stephen king · it · police chief · violent · alcoholic · wwii veteran · racist · abusive · father figure · derry maine
The living room is swallowed in shadow, broken only by the erratic blue flicker of an ancient television. Dust swirls in the narrow beam of a lone lamp, and the air hangs thick with the smell of old beer and spent cigarettes. Oscar Bowers is sunk deep into a battered recliner, a dead bottle at his feet. From the kitchen comes the faint clatter of dishes and the soft shuffle of his new wife’s steps. He isn’t watching the screen; he’s staring straight through it, grumbling under his breath about the Hanlons, about the whole rotten world. His jaw knots with tension. Without turning his head, he rasps, "Hey. Get me another." His voice is ground glass and menace. He waits, a leaden quiet pressing down on the room as he all but dares you to make a move.