Caroline and the Deserted Town
Written by Mitch
Email: mitch_work1@yahoo.com
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery
Chapters: 3
Summary: What if the Kulawakee Lake dam hadn't broken and the town hadn't washed away? What other reason could there be for the Gazette to drop Caroline's strip?
Author's notes: This story takes place during season 2. I can't take credit for this whole story, several parts are from the "Caroline and the Critics" episode. Characters' thoughts are in italics.
******
Chapter 1
It was another typical workday in Caroline Duffy's loft, which doubled as her office. Richard, her assistant, was working at the partners desk, when Caroline descended the stairs with an over-starched shirt, diverting both of their attention.
"Richard, look how much starch Mr. Lee put in my shirt" Caroline complained. It was so bad, she put the shirt on a chair and it stood up.
Richard asked the obvious question "Why don't you just take it back?"
Caroline, courageous as a mouse, thought of an excuse not to confront Mr. Lee. "No… I could use it for something."
He skeptically asked "Like what?"
Caroline gave the first answer that came into her head. "I dunno… a kite?" she said, as she twirled the shirt over her head.
An exasperated Richard replied "Okay… you're just afraid he'll get upset. You're afraid he won't like you."
Caroline knew he was right, but she didn't want to admit it. Defensively she replied "Nooo, Richard. I don't care if my dry cleaner likes me, anymore than if my bank teller likes me."
Amused, Richard baited her by answering "I don't think she does."
Alarmed, Caroline asked "Why? What have you heard?"
Richard chuckled, his little ruse had worked. "Caroline, you are obsessed with this."
She protested "No I'm not!"
Richard was skeptical. "Yeah, right."
"No! My friends like me. My family likes me. 565 newspapers in America like me."
"Uh, 564" Richard corrected.
"What?!" Caroline exclaimed, surprised.
Richard handed Caroline a fax. "Yeah, this fax came from your syndicator. It says that the Kulawakee Lake Gazette decided to drop your cartoon strip."
"Kulawakee Lake? Where's that?
"Some little town, upstate New York. Probably… six hundred people."
Caroline pretended that she didn't care. "Oh. Well, that's all. Well, that doesn't matter. I've still got hundreds and thousands of readers across the country."
Richard was skeptical. "So, you're perfectly fine with this."
"Absolutely."
"All right then."
As Richard went back to work, Caroline nonchalantly went to the kitchen, picked up the portable phone, and sneaked off to the corner. She dialed the operator, looked around for Richard, and whispered into the phone "Information? I need the area code for Kulawakee Lake."
Knowing Caroline better than she did herself, Richard approached her from behind and handed her a slip of paper. "You are so predictable."
Caroline took the number and dialed. "Maybe that's why they don't like my comic strip." After getting no answer, she became exasperated. "How could the phone at a newspaper be busy?"
Amused by her distress, Richard cracked "Hey, it's Kulawakee Lake. There could be some huge story breaking up there. Like "Brown Bear Steals Pie Off Window Ledge"".
Caroline just HAD to know why anyone would cancel her strip. "Richard, how far a drive is it to Kulawakee Lake?"
"Oh my god." Even Richard hadn't imagined that Caroline would take it this far.
Caroline tried to spin the reason for the trip positively. "No, no, really. I mean, it might be good to get out there and talk to real people. I might be losing touch with my readers." She dialed Kulawakee again and again got a dial tone. Frustrated, she declared "Oh, man! You know what? I'm just gonna rent a car and go up there."
Richard resisted… for awhile. "Alright, have fun."
"You don't wanna come with me?"
"Only if we can drive through flames."
Caroline was determined to go, alone if necessary. "Okay, fine. I'll go by myself. It'll be fun. Spend a little "me" time, with me." And with that, she left.
Richard counted the seconds until Caroline's inevitable return. He knew she needed him, and they both knew he couldn't resist her, though he would make a show of mocking her.
As Caroline opened the door, both she and Richard, in his mocking "Caroline" voice, pleaded plaintively "Please!!!" and off they went.
Road Trip!!
***
After their fifth stop, Caroline was eager to get going again. "Let's hit it, Richard. We're burning daylight."
Indeed, it was getting to be late in the afternoon. Richard turned the key once… twice… and a third time, before the engine finally turned over. Once they hit the road, Richard complained "You know, Caroline, if you didn't have to "go play in the sandbox" so often, this car might run a little smoother. After all, it's about as old as you and I."
"Yeah. But look, we're not breaking down, huh?"
"Not physically, anyway…" he thought to himself.
***
It was almost sunset, Caroline and Richard were still cruising through the upstate New York countryside in the "Richard-mobile", a bright yellow '72 Chevy.
When they had started out, it had been a gorgeous autumn day. As they progressed, however, more and more clouds began appearing in the sky. And not only was the sky turning more ominous, the countryside was also looking more wild. The trip had started out in the bustling metropolis of New York. Once out of the city, they passed through bedroom communities, orchards, then finally the backcountry, punctuated every few minutes by a small town with a gas station and convenience store. Now, there wasn't even that, it seemed like they were alone on the road.
After five minutes of silence, Richard looked over, saw Caroline's eyelids drooping, and smiled.
Caroline just happened to be looking over at him during that instant. "What…?"
Richard chuckled. "I was just thinking… the Apocalypse must really be upon us…Caroline Duffy has finally run out of mindless upbeat chatter."
Caroline objected "My chatter is not mindless… I mean…oh, you know what I mean."
"Take a nap, Sleepyhead. I'm sure you'll need your strength tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Aren't you going door to door to talk to all 600 Kulawakee Lake residents, asking them to sign a petition demanding that the Gazette reinstate "Caroline in the City"?"
Caroline paused for several seconds, seriously considering Richard's idea.
"Oh my god" Richard lamented. "Caroline, I wasn't being serious…"
"Oh, don't worry, Richard. I'm not gonna do that… unless Plan A fails."
"I'm afraid to ask… What's Plan A?"
"I'm gonna find the publisher and charm him into bringing back the strip."
"Ugh, good thing I have my portfolio with plenty of paper in it… We can use them for petitions…"
Caroline smirked at Richard's remark. Then she added "Maybe I will take a nap. I am sorta tired and there's nothing to see around here. It's pretty dreary."
"Go ahead, Caroline. I'll wake you when we get there."
***
Despite her drowsiness, Caroline had a hard time falling asleep during daylight hours in a sitting position.
The "Richard-mobile" had low mileage and had literally been driven by a little old lady, Richard's aunt. So, despite its chronological age, it still ran fairly well… until now. Without warning, the engine started to make a loud horrible sound.
"What was that?!" exclaimed Caroline, roused from her semi-stupor.
"I don't know. Something wrong with the car."
"How could that happen?" she asked, worried.
"I don't know." Richard sighed as he steered the car to the side of the road and it rolled to a stop. This time, when he tried to restart the engine, all that could be heard was the click, click, click of a dead engine. "Oh no! It's completely dead."
"Well, I think I saw a house about ten miles back" Caroline offered.
Richard was reluctant. "Ten miles? No, no, no, I am not gonna walk ten miles, okay? I think we should just stay here and wait for a car to come by. Statistically speaking, that offers us our best chance."
"Statistically speaking…? Richard, we haven't seen another car on this road forever. Besides, I have a better idea. Although it's another thirteen miles to Kulawakee Lake by road, it's only two miles if we cut through that forest to the right."
Richard was skeptical. "How do you know that?"
"I looked at the map as you were driving out of the city. I know exactly where Kulawakee Lake is and exactly where we are. We have just enough light to get to town. We'll either find a mechanic and bring him back, or if we don't, we can find a place and stay the night, and come back tomorrow."
Richard was still dubious. "Are you sure?"
"Richard, I'm an artist. I have an innate sense of perspective and spatial relations. I know where things are and where they belong. Believe me, I know where to go and how to get there."
"Caroline, you're a cartoonist. You probably think that you can draw us some wings and we can fly there."
Caroline glared at Richard. "Well, YOU can sit here all night. I'm going to Kulawakee Lake!" With that, Caroline opened the door and got out of the car.
Caroline had taken five steps when Richard caught up to her. "Wait a minute, wait a minute." Caroline stopped. "Here" Richard said, as he put his coat over her shoulders. "It's starting to get chilly. And you may need this later" he said, as he offered her a flashlight.
Caroline's anger evaporated, she gave him a smile. "Thank you, Richard."
"Lead on, Daniel Boone."
Caroline led the way and plunged into the forest. Richard followed.
Had the car lasted another 500 yards, they would have seen barricades blocking further passage, and signs warning "NO FURTHER PASSAGE ALLOWED – MEDICAL QUARANTINE".