The Running Man
by Stephen King
Contents
…Minus 050 and COUNTING… He dozed a little but could not slee
Overview
Elton Parrakis successfully hides Richards's car and briefly seems ready to help him continue toward the Cleveland contact, but Mrs. Parrakis betrays them by calling the police. The betrayal destroys Richards's temporary shelter and forces him back into immediate flight. Elton's break with his mother becomes violent, showing how fear, dependence, and political repression have torn the Parrakis household apart.
Summary
Richards dozes uneasily until Elton Parrakis returns after dark. Elton has changed clothes and tells Richards that he moved Richards's car into the park, protecting it with a homemade battery-and-siren device meant to shock or frighten anyone who tries to tamper with it.
Richards presses Elton about Cleveland. Elton explains that Cleveland is another member of the same anti-pollution circle he shares with Bradley, and says he met the man through Bradley in Boston. Elton also describes Mrs. Parrakis as frightened, dependent on him, and unable to understand the political realities around them.
Mrs. Parrakis then enters and announces that she has called the police. Elton denies it, but Richards hears approaching sirens and realizes she is telling the truth. Richards immediately demands that Elton take him to the car, understanding that his brief refuge has collapsed.
Mrs. Parrakis insists she called the authorities for Elton's own good, blaming Bradley and imagining they can claim the reward by saying Richards broke in. Elton, terrified and miserable, tries to leave with Richards, but Mrs. Parrakis clings to him and pleads for him to abandon his radical activities.
When Mrs. Parrakis continues holding him back, Elton screams at her and throws her onto the bed. Elton and Richards rush downstairs and out of the house toward the hidden car, while Mrs. Parrakis's cry that she did it for Elton rises and blends with the approaching sirens.
Who Appears
- Ben RichardsFugitive contestant whose temporary refuge collapses when police are summoned.
- Elton ParrakisRichards’s frightened ally; hides the car and violently breaks from his mother.
- Mrs. ParrakisElton’s fearful mother; calls the police to protect him and claim reward money.