Disassembling Light
Novelette 8,878 words Recommended by 1 award/anthology source
"Terse heard the disturbance in the woods long before the short, sturdy girl shoved through the overgrown hedge. He flung open the door of his workshop, and she startled, nearly dropping a large knapsack dangling off of one shoulder. “Can I help you?” Terse asked, leaning against the door frame, balancing his red clay pipe on his lower lip."
Content warnings 1
violence
Quasar links out; the story lives on BCS, where the author gets the click.