Cavan Scott’s short story Flayed, originally published in the Black Library Anthology 2013/14, is a tale of an ordinary Imperial citizen caught in the middle of a conflict between two horrifying foes. As necron Flayed Ones rampage through her township, Alundra races to find her brother and try to escape the carnage. Though grim Space Marines of the Death Spectres intercede on behalf of the Imperium, to Alundra and her brother there’s little to choose between the two forces, and it’s unclear quite why the Death Spectres are there and what they want.
Much like Hidden Treasures, this provides a brief vignette of life on one Imperial world, showcasing just how terrifying and distant the Imperium is to many of its citizens. We’re told very little about the characters, but the few pieces of information we do get – hints of a family, and a wider community – provide a little context and help add pathos to what is a short, grim story. It feels like Alundra perhaps has a little too much in-universe knowledge (would she really recognise the Death Spectres, for example?), which slightly detracts from the tension, but overall for a short, standalone story it’s quite satisfying, albeit very dark.
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