Chickenfoot Soup
Novelette 7,562 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"A scream rises from the bush. One last call to the living: a warning of pain. Katarina’s heard that same sound more times than she’s had hot dinners but still a ribbon of unease unfurls in her gut. She sets her cleaver down for a moment, shifting from one foot to the other."
Content warnings 3
child-abusedeathviolence
Quasar links out; the story lives on Lightspeed, where the author gets the click.