Came With the Frame

CAME WITH THE FRAME MORBID CURIOSITIES Book 1 Aron Beauregard Contents Quote CAME WITH THE FRAME A PARTING GIFT IDLE HANDS NO MORE LATE-NIGHT EXPRESSION HONEST ART ESCAPING UNEASINESS THE SUBTLE SLUMS RESERVATIONS THE ANCHOR HIT THE HEAD DIAL OUT GREEN BEETLE THE FINAL PIECE NOT JUST BROWSING Epilogue Morbid Curiosities Book 2 Morbid Curiosities Book 3 AB Horror Exclusives Acknowledgments About the Author Copyright © 2023 Aron Beauregard All rights reserved. Cover Art by Luke Spooner Interior Art by Anton Rosovsky Edited by Kristopher Triana WARNING: This book contains scenes and subject matter that are disgusting and disturbing; easily offended people are not the intended audience. JOIN MY MAGGOT MAILING LIST NOW FOR EXCLUSIVE OFFERS AND UPDATES BY EMAILING: [email protected] FOR SIGNED BOOKS, MERCHANDISE, AND EXCLUSIVE ITEMS VISIT: www.ABHorror.com For Rod Serling. You sparked the imaginations of countless generations and created a ripple effect that will never lose its momentum. “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man... a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.” - Rod Serling CAME WITH THE FRAME Sophia Couture sifted through the countless tables of odds and ends. She loved a good yard sale. Never being sure what she might come across kept her constantly enthralled. Records, magazines, furniture, books, toys, clothing—the offbeat shots of nostalgia had been flaring up in her brain ever since she had driven past the old Victorian house a few months prior. Surely, she won’t be here this weekend? Sophia had thought. What are the odds? The question had lingered in her head, but weekend after weekend, somehow the woman never ran out of items. It was like she was running a never-ending yard sale. Either that or she was a hardcore hoarder. Sophia had always been intrigued by what she’d seen from afar—the images of the sale never seemed to leave her mind. Every time she drove down the road, it called to her. The space offered the kind of retro junk that stirred her emotions. It was a shame she hadn’t been able to pop in, but the damn timing was just never right—until today. It didn’t take long for Sophia to be wowed. When she saw the picture frame’s inky exterior and its bizarrely sculpted dimensions, her jaw nearly fell off. It’s just like Franco… dark, she thought, instantly knowing she must have it. She lifted the frame off the table, feeling its weight. She held it steady and fixed her eyes upon the placeholder photo inside. A mysterious woman that sat by herself in a dark, bland room, a lone light source above only partially illuminating her. An orb peeked out from the background, planetary in appearance. The imagery was far more artistic than any stock photo she’d seen. It was a typical size. The dimensions and measurements of the frame were printed at the bottom like any other sample image, but still, something about the piece felt different. Maybe the strangest thing about the style choice was that the woman in the snap had her back to the camera—highly unorthodox for what should’ve been a simple stock photo. “Weird,” Sophia whispered. “That’s an old one,” the woman behind the table remarked. Sophia pointed to the eerie image of the model in the darkened room. “Really? But it still looks like there’s a stock photo inside.” The woman shrugged and offered a charming grin. Her face showed her age, but past her wrinkles, there was still something strikingly beautiful about her. An intriguing exoticness captured in her unplaceable accent. The red shawl wrapped around her body was speckled with crescent moons and golden stars that twinkled as bright as her eyes. The woman didn’t say anything more, she just continued to look around at the potential clients perusing her tables. Sophia figured the woman was just the type to say whatever the customer wanted to hear to close a sale. An item’s age at an antique store or yard sale was always a point of enticement. Sophia wasn’t so much concerned about the history of the frame—she just wanted to secure it. She looked down at the ebony rectangle. “Regardless, it’s beautiful. How much are you looking for?” The wrinkly woman’s expression fell flat as she took a moment to ponder. “I can do five.” Sophia’s eyes popped—she was scoring a deal. She reached into her purse and plucked a Lincoln from the cash wad buried inside. “I’m so glad I was able to stop in,” Sophia said. “I’ve seen you out here a few times now, but the stars never aligned.” She reached out with the money while looking up from her shawl to her eyes. “It seems this frame has been waiting for you,” the woman replied. Sophia smiled politely. “Really? What makes you say that?” The woman took the money from Sophia’s hand. “The stars tell us many things. Even when we can’t see them, they speak to us.” Sophia was intrigued by the woman’s odd way with words. She spoke like a palm reader laying out cards in front of a crystal ball. A fun attraction that she might’ve sought out in her twenties. The transaction had been completed but she felt the need to ask another question. “And what do they say to you?” She slipped the money into a steel black box beside the table. “They say that some of us need help and don’t even realize it. They tell me that this frame, it’s not for you.” She looked down at Sophia’s hands and at the sharp teeth of the gargoyle and demon faces imbedded in the frame’s charcoal perimeter. “Surely such a dark, daunting piece couldn’t align with your aura, could it?” Sophia furrowed her brow, not exactly sure of what she was getting at.