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When Your World Falls Apart... Build A New One

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Chapter 12 audio of Grubby's Private Bar is now up for free on Apple Podcasts!

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Chapter 12 audio of Grubby's Private Bar is now up for free on Spotify!

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Chapter 12 audio of Grubby's Private Bar is now up for free on Audible!

[authorbrandondion]

Grubby's Private Bar

Chapter 12

When Moon Farm arrived for their show, several of us had already been hanging out in the basement for a while. Since they were playing acoustically, nothing really needed to be set up. We discussed streaming it from Music Corner, on the outside of the bar, since there were only three of them in the band. After trying a few arrangements, we decided it looked and felt too cramped. Carter suggested we fold the ping pong table up like we had for the Grainleg show and set a few stools up on that end of the basement. Without the amplifiers and equipment that an electric set entailed, it looked far more accommodating and natural than it previously had. The drummer had a djembe for a more organic and natural sound, while the guitar and bass players brought acoustic versions of their instruments. This meant there would be no need for wires or devices. I was at ease and actually excited for the evening to begin.

Carter was waiting near the door when the first couple of people showed up with golden guitar picks. Once he received them, Bekki swooped in and had them immediately sign the ledge. It was a process they had worked out between themselves shortly after the band arrived and everything was in place. Bekki’s phone was set up on the far end of the bar against the chalkboard wall to catch the whole thing on a live stream. It had the dual purpose of creating an enhanced experience for those in attendance, as well as further shaping an exclusive image of the bar for those watching on PeerPub. After people completed the initial routine, they wandered off to explore the basement or chat with the band. Within an hour or so, the rest of the people possessing the golden picks showed up, and the anticipation was becoming palpable. Gabe, Mallory and Flo, had all shown up, but Iggy, Noah and Cassie were still absent. Noah had responded to a message I sent letting me know that they’d be over as soon as Cassie got home, but Carter and I had both tried several times to call and message Iggy. Neither of us were getting a response. At some point the bassist for Moon Farm asked about him. After telling him we didn’t know where he was, he proceeded to try himself to get a hold of him, but to no avail. We shrugged it off as typical Iggy and kept shooting him texts whenever it crossed our minds. A couple of the guests that Moon Farm had given their golden picks to showed up with beer as a gift. Carter had lightheartedly suggested it to the band as a contribution to the bar. A tribute in a sense. Each time he placed a new pack of beer in the fridge, he would announce out loud that there were free drinks beneath the bar. Whoever happened to be sitting behind it when someone was ready for a beer served as the intermittent bartender. After he put the bottles or cans in the fridge, Carter would toss the empty box into the next room through the curtain where they would be out of sight.

Ever since I’d agreed to let Carter manage the bar as a potential source of revenue, he’d spent most of his waking moments brainstorming ideas. It was already an escape and refuge for those of us who lived in the cul de sac, but Carter’s business acumen had kicked in and he was seeing the potential for dollar signs. Part of his strategy was to limit anyone else’s ability to affect the way the bar was perceived outside of it. One of the ways he did this was to inform people when they entered that pictures were allowed, but videos were not. People also weren’t allowed to stream on any form of social media. This made the Grubby’s Private Bar PeerPub account exclusive, and anyone wanting to feel like they were a part of what was going on in the bar in real time would have to do so through it. This would also increase the amount of followers and interactions, eventually making the account more appealing to advertisers. No one coming into the bar seemed upset about it when they were told. In contrast, it appeared to enhance the notion that they were a part of something special. They were also more engaged, as they weren’t constantly holding their phone up. Despite being carefully curated by Carter, the vibe felt more organic this way. It was also relayed to anyone coming into the bar that anything they said or did once they were inside was subject to being live streamed on the PeerPub account. Bekki’s phone videoing from the far side of the bar also served as his way of getting them on camera acknowledging that they understood and agreed. Carter considered having them sign a waiver but wanted the first night of the new format to feel less legalistic. No one questioned the rule and actually seemed to be excited about appearing on the stream.

“Where’s Iggy?” Bekki walked up to the bar area where most of the cul de sac was sitting.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged my shoulders, “I can’t believe he’s not here yet. We’d talked about playing a couple songs before Moon Farm, you know, to get the buzz started while people tune in.”

“Ya. Of all the nights for him not to show up I’m pretty blown away,” she agreed. Hearing the door slide open we all turned to see Noah and Cassie enter.

“Hey!” Gabe yelled, “Where’s your golden picks? Manager! Do your job!” Carter sneered at him as Noah joined us at the bar. Cassie took off to say hi to one of the members of Moon Farm, and Noah informed us as that they were old classmates.

“What’s up?” Carter asked Noah, “Get a chance to watch that video yet?”

“Ya,” he nodded, “I was actually really surprised by the amount of people that commented.”

“Told you,” Carter crossed his arms, “Does that mean you’re in?”

“I’ll give it a try,” Noah replied.

“Awesome!” Carter exclaimed. I held my hand up to give Noah five and smiled to show my own excitement.

“Give what a try?” Gabe interjected.

“Noah’s going to stream a show about nostalgia down here,” I answered.

“Oh cool!” Gabe leaned back in his chair, “Now you don’t have to play with your toys alone! Everyone at home can play along with you!” Feeling bad for Noah, Mallory smacked Gabe’s arm.

“Hey guys. We’re ready whenever you are,” a member of Moon Farm leaned into our conversation. I looked at Bekki and made a face to let her know I didn’t think we could wait for Iggy any longer. She nodded at Carter to let him know he could begin streaming, and they both got up to walk over to the other end of the basement. The couches had been turned so that they were facing the band area, and Gabe had mockingly labeled it the VIP section since it was reserved for those with the golden tickets. Behind it we had placed various stools so that whoever was left could see over the heads of the people sitting on the couches. You could still see fine from the bar area, which was where most of us from the cul de sac stayed. Gabe got up a few times when he heard something appealing, followed closely by Mallory each time. Placing her arm around his waist, she would lean into him for as long as he stood there watching. Carter streamed the entirety of the set, and most of the time he would focus on the band or those in attendance. Occasionally he would show Bekki. She understood that he was looking for certain reactions and would oblige accordingly. Carter would move in close to her to try and make the viewers feel like they were standing right there beside her, and with her genuine demeanor and broad appeal, Bekki was the perfect person for the job.

I thought Moon Farm sounded amazing, and every person in the basement agreed. It was as if they had rehearsed for countless hours just to nail this one inconsequential performance. Their presence was commanding and each one of them had a high level of mastery over their instrument. I wasn’t as drawn to the singer’s voice and energy as I was Iggy’s, but it was notable nonetheless. More often than not, their bass player took the role of front man and the rest of the band seemed comfortable following his lead. When the set was over, Carter went directly to him with the live stream to engage the viewers. Eventually, when we cut the stream, everyone stuck around for several hours having drinks and conversing. The couches were put back to their original positions so that people could engage each other without feeling cut off. The acoustic nature of the music had created a chill vibe that lingered and there wasn’t a single hint of anyone getting out of control.

A few people outside of those from the cul de sac crashed in the basement, but I didn’t mind because things had stayed calm. It got me thinking that if it was going to become a regular occurrence, perhaps I should put a bathroom down there. There was an unfinished room through the second set of curtains past the ping pong area, and even after putting a half bath in, there would be enough room left over for an additional futon or bed. It would also remedy people having to step outside or go upstairs to use the bathroom. Gabe and Mallory had crashed on the first floor, and I pitched the idea to him before he left the next morning. He thought it was long overdue and agreed to help me accomplish it.

I had just started picking up the empty beer boxes Carter had tossed in the other room the night before after everyone left the next day when Bekki walked in carrying something.

“Good afternoon!” she said cheerfully.

“Hey!” I replied walking through the curtains and setting the boxes on the bar before taking a seat. “What you got?” I asked. Smiling, she lifted a small framed mirror that said “Grubby’s Private Bar” on it in the same western type font that Carter had used for the guitar picks. It was cheap and generic looking, but she was proud of it. “Ha ha! Nice!” I said, “Where’d you get that?”

“That flea market store up by the mall,” she set it on the bar and took a seat beside me, “Seriously…I know it literally looks like it came from a flea market, so I’m not going to be offended if you don’t hang it. It cost practically nothing. It came with these cheap letter stickers that you just throw on yourself.”

“No!” I protested, “It’s cool. I will.”

“I just saw it and realized you don’t have anything down here that has the name of the place on it,” she explained, “For a few bucks I thought you could throw it up somewhere until you get something cooler.” Without saying anything, I got up and went into the next room. After a few moments I came back carrying a hammer and nail. Walking around behind the bar to the section that butted up against the chalkboard wall, I placed a nail a couple feet above the counter and banged it in. Then, taking the decorative mirror from in front of her, hung it on the nail.

“There,” I said after straightening it, “How’s that?” She looked at it, and then me. When she realized I was serious about leaving it there, she smiled and nodded. As I took my seat back beside her on the outside of the bar, she picked up one of the beer boxes and started inspecting the cover art.

“This is really cool,” she mused.

“Ya,” I agreed, “Honestly they’re all pretty cool.” There were four or five of them sitting in front of us and she looked each one of them over.

“You should display them somewhere,” she held one up.

“Like where?” I asked looking around the room.

“Like here,” Bekki said leaning back and pointing at the front of the bar where our feet were. The bar itself, not including the counter, was plain white.

“Okay,” I shrugged my shoulders, “It might look cool.”

“Like a mosaic!” she said excitedly jumping out of her chair and retrieving a pair of scissors and tape from one of the drawers in the bar. After cutting the front of the box off, she put tape on each corner and stuck it on the front of the bar. She repeated this for each one until they were all side by side in a row. Stepping back and admiring her handiwork, she turned to get my reaction. I smiled and nodded in approval.

“I love it!” I exclaimed, “Seriously. It looks awesome. Hopefully people bring a different one each time.” Bekki continued to look at it proudly before sitting back down and sliding her chair up to the bar. At that moment Gabe walked in. “Here to discuss doing the bathroom?” I asked.

“Bathroom?” Bekki looked back and forth between us, “You’re going to put a bathroom down here?”

“Thinking about it,” I confirmed.

“That would be awesome!” she said excitedly.

“Iggy’s in rehab,” Gabe interrupted.

“What?” Bekki asked as if she had misheard him.

“There was some guy I didn’t recognize over at his house carrying clothes and stuff to a car,” Gabe explained, “so I kind of walked over to see what was going on and they just started talking to me. Asked if I was a friend, so I played it up like Iggy and I are super tight and they just blurted out that he’s in rehab. Didn’t know why or how long. Said he was a brother or cousin or something.” Bekki processed what Gabe was saying before turning to me with a concerned look in her eyes. I stared back at her, unable to muster a reaction. “I’m honestly not surprised. Explains why he wasn’t here last night,” Gabe continued, “I noticed he hasn’t been around as much lately either. Probably has something to do with it.” I was afraid to say anything for fear of sounding like I was agreeing with him. Bekki had told me in confidentiality that Iggy did in fact have a history of substance abuse, and I didn’t want to seem like I was confirming it or bad mouthing him.

“I’m going to go see what I can find out,” Bekki said getting up and leaving abruptly. Gabe and I watched her rush out without saying anything.

“You think something’s going on between them?” Gabe asked after she’d been gone for a moment.

“Iggy and Bekki?” his question caught me of guard.

“Ya,” Gabe looked at me with a straight face, “They always seem extra friendly, and she gets really motherly with him in a weird way.”

“No,” I said without hesitation, “I don’t think so. I think she just feels bad for him. They’ve known each other for a long time. I’m pretty sure they’ve always hung out in the same circles too.” Gabe looked at me like I was in denial. “She was motherly with me when I got knocked out by her fence,” I added, “ and I don’t care if there is something going on, I’m just saying I don’t think there is.”

“Mmmmhmmmm,” Gabe smirked.

“Whatever dude,” I looked down at the counter, “I hope Iggy’s okay.”

“Ya, me too,” he sat down where Bekki had been, “What’d you think he’s in for?”

“I don’t know man,” I shrugged my shoulders, “Did he admit himself? Was he hospitalized? There’s a lot of answers that would help piece it together.”

“If it’s drugs or pills, he hides it pretty well,” Gabe leaned back, “I mean he can put the liquor down so it could just as easily be that.” I nodded but continued to guard Bekki’s insight. “I guess we’ll find out when he gets home,” he mused, “Unless Bekki finds out first.” We sat in silence for a moment before the door slid open.

“So the Moon Farm stream was pretty successful,” Carter said taking a seat between us at the end of the bar.

“They’re good,” Gabe nodded, “and I had fun. Enough fun that I didn’t make it across the street before I crashed last night.”

“Have you looked at the numbers on the stream?” Carter asked facing me. I shook my head. “They’re impressive,” his eyes got wide.

“I’ll check it out in a bit,” I assured him.

“Ya, do,” he emphasized, “Which brings me to this... Grainleg put together an album and they want to know if they can promote it down here.”

“An album release party?” Gabe asked.

“No, they’re doing that through some indy label they’re a part of,” Carter replied, “they just want to play a few songs off it and hopefully get some attention. Acoustically of course.”

“I don’t care man,” I said, “The Moon Farm set was fine. As long as it goes down like that, I don’t care who plays down here. That’s your thing. You just have to regulate it.”

“Sweet,” he replied, “I’ll set it up. I’ve already had several people hit me up about playing down here just since last night.”

“Do your thing,” I said. Carter nodded and got his phone out to start messaging people. Within a couple hours he had gotten a hold of everyone he needed and Grainleg was set to play the next show in Grubby’s Private Bar.

[authorbrandondion]

Grubby's Private Bar

Chapter 11

Iggy and I were sitting at the bar playing guitar when at once we heard a knock on the door. Anyone that was welcome in the basement walked in and out freely, so before I even turned around, I knew it was going to be someone from outside the cul de sac. I was right.

“Can I help you?” I asked sliding the door open.

“Hi,” they said excitedly, “Is this Grubby’s Private Bar?” I could feel my stomach sink.

“Sometimes,” I replied, “How can I help you?”

“I just wanted to see it and take a selfie if I could,” they smiled. I peered inside at Iggy who was looking back over his shoulder at us.

“It’s not really like that,” I explained, “It’s kind of invitation only. You have to have a ticket, which is like a specific item.”

“There’s a cover charge?” they were taken aback.

“No,” I laughed, “The bar is only open to people for certain events, and those events are only for certain people.”

“Then how do you get to see the bar?” they became more confused.

“PeerPub,” I said, visibly frustrated, “It’s not really a public venue.” They just stood, staring at me blankly. “Here,” I pulled my phone from my pocket, “Text this number. They’ll explain it to you.” Scrolling through my contacts, I found Carter’s number and gave it to them. They didn’t appear to be pleased with my response, but thanked me and left. Sighing heavily and shaking my head, I took a seat by Iggy so that we could resume playing.

“Why didn’t you just let them come in and take a quick picture?” Iggy asked. He seemed disgruntled over the way I handled it, but was trying to present himself in a non-abrasive way. I wasn’t anticipating the question, but I wasn’t surprised by it either.

“Because it sets a dangerous precedent,” I rested the guitar on my lap and looked him dead in the eye, “Where does it stop? Not only will people keep stopping by unannounced, they’ll show up in greater numbers anytime there’s a live stream of us playing or Bekki talking about conspiracies.”

“Is that so bad?” he tried to maintain eye contact but was becoming uncomfortable with the developing tension between us.

“Ya,” I said firmly, “This is my house. I like my privacy.” Iggy nodded. There wasn’t really anything he could come back with. Casually, he started messing around on the guitar again. I let him play on his own until I calmed down a bit, and then joined him. Eventually he picked up on something familiar and we began playing through some of our regulars. A short while later the door flung open while we were in the middle of a song.

“Dude!” Carter said as he stepped in, “Why are you giving people my number?”

“You’re the manager aren’t you?” I shot back. He thought about what I said for a moment and realized what I was insinuating. It was a situation largely of his making. His and Iggy’s.

“You can’t just give out my number,” Carter said.

“Then we need to come up with an alternative,” I replied, “That person wasn’t getting it and I’m not equipped to deal with those kind of situations.”

“What about an email address,” Iggy chimed in, “That way you don’t have to deal with it until you want to, and you can be anonymous.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Carter replied after thinking about it for a moment.

“As long as you’re the one willing to read and answer them,” I said.

“Why me?” Carter became animated.

“Because the streams that are drawing the most attention are your babies!” I glared at him, “I’m not blaming you for the guy in the ravine, but the person that showed up here a little bit ago was one hundred percent because of the PeerPub account!”

“Guy in the Ravine?” Iggy interjected.

“There was a guy, at least I think it was a guy, hiding in the ravine the other night,” I responded.

“What?” Iggy shook his head like he still wasn’t hearing me right.

“Ya. I didn’t know they were there until I was practically on top of them,” I explained, “and then a struggle ensued. they got away before I could get a good look at them.”

“What?” Iggy repeated.

“I was thinking about that,” Carter jumped in, “What if it was Connor?”

“Bekki’s ex?” I asked.

“Well technically I think they’re still married,” Carter corrected me, “I think she just kicked him out and said they were done. If he’s the one that knocked you out a while back, then clearly he still wants to be with her.”

“We don’t know it was him,” I said.

“That knocked you out outside Bekki’s house?” Carter asked. I nodded. “Well I don’t know who else it would’ve been,” he said sarcastically, “It was his house too and he had just been there fighting with her.” Carter was right, but I still wouldn’t let myself buy into it completely. Bekki could never confirm it and didn’t say that that’s who she thought it was either.

“I don’t know,” I said, “I guess it’s possible. I’m just not going to jump to conclusions like that. I didn’t even see a sign of anyone at Bekki’s before I woke up in my basement that day.”

“That means they could’ve been in my back yard too,” Iggy said, still stuck on the part of the conversation about someone being in my ravine. He was just about to say something else when the door slid open and Noah walked in.

“Good afternoon gentleman,” Noah said politely. Shutting the door behind him, he walked up beside Carter and smiled at us.

“Hey Noah!” I greeted him, “What’s up buddy?”

“Oh not much,” he replied, “I came to see Carter’s toy.” Iggy and I both looked at Carter to see what Noah was referring to. Carter looked at me apprehensively and then pulled an action figure out of his pocket and set it on the bar.

“Oh wow,” Noah immediately picked it up and held it in his hand, “That’s a first series Hade Dalvium.”

“A Hade what?” Iggy shook his head.

“Hade Dalvium from The Chain,” Noah said looking him over, “Link 7. And he’s in near perfect condition. Do you have any of his accessories?” Carter shook his head but kept his eyes on me. “Cause if you did,” Noah continued, “He’d be worth…”

“Did you take that from the woods?” I interrupted.

“Borrowed?” Carter replied.

“Are you serious?” I said in disbelief, “That isn’t ours man. We don’t know who they belong to or why they were there or anything!”

“Calm down!” Carter snapped, “I said borrowed. I was just curious and wanted to get Noah’s expertise on it. I’ll put it back.”

“Dude…,” I said shaking my head. I was genuinely angry at him. For multiple reasons. If someone had come back and realized that one of their toys were gone, they had probably panicked. Especially if it was a valuable one or one of their favorites. I was familiar enough with The Chain to know that Hade Dalvium was likely both. He was after all the main character. In addition, I had no idea who I had encountered in the ravine. If it was someone connected to the toys, and one came up missing, it could lead to more issues.

“Fine!” Carter said, “I’ll take it back! I just want to hear about it real quick.” Noah looked at me, waiting to see if I was going to protest. Simultaneously Carter began messing with his phone and it dawned on me what was happening. He was setting up a stream with the hopes of launching another show. This time it would revolve around Noah and his breadth of knowledge on nostalgic properties. I was just about to raise an issue with the fact that whoever owned the toy might see the stream when I got a notification on my phone that Grubby’s Private Bar had gone live on PeerPub. Opening the app, I saw Noah from the awkward angle Carter was secretly streaming him. I looked over in time to see Iggy get the notification and open the stream on his phone as well.

For the next twenty or thirty minutes, Noah dove into the basics of The Chain as a toy line and cartoon. Due to its immense popularity during our childhood, many viewers stuck around on the app to watch, and there were plenty of comments and reactions. When Noah was done, Carter didn’t immediately tell him that he’d aired it on PeerPub. Still riding high from being able to talk at length about his passions, Noah invited us to venture across the street and check out his nostalgia room. Carter put his phone in his pocket and jumped up to follow him out. Iggy said he had some things he had to take care of and bumped each one of our fists before taking off ahead of us. On the way over, Carter engaged Noah on more toy related topics. I assumed it was because he was trying to further avoid me, as I noticed him glance over his shoulder at me several times.

“I would’ve thought I’d died and gone to heaven if I’d of seen this as a kid,” I marveled, taking the last step down into Noah’s basement. The walls were adorned with a myriad of old movie posters and framed cartoon lithographs. In-between and under them were scores of shelves and display cases that held various toys and memorabilia from our childhood. In the center of the room was an old television that had several of the original gaming consoles connected to it. It was like stepping back in time. “I mean seriously,” I repeated as I continued taking everything in, “I would have literally thought I’d died.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Noah said humbly as he stopped in the middle of the room and joined us in looking around at his prized possessions.

“It definitely is,” I assured him. Carter located a large glass case full of nothing but toys from The Chain and began inspecting them. Since they were related, I’d just assumed he’d been in Noah’s basement before. Though they were distant cousins, they were from a close-knit extended family and simply referred to each other as cousins. I joined carter at the glass case. “Wow dude. This is impressive,” I gawked, “You have all the major figures.” As I knelt down to look at the lower shelves, I was hit with a memory regarding one of the figures in particular. “When I was in like the third grade, I earned a bunch of money doing chores for my dad,” I said gazing off into the figure, “It was the first time I’d ever been given that much cash. I took a friend down to a local store and spent all of it on The Chain figures. My parents found out, and to punish me, made me give all of the toys to my friend.”

“What?” Carter looked at me, “Why did they care what you did with money YOU earned?”

“No idea,” I laughed, “Maybe they were trying to teach me how to be responsible?”

“Which ones were they?” Noah asked. There was an excitement in his voice. He clearly loved to discuss anything that involved reliving his childhood.

“It was like a third series Rom Darhyte, some kind of Meredonian and a Transit,” I replied, “They were so cool.”

“Absolutely,” he agreed, “Look.” Noah pointed to the ceiling where a small two man spaceship hung from the ceiling. It was suspended by invisible fishing line to give it the effect of being in mid-flight. It was called a Transit in The Chain, and it was the exact one I had just got done referencing.

“Oh my gosh,” I uttered in disbelief, “That’s it. That’s the exact one I bought and had to give to my friend.”

“I wonder if he still has it?” Noah mused.

“Not sure,” I shook my head, “I haven’t seen him in a while. I’ll ask him next time I do.”

“Maybe you guys could recall the whole incident on an episode of Noahstalgia!” Carter said excitedly.

“Noah what?” Noah laughed.

“Noahstalgia!” Carter repeated, “Doesn’t that sound like a good name for your PeerPub show?” Noah gave him a puzzled look.

“He’s trying to get you to sign on for a reoccurring PeerPub show,” I explained, “It’s part of a larger marketing strategy he’s working on to generate ad revenue through the Grubby’s Private Bar account. It includes local bands and Bekki’s affinity for conspiracies.”

“Ya. I know about those,” Noah said, “Cassie loves listening to Bekki talk about that stuff.”

“Well apparently Carter’s banking on people loving listening to you talk about things from their childhood,” I continued, “and while I’m not trying to persuade you one way or another, I will agree that there’s a pretty big audience for it. People love reliving simpler times.”

“I don’t know,” Noah said, “I’m not really camera friendly.”

“The stream says otherwise,” Carter stated. Noah looked at him then me.

“He streamed you earlier talking about that Hade Dalvium figure in the basement,” I clued him in, “That’s the whole reason he hit you up about it in the first place. It was a set up to sell you on it. He did the same thing to Bekki.” Noah turned back to Carter slightly stunned. “I didn’t know anything about it ahead of time,” I added.

“Just watch it!” Carter said, “Look at the comments and interactions. Then you can shoot it down or we can talk about doing more.” If Noah was upset he was too mild mannered and polite to show it. He had been on plenty of streams in the basement before as a consequence of just being down there when someone went live. Noah finally stuck his lower lip out and nodded. Carter smiled and patted him on the shoulder before casually walking around the room, further inspecting the walls and cases.

“I’m not trying to convince you to do it,” I looked at Noah, “but if you want someone to sit in on them with you, I’m game. That’s what I’m going to do with Bekki for her conspiracy streams. “

“Which makes sense since we’re streaming from Grubby’s Private Bar,” Carter chimed in without turning around.

“I’ll only talk when it’s relevant or you don’t have anything to say,” I continued, “I mean I love this stuff too. That conversation we had about the old wrestlers a while back was awesome.”

“Even the people on Bekki’s PeerPub loved it,” Carter joined us, “and now we have the Grubby’s Private Bar to stream from.”

“Okay,” Noah laughed in almost annoyed manner, “I’ll watch the one from earlier. We’ll talk about it.” Carter smiled and gave him his token pat on the back.

“Well, hit me up,” Carter said before heading up the stairs and out of the house. I stayed in Noah’s basement for a little while longer looking at everything.

“Speaking of wrestling…nice,” I said grabbing an old movie he had tucked among a collection of old VHS tapes in a cabinet beside the television.

“Different kind of wrestling, but definitely a classic,” Noah added. I nodded and put it back, marveling at all the notable blockbusters he had in his collection.

“You coming to the Moon Farm set tomorrow night?” I asked.

“I gotta check with Cassie, but I’m sure we will,” he replied, “Are you expecting a lot of people?”

“No,” I shook my head emphatically, “After the way the Grainleg show went we decided to cap it. Carter gave Moon Farm a hand full of golden guitar picks to hand out as tickets, and besides all of us in the cul de sac, no one else is allowed in.”

“Golden picks?” Noah’s eyes got huge, “That’s awesome!”

“Carters got some good ideas,” I agreed, “I’m not sure how I feel about all the attention the bar’s getting though.”

“I’m good not doing the nostalgia thing,” Noah said after thinking about what I said for a minute, “I thought it was something you wanted to do.”

“No, it is!” I said inching towards the stairs, “I think it’s more the music thing. Just sitting around the bar having conversation with you and Bekki is fine. I love that.” Noah just nodded. “Why don’t you guys come by tonight. I know Carter’s hit you up about the nostalgia thing before, but we can talk about it some more over drinks,” I suggested.

“Sounds good,” Noah replied, “I might see you later.” I smiled and took off back home.

Noah and Cassie both ended up coming over that night. It was like countless other nights since the very first time we’d all gathered in the basement. Iggy and I broke out the guitars for some sing alongs and there was plenty of ping pong played. After hundreds of games over the course of several months, we’d all gotten pretty good. At some point Carter, Noah and I found ourselves sitting around the bar discussing the nostalgia show. Once he got Cassie’s approval, Noah agreed to go all in. We decided to do it on Saturday mornings, depending on how bad our hangovers were from the night before. If we couldn’t function well enough to do it, we’d just wait till later in the day when we could. Saturday mornings were chosen to pay homage to the Saturday morning cartoons of our youth. Carter pitched the idea and Noah loved it. It was decided that we’d start the following weekend using some of Noah’s The Chain figures. After reassuring them I would provide the setting and sit in during the stream, I left Noah and Carter at the bar to work out the rest of the details among themselves. Spotting Iggy and Bekki on the couch, I grabbed the guitars, and we spent the rest of the evening in song.

[authorbrandondion]

Chapter 11 audio of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Spotify.

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Chapter 11 audio of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Audible.

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Chapter 10 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Audible.

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Chapter 10 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Apple Podcast!

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Chapter 10 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Spotify!

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Grubby's Private Bar

Chapter 10

“I blame it on poor management,” Gabe glared at Carter who was sitting around the corner of the bar from him. I had just got done telling them about the individual in the ravine and how they had kicked me in the face several times before running away as fast as they could.

“And how’s that?” Carter shot him an offended look.

“Too much too fast!” Gabe exclaimed as if it was obvious, “You made it out to be the coolest place on earth and then told everyone they couldn’t come here! Now they want to see it for themselves and Grubby’s getting his ass kicked. Look at his face!” I was slightly bruised and my lips showed obvious signs of being split open and swollen.

“They can see it on PeerPub! That’s the whole point!” Carter yelled back, “And you’re the one who gave it the name Grubby’s PRIVATE bar to begin with!” They were mostly joking, but you could sense a bit of honesty in their exchange. Gabe wasn’t personally upset about the change to the nature of the basement, but in messing with Carter was calling it like he saw it.

“It’s all good,” I interjected, “It was probably just a teenager messing around down there or something. It could’ve been for a million different reasons.”

“Maybe they’re the one that broke into your yard barn,” Carter said.

“Oh ya. Try to draw the attention off yourself with baseless conspiracy theories,” Gabe said accusatorily, “Maybe you and Bekki can cover it on her next stream.”

“Listen here…,” Carter grew defensive, “You…”

“Welp, gotta go before Carter makes things worse,” Gabe interrupted before he could finish. Jumping up, he patted Carter on the back and left.

“Jerk!” Carter yelled after him. I laughed and took a seat on the outside of the bar. “So you think it was a kid?” he asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” I replied, “They kicked like a grown man, but who knows. Some teens are pretty big.”

“Were they alone?” he asked.

“As far as I know,” I gazed out the door, “It was dark. Really dark. I didn’t even know they were there until after I grabbed their ankle.”

“That’s crazy,” Carter rested back, “Have you been out to see if they left any clues?”

“No. Not yet,” I answered, “And I’m not really sure why.”

“Let’s go check it out,” Carter stood up. I nodded and followed him out to the bridge. The sky was overcast and threatening rain.

“The struggle happened over here,” I said pointing to the area. We stood in silence for several moments inspecting everything beneath and around us.

“I can see where there was some ivy tore out and dirt kicked up,” he said nodding towards the area below and around the tree.

“Ya, that’s exactly where it happened. I shredded my hands on that tree,” I held them out for him to see the torn and scabbed skin on my palms, “right before I added a few splinters on the bridge.”

“Ouch,” he winced.

“I’m going to go down there and see if they dropped anything,” I said leaving the bridge and heading towards the area where I descended the night before.

“I’ll provide air support,” Carter called after me. He wasn’t overly active when he didn’t have to be. You could find sure footing at the top of the ravine, especially with the help of various retaining walls, but that rapidly changed. The walls only lasted a foot or two before the ground started taking a sharp vertical trajectory. The issue with sliding out of control for a few feet was the large jagged rocks that littered the bottom. You couldn’t tell where they were because the ivy extended down onto the floor of the ravine. Once I managed to get myself down safely, I began navigating my way down past the bridge and to the scene of the scuffle. Inspecting the overturned dirt and torn vegetation, I placed my attention on the area around my feet.

“Nothing,” I said after a thorough search.

“I wonder how they got down there,” Carter scanned the area, “or which direction they came from.” The flow of water came from a large drain as big around as a car tire. It was buried underground and ran from the west side of my property line opposite the cul de sac. The edge of the drain where the water poured from was visible, but not unsightly. From there, the ravine ran downhill. It cut through my yard and kept going until it disappeared beneath a slew of trees on the other edge of my property. The back side of my yard, across the bridge, was enclosed by the fence that separated me from the sketchy neighbor. “Have you ever followed the ravine to see where it goes?”

“You mean like walked down it?” I asked. Carter nodded his head. “No,” I replied, “I never really cared. Plus, it’d probably be trespassing.”

“Well I imagine it runs through Iggy’s property, so you could go at least that far,” Carter said. I looked off in that direction, thinking about what he said.

“You wanna check it out?” I turned back towards him.

“Right now?” Carter acted surprised.

“Ya,” I said, “Why not? It won’t take long. We’ll just follow it down past Iggy’s a little, depending on how many other people’s backyards we end up in.” Carter pondered it for moment. You could tell he wanted to say no, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. Without verbally agreeing, he left the bridge and made his way down into the ravine.

“This sucks,” Carter said as he slid down onto the rocks and began losing his balance.

“Come on,” I tried to lift his spirits, “It’ll be fun! We’re having an adventure.”

“I’d rather be having a beer!” he snapped back at me as he began leading us down the ravine. Ducking under the branches at the edge of my property, the rocks became smaller and less jagged as the ivy covering them disappeared. There was still dense foliage for another 20 or 30 feet before we reached the area that ran behind Iggy’s house. “Should we wake him up?” Carter glanced over.

“Nah. Not today,” I said, “One adventure at a time.”

Gradually we found ourselves surrounded by more and more trees until there was no sign of a house or yard in any direction. There were now branches and leaves surrounding us in every direction with little opportunity for direct sunlight. The ground beneath, where the water ran when there was rain or melting snow, had become almost purely sand. It was now only slightly recessed and much wider than the deep and narrow trench in my backyard.

We had both paused and were looking in the direction that the dry stream ran when an abnormality caught my eye. Without saying anything, I began walking closer to get a better look.

“Where are you going?” Carter asked without following me. It was starting to rain, but very little of it was getting through the trees. You could hear it pelting the leaves above with increased frequency. I was practically on top of what I was investigating before I finally realized what it was. Carter waited until I turned around and looked at him before he began heading towards me.

“It looks like an old section of a train track,” I said as he got up beside me.

“What the hell,” he looked it over, “It is.” Laying across the dry stream was a pair of rails. In addition, there were several railroad spikes and ties strewn around the area.

“That’s crazy,” I mused.

“Not as crazy as that,” Carter nodded and pointed up a short distance to our right. I wasn’t sure what we were looking at, but I followed him as he began walking. I was stunned when after a short distance we arrived at a small clearing with toys placed all around it. It took very little time for me to recognize them as a line of action figures I had collected and played with as a child.

“It’s The Chain,” I uttered in disbelief.

“The Chain?” Carter repeated, “Like the cartoon?” I nodded. “Wow. That’s old,” he said. I knelt down and inspected them. Almost immediately the names of all the figures, vehicles and structures started coming back to me. “What in the hell are they doing out here?” Carter asked.

“No idea,” I shook my head, “someone must’ve gotten ahold of their dad’s collection. I’d be pissed. There’s a lot here and they’re in good shape.” There was a definite structure or pattern to the way they were arranged. The small buildings, or forts were set up in such a way that it seemed to mimic a small community. At the center was a large square building. Most of the figures were placed within the area of the buildings, but there was a small group a few feet away. I stood back up as we continued to stare at them in silence. At once I was overcome with a sense of cold that felt more internal than it did weather related.

“This is incredible,” Carter said bending over with his hands in his pocket, “There’s probably some stuff worth money in here.” As Carter spoke, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that made me feel homesick. It became too much and I took another step back. Soon after, the rain began picking up and was effectively fighting through the canopy of leaves.

“Come on man,” I said, “This is somebody’s stuff. Let’s get out of here.”

“You think they remember it’s out here?” he asked lingering.

“I don’t know man, but I really don’t want to be here,” I persisted, “I’m leaving.” Carter gawked for a few more moments before catching up to me just before I got to the train rails. We walked mostly in silence until we reached the ravine and pulled ourselves out. Carter went home and I went inside to clean the mud off my shoes.

A few hours later, I was out checking my mail during a brief pause in the rain when Bekki saw me and came walking over.

“How do you feel?” she asked as she approached.

“Fine,” I replied, “Lips still pretty sore and stings when I eat or drink.”

“I would’ve checked on you sooner,” she said, “but I saw Gabe and Carter walking down to the basement earlier. I figured they’d know if anything was wrong.”

“Ya, no,” I shook my head, “I’m fine.”

“Did they have any idea who it might’ve been?�� she asked.

“No. Gabe thought it was a stalker trying to get a glimpse inside the bar since no one’s allowed in,” I explained, “And Carter suggested we go look for clues, which led us on an expedition down the ravine.”

“Really?” Bekki laughed, “Was there anything down there?”

“Not down as in the ravine in my backyard or near the bridge, but down as in off my property where the water flows,” I said glancing back over my shoulder in its direction, “and nothing that gave us any clue who kicked me in the face.”

“It runs through Iggy’s back yard, right?” she asked.

“Ya,” I nodded, “ and then deep into the woods, but the path the water takes flattens out and gets wider.”

“How far did you guys go?” she grew more interested.

“Far enough to find a bunch of toys set up in the middle of the woods,” I replied without missing a beat. She chuckled until she saw the look on my face wasn’t changing.

“Wait. You’re serious?” she studied me.

“We eventually came across some old railroad tracks laying over the stream,” I motioned with my hands, “and then a little further off into a clearing was a bunch of old action figures from The Chain. It started raining so we took off.” Just as I finished speaking, the sky opened up and it began pouring again. “This seems to be a theme with us,” I joked, “Come on!” I led her into my open garage where we walked into the house and down the stairs to the basement.

“What do you think was going on?” she took a seat across from me at the bar.

“I don’t know,” I shook my head, “maybe some kids got into their parent’s attic or maybe someone never got tired of playing with their toys. There’s a lot of collectors out there our age that still get really into it.”

“Are you going back?” she asked

“I don’t really want to,” I said, “to be honest, it kind of messed with me.”

“Why?” she looked at me curiously.

“I don’t know. I can’t really explain it,” I gazed out the window, “I just got a really weird feeling while I was there. A mix of nostalgia and some kind of sadness.” Neither of us said anything for a moment before Bekki suddenly changed the subject.

“I’ve been reading your friend’s book,” she said.

“Really?” I acted interested. I still wasn’t ready to invest much time or emotion into the topic of my friend, but I could tell she wanted to discuss the book. “What’d you think so far?”

“I love it,” she said before I had hardly even finished asking, “It’s actually kind of blowing my mind.”

“In what way?” I sat up a little.

“I thought I knew every conspiracy,” she explained, “but he’s got me looking into things that are in the book that I didn’t know about.”

“He knew a lot,” I confirmed, “I couldn’t keep up with him when he talked about that kind of stuff. It overwhelmed me.”

“Oh it’s overwhelming for sure,” she agreed, “but it’s all relevant.”

“Relevant to what?” I asked.

“Everything,” she answered, “The end.”

“The end of what?” I looked at her funny, “The world?”

“Ya,” she laughed, “It’s all building towards something. You just have to pay attention. Once you know, you can’t unknow.”

“Know what?” I became more and more confused by the way she was speaking.

“I can’t tell you,” she smiled, “It isn’t that easy. You have to find out for yourself in your own way.”

“Will you touch on it in your conspiracy streams from the Grubby’s Private Bar account,” I asked.

“If I’m talking conspiracies, there’s no way I CAN’T touch on it,” she smiled even bigger. Somehow, I understood what she meant by that. I told her I was going to make some coffee and asked her if she wanted some, and for the remainder of the evening we sat casually discussing a myriad of basic conspiracy theories.

A few nights later, Carter convinced Bekki to do another conspiracy related stream. She had enjoyed the one prior and been encouraged by the interaction and feedback. It went down pretty much the same, but with twice as many viewers and interactions. When it was over, the three of us sat around and discussed making it a bi-weekly event in the basement. As it had incidentally fell once more on a Sunday, we decided that Sunday nights were prime for availability and audience. Carter suggested we come up with a name so that it could be branded and marketable. His thought was if it became popular enough, people might want to wear it on a shirt or a coffee mug. Once he mentioned the coffee mug, Bekki mentioned how her and I had sat at the bar drinking coffee and talking conspiracy theories earlier in the week. As Carter listened to us recall the occasion, he thought that the whole format sounded perfect. Bekki and I could sit behind the bar sipping coffee while casually discussing conspiracies. Given that I knew very little about them, I would ask the questions that most other people watching with limited exposure might ask. Bekki would then answer the questions and elaborate on them if she felt it was necessary. In between my own questions or Bekki’s explanations, I would look at the live feed on my phone and repeat the viewers comments and questions for Bekki to respond to in real time. When Carter asked what we were going to call the reoccurring stream, Bekki already had a name ready for him. “Coffee and Conspiracies.”

[authorbrandondion]

Chapter 9 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Audible!

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Chapter 9 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Apple Podcasts!

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Chapter 9 of "Grubby's Private Bar" is now up for free on Spotify!

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Grubby's Private Bar

Chapter 9

“Where’s Iggy been?” Gabe asked as a few of us sat casually around the bar late one afternoon.

“He was here last week,” Carter replied, “I streamed him and Grubby playing a few Call Vert covers.” I looked over at Bekki who had been sitting on the couch messing around on her phone. She looked up at me and I remembered our conversation about Iggy’s addiction issues.

“He goes in cycles,” I chimed in, “Sometimes he withdraws for a few days.”

“I’ve got our next band lined up,” Carter said slapping his hands down on the bar to draw attention to himself, “and I have the tickets.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a guitar pick. It was a dull gold made of cheap plastic.

“That’s sick!” Gabe said picking it up and inspecting it.

“Well if it gets a stamp of approval that quick from Gabe that quick, it must be pretty awesome,” Bekki said jumping up and rushing over to the bar. “Oh wow…,” she said leaning against Gabe, “Carter…well done!” I took it from Gabe and looked it over myself. On one side were the words “Grubby’s Private Bar” in old western font and on the backside was the name of the PeerPub account. They were right. It was cool.

“How many?” I handed it back to Gabe.

“Well, I figured none of us in the cul de sac needed one so that eliminates nine. There’s three in the band, so we’ll need one for each of them. Unless you disagree, I thought we could start off trying about twenty people down here for a show,” Carter suggested, “After that, we can adjust one way or another. So we’ll need eleven picks in total for this particular show. We’ll give the band eight to hand out as they see fit.” Bekki nodded excitedly.

“Three in the band?” I asked, “Is it the guys that were here for the Grainleg show?”

“Moon Farm,” Carter nodded, “They are spectacular. I’ve listened to them online. They haven’t recorded anything professionally, but they have some rough demos up.”

“They were nice when Iggy introduced me to them,” I said letting him know I was open to the arrangement, “as long as the bar doesn’t look like it did after the last time they were here and left.”

“It won’t,” Carter laughed, “I got this. I’ll work the door and everything.”

“I didn’t know there was a manager position open,” Gabe slid the pick back across the bar to Carter, “Or a bouncer position. What if I was interested?”

“They don’t pay,” Carter informed him, “At least not yet.”

“Then screw that,” Gabe sneered, “I don’t work for free.”

“You mean you don’t work at all,” Bekki interjected, “I know people that have worked with you.”

“Oh really,” Gabe got defensive. Carter laughed nervously and leaned back in anticipation of a heated exchange.

“Just playin!” she said nudging him. He gave her a look and went back to messing around on his phone.

“Hey,” Carter said pointing at Bekki, “I had an idea I wanted to run by you.”

“I love your ideas,” she plopped down at the bar, “Shoot!”

“What if we created a reoccurring segment on the Grubby’s Private Bar PeerPub account for conspiracy theories?” he looked at her intently. She stared back at him blankly. “Hear me out,” he continued, “Before that segment expired of you talking about the bog, it had been viewed thousands of times and had over a thousand comments and reactions.”

“I know,” she nodded, “I got notifications constantly.”

“In views and interactions, it was more popular than anything we’ve done down here yet…on any account, save for the Grainleg performance. And your video had a lot to do with that,” he explained, “so honestly, it was probably the best thing that’s been recorded down here.”

“So you want me to talk about a bunch of people being killers in an area small enough that they’re for sure going to see it?” she scowled at him.

“No, not at all,” Carter shook his head, “I mean unless you want to. I was just thinking about conspiracies in general. I know you know a lot about them and people love that stuff. A bunch of the comments on your video weren’t even about the bog. They were about different conspiracies in general.” Bekki’s face relaxed a little as she waited for him to continue. “I was thinking we could do like a weekly or bi-weekly stream where you pick a topic, or you let the viewers pick a topic, and then you give an overview. When you’re done, people can ask questions or make comments.”

“That sounds terrifying,” she immediately replied, “I’m not a professor and most of that stuff is speculation anyway.”

“Approach it casually then,” I jumped in, “Don’t come at it like a lecture, just talk about it lightheartedly. Not like you’re trying to convince them of anything.” Bekki processed it before starting to shake her head.

“Just think about it,” Carter insisted, “I think you’d kill it and have fun doing it.”

“I agree,” I smiled. She remained silent.

“Just think about it,” Carter said again, “Ok?” Bekki nodded slowly but kept looking at him in a way that let him know she wasn’t fond of the idea.

“Earthquake just killed upwards of 45,000 people,” Gabe said abruptly while staring at his phone.

“Are you serious?” Carter asked, “Where?”

“45,000?” Bekki repeated in horror, “I can’t even wrap my brain around that.” Before anyone could say anything else, a screeching noise began emanating from outside. They all looked at each other curiously as I jumped up and flung the door open. Looking around and listening, it became apparent that it was coming from the neighbor’s house across the back yard.

“What the hell is that?” Gabe pushed his way past me and stood on the edge of the patio. Carter slipped through the gap between me and the doorway and joined Gabe in trying to figure it out.

“Sounds like a guitar,” Bekki said still sitting at the bar. After giving it a closer listen, I realized she was right.

“Glad it’s your neighbor and not mine,” Gabe exclaimed, “cause if that happened often or late, I’d be paying them a visit.” With that, he left up the side of the house to go home.

“I’m out too buddy,” Carter said patting me on the shoulder and following him, “I’ll catch ya later.” After he disappeared around the corner, I stood there inspecting the neighbor’s house and listening to the guitar. There were no accompanying instruments or even a cohesive musical structure. It sounded like someone had just decided to pick up an unfamiliar instrument and go as hard as they could.

“Maybe they’re trying to get even,” Bekki laughed as she stepped out to join me, “or now we know where Iggy’s been spending his extra time.” I chuckled without facing her.

“I get such a weird vibe from them,” I said in a contemplative manner.

“The neighbors?” Bekki motioned in their direction. I nodded. “Why?” she asked, “In all the times I’ve been here I’ve never seen or heard anything over there.”

“I don’t know,” I shook my head, “It’s more like a feeling. Sometimes it’s so strong it’s almost tangible. Like there’s someone watching.””

“But you can’t see them?” she clarified.

“No,” I replied, “I can just sense them.” Bekki remained silent, waiting for me to elaborate.

“For what?” she asked, “Why would they be watching you? I’m not questioning you. You’re probably right. I’m just trying to understand.”

“I have no idea,” I answered, “but it feels sinister. Like they’re lurking.”

“Huh,” she said thoughtfully. The two of us stood there looking in that direction as the sun was making its final descent. The resulting colors were dramatic, and the longer we stood there, the more it felt like we were in a movie scene. Eventually the guitar stopped and the all-encompassing orange hue of the sunset was magnified by the now eerie absence of any semblance of noise. “Maybe they’re hiding something,” Bekki broke the silence. I turned to face her. “I mean you have a direct line of site into their backyard,” she nodded towards it, “Maybe they’re worried you’re going to see something.”

“Well at one point I thought I did,” I interjected, “Someone was out there digging one night but Gabe pointed out they’re just building a yard barn.”

“That thing?” she asked pointing at the top of the still unfinished structure. I nodded. “They already have a huge one over there,” she said moving her finger to single out another much larger building on the opposite side of their yard. As I inspected it, I realized she was right. They already had a large storage unit. “They must be hoarders or something,” she mused, “Have you ever seen them go in or out of it?”

“No,” I shook my head, “I’ve never even seen them period. Just silhouettes or glimpses.”

“Really?” she leaned up on her tip toes to get a better look over the fence, “That’s odd.”

“I guess we just aren’t out at the same time,” I followed suit, “They’re mostly active at night it seems. There’s been a couple times someone started to come out while I was looking over there, but I moved before they caught me staring.”

“Huh,” she lowered herself again, “we’ll have to keep an eye on it. How long have they been working on that other structure?”

“Several weeks at least,” I replied. Bekki didn’t say anything else. She just thought quietly to herself for a minute before saying she needed to go tend to stuff around her house.

A few nights later most of us were hanging out in the basement when Carter decided to get Bekki going on conspiracy theories. It was a Sunday, so we were all lounging around watching TV or scrolling on our phones. Carter brought up a topic that wasn’t politically charged or contentious, and Bekki bit hook, line and sinker with a lengthy yet entertaining explanation. This particular topic took many turns and went down numerous rabbit holes, but in her mind, they all led to the same place. Sacred knowledge. At one point, Bekki got up and began using the chalkboard wall to draw a map, creating a chronology of events and writing down main points that she wanted to connect. All of us sitting across from her at the bar were mesmerized by the content and how well she articulated it. We asked difficult questions and she answered each one of them effectively. It was the most in her element I had seen her up to that point. When we had no further questions, we began applauding as she took a bow. Grabbing a drink from the fridge under the bar, she sat back down in front of the chalk diagrams on the wall behind her. We were having various conversations about it when Cassie slid the door open and walked in.

“Hey!” Bekki welcomed her, “No Noah?”

“He’s playing with his toys,” she said with an annoyed face.

“Cool,” Bekki replied, “What’s going on?” Noah and Cassie didn’t come over near as much as everyone else in the cul de sac, but it was even rarer that Cassie came alone or instead of Noah.

“I was watching the stream,” Cassie explained, “that was freaking awesome. I want to hear more!” It was quiet for a moment as we all looked around at each other.

“Guilty,” Carter finally said holding his phone up, “I have an admission to make. I streamed that whole thing you just did on the chalkboard. I wanted you to see how popular you would be on the PeerPub account…and I was right. There’s a ton of interactions.” We all turned to watch Bekki’s reaction, expecting it to be severe. She glared at him.

“I know,” she finally smiled and took a drink.

“You do?” he asked.

“You’re terrible at being sneaky,” she said, “Your posture was a dead giveaway. Plus the fact that I get a notification when the Grubby’s Private Bar account goes live.”

“And you went through with it anyway?” Carter rested back.

“It’s a lighthearted topic,” she replied whimsically, “and an extremely fascinating one.”

“That it is,” Cassie interjected, “And like I said, I want to hear more!”

“Have a seat!” Bekki pointed at an open chair.

“Can I?” Carter held his phone up.

“Are we taking questions from viewers this time?” Bekki asked.

“Only if you want,” Carter replied.

“Let’s go!” she positioned herself comfortably.

As Carter went live, Bekki started explaining to the viewers that the conversation had extended beyond what was streamed, and that she wanted to give everyone a chance to ask more questions or express themselves on the topic. It was an immediate hit. Once in a while someone would comment about the bog or a different conspiracy, but Bekki did good to stay on the original topic. Occasionally she would open the door to the possibility of more conspiracy related conversations in the future, and at one point even began making a list of things people wanted to hear about as they threw them out.

After a while, everyone in the bar was ready to go home so Bekki wrapped it up. Carter shut it off and he and Bekki began discussing the potential of doing it again in the near future

Bekki was the last person to leave, and as I walked her out, she paused just outside the back door and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled through her nose and smiled.

“I love this time of year,” she whispered before opening her eyes and looking off into the darkness.

“Me too,” I smiled. The smell of dry leaves and burning wood were heavy in the air. It was hard to tell which direction the smoke was coming from, but it could easily have been all of them. I was watching Bekki take it in when at once the peaceful evening was interrupted by a wailing siren.

“What’s that?” she jerked around.

“I think it’s a tornado siren,” I answered. I looked around trying to decide which direction it was coming from as the wind started to pick up. It was already dark out and there was no way to tell what the sky might be threatening. In addition, if there was lightning or any other indicator, it was hidden by trees or houses. My house alone blocked the entire southern sky from our view. “Let’s go inside,” I said, “I’ll see if there are any warnings out.” She nodded and followed me back in.

As we took a seat at the bar, I pulled my phone out and began looking at weather conditions and forecasts. There was indeed a tornado watch for our area. Bekki took me up on my offer to ride it out in the bar, primarily because it was a walkout basement and protected on most sides by the ground. Neither one of us had been aware that there was going to be inclement weather that night, and it caught us both off guard. Nonetheless, we passed the time with talking and laughter until all the warnings had been lifted by the weather service. It had rained while we were inside, but mostly just a light drizzle. When it seemed to have let up, I escorted her out of the basement again.

“Is there water streaming down there right now?” she motioned towards the ravine.

“Not like there was last time,” I took a couple steps towards it, “but I’m sure there’s some.” Immediately she hopped down to the bridge and walked out onto the middle of it.

“I can’t really see anything,” she said pulling her phone out and turning her flashlight on, “it’s too dark.” I stood on the edge of the patio watching as she fumbled around with it. Leaning down, she held it out through the wooden bars of the railing to get a better look. Tilting it down towards the area directly in front of her, it slipped out of her hands and into the mud and jagged rocks beneath. “Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed.

“Hang tight,” I said hustling to the edge of the property, “I’ll get it.” Beside my yard barn was the most conducive spot to descend into the ravine. It was about twenty feet down from the bridge, but any closer would prove more difficult. One wrong step could cause someone to lose their footing and slide straight down. It wouldn’t be fatal, but there were definitely some painful obstacles to land on that could result in a sprained muscle or broken bone.

“Are you sure?” she asked, “You don’t have to. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s all good,” I reassured her, “I can already see the light from here.”

As I stepped down into the bottom of the ravine, I could feel puddles of water overtaking my feet. Immediately they soaked through my shoe. I wasn’t overly fond of being down there in the dark, so I attempted to hustle towards her phone without slipping on a rock and rolling my ankle. When I got to her phone, I reached down and picked it up out of a small puddle of water.

“Here,” she said reaching through the wooden rails on the bridge. I handed it to her and then quickly turned to make my way back out. Stopping myself, I remembered that the area where I descended was easier to get down than up. On the other side of the bridge, however, was an area full of large roots and a retaining wall that I could pull myself up and out on. “Do you need light?” Bekki asked as I turned back and ducked under the bridge.

“Sure,” I said without stopping to wait. I had just reached up and grabbed the first thing my hand landed on when Bekki’s light reached me.

“There’s someone down there!” she yelled. At the same time, whatever I was holding onto began moving. I realized at that point it was an ankle. Holding on for dear life, I began pulling on it. The harder I tugged the harder they kicked. I clawed at the ground while the individual fought with all of their might to free themselves and get out of the ravine. Kicking like a mule, they struck me in the face several times. As the struggle continued, we found ourselves up a few feet. Realizing that if I fell I wasn’t going to land on my feet, I let go of the ground and grabbed on to the leg with both of my hands. I had decided that if I was going down, they were coming with me. This caused the individual to buck even harder. The pain to my face was becoming too great and I could feel my grip beginning to slip. I had swung into a mid-sized tree to my left several times, and in a leap of faith, decided to reach out to grab it. The bottom of the tree branched out into two trunks near the bottom, and as I pulled myself over and onto it, I wedge myself between them for a moment seeking relief. Once I did, the individual began scrambling frantically to get out of the ravine. Realizing the bridge was relatively close, I grabbed the top of the railing and used it as additional support. Eventually I let go of the tree and clung to the bridge until I could begin pulling myself out. By the time I did, the individual was out of the ravine. I leapt up the stairs past Bekki and sprinted to the far corner of the house. Making my way up the side, there was no sign of anyone. No car speeding away or anything. It was silent and still. Resting my hands on my knees, I leaned over to catch my breath.

“Are you ok?” Bekki came flying up and knelt down beside me. I nodded my head, unable to speak. “Who the hell was that?” She asked standing up and looking off down the road that led into our cul de sac. She walked slowly up to the front of the house and scanned the area while I finished catching my breathe. “What do you think they were doing?” she asked when I was finally able to join her.

“No idea,” I placed my hands on my hips, “someone stalking us?”

“From the ravine?” she gave me a puzzled look.

“I don’t know,” I shook my head, “maybe because they were outside and it’s a safer place to be during tornado weather?” Bekki was looking in my direction, but not directly at me. She was in her head processing the situation. “Pretty messed up,” I said. Bekki nodded slowly before snapping back out of it. “Did you get a look at their face?” I asked.

“No,” she said, “My light wasn’t strong enough from that distance. Plus they had a hood on.”

“They can kick like hell,” I put my hand up to my mouth.

“You’re bleeding,” she wiped my bottom lip with her thumb, “maybe you should go to the hospital.”

“No, I’m fine,” I said, “just sore and a little out of breath.”

“What if they come back?” she expressed concerned.

“I don’t think they will,” I looked off in the direction they ran, “I don’t believe they intended to be seen or have a physical altercation. If so, they probably wouldn’t have been down in the ravine. It could’ve just been a kid messing around that thought they’d get in trouble if they got caught. That ravine runs down and through a lot of other people’s properties.”

“You sure?” she said, “I have a spare room you can sleep in.”

“Nah, I’m ok,” I smiled, “Are you scared? Do you want someone around?”

“No, not at all. Just worried about you,” she replied, “You have mud all over you.”

“I’m fine. I really am,” I wiped my face, “but I’ll walk you home.”

“Ok,” she placed her arm under mine as we made our way across the front yard.

I didn’t have any trouble sleeping that night, but a couple beers helped. I fell asleep in the basement with the lights on, and my last thought before drifting off was of buying a motion light for the back of the house.