The Wanderers by Richard Price

a tire chain smashed his fingers, and he sank to his knees staring in disbelief at the mangled remains of his life's dream.
    Richie, Eugene, and Buddy stood back to back in a defensive triangle, but for some reason no one was interested, much to their relief.
    Under the mountain of Ducky Boys, Emilio pumped his fists and eventually cleared an opening so he could sit up. He grabbed a Ducky Boy and using him as a support leaped to his feet. He lost his club but he wasn't hurt, except for the throbbing lump at the base of his skull. He grabbed another Ducky Boy with a tire chain and broke the kid's arm in one quick twist. Emilio wrapped the tire chain around his hand and, using it like a bolo, broke ribs and legs. After a while he stood untouched and unchallenged.
    Ray Rodriguez punched Richie in the nose.
    Lenny found Emilio's club, and when he got tired of swinging the Ducky Boy he tossed him away and used the stick, but he lost his balance, and they were all over him and suddenly things weren't so funny anymore.
    Joey lay on his stomach, whimpering. He thought he was blind, and his father was dead. But Emilio was still swinging, and Joey only had a superficial cut across his forehead. For the first time in the afternoon he felt hopeless, overpowering terror. He was too scared to lift his head and tried to belly-crawl away—his body moving slowly across the cool grass. He bumped into the broad roots of a tree and held onto the base of the trunk with all his strength.
    Blood was seeping from the inside of Perry's cracked cast. Shreds of gauze hung in festoons from his arm. The pain overcame his bravado, and he stumbled into the woods howling in anguish. Hidden from view, he sat on the ground, held his arm, and rocked back and forth.
    Raymond Firestone lay curled into a ball, crying softly, holding his smashed hand against his chest. He'd lost a shoe, and his helmet was half off his head.
    After Ray Rodriguez punched Richie in the nose he felt much better and ran home.
    After Richie got punched in the nose he ran home.
    When Buddy and Eugene saw Richie run home, they ran home.
    Lenny was out cold and dreamed he was painting miles of canvas with a brush the size of a toothpick.
    Between those decked and those running, Emilio was the only one still fighting. When the Ducky Boys saw that the only one left to fight was the maniac with the steel whip, they decided their job was done and began to vanish as abruptly as they had appeared. Emilio ran after them like a lunatic gladiator, the burning ball at the base of his skull driving him on to mow down and plow through anything that moved.
    After the Ducky Boys bad gone, Stingers and Del-Bombers crept timidly out of the woods. Joey sat up. The blood had dried and except for the stinging band over his eyes and the shakiness of fear, he was more or less O.K. He saw his father, his back to everyone, standing alone in the field. Elated, Joey struggled to his feet and ran to him. At the second before contact, Emilio wheeled around, slamming him square in the gut. Joey made a noise approaching a snarl and sank to his knees. He stared at Emilio with unblinking eyes and vomited slender ropes of hateful black.

4. The Roof
    T HE H ITE BROTHERS were idiots. Scottie, ten years old, was best friends with Dougie Rizzo, C's brother. Scottie's brother, Rockhead or Frank, was as old as the Wanderers but was considered a maniac jerk-off, and a leper.
    The Hite boys were so blond they seemed white-haired. They always went around moving their lips wordlessly and squinting like they were figuring out a calculus problem. Only a fellow maniac, though far more evil, like Dougie Rizzo could have befriended Scottie Hite—but only so he could use Scottie as Igor for his fiendish plots. As for Frank, he was friendless although he had many enemies. Mr. Hite worked in a factory that made roller skates. His job was checking that the right number of rollers were on each skate. He was on probation because he once