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    77 Results in the "Burned Cover" category


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      19 – The Shattering of Bones Makes a Great Deal of Noise

      19 – The Shattering of Bones Makes a Great Deal of Noise Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika felt nervous. Her shoulders were a bundle of tension, and the errant twitches of her foot as she tapped it against the ground did not help. This wasn’t her first fight, nor was it her first fight with supernatural beings. The Church had surprised her on her very first night out investigating these things, the museum had all those cultists, the maggots probably counted even if they didn’t put up much actual fight, and she had her little… spar with The Stalker. Something was different about…
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      18 – Decisions Play an Important Part in All Futures

      18 – Decisions Play an Important Part in All Futures Cover
      by Tower Curator “The Stalker is moving to join us,” Michael said as the group took the stairs down. “She can guide us to avoid potential pursuers,” he added after a moment, presumably more for The Hunters. The Warrior would know of her abilities and what they could be used for. “Avoid them?” The Warrior said, sounding surprised. Her eyes hardened. Where before, she had been upset over leaving her furniture behind, something about her expression now set Erika on edge. She opened up a yellow faux-leather…
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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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      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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      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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      11 – A Brief Moment of Abnormalcy

      11 – A Brief Moment of Abnormalcy Cover
      by Tower Curator “Hello!” Erika called out. “Anyone home?” The aged wooden door creaked, long and squeaky, as Erika pushed it open. A darkened foyer greeted her. One musty rug sat on the floor while massive webs clung to the corners. A grandfather’s clock, frozen in time, stood just in front of a set of stairs. A heavy scent of mold hung in the air, thankfully swept away by a sharp draft that blew in from behind Erika. She stepped inside, taking in the environment. It certainly gave off a perfect spooky…
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      10 – A Brief Moment of Normalcy

      10 – A Brief Moment of Normalcy Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika sat in the back of her math class, phone in her lap, flicking her thumb up and up and up. Mister de Vries teemed with a lot of news about binomial theorems, but she found the subject even less interesting than she normally did. School as a whole wasn’t quite what it used to be in her mind. Before, she had thought she would live a relatively normal life, albeit one in which she had a few party tricks to show off. It was a life where she still needed connections, networking, and social skills to…
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