The Running Man
by Stephen King
Contents
…Minus 006 and COUNTING… Richards got up very slowly, holding
Overview
Mortally wounded, Richards uses the last of his strength to force Amelia Williams into a parachute and move her toward escape. Amelia’s fear nearly prevents action, but Richards’s threat and guidance push her through the procedure.
The attempt is chaotic and desperate: the gun fails to open the emergency door immediately, then the door blows away and Amelia is sucked into the night. The chapter narrows the story to survival, pain, and Richards’s final, grim effort to make something happen before the plane goes down.
Summary
Catastrophically wounded after the shootout with McCone, Ben Richards rises slowly while physically holding in his intestines. Despite the agony, Richards drags a parachute up the aisle toward Amelia Williams, who is trapped in panic and prayer.
Richards orders Amelia to put on the parachute, but Amelia insists she is too afraid to jump. Richards threatens to shoot Amelia if she refuses, and the threat shocks Amelia into action; Amelia hurriedly straps on the pack while backing away from Richards in terror.
Richards guides Amelia through fastening the chute correctly as blood drips from Richards’s mouth and Amelia nearly slips in McCone’s blood. The two move backward through the plane to the emergency door, with Richards’s pain worsening as the damaged plane continues toward destruction.
At the emergency door, Richards discovers it is secured by explosive bolts and a pilot-controlled bar. Too weak to withstand a gun’s recoil, Richards gives Donahue’s gun to Amelia and tells Amelia to shoot the door. Amelia fires twice, emptying the weapon, and for a moment the door remains shut.
Just as Richards begins to despair and Amelia nervously handles the ripcord, the emergency door suddenly blows out into the night. The blast of air sucks Amelia out of the plane, leaving her fate uncertain but forcing her escape attempt into motion.
Who Appears
- Ben RichardsMortally wounded contestant who forces Amelia into a parachute despite extreme pain.
- Amelia WilliamsTerrified hostage who reluctantly straps on a parachute and is sucked from the plane.
- McConeDead Hunter whose blood and body mark the aftermath of the shootout.
- DonahueDead crewman whose gun Amelia uses to shoot at the emergency door.