…Minus 083 and COUNTING… Richards spent Saturday living throu

Richards spends Saturday recovering from a severe hangover, then worsens his condition by ordering and drinking two more bottles of bourbon with supper. On Sunday morning, after hallucinating caterpillars on the wall, Richards decides that continuing to drink would damage the reflexes he needs for The Running Man.

Richards endures a slower, harsher hangover through Sunday, vomiting until the sickness fades by evening. Richards orders soup instead of bourbon, briefly tries listening to neo-rock discers, then goes to bed early and sleeps badly.

On Monday, Richards spends most of the day on the small glassed-in terrace above the waterfront, reading while the weather shifts between sun and showers. That night, Richards dreams that Sheila is dead, displayed obscenely with New Dollars in her mouth, while police restrain Richards and Charlie Grady mocks him as a loser before the officers aim pistols at Richards's head.

Richards wakes Tuesday morning with the realization that the live broadcast of The Running Man is less than eleven hours away and that within twenty-three hours he will be fair game. Fear hits Richards, but Richards prepares himself with a shower, breakfast, cigarettes, and quiet reading.

At exactly two o'clock, Arthur M. Burns arrives with three armed police officers for Richards's final briefing. Although Richards is suddenly terrified and close to panic, Richards calmly sets down his book and agrees to proceed, relieved that his hands do not visibly shake.