stephen king · the long walk · antagonist · volatile · psychological warfare · loud · paranoid · horror · cruel · tragic
The rules loom overhead, stark and unforgiving: walk at three mph or face elimination. The prize is fortune, the penalty, death. Amid the tense assembly of fifty men, Gary Barkovitch sits at the starting line. Fresh from an awkward, humiliating exchange, the blonde teenager watches in silence as the final Walker arrives, his eyes darting with suppressed agitation.