactly thrilled with living to see the end of the world; nor is she bouncing with excitement over all the crap left to deal with and her part in it. We also learn that she runs her house old school without a lot of technology, which is useful considering there’s no electricity now.
In any case, she finally rolls out to get some chickens from a neighbor’s hen house. It’s a long walk and she has a run in with some weasels (friend of Flagg), but she dreams that her visitors will be there shortly and that serves as a good motivator along with a healthy dose of prayer.
Nick’s party arrives; there’s Nick and Tom and Ralph (the guy driving the truck) and some others they picked up along the way, including Dick Ellis, a vet. They have a nice meal and afterward Nick and Ralph sit down to talk.
Those three get down to business, discussing Flagg and also Abagail’s role in all of this. Abagail tells them that God sent her a dream telling her they had to gather in Boulder. She basically tells them that their in the midst of a battle between good and evil, and so on.
After another day of chilling in the nice cornfield, they get ready roll out. One of the cool things they do is to get a CB radio and set a channel for communications as groups get closer. The chapter sorta shifts to Nick’s point of view for a bit, where we learn that he’s not buying this God bit but doesn’t have a better explanation for what’s happening. He also has leader angstyness.
Mother Abagail is having some angst too, not wanting to leave her home of one billion years. But, she does; the chapter ends with them driving off.
Chapter 46
Or: The oddest motorcycle gang…
Fran, Stu, Glen, and Harold are headed west, along with a couple they picked up along the way. I suspect Stephen King only put them in there because the name Perion is kind of cool.
Harold is starting to give Fran the creeps…she feels he might be more than a little unstable. The group has started taking pills to block the dreams; they know where they’re going and Flagg is just bothering them now, showing some sick an’ twisted stuff. Also, Frannie –totally- wants in Stu’s pants but doesn’t want to cause a lot of drama with Harold, since he might be crazy and all.
Harold wakes Frannie up in the dead of the night. Seems one of the people they picked up has appendicitis. OMG what will they do!
They’ll cut away to read Fran’s diary, apparently. Blah blah blah, drama with Harold (she writes about Harold more than Stu; which one is she in love with again?), Glen talks –a lot- (she’s apparently his stenographer), they decide to head for Mother Abagail, holy shit, they’re all having matching dreams….
Okay back to the present. They eventually decide that they have to at least try to operate. They are not successful and he dies. Later, the woman they picked up offs herself.
More of Fran’s diary…mostly just personal drama and discussions about what’s happening in the world.