Flitting Away

When a vicious attacker leaves Nicole Walker for dead, she fights against the odds to survive. And to succeed, she must remember—the attack, the attacker, even her own desire to live. Her mind wants to flit away and escape the horrors of the attack. Flitting away means death. But remembering might mean an even worse fate.

Originally written for a tribute volume to Edgar Allen Poe, this horrifying and moving story takes inspiration from Poe’s lesser-known story, “The Mystery of Marie Roget.”

“…a horrifying story of violence on a woman whose life is ruined forever by a rejected suitor. The echo of similar, true stories happening in real life makes the piece even more frightening.” —SF Site

“a moving story of a near-death experience following a horrific attack on a female jogger” —Strange Horizons

“"Flitting Away" … tells of the dilemma of a woman who is raped and left for dead, the account disturbingly matter of fact and shot through with tiny details that make it all so terribly real and heartrendingly sad in what it reveals to us of man’s inhumanity. ...” —Black Static

“a personal and disarming piece” —Bibliophile Stalker

Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s short fiction has won the Ellery Queen Readers’ Choice Award twice, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Shamus, Stoker, and Anthony Awards. Her novels appear under a variety of names. For more information on her work, go to kristinekathrynrusch.com.