The Running Man
by Stephen King
Contents
…Minus 052 and COUNTING… The drive to Portland was without in
Overview
Richards reaches Portland and finds the address connected to Bradley’s contact, but the city offers no real safety: wealth, decay, street violence, and paranoia all reinforce how trapped he remains. After a tense arrival at a crumbling State Street house, Richards gains entry by asking for Elton Parrakis and meets Elton’s mother, Virginia.
The chapter shifts Richards from flight on the road into a new refuge or possible danger, deepening the uncertainty around Bradley’s network and whether anyone can still be trusted.
Summary
Richards drives to Portland without incident, but as he reaches the city’s wealthy suburbs his relief fades. The contrast between protected rich neighborhoods and the danger he expects from the Hunters makes him feel exposed again, unsure whether his pursuers are nearby or absent.
Richards finds State Street, a decayed area of old brownstones near an overgrown park. He identifies it as a place outside ordinary police control, where abandoned vehicles are quickly stripped and the street belongs to criminals, addicts, gangs, and the desperate.
At number 94, Richards gets out on his crutches and is approached by a scarred young boy offering him scag. Richards rejects the boy, and when the boy tries to kick away a crutch, Richards strikes him lightly with it and drives him off.
Richards knocks at the dilapidated building but receives no answer at first. Convinced someone is inside, he knocks again and finally hears someone approaching. A suspicious woman refuses him until Richards says he was told to ask for Elton Parrakis.
The woman unlocks the heavily secured door and introduces herself as Virginia Parrakis, Elton’s mother. Richards observes her imposing, damaged, frightened presence, and Virginia lets him inside, giving Richards access to Bradley’s Portland contact.
Who Appears
- Ben RichardsFugitive contestant reaches Portland, wary of Hunters, and seeks Bradley’s contact at State Street.
- Virginia ParrakisElton Parrakis’s suspicious, frightened mother who unlocks the fortified door and admits Richards.
- Scarred boyStreet child who offers Richards drugs, attacks his crutch, and is driven off.
- Elton ParrakisAbsent Portland contact whose name persuades Virginia Parrakis to open the door.