The Talisman Trilogy, #3
Other Worlds Than These
by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Contents
Chapter 8
Overview
At the ruined Riven Depot, Jack finds Anders murdered and the old train dead. Flipping America-side, he’s detained and fingerprinted, learning little about Dale or Rhonda McMeel. A sudden premonition draws him back to an explosion-ravaged Depot, where Pay dies after revealing two teens carried out the attack and stole Jack’s gun.
Summary
Jack and Pay reach the long-abandoned Riven Depot, finding decay, beetles, and the mummified depot-keeper Anders, whose skull was smashed with a broken hourglass of green sand. In the shed, Jack discovers the old battery train still present but dead; he reads Sophie’s notebook, recalling echoes between worlds.
Pay finds sealed grain and a working pump for the horses. Uneasy about being alone, Pay accepts Jack’s Glock as Jack flips America-side to check on missing Sheriff Dale. Jack lands in a Walmart, unsettles a mother and toddler, and is escorted by Officer G. Cormier to the Taylor City police station.
Detective Rolf Handler fingerprints Jack and probes him about Dale and the freshly slain Rhonda McMeel. Jack learns little beyond state control of the case and McMeel’s background. Sensing sudden danger in the Territories, Jack slips from the interrogation room.
He returns at night to find the Depot and stable blown apart, fires raging, and panicked horses fleeing. Jack discovers Pay mortally burned. In brief, lucid moments, Pay says two teenagers—a boy and a girl with blinding roof lights—attacked and took Jack’s gun. Pay jokes weakly one last time and dies in Jack’s arms at dawn, as Jack blames himself for leaving.
Who Appears
- Jack SawyerProtagonist; explores the Depot, flips to Taylor City, is detained and fingerprinted, then returns to find devastation and holds dying Pay.
- Payton (Pay) OrvilleJack’s companion; feeds horses, stands guard, is gravely burned in an explosion, identifies two teen attackers, dies in Jack’s arms.
- Rolf HandlerTaylor City detective; fingerprints and questions Jack about the missing sheriff and Rhonda McMeel.
- Officer G. CormierPatrol officer who detains Jack after a Walmart complaint and brings him to the station.
- AndersFormer Depot-keeper; found mummified with skull crushed beside a shattered green-sand hourglass.
- Walmart mother and toddlerSpot Jack’s sudden appearance; the mother complains to police, prompting Jack’s detention.
- Rhonda McMeelMurder victim referenced in news and by Handler; her case intersects with the fugitives’ trail.