The following is what I am dubbing a “Read & Play” piece of fiction. I have no idea who else is doing this on the internet, but I certainly am taking credit for not getting the idea from that person! Anyway, if you like the idea, let me know, and, next time, I might even spend some time on the writing!

How to Navigate a “Read & Play”:

Step 1: Press “Play”

Step 2: Start Reading at a casual pace (ie. feel the groove, baby!)

Step 3: Repeat
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THE REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF:

A Blue Play Button plays a musical underscore. Allow the music to finish before clicking the next Blue Button.

A Purple Play Button plays a sound effect. Click on a Purple Play Button whenever you come to one in the text. These effects play over the score.

Enjoy!

Marty Channeling was overwhelmed by the pungent smell of lilac perfume, a smell that conjured memories as uncomfortable as they were pleasant. Marty had spent time in upscale brothels like the Tigress before, but this night was different, emotions thickened the perfumed air, making it harder to breath. He walked slowly through the entranceway into the small empty waiting area. He was a muscular man with a square jaw and a salt and pepper head of hair, which he hid - as he always did - under a jet-black fedora that looked at least as old as the man himself. He was 40; it was his birthday.

Sarah Walker was no ordinary call girl. She was by all accounts the cat’s meow. No one was certain exactly how old Sarah was - the best estimates put her at “young and classic”. Marty didn’t know and didn’t care, he just wanted what every other guy fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Sarah wanted: more Sarah. Towering heels never looked so good, in fact nothing Sarah ever put on ever seemed like it had been worn before, as if Sarah had invented style and every one else was just borrowing it for a while. She entered the room.

For a brief moment, Marty wondered if tonight would be his greatest birthday ever.

“Don’t come over here begging me to sooth that frail ego of yours now that your wonder years are over, Mac,” said Sarah in a low melodic voice with just enough scratch to tickle the curiosity of any man listening.

“Honey, we both know you’re too good for that.”

“So, who’d ya roll in for then, hun?” Sarah sauntered deliberately within Marty’s reach, making sure he felt her breathing .

“I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d say hi to a couple old friends, but since none of them seem to be in, I’ll be on my way.”

“You sure are cute when you don’t know what to say.”

Between the pervasive lilac fragrance, his nerves, and the intoxication of being so close to Sarah, Marty questioned whether he was about to wake up from an infuriatingly pleasurable dream. He stammered:

“Well… uh…”

“You know, we have a two-for-one special for Birthday boys.”

Marty braced himself for the moment where he was to discover the cruel reality of hallucinating all of this from the discomfort of his sofa bed. He balled up both hands in a tightened grip, hoping somehow to hold onto the fantasy longer than his callous imagination might allow.

“Of course, I don’t need to be one of the girls, but I wouldn’t exactly mind it either.”

That was it, he couldn’t possibly take it any longer. No man could. Marty tried collecting himself, but his past raced through his mind. He wanted to take Sarah up on her offer, he didn’t want to think of his past; he wanted so much to be some other man in some other jet-black fedora, but he wasn’t. He was Marty Channeling, and Marty Channeling had questions:

“Sarah… You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?” Sarah nodded her head in an impossibly allowable manner. “I came here tonight because I wanted to ask you a few questions.” Sarah had never kept her clothing on this long before and was genuinely intrigued by the situation. “Do you think we could go somewhere private, just to talk?” Sarah let out a sigh, she recognized the line:

“Mac, I said a special. Not a freebee.”

“I promise, this is on the up and up. There are just a few things that I need to know… that I’ve needed to know for some time now.”

Sarah studied Marty for a moment and then, without turning away, raised her voice just enough to be heard by the hired muscle standing by - within earshot, but out of view: “Victor, my pal… Mac… and I are gonna use room seven for a few minutes. Any longer than that, and you’ll know what to do.” A sound similar to a bear dying emanated from around an obscured bend and filled the waiting area. Marty immediately began having reservations about going anywhere that might eventually lead to meeting the creature that produced the noise.

“Don’t worry, his bark’s louder than his bite.”

“How much louder?” whispered Marty. But by the time he had forced the thought into actual words, Sarah had taken his hand and pulled him halfway down the hall to… lucky room number seven.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2 - The Room