Insomnia

Though still unsure of their larger objectives, Ralph and Lois descend into Atropos’s lair under the oak tree. A constructed passage leads them to the small apartment that Atropos keeps. Beside it is a gargantuan storage space for all the trophies Atropos has collected over the decades.

Lois quickly locates Bill’s hat and Wyzer’s comb. Ralph wonders where Lois’s earrings are. They become anxious when they register a low hum in the chamber, which they believe is Atropos’s security system. They proceed deeper into the chamber, where they perceive the residual auras of the people who once owned the trophies that Atropos has stolen. All of them reveal the extent of the Random’s influence on human life, from sudden accidental deaths to horrific murders. These glimpses reinforce Ralph and Lois’s repulsion toward Atropos. They also find large stacks of money, which explains how Ed was able to finance Pickering’s bail.

Ralph’s attention is drawn to a powerful deathbag in the middle of a circular chamber, which is filled with the objects of the people who will be at the Civic Center. Lois reaches in and pulls out a sneaker. A singing voice in the object’s aura allows Ralph to identify it as Helen’s sneaker. Lois ties the sneaker around her wrist. Ralph conjures a pair of scissors to cut the deathbag open, freeing Ed’s wedding ring from its center. Ralph tries to pick it up, but sees that a replica has been created in its place on the ground. Ralph determines which ring is the true ring and reasons that the deathbag will lose its power for as long as he has the true ring in his possession.

On the way out of the lair, Ralph tries to figure out how to send Lois ahead of him so that he can make one last attempt to search for Lois’s earrings. They are intercepted by Atropos, who grapples with Lois and holds her at scalpel-point. Atropos demands the ring back from Ralph.

Ralph registers that Atropos is afraid and therefore desperate to recover Ed’s wedding ring. Ralph forces Atropos to promise the safe exchange of Lois for the ring, knowing that Atropos cannot lie. Before they can conduct the exchange, Lois discovers that Atropos is wearing her earrings, which provokes her to attack him. Ralph pulls Lois away and uses a piece of her slip to restrain Atropos.

Lois stops Ralph from strangling Atropos, asking him to retrieve her earrings instead. Ralph promises to do so, but asks her to go ahead and wait for him outside the tree. Once Lois leaves, Ralph tears the earrings off Atropos. He seizes the scalpel, then uses it to torture Atropos. Ralph gets Atropos to promise not to approach him, Lois, or Ed until after the Susan Day rally, which Atropos is bound to follow because of his nature.

When Ralph lets him go, Atropos presents a vision of someone dying outside the Red Apple Store. Atropos claims that this person’s death is already designated to the Random, which Ralph cannot change. The vision horrifies Ralph. Atropos offers to let the person go if Ralph promises not to interfere with the rally. Ralph weighs the value of the person’s life against the lives of the 2,000 people who will die at the rally. An angry Ralph wishes that he had never gotten involved in the conflict between the Purpose and the Random.

Ralph emerges from the tree and returns Lois’s earrings to her. Instead of returning to the Civic Center, Ralph indicates that they need to go to Strawford Park first. On the way, they make a detour at the picnic area to recharge their auras, drawing from those of the Old Crocks. Dorrance acknowledges their presence and informs them that he can no longer help them at this stage.

Ralph and Lois reach the park, where Ralph declares his rejection of the choice he must make between the life of one and the lives of many. He demands to save either both or neither, calling on Clotho and Lachesis to reply. The bald doctors appear before them, prompting Ralph to pull them away from Lois for a private conference. Lois tries to eavesdrop from afar.

Ralph is indignant over the gaps in his knowledge. He threatens his lack of cooperation if the doctors fail to tell them why he needs to stop Ed. When the doctors try to delay their answer, Ralph guesses that the Purpose is not interested in saving the lives of 2,000 people, but one person among them. Reluctantly, the doctors admit that the person-of-interest is not Susan Day, but a child among the hostages Ralph and Lois saved at High Ridge. The boy’s mother, intent on attending the rally, has brought him to the Civic Center. If Ed’s plane hits the venue, the boy will die instantly. This will have devastating repercussions for what Lachesis calls “the Tower of all existence” (683).

Ralph agrees to save the boy’s life on the condition of a guaranteed favor. Lois cannot hear the specifics of the deal, but catches Ralph’s argument that the person whose life he is arguing for matters as much as the boy. The doctors are reluctant to accept the deal until a bright light appears and approves the deal. The light enters Clotho’s scissors, distracting Lois from the ensuing discussion Ralph has with the doctors.

Once Ralph signals his agreement, they move further away from Lois. The doctors use the scissors to open Ralph’s arm, then proceed to insert something inside. Lois’s attention is drawn away by another voice. A person bathed in green light calls on Lois to enter their light. Lois obeys.

The doctors finish inserting the “visible sign” into Ralph’s arm, which manifests as a warm scar. Lois rushes down to Ralph to tell him about the “green man,” who asked her to give him her earrings again. She doesn’t know who the green man really is or which side he represents, but she trusts his advice.

Ralph explains that he needs to drain much of Lois’s aura to stop Ed. Lois agrees. The process reverts her back to her elderly state. Lois sits to recover while the bald doctors direct Ralph to the public toilets, indicating that they will use their abilities to guide Ed’s plane over the park. Before entering the toilet, Ed’s wedding ring turns warm, which Ralph takes as a sign to put it on. This transforms the toilet into a portal that leads directly into the back of Ed’s airplane.

Ralph examines the cabin and sees that Ed has a cardboard box in the seat next to him. Ralph suspects that the box contains the explosives that Ed will trigger upon impact. The aircraft is too small for him to stand upright in, which alerts him to the fact that he is on a higher plane of existence. Ed therefore cannot see him. Ralph also cannot act on the plane unless he chooses to materialize. Air traffic control tries to get Ed to change his course. Ed destroys his radio, then begins his descent toward the Civic Center.

Ralph hears someone calling his name. It is his mother, Bertha, sitting in a rocking chair outside the airplane. Ralph’s childhood kitchen materializes around Bertha. Bertha tells him not to get involved in other people’s business. Ralph realizes that Bertha has catfish whiskers around her mouth. Bertha also has no aura. Instead, the sight of her conjures a memory of Ralph’s late brother, whom Bertha says can’t help him anymore. The kitchen encloses Ralph. He sees a bouquet of roses, which is inconsistent with the memory of his mother, who was allergic to flowers. Bertha morphs into the Crimson King.

Ralph is terrified by the Crimson King’s presence, but urges it to stop using his mother’s image to deceive him. The Crimson King assumes the form of a large catfish and quips about being called the Kingfish or Queenfish instead, referencing a childhood incident in which Ralph caught a catfish that bit him and made him afraid of catfish for the rest of his life. The Crimson King implies that it regularly changes forms and has been doing so in Derry for some time. It starts weaving a red deathbag around Ralph, engulfing him in his fear and trauma.

Lois telepathically encourages Ralph to proceed with his plan. Stepping closer, Ralph sees the Crimson King’s true form, which fills it with alarm. Trusting in the green man’s advice, Ralph uses one of Lois’s earrings to stab the Crimson King’s eye. The Crimson King retaliates by trying to consume Ralph. Ralph puts his arm in its throat and allows the trap planted by Clotho and Lachesis to detonate, burning the Crimson King from the inside. The Crimson King is sucked into a higher plane filled with lights too dangerous for Ralph to look at for very long.

Ralph returns to Ed’s airplane, which is approaching the Civic Center. Ralph materializes and sabotages Ed’s detonation mechanism. The two men struggle for command of the airplane’s control-wheel. Ralph tries to stab Ed with the other earring, but only gives him superficial wounds. To distract Ed, Ralph reaches for the Deepneau family photograph Ed had attached to the altimeter and crumples it. Ed demands the return of the photo, which gives Ralph an opportunity to punch his throat. Ralph steers the plane toward the adjacent parking lot. Lois quickly materializes into the plane to rescue Ralph before it crashes.

Susan Day is in the middle of her speech when the plane crashes into the parking lot, destroying the Civic Center’s high windows. One of the glass shards decapitates her. Seventy-one people are reported dead in the ensuing stampede that occurs immediately following the explosion.

A woman named Sonia Danville regrets taking her son, Patrick, to the rally. Patrick is undisturbed because he is fixated on his Crayola drawings of the “Red King,” who sits atop a dark tower, and a gunman-king named Roland. Sonia maintains calm as she leads her son out of the venue to safety. The Random and the Purpose return to their ordinary affairs.

Ralph and Lois emerge from the park toilet just seconds before the plane crashes. After assuring each other that they are fine, they regroup with Clotho and Lachesis, who express their admiration for Lois’s bravery. Ralph pities the higher-plane beings for not being able to fully appreciate the inner lives of human beings. Before they part ways, Ralph gets the bald doctors to affirm that their business is over, and that his and Lois’s lives will return to normal. They also affirm that the deal Ralph made with them will be honored. They shake hands. Ralph offers to walk Lois home.

Ralph and Lois come across the Old Crocks, who are on their way to the Civic Center to investigate the explosion. They decline Faye’s invitation to join them. Only one of the group notices that Lois’s appearance has changed once again. Later, Ralph realizes that Ed’s ring is missing, likely having slipped off his finger at some point. Ralph is still holding on, however, to the Deepneau family photograph. Lois thinks of the Deepneaus fondly but discards the picture because of how formal it looks.

Lois and Ralph tease each other over the possibility of marriage. They go to Lois’s house and decide to catch up on their sleep. After cleaning up, they share a bed and share the hope that they will sleep well this time. Ralph feels peace in Lois’s presence. They wake up the following evening. Ralph feels his aura abilities fade away. They completely vanish the following week, making him wonder if the whole experience hadn’t been a dream.

Ralph and Lois marry in early 1994. Leydecker and Wyzer are Ralph’s groomsmen. Though invited, Dorrance only appears at the end of the night to congratulate the couple and gift them a book of poems by Stephen Dobyns. Dorrance tells them that the Long-Timers are pleased, which Lois co-opts to refer to herself and Ralph. That same day, Ed’s wedding ring is found by the man who asked Ralph for change. He is hit by a bus. The ring falls into the sewer.

In June of that year, Helen, with the help of Leydecker, receives the payout from Ed’s insurance policy, which allows her to buy a new house. She and Leydecker start dating, but the relationship ends after Helen comes out as a lesbian. Ralph and Lois are happy together. That Christmas, Lois adopts a dog for Ralph. Ralph names it Rosalie. They frequently babysit Natalie. Though Ralph still remembers that Ed and Helen ended their marriage on poor terms, he begins to experience cognitive changes that obscure the details of the year leading up to Ed’s death.

Faye dies in the same room where Jimmy died. Ralph is present at the death, which briefly reminds him of his encounter with the bald doctors.

The next four years pass with minor health scares. Otherwise, Ralph and Lois live generally well until March 1998, when Ralph experiences insomnia again. He hears the deathwatch ticking, as it did before Carolyn died. Lois and Helen notice that Ralph is becoming lethargic, but he reassures them.

Privately, Ralph becomes increasingly convinced that the vision Atropos showed him will soon occur, especially after Natalie shows him the same Boston Red Sox cap that she was wearing in the vision. By June, he starts seeing auras again. He experiences depression in anticipation of the vision’s fulfillment, but also struggles to remember the precise natures of Atropos, the vision, and the deal Ralph made because of it. Ralph only remembers what had happened when he ascends the planes of existence.

The following week, Ralph tries to convince Lois to let him go to the Red Apple alone. When Lois refuses, she immediately deduces that something is wrong. Ralph admits that he is supposed to honor the promise of a deal he made with the bald doctors. In Atropos’s vision, Natalie dies in a car accident. Ralph made a deal to spare her life in exchange for his own. Lois is inconsolable over the thought of losing another husband. She urges Ralph to break his promise, but Ralph cannot live with Natalie’s death on his conscience.

On their way to the Red Apple, Ralph tells Lois everything he can about Natalie’s foretold death. This includes his theory that the deal was approved by entities on the highest plane of existence because of how desperate the situation with Ed had become. Ralph sees that Atropos has kidnapped Rosalie and taken her across the street to the old Deepneau residence. Natalie approaches Rosalie, which causes Lois to realize that Atropos took the dog as bait for her. As Natalie carries Rosalie across the street, Ralph tells Lois that he loves her. Lois embraces him to stop him from going, so Ralph ascends to a higher plane to escape her grasp. He rematerializes on the road, pushing Natalie out of the path of a runaway car. Ralph is hit and, though he survives, is in critical condition.

Lois attends to Ralph. Helen acknowledges Ralph’s heroism yet again. Ralph registers the presence of Lachesis and Clotho and asks them for assurance that death won’t hurt. Before he dies, Ralph tells Lois that waking up with her made him feel young and that he no longer hears the deathwatch ticking. Clotho and Lachesis bestow Ralph’s aura onto Lois by touching her face. Lois momentarily experiences a universe full of light before returning to Harris Avenue. She forgives the man who killed Ralph and notices that Ralph’s arm scar has vanished.