This story is about a novice veterinarian forced to treat an alien beast. The setting with its black thorn fences originated in a dream I had that featured a weird item I saw in the produce section of the supermarket, called a "caltrop" or "horned water chestnut."
This story was published in Strange Horizons, July 28 2008.
Read the story
Recognition:
- Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois
