A million little details that completely escaped my notice earlier hit me all at once, such as the fact there isn’t a single flake of snow on the ground. Every tree within sight is lush and green, the sky above is bright and blue and cloudless. The pavement beneath me radiates a prickling heat that smells sharp and oily. The air is the thick, humid air of a New England summer. Oh my God...
“How long have I been gone?”
“Carrie,” Sara says, her face pinching.
She takes me by the shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze before dropping the bomb on me. What she says robs me of breath. My stomach clenches, my head goes light, my knees threaten to give way, and for some stupid reason, all I can think of is how much schoolwork I’m going to have to catch up on. I mean, I knew I was gone for a long time, but my God...
“It’s August. You’ve been gone for eight months.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Bailey was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts and raised on a steady diet of comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, Saturday morning cartoons, sci-fi television, and horror movies…which explains a lot.
An effort to parlay his love of geek culture into a career as a comic book artist failed when he figured out he wasn’t that good, so he turned to writing as means of artistic expression. Since then, Michael has written several scripts for New England-area renaissance faires, as well as a number of articles based on faire culture for Renaissance Magazine.
In 2013, Michael left his job of 15 years as a reporter and blogger for his hometown newspaper, the Falmouth Enterprise, to pursue his writing career. His debut novel, Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins made its debut in September 2013.
Michael lives in Massachusetts with his wife Veronica, four cats, and an English bulldog.
Visit Michael online at www.innsmouthlook.com, and find him on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Also by Michael Bailey:
Collections
Cheap Thrills Digest
Fantasy
The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Scratching a Lich
The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Assassins Brawl
The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – Blades of Glory
Young Adult
Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins
Action Figures – Issue Two: Black Magic Women
Action Figures – Issue Three: Pasts Imperfect
Action Figures – Issue Four: Cruel Summer
Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups
Action Figures – Issue Six: Power Play
Table of Contents
PART ONE: STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
PART TWO: Into the Void
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Also by Michael Bailey:
Action Figures - Issue Seven: The Black End War Page 24
