As Pam picked a dahlia, something jabbed her finger. She was perplexed to discover a thorn—dahlias weren't supposed to have any.
Not wanting to be gouged again, she tried to snip off the thorn with her clippers, but the plant pulled away. Pam frowned and figured she must've imagined the movement. She firmly grasped the stalk to try again, but it unexpectedly lashed out at her and scratched her cheek. She gasped, her mouth falling open. Then she fled.
***
The plant made a snorting sound, retracted the thorn into its stem, then slid out of sight behind other dahlias.
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alt="Famine Man by Deborah Tapper"
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alt="The Price of Belief by Andreas Flögel"
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alt="The Abhartach's Thirst by Andrew Kurtz"
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>