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    52 Results in the "Burned Cover" category


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      17 – A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

      17 – A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika half expected a second meeting with The Warrior to take place in that same laundromat as the first time around. It seemed like an alright place, having a nondescript and unassuming exterior, with nothing pointing it out as anything special, while the interior had been operational enough. She doubted it was anything like Varn’s, where people spent great deals of time, but it was clear some work had been put into maintaining it. It seemed like a suitable meeting place for anyone unaligned with…
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      16 – Communication is the Foundation of Advancement

      16 – Communication is the Foundation of Advancement Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika wasn’t exactly sure how to broach the topic of the cursed sword with Rick. She wanted to break the curse as a little good deed, as a nice little thank you for giving her a place to lie low and, since then, a place to hang out—a little return for them helping her out when she needed it. She needed to figure out something for Anna as well, for putting Leah back together after the museum, if nothing else, but breaking a curse on a sword seemed like a good starting place and a good use of her…
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      17 – i – The Stalker

      17 – i – The Stalker Cover
      by Tower Curator The Stalker pulled a dress from her closet and looked it over. Black and lacy, transparent in all the right places to be enticing. Was it too much? She held it up to her chest as she turned to her mirror. It would certainly accentuate her curves, but… It was too flirty. This was a business meeting. She wasn’t sneaking off to meet The Hanged Man again. The Stalker tossed the dress aside, lumping it in the pile with all the other clothes. Why was everything she had so slutty? It was The Hanged…
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      15 – i – The Warrior

      15 – i – The Warrior Cover
      by Tower Curator Jasmine Vasila looked around the old laundromat. It was a dingy, depressing little hovel. Boarded up, barred windows were covered in a thin layer of paint: spray-painted symbols, tags, and other graffiti—all related to mundane gangs. An aged For Sale sign hung from the door, peeking out from under several other posters advertising everything from garage sales to fruit stands. Hardly a respectable meeting place. One day, Jasmine reminded herself. One day and we’ll be in charge. When that day came,…
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      14 – Focus on What Can be Done

      14 – Focus on What Can be Done Cover
      by Tower Curator Two days into Erika’s second research project at the H. Finch Bibliotheca, and Erika felt like she was getting the hang of using antiquated methods of information retrieval. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to Anna, but she wasn’t just unfamiliar with the card catalog, the Bibliotheca was the first real library she had ever set foot in. Her school had a library, but she honestly couldn’t recall if she had ever been inside. Books just weren’t her scene. Why go dig through physical books when all…
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      08 – Some Conspiracy Theories Hold Grains of Truth

      08 – Some Conspiracy Theories Hold Grains of Truth Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika followed the navigation on her phone, turning down one of the seedier streets in Chicago. It was up north, pretty much the opposite side of the city from where Erika and Daniel lived. It was, nonetheless, the street he had given her over the phone. She drove down, frowning at every building she passed: a video rental place that looked sketchy as shit next to a store advertising clothes, shoes, erotic toys, and lingerie; a hookah lounge; and two separate tattoo parlors with signs so faded they were…
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      13 – Taking Responsibility Takes Integrity

      13 – Taking Responsibility Takes Integrity Cover
      by Tower Curator The first Wednesday of December was a particularly cold and unpleasant day. Winter in Chicago was never pleasant, but a moist, westward wind dragged down what should have been a relatively mild day as it swept over the top of the lake. Cold air wasn’t supposed to carry much moisture, and yet, Erika still felt like she was being lightly glazed over with a layer of ice. Driving her pickup in these circumstances was among her least favorite activities. It was an old junker with rear-wheel drive and next…
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      12 – To Value the Time We Have

      12 – To Value the Time We Have Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika sat at the kitchen counter of the Walker rental house. School was out, Thanksgiving was tomorrow, which left several days without her having to worry about pretending to care. She really should just stop going—having a GED meant she wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place—but it was a decent place to meet up with Daniel, hear gossip from Kassandra, and otherwise have some amount of normalcy in her life. She certainly wasn’t getting any normalcy here. Leah—and Erika was…
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      07 – The Archives Hold All Knowledge

      07 – The Archives Hold All Knowledge Cover
      by Tower Curator It was some small consolation that there was next to no traffic or pedestrians in the area of the Old St. Patrick’s Church at three in the morning. Erika didn’t want to look too suspicious as she stalked around the church, but even a priest would get an odd side-glance walking around at this hour. That said, Erika wasn’t one for subtlety. That nun was in some way associated with this church. Maybe finding Friar Tuck inside would be an acceptable alternative. If Erika could ask a question or…
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      06 – A Proper Investigation

      06 – A Proper Investigation Cover
      by Tower Curator “So, I call you on a Friday, and you can just come right out and hang?” Daniel shifted in the passenger seat of the old pickup, looking uncomfortable. “Sorry,” Erika said, not taking her eyes off the road. “Didn’t mean to imply that you had nothing better to do. But… did you not have anything better to do?” “My… family likes to go out on Friday nights,” he said, still looking distinctly uncomfortable. It was probably the worn seats—though the passenger seat wasn’t half as…
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