Let the Music Play, Epilogue

[Bondwriter]

..........First CJ admits to using cliffhangers, then his Shadowyness admits to 'tampering' with LTMP chapters!! What's next, you guys going to appear on Oprah?

I'd rather have them on the Jerry Springer show, provided this still exists...

[shadowgod]

BONDWRITER!!!!! you missed the perfect opportunity to use

[Bondwriter]

BONDWRITER!!!!! you missed the perfect opportunity to use

Yeah, well, you're quite right. I'm not too big on smilies...

[C James]

I'll reply to the rest later (I'm working today), but ever since chapter 47 posted I've been itching to comment on that hospital scene..

 

Guess what? Seriously, I didn't write that., Shadowgod did. What he actually wrote was;

 

Matt always hated these places. the tile walls, tile floors, the flowers and the consuming quiet. Above all else was the death, always there just beyond the bright and clean surface was death masked and sterilized.

 

He sent that to me during LiS, when he was considering the final scenes. I fiddled with the wording a little back then, and it stuck in my memory. That scene never made it into LiS, but I loved the concept (describing it so it could be either a hospital or funeral home). And, as I'd already become soft-hearted and decided to save Helen, it (both the wording and the concept) fit perfectly, and a quick search of my g-mail turned up that year-old e-mail . I did ask for, and receive, his permission to use it, so I re-wrote it and it became;

 

Eric had always hated these grim edifices, with their somber airs of fear, grief, and mourning permeating every aspect of the place. The flowers, the austere pillars, hallowed names engraved in endless rows, and above all else, always there, lurking just beyond the carefully projected bright and clean surface, was death, masked and sterilized.

 

So, you see, this is truly all Shadowgod's doing. It was EEEVIL in both concept and execution, and as with all evil in any form, it stems from the Shady One. Now, in light of this revalation, surely y'all can see that Shadowgod deserves to have his throne back?

 

As for the words themselves, to me they fit a hospital; the greif, fear, and mourning, the flowers, and the doctor's names in endless rows, and definitely the lurking specter of death. And, um, "masked and steralized" sure seemed like a doctor in a gauze mask.

 

As for Helen... She did die; she arrived with no pulse. People do survive wounds like that, it just depends on how severe the bleeding is. She had a chance.

 

To be honest, in the original epilogue, written alongside chapter one, it was Barbra who urged Brandon and Chase to go forth, in Helen's memory, and come out. Helen didn't survive in that version. However, I changed it, for two reasons. One, I'd grown to like her and I'm soft-hearted, but more to the point, when I wrote the original epilogue, I had no idea Eric would be as popular as he's become (he grew on me, too), so I had no notion of a sequel focused on Eric. I needed Helen for the sequel, so, she managed to survive.

 

CJ

[shadowgod]

just one caveat oh great GOAT.

 

I decided not to push that off on poor unsuspecting readers So, while I may have come up with the concept, I never put it to use

[Bondwriter]

As for the words themselves, to me they fit a hospital; the grief, fear, and mourning, the flowers, and the doctor's names in endless rows, and definitely the lurking specter of death. And, um, "masked and sterilized" sure seemed like a doctor in a gauze mask.

"doctor's names" become "hallowed names"????? I'd say you tweaked a delicate, dainty description of a poor guy going into a hospital to visit his boyfriend --recklessly endangered and thrown into a coma by a wicked author-- into a super-misleading piece. I'm still not convinced. I'll throw my sleuths on Jerry's trail at least; I'm sure there's a clue under the shape of a comma somewhere indicating that no, after all, he survived a bomb that went off 1 and a 1/2 feet from his face, and the ensuing fire. Indeed. Right. As if.

One, I'd grown to like her and I'm soft-hearted,

My diagnosis prior to the epilogue. A goat who plays with machine guns but sheds a tear over his umpteenth reread of Music is the Soul of Love. (Notice how the first name Barbra is subtly altered to make a reference to one of CJ's great influences) Well, at least this time you don't commiserate over the fate of a low-life scum to the point of letting him walk away uninjured.

[Benji]

just one caveat oh great GOAT.

 

I decided not to push that off on poor unsuspecting readers So, while I may have come up with the concept, I never put it to use

 

 

.......So the accomplice has already abandoned ship eh?

[shadowgod]

Nope, just stating and clarifying the facts before the goat can skew and twist them to his nefarious means. In spite of all he tries to blame me for, I still wuv him.

 

 

Strictly platonic of course... goats just don't fire my engines, sadly.

[Lissa]

An amazing story! You have me addicted. I'm not usually patient enough to follow stories not yet completed. This one, however, kept me on the edge the entire time. I can't wait to see what you write next. Excellent job! Lissa

[Low Flyer]

It's been a long haul, but it was worth every minute of it.

 

Fabulous character development, edge of the seat tension, and a good, happy ending. What more could you want?

 

CJ is one seriously talented writer. How on earth does he find the time?

 

LF

[Phantom]

CJ, I cried, I laughed, I cursed your use of Cliffies, and Shadowgods evilness used at certain points, but I loved this series. I'm glad that I got to read it and see that

Chase and Brandon are happy and going to get married!

 

Also, please don't make anymore evil eric's (I gotta reputation to protect ) lol

 

Amazing job and looking forward to your next series

[Dr. John NYC]

C James has released the Epilogue to Let the Music Play.

 

It appears CJ has had enough of the "?" business.

 

Hooray,

Brandon & Chase are going to get married

! I was sad to see the end coming on the story, CJ, but was delighted to see this ending -- and perhaps even more delighted to see that there will be a sequel. I have to admit, I wasn't ready to give up these characters.

 

Thanks for a riveting story!

 

John

[jfalkon]

Amazing ending!!! CJ, you are the man! (the goat?) That was awsome. I'm looking forward to your next story.

[D and B]

Brilliant job, CJ!! I encountered this story at the "perfect time" -- just after Chapter 46 was posted, so I could read most of it straight through and then wait on tenterhooks for the two concluding episodes. I loved how you combined so many plot elements into one story -- Brandon's initial disbelief in his good fortune, the Brandon/Chase "courtship dance," making Eric and Helen integral parts of the story rather than supporting cast, Jerry's comeuppance as a result of his own character faults.... And precisely the right ending -- in character and the perfect denouement to the story! Wonderful!

[wildone]

Thanks CJ ,

 

 

What a fitting end to the story (or is it really the end ?)

 

The epilogue ties up the majority of the 25 cliffhangers that I inquired about, but I'll let the unanswered ones slide .

 

I'll admit, when I read the scene with Jon and Eric and the description of where they were with Helen, I immediately felt they were in a hospital and let out a cheer. That was why I was so surprised that the forum started out with everyone commenting on Helen's death. As far as misdirection, I guess you kind of did that with the scene, maybe some of us are onto your ways .

 

As far as Helen not surviving the gunshot, I know that the loss of blood is not the most serious of serious injuries. It is very dangerous, but Helen did not suffer from rupture of a major artery, a bullet through the heart or head, and had someone who knew how to properly treat shock. I do have to say that was great misdirection about the 'former' army medic/biker saying she was a goner. Possibly back in the late sixties and early seventies she would have definitely not made it but luckily with modern medicine and more of a don't give up attitude, many people survive things today that they didn't in the past.

 

I'll comment more on the story later, but just wanted to say it has been a pleasure trying to guess where you were going with this story from the day you posted chapter one. I made many guesses, most of them wrong, but you definitely gave us a story that was well planned, well written, and well done.

 

Take a bow CJ (or do goats curtsy )

 

Steve

[Bondwriter]

I'll admit, when I read the scene with Jon and Eric and the description of where they were with Helen, I immediately felt they were in a hospital and let out a cheer. That was why I was so surprised that the forum started out with everyone commenting on Helen's death. As far as misdirection, I guess you kind of did that with the scene, maybe some of us are onto your ways .

 

As far as Helen not surviving the gunshot, I know that the loss of blood is not the most serious of serious injuries. It is very dangerous, but Helen did not suffer from rupture of a major artery, a bullet through the heart or head, and had someone who knew how to properly treat shock. I do have to say that was great misdirection about the 'former' army medic/biker saying she was a goner. Possibly back in the late sixties and early seventies she would have definitely not made it but luckily with modern medicine and more of a don't give up attitude, many people survive things today that they didn't in the past.

We weren't given any information about the time of arrival of the medics chopper, or not that I remember. Actually, in the movie Three Kings, there's a shot explaining that what's dangerous is having the guts pierced and then the blood poisoned by the bacteria in the digestive system, and that's what causes death. As for massive blood loss, since we have around five liters of blood, if too much is lost then you die. The things you learn in first aid courses is to limit the blood loss as much as possible in case of an injury.

 

Well, after this ghastly paragraph, here is the result of the search my aides performed last night (bold characters mine):

 

Two days later, in a rented warehouse, The Scar began to unpack the container in order to allow their inspection by his two customers, who would be arriving within the hour. They, he assumed, were likely the representatives of a government, though which one he neither knew nor cared. They had expressed an interest in the entire contents, including the bomb designs. The Scar had been more than happy to oblige.

 

Using a forklift, assisted by his one remaining hireling, the former Spetznaz by the name of Yuri who Dimitri had picked to deliver the cameras to the American Embassy in Canberra, The Scar removed the crate containing the lens-grinding equipment that the engineer had crated back in Toowoomba .

 

With the mention of Jerry, Eric scowled.

[wildone]

So, we've got four people in the warehouse, and only three sets of remains. Who do you think escaped? What is not totally clear (to me) is whether the third set merely consists in this arm that's Jerry's (unless of course the DNA found in Jerry's house was Yuri's...) I'd say yes, the scenario hence being that Yuri cut his arm to remove him from the debris. In case the DNA is Yuri's, then Jerry ripped off his own arm after having suffered from the blast, and while being in a fire. Such a feat would make him a likely candidate to being the villain for a few more stories. He can escape from a submarine 30,000 feet underwater, jump from the top of the Empire State Building or get shot by thirty or forty bullets and go on performing his life of crime, I guess.

 

I was thinking the same thing. So I got my 3 best associates (me, myself and I ) to do some digging. Back just before they detonated the bomb in Australia this was said:

 

Dimitri told The Scar,

[Bondwriter]

So once again, through misdirection, can anyone argue that CJ has given us one heck of a final cliffhanger . I don't think anyone can say for sure if J/S is alive or dead.

I doubt Yuri is the one who survived (but two people might have survived, the Scar losing one limb in the process...) So I'd say for sure J/S is alive. But is a disfigured one-arm guy a worthy villain for the next adventure?

He is also out of money. And so much for strangling people with his garroting wire... I hope CJ gets a good sidekick/ henchman to our villain so he may pull out plots that endanger Instinct and give us thrills...

[wildone]

A one armed man that is a criminal and kills???

 

Who would be capable of thinking up such an idea

[old bob]

Hi CJ,

It's a long time since I posted a comment to your story. Enough people did it, sometimes with serious comments, sometimes just for fun. What I want to say that I never saw a story provoking so much comments from a lot of different members. I don

[Bondwriter]

A one armed man that is a criminal and kills???

 

Who would be capable of thinking up such an idea

The devil, or some representative of it. Like, a snake, a pentagram or a goat. Ugh! A goat!

I don

[MikeL]

A one armed man that is a criminal and kills???

He will have to change his MO. I don't think the gorrote is going to work for him.

Who would be capable of thinking up such an idea

CJ, of course.

[Benji]

 

 

...........A one armed killer?? Hahahha!! I can see this story coming in, Yuri? I had forgotten about him. So our 'resident goat' has left a cliffhanger? How unlike him So if the Scar lives, (and sounds like he will definately live up to his name) Yuri rescues Scar? Wasn't there 3 sets of remains and Jerry's arm? Unless there was a 5th person in the warehouse, Yuri is dead. (But so was Helen )

[Conner]

 

The Goat Sub-Committee is preparing a suitable award for this superb story. It will, of course, be made of paper mache and hay, suitable for eating. As all awards should be.

 

Conner

[BlueSoxSWJ]

So why isn't chapter 1 of the sequel posted yet?