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The Last War by Elese Mathis

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During a world-ending nuclear war, Emma is trapped as a servant in a luxuriously appointed bunker. Image generated with OpenAI Emma wanted so much to shut off the television, but this wasn't her house. Mrs. Thompson binged post-apocalyptic films night and day, even if no one was in the room to watch them. When the Last War was all anyone ever talked about, the last thing Emma wanted to see or hear were movies about the end of the world. She slapped the floor with her soaked mop and raked it back and forth. The sloshing couldn't drown out the wails of the movie characters fleeing from bloodthirsty aliens. Emma stopped mopping. It was strange. People said this war would mark the end of everything, and yet, instead of her life ending in chaos and screams, here she was, serving Mrs. Thompson and her series of never-ending parties. It wasn't exactly what she expected. Mrs. Thompson's six-inch heels clacked against the freshly mopped floor as she marched into the fo...
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The Spanish Pony by Paul Stansbury

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Pete Monsen finds an injured boy on the trail, and rescues him with the help of his dog Pyrite and his burro Esperanza. Image generated with OpenAI "What's got holt of your tail, Pyrite?" Pete Monsen shouted, breath turning into a dense vapor in the cold morning air. He tugged at his curly grey beard as he watched his Catahoula Shepherd splash down the narrow, rain-soaked trail and disappear around a ragged outcrop of rocks. "Come back here, dog. I ain't got time for you to go runnin off." Hiking up his waist overalls, he pulled his burro's lead. "Come on, Esperanza. Let's see what's got him all upset." Rounding the ledge, he found his dog whining as it nosed a large brown bundle lying in a puddle between the trail bed and cliff. "Whatcha you find there, boy?" he asked. "Looks like someone lost their top pack. Think it mighta been the storm?" He turned and tugged at the straps holding the panniers on Esperanza's...
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The Matryoshka Affair by Aleksandar Obradovic

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Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Milovan Nedeljković gets assigned to a secretive case in Montenegro's Russian embassy. Image generated with OpenAI If there was one thing he hated, it was calls to his work phone outside office hours. He waited, hoping the phone would finally stop ringing. Jovana and the boys were tense. They knew how demanding his job was and that, because of it, he was often absent even in thought. When the ringing sounded for the fourth time, he could no longer ignore it. Someone was persistent in trying to reach him, which had to mean something urgent had happened. He walked over to the phone and grabbed it nervously. It turned out to be the chief of police who needed Milovan so badly. He pressed the green button and answered. "Hello?" "I was just about to send a patrol to check whether something had happened to you. Why did it take you so long to answer?" "You know how it is. I respect working hours, but I value my free time with family even...
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