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Fan Fiction: Chapter 2: McVries: The Long Walk Begins
*** Below is a work in progress ***
The Long Walk: Fan Fiction: Chapter 1: McVries: Back Story
McVries:
- born on 12/12, father tells him if we had 6 fingers on each hand, division would be easier,
it gets him interested in math. Coincidentally he's the 12th backup. He also had twelve stiches.
- is hired to take out the top walkers and get one of the long-shots to win
- Eliminate: Scramm, Parker, Barkovitch, Art Baker, Tubbins, Abraham, Pearson (I don't feel well)
- Support: Curley, Olson, Garraty,
- maybe he gave Curley his leg cramp
- gives Scramm pneumonia
- One side-effect that can happen is that people get religious when their mind starts to go
- Tubbins
- Olson
- Baker
- boy with diarrhea
- Art Baker gives a nosebleed
- convinces to attack halftrack telling him they'd join him
- gives Olson a stimulant in the cigs. There's only 1 in the pack, but he only smoked some of it, which is why he snapped out of it.
He didn't get the full dose to take him to the finish line.
But as they drew closer, Olson made a soft, ugly sound in his throat and pitched the cigarette away into the weeds.
- gives Garraty a stimulant at one point
- Tubbins goes crazy
- George Fielder going crazy
- Convinced Percy to escape
- Stebbins becomes a threat
poisoned: Stebbins's face had gone the color of old cheesecloth
poisons Stebbins when Garraty sees McVries and Stebbins leaning on each other
- poisons Stebbins then sits down (when Garraty fell asleep telling the story)
- McVries poisons Barkovitch right before he rips out his own throat
- Barkovitch decides to slow down so they both get 1st and 2nd warnings. It's Rule 8 but he slows down slowly so it's not seen as interference
- Other characters start passing them
- They finally come to a complete stop, and Barkovitch turns to face McVries and they stair into each other eyes.
- Third warning. Barkovitch glances at his watch. It becomes a game of chicken.
- Stebbins passes them
- At 15 seconds, McVries shoves him, "move it!" and somehow applies the deadly slow-acting poison
- At 5 seconds, McVries steps around him and keeps walking. Barkovitch feels like he won.
- McVries could have poisoned this guy
Up ahead, quite suddenly and as if to illustrate the subject they had been discussing, a boy in a black turtleneck sweater suddenly had a convulsion. He fell on the road and began to snap and sunfish and jackknife viciously. His limbs jerked and flopped. There was a funny gargling noise in his throat, aaa-aaa-aaa, a sheeplike sound that was entirely mindless.
Summer 1978
He and his girlfriend, Priscilla, had moved to Newark, NJ to work at a pajama factory.
But after he was forced to quit, which lead to him having a fight with Pris, because she wouldn't return
to West Milford with him. His girlfriend cut his face with a letter opener, when he tried to have sex with her.
That was the last time he saw her. He went to the Emergency Room and got twelve stitches.
He moved back in with parents in West Milford, NJ in Passaic County and sank into a deep depression.
He felt like failure because he was a failure. He failed at his job. He failed at love. He failed at life.
Fall 1978
Depression turned into rage. His senior year in High School was starting, but he didn't care.
He went to the gym to take out his anger on some weights like he'd been doing for the past few months.
It was like he was punishing himself by pushing himself to extreme pain.
On this night, he noticed the sign-up for The Long Walk. He signed up like he did every year.
All the guys in his high-school and middle-school ages 13 to 18 did. It was the normal thing to do.
NOTE: Pete answering some of the questions, and what he's thinking
He didn't hold back on the essay and expressed exactly how he felt writing ...
Essay: Please answer this question as objectively and honestly as you can, using not more than 1500 words
Why do you feel qualified to participate in The Long Walk?
I don't FEEL qualified. I AM QUALIFIED! I don't care if I die, but there's no way that will happen
because I don't care about pain anymore. I actually feel better after I've pushed myself to my limits of extreme pain.
Win or lose, either way, I'll be happy because I deserve what's coming to me.
When I combine my love for pain with my extreme level of fitness, NOBODY will stand a chance!
NOTE: What was Pete thinking and feeling?
The physical test was a treadmill stress-test to see how long an applicant could stay on the treadmill.
It starts at 2 mph, then speed up 1 mph every 30 seconds until 20 mph. It then stays at 20 mph until you jump off or yell "stop!"
You are not allowed to hold onto anything. After 9 minutes, Pete is sprinting at 20 mph and heart rate is 180 beats per minute.
Three minutes later, Pete has gone anaerobic, gasping for air with heart rate just over 200 beats per minute.
Two minutes later, he passes out and flies off the back of the treadmill.
September 1978
Peter decided that he needs to get away from everything. He sees a brochure for the Appalachian Trail.
It's nearly 2200 miles through 14 states. He decides to start at the southern tip at Springer Mountain, in Georgia,
then hike to Mt Katahdin in Maine. With his parents support, he buys the equipment he needs,
then flies to Georgie and begins on September 14.
Most people finish in five to seven months. His goal is to do it within 100 days.
He's good at math and calculates that he would need to average about 22 miles per day.
He could do that in about 8 hours if he walked at 3 mph.
End of day 1, he realizes that he made a mistake wearing sneakers. He's feet are badly blistered.
But he's prepred with a blister kit and covers the hot-spots with moleskin.
The trail crosses through many towns with supplies for hikers.
He purchases himself a proper set of hiking shoes.
His body is not to use hiking. It's much different that walking on the treadmill or
jogging around the block, or the track to school. The weather is turning cool and that's
perfect since he's read that a person with his body weight burns about 450 calories per hour
hiking. So he does the math, and makes sure that he consumes enough calories to reach his daily goal.
His leg muscles are screaming at the start, but slowly over time they build the hiker muscles he needs.
November 12, 1978
It's his birthday. He turns 18 while camping at mile 1,300 on day 59.
12 is his favorite number. His father pointed out that if we had six fingers,
our counting system would be base-12 and division would be much easier.
10 is only evenly divisible by 2 and 5, but 12 is evenly divisible 2, 3, 4, and 6.
900 miles to go in the next 61 days.
and is camping out at the Delaware Water Gap, in Pennsylvania.
He started in Georgia and passed through North Carolina, Tennessee,
Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania.
First snow fall. He doesn't see many hikers now.
He's feeling strong but the snow will slow him down.
He is still on a punishing rate, with no rest-days to relax.
He can barely move each morning from his muscle stiffness,
but once he warms up, the stiffness and soreness goes away.
His goal is to finish by December 23, right before Christmas.
December 18, 1978
His pace has slowed due to the heavy snow. He's been averaging 10 miles per day
for the past week. He studies his map, then does the math. He's currently at Bemis Mountain, Maine.
He's got 5 days to go 238 miles to reach Mt Katahdin, Maine by December 23.
He will need to hike 48 miles per day for the next 5 days.
This means he needs to pick up the pace and hike more hours per day.
He calculates how many calories he will need and stocks up.
The raw hamburger gives him long-term energy while the macaroons are
for quick energy. He has learned how to balance long and short term energy foods.
The fastest pace he can average is 2 mph in the snow, which means he must hike 24 hours per day
for 5 days non-stop! He decides to go for it. He keeps repeating "Finish or die!"
He uses a head-lamp for night-hiking and enough batteries to last the night.
December 19, 1978
4 days to go!
He dumps off all camping and cooking gear, everything he doesn't need to lighten his load,
at the camping store. He's been calling his family from phone-booths at every town,
to let them know his status and progress. He tells the man at the camping store about his
plan to hike non-stop for 5 days to make it home by Christmas. The store owner calls
the local news. The story quickly spreads to National news and McVries is shocked
to see reporters and gathering crowd at every town, cheering him on.
Dec 20, 1978
3 days to go! McVries has been hiking 48 hours non-stop but since lightening his load,
it's much easier than he anticipated. People from the crowd are offering him food and drink.
He's starting to feel like a celebrity.
Dec 21, 1978
2 days go to! Been hiking for 3 days straight. The soreness in his legs and feet won't go away.
"Finish or die!" He tells himself to ignore the pain. He's starting to hallucinate at night.
He has a fear of bears and keeps seeing them in his imagination. He keeps his bear repellent ready.
The news of Pete's hike spread all the way to Japan, where Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka saw an
opportunity to get publicity for this new portable casette player called the Walkman, which they
planned to release in the USA in 7 months. Mr. Ibuka shows up at the town in Wilson Valley, Maine,
100 miles to go, and presents Pete with a beta-version along with a cassette tape
with music to inspire him. They had contacted his family and asked what music he would like.
His mother said "No love songs, unless it pisses him off! Anger can be a great motivator."
His father said "He needs uplifting music to get his adrenalin pumping!"
His sister said "Funny music to make him laugh."
Here is the play-list they put together for a C60 casette tape (30 minutes each side)
along with a note written to include the play-list, some lyrics who picked which song and why.
Side A
Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son (5:21 - 1977) mom: You're my wayward son
Carry on my wayward son
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
David Bowie - Fame (4:15 - 1975) - sis: You're famous!
Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane
Styx - Come Sail Away (6:07 - 1978) - dad: Try your best to carry on!
I'm sailing away set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free free to face the life that's ahead of me
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on
Queen - We are the Champions (3:00 - 1977) - dad: You're my Champion!
I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through
Queen - We will Rock you (2:02 - 1977) - dad: You rock our world!
Wings - With A Little Luck (5:44 - 1978) - mom: Luck be with you
The willow turns his back on inclement weather
Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting (3:17 - 1975) sis: This song makes you laugh
Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those kicks were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing
Side B
Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle (3:04 - 1977) dad: Fly like an Eagle son!
I want to fly like an eagle
'Till I'm free
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky (5:02 - 1977) mom: Appreciate the blue sky, Pete
Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin' everybody's in a play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day, hey hey
Rose Royce - Car Wash (3:16 - 1977) sis: You WILL be rich someday!
You might not ever get rich
But let me tell ya it's better than diggin' a ditch
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty (4:58 - 1977) dad: I know you're running on empty.
Running on, running on empty
Running on, running blind
Running on, running into the sun
But I'm running behind
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (5:55 - 1976) mom: I know you want to go!
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh, I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
The Eagles - Take It To The limit (4:47 - 1976) dad: Take it to the limit, Pete!
So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time
ABBA - Dancing Queen (3:51 - 1977) mom: Have the time of your life!
You're in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
4:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
1 day to go!
Armed with stimulants, pain-killers, and an awesome mixed-tape playing on the latest technology,
a portable music player, he's feeling pumped. "It's so obvious! Why didn't I invent this???", Pete thinks.
Pete pushes on ... "Finish or die! I feels strong ... I can do this!"
He stops at the Potaywadjo Spring Lean-to for a 20-minute rest where he can sit and stretch his muscles.
He listens to his transistor radio. The huge snow storm that he's been hearing about for days is finally here.
They sky decides to fall. It was hard enough trying to follow the path in the snow but now visibility drops to about 10 feet.
He plays side A: Kansas, Carry On Wayward Son
Carry on my wayward son
For there'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
He does the math. 48 miles to go, according to the map.
"At 2 mph, I'll finish in 24 hours before 5:00 PM tomorrow.", Pete thinks.
5:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
1 hour has passed.
Pete has never seen it snow this hard. The snow was about 10" deep at 4:30 pm but now it feels twice that!
10 inches dumped in 1 hour! He's wishing he had purchased those snow-shoes, but he hasn't needed them until now.
6:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
Another hour has passed.
"This is crazy", he thinks. It's like 3-feet deep now. I must be averaging 1 mph, plus I'm getting exhausted.
It's taking more work to travel less distance.
He does the math. Assuming I've gone 3 miles worse-case, I have 45 miles to go. At 1 mph, it will take me 45 hours.
I'll be there some time on Dec 24. Still enough time to get home before Christmas.
7:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
Yet another hour has passed.
Snow is about 4-feet deep now. Progress is nearly impossible.
He listens to Jackson Browne sing "Running on Empty" and thinks "I certainly am".
The Wadleigh Stream Lean-to is about 5 more miles, but even that feels too far.
8:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
Pete's watch alarm goes off to tell him another hour has passed, so he can check his progress.
Snow is about 5-feet deep now. It's gotten dark and Pete's not sure where the trail is.
He's in a valley. If he were walking along a peak, it would be obvious. Just follow the peak.
But in the valley, there's no obvious path. He checks his map and sees that the trail follows
a stream to his right. If he follows his compass in a North West direction, he will come to a road
in a few miles just before Nahmakanta Lake. He now realizes that finishing is humanly impossible,
even if he had snow-shoes. If the snow fall continues at this pace, the snow will be over his head.
One last push, and he'll be back to civilization. "Hopefully that road is plowed and I can hitch a ride.", he thinks.
But his body is screaming to sleep. "I just need to rest for 20 minutes", so he sits on the ground
in his hole of snow, leaning against a tree on the side of the trail and instantly falls asleep.
10:45 PM Dec 22, 1978
2 hours 15 minutes later. He's slept through two of his watch-alarms.
He awakens. It's full dark and full quiet. The snow is absorbs all sounds.
At first he's disorientated, then he realizes where he is. He's shaking. His body has cooled
and the cold is taking over. "How long I have been asleep?!", he checks his watch. "NO!"
The snow is now over his head. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, but the snow must be about 7 feet deep now.
It's maybe 2 miles to the road but it might as well be 1000 miles.
"Finish or die? I guess it's 'or die'. No matter how much I want this, the will just runs out.
I'm literally too tired, too stiff, too sore, and too cold to continue.
Even if I survie until morning, the snow will be at least 10 feet deep!
I've been struggling harder than predicted so I've needed more food and water.
My food is gone and I have a few sips of water left. I travelled too light.
I could follow my compass and head North toward the stream to get more water ... if it's not frozen.
If the stream isn't frozen over, and not too deep, maybe I could walk in the stream to the road.
Even if I had the energy to hike to the stream, it's a bad idea. If there is a rescue-plan to find me,
they would have no way of knowing that I went off the trail. My tracks would be buried in new snow."
He activates the last of his glove-warmers to get warm one last time.
At least he has no exposed skin. His face is protected by his goggles and
his face-protector. The one good thing about being buried in snow,
is that you're shielded from the brutal wind. It's almost like a cacoon.
Tomorrow he can become a Pete-cicle. He warms up one last time, accepts his fate,
then dozes off to Electric Light Orchestra "Mr. Blue Sky"
"Sun is shinin' in the sky, There ain't a cloud in sight" and smiles.
5:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
About 5 hours ago.
Mr. Ibuka is concerned. The valley Pete is hiking could get up to 12 feet of snow
in the next 24 hours. He organizes a rescue plan if conditions get too extreme.
7:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
2 hours later.
Mr. Ibuka is told that 3 feet of snow has fallen. Add to the foot of snow already on the trail
and Pete is trudging through 4 feet of snow. Add to that, 4 to 8 more feet of snow is predicted.
Even the best case scenario will bury Pete and he'll be stranded.
If he doesn't hunker down in a Lean-to, he will literally be buried.
The rescue team thinks he couldn't have gotten further than the Rainbow Stream Lean-to,
which is 30 miles from his finish. They also estimate that he got as far as the
Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to, 60 miles from finish, so that narrows the search
to a 30 mile stretch. Helicopters are dispatched to those two Lean-to's
with rescue teams.
8:00 PM Dec 22, 1978
30 minutes later.
No sign of Pete at those two Lean-to's but they did rescue three hikers
who had hunkered down for the night, not realizing the severity of the storm.
The snow is 4.5 feet deep ... too deep for hiking.
8:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
30 minutes later.
A helicopter flies the 30 miles searching for any sign of Pete.
He is unconcious when they fly over and completely covered.
9:00 PM Dec 22, 1978
30 minutes later.
Operation Snow-Blow commenses. Mr. Ibuka's plan is to use high-powered fans
mounted to a Jeep to blow-off most of the powder-snow from the trail while
a rescue team follows on foot. If Pete passed out on the trail, they don't want to run him over.
It seemed good in theory but progress is slow. Sometimes the trees are too narrow for the Jeep to pass
but they're prepared with chainsaws to cut the trees at their base.
Bright lights illuminated the way. Speakers mounted to the front of the Jeep blare his mix-tape.
Snow-plows lead the way to where the trail crosses the road at Jo Mary Rd next to Cooper Pond,
and they work their way back to the Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To.
9:30 PM Dec 22, 1978
30 minutes later.
They reach the Lean-to. No Pete, so they head back toward Jo Mary Rd to continue
the search. Progress continues to slow as the snow gets deeper. The snow is 7 feet deep now.
They pass Cooper Pond, then Mud Pond, then Lower Jo-Mary Lake.
As they approach Pemadumcook Lake, they are between two hills and the snow is 10 feet in places due to drifts.
12:00 AM Dec 23, 1978
Pete awakens to a muffled humming sound in the distance. Light is filtering through the snow.
"Twelve seems to be my lucky number", he thinks, looking at his watch.
He thinks he's have auditory hallucinations when he hears the Eagles sing
"And take it to the limit one more time"
He's hungry, dehydrated, cold, sore, stiff but he's loving life when he realizes
he is rescued.
6:00 AM Dec 23, 1978
Upon Pete's release from the hospital, he has a news conference
with Mr. Ibuka and the other three hikers that were rescued.
Pete thanks Mr. Ibuka for saving his life, and his amazing new
portal music player, the Walkman. Pete's parents invite Mr. Ibukua to join
them for Christmas and he agrees.
Christmas 1978
Pete and Masaru Ibuka are on a first-name basis now.
Masaru mentions to Pete that he would have a good chance of winning The Long Walk in 1979.
This is the last year he can enter since the age cut-off is 18.
Masaru says if he gets in, he'll place a huge bet on him and split the winnings.
They laugh. Only 1 in 50 who applies, passes the physical and mental test.
Pete figures his essay would get him disqualified even though he destroyed the physical test.
Even if he did get into the lottery with about 40,000 other kids, they only pick 200 names.
He might be a backup and never get the call to back anyone up.
April 1, 1979
The Major picks out 100 Prime Walker's names from the drum followed by 100 Backup names.
Pete is 112 out of the drum, which means he's backup 12. He thinks "What is it with me and the number 12?"
He figures there's no way he'll be picked. Usually there's the less than 10 boys who backout each year.
If you're 18, and you backout, you get squadded. There's no way I'm backing out.
April 2, 1979
Masaru calls Pete from Japan.
Masaru: If I can get you into the Long Walk and guarantee you win it, would you be interested?
Pete: Of course, but ...
Masaru: No questions over the phone. I'll meet you in person and we can discuss.
April 16, 1979
They day after the first back-out date.
Masaru shows up to Pete's big testimonial dinner where friends,
family and towns people showed up for his speech.
For those of you who don't know, my life has had many highs and lows in the past year.
Last summer, my girlfriend Pris and I moved to Newark to work at a pajama factory.
I lost my job which lead to fight with Pris where she cut my face leaving this beautiful scar.
I returned home to Passaic, and get addicted to exercise, probably as a way of punishing myself for
failing at my job, love and life. I got really angry and depressed, and needed to get away and think
about my life so I dropped out of high-school, and attempted to hike the Appalachian from Georgie to Maine in 100 days,
so I could be back for Christmas. But like an idiot, I didn't factor in winter and snow.
As my luck would have it, the area I was hiking got hit with a record snow storm with
more snow dumped in 24 hours than in the past 55 years. But I did have some good luck.
When I attempted to hike non-stop for the last 5 days, my story got out, first to local news,
then national then international. Soon I had a crowd of people cheering me at every town.
The co-founder of Sony, Mr. Masaru Ibuka, met me with 100 miles to go and presented me with
his new Sony Walkman. It's a portable music player that plays casettes and it will be
shipping in July. He contacted my family who helped him put together a mixed tape to help
inspire me, and it worked. My four year old sis, Katrina, picked out songs that she
knows makes me laugh. My mom picked out songs that made me cry. My dad picked out songs
that inspired me to keep pushing. It was an emotional roller-coaster, but it helped take
my mind off my pain and my fears. You might think I was brave, but I was scared shitless
out there alone in the dark. I'm afraid of bears so that fear was constant, plus I got
so tired, I started to hallucinate. My imagination was good at inventing monsters
from all the shadows that my flash-light cast among the trees.
That snow storm literally buried me between lean-tos, so I had no shelter.
The snow was way over my head by the time that Jeep with high-powered fans blew the snow off my coffin.
Anyway, I've rambled on, so let me get to the point. My friend Masaru spent his own money
to rescue me. He is here tonight. I want to honor him by winning The Long Walk!
Pete was given a standing ovation.
April 17, 1979
The next day.
Pete and Masaru meet somewhere private to discuss his plan.
Masaru: If you're not in The Long Walk by 6:00 PM April 31, I can pull some strings and get more boys to backout.
The boys on my back-out list are no threat to you unfortuantely.
You'll probably get the call right before midnight, so be ready to go.
Since you like the number 12, here's a list of the 12 boys we think will be the hardest to beat
based on the top 12 physical fitness scores. They are all confident they're going to win or at least
have a high chance of winning.
85 Fredrick Scramm - odds on favorite. is mentally strong too. he's a big guy but loves to walk long distances.
48 Samuel Gribble - he's 14 and immiture but has great endurance.
03 Arthur Baker - backup #2. very calm and never complains about pain. he is able to push past his pain.
73 Collie Parker - backup #3. jock. into sports. extremely fit. anti-social with an anger problem.
93 Tommy Tubbins - 16 years old quiet and shy. very focused. very determined. very religious.
16 George Fielder - age 18. determined to win at all cost. he is slightly autistic.
27 Peter Foster - there are two walkers named Peter Foster. Check the number to get the correct guy.
05 Gary Barkovitch - short guy. anti-social.
02 Tommy Abraham - unknown
83 Karl Rattigan - long distance hiker who also hiked the Appalachian trail.
54 William Hough - incredible endurance and mental fitness.
74 Bruce Pastor - unknown
Here are your weapons:
Raw hamburger - 85 Scramm loves raw humburger. we're going to infect it with pneumonia. You'll get the vaccine today
so your system will be immune by then. Eat near him about lunch time on the first day.
If he doesn't ask for some, then offer it to him. If he doesn't want any, then see if anyone else wants some.
Macaroons - you'll have two different bags. One with six that are OK to eat, and one with six that are not OK to eat.
Eat the macaroons near a target. Same as Scramm, if they ask, get them one of the bad Macaroons.
Each macaroon has a different way to take them out.
Cigarettes - Some of the competition will have quit smoking for the Long Walk.
Given the stress, they might crave a cigarette if someone else was smoking.
Give them one of the marked cigarettes.
Poison-capsule - squeeze it breaking open the poison onto your hand, then touch someone's skin within one minute.
A hand-shake will work but it works better when applied to sensitive skin like the neck, face or genitals.
This poison will not kill them, but it will destabilize their emotions so they'll be more likely to do something stupid
and get themselves killed or even commit suicide on purpose. You'll get the antidote today for that too.
This won't help you with Collie Parker, Gary Barkovitch, Tommy Tubbins or George Fielder.
They're not trusting, and will definitely heed Hint 72.
All walkers and backups get the Rule Book, but most are too trusting and ignore Hint 72.