DEVIL OF A LUCK… A 333 Word Story
The Devil rode into town one day and the sawmill closed. All bought up; all the little operations in all the little towns… now left destitute in his wake. And that’s why Ken is braving the Frazer Valley wind, howling down from Alaska and piercing his threadbare coat like the teeth of a wolf doing the howling. An alchemy of chance changed his luck when Amy’s sister’s husband, always monitoring his police scanner, heard that Earl “I drive better when I’m drunk” Hollister had driven his Dodge Charger straight from Herb’s Tavern into rearranging the best seller display inside the Serendipity.
Ken was trudging his way ten miles to the new super plant through rain that was falling sideways and hitting him like a hail of rubber bullets. No money for gas left him on foot, and he was determined to be there when the shift changed, as they would be needing a man to operate the roof truss cutter. Getting any job there required that someone get dead, hurt, or go to jail. Earl had accomplished two out of three, by not buckling up and paying a late night visit to Carol’s bookstore with no intention of reading. Ken intended to have Earl’s job.
Being a former high school football star helped when it came to getting a ‘out of jail free card’. Earl surveyed the damage to himself and his car, and declared both fit to go to work. The Teriyaki Stick and a bottle of ‘5-Hour Energy’ from Lucky Market got his juices flowing and he hit the road. It was hard to see, with the rain and spiderweb of a windshield, but he definitely felt the thud as he sped along the road. ‘What’s one more dent,’ he thought, ‘it’s going in the shop anyway’.
Flung into the bushes by the impact, Ken wondered at his supposed good luck. ‘Only one orange car like that around, guess I won’t be getting Earl’s job after all’. The Devil brought hypothermia.
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I wondered about that thud…;) Earl’s luck will run out eventually, and then Ken will get that job. In the meantime, I loved this! I can picture that small Alaska town perfectly-helped along by the howling wind outside my own house right this minute! Great stuff, Ted!
How sad for Ken. Football stars get all the breaks.
Ouch – but said very well.
Great slice of life – and death. Nice character description. I could see that town, though my imagination is as close as I want to get to it. Nice job.
Bleak and dreary, Ted. Well executed.
I like how you began and ended it with the devil. Too bad about Ken ):
Love the part ” braving the Frazer Valley wind, howling down from Alaska and piercing his threadbare coat like the teeth of a wolf doing the howling. Such a great analogy!!
What a fantastic story. All the details and the descriptive words are great. Seems Earl has all the luck even though his Charger is banged up!
The imagery here is wonderful! I could hear the voices of your characters, well done!
What a first line! Vivid description of that Alaskan town, where things suddenly get all shook up.
Great final line!
Awwwww. No happy ending here.
Great references, so real on every turn. You must have had an interesting life.
Good job
Poor Ken. He can’t seem to catch a break.
Love the teeth of a wolf doing the howling.
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