For The Love

[shadowgod]

my work here is done

 

*removes hand*

 

anybody got a tissue??

[Benji]

my work here is done

 

*removes hand*

 

anybody got a tissue??

 

 

CJ your horns are really starting to look pointier (is that a word?)..thanks for the new mystery and cliff hanger. Who the hell is that savior? Better not be Eric, I had plans for him LOL

[wildone]

Yesssssss!!!!

 

CJ, you have made my day

 

The clues are in the story!!! I feel so good, so happy, so relieved.

 

Since Bondwriter and Ieshwar have started the discussion, I will ask these two questions of everyone:

 

First, the mystery male in the mine shaft.

Whispering, a male voice said, "The sheriff must have the handcuff keys. I'll pick the lock."

Who, I ask, is capable of picking the lock of handcuffs? Who has got out of multiple situations by supposedly being slimey, sneaky, and underhanded? Could it be the true hero of the story?

 

Wait, there is the second question, and possibly the second hero of the story.

The crashing rapport of the gunshot ripped through me, fast-forwarded my world; my vision shifting, my heart shattering as I caught one last fleeting glimpse of Steve's body, covered with fresh blood and gore, tumbling lifelessly to the barren desert dirt.

and previously

Chad jumped in the back, crouching behind the seat with the shotgun, Steve clambering in on the passenger side seat with Betty's SKS. I jumped in, calling out to Betty, "We can't all go, there's no room. Stay here and answer the phone. I've got my cell on, so call if there's any news."

. Now does Betty seem like the type of gal to sit around and idly wait for the phone to ring??

 

So once again CJ, Thank you very much!!!

 

Steve

 

P.S If I'm wrong, which I have been, then everything that LOst Cause said, ditto!

[wildone]

my work here is done

 

*removes hand*

 

anybody got a tissue??

 

 

And since you're to blame for everything.........

 

Thanks Steve!!

 

Steve

Edited August 7, 2007 by wildone

[Jack Scribe]

*removes hand* anybody got a tissue??

Goodness...a horny, sex-crazed advisor/beta reader?

 

Thanks for the clues, Ieshwar. So the mystery man in the cave must be Eric? How else would a guard still be at the entrance? At the end of Chapter 37, we know blood and guts are flying...but whose? I assume that We'll find that Eric shoots the Piedmont sheriff (his uncle?) to save his brother? I can just hear Eric say, "The devil made me do it," when asked about 37 chapters of misdeeds.

 

I hope Chris has Blue Cross for all his bang-ups.

 

The real challenge is to see how CJ ends the story (Chapter 38?) and manages to use a cliffhanger.

 

Jack

[Bondwriter]

Who, I ask, is capable of picking the lock of handcuffs? Who has got out of multiple situations by supposedly being slimey, sneaky, and underhanded? Could it be the true hero of the story?

Well, for your information, I know guys who are:

• smart
  
• cute
  
• with very good social skills
  
• athletic and great soccer players
  
• honest
  
• overall super likable
  
• very gay
  

and who can get out of any handcuffs you put them in. One of my characters is an escape artist, who is also a real kid hero as you don't get to see many anymore.

So comparing them with the piece of dirt, fundie's spawn you try to defend is an insult. Implying that to manage this trick, you need to be slimey, sneaky, and underhanded is an outrage, actually one more from the pro-Ericcers. Of course, clues may lead to Eric being the rescuer, but it could be another one of CJ's trick, and the rescuer could turn out to be some unknown pizza boy from Piedmont who worked with Veronica. Or the renegade Jacobs, who sees his interest in actually calling the State Police and putting down the embarrassing sheriff? Lots of possibilities still open. We're dealing with a goat here.

[Meeko]

my work here is done

 

*removes hand*

 

anybody got a tissue??

 

Ohhh and Shadowgod, please don't get any idea's from the evil CJ when writing chap 28, that i'm still waiting for mind you!!!!

 

*Taps foot impaiently......*

 

<3 -LC

[C James]

My sincere apologies to those I didn't reply to: All jokes aside, I can't comment on plot points, especially at this stage of the story.

 

CJ, that

[TalonRider]

Right, I didn't think about this mysterious rescuer as the shooter, but it's as likely as Betty for this possible feat. Eric? Kind of clich

[Graeme]

Unless C James is an absolute bastard (always a possibility -- he likes Eric, after all), then the ending of that chapter is just misdirection. He's done something similar before, I'm sure, though I can't remember exactly when.

 

Steve slumping lifeless is really Steve unconscious. The impression I had was that he wasn't conscious in the first place, or barely so.

 

The gunshot is the shot that either killed the Sheriff or injured him enough for him to let go of Steve. Who is the mystery shooter? I don't know, though there are certainly a few possibilities. I don't think it's Eric -- I would be surprised if he was that good a shot, to start with. Now, if whoever released Chris also released at least one other person, then that opens up a lot of possibilities.

 

The situation with Jacob surprised me. I didn't think police officers would normally be that easily corrupted. However, there was a hint in the previous chapter -- how could the sheriff (in his phone call) be so sure that there was only one deputy available? He obviously had inside information as to the health of the other deputies (he may have known that they were sick, but he couldn't be sure they were still off work unless he had a source).

 

Time to go back to sleep until next week....

[Conner]

Goodness...a horny, sex-crazed advisor/beta reader?

 

The real challenge is to see how CJ ends the story (Chapter 38?) and manages to use a cliffhanger.

 

Jack

 

Seriously, Jack, that was a truly great line!

 

I give it 3 loud and healthy guffaws.

 

Conner

[EMoe57]

The real challenge is to see how CJ ends the story (Chapter 38?) and manages to use a cliffhanger.

But that's a contradiction. How can you end a story but leave it hanging?

[Benji]

But that's a contradiction. How can you end a story but leave it hanging?

 

 

....I'm thinking the Piedmont Police department isn't asleep at all, sure they have been pretty inept in this series. But with all the talk of ongoing investigations, the FBI and all, surely some under cover operation had to have been in place!!

[Jack Scribe]

But that's a contradiction. How can you end a story but leave it hanging?

I was actually offering large portions of tongue in cheek due to CJ's propensity to keep the reader hanging...on occasion.

 

Seriously, the ultimate cliffhanger at the end of a story just occurred on HBO this summer. In the series finale of The Sopranos, it leaves the Soprano family eating dinner at a restaurant waiting on Meadow to arrive, only to have various people in the restaurant looking suspicious, it 'cuts to black'. It was brilliantly spoofed in a political commercial shortly afterwards by Hillary and Bill.

 

Jack

[Conner]

I was actually offering large portions of tongue in cheek due to CJ's propensity to keep the reader hanging...on occasion.

 

 

Jack

I call it friendly sarcasm with a light touch of kind irreverence. My absolute favourite kind of humour.

 

Conner

[EMoe57]

I was actually offering large portions of tongue in cheek due to CJ's propensity to keep the reader hanging...on occasion.

As was I, Jack, as was I...

 

I call it friendly sarcasm with a light touch of kind irreverence. My absolute favourite kind of humour.

Me too!

[Graeme]

....I'm thinking the Piedmont Police department isn't asleep at all, sure they have been pretty inept in this series. But with all the talk of ongoing investigations, the FBI and all, surely some under cover operation had to have been in place!!

Thanks, Benji! I had forgotten that the FBI is involved. It is possible, even likely, that the mystery person who released Chris is an FBI agent. That makes a lot more sense than it being Eric. I noticed the "pick the lock" comment -- while Eric has shown an admirable range of skills, for him to be an expert lockpicker would just be too much....

[C James]

I was actually offering large portions of tongue in cheek due to CJ's propensity to keep the reader hanging...on occasion.

 

Seriously, the ultimate cliffhanger at the end of a story just occurred on HBO this summer. In the series finale of The Sopranos, it leaves the Soprano family eating dinner at a restaurant waiting on Meadow to arrive, only to have various people in the restaurant looking suspicious, it 'cuts to black'. It was brilliantly spoofed in a political commercial shortly afterwards by Hillary and Bill.

Jack

 

What? Me? Would I ever do such a thing as use a cliffhanger?

 

As for the Sopranos ending, I don't think that's something I'd wish to emulate; most everyone I've heard comment hated it.

 

Thanks, Benji! I had forgotten that the FBI is involved. It is possible, even likely, that the mystery person who released Chris is an FBI agent. That makes a lot more sense than it being Eric. I noticed the "pick the lock" comment -- while Eric has shown an admirable range of skills, for him to be an expert lockpicker would just be too much....

 

Now, what can I say about this... Ummm.. Well, nothing until 38 and the epilogue come out.

 

I just wanted to say that I can't say much of anything about the story until 38 and the Epilogue are online. I also want to say that I very much appreciate all the speculation and comments; they are great! Thanks you all!!!!

 

FTL 38 and the epilogue will be posted together.

 

Thanks everyone!!! You're great!

[Ieshwar]

Thanks everyone!!! You're great!

 

Hmm, thanks but if you don't save Chris, Steve and their friends, you won't be feeling great!

 

Ieshwar

[C James]

Hmm, thanks but if you don't save Chris, Steve and their friends, you won't be feeling great!

 

Ieshwar

 

Ack!!!! But, but, please remember, this is all Shadowgod's fault! So therefor, all threats should, in fairness, be directed at him.

[jfalkon]

Here's one thing that I keep wondering about: where are the hostages? Are they realy at the site? Does the sherif have all of them? Only one of them could be heard screaming over the phone. Could one of them have gotten free and released Chris?

 

The idea that Eric shot the sherif is plausible. He could have seen his people digging themseves deeper and deeper and decided to switch sides. I'm sure he only cares about himself but saving Steve could have served a purpose. What that could be I'm not sure yet. Anyway, he is a selfish SOB.

[wildone]

Here's one thing that I keep wondering about: where are the hostages? Are they realy at the site? Does the sherif have all of them? Only one of them could be heard screaming over the phone. Could one of them have gotten free and released Chris?

 

Nodding to another man, the one standing over Dex and Chad, the sheriff barked an order. "Take those two into the storage building. We'll have computer boy show us the data, and keep his pal handy so we'll have someone to shoot, just in case he needs a little extra motivation

 

I'm guessing that the Sheriff Buchanan, Sheriff Williams, Veronica, Chad and Dex are all in the storage building. I don't believe that any of them escaped and got past everyone outside and into the mineshaft.

 

I will still go with that the mystery person is Eric and that he was in the mine shaft all the time hiding. He heard the Sheriff revel his plot to Chris, and was now understanding that maybe he wasn't part of the little gang that he thought he was. The sheriff took credit for doughnuts, he came up with the plan to kill off all the captives and the story to follow up.

 

If it was Eric, he heard this:

The feeling of shock from the betrayal by a man whose life I'd helped save must have shown on my face, because the sheriff laughed, "I'll bet you thought it was Thaddeus or my damn nephew who doctored the donuts at Reverend Mike's picnic, huh

 

And he also heard this:

The sheriff laughed, "Not half as bad as he's gonna be. Once I've got the data, I sure don't need any of you, and judging by your response I'll have good news here real soon."

 

So, maybe Eric realizes that his position to the Sheriff is nothing more than the "damn nephew" and that he wouldn't be needed anymore as well. I think that would be motivation to act.

 

Steve

[Benji]

I'm guessing that the Sheriff Buchanan, Sheriff Williams, Veronica, Chad and Dex are all in the storage building. I don't believe that any of them escaped and got past everyone outside and into the mineshaft.

 

I will still go with that the mystery person is Eric and that he was in the mine shaft all the time hiding. He heard the Sheriff revel his plot to Chris, and was now understanding that maybe he wasn't part of the little gang that he thought he was. The sheriff took credit for doughnuts, he came up with the plan to kill off all the captives and the story to follow up.

 

If it was Eric, he heard this:

 

 

And he also heard this:

 

 

So, maybe Eric realizes that his position to the Sheriff is nothing more than the "damn nephew" and that he wouldn't be needed anymore as well. I think that would be motivation to act.

 

Steve

 

........I don't think for a minute Eric is going to save anyones ass except his own, after all he is still wanted for attempted murder on his own, if he did over hear this, he hi-tailed out of there. I'm sure the FBI infiltrated this gang, and the savior was that gay agent.

[EMoe57]

I'm sure the FBI infiltrated this gang, and the savior was that gay agent.

This gets my vote!

[Graeme]

This gets my vote!

Since you're CJ's editor, and since the last chapter is due to go up next week, I'm assuming that you've seen the last chapter already....

 

So, would you care to clarify if this was your vote for what you believe has happened, or for what you wished had happened (since I'm guessing you already know the answer as to what CJ has written)?