You can read this short story for free on Tor.com.

I knew from the beginning of this short story that I would love this world. The author’s writing completely captivated me, while I was being immersed in this unique and complex world. I’ve been on the fence about reading Vicious forever, but this completely sold me.

This is about a man that is rescued from a tragic ice climbing trip, which the rest of his crew did not survive. He narrowly escapes his death, but now has a side effect; He emits heat from his hands that does not cause fire, but burns whatever he is touching. He doesn’t know how to control it, and refuses to tell anyone about it, so his family leaves him. He hasn’t left the house in almost three hundred days, and this is the story of what happens when he finally does.