Gutsy

By Charles Kluxen

Gutsy is about a young cub who takes on an evil and villainous professor who is out to destroy the Berryville and its surrounding towns. Gutsy is told to stay away, but no matter how many times he tries to warn the town, they don’t help him. With the help of his best friend and the local cab company owner, he sets out to destroy the machine that is destroying their town. This story is filled with love, laughter, action, and adventure. If you think you’re ready, open it up, buckle up, and hang on tight.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885409438

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Gutsy

Charles Kluxen

Copyright © 2022 by Charles Kluxen

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Beginning

The Machine

A Day with Lucy

A Sunday to Remember

The Warehouse

True Love’s First Kiss

The Unwanted Visitor

Three Years Later

Pulling for Larry Garrett

Speckles the Spy

The Meeting

Almost Grounded

Family Problems

The Plot Thickens

The Proof

The Hunt for the Truth

A Town in Trouble

The Factory

A Hero Is Born

Graduation Day

The Beginning

Once upon a time, in the town called Berryville, there lived a cub that goes by the name of Gutsy. Now Gutsy is just a young cub, no older than eleven years old. We start our story in a small school right in the heart of Berryville. It looks a lot like a small country church, and it only has a total of two hundred students. The front is very tall and has a red steeple. The outside is white with blue shutters around all of the windows. It is a crystal-clear day, and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. All the children are in their seats, listening to the teacher.

Gutsy is looking out of the window when all of a sudden there is a crash at the middle of an intersection just outside of their school. An officer runs over to check and see if everyone is all right. Gutsy jumps out of his seat and runs over to the window. As he presses his little nose to glass, he is filled with excitement. Oh wow, did you see that? It’s like bumper cars out there. I can’t wait until I can drive. He presses his nose against the window even harder to try and see everything that is going on.

Now Mrs. Anderson, a young middle-aged fox, is standing at the blackboard with a piece of chalk in her hand. She’s wearing a flowered dress with a daisy in her red hair. She turns around at this time and says, Timmy, come back over here and take your seat, please.

Gutsy turns around and has a sad, disappointed look on his face and says to her, Yes, ma’am. He slowly walks back to his desk, like a man going to the gallows, and sits down.

Mrs. Anderson walks over to him and puts her hand on his shoulder and gives him a smile. She leans over and whispers in his ear, I thought it was exciting too, Gutsy.

A smile comes over his face as she says this to him. At three o’clock, the school bell rings and the children start running out of the school like it is the first day of summer vacation. A curious goat named Billy, who is sporting a pair of overalls and sandals, walks up to Gutsy. I overheard Mrs. Anderson call you Gutsy. Why does she call you that?

He looks at him and says, I was three years old when my parents were being robbed and I bit the mugger’s leg. After he ran off screaming in pain, my mother says to me that what I did was very gutsy, and the name stuck.

Billy looks at him with astonishment. Wow! I can’t believe you did that. Did they ever catch the mugger who tried to rob your parents?

Gutsy looks at him with a smile and replies, They caught him a couple weeks later when he tried to rob a store that was owned by a retired police officer. He throws his backpack over his shoulder as they continue out the door.

Billy looks at Gutsy and asks, Can I call you Gutsy?

Gutsy moves his backpack to the other shoulder. Sure, everyone does that, anyways. It’s kind of a nickname for me. Even my own parents call me Gutsy. They never call me Timmy anymore. Are you gonna come over to my house tomorrow? My dad is building me a tree house.

Billy gets a big smile on his face, like he just received a birthday gift. Sure, that would be awesome. See ya later, Gutsy.

Gutsy replies, See ya, Billy. As they part ways, they do a fist bump and then blow it up.

Gutsy walks down to the corner store to get something to drink on his way home. When he gets to the front window, he can’t believe his eyes. He looks inside to see a beautiful young girl cub sitting on a barstool, having a cool drink of water. He walks into the store and steps up to her and taps her on the shoulder. Excuse me? he asks. The young girl jumps, almost spilling her drink. Sorry if I startled you. My name’s Timmy, but everyone calls me Gutsy. I haven’t seen you around here before, are you new here?

Gutsy watches as she turns around. It is only a second, but he feels like he sees her turning in slow motion. As the sun glistens off her hair and her eyes begin to sparkle, for just that one moment, all time stands still. He starts to stare at her for what seems like an eternity. She is very beautiful. She smiles at him and replies, That’s okay. You didn’t scare me that bad. Hi, I’m Lucy. My parents and I just moved here yesterday. She begins to giggle after noticing that he is staring at her. What did you say everyone calls you?

He looks at her and smiles as she talks to him. He can’t get over how beautiful she is. Her smile is like rays of sunshine beaming at him. He takes a deep breath and exhales sharply. He starts to speak but has a hard time getting out the words. I…I…I…I… She begins to laugh as he takes a really deep breath and slowly lets it out. He repeats it calmly. I said they call me Gutsy, he continues. It’s a long story, and I’d like to tell you about it if I get the opportunity.

Lucy looks at Gutsy with a red face and smiles at him again. Okay, Gutsy, do you live around here?

A sense of pride comes over him, and he smiles back at her. He points to a hill off in the distance. Yeah, I live just over that hill up there. What about you?

Lucy points to the right and says, I live just around the corner from that building right there in a large studio apartment.

Gutsy takes a big gulp and then asks her, If it’s all right with you, I’d like to walk you home and maybe show you around this weekend?

Lucy gives him the sweetest smile that she can muster up and says, Thanks, I’d like that very much.

Gutsy sits down next to her as they chat a little more. He orders a grape soda pop, and they start getting ready to leave. As she grabs her bag, he goes over and holds the door open for Lucy as they walk out of the corner store together. He turns and asks her nervously, So are you gonna be going to school here?

She looks at him with a sweet smile and replies, Yes, I start there next week. I’ll be in the sixth grade. Why do you ask?

Gutsy starts shaking very nervously at first but looks at her with confidence. Well, I thought maybe I could show you where your classes are. I hope that’s okay?

As they start walking again, she says to him, Sure, I would like that very much.

As they come to a traffic light, Gutsy pushes the button to cross the street at the crosswalk. They wait for a few seconds, and the light turns for them to cross. As they walk toward her building, she says to him, I have a feeling that we are gonna be the best of friends.

Gutsy gives a sigh of relief. I have that same feeling too. They walk up to a large building and enter into it. The complex is extremely large. It is almost like a hotel-sized building but just a tad smaller. The main lobby is rectangular in size and has a small room to the right where all of the mailboxes hang on the wall. They walk in a little farther, and the elevator is to the left just past the reception desk. They go to the elevator, and Lucy pushes the top floor button. As they ride up, Gutsy starts feeling very nervous. They reach the top floor and exit the elevator. They both walk up to a tall brown door with a sign that says Welcome to our Humble Home.

Lucy turns to Gutsy and smiles. Well, this is me. Would you like to meet my parents? I’m sure they would like to meet my first friend here.

Gutsy’s knees start knocking together, and his palms get sweaty. He starts to stutter at first. Uh…uh…um, sure, he manages to get the words out. I’m a bit nervous, but yeah, that would be great.

Lucy opens the door and puts her key on the side table and sets her bag on the chair. They walk down a short hallway, and Lucy calls out to her parents. Mom, Dad, I’m home. I want you to come and meet my new friend.

Martha comes out of the kitchen wearing a sundress, carrying a dish towel and drying her hands. Well, it’s about time you got home. I was wondering if you were going to meet someone nice.

Just at that time, her father George comes in from the balcony through a sliding door. He is wearing his glasses and still sporting his suit from work as he is smoking a pipe. Did I hear my pride and joy say she has already made a friend?

Lucy lets out a giggle and runs over to him and gives him a hug. Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Timmy. Gutsy, these are my parents, Martha and George

Gutsy shakes hands with her parents and says, It’s nice to meet both of you. I wanted to make sure she got home all right.

George looks at him, very confused. Gutsy? Why do they call you Gutsy? Sounds like a name that would be given for doing something either really crazy or really courageous.

Gutsy laughs and says to him, Yes, sir, it’s actually a little bit of both. But that’s the nickname my parents gave me when I was three years old for something that I did.

George smiles and politely offers, I would be honored if you would stay for dinner. We would have to ask your parents, of course.

Gutsy smiles nervously. Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude.

Martha smiles and picks up the phone on the wall. Nonsense, I’ll go ahead and call her right now. What’s her number?

Gutsy looks over to Lucy and then looks back at Martha, and he tells her the number. It’s 555-6423. Are you sure it’s all right?

George and Gutsy walk into the living room and sit down as they continue talking. I insist on it. I want to hear all about how you got that interesting name. Gutsy can hear Martha talking to his mother in the other room, and after a couple of moments, she hangs up the phone. She walks into the living room and sits down in her armchair. She looks over at Gutsy and says, It’s settled, she says that you can have dinner here but that you need to be home before dark. I assume that you don’t live too far away?

He looks over to Martha and replies, No, ma’am, I live just over that hill up there on the ridge.

George looks over to Lucy and says to her, Why don’t you take Gutsy and show him your room, and I’ll call the both of you when dinner is ready.

She smiles and gives her father a kiss on the cheek. Okay, Daddy. Come on, Gutsy, you’ll like my room. They take off to the back room through the kitchen and down the hall. They walk in together, and Gutsy is immediately starstruck, literally. He looks up and sees different constellations on her ceiling with a model of the Milky Way galaxy hanging down in the middle. She closes her curtains and shuts her door. You gotta see this, watch. She turns off the light, and her room begins to glow. She flips a switch on her wall, and a light reflects off the Sun, which gives a sprinkle of floating stars through her room as the model spins.

That officially has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

She shrieks and says to him, I know, right? Daddy put it up for me just after we moved everything in. The two of them keep talking and lose all track of time.

Finally, George calls out to them, Kids, dinner’s ready. Come on out and wash your hands. The both of them wash their hands, and they all sit at the table.

Martha then dishes out the food and sits down. Okay, let’s all hold hands and give thanks for this food. They all take each other’s hands, and Gutsy takes a hold of Lucy’s. It is so soft and delicate, and he doesn’t want to let it go. Martha then asks George, Honey, would you like to pray?

George smiles and replies, Everyone close your eyes. Dear Lord, we thank you for the food we are about to receive. We ask that you bless it to the nourishment of our bodies. We also want to thank you for our new friend, Gutsy, who has been so kind. We ask that you be with him and Lucy as they continue their friendship. Amen. Everyone repeats, Amen. George looks over to Gutsy as they start to eat and asks him, Why don’t you tell us how you got your name.

Gutsy swallows his bite of mashed potatoes and begins, I was three years old when I was living in a big city with my mom and dad. New York I think it was, if I remember correctly. One night, I was walking down the street with my parents. It was very dark, and we walked down a side street to take a shortcut home. Out of the shadows a mugger came up to us, waving a gun. He demanded that my parents give him everything that they have. He told them to give him their watches, wallet, purse, and jewelry, everything of value. Anyway, he says that if they don’t do what he asks, then he was gonna kill them right in front of me. I, of course, tried to act brave and told the mugger that he wasn’t getting anything from them and I went up to him and bit him in the leg. The mugger, of course, let out a bloodcurdling scream as he took off running. My parents couldn’t believe what I had done and said to me, ‘That was a very gutsy thing you did. He could have killed you, and then he would have killed us, and he still would’ve stolen everything we own.’ Well, after that day, the name Gutsy just stuck like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth.

George looks and smiles at Gutsy with amazement. I was right then, you are a little crazy and a little bit of a hero. I’m glad she met you first. I like you. Anytime you want to come over then, it’s fine by me.

Gutsy gets real excited and smiles at George. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate that. I asked Lucy if I can show her around town this weekend, and she accepted. I hope