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    Nightmare Highway
    Nightmare Highway
    Nightmare Highway
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Nightmare Highway

    By Alden Bauers

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The author of Once in a Blood Moon, a Werewolf's Tale and Mile 43 delivers five spine-tingling tales to make you sleep with the lights on. What happens when a young man gets a copy of The Sims that lets him control more than just the game? What will a young mother who's hidden a dark secret from her son do when they break down on a remote road as the full moon rises? What happens when a young couple wakes up from a one-night stand to find their bodies joined together? How will a traumatized combat veteran handle being menaced on the road? How will a polygamous sect handle an invasion of vampires? Find out in Nightmare Highway!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlden Bauers
    Release dateSep 13, 2019
    ISBN9780463228869
    Nightmare Highway
    Author

    Alden Bauers

    Alden Bauers was born and raised on Long Island. He currently resides in Spartanburg, South Carolina where he works as a computer technician. He's married and has two young children. When he's not writing or spending time with his family, Alden enjoys modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.

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      Book preview

      Nightmare Highway - Alden Bauers

      Nightmare Highway

      Copyright 2019 Alden Bauers

      Published by Alden Bauers at Smashwords

      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 enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Author’s Note

      All Fun and Games

      Moma Wolf

      Inseparable

      Red Elantra

      The Creek

      About Alden Bauers

      Other books by Alden Bauers

      Connect with Alden Bauers

      Acknowledgments

      I would like to thank the following people for helping make this book possible. First and foremost are KG McAbee, Steven A. Gentry and CH Babb, whose editing, insights and tough love were invaluable. I would also like to thank the immensely talented Natalie Paquette who provided the cover photo for this book.

      Author’s Note

      I, like most writers, dipped my toes into the fiction pool with short stories. I’d write them in my spare time, on my lunch hour and whenever else I could. When I made the transition from college student to 20-something starting a career, I’d come home from my job as a newspaper reporter and start writing short stories. By my own admission, they weren’t all that good. Some of them didn’t survive the transition from one computer to the next, others have. II still love the medium and here are the first short stories I’m ready to share with the world.

      I drew heavily from personal experiences on a few of these. I should mention each of these stories is a pure work of fiction. Any resemblance between the characters and real people is purely coincidental.

      All Fun and Games

      I’d be lying if I told you I was Mr. Popularity in high school. Y’all know the old cliché about if it weren’t for bad luck with women? Yup, that was me personified. My social life was non-existent. When wasn’t working I mostly sat in my room playing computer games. There were a bunch I enjoyed playing. There was Sim City, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Warcraft and of course, The Sims.

      That last one, if you’ve been living under a rock these past 20 years and you’re not familiar, allows you to create a person, or people and control their lives. It really is the closest thing we mortals get to playing God. I’d also be lying if I said I’d never created Sims that resembled the girls I had crushes on. Was it unhealthy? That would be a yes. Was it creepy? Exceptionally so.

      Now, imagine if you will, having the power over real-life that The Sims grants you over digital life. That my friends is the inspiration for this story.

      On a torrid August day in Newberry, South Carolina, 17-year-old Doug Tompkins sat on the village green enjoying a cold cream soda. Newberry was a quaint southern town known for its antique (read junk) shops. Most folks who lived there worked either for Caterpillar Tractor or Samsung.

      Doug did his best to enjoy these fleeting days of summer vacation. In a few days’ time, he’d start his senior year of high school. He didn’t want to think about that. If you looked in the dictionary, you’d find Doug’s picture next to the word misfit. He was a quiet loner with few if any friends. Most of his spare time was spent playing the handful of computer games his parents didn’t consider Satanic.

      Doug polished off the last sips of his soda. As he went to toss the bottle in the trash, he saw Ruthie Jessup and her lummox of a boyfriend Wayne Foreman coming towards him. Wayne may’ve had the IQ of a brick, but he was a hell of a linebacker. Ruthie by stark contrast was beautiful and smart. What she saw in Wayne was a mystery to Doug, but so was much of the rest of the high school social order.

      Truth be told, Doug had a huge crush on Ruthie. Last year, he’d confided in the wrong person. They blabbed and word of Doug’s crush spread through the student body faster than kudzu. The few times Doug worked up the nerve to talk to her, he hadn’t exactly helped his chances. Not wanting an encounter, he searched for a shop to duck into.

      McFarland’s Attic opened last December. Doug wondered if Newberry really needed another antique shop to pedal useless crap to unsuspecting Yankee tourists. But the place seemed to do good business. McFarland’s was also right across the street from where Doug stood.

      A bell tinkled as he entered. Inside, the lighting was dim and the air musty. Not unusual for a junk store in this town.

      May I help you?

      Doug turned and saw a short man of portly build standing behind the counter.

      Oh, no, just looking.

      If I can help you with anything, just give a shout.

      He scanned the shelves, which were filled with cast-off crap that northerners were apt to pay top dollar for. But his eyes lit upon something quite out of place. It was a copy of The Sims 2. While only about ten years old, by software standards, it was an antique. Not only did it contain the original game, but also several expansion packs. Price, two dollars.

      Shit.

      Doug took the box to the register. The shopkeeper set his newspaper down.

      Found something that tickles your fancy?

      Yessir.

      Ah, this isn’t my usual stock and trade, but I’m glad someone bought it.

      It’s a good deal.

      Oh, a real bargain I’m sure.

      Doug handed the shopkeeper some dough and headed out the door.

      Have a lovely day, the shopkeeper chuckled.

      Doug jumped into his battered old Chevy S10 and drove home. Both his parents worked and his older brother had departed for his freshman year at Clemson University. He had the house to himself. He booted up his laptop and popped the first CD into the drive. The autorun started within a few seconds.

      Before long, the game and all its expansion packs were installed. Doug double-clicked the shortcut and waited as the game loaded.

      What the fuck?

      The main neighborhood screen looked exactly like Newberry, right down to the opera house! Well, this is interesting. He clicked the create a new sim button.

      Doug Tompkins, he murmured under his breath as he typed the Sim’s name.

      Doug gave his Sim sandy hair and facial features that looked remarkably like his own. He was about to hit the create Sim button when he paused. He went back and made his Sim ripped. It doesn’t have to be true to life. He hit the create button. But why stop with just me? He hit the create new Sim button once more.

      He switched the gender to female and entered Ruthie Jessup in the name field. He gave her long, wild red hair, just like the real Ruthie. He gave her a black dress and flip flops. To top it off, he made damn sure she was quite well endowed.

      Doug! he

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