Boss’s Town: A Town Where Heaven and Hell Collide

By Cole Milburn

It is January 2023 and the world is still recovering from a devastating global pandemic when Joe Boyd, a former expatriate who has recently returned to New Zealand, decides to explore his native country. After embarking on a road trip into the rugged wilderness of the South Island, Joe ignores a sign indicating danger ahead and soon encounters Luciville, a mysterious, off-the-grid town in the middle of nowhere.

After he is greeted by the residents and their leader, Joe decides to stay and create a new future. In the beginning, he is rewarded with a house, car, money, gifts, and immortality in exchange for surrendering his existence in the real world. Although it initially appears to be an ideal lifestyle, Joe ultimately discovers there are prices to pay for his decision as his options grow scarce. Just as he learns the town’s inhabitants all have dark pasts, unsavory character traits, and vices, mayhem breaks out after a surprising revelation is revealed about Luciville’s leader. Has Joe unwittingly entered hell on Earth and, if so, is there any way to escape?

In this suspenseful tale, a man exploring the New Zealand wilderness is welcomed into a mysterious remote town where nothing is as it seems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665722186

Cole Milburn

Cole Milburn grew up in Nelson City, New Zealand, He is a registered nurse who has lived in Japan, Korea, and other parts of East Asia for over seventeen years. Boss’s Town is his debut novel.

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Copyright © 2022 Cole Milburn.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Cole Milburn

ISBN: 978-1-6657-2217-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-2216-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-2218-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907699

Archway Publishing rev. date: 04/26/2022

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 The Road Ahead

Chapter 2 Steiner the Stranger

Chapter 3 The Town

Chapter 4 The Manager, Baron Hawthorne

Chapter 5 The Boss

Chapter 6 The First Week in Luciville

Chapter 7 The Housewarming Party

Chapter 8 A Fantasy Cured by a Dose of Reality

Chapter 9 Steiner’s Tales, Realization, and Loss

Chapter 10 Heaven and Hell

Chapter 11 The Year Starts with a Bang

Chapter 12 Wrath and Doom

Chapter 13 The Unraveling Madness

Chapter 14 Home Sweet Home

Chapter 15 A New Life within a Life

Epilogue

PREFACE

F irst of all, if this book is one of the few legacies in my life, then I only wish for someone to read and know life in my every word, as love and emotion are sometimes to be read, not only heard. Secondly, I am not a smart person. I do not have a PhD, and I have had more losses than successes in my life; however, I have wished to write a book for as long as I can remember. Thirdly, I also wish to produce something tangible in the world and give something more than as a nurse who cares for both the good and the bad in us.

This fictional book may have some horror elements; however, I believe love is whole, with or without a soul, and love for everyone has always been my goal. I have been a nurse for many years. Many have said I’m a good nurse, although it is hard to believe anyone or anything after so many moments of despair and for so long. My only hope is to help others, whether they’re more or less fortunate than I have been. I feel a lack of energy after years of witnessing the death and dying of many good people, better people than I. Memories are life for the living and living beyond life for the dead.

I wrote this book with a sense of longing and knowing that nothing really lasts. With a life filled with turmoil, sadness, and loss, this may be an unusual novel for a nurse to write, but love of humanity will endure beyond my years. Therefore, I dedicate this book to my only success in my life: my son, Neo.

Please read this book to know where you stand between heaven and hell. If you are in love or out of love, then find yourself, and finally, know one thing: you are you.

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CHAPTER 1

THE ROAD AHEAD

I t was a warm summer in January 2023. I had been home in New Zealand for a month, having returned safely, and with enormous relief, after many years of living overseas. The world was still reeling from the deadly pandemic that seemed unceasing as more variants emerged, and anxiety continued. Suicidal thoughts had run through my mind long before that; depression had always been a black dog following me day and night. I felt lost in the country I had been born in and had grown up in; I knew less about New Zealand than I did about other countries. After many sleepless nights, I made the decision to quit my job to explore this wonderful country of my birth and take a road trip to either find or lose myself. Few things really mattered to me now, and I wanted to escape. Something inside told me to venture into the rugged, scenic, and breathtaking West Coast of the South Island.

On a hot summer morning, I packed my bags with essentials I might need. I didn’t care what little I had. I just needed to get away from everything. I decided to head to the West Coast town of Westport, which had been a bustling coal-mining town in my grandmother’s day. My grandfather had worked in the mines, although he always had said it was hell. The town had great sentimental value for me, as it was where my grandparents had grown up and first met. I thought of how fascinating it would be to see their town. My grandmother had given me some biblical awareness, despite my refusal to believe in religion. Her enduring kindness remained in my heart, and with her influence, I could never truly disbelieve the possibilities.

I told my parents I would be away for a few weeks or so. They were glad for me to go see what I had been missing for half my life. Once on the road with a full tank, I didn’t look back; I just thought of what awaited me. Loneliness had always been a burden for me; now it felt liberated, and by that, I experienced a taste of freedom from everything except my troubled mind.

As I drove farther into the countryside, I started to think about why I hadn’t done this when I was younger and why I had always run away from my own country to explore the world first. Perhaps New Zealand had been too small for me as a youngster, but now, as I was aging, it seemed too big.

After a few hours on the road, I stopped in a small park for a can of cold beer and a delicious steak pie, my old favorite. I could only hear birds and the wind rustling through the beautiful evergreen native rain forest trees. It was relaxing and tranquil, and it helped me to reflect on my life, including my divorce, my dear young son, and what could have been if I had stayed overseas. I had another can of beer with reluctance, as it wasn’t easy to break from an old habit—a habit that had cost me so much in my life.

Nevertheless, I was on my way again on the so-called highway, which was narrow, windy, and seemingly endless. After driving for hours while listening to music on the radio, which, strangely, kept repeating the Bee Gees’ song Staying Alive, I lost track of time, and it was late afternoon. My GPS showed I was only an hour’s drive from Westport, a small town I could barely remember from childhood, as if it were a dream, with pebble beaches, cold winds, and huge gray waves from the Tasman Sea. After I turned off the highway toward Westport, my GPS stopped, my radio signal was lost, and my cell phone reception was gone. For some reason, I slowed down, as if expecting to see some sign. There it was—a small roadside sign: Danger. Do not turn left on this road. This was what something inside me had somehow been expecting, the adventure for which I had yearned so long. Despite some anxiety, I stopped to think. Throughout my life, I had been notorious for doing the opposite of what everyone had warned me. Many people had told me not to travel to certain countries, not to drink, and not to smoke. However, my traits had followed me this far, and suddenly, I realized this had made me who and what I was today. Now I wanted to find myself again and perhaps live again.

I sat staring at the sign for a while. Then I felt a calling from within my mind, and a deep voice in my mind said, Do it.

I chuckled to myself, thinking of the Nike logo. Why should I follow, when I can go my own way, as I have always done?

I turned left, passed the sign, and headed up the gravel road. I was deafened by stones banging against the car and the grinding of tires. It seemed the road had not been used for a long time; trees and bushes brushed the car. Meanwhile, a gully emerged on my left-hand side, with a deep turquoise river raging below. I felt an eerie chill and thought, What if this is where I die? I knew my GPS, cell phone reception, and radio were completely off the grid now.

Then I heard the deep voice in my mind again: Make your own way in life. Memories are life for the living and living beyond death for the dead. Turn left soon.

I felt disorientated by the voice, and I knew I wasn’t just hearing things, but I kept driving forward with my energy anyway.

Suddenly, I ground to a halt. Before me was a fork in the road with signs on the right and left: TVNZ antenna tower and Warning: Old coal mine. I decided to turn left, following the beautiful river. With curiosity or stupidity, I had an unknown desire to see what an old coal mine looked like.

After a few minutes of driving slowly, I turned a corner and came to a landslide that had destroyed the road. The weather started to darken; it was suddenly colder, and clouds formed fast. I put on my coat and got out to see if I could make a U-turn, and then I felt icy-cold drops of rain on my head. I climbed over the rocks and saw an old hanging footbridge. Although I was becoming weary, I knew a U-turn would be impossible, and perhaps walking back would be too far as night approached. As I considered sleeping in the car until morning or walking back to the main road, I spotted some lights shining north of the bridge and up the hill a little more. I wondered whether alternative-lifestyle people were there, as I recalled the news saying how many remote places had changed in New Zealand.

Finally, after a few minutes, I grabbed a torch and added a sleeping bag, water, and some snacks to my backpack. I traversed the rickety old footbridge and crossed onto a rough wilderness path. I climbed over fallen trees and had to use my torch, as it was too dark to see now. I stumbled a few times and scratched myself on branches, but I continued toward the lights. I sensed that I was not alone.

The torch’s batteries started to die, as it had been unused for so long, but now I could see the lights reflecting on the puddles of the track, which led toward the sound of faint music playing. The music sounded like a Garryowen or perhaps some other Irish music. It suddenly occurred to me who or what the people were up here. Nevertheless, I had no choice now and continued toward the light without anything but my poor wits.

CHAPTER 2

STEINER THE

STRANGER

T he path disappeared, and all I could see was one bright light next to what looked like a gate. A large, shadowy figure stood next to the light. As I walked tentatively closer, I saw the figure of a robust man with a gray beard and an enormous beer belly protruding over his jeans. I made out a face within a few meters; he looked directly at me, and his face was illuminated by a glow from the gold necklace he wore. I noticed a friendly, wide smile