Header Background Image

    39 Results in the "Burned Cover" category


    • Chapter

      13 – Saying Goodbye is a Complicated Affair

      13 – Saying Goodbye is a Complicated Affair Cover
      by Tower Curator “Why didn’t you text?” “No signal in this place.” Rick did not look happy with that response. Erika wasn’t all that happy with it either. The whole reason she had come here was to get a better feel for these ghost hunters… and to help out and maybe see something interesting, she supposed. Mostly, it was for evaluation. The fact that they had been out here for almost an hour without checking in didn’t bode well. Erika wasn’t all that happy to disparage her gender, but Rick seemed…
    • Chapter

      16 – The Closing of a Door, The Opening of a Window

      16 – The Closing of a Door, The Opening of a Window Cover
      by Tower Curator Varn’s bustled with activity when Erika finally pulled up to the old arcade. The cramped parking lot out back didn’t even have room for her truck. Rick’s van took one spot, a smaller SUV took another spot, and the final parking spot was occupied by Leslie’s oversized truck. She had to park behind them, blocking them all in. Erika stepped out of her truck in a fresh outfit. A simple tank with black mesh layered on top, a short pleated plaid skirt, and some chunky platform boots. A long trench…
    • Chapter

      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…
    • Chapter

      24 – Portents of Impending Doom

      24 – Portents of Impending Doom Cover
      by Tower Curator The atmosphere in Varn’s arcade felt unusually tense. It didn’t help that, as soon as Erika walked in, Leslie stood, pulled a hefty shotgun out from under the table, and aimed it right at the door. He quickly pointed it up at the ceiling as soon as he saw that it was Erika coming in, but he kept it in his hands, frowning heavily as The Fixer walked in behind her. Maybe she should have knocked. Erika wondered if they thought The Fixer was some kind of ghost, but dismissed that idea. He looked…
    • Chapter

      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…
    • Chapter

      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…
    • Chapter

      09 – All is Calm in the Windy City

      09 – All is Calm in the Windy City Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika held fast to the handrail of the subway car, watching the sparse lights outside the windows fly past. People sat around her, occupying the seats and, occasionally, standing off to the sides. They talked among themselves, listened to music with their earbuds, and generally just lived. It had been a week since that ‘gas leak’ shut down the subway, and everyone was already perfectly willing to trust that everything had been taken care of. To be fair, everything had been taken care of. Erika knew…
    • Chapter

      08 – Unpressed Charges

      08 – Unpressed Charges Cover
      by Tower Curator “Yep… dragged us off to the station and read us our rights,” Rick grumbled as he sat in the back room of Varn’s, typing away on his laptop. “Good thing Leslie wasn’t there. He’s got a family to worry about.” “Excuse me?” Anna said, narrowing her eyes. “I have a mother to take care of. Leslie’s family can take care of themselves—” “It isn’t a competition, Anna. And you know Leslie would help your mom out if something happened to you.” Anna stared at the back of…
    • Chapter

      07 – i – The Art

      07 – i – The Art Cover
      by Tower Curator What a mess. First, The Castle and The Puppet. Now this? The Art surveyed the subway utility tunnel with a vacant expression. The doll-like porcelain face she wore couldn’t emote. If it could, she imagined it would have been twisted in a disgusted snarl. At the very least, her nose would have wrinkled from the foul stench lingering in the air. Like rancid sewer pipes. The Art didn’t find it all that unpleasant, if she were being honest. It was almost… fragrant. Her senses and…
    • Chapter

      06 – Breaking Bonds of Words and Promises

      06 – Breaking Bonds of Words and Promises Cover
      by Tower Curator Erika did not panic. “The Analyst and I appreciate The Eclipse’s cooperation with this matter.” She wasn’t sure if she could panic. There was a moment, right when she heard the word stop, that she felt that spike of adrenaline. But it was gone now. “Of course. The Emperor was most invested in this project. She will be pleased to hear it turned out well.” The Hanged Man and the worn-out accountant were talking. Erika couldn’t turn her head, but neither had moved out of her view. At…
    Note