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Rachael Varca's avatar

We wonder if she escaped, but my mind wondered if the creature came and took her, to clean up after the time traveler’s mess?

Maybe that’s reading into it too much and she did escape. But the tension was phenomenal. Excellent piece.

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

By the twitching of my thumbs,

Something eldritch this way comes.

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Tamara Shaffer's avatar

Something so unusual, and what an intriguing story. I couldn't stop reading. Well done.

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

I suppose that's why the Doctor's always running...

But seriously, this is awesome. The best time travel/western story I've read since ever.

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Mark Connolly's avatar

That was very good. I'm really curious what you read that lead to this sort of time-traveling ghost-sh story. I wondered, with her calmness, if she might "slip through". But now, is she in the same situation? Running? Or saved? Maybe saved by the deadnowbutnotthen traveler? What a great story.

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Tiffany Chu's avatar

Ooh this one was super fun and I admit the title made me very excited to read it. I thought it was going to be about a witch but it was even better. As usual, great atmosphere. Always fascinated by time travel stories..

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Bridget Riley's avatar

This was so beautiful, eerie, and poetic! Exactly the story I needed today!

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E. H. Lau's avatar

That was a cool mix of sci-fi into a western setting! 😄

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Keith Long's avatar

So so good. Also love the name Penny Foote/Lucky Penny

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Nick Winney's avatar

Excellent! attention grabbing tale... it did signpost where it was going and i felt like Pennys exposition tipped her into the spotlight of the time travelling monster but ultimately there was enough uncertainty around the edges that im not 100% sure what you intended...but to my mind the time travelling reckoner is within penny now...and who knows where she has got to!

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Helen Rowlands's avatar

Fabulous story 😎

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Ken Flyingheart's avatar

This. Is. Gorgeous. Oh my god, Sally. So many wonderful lines. Such a satisfying payoff. You are, and always will be, a legend.

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Richard Ritenbaugh's avatar

What did the traveller tell her on those other nights? How to do it?

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Kim Hardy's avatar

Very good 😊

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Leanne Shawler's avatar

Oh good!! I was a bit worried Time would allow for collateral damage. What was the story/factoid that inspired this?

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S.E. Reid's avatar

Ha! Okay, admittedly, this all came about because I was reading about Mount Olive, which is a place that existed a long time ago in a location not too far from where I live, but doesn't anymore. I was fascinated by the idea that a fast-growing town can be poised to become a major political hub and then, thanks to the decision to move the county seat somewhere else, it pretty much disappeared from the map. It exists today under a different name and isn't even considered a real town anymore. That's wild to me!

The speculative elements arose from some other ideas I had been having, but setting it in a town destined to be "doomed" really helped everything fall into place. :)

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Parrish Baker's avatar

An ambiguous end indeed....

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