Bone Deep and Waterlogged

By A.R. Baker

The next step after Goosebumps, a brief dalliance into almost-terror that sidesteps into imaginative wordplay and panic.

A narrative essay about finding solace inside a fogbank, BONE DEEP AND WATERLOGGED gives its name to the title of the collection and sets a tone of impending dread for the rest of the works. What would you do if your world came slowly grinding to a halt miles off the Washington coast?

In OF MONSTERS AND BRAVERY, young Calum seeks to protect new sister Dahlia from the horrors lurking in the darkness of a mid-summer blackout. A flashlight is a sword to the shadows, but what happens when the sword breaks?

THE COSTUME EMPORIUM, located in the middle of suburban USA, is as unassuming as shops get. It’s here that we find Ethan, working part-time at Dave’s Costume Emporium, and dealing with having no customers. Until he does.

The loss of a loved one can be a challenging time for anyone, but in Charlie’s case, it’s more than that. SINNERS AND SAINTS AND SUITCASES takes a brief look into the aftermath of a house fire, a simple accident, and the consequences of a lie.

Finally, SLEEPWALKERS follows the main character as they follow their best friend Alex through an episode of sleepwalking through their apartment complex. Summer storms lurk on the horizon, and through their cloud cover, something otherworldly becomes a puppet master.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.R. Baker
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005235680

A.R. Baker

A.R. Baker is the author of numerous flash fiction pieces and tabletop roleplaying systems, specializing in cosmic horror as well as other facets of the horror/macabre genre. They are earning their BFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University and are in the process of self-publishing a tabletop system titled The Gossamer Doorway. Coming from a family of writers, industry professionals, and radical feminists, Baker hopes to expand the family lineage to include games that can terrify as much as their stories do.

Book preview

BONE DEEP AND WATERLOGGED

and other stories from almost-nightmares

by A.R. Baker

Copyright 2021 A.R Baker

All Rights Reserved

First Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

BONE DEEP and WATERLOGGED

of MONSTERS and BRAVERY

THE COSTUME EMPORIUM

SINNERS and SAINTS and SUITCASES

SLEEPWALKERS

Author Biography and Contact

BONE DEEP and WATERLOGGED

In the final week of August in 2014, misting rains soaked my jacket and creeping fog clawed slowly inland from open ocean. Among the white noise of nature, the chatter of my family and the kayak guide whose voice often echoed off the docks, was something quieter. The hushed television static of encroaching fogbanks, the rustle of its gossamer sheets settling over the island, the tendrils that leaked out of my eyes and my ears and the sores that littered the corners of my mouth.

Everything ached, bone deep and waterlogged. From the muscles in my back straining to keep myself from tipping into the water as my younger brother loaded into the front, to the lingering pit in my stomach from chemical burns – I was exhausted, and we hadn’t even learned how to paddle yet.

That took twenty minutes of silent argument with Mike, fencing duels with our oars just above