Only if you Stand by me//Gordie Lachance

10

Jamie POV

"Whatever you do, don't stop running!" Teddy screamed, his legs fleeing in all directions.

We made our way around the treehouse and onto the dirt road. Ace's car was parked on the side of the road, but no one was to be found.

They are looking for us, I thought, in the treehouse.

I've never particularly been afraid very much. The last time I was afraid was nearly a year ago, and that was when my family stayed at a hotel in Tennessee and I nearly got trapped in the elevator. I don't want to mention it.

But this, this fear building up in my blood, it was different than anything I've ever felt before.

Gordie caught up to me, his finger hitting the gun trigger. The gun went off, shooting at a tree trunk nearby.

Everyone's eyes got as wide as they can get, blue veins popping from our foreheads. We stood still in the middle of the road, sand and dirt brushing our knees. I fidgeted with a string hanging from my jean shorts, chewing the inside of my lip.

We are dead.

"Jesus!" We all yelled, scurrying away from the treehouse. The gun slipped from Gordie's fingers, landing onto the road.

We ran as fast as we possibly could, and I didn't even take a glance back like I usually would. I keep going, my heart kept racing, my legs kept pumping.
I lead in front of the entire group, mainly because I was so terrified I could pee my pants.
I gasped for air in the thick atmosphere, my eyesight bobbing up and down as I ran.

"He heard it!" Vern whimpered,"I shit you not, he heard it!"
He trailed behind the rest of the group, inhaling and exhaling as deep as he could.

"They all heard it," Chris yelled back, catching up to me.

Kali grabbed Vern by his elbow, pulling him closer so he could catch up to the ground. I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it would be for her to run in her outfit: a yellow sundress with eggshell white flats.

The last time I wore flats was on Easter five years ago, and I ended up getting an enormous amount of blisters and purple bruises on my feet by the end of the day.

Now, running in tight flats, that's a whole nother story.

Ace POV

The sound of a gunshot bounced in my ears.

My mouth creeped into a smirk, I gripped tighter into my switchblade knife.

"Hey, faggots," I turned to the other boys,"I think I found them."

They popped their heads out of the treehouse, Eyeball smiling the biggest he ever had.

"Look at this," Billy climbed down from the tree,"five boxes of cigarettes, two bottles of Coke, and three candy bars. These kids are stashed!" He unwrapped the candy bar.

I took a few boxes of cigarettes and a bottle of Coke from his arms, making a "cheers" gesture towards him with the soda bottle, before chugging it down.

"Those little shits don't know what's coming for em," Billy smirked,"what are we gonna do?"

"I'll tell you what we're gonna do," the whole group gathered around me,"we'll take their gun and use it against them, and get anything we want."

Approving claps and cheers echoed from the group.

"And we'll get the hat, right?" Eyeball asked.

"Of course, of course," it of him,"don't worry, I got it all under control.

We all happily loaded into the car with our boxes of cigarettes and milk chocolate candy bars, before I snatched the handgun from the bottom of a trunk of a tree.

Kali POV

"How much longer?" I whined, clutching onto Vern's arm.

"Until we can't see that anymore," Chris pointed towards Ace's car, which was now cruising towards us at full speed. The Cobras cheered and clapped their hands, waving around beer cans and stick of cigarettes. Loud rock music blasted from their radio. The hood of the navy blue car glistened in the sunlight.
Ace held onto the steering wheel with one hand, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, shit, guys," Chris spun around on his heels, and we all did the same.

We all ran again, but much faster than the first time. Everyone of us stayed in a big clump, pumping our arms and legs back in forth.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins, anxiety bubbled in my stomach.

All of the sudden, Chris stops in his tracks, turning to face the car. The car stops almost inches away from Chris, grey smoke floating around him.

"I just wanted to say," he said,"I never regret any of that. And you can do whatever you want to me, you can beat me till I bleed, you can kill me in the middle of nowhere, but I never regret what I did." His eyes locked with Eyeball's.

They all seem surprised, yet so angry.

And with that, we started to run again.