The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 19: The Station
DETAILS: Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #19 Format: Kindle Vella Story Read Date: March 17, 2023
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). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.
Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out.
What’s The Station About?
The pair that Bonaduke had determined weren’t police detectives in the last episode drive him to a police station and bring him inside. Maybe he was wrong after all?
They pass some of those arrested from the camp as they’re being processed and dump Bonaduke in an interrogation room.
Then the questioning begins–but not where he (or the reader) expects.
So, what did I think about The Station?
This is a good step in the right direction, but it’s difficult to have the patience I want to possess. If I knew that episode 20 would advance things, I’d be okay with this. But I’m afraid we’re on the verge of another 2-3 episode standstill.
I did like the last paragraph, though. It’s enough to keep me going.
Read Irresponsibly, but please Comment Responsibly