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The next morning, the boys continue their quest to find Ray Brower’s body. As they walk along the railroad tracks, they find a small pool behind a beaver’s dam. Excited, the boys go swimming but are horrified to find themselves covered with leeches. They try desperately to detach the leeches from their bodies. Gordie ends up having to pull a leech off his genitals, telling himself he needs to be tough. It explodes in his hand, terrifying him. Gordie later passes out and blames it on blood loss and fear from his encounter with the leech. By the time they reach the spot in the woods where Ray Brower still lies, a thunderstorm has begun. Gordie is horrified by the sight of the body and truly begins to understand what it means for this boy to be dead.
Before the gang can decide much else, a group of older boys, including Billy Tessio, Eyeball Chambers, and Ace Merrill, arrive, also determined to get credit for finding Ray Brower’s body. The older, tougher boys threaten to hurt Gordie’s group. However, Chris pulls out the gun he stole. The older boys at first don’t believe he’ll shoot anyone, but Chris’s demeanor scares them. It begins to hail, sending Vern and Teddy running for cover. Chris tells Gordie to stay with him, and he does. Eventually the older boys give up, threatening that they’ll get back at Gordie and his friends for what they’ve done. Now free to take the glory, Gordie realizes they have no way of taking Ray Brower’s body back with them. Chris tries desperately, but eventually gives up. The boys trek home to Castle Rock. Eventually an anonymous tip to the police, likely from Ace Merrill, brings Ray Brower home.
In the aftermath of their adventure, Ace Merrill and another boy beat up Gordie, and Eyeball Chambers beats up Chris. They decide not to tell anyone who hurt them. Gordie and Chris drift apart from Vern and Teddy, taking more advanced classes in school. However, Gordie, narrating the story years later, is the only member of the group still alive. Vern dies in an apartment fire. Teddy dies in a drunk driving accident. Chris makes it to college but is killed while trying to break up a fight. The news of Chris’s death makes Gordie cry. Gordie is now an established writer, married with children, and only goes back to Castle Rock to bring his kids to visit their grandpa. During one visit, he sees Ace Merrill. Ace Merrill has become the same kind of drunk adult that used to antagonize Gordie and his friends when they were young. Gordie marvels at his own survival.
