90 Results in the "Burned Cover" category
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Chapter
26 – Prison Break
“I doubt you got visitation approval on such short notice,” Erika said. It was a bit surreal to be seated in a restaurant in the middle of downtown Chicago, happily open on Christmas Eve, while just down the road stood a tall concrete skyscraper with narrow slits for windows—the Metropolitan Correctional Center - Chicago. She had driven past it at least a dozen times, probably more, and knew what it was, but it was still just odd to be sitting here, having a sandwich, while six hundred people were…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
25 – The Ziggurat
Black bile splattered across the steps of the ziggurat. Chunks of viscera arced through the air, flung from the end of Erika’s bat. Each turned into a projectile in its own right, splattering every maggot in the way. Grime coated every inch of her face. Erika opted for garbage clothes knowing she would end up getting dirty, but she hadn’t quite realized just how messy the night would become. Her hair felt tangled and greasy, a rat’s nest despite pinning it in a neat bun to keep it out of the way.…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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The night before Christmas Eve held little significance for the Walker family. Normally, they didn’t celebrate the holiday beyond, perhaps, a family meal. When she was young, Erika assumed that their family just wasn’t religious enough to celebrate it. Now knowing it was more of a commercial holiday, she figured there just wasn’t often the funds to have a proper Christmas—both her and Carter had a birthday in the latter quarter of the year, and that put a certain strain on the family…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
24 – The Maggots of Myrk
It only took six hours before things went to shit. “That’s the twelfth cop car that’s gone in the opposite direction from us,” Daniel commented as Leslie pulled his oversized truck off to the side of the road, making way for the emergency vehicles. “Thirteenth… fourteenth,” he added as two more blazed through an intersection ahead of them. Erika watched them go, eyes drifting up to the turbulent column of smoke stretching up to the clouds. Leslie started pulling back into the street,…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
24 – The Hunters Must Hunt
“I’m not opposed to exorcising ghosts; it’s what we gathered to do to begin with,” Leslie said, looking from one person to the next in their little huddle. “But we have been cursed—” Rick winced, but didn’t interrupt. “—with knowledge. We now know what exists out there, and they expect us to return to our little box?” “Don’t think we’re being given much choice,” Sofia muttered. “Unless you want to go ask them or else what?” “I’m a little opposed to going back to…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
23 – Opening a Box of Worms
“So,” Erika said, taking a seat at the Varn’s meeting table. “That’s the plan. Comments, questions, concerns?” Today was a bit of an odd day at the arcade. More of the machines were functional, including an old-fashioned skee-ball game. The carpets were clean, and some new lighting had been installed, readying the place for a hopeful opening after the new year. That assumed Rick was up for it. The proprietor of Varn’s sat at the meeting table with a sunken look in his eyes, staring at…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
23 – i – The Hermit
Tucked away in the heart of Hyde Park, concealed behind a nondescript brick façade, Ren lounged in her small slice of paradise within the otherwise chaotic city of Chicago. To the uninitiated, it appeared as little more than an aging townhouse, but to those with the right eyes—or the right introductions—it opened a door to a whole other world. The heavy scent of incense hung in the air, mixing with the violet smoke that wafted from her long pipe. Carefully cultivated flowerpots hung throughout the…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
22 – i – The Adjustment
The Adjustment wasn’t what people usually considered a normal person. Some people wouldn’t consider her a person at all. Humans tended to feel unnerved in her presence, the same way they might find regular spiders creepy, except intensified by the fact that she was a human-sized spider. It was a bit lonely, both because she couldn’t easily disguise herself to have normal relations with normal people, and because even other unnaturals tended to avoid her; she didn’t exactly have many confidants.…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Layer by layer, sense by sense, Erika felt herself peeled apart. Sound went first: the gunfire, the shouts, the screech of metal birds all stretched and warped, then snapped into a cacophonous silence. The bridge, the van, and her allies smeared into streaks of color, then into impossible geometries—shapes that hurt to look at, their colors did not exist. Smell and taste followed, but not quietly. The spiciest curry paled compared to the taste of reality. A violent explosion of every taste at once…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
21 – The Masks Are the People
“The masks are the people,” Erika said softly. It was a disturbing implication, but the one that made the most sense with what information she had. “They don’t need to wear the masks, but doing so likely grants them some kind of resilience,” Erika said, glancing back over her shoulder. Simone and Michael were watching their captive. “I don’t know how else to explain them getting right up after being shot like nothing was wrong, but a few broken bones and that guy can barely…-
321.4 K • Ongoing
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