Raststätte Mile 81 / Die Düne

by Stephen King, Mechthild Großmann (Narrator)

"Raststätte Mile 81": An der Wegmarkierung Mile 81 des Maine-Turnpike steht eine mit Brettern vernagelte Raststätte. Hier treffen sich sonst die älteren Schüler, um zu trinken und Dinge zu tun, die ältere Schüler gern in Schwierigkeiten bringen. Der 11-jährige Pete Simmons ist heute aber allein hier, weil er weiß, dass die Großen woanders sind. Er findet eine halbvolle Wodkaflasche und trinkt davon so viel, dass er benebelt einschläft. Kurz darauf rollte ein schlammverdreckter Kombi (komischerweise hat es in Maine seit Wochen nicht geregnet) auf den von Unkraut überwachsenen Parkplatz, obwohl auch der Tankstellenbetrieb vor Längerem eingestellt wurde. Die Fahrertür öffnet sich, aber niemand steigt aus. Doug Clayton, Versicherungsvertreter aus Bangor, ist ein gottesfürchtiger Mensch. Der verlassen dastehende Kombi weckt den Samariter in ihm. Er biegt von der Schnellstraße ab und hält mit seinem Prius hinter dem schlammigen, kennzeichenlosen Kombi. Etwas später hält auch Julianne Vernon, die gerade mit ihrem Pferdeanhänger unterwegs ist. Die beiden leeren Autos haben sie neugierig gemacht. Sie findet Claytons zerbrochenes Handy neben der offenen Kombitür - und kommt dieser dabei selbst zu nahe. Als Pete Simmons aus seinem Dämmerschlummer erwacht, steht ein halbes Dutzend Autos an der Raststätte Mile 81. Zwei Kinder - Rachel und Blake Lussier und ein Pferd namens Deedee sind die einzigen Lebewesen, die er sieht. Bonus "Die Düne": Ein alter Richter fährt seit Jahrzehnten täglich mit dem Boot hinaus zu einer Düne, von der eine unheimliche Macht ausgeht. Was er eines Tages dort sieht, veranlasst ihn, schnell sein Testament zu machen.

Audible Audio

Published November 22, 2012

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.