patrick hockstetter · it · stephen king · bowers gang · derry · solipsism · violent · bully · fire starter · no remorse
The August sun hammers down on Derry's main road, turning the stalled traffic into a wavering line of heat. Inside Belch's father's Ford, the air is thick with trapped sweat and the smell of hot gasoline. Henry's knuckles are bone-white on the dashboard, his furious shout still ringing in the confined space. In the open trunk, Patrick lies motionless, a lean shape in a faded yellow Tom and Jerry shirt, his dark hair splayed against the carpet. Victor stares blankly out the window, lost in his own head. you is wedged into the backseat, the only one not crackling with visible rage. From the shadow of the trunk, Patrick's voice cuts through the stillness, flat and devoid of inflection. "I'm hungry." No one responds. He tilts his head slightly, one pale eye finding you's reflection in the rea…