The Ballad of BonadukeThe Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 6: Rat in a Maze

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #6
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: October 27, 2022

I spent an uncomfortable amount of time pulling out the IV before standing up and rushing the door. The world spun upwards, and the floor hit my face.

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on.

What’s Rat in a Maze About?

Bonaduke tries to escape from wherever exactly he is while learning what he can about it. It turns out that he’s going to be tested for something (he’s not told what) and if he passes, someone will explain everything. The test is…hard to explain without giving any details. Essentially he ends up taking a “Kirk passing the Kobayashi Maru” sort of approach. We’ll have to see how that works out for him in Episode 7.

So, what did I think about Rat in a Maze?

I don’t have a lot to say about this episode, but what I do have is complimentary.

I have nothing but questions at this point—and I think that’s the point. I liked what we got here, and am possibly more intrigued by this story than I have been so far. I’ve been fighting the temptation for a day to push on and ignore my schedule.

3.5 Stars