The Arkham Detective Collection by Byron Craft

Author:Byron Craft
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9781976215612
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2017-09-12T07:00:00+00:00

DEDICATION

A homage to my dogs Buddy and Sherlock who wait for me in Heaven.

THE DUNWICH DUNGEON

Ian Woodhead was a dreamer. Dreamers, especially those of prodigious talents, do not require the darkness to sleep or dream. Rarely were great dreamers insomniacs. And Ian was just such a person since he could fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

Ian Woodhead could make his mind as blank as a fresh leaf of paper. No places of wonder were glimpsed from the mind’s eye to distract his resting, no marvelous secrets unfurled; his sleep was a temporary death. It didn’t frighten him, though, because Ian was certain that there was no death from the perspective of infinity. Once in deepest slumber, he could escape the darkness between his ears within that collection of wet matter and electricity. He was so adept at crisscrossing dreamland that he would blithely circumnavigate around the World-Eater who sat and waited, sharpening its black claws, tearing at inexperienced travelers.

Escaping his earthly bonds was normally an enjoyable and exciting experience for Ian that he sometimes used for pure adventure and, at others, became helpful during an investigation. Most of his dreams were that way, but now he truly needed to escape a physical prison. For his body lay captive in a stone dungeon of indestructible confinement. He had been lured into a trap, and his keeper had left him to rot. That door, that impregnable barrier of iron and steel, could only be undone from the outside. He was lost for all-natural means of release. No amount of shouting or pounding could bring about help because he had been incarcerated far away from civilization in the countryside of Dunwich. His only hope was to travel deeper into dreamland than he had ever journeyed before, through unknown realms, and find his old friend, the policeman.

***

Her hair was in tangles, and her makeup had been wiped clean off.

There were wrinkles on the left side of her face left by the pillow. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I gently stroked her cheek, bent over, and kissed her. “I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too,” she replied, half sleep. I had awoken in darkness for a reason I couldn’t remember. I had a hazy recollection of a knocking and clawing upon my skull as if something was trying to get inside my head.

Any memory of my dream disappeared in the time it took me to turn on the lamp. There was, however, the faint after image of a face rattling around in my noggin that was vaguely familiar, but when turning to look at my Angel beside me, all recollection of the vision vanished.

I got dressed and put on my glasses. I wear bifocals. In half a shake, I could see Nora clearly, sitting up in bed staring at me with an enticing smile. I tried to be quiet while going about my business, getting ready for work so that I wouldn’t disturb her, but she says that my portrayal of subtle is akin to a Clydesdale traipsing through a junkyard.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.