MUSICAroLina Read online

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters and events in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Published by Gatekeeper Press

  3971 Hoover Rd. Suite 77

  Columbus, OH 43123-2839

  Copyright © 2016 by Daniel William Gunning

  All rights reserved. Neither this book, nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

  ISBN hardcover: 9781619844537

  ISBN paperback: 9781619844544

  eISBN: 9781619844551

  Printed in the United States of America

  FOR CAROL

  It has been whispered of, throughout the ages, that some individuals on this earth possess the rare and divine gift to be able to see the silver lining in the darkest of clouds. I, for one, know this to be undeniably true. Furthermore, I believe this gift to be extremely precious and enviable, as it is one thing that has always managed to elude my own grasp.

  Carol, however, unlike those slackers in days of yore, would be able to see the silver lining in a mushroom cloud. She believes in our innate ability to achieve anything that our hearts, our minds, and even our wildest imaginations could possibly dare to dream; and she believes with a pure and unwavering faith in the goodness of humanity and beauty of this world that I myself do not possess. It is in this belief and by extension her belief in me (not to mention an undue amount of nagging, or shall we say “encouragement” on her part) that led to this rather odd novel’s creation.

  So, gentle reader, if you find any amount of beauty contained within these pages perhaps it is but a dim reflection of that light and beauty inside her heart, with myself acting as some kind of deranged, typing mirror. That could totally be a thing right? On the other hand, if you hate it entirely with every fiber of your being; I assure you, my most valued of friends, that this entire sad debacle is completely and totally her fault.

  AND FOR LARRY

  He’s okay, I guess...

  CHAPTER INDEX

  ACT I

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: The Bank Robbers

  Chapter 2: The Wrong Side of the Tracks

  Chapter 3: Welcome to Musicarolina

  Chapter 4: The Bank Robbery Begins: In Glorious Flashback!

  Chapter 5: A Weird Way to Start Your Day

  Chapter 6: It May Be Time to Get Outta Dodge

  Chapter 7: Yeah, It’s Definitely Time to Get Outta Dodge!

  Chapter 8: The Mayor of Musicarolina

  ACT II

  Chapter 9: The One With the Sappy Clichéd Love Song

  Chapter 10: Gonna Burn this Mother Down!

  Chapter 11: Town Hall or Town Hell?

  Chapter 12: A Final Warning

  Chapter 13: Answers or Just More Questions?

  Chapter 14: The Heart of Musicarolina

  Chapter 15: A Hero’s Song

  Chapter 16: Cracking the Vault

  Chapter 17: A Musicarolina Showdown!

  ACT III

  Chapter 18: What Was Inside the Vault

  Chapter 19: Bucky the Town Drunk

  Chapter 20: Prison and the Plan

  Chapter 21: Taking a Shot

  Chapter 22: When it Hits the Fan

  Chapter 23: All Good, and For that Matter Bad, Things

  Chapter 24: In the Beginning

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  SONG LIST

  A Farewell to Limbs and Life

  The Ballad O’ Miss Bay

  Welcome to Musicarolina

  The Exposition Song

  The Sappy Clichéd Love Song

  A Dangerous Duet

  Hellter Shelter

  The Hero’s Song

  Through All the Oceans of Time

  Bucky, the Town Drunk

  The Douchey Victory Song

  ACT

  I

  PROLOGUE

  Jack had parked his van just off the road on the outskirts of town, with the lake spread out in front of him. There he stood, alone, leaning casually against the side of the van, looking out upon the calm, still waters. The last dying beams of daylight fell down and shimmered across the lake. As they did, the light caught and sparkled off of the diamond ring he held in his hand. He gazed at the beauty of the scene, silently soaking it all in; the crystal blue waters of the lake, the vibrant green of the trees in the surrounding forest, the glittering diamond in the ring and even the old, grey stone bridge that stretched out across the lake. The idyllic, almost surreal, spectacle had the appearance of an illustration, painstakingly rendered in a mythical storybook from long ago; a storybook that had been locked away from prying eyes inside a secret room in a castle somewhere lost in time, only now to be discovered and reveled in.

  It felt to him as if he was somehow standing before the entrance to a magical kingdom, a kingdom guarded by a villainous troll who waited just beneath the bridge to challenge travelers who dared to attempt to cross into this hidden paradise. Although, he thought to himself, this entire town was like something out of that same mythical storybook. It was almost, as the saying so rightly goes, too good to be true. With that somewhat disquieting thought in the back of his mind, Jack closed the ring in its case and carefully slid it back into his pocket. As the sun finally began to dip out of sight, seeming almost to lower itself into the very waters of the lake, he returned to the driver’s seat of the van, pulled back onto the dusty road and started back toward the town.

  ***

  As the wheels of his van clattered over the ancient cobbled stone streets, Jack, almost subconsciously, decelerated to take in the sight of the houses as he passed by. The streets were well-lit by antique iron lampposts, which had flickered to life to fight the growing shadows of the rapidly approaching nightfall. To keep with the same antique motif of the town itself, the lampposts held lanterns, and the warm glow of the fires within bathed the streets and illuminated the buildings, casting eerily shifting shadows across the streets. It was, as he had previously surmised, exactly like a fairy tale. The buildings were not so much old, as it was that they held a certain, difficult to describe, timeless quality. They were made entirely of stone and ivy snaked up the sides, like green tendrils climbing toward the heavens. They had wooden shutters and looked like photos you’d see of towns in times long forgotten in faraway lands. It wasn’t at all something you’d expect to see in this particular part of America, or in America at all for that matter. It was as if someone had torn a page right out of one of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and by some magical spell had brought it vibrantly to life and gently placed it, hidden away from the sterility of modern civilization, somewhere in the woods of North Carolina.

  Whatever had put this enchanted place here, he thought it was a miracle that he had stumbled upon it by chance, but he was grateful that he had. He immersed himself in all the radiant beauty the town had to offer him. He turned onto the main street. Looming in the distance, at the far end of the street, he could see the massive shape of the town hall. He could also see, halfway down the street, the lights on the water tower, shining brightly on the words “Welcome to Musicarolina: The Most Musical Place in This or Any Other World”. He chuckled and cracked a tiny grin at the odd but cheerful sentiment, as he came to a stop in front of the cozy little building with the sign outside that read “Miss Bay’s Bed and Breakfast". Jack got out of the van and looked up at the moon, which was already high and bright in the night sky. In the distance, he heard the mournful howl of a wolf, loud and sorrowful. He felt a small measure of pity for that lonely wolf as he patted his pocket to ensure the ring was still secure there. He then took a deep breath and went inside.
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br />   ***

  Adrienne was seated, looking trancelike out of the window of her room in the small bed and breakfast. The moon was full and the moonlight covered the whole room with a soft ethereal glow. The fire crackled warmly in the stone fireplace as she looked out, reverently, on the sleepy, peaceful little town. She barely even noticed as the door to her room quietly swung open and her boyfriend Jack entered the room.

  “Hey, what are you doing sitting here all alone in the dark, you weirdo?” Jack asked.

  “Hm,” she said dreamily, turning her head toward him. “I was just admiring how amazingly beautiful everything in this town is. The buildings, the lights, it’s incredible; even the moon and stars seem brighter here somehow,” she responded, with a sense of almost otherworldly contentment.

  “Well, I suppose, from that rather glowing endorsement, that it would be safe to assume that your mind is all but made up then?”

  “Oh, it is,” she said, turning to face him fully. “I know this was never our plan, but it means the world to me that you’re willing to do this for us.”

  Jack crossed the room and took her hands in his. He looked deep into her eyes and said, “Look, if this is truly what you want, then we’ll stay here forever, my dear. I honestly have no idea if it was some lucky twist of fate, or simply my own lousy sense of direction that brought us here. I think that quite possibly it was that; after all, I am too cheap to buy a GPS of any kind and don’t even get me started on stopping and asking for directions, not the point. The point is; I don’t think that this is an opportunity that we can afford to waste. I truly believe that the chances, in this crazy, topsy-turvy universe of ours, that two people so deeply in love could stumble upon a mystical, magical village, nestled mysteriously in the woods once in their lifetime isn’t very good. I sincerely doubt we’d ever be able to do it again. If you do change your mind we can leave tonight, get back in that van right now and roam the countryside looking for some other mystical, magical little hamlet that makes this one look like a big ol’ pile of smelly, week-old rotting garbage.”

  “Stop it,” she said laughing.

  “All right, it’s settled then. I’ve just got to go to their super important town meeting tonight, check out their silly little citizenship ceremony and then we’ll be the newest lifetime inhabitants of Musicarolina. We’ll be proud Musicarolinians, or Musicinnites or whatever they call themselves. Come to think of it, what a stupid name for such a beautiful town. I mean, I get that they’re going for the whole tourist vibe, but Musicarolina? Seriously?”

  “Well, I certainly hope you won’t be venting that particular opinion at the town meeting tonight. I mean, we’re trying to make friends here, sweetie.”

  “No, not tonight; I think I’ll wait ‘til our third or fourth meeting before I anger the townspeople into chasing us off with pitchforks and torches. I promise I won’t even mention to them how inconceivably weird their li’l town is; not one word, honest!”

  “Do angry mobs of villagers really still chase people out of town with pitchforks and torches in this day and age, honey?”

  “Well, not ordinarily as a rule, but you’ve seen the town. Frankly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they are doing that very thing to an ogre after the meeting tonight, kind of the grand finale as it were. Hey, maybe as the newest citizens we’ll get to lead the angry mob and get the shiniest pitchforks. Wouldn’t that be delightful?”

  Adrienne giggled and asked, “So you really don’t mind spending the rest of your life here, with little ol’ me?”

  “Let’s see, do I mind spending the rest of my livelong days in a tiny town with a fruity name and the citizens bursting into song every four-point-eight minutes? Noooo, why that sounds like a life of nonstop fun and adventure to me, sweetie.”

  “Oh come on, it’s not that bad.”

  “No, it’s really kind of sweet once you get used to it, insanely sweet even, or just plain insane.” He could see from the daggers she began glaring his way that she was getting slightly annoyed by his sarcasm, so he continued, “Look, it doesn’t matter where we settle down, just so long as we’re together.”

  “That’s a pretty clichéd line, dear. Do you really expect me to fall for that?”

  “It maybe clichéd, but that doesn’t make it any less true, honey,” he said with a sly wink. “Look, my brother will come through town tomorrow; we’ll give him the van and the IDs like we promised. He’ll pay us for this last gig, and we’ll use that money to rent a little place on the outskirts of town. Finally, we can retire and give up this life of crime and—bonus—then you can focus on giving me a whole gaggle of little ones, fetching me beers, and making me sammiches.”

  “Oh, I hate to break it to you, but that’s never going to happen, dear,” she replied, laughing again.

  “Wait, so what, no white picket fence, two and a half kids, and a dog named Rover then? Well, I must say, dear, you certainly are putting a blemish on this town’s reputation for being a place of pure wonder and fantasy.”

  “Well, I wasn’t aware it was solely a male chauvinist fantasy.”

  “To be fair, legitimately, that is a type of fantasy.”

  “Wait, two and a half kids, what? Were you planning on cutting the third kid in half?”

  “No, not necessarily, only if he didn’t do his homework, eat his vegetables, or go to bed on time. I find that setting up firm, but fair, standards and punishments is the backbone of good parenting, you know. Ask any serial killer.”

  “Oh, of course. Silly me.”

  “Now I have to go, or I’ll be late for the meeting; I got the impression from a very insistent woman at the diner that they are extremely strict about these things,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

  “All right, I love you.”

  “I love me, too,” he replied, with a roguish grin and wink. He kissed her once more, then turned and walked back out the door, closing it behind him. She heard his footsteps heading down the stairs, and the front door closing; then, she watched from the window as he headed down the street toward the city hall. Halfway down the street he turned, smiled, and waved at her. She smiled, waved back, and watched as he disappeared from view. Adrienne then lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and drifted blissfully off to sleep; dreaming of their happy future together.

  ***

  Adrienne was violently snapped from her dream at the sound of the door slamming hard against the wall as it was flung wide open. Jack burst into the room frantically.

  “Get up! We have to go now!” he shouted.

  “What? Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, sweetie, trust me; you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Now, come on; we have to go!” he said emphatically. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up off the bed and hauled her toward the door.

  “Wait! What about all of our things?”

  “Believe me, there isn’t any time for that; now let’s go!” He pulled her by her arm across the room, out the door, and down the hall. However, when they reached the stairs, their path was blocked by the kindly old Miss Bay, the proprietor of the bed and breakfast.

  “Now dearies, what seems to be the problem here? It’s not near checking out time for you. Why such a rush?” Miss Bay asked, looking at them quizzically, smiling sweetly while she did, her frail frame the only thing denying them entrance to the staircase. Adrienne thought to herself that she didn’t look quite right tonight. Miss Bay was usually perfectly prim and proper, but her hair and clothing was disheveled and she had an odd look in her eyes. Adrienne didn’t have much time to properly analyze this as Jack dropped her flat with one punch directly to the jaw.

  “Jack! What did you just do?” Adrienne cried out, confused, as the old woman crumpled to the ground at her feet.

  “I just knocked out an old lady. Now come on!” Jack responded and pulled her emphatically down the stairs. Adrienne was still waking up, trying desperately to shake the cobwebs of sleep from her brain and she still couldn’t truthfully tell if this w
as real or if she was still dreaming. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was happening around her. They got to the front door and Jack flung it open. The first thing that Adrienne noticed was that all the street lights had gone out, plunging the outside world into almost complete darkness, other than the light of the full moon. The second thing she noticed, and far worse than the first, was that the van was no longer out front where Jack had parked it earlier.

  “Where’s the van?” she wondered aloud.

  “I have no idea,” Jack said, equally mystified. Then, as if on cue, the van dropped directly out of the sky. It came straight down and crashed onto the stone pavement, sending metal and glass shards hurtling through the air. Jack pulled Adrienne behind him to protect her from the flying debris.

  “What happened to the van?” she asked, looking at the twisted wreckage; the fear was finally beginning to set in.

  “The same thing that’s going to happen to us if you don’t hurry,” Jack replied, ominously, leading her into the street, plunging headlong into the darkness.

  “What are we running from?” she cried. That’s when, for the first time, she looked up the street in the direction of the town hall. There, moving steadily toward them, were hundreds of dark, shadowy figures. The figures were partially visible due to the light given off by the torches many of them were carrying.

  “Wait a second, are you kidding me? They actually have torches! Jack, what did you say to them?”

  “Well, just look on the bright side; at least they don’t have pitchforks, honey. Now, come on; we have to move fast,” he said, leading her away from the crowd and down the street toward the woods and the edge of town. As she was led down the street, she looked back and could see something massive moving behind the buildings, just out of view, but she could not make out what it was. It was obscured by the darkness, but she managed to catch glimpses of a hulking sinister shape moving amongst the crowd and occasional flashes of bright red orbs, burning, piercing the blackness of the night. She also noticed for the first time, an odd, almost musical, tone the advancing crowd seemed to be humming. She had very little time to take this all in as Jack was still pulling her arm, as hard as he could, moving relentlessly toward the woods at the edge of town.