Station, стр. 1

STATION

JARRETT BRANDON EARLY

Registration Number: TXu 2-168-544

www.jarrettbrandonearly.com

www.stationthenovel.com

Publisher’s Note: This is a work offiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product ofthe author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimesused for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people,living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions,or locales is completely coincidental.

Book Cover by Particular

Map by Jarrett BrandonEarly

Station / Jarrett Brandon Early –SMASHWORDS EDITION

ISBN: 978-1-7342314-1-0 (eBook)

Dedicatedto:

My father, Timothy Jon Early, who taught me that thedreamer doesn’t have to wake, but he has to get his shit done.

My mother, Maureen Brearton Early, who keeps thedreamer from flying off into space.

To the Reader

Firstand foremost, thanks so much for taking the time to give Station achance. I tried to create a different reading experience; hence,Station is a very specific book that will appeal to a very specificaudience. Understanding this, I am even more appreciative of yourvaluable time.

Music played a significant role in the creation ofStation, from envisioning the world and story to crafting the moodto, ultimately, putting the actual text on the page. As much asmusic affected the writing, I would also like it to enrich yourreading experience. Therefore, I have carefully put together anovel “soundtrack” to accompany the text. This soundtrack not onlyrepresents the music I was listening to when I wrote Station, butalso creates an atmospheric backdrop to accentuate certain sectionsand chapters. You can listen to the songs prior to reading, as youread the book, or even after you finish a scene.

On my website (found below), you will find theStation soundtrack and those of future books in the series. Forthose who use Spotify, there is a Spotify playlist to facilitatelistening. For those who don’t want to sign up for Spotify, I havealso included YouTube links to each song, organized by chapter andchapter section. I hope you enjoy listening and reading. Thanksagain!

www.jarrettbrandonearly.com/station-soundtrack

Table of Contents

Map

Prologue

PART ONE: A City Called Station

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

PART TWO: A Desire Called Revenge

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

PART THREE: An Inevitability Called the Fall

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

About the Author

Map

PROLOGUE

The melancholy sounds of Peter Gabriel's "I Grieve"began to fade into the background as alcohol and pills, finishingtheir seductive dance, took giant steps forward. Consciousness gaveground as both breathing and heart rate commenced with inevitabledeclines. Fear receded as a calm acceptance took hold.

Minutes later, he felt as if he could fit a symphonybetween heartbeats. Each slow breath contained a complete requiem.The music was beautiful and intoxicating. And then both pieces fellsilent.

And Marlin Hadder died.

Upon his death, Hadder felt a light fall over him,lifting him through and above the encroaching darkness. Up he went,surrounded by the warmth of a thousand familiar hugs, coming torest on a soft canvas that caressed his feet like a lover'stouch.

An iridescent figure approached, tall and powerful,and painfully beautiful. It looked down at Hadder and presented anhonest smile before offering its hand. Hadder looked down at theperfect hand and wanted nothing more than to take it, to kiss itand hold it tightly, begging it to lead him on and promising tofollow. These are the things that Hadder wanted to do.

But he found he could not, not with the Rage thatremained, buried deep within him, bubbling to the surface at thismost inopportune time. Instead, inexplicably and reflexively,Hadder punched out at the entity, catching it in the neck. Its handfell slowly as smile faded into frown, confusion and sadnessfalling over it like a shroud. The two stood motionless and staredat each other, the guilt of one reflecting the sorrow of the other.And may have remained like that for eternity.

A cackling laughter cut into the moment, however,emanating from all around, echoing in Hadder's soul. All went red.And Hadder fell back to earth, a silent scream marking his descent,ending in heartbeats and deep inhalations.

PART ONE:

A City Called Station

CHAPTER 1

The bar called Station was a shit hole. To call itunremarkable would be a misuse of the word, as one would certainlyoffer remarks upon visiting the place. Dirt and grime caked the fewwindows of the small building, forcing one to view theestablishment through the filter of a brown lens. Wooden tables andchairs littered the room in varying degrees of disrepair, manyserving no use other than as an instrument to bludgeon your fellowman.

The neighborhood bar and grill it was not. Insteadof kitsch posters and antiques, torn pages of Barely Legal litteredthe walls, girls' eyes poked out alongside hand-drawn dialoguebubbles that presented the reader with a myriad of sinisterrequests.

The actual bar at which Hadder sat was an island ofangrily carved words and phrases, a sanctuary for splinters lyingin wait for an unwary hand. Every move elicited a wooden moanaccompanied by the odor of rot. The beer that had been given toHadder was warm and lonely, with no condensation to keep it companyand no mouth in a rush to welcome it.

In short, there was plenty to remark about in thebar called Station. Marlin Hadder, however, paid attention to noneof these details, any one of which would have been rich fodder forlater conversations.

Instead, Hadder was entirely focused on theknifepoint dancing dangerously close to his left eye. The blade wasbeing brandished by the white-bearded barkeep whose gas stationshirt identified his name as Shirley and whose trucker hatidentified him as a fan of Dr. Hook.

Uncomfortable seconds passed as the two held eyesacross the desecrated wooden divider. Finally, silence hangingheavy and taut, threatening to suffocate, Hadder decided that hemust give voice to his concern.

"What