Toziette (Henry Bowers)(English version)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jane had told her mother that she had dropped her inhaler in a trash can and that she herself fell into it while trying to retrieve it, that's why on Saturday afternoon, Jane went to Mr. Kenee's pharmacy to pick up her prescription one month in advance.

The trip annoyed her more than anything, but it was cheap to pay when she lost her inhaler. The most embarrassing thing about this situation was the looks the pharmacist was giving her, she really didn't like it and the less time she spent in his presence the better off she was. That's why she hurried out of the pharmacy to go home.

The air was pleasant, despite the approaching winter, and Jane decided to make a detour and go through the forest and the old car junkyard, to enjoy nature and the calm of the late afternoon and certainly admire the sunset over the carcasses of cars.

The view was magnificent, and she regretted not having taken her camera to immortalize the colors of the orange-pink sky. The Junkyard was usually the Bowers gang's gathering place, but she knew from a reliable source, a kid who got his money stolen by Criss, that they weren't together today. It was the first time she had been able to enjoy the place, she wandered between the aisles a bit, mentally noting places to take pictures later. Some of the cars were in great condition; if not that they had no engine, and very few working windows, the bodies were magnificent.

It was at the border between the forest and the junkyard, at the end of everything, where no one should ever go and where the cars were the oldest, covered with greenery, flowers and ivy, that she found something which piqued her curiosity. Between two fully covered cars, away from prying eyes, there was a fridge, old but maintained. The traces in the dirt at the foot of the door and the lack of greenery showed that someone was opening it regularly. Her first thought was that he was used in the drug trade, for some time she had suspected Bowers and his friends of being at the center of Derry's weed-consuming.

She knew she shouldn't open it, he could smell the problems like Eddie could smell the disinfectant. Whether it was the drug trade or something, the area was hidden well enough that Jane understood that whoever was using this fridge didn't want it to be found.

She knew she shouldn't open it.
She knew it.

But the curiosity was too strong, so after a quick glance around, she grabbed the cold handle.

The smell.
It was the first thing she noticed. The smell of rotting flesh, the smell of death.

What she saw as she opened the door made her heart beat so fast that she had to turn around for a moment to avoid throwing up.
On each shelf were dead animals. For the most part they were rodents, large rats or squirrels, all in a more or less advanced state of decomposition. But below she noticed the remains of a young dog and at the top, surely the corpse "arrived" last, a red cat, which seemed almost alive, so its death must have been recent.

This cat, she knew it, she was sure of it.

After forcing a few minutes on the fridge in front of her, Jane hurriedly closed it, regretting her curiosity.

She stared at the door for a moment, shocked at what she had just seen, when someone called out to her.

"You found my secret, Tozier."

She froze, all of her muscles tightening suddenly, and she refused to move, hoping he would go away when he didn't see her move. A question was spinning in her mind.
Why?
Why did he always appear behind her? Why was he always falling on her? Why was Patrick Hockstetter paying her so much attention?

She heard him come closer. The twigs breaking under his feet, while she still didn't dare to move.

"This isn't really a place for young girls. What are you doing here?"