Limited Time Only

By Jack Kardiac

Being struck by lightning tends to change a person’s life. Sometimes it means you’re just done. Period. End of story. But for lifelong friends Chase, Alli and Dylan, it changed everything. Forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Kardiac
• Release date: Aug 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005837174

Jack Kardiac

Jack Kardiac was born in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was fed a steady diet of Marvel comic books, Twilight Zone episodes and Alfred Hitchcock paperbacks. He watches Die Hard every Christmas and Peter Jackson’s King Kong every summer.Jack currently lives in the remote jungles of Indonesia where he teaches Creative Writing to young, impressionable minds. He writes short stories about creepy creatures, kids with superpowers and a handful of Biblical tales, all well worth your time and money.And yes, he has his very own clone.

Book preview

Limited Time Only

Limited Time Only

Jack Kardiac

Limited Time Only

You're going to want to sit down, I tell them. Trust me.

Dylan and Alli exchange looks with each other. They don't say anything, but the smirks on their faces says everything. I glance around the bar. Even though Alli closed it over twenty minutes ago, I need to be sure we’re alone.

Dude, Dylan says. You're so serious…

They sit in the booth across from me, still smiling. Dylan’s grin is wider than hers, which is slowly morphing into a look of concern. We’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten, attending St. Mary's elementary, middle, and high schools together. When there are only twenty people in your entire graduating class, you tend to foster pretty close friendships along the way.

Dylan and I were destined to be best buds from the moment we started hanging out in second grade. Confiding you both have a crush on your teacher tends to bond young boys. We've been pretty much inseparable ever since. Even when he and Alli started dating their junior year, Dylan still made time for me. The three of us have always gotten along, and thankfully they’ve been fairly intentional about making sure I never felt like a third wheel. I don’t. Even now as adults, the three of us still get along and hang out together as often as possible.

So, Alli asks. Is this about last week? She places a hand on Dylan's knee to indicate that he, too, should become a little more serious.

I look over at her and nod. Kind of…

Dylan shrugs. Chase, he says, It's not every day my best friend gets struck by lightning and lives! He looks over at Alli for a smile but doesn't get one. His grin fades, and he looks back at me. You alright, Chase? he asks, pointing to his head. You know…?

Sure, I say, shrugging. Like I said, I don't remember it happening, and it didn't actually hurt. It's the truth. I mean, I remember hearing the crack of thunder, and then I woke up in a hospital bed. My phone was fried and I had a pretty severe headache for a day or two, but as far as any lasting physical complications, there were none. Of course, this doesn’t mean the experience didn't change me.

So, we've known each other for a long time, right? I ask.

Sure, Dylan says, nodding his head. What? About twenty years?

I nod. Then I fall silent, staring down at the table between us. It occurs to me that I'm not entirely sure how to go about this conversation. As many times I’ve played it out in my head, I’m fumbling for the right words now that we’re actually here, face to face.

Chase?

I look over at Alli. Not saying anything.

You know us, she says.

I purse my lips, nodding.

You can tell us, she says. Whatever it is. We're here for you. You can trust us.

I smile. She's right. She's always right. Alli’s always has been the smartest and most grounded of the three of us, by far. Whereas Dylan and I were content becoming full-time cowboys after high school, Alli went on to get a