2 years ago from the present day…

Ray Smith and Cole Muir were driving down the road inside a Jeep Compass with a Tennessee license plate. Ray was 29, wearing wire-framed glasses and a full, thick auburn beard. Cole had a thin but neatly styled mustache and was 28. Both of them had been friends since high school.

“My gas light just came on,” Ray said.

“Damn, I don’t see a gas station anywhere near here. I feel like it’s been a while since I last saw one,” Cole said.

“Could you check to see where the nearest place is? I’d even be down to stop somewhere to grab some food or maybe a beer.”

“Tryin’ to start drinkin’ already?” Cole snickered.

“Just one beer. It’s been a long week, and I’ve been craving one since the beginnin’ of the day, to be honest.” Ray chuckled. “Sometimes, all you can do is just laugh at everythin’ goin’ on. I can’t believe my dad is practically in a nursin’ home already.”

“Yeah, man, it really sucks, but at least your mom and sister are there to look after him. They even told you to focus on our weekend, and I agree. We’ve wanted to do this trip for a little while. We’re gonna have a blast. It’s our first time in Chicago, and Ronnie will make it a legendary weekend. And if you wanna stop off to get some gas and grab a beer somewhere, I’m all in. You want to drink more than one beer and need me to drive? Let’s do it. Whatever you need. I know things have been tough lately, but we can focus on the good and just take a break from everythin’.”

Ray stared ahead at the road and nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate that a lot.” Without wanting to think about it more, Ray said, “Could you find the nearest gas station? Look it up on your phone or somethin’?”

“Of course.” Cole pulled out his phone and searched nearby for a gas station. “It looks like there’s a cool town called Wilton not too far from us. The gas is pretty cheap, and we can probably hit up a bar. Looks like there’s a little downtown area.”

“Let’s check it out,” Ray said.

Driving into Wilton, they stopped off at a gas station. Four pumps stood available, no one was in the lot, but there was a car parked next to the mart inside.

Ray went to the first pump, and it was out of order. He grumbled to himself as he moved his car to the next pump. It looked active, but he had to pay cash inside.

“Good thing I went to the ATM before this trip,” Ray said.

“Dude, you always have to travel with cash going on vacation. Goin’ into crowded bars, you need to get out of there ASAP. You get the bill, and you can slap down the right amount of cash, tip included, and you’re outta there in no time,” Cole said.

“I’m gonna be right back.” Ray went inside the mart and paid the gentleman at the cash register.

“Could I get a pack of Marlboro reds, please?” Ray asked.

The man behind the register pulled out a pack of cigarettes and placed it on the counter. “Could I see your ID?”

“Makin’ me feel young again.” Ray laughed. He wondered if the cashier noticed his beard at all or the slight wrinkles on his forehead. Whatever the matter, Ray took it as a compliment.

The man stared at it for a few seconds longer than Ray expected.

“Traveling from Tennessee, eh? Visiting family?”

“No, all my family is back in Tennessee. I’m just travelin’ through, and we needed some gas.”

“You should stop by somewhere in town and grab a bite to eat. Everyone that’s ever visited Wilton has loved it. We’re sort of a hidden gem.”

Ray smiled. “Yeah, I believe it. I probably will stop by a bar or somethin’.”

“You can’t go wrong with any of the places here.”

“Thanks. Any recommendations?”

“Big Henry’s, the Painted Goose, or if you’re just looking for a bite to eat, Buckwheat’s is a nice place.”

“I appreciate that, thanks. Have a good one, sir.”

The cashier smiled and nodded.

Walking back outside, Ray took a moment to admire the view of downtown Wilton and the river at the edge. Within walking distance, Ray saw the smooth silver diner: Buckwheat’s. He thought about just getting a bite to eat, but the idea of drinking a potent craft beer was too enticing. While Ray filled up his gas tank, Cole turned around and looked at him.

“Hey man, I found a pretty cool bar nearby. Apparently, they have a ton of craft beer. You in?”

“Hell yeah,” Ray said, followed by a short laugh of excitement.

“Dude, I think you’re gonna love this place. Apparently, we have to do public parking, but it’s a short walk.”

“Fine by me. I’d like to stretch my legs out anyways. What’s the name of the bar?” Ray repeated the three recommendations from the attendant in his head.

“It’s called the Painted Goose.”

“Say no more.” Ray grinned.

After the tank filled up, Ray returned to the driver’s seat, and both of them navigated to the nearest parking lot.

They parked at the edge of the park next to the river. The only thing separating them from the water was a neatly manicured grass field and a wooden railing. Stepping outside the car, they marveled at the water sitting below the sunset sky before moving towards the Painted Goose.

“Wow, this little town has more than I expected,” Cole said.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful. The friendliest guy was workin’ the register back at the gas station too.”

Cole led the way to the Painted Goose. They approached a brick building with a painted sign above the entrance. Walking inside, the place was crowded, but there were two empty spots at the corner of the bar. On the right side was a painted mural of a goose with paisley and psychedelic design. Ray and Cole stared at everything in awe. They sat down at the bar and looked at the wall of vinyl records.

Music from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Clash, Grateful Dead, Nirvana, David Bowie, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Joni Mitchell, St. Vincent, and Miles Davis were just some of the ones on display. The record playing through the speakers was Johnny Cash performing at the Folsom Prison.

A bartender wearing a plaid button-up and slightly baggy jeans with a white towel sticking out of his back pocket approached Cole and Ray. “What can I get you guys to drink?”

“What’s the strongest beer you got?” Ray asked and smirked.

“The Dragon’s Milk.”

“I’ll take that.”

“And surprise me with your favorite wheat ale on tap,” Cole said.

“Sure thing, can I see your guys’ IDs real quick?”

“Absolutely.” Ray pulled out his ID, and so did Cole. They flashed them at the bartender, and he smiled and nodded. “I’ll have those right up for you. Since you guys aren’t from here, we do this thing where you can play vinyl records of your choosing for $15 for the whole bar to hear. At the moment, we have a queue of two other albums, but depending on how long you’re staying, you might want to pick a record. I tell it to everyone in case they’re interested.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’d actually like to play the Nirvana Unplugged album.” Ray pulled out $15.

“Excellent choice. I’ll add it to the queue.”

Cole stared at Ray with wide eyes.

“Why are you lookin’ at me like that?” Ray asked.

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“How long are we gonna stay here, man? I thought we just said we were going to do one beer?”

“Really? Back at the car, you told me you were down for whatever. If I wanted more, you said you’d be down to drive.”

“I mean, it’s fine, dude, I really don’t mind. But back when we were talking in the car, you made it sound like we were only gonna have one drink.”

“Sorry, I definitely felt that at the time, but this place is just way too cool to only have one beer and leave. Not only that, look at some of the women here. They’re insanely beautiful.”

Cole noticed that when they stepped inside, but Cole scanned the bar again and confirmed Ray’s observation. The women at the establishment were indeed beautiful. Not wanting to be a creep, he kept to himself, and so did Ray.

“All right, man. We’re on vacation. I’m down to follow your lead. Anything to help you bounce back.”

“It’s not me who needs to bounce back. I just need everything else in my life to bounce back.” Ray said and chuckled.

Cole was relieved that Ray could see some humor during his rough period.

“I’ll be a lot better if you think you can be a wingman and get me a girl’s phone number from here,” Ray said.

“If you wanna buy my drinks for the entire weekend, I might consider it,” Cole said, and both of them shared a laugh.

The bartender dropped off their drinks. Cole and Ray sat and talked, and then they ordered another round. Cole still had a decent amount of his beer left, but Ray had a small tulip glass which he finished in no time. They received their second beer and then walked towards the pool table. There was already a game going on, but both of them didn’t mind waiting until they finished up. While they stood at a tall table beside the pool game, both of them surveyed the bar.

“Wow, I don’t know what’s going on but this woman sittin' at the bar by herself in the black dress is hypnotically beautiful,” Cole said.

“Not so fast, bro. Looks like she’s with a guy,” Ray said.

A man walking around the bar in a slim suit and intense blue eyes sat next to the woman Cole was checking out.

“Ah, it wasn’t meant to be,” Cole said. He gave one last look at the woman and then at the guy in the suit. Cole’s blood ran cold.

The man took a sip of a short cocktail glass while glaring at Cole.

Cole turned around and focused on the pool game in front of them. “Holy hell, did you see that guy?”

Ray casually turned around as well. “Yeah, he’s still lookin’ over at us.”

“No, man, he was givin’ me a stink eye for checking out his girlfriend.”

“Don’t worry about it; we can take him. He’s a scrawny, squirrelly lookin’ fella.”

“Yeah, but what if he’s a psycho and has a knife or a gun on him?”

“Okay, it’s not gonna get that crazy. Relax.” Ray laughed dryly.

“You never know, dude. People are crazy. He might kill a man for her honor.”

“All right, I tell ya what. If I turn around and he’s still starin’ at you, he’s a murderer.” Ray smirked and glanced over his shoulder. His lips curved down. “Shit, man, he’s still lookin’ at us.”

“You’re joking!” Cole whispered. Panic rose in his chest.

“I wish I was. Take a peek yourself.”

“Goddammit. He’s probably one of those overprotective guys who snaps at everyone. I barely even looked at her!”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Just take a small glance behind me. Look at the wall of albums; you’ll be able to see him.”

Cole turned around and focused on the wall of records, but he glanced at the man in the suit, and he was still staring at Cole.

Cole spun back around. “Dammit. I just made eye contact with him again. Dude, I’m starting to think, after this beer, we need to get outta here.”

“Come on, dude. It’ll be okay. We at least have to stick around to listen to the vinyl I picked. I don’t want that $15 to go to waste.”

“I’ll pay you $15 just so we can get the hell outta here.”

“Just so you guys know, we’re done playing for the night in case you wanted to get in next,” one of the guys at the pool table said. He handed over the pool cues to Ray and Cole.

“It’s okay, man, just don’t look over there and focus on the game. We haven’t done anything wrong. There are plenty of people around too; he’s not going to try anything crazy,” Ray said.

Cole took a deep breath and nodded. Ray collected the pool balls into the triangular frame and set them near the end of the table.

“I’ll let you break first,” Ray said.

“Thanks.” Cole lined up his shot and aimed the pool cue as if it was a precise surgery. Before he hit the white ball, he looked up and saw the man in the suit approaching him with a devilish grin.

Cole dropped the pool cue and backed away from the table.

“What’s the matter, dude? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Ray said. He turned around, and the man in the suit had approached the pool table.

“Gentlemen, how are we this fine evening?” The man in the suit had a raspy and jittery quality to his voice.

“Pretty good, man. How are you?” Ray said. “That’s a nice suit you got there.”

“Thank you.” His face lit up. “I always want to dress to impress. You never know who you are going to meet and where you’re going to meet them. And you also never know when you might have to strike up a deal.”

“Lots of good deals can be made in bar bathrooms.” Ray joked.

The man in the suit chuckled, and Cole smiled.

“Now, look, gentlemen. I don’t have a deal to strike up with you, but I do believe it’s important to make good first impressions, and I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I like to introduce myself. My name is Mickey.”

“Hey Mickey, I’m Ray. This is my friend, Cole.”

“It’s a sincere pleasure to meet both of you.” Mickey bowed his head and smiled. “All right, now that we have introductions out of the way, you’re probably wondering why I came over here. Well, I was sitting with my friend here and noticed you were checking her out.”

“I’m really sorry about that,” Cole said, cutting off Mickey from talking.

Mickey snickered. “I really don’t mind. I was trying to see if I knew you two from somewhere. This is one of my favorite bars in town, and I feel like I usually see the same familiar faces, you know, since this is a bit of a local watering hole. Although it does feature some guests from time to time, ya know, with its wall of records attraction. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a warm welcome to Wilton, Indiana, and also mention something else to you.”

Ray and Cole exchanged a glance but nodded at Mickey.

“The friend I’m with, she’s beautiful, yeah? Same with some of the other women here, you agree?”

“Sure,” Ray said.

“Let me let you in on a little secret. They’re just waiting until the doors open up for a club nearby, and then they’ll all be heading over. Would you two be interested in going? I help manage the place, and I’d be able to get you in no problem.”

Ray and Cole looked at each other with a slight smirk.

“Maybe. We were actually gonna be heading out soon after my album played,” Ray said.

“I understand. But this club is one of the best ones I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to places in New York and LA. This place here is a hidden gem. It’s whispered about through the east coast and west coast. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”

“What’s it doing here in the middle of nowhere?” Cole asked and chuckled.

“That, my friends, is a good question for the owner.”

“But you can get us in, and we could be hanging out with all of these beautiful women here?” Ray asked.

“Absolutely. We’ll all be going over there soon. This place is like a little pre-party before the real party begins. And I know these ladies rather well and believe me, they love meeting people from out of town. There’s a lot to talk about. And with your southern accent, they’ll go absolutely wild.”

“What time will everyone be heading over there?”

“This place will clear out 10 minutes before 9:00 PM. That way, everyone will have enough time to walk over there for doors to open.”

Ray looked at Cole and back at Mickey. “I’ll tell ya what, if everyone leaves this place at the time you said, we’ll check it out. We’ll stop in and have a drink.”

“Trust me, this place is a favorite amongst everyone. You’re not going to want to leave after just one drink.”

“We’ll check it out for just one drink,” Ray said and smiled.

“You’re welcome to stay longer if you’d like. But watch, at 8:50, maybe even a few minutes before, people are going to leave to go to the club. You just walk out these doors, head left, and keep walking until you see the old train depot building. And you can’t miss the neon blue sign either: Club Novus.” Mickey winked at both of them and walked away from the pool table.

“What the hell was that all about?” Ray said.

“Your guess is as good as mine. That guy was weird. I have no idea what to think,” Cole said.

“I’m serious though, if he’s right about all the women leaving, I want to at least check it out. See where the night takes us, have a little pre-adventure before we go to Chicago.”

“Hey, man, as long as you’re smilin’ and happy, that’s all I care about.”

Cole and Ray continued playing their game of pool, and after they finished, they put the pool cues against the wall.

“All right, my vinyl is going to play next. We got about 10 minutes to burn, wanna rip a dart out back?” Ray said.

“Absolutely,” Cole said.

They went to the back of the bar and down a narrow hallway leading to a patio. Outside, there was a backyard and a fence around it. It was hot and muggy. Only one other person was outside smoking. Cole and Ray lit up a cigarette and stared at the vast field in front of them.

“Are we really about to go to this club?” Cole asked.

Ray shrugged. “I mean, I’ve never really gone to a legitimate club. Unless you count some of the bars in Nashville, but that doesn’t really feel like a city club, you know what I mean? We may as well check it out and see what it’s like. It’ll be a story to take back home with us.”

“All right, man, I trust your judgment.”

Both of them continued smoking their cigarette and looked out at the vast field in front of them. The other person outside finished smoking their cigarette and walked into the bar. Ray and Cole were the only ones left.

Cole looked more to the left and jumped. There was a bearded man behind the chain-link fence. It was hard to see his face with little light, but his face had some grime on it, and his beard and hair looked unwashed and disheveled.

“You two should go back home immediately,” the stranger said with a deep gravelly voice.

“Is that guy talkin’ to us?” Cole asked.

“Go. Back. Home. Leave this town while you still can.”

“Let’s go back inside. I’m basically done with this cig anyways.” Ray put out his cigarette, and Cole did the same. They went back inside the bar.

“What do you think that guy was goin’ on about?” Cole asked.

“I don’t know. He was probably a homeless guy whose got mental health issues. I tried to tune him out as best as I could.”

“He said to go back home. Like, back to Tennessee?” Cole said and chuckled at the absurdity.

“You’re overthinking it. It was creepy, though, seein’ that guy appear outta nowhere.” Ray felt a chill run up his spine.

They went back inside the bar, and each ordered another beer. Ray’s record came on, Kurt Cobain’s rugged voice came through the speakers, and they played another game of pool. As the album came to an end, it was a few minutes before 8:50. Ray watched the time on his phone, and as soon as it struck 8:50, he looked up. People at the bar left in droves.

“Wow, that Mickey guy was right. There’s still a decent crowd here, but there’s plenty of open space now,” Ray said.

Cole finished his beer. “All right, man, let’s see what Club Novus is all about then, huh.”

They brought their empty glasses to the bar and exited through the main doors. They looked to the left, down the stretch of road, a bridge going over the river and to the old train depot. A three-story brick building with a bright blue neon sign above the entrance.

CLUB NOVUS.

They approached the bouncer and were let inside. The last thing either of them remembered was getting through the main door. The rest of the night blurred together like a fuzzy convoluted dream.

Ray’s car was still in the public parking lot the following morning. It stayed there until it got towed over the weekend, and no one ever came to claim it.