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    103 Results in the "Burned Cover" category


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      07 – The Way We Deal

      07 – The Way We Deal Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika sat in her truck, eating a sub sandwich at a parking lot just outside Chicago’s downtown. Heavy metal music blasted from the speakers, vibrating the windows and drowning out the noises of the city. It didn’t seem to matter how much she turned it up; the music still wasn’t loud enough to quash her own thoughts. Rick had sent her a text earlier—Anna was awake, though not quite ready to leave just yet. Erika couldn’t decide if she should visit. Showing up with a ‘Sorry you died, get well…
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      07 – i – The Mind

      07 – i – The Mind Cover
      by Tower Curator The massive man, suspended on wires and chains within a fragile glass cube, itself suspended over a bottomless pit leading to the depths of The Castle’s asylum, turned his head the moment The Mind looked in on him. He always did. Most of his bones were still broken, and enough sedatives to kill an elephant coursed through his veins, and still… he knew. The Mind held his gaze a moment longer than was comfortable, then looked away. The rest of The Castle required attention. The corridors of The…
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      06 – Recovery and Righteous Indignation

      06 – Recovery and Righteous Indignation Cover
      by Tower Curator Varn’s felt different without anybody around. Erika spent all of a Tuesday morning tidying up around the old arcade, cleaning a few of the neglected cabinets, organizing the stock of tokens that would replace quarters, and setting out the prizes. The boarded-up windows had been replaced with proper glass, though they were shuttered at the moment; between the light coming in through the windows and the new lights throughout the arcade, more dust than ever was visible on nearly every surface. The King…
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      06 – Haunted

      06 – Haunted Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika strolled into Varn’s Friday evening, glancing behind her every few steps for any sign of pursuers. Her eyes found every reflective surface, every glimmer of movement, and every flutter of white cloth. She slipped past the sparse crowd and, with nothing more than a wave to Daniel as he manned the arcade’s prize counter, barged into the back room. Glassware rattled on the table as she clapped her hands to its surface. Sofia, present for once, jolted back in surprise. Rick and Anna turned away from…
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      05 – i – Daniel King

      05 – i – Daniel King Cover
      by Tower Curator “I don’t think we’re getting anywhere on this one,” Daniel said, snapping a book on ancient death cults closed. It joined the stack of dead-end books, leaving him with only one last book to skim through. But he knew that if he didn’t find something relevant, their search would go nowhere, and he hated feeling helpless. Bethany, leaning back on the rear two legs of her chair, absently balanced herself as she scrolled down her phone. “Maybe you should figure out what you’re looking…
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      05 – Family Matters

      05 – Family Matters Cover
      by Tower Curator “Adjustment!” Erika said, surprised with herself at being happy to see the spider-woman. Maybe it was that The Adjustment had come down to Varn’s on her own. If The Eclipse was pissed off about the whole maggot thing or the bird thing or The Puppet thing, they probably would have shown up in force, rather than just sending their usual liaison. That meant good things for The Hunters. “Agent,” The Adjustment grumbled, pushing right past Erika into Varn’s back office. She dragged out a chair…
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      04 – Ghost Breakers

      04 – Ghost Breakers Cover
      by Tower Curator “Go, move,” Leslie whispered as he urged the group back. Erika’s mind raced. Her heart thumped. Some headless horseman romped past them and Leslie and Rick barely flinched. Something about the situation scared the two older ghost hunters, which had her on edge in turn. She kept her eyes locked on the withered woman in white as she let Leslie guide her steps backwards. “Fully manifested?” Rick muttered under his breath like he couldn’t believe his own words, his fingers twitching in the…
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      04 – A Breath of Fresh Air

      04 – A Breath of Fresh Air Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika woke with a sudden gasp, confused and disoriented. She sat on her side, just as she had been ten seconds ago. The room around her was no longer The Castle’s operating theater. The last thing she saw was The Orderly, warning her that she would feel a burning sensation in her arm as she added some anesthetic to Erika’s IV line. Erika distinctly recalled feeling a heat in her wrist. She opened her mouth to comment on it, then… The recovery room didn’t look much different from the room Erika…
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      03 – The Castle at Large

      03 – The Castle at Large Cover
      by Tower Curator The Butler towered over Erika as she guided the way through the long, empty corridors of The Castle’s asylum. Erika couldn’t be certain, but it felt like The Butler was even taller than the last time she ran into the woman. “I am sorry for not contacting you,” The Butler said, breaking a silence that had lasted since leaving the operating theater. “It wasn’t that I deliberately ignored you, just that The Director doesn’t typically bring in outsiders.” “That’s… fine? I guess?”…
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      03 – Not So Dangerous Anymore

      03 – Not So Dangerous Anymore Cover
      by Tower Curator “Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is the most haunted graveyard in the world?” Erika read off her phone. “I find that hard to believe.” “Why not?” Daniel asked, sitting alongside Erika in the back seat of Rick’s new van. “It’s a creepy old graveyard.” “It isn’t that old,” Erika corrected, reading from the article. “The first burial was apparently in 1844, not even two hundred years ago. Pick a random graveyard in Europe and I bet they’re older than this place.” Leslie,…
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