Victor Palfrey

Victor "Vic" Palfrey is a supporting character who first appears in Chapter 1 of the Complete and Uncut Edition of The Stand by Stephen King. He is one of the witnesses at Hapscomb's Texaco outside Arnette, Texas when Charles Campion crashes his car, ending the Flight of the Campions.

Story Arc
Victor Palfrey is a resident of Arnette, Texas, and one of the regulars at Hapscomb's Texaco. Like Bill Hapscomb, he has been to Mexico in decades past and seen something horrible there, but while Hap witnessed a gas station explosion, Vic saw a cholera outbreak. Vic retired from his job as a machinist in 1984, and he now spends his nights hanging out at the Texaco, drinking beers and smoking cheap, smelly hand-rolled cigarettes and arguing with Hap, whom he alone is not afraid to oppose, as he is the old man of the group. Stu Redman is the younger man he most respects, having called him "Old Time Tough."

Along with Hap, Stu and the other regulars - Norm Bruett, Tommy Wannamaker and Hank Carmichael - Vic is a witness when Charles Campion crashes into Hap's fuel pumps. The telltale black swelling in the neck and under the eyes of Campion and his dead wife and daughter remind Vic of cholera. (Chapter 1)

The next day, Vic is at Hapscomb's Texaco when Hap's cousin Joe Bob Brentwood arrives to warn them under sworn secrecy as to their source that a quarantine may be coming. When Hap sneezes, Vic admits he had woken up with a headache, cough and sneeze, also, and although aspirin has helped, he's still full of snot. He suggests it may be what Campion had, which spooks Hap and Joe Bob. (Chapter 3)

Complete and Uncut Edition

 * Chapter 1 - first appearance; witnesses Charles Campion crashing into Hapscomb's Texaco
 * Chapter 3 - learns of possible quarantine; suggests his and Hap's apparent colds may be what killed Campion