The Running Man

They stop twice more before reaching their destination, but no one searches the car again.

Bradley says Ben will stay at a hotel on Winthrop Street. He also gives Ben a new disguise: a priest’s outfit with dark glasses and a cane. He tells Ben to act as if he is almost blind but not completely without sight.

From now on, Ben will record his tapes and mail them to Bradley, and then Bradley will mail them to the Games Building. Bradley refuses Ben’s money and says that helping him is worth it because he sees a revolution coming. Ben purposefully trips on the stairs at the Winthrop House as he enters, practicing his limp and his newfound clumsiness.

Ben spends two days in the lobby reading his Bible. He also reads about pollution in a rented library cubicle. Bradley mails his tapes, and the plan seems to be working. In his recordings, Ben keeps talking about pollution and the stultifying effects of Free-Vee, but the live audience drowns him out, accompanied by dubbed-in shouts for extra volume. Ben has experienced a change in perspective—now he feels like he’s fighting for his people, not just his family.

Ben recalls his mother dying of syphilis when he was 10. His brother, Todd, was killed in a bike accident five years later. Ben had quit his job at a chemical company after a fight with the foreman, realizing that the work would eventually sterilize him. He began hustling side jobs for the next five years. Sheila conceived after nine years of trying.

Ben watches another episode of The Running Man. The host reports that the Hunters caught Laughlin, the other contestant, after two kids found him in a shed outside Topeka. Long lines form to see the body. Ben is now the solitary attraction.

In a nightmare, hooded figures pierce Ben’s eyes as he mocks them. They keep asking if he is the man. He says no as they turn into screaming monsters. He says he’ll tell them anything, but it’s too late and they descend on him.

Ben buys two crutches and takes a taxi to where Bradley stored a car for him. Outside Manchester, he bandages his head and then continues to Portland, Maine, where Bradley has arranged a safe house for him. He is relieved to be on the road but is nauseous with fear.

At the safe house, Ben tells a woman named Virginia Parrakis through the door that he is there to see Elton Parrakis, who is Bradley’s friend. Virginia is Elton’s mother.

Virginia recognizes Ben from The Running Man. She threatens Ben with a kitchen knife as she rants about people with dark skin and the horrors of pollution. Elton, her son, enters and tells her to put the knife down. He says that Ben’s tapes have to go to Cleveland now because Bradley is running from the Hunters. Elton shows him to his room and says Bradley is his best friend. They hear Elton’s mother crying downstairs.

Suddenly, they hear sirens. Elton’s mother says she called the police. Ben and Elton run downstairs as she screams that she did it for Elton.

Headlights pick Ben and Elton up outside. They hear Ben’s name being shouted through a megaphone as they run toward Elton’s car. Ben shoots two bullets at the cop cruiser’s windshield as the car bears down on them. It hits his left ankle and breaks it as he dives out of the way. A bullet hits his left arm. Ben manages to hit the driver, causing the car to crash.

They flee in Elton’s car before turning into an alley and hitting a wall. Ben shoots the driver in another pursuing car, which then crashes. Ben gets under Elton’s car and tries to figure out what to do next.

Ben and Elton take the crashed car, which is still functioning but slow. Ben sees that Elton has been shot. Elton guides Ben to a mall with halted development before leaving him at the construction site and driving away.

Ben crawls into the cellar of a building and wraps himself in insulation for warmth. When he wakes, there are no sirens. He remembers he has to mail two clips to earn his reward. He can either refuse to do it, mail them to Boston, or mail them directly to the Games building.

Ben records his tapes and then watches a nearby mailbox to see if anyone is guarding it. A dog suddenly jumps on him, and he sees a boy approaching—the dog’s 11-year-old owner. Ben shows the boy the gun, says he works for the government, and asks him to mail the tapes. He insists that the boy can’t tell anyone for 24 hours. The boy agrees, delighted to be helping with a secret mission.

Ben gets into a woman’s car while it is stopped on the street. He points the gun at her and tells her to drive. The woman’s name is Amelia Williams, and she immediately recognizes him. He says they’re going to Derry, which is 150 miles away.

During the drive, Ben and Amelia argue about the nature of decency and about the differences between the two of them. She is shocked to hear about Cathy, Shelia, and the pollution but doesn’t allow herself to believe him. Ben wants to shoot her. He worries that he is becoming what the Network wants him to become.

They reach a town called Camden. Ben tells Amelia that if the police stop them, she is to announce that she is his hostage. Shortly afterward, cops stop the car at a roadblock.

Amelia tells the cops that she is a hostage, and Ben steps on the gas when they pull their guns. The cops shoot at them, hitting their windshield. A few blocks later, Ben gets out and shoots the tires of two pursuing cars after they stop. The cars explode. Ben has been shot in the side. Ben gets back in the car with Amelia. Five miles later, he makes her stop at a convenience store.

Ben dials the operator on the store’s phone. He tells the operator to contact local law enforcement. He tells them that they must give him clear passage or else he’ll kill Amelia.