The Color of Spring Lightning

By Jackson Cordd

Kody Higgins is crossing the park in a spring thunderstorm when - kapow! - he suddenly wakes up in 1898. The turn of the century may not be the ideal age for a graphics designer/gym bunny to surface in, but when handsome tinker Jarvis Banks takes Kody under his wing, Kody decides that Victorian-era America just might have some perks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Jun 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781613726266

Book preview

The Color of Spring Lightning

OVERHEAD, thin, cottony clouds blew across the bright blue sky in frilly wisps, but Kody couldn’t appreciate such beauty at the moment. Where had the storm gone? Each nerve in his body screamed with agony. He squinted his eyes closed again. It hurt even to breathe. He gasped from the effort.

The crackling noise and flash of light drew Jarvis’s attention from farther up the sunny hill. He saw the figure crumpling to the ground and ran toward it.

Gads! Are you alive, sir? a light baritone voice yelled from somewhere to Kody’s right. He opened his eyes and tried to roll over to find the source of the voice but then closed his eyes. The sun just seemed too painfully bright.

Hold still, sir, the man’s voice said, very close now. Kody felt some sort of cloth draping over him and tried to sit up, but he slumped back into the grass. His muscles resisted moving and thrummed with throbbing pain from the effort.

No, just lie back. Clear your head, the man’s voice advised.

Jarvis gazed down at the disheveled man twitching with obvious pain. He glanced up at the sky, looking for any signs of that peculiar lightning striking again.

Kody finally managed to open his eyes and keep them open. He stared up into the face of, he would guess, a thirty-year-old man with huge, bushy yellow sideburns. The silly facial hair and rounded hat the man wore almost made Kody laugh. But the intensely worried look in the man’s honey-colored eyes and the growing throb of Kody’s pounding head stole any humor from the moment.

Can you speak? Are you injured? Jarvis asked as he glanced into the victim’s eyes and checked for abnormal pupil dilations. He had read somewhere that was what physicians checked for in cases of drug overdose, but he wasn’t sure how applicable it might be. The man’s blue eyes looked to be in order, in any case.

Kody tried to answer, but his voice fell out in a strangled sort of wheeze. He shook his head.

Lie still and collect yourself, then. I am Banks, Jarvis Banks, good sir, he said, looking Kody over for any signs of injury.

Kody cleared his throat. Kody… I’m Kody, he managed to whisper.

Kody? Jarvis asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. That’s quite an unusual name, Mr. Kody.

No, first name. Kody Higgins. As the throbbing in his head eased, Kody tried to sit up again.

I daresay, what cruel parents to burden one with such a name. Just move slowly, Mr. Higgins. Perhaps we should summon a physician?

Physician? Kody asked, puzzled at the man’s strange choice of words. His head still felt all mushy, leaving everything off balance. He realized he was draped in some sort of trench coat, presumably Jarvis’s.

Yes, just to verify you bear no serious injuries from the ordeal.

Kody glanced around the city park. In a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on, things just seemed to be… not quite right. The dark storm seemed to have suddenly vanished and left behind a nice, sunny day. What ordeal?

Goodness, Mr. Higgins, do you not recall? Why, the lightning, of course. I saw the flash and turned to see you slump to the ground when the thunderous noise struck. It was such a frightful sight, I feared I would find you dead.

Kody probed his memory for some reason why he would be in the park in the middle of the day. He did recall going to work earlier that morning, but after that he… he what? He couldn’t seem to collect his memories of the events after getting to his office. I… I don’t remember what happened, he finally admitted.

Don’t strain yourself, then, let’s rest a bit. Are you in any pain? Jarvis asked while glancing at Kody’s arm.

Kody followed Jarvis’s eyes to his wrist and saw the large, reddened patch of skin starting to blister, like a bad sunburn. Not really, at least not yet.

We should be thankful for that much, at least. It does appear most of your clothing was destroyed.

Kody looked under the trench coat. His T-shirt and cargo shorts did look