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    The Wicked
    The Wicked
    The Wicked
    Ebook76 pages58 minutes

    The Wicked

    By Dan Dillard

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Charles Michael Bryant--Charlie-bear to his parents--is nine months old and suffers from that age-old and worrisome condition known as colic. The doctors say he'll grow out of it. His father, Sam, wishes he would go ahead and do so...and his mother, Faith, just wants a good night's sleep.
    It isn't gas that is keeping Charlie-bear awake, nor is it heartburn, reflux or a wet diaper. Charlie-bear has drawn the attention of Wicked...a nasty, nightmarish character who moves as a shadow, speaks only in rhyme and steals the souls of children. He is a monster which uses his wicked talents to create more nightmares...like himself.
     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDan Dillard
    Release dateSep 30, 2014
    ISBN9781310044168
    The Wicked
    Author

    Dan Dillard

    I write creepy. Sometimes he writes me back. In the Midwest US, there is as much folklore as anywhere else. When we're not dodging corn stalks, My wife and I raise two beautiful kids and a house full of pets. Always open for questions or discussion :) email me: demonauthor@gmail.com

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      Book preview

      The Wicked - Dan Dillard

      The Wicked

      By Dan Dillard

      DEDICATION:

      To my youngest daughter, Schuyler, who had it rough as a baby. Call it colic, call it whatever, you have always been our busy one. Though we would love you either way, your mom and I knew you weren’t haunted. 

      And to Brenna, who has had it rough for the past eight years, you aren’t haunted either. We love you, too. Somehow it will work out and you’ll be all the stronger for it. Don’t give up.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

      Thank you to my wife, my father, my brother, Missy Andre, Kim Sofia, Suzanne Cappalletti,  Michael Yowell, Lisa Morris and anyone else I may have forgotten who read this in its infancy. Thank you to Michaelbrent Collings for taking the time to give me some pointers.

      As usual, any mistakes in the text are all my fault.

      Thanks to Thomas Kovalenko for helping me sort out the cover art—and to my wife, it’s not a gremlin! Thanks as always to the ten of you that I don’t know, who still read my books.

      ––––––––

      The Wicked

      Copyright © 2014 by Daniel P. Dillard

      ISBN:  9781310044168

      ––––––––

      License notes:

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

      If you’re reading this and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      THE WICKED

      ONE—-

      Samuel Bryant parked his car in front of their sixties-era house. He called it the Mike Brady house when he and Faith had first looked at it and they'd shared a chuckle at the realtor's expense. He figured the realtor laughed back when they signed the papers, but they'd grown to love it. The exterior was a faded rust color, stuck somewhere a half-century ago, but the interior had been brought into the present. Faith was good at such things. At least she had been before the baby. Named for his grandfather on his mother's side, Charles Michael Bryant—Charlie-Bear—was nine months old, and neither of them could remember life before he existed.

      Sam wore a suit and carried a laptop bag that doubled as his briefcase. Thirty years had passed since he was nine months old. Faith was twenty-eight. They’d met when he was in law school. Passing the bar was required before they got married, her rule. She had been a program analyst and government contractor, but quit when she became pregnant and never once looked back.

      Sam locked the car with the fob and noticed something rubber-banded to the mailbox. Faith had always prided herself on organization. When things as simple as the mail went unchecked, it always meant her day with the baby had been trying.

      Shit, he said.

      He grabbed the object and snapped off the rubber band. It was an invitation to a neighborhood cookout. Sam folded the invite into the rest of the mail from inside the box and went in the front door.

      Charlie-Bear was crying, but it was a winding-down cry, as if he was tired. Sam eased out of his shoes, laid his bag down quietly and snuck into the family room to see Faith rocking their son. Her long black hair was twisted into a messy bun, and her blue eyes looked weak. She smiled, but there was no power behind it, only surrender. He held his hands out and mouthed, Do you want me to take him?

      She shook her head and whispered, He’s asleep, but fighting it.

      Has he been up the whole time?

      She nodded. Almost napped at noon. Up since five and having a cling-to-mommy day. I haven’t been able to put his chunky butt down for four hours.

      Is he sick? Sam asked and sat down on the couch next to the rocker. He patted and rubbed her knee, then gently kissed the baby on the head before kissing Faith.

      She twisted her mouth and raised her eyebrows. I don’t know. He just seems agitated this week. Or maybe it's been more than a week. I’m so tired. I think he only slept for three hours last night.

      Sam looked concerned. Getting worse, he said. You call the doc?

      Yep. Colic is their magic word. That means they don't know what it is. If he runs a fever or won’t eat, they want me to bring him in. Said it would pass eventually and we aren’t the first parents to have a fussy baby. I always feel like such a rookie when I call them with questions.

      Rookie of the year, he said.

      Sweet, but it won’t get you any sex. She looked down with

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