Illiterature: Tom Wiffloo & The Lonesome Hangnail

In our continuing effort to bring you wee blobs of modern culture, we present the following excerpt from page-churner Stephen King's upcoming book, “Tom Wiffloo & The Lonesome Hangnail”

"… The five boys met down at the parking lot behind the burned out remains of Foley’s department store. It was a summer meeting place where teams were regularly chosen for stickball, or kickball, or street hockey, or whatever the day decided. Today, the sun was especially hot and so, since there were not enough of them for fair teams, the boys decided to spend the afternoon swimming in the cool water of the abandoned quarry at the edge of town. And, wanting to waste none of their precious vacation, they were off, five boys on three bikes, all pumping legs and waving arms and summer laughter.

Finally, they reached the barrier of trees surrounding the quarry and dropped their bikes where they stopped. They undressed quickly to their underwear and ran unerringly through the woods to the edge of the vast pool. They reached the quarry almost simultaneously and, as if inspired by the sound of their own cheers, dove in.

Only moments had passed before each boy was pulling himself out onto the rocks, sobbing and gasping; the summer had gone wrong. The boys ran home, crying, without looking at each other, without looking back.

Someone had filled the quarry with vomit."

Also in this series...

• The Uncut Bible