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Lazette Gifford, "Into Darkness": I left my little office early because of a surprising urge to jog and clear away some of the detritus that had built up in my head from my last case. I hadn't jogged in quite a while, and the weather today looked perfect: cloudy and cool, with a slight summer-going-to-autumn breeze.

Niko Silvester, "Come-From-Away": One January day, I'm walking down the main street of downtown St. John's, Newfoundland, where I go to graduate school. It's called Water Street, but despite its name, all of the buildings on the seaward side face in, turning their backs on the harbour. It's the kind of contradiction I've noticed a lot since moving here. Life depends on the sea, yet people try to forget it exists; tradition is valued, but old handcrafted furniture rots in backyard sheds or is sold to tourists.

Troy Morash, "The Two Carpenters": There was, and probably still is, a tiny village where the sun never shines. In this tiny village it always rained or was cloudy. People were always cursing as they got stuck in the mud or dirtied up their houses.

Daniel J. Bishop, "Acting the Legend": Perhaps it was fate that made him what he was, fate that had drawn him to a deserted beach in Northern California, on a warm autumn night. He was an athletic man, with thin pale hair redrawn in dark melancholy strands by the damp air. The ocean, muffled by the low fog, hushed into the rocky shore. The taut membrane of the night sky stretched tight overhead, ready to burst golden starry shrapnel at the slightest provocation. The clouds had settled on the ground, and the stars were brighter than the slivered moon.

D. Harlan Wilson, "My Barbarian": The barbarian wasn't working out. It kept defecating all over the upholstery, and whenever the wife and I had company over it insisted on tackling and molesting every last cleavage-toter it could get its bony, gritty fingers on. I decided to return it.

Gary Allen, "Remittance": Flattened by the howling wind, the flowering heather clung to whatever foothold it could find along the sides of the steep valley. A heavy mist sat along Dyrdd Llanon Gwyr's spine, frustrating the crying peregrines wheeling overhead. Pausing beside the valley's raging river, the rider squinted up at the calling raptors for a moment before urging his horse on along the rocky bank. It was not safe for him to tarry here. This was wild country and he had a long way to ride before dusk.


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