Tor.com Short Fiction January–February 2021 by Richard Kadrey

The good news is it's a fun story a post-plague city in quarantine, overrun by zombie- ish hordes, genetically modified dogs, drones, hucksters, thieves, and one grave-robber who just wants to get out of quaran-town after his wife leaves him. This story = many admirable things, many puzzling things, many typos. They walked for perhaps a half hour more before the guide said, “Shit.” “Do think they’ll ever lift the quarantine?” he said. The artwork on the website, for this story, fits it so very well. This story is available for free from Tor.Com and I appreciate that they provide such stories. I think many of my horror loving friends will enjoy this story more than I did, since I can be squeamish when it comes to this sort of thing. But then, I'm not in this story and have better options than the people of this repulsive existence.

In the end, things aren't what they seem and we come to a resolution that has many drawbacks, in my mind. He's hired a guide to help him maneuver the deadly dangers of travel and the guide is a running commentary of grisly facts and a source of, hopefully, helpful drugs. The thief wants out and his only way out is to find the person who can give him traveling papers. The city is a festering rubble of decay and death and the remaining living creatures (including humans) aren't in any better shape. Our main character is only known as the thief and he is making his way through a city that is in perpetual quarantine due to an uncontrollable plague.

Tor.com Short Fiction January–February 2021 by Richard Kadrey