"Laurie" is a short story by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, first published on his website on May 17, 2018.

Plot summary

Lloyd Sunderland is a 65 year-old retiree living in the (fictional) island community of Caymen Key,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

who has become depressed and lost weight after his wife Marian died from a

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

six months prior. One September, he is visited by his older sister, Beth, who gifts him a

Border Collie The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Angl ...

Mudi The Mudi is a herding dog breed from Hungary. It is closely related to the Puli and Pumi, from which it was separated in the 1930s. They continue to be used in herding, as well as participating in a variety of dog sports. History The ...

puppy out of concern for his wellbeing. Lloyd is initially unwilling to accept the dog but ultimately agrees to look after her on a trial basis, naming her "Laurie". Lloyd gradually bonds with Laurie as he looks after her, and in mid-October he tells Beth that he will keep her. He finds his physical and mental health improving, and begins eating more healthily and sleeping better. He also resumes working part-time as an accountant. He regularly takes Laurie for walks along "Six Mile Path", a

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

running alongside a canal. On December 6, Lloyd's neighbor Evelyn Pitcher asks him if he has seen her husband, Lloyd's friend Don. While walking along Six Mile Path with Laurie, Lloyd finds Don's cane - cracked and dotted with blood - next to a section of the Path that has been overgrown with palmetto. After Laurie pulls free of Lloyd and runs under the palmetto - which is also bloodied - Lloyds follows and finds her confronting a 10 foot long

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

, which has killed and partially eaten Don. After Lloyd commands Laurie to go home, he is attacked by the alligator. After Lloyd hits the alligator with Don's cane, the boardwalk partially collapses, dumping the alligator into the canal and enabling Lloyds to escape with Laurie, who has waited for him on the other side of the palmetto. Lloyd calls the police, who notify Evelyn that Don has been killed. Two days after the incident, Lloyd is visited by Gibson, a

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest gu ...

with the

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officers ar ...

. Gibson informs Lloyd that the alligator has been captured and that it had been hidden alongside the boardwalk for several weeks, guarding a clutch of eggs. Lloyd speculates that Don provoked an attack by unintentionally hitting the alligator while swinging his cane. The story ends with Lloyd wondering what Laurie sees when she looks at his face and reflecting "It was life, you were stuck with it, and all you could do was live it."

Publication

"Laurie" was first published on King's website on May 17, 2018. An audio recording was included on the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

version of ''

Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

'', which was released later that year.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, url=https://stephenking.com/news/elevation-first-listen-648.html, title=Elevation first listen, accessdate=February 24, 2021, website= StephenKing.com, date=November 5, 2018 {{cite web, url=https://stephenking.com/other/stephenking-laurie.pdf, title=Laurie, accessdate=February 3, 2021, website= StephenKing.com, date=May 17, 2018, author-link=Stephen King, first=Stephen, last=King {{Cite web, last=Squires, first=John, date=May 17, 2018, title=Stephen King just released brand new short story 'Laurie' for free!, url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/books/3499580/stephen-king-just-released-brand-new-short-story-laurie-free/, url-status=live, archive-url=, archive-date=, access-date=February 8, 2021, website=

Bloody Disgusting! Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

, language=en-US

External links

"Laurie" at StephenKing.com
2018 short stories Florida in fiction Horror short stories Short stories about dogs Short stories by Stephen King

Plot summary

Publication

References

See also

External links