Freshly Dusted

  Escaping The VortexFire raged in the center of the Vortex as Ash approached, lingering on the edges of the maelstrom. It blew upwards like a great well of fire, and around it stood twelve judges, watching, waiting, lingering to see what she would do. They sat at their posts and didn’t move, not even Horsey, whom Ash would have thought would be more...

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Noelle's NoseNoelle Ese Nosse had no clue how to make make-up, but she was determined to try. From her thinking position—one foot propped on her bed, one on her desk, and her head upside down between them both—she scribbled out ideas in pink crayon with her free hand, alleviating pressure only to shift the weight between her head to her hand. She did...

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  Daddy's GirlShe moved out at 17 but stayed on her daddy’s credit card because he refused to let her starve. Her cousins loved her more, she shouted. “They said I could live with them. They’ll fight for me like you’ve never fucking done.” “All I’ve ever done is fight for you, you piece of shit. Everything I’ve ever done has been for you...

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Mountain Man In a crag on a mountain a former explorer nurses his wounds and counts his losses. He’s had every reason to give up, to sit in the cold and roundly assert he continues to suffer. He’s not comfortable here, but he doesn’t try to be—it’s easy to sit in the cold, and at some level, he thinks he deserves as much....

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