Mad Roosters: Beyond the Thunderdome

When we last left our heroes, Max and Mel, they were "cocks of the walk", living the high life - cocktails at The Modern, hanging with swinging chicks, little guessing the drastic turn their lives would soon take.

All too soon, the dynamic duo became acquainted with the barbaric and unforgiving rules of Thunderdome: "two men enter, one man leaves." Only one of the poultry pair would live to tell the tale.

Soon after departing the Modern, the pair split up, Max with Valerie and Mel with Jean. First stop on Mel and Jean's itinerary: an ATM so Mel could borrow some spending money.























Shortly after, Mel dumped Jean and took off in a cab. After spending all of his borrowed bankroll on wine, women and song, Mel eventually showed up on Jean's doorstep in the East Village, feigning repentance, begging forgiveness. Soon, however, he began to resume his carousing. At first, he was entertaining and humorous, charming even DeeDee with his gregarious nature.























Apparently, when he drinks, our hero has a nasty side. As so often happens, as the night progressed, the mood turned dark. When he began to cast aspersions on her lineage, DeeDee got her dander up.





















Some people just can't take a hint. Mel didn't lay off. Feathers were ruffled. One thing led to another, and the situation deteriorated rapidly. A scuffle ensued, the room went dark, a scream rang out and ... well, things fell apart. The lights came on, only to reveal an East Village version of "The Lord of the Flies"! You get the picture. In the city of broken dreams, it's not only the dreams that get broken...























But what of Max, you ask (since this was a Tale of Two Roosters)?

Living by his wits as he did, Max had little use for arm candy or the pleasures of domestic life. He and Valerie soon parted ways and he returned to his old roosts, occasionally dallying with laying hens, but nothing kept his interest very long. An adrenaline junkie, he lived for adventure. Max was a master of disguise and had learned the art of hiding in plain sight. He might be spotted momentarily, but in the blink of an eye he was gone again.























Periodically, vague and chilling stories would float back to Valerie. Max had been seen parachuting into Farmer Johnson's henhouse, and had narrowly escaped the local fox; he had been invited by the mayor for dinner, only to fly the coop when he discovered he was expected to be the dinner and not to eat it.

The last she heard, he was working undercover in the Florida Everglades when he was cornered by a nasty bunch of locals. "Damn. we're in a tight spot!", he was heard to say to his companion, who was high-tailing it out of there.

'Yeah, that sounds like him', Valerie reflected. He always did like George Clooney in O Brother Where Art Thou.




















But she was never able to confirm any of these stories...