A collision course of dark comedy, dream narration and a rejection of the status quo, these conflicted beings are exploited during their most dire circumstances. From nursing home turf wars to self-exiled suburbanites to the ironic invention of bears, we get a little taste of the twists and turns of the author's mind, almost like fourteen alter egos, as we stroll through this second offering of Branham's short fiction after 2015's "Feeling Out of Shorts."