36. Week 36 - Fiddle and Burn, Vol. 1 - The Adventures of Coyote Man

Fiddle and Burn

Week 36

Impossible Dreams Part 17

Episode 1

Halt, villain!

Donald Lamont yells.

Every head in the conference room snaps toward him.

Know that you face

Coyote Man!

Oh, no! Lucy says.

She runs out to the hallway.

Mark looks at Lamont.

Uncle Donald, what are you...

I will not let you trigger the illusion ray from your satellite

and plunge the country into chaos!

Lamont runs to the podium and begins to pummel Mark with his fists.

His blows are weak and ineffective.

Uncle Donald! Mark shouts, backing away.

Have you gone insane?

Powell runs behind Lamont.

Look!

Coyote Man, stop!

He yells.

Don't, don't, don't worry about him.

We have to, um, uh, disable the triggering mechanism.

Lamont stares at Mark and then turns to Powell.

You're right, pan boy!

He looks at the podium where a small panel of buttons has been fastened.

If we can separate the control board from its mounting

and completely destroy it,

there will be no way to trigger the illusion ray

or steer the guidance system.

The satellite will plunge to Earth,

and the danger will pass!

He begins to pull at the panel.

Cover me while I pulverize this wretched mechanism!

Lucy runs back into the room,

followed by Philip and Dr. Saren.

Philip looks at Lamont and then turns toward Dr. Saren.

Should I?

He asks.

Dr. Saren nods.

Administer the tranquilizer.

Philip pulls out a syringe and runs toward the podium.

No!

Powell yells.

S-s-stay away from him!

He thrusts himself between Philip and Lamont.

Philip grabs his shoulder and effortlessly shoves him away.

Powell falls back and his head hits the floor hard.

Lamont strains at the control panel and it snaps off the podium.

He loses his balance and tumbles to the ground.

Philip leans down next to him.

He grips Lamont's arm and holds it in place.

The panel slips from Lamont's hand.

He struggles to pull.

The panel slips from Lamont's hand and pulls away from Philip.

Must destroy controls!

He mumbles.

He tries to grab the panel with his free arm,

but it slides to a stop a few feet out of his reach.

Powell pulls himself to his feet.

Through a haze of pain,

he watches as Philip tears open Lamont's jacket and shirt

and steadies the syringe.

The End

Episode 2

Lamont stretches forward his arm.

Must reach paddle, he says through gritted teeth.

He twists and strains and his face begins to turn bright red.

Suddenly, he screams in pain.

His free hand clutches his chest.

Powell rushes toward him.

Philip loosens his grip and stares at him, uncertain.

Lamont's body convulses on the floor,

and he groans.

Bad boy!

Lamont shouts in a broken voice.

Bad boy!

Powell leans down next to him.

I'm here, coyote man.

Being hit by some sort of energy beam,

Lamont mumbles.

The pain! Unbearable!

You have to destroy the control panel!

Cripple the satellite!

Lucy stares in horror

as Dr. Saren runs up to him.

He looks up to Lamont and feels his pulse.

This man is having a heart attack, he yells.

Somebody call an ambulance, quickly!

Powell steps to the panel.

He picks his foot up and stamps down on it hard.

It smashes into pieces.

It's... it's destroyed, coyote man, he says.

The... the satellite will burn up in the atmosphere without hurting anybody.

Lamont nods.

He looks at Mark, who stands several feet away.

And he grins through the pain.

You've lost, Michael, he says.

I've beaten you, at last!

He turns back toward Powell.

Take... take the talisman!

Powell stares at him.

Do it, Lamont insists.

Take it and put it on yourself!

Powell pulls the necklace and fang from around Lamont's neck.

He says.

Carry on my work, son, Lamont says.

Promise me.

There must always be a coyote man.

Powell slowly nods and puts on the necklace.

I... I... I promise, sir.

Lamont smiles.

His body convulses fiercely.

Then it relaxes.

Dr. Saren leans down and feels Lamont's wrist.

He frowns and holds his palm in front of Lamont's mouth.

He pushes down hard on the old man's chest several times and then tries once more to find a pulse.

After a moment, he stands up and shakes his head.

He looks at Lucy.

I'm sorry, he says.

I'm afraid he's gone.

Lucy screams and runs to Lamont.

She cradles his head in her hands and begins to sob.

Powell turns away.

He runs his finger along the fang that hangs from his neck.

And his eyes begin to tear.

Episode 3

Powell walks through a cemetery parking lot toward his rented car.

Lucy, clothed in a black dress, runs up behind him.

Powell, she calls.

Powell, please, slow down.

Powell stops and turns toward her.

What do you want?

Lucy looks at him.

The service was very moving, wasn't it?

Powell shrugs.

Why are you shutting me out?

Lucy asks.

Why won't you talk to me?

I don't think we have anything to talk about.

How can you say that?

I thought we meant something to each other.

I thought so too.

But you lied to me.

And now your father is dead.

That's not my fault.

I just wanted to send him someplace where he could be cared for.

I didn't want this to happen.

Powell shrugs.

Like I said, we don't have anything to talk about.

You don't understand.

You're all I have left.

My cousin.

He...

The voting for CEO was never officially closed.

He got to Myrna before I could.

She was only supporting me because of my father's recommendation.

Once she saw...

Sir Daddy's mental state,

Mark convinced her to back him.

He won the vote, 51 to 49.

She looks down.

I can't go back there.

I won't work for Mark.

I won't.

I resign my position.

She takes Powell's hand.

And now Daddy is gone.

I don't know what to do.

I need you.

Please don't leave me.

Powell pulls his arm away.

You were using me before.

And now you want to use me again.

You don't care about me at all.

You don't care about anyone.

He walks up to his car and opens the door.

People are just like tools on a shelf to you.

You take advantage of them to do your jobs.

And then you throw them away when you're done.

He gets into his car.

Well, not me.

Not anymore.

Goodbye, Lucy.

She stares at him.

You bastard.

You stuttering wimp.

You'll never find a girl who's half the woman I am, you neurotic little geek.

She turns and storms away.

After a moment, she looks back.

Go to hell, she yells.

She turns again and continues back toward the cemetery field.

Powell watches until she disappears from view.

Then he shakes his head.

He closes the car door and pulls out of the parking lot.

It's time to go home.

Episode 4

Harry sits in his office and talks with Powell.

I was able to get the revision of your Coyote Man article into the new issue before it went to press, he says.

It wasn't easy, but it's worth it.

That's hot stuff.

Powell nods.

Um, it finally has the right ending now.

Lamont was something.

It's too bad.

He looks at Powell.

I know he meant a lot to you.

I'm sorry.

No, don't be.

He, Mr. Lamont, he passed away, but he died the way he would have wanted to.

As a superhero.

Harry glances at the display case full of action figures on the wall and then turns back toward Powell.

Powell walks to the window and looks out.

If Lucy had gotten her way, he...

He would have been shipped to Sleepy Meadows and they would have...

They would have drugged him up and shoved him on a couch in front of the TV.

And he would have...

He would have sat there for twenty years.

But this way...

He...

He went down fighting.

And he...

He defeated his archenemy's greatest plot.

He saved the country from the illusion ray satellite.

But that was all imaginary, Harry says.

It doesn't matter.

It...

It was real to him.

He shakes his head.

They didn't get it at that time.

They didn't get it at that funeral either.

I...

I listened to all those speeches.

It was like they were talking about a completely different person.

And that tombstone, just this...

This generic piece of crap.

None of them knew...

None of them knew Mr. Lamont at all.

None of them understood.

I...

I don't think anyone does.

Harry looks at him.

Then he opens a drawer in his desk.

I spoke to Tommy the Tinkerer again.

Gave him another full page ad in exchange for some custom action figures.

He pulls out two small dolls and hands them to Powell.

Check them out!

Powell examines them.

One figure brandishes a frying pan and wears a mask that spells out the letters P and B.

The other, larger one, swings a wrench high above its head.

Its face is covered with a dog-like mask and a flimsy cape flows behind its body.

On its chest is emblazoned a large letter C.

Powell stares at Harry.

These are...

These are wonderful.

Harry walks over to the display case and Powell follows.

I prepared a place of honor, Harry says.

Top shelf, right between Superman and Batman.

Go on, put him in.

Powell carefully places the figures.

He looks at Harry and grins.

Don't worry about any useless funeral or idiotic tombstone, kid.

Harry points to the case.

This is all the monument Coyote Man needs.

Episode 5

The Adventures of Coyote Man

Coyote Man and Panboy in The End

Powell stands in front of a mirror in his home wearing the Coyote Man uniform.

Around his neck hangs a gleaming fang.

The mystical talisman.

He reaches for the Coyote mask and prepares to pull it on.

Suddenly, the room fills with a thick fog.

Do not act rashly, young one.

The choice you make now sets the path for the rest of your life.

Powell looks around the room.

Who said that? he demands.

The fog clears,

revealing a wrinkled, dark-skinned old man who wears a simple, feathered headdress.

I am he who first bestowed the great talisman upon Donald Lamont.

The shaman!

The old man nods.

Is it truly your wish to become the new Coyote Man?

I have to.

I promised Mr. Lamont I'd carry on his mission.

Powell holds up the fang.

He gave this to me.

But was it his to give?

Donald Lamont was a worthy avatar.

But what you now wear around your neck?

He was only loaned.

I don't understand.

Throughout history, in one form or another,

there have been many who have taken up the role you now contemplate.

In the annals of time, there will surely be many more.

You must ask yourself now,

is it your destiny to be one of them?

Powell looks at the mask.

How can I know?

The shaman glances around the room and picks up a coffee mug.

When you look at this,

do you see a simple cup or do you see a gleaming, jewel-encrusted grail?

He points to the television.

Is that an ordinary entertainment device

or is it a gateway into another dimension?

He steps to Powell and pinches his arm.

Is your skin soft flesh

or is it solid and invulnerable as iron?

He steps back.

How you answer those questions determines

whether you have been touched by the spirit of the coyote.

Powell stares at him and rubs his arm.

He looks around the room.

After a moment, he takes off the talisman

and holds it out in his open palm.

The shaman nods.

You are brave and resourceful,

but your destiny lies elsewhere.

He takes the talisman and the room begins to fog again.

For a time, the world of the senses must now hold sway.

But one day, when the burden becomes too great,

when the men and the women and the children cry out for a dream,

when that which is overwhelms and smothers that which should be,

the fog thickens and the old man is completely hidden.

On that day, Coyote Man will return.

The fog clears.

Powell is alone.

Fiddle and Burn was written and performed by me, Jason Pomerantz.

And so we've come to the end of Volume 1.

I'm going to catch my breath for a few months and then I'll be back.

I'd like to thank the fine people at PatioBooks.com

for giving me a great platform to tell my stories.

I'd also like to thank everyone who's stayed with me listening for this long.

I hope you enjoyed it.

If you'd like to see some other stories,

if you'd like to see some other stuff I'm involved with,

please visit my website at www.fiddleandburn.com.

And of course, you can always write me at jason at fiddleandburn.com.

I'd love to hear from you.

Come back soon for Volume 2, The Serial Killers.

Bye!