The Ballad of BonadukeThe Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 7: Lost Lamb

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #7
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: November 3, 2022

That’s the thing people don’t get about being homeless. Nobody wants to see you until you’re a threat.

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. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too).

What’s Lost Lamb About?

So Bonaduke’s strategy last time didn’t work out so well—and he tries a couple of other things, and we end up in a similar situation to the ending of the last episode. Bonaduke’s got an idea, he’s trying something, and…well, it ends.

So, what did I think about Lost Lamb?

I thought I didn’t have a lot to say about the previous episode, and it turns out that I’m still there. Bonaduke’s not making a lot of progress in this test, and I’m not making a lot of progress in my evaluation.

Once again, 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. Again, I’m tempted to toss of my schedule and catch up on all the episodes right now.

3.5 Stars