The Way Station by Stephen King. Short summary

5 seconds

It turns out that the shooter’s name is Roland. At the road station, Roland meets the boy Jake from the key world for the first time. We also learn the story of Roland, Cuthbert and Cook Hux.

1 minute

The novella is part of the novel «The Dark Tower. The Rifleman» in the Dark Tower series. In pursuit of the Man in Black, the gunslinger crosses the vast lifeless desert of Mohane and arrives at the Road Station, located in the middle of the desert.

At the station, Roland finds a little boy named Jake from Keyworld. The boy tells him that he died in his own world, having been hit by a car (he was pushed under the wheels of a passing car by a maniac nicknamed Pusher), and that in some unknown way he ended up at this station.

Jake persuades Roland to take him with him. The heroes continue on their journey together, toward the mountains beyond the desert. The gunslinger was afraid that the boy would not be able to endure the road, but the boy made it. Along the way, the gunslinger remembers his youth, his friend Cuthbert. One day the friends accidentally learn that their pal pal palace cook Hux has turned out to be a traitor. Roland and Cuthbert betray him to the authorities, thus condemning their friend to death.