Quarry Nightclub

Three old college friends are on a camping trip and reminisce about the summer of 1976 when they were living in a communal hippie house and got jobs at a quarry in Colorado. They have many unanswered questions about some of the quirky people they worked with and some of the mysterious things that happened, mostly concerning a nightclub run by their pint-size boss Big Larry and his cowgirl sidekick, Rhonda and the psychedelic green sparkly drinks that are served. Early that summer, the main character, Dean, gets fired from the university painting crew for “inappropriate behavior” with a female coworker and is desperate to find another job or risk having to drop out of college. He and his two best friends and housemates, Iggy and Eric, are out throwing the Frisbee on the fraternity lawn across from their house when Rhonda drives up and offers them jobs at the quarry. Once at the quarry, they work with the landscaping crew to help spruce the place up for an upcoming inspection by the Fish and Wildlife Service. They are threatening to shut the operation down since the quarry has habitat critical to the migration of an endangered insect. Everyone encourages them to stay over during the week in order to attend the quarry nightclub. The college boys are reluctant to do so since they have busy and fulfilling lives in town. Eventually, curiosity takes over and they commit to staying at the bunkhouse and then get to experience the other-worldly nature of the nightclub. The story details their first week at the quarry and introduces a cast of characters that work there and have embraced the nightclub vibe. Each night has a different theme and showcases different tricks performed by giant trained rats. What happens at the club is experienced in different ways by Dean, Iggy and Eric due to the nature of the drinks they consume. Fluid relationships are the order of the night and present complications when they return to their home in town on the weekends. It isn’t until the story comes back to the present time, on the camping trip, when more information comes to light that helps them to understand the true nature of the complicated scheme that Big Larry and Rhonda were operating.