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    103 Results in the "Burned Cover" category


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      21 – Getting to the Bottom of Things

      21 – Getting to the Bottom of Things Cover
      by Tower Curator “You got a good look at her?” “A good look?” Erika would have laughed if she were in a better mood. “Was kind of hard not to, what with her being all nude. Would probably have gotten a much better look if not for the stress and adrenaline and all that stuff that comes with being in a fight.” “You into women?” Erika turned, giving Daniel a heavy frown. The two of them were helping her unload a large dresser from the back of her pickup while Carter watched from the sidelines.…
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      22 – i – The Adjustment

      22 – i – The Adjustment Cover
      by Tower Curator 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.…
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      23 – Opening a Box of Worms

      23 – Opening a Box of Worms Cover
      by Tower Curator “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…
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      24 – The Hunters Must Hunt

      24 – The Hunters Must Hunt Cover
      by Tower Curator “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…
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      25 – Pressures from the Future Weigh on the Scales of the Present

      25 – Pressures from the Future Weigh on the Scales of the Present Cover
      by Tower Curator 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…
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      27 – A New Life on Lease

      27 – A New Life on Lease Cover
      by Tower Curator “Wait… we can’t spend the ten million? What the fuck?” Erika stared daggers at the duffel bag now sitting on the Walker rental home dining table. The whole ride back, Erika had been more excited about that than the whole deal with the devil, thinking it was their ticket to buying a real house again, not having to rob ATMs, and maybe slipping a few thousand to Rick until he could get the arcade up and making money—assuming it ever made money. “The money belongs to Harriet Lavender,” The…
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      28 – Neutrality is a Difficult Path to Walk

      28 – Neutrality is a Difficult Path to Walk Cover
      by Tower Curator “Hey, Danny, think fast.” With a light, underhand toss, the small metal cube sailed from Erika’s gloved hand through the air, right to a startled Daniel, who, as reflexes dictated, scrambled to catch the flying object. His hands clasped around it, leaving him sighing in relief. For one brief moment, he started to inspect it, only to pause and look up with a frown on his face. He rubbed at one ear while looking around, turning to Rick, then to Anna. “Can you—” he started, speaking louder…
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      29 – Curse Breaking and Ghost Busting

      29 – Curse Breaking and Ghost Busting Cover
      by Tower Curator “How, exactly, do you break curses?” Erika’s eyes lingered on the scenery flying past Rick’s van as she considered her response. In truth, she did not know how she broke anything. The exploit was there, a flaw in reality that she—and she alone—could perceive. Physical things were the easiest and most obvious things she could break; Erika had stumbled across her ability to break things like security, both digital and otherwise, as well as break the more metaphysical connections between…
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      30 – A Surprise Visit from an Unwelcome Guest

      30 – A Surprise Visit from an Unwelcome Guest Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika checked her watch, mentally counting how long each second took to pass. Normally, time moved at a fairly regular pace of one second per second, but her watch accelerated after she broke things. Starting four hours behind real time, she had until the watch caught up to the current hour before the ripples of her power would propagate, thus becoming detectable to The Mummy. The tests with the cubes had gone on for an hour, breaking all five of the cubes during that time. She had also performed a few…
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      31 – i – The Daughter

      31 – i – The Daughter Cover
      by Tower Curator Delilah staggered through the door to her apartment quarters, following after her mother. The air around them was a noxious cloud that smelled of acrid incense with a metallic aftertaste, clinging to them like a sticky, slimy film. Her shoes left burgundy stains with every step, and she couldn’t bring herself to care. “I’m taking a shower,” Delilah said. “We’re not supposed to use hot water after ten.” Delilah trudged past her mother, grinding the heels of her shoes into the frayed…
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