
So this challenge will be in the Shadow Fabric mythos, just like #5 was—Death's Ahead.
For those who are unfamiliar with the challenge: write a bite of flash fiction (200-350 words) inspired by an image supplied by Laura. More info about the challenge can be found on Laura's blog. All she asks is: "Try to scare me, or at the very least create a little bit of darkness".
Darkness is, after all, at the core of my novel.
Claimed
A story in the Shadow Fabric mythos
By Mark Cassell
(350 words)
That
now-familiar sulfurous stink clawed down her throat as she gulped air and
chewed agony. Silence, save for the pulsing blood in her ears. As a solo
traveler, on a backcountry trek through a fraction of Yellowstone ’s
9,000 square kilometers, she realized just how far she’d hiked.
Her hands
were a crimson mess. She sat up and shrugged off her rucksack. Smearing blood
across a pocket, she grabbed tissues and began wiping her hands. More mist
enveloped her as she removed stones and splinters. Eventually, she dropped the
tissues and squinted into the mist. The gnarled root she’d tripped over
hooked from the earth like an arthritic finger. Patched with lichen, it appeared
as though someone had burnt a symbol into it. An hourglass, perhaps?
A chill
crept with the mist, and darkness pushed into her periphery. Her breath
snatched. She shuffled backwards, and her back thumped rough bark. Shadowy
clusters, like tangled phantoms, thickened. Approached.
Black
tendrils lashed out and snatched up the bloodied tissues. Something crackled,
hissed, and the blood faded. The tissues floated to the ground, each now marked
only with dirt.
Another tendril slithered forwards to coil around her ankle; cold, wet... Agony. Searing. Skin blistered. Smoldering flesh and fabric mixed with the sulfur. She gagged. Her flesh wrinkled, feeling like a billion writhing maggots. Every inch taut over her bones, crackling, crispy and flaky.
Freezing. Her lungs
tightened.
Something
clutched her mind and yanked it into the shadows. From a growing distance, she saw her frail body. Her head, now little more than a skull with wispy hair, broke free—a hollow,
rustling sound. It rolled. From
gaping sleeves, an arm slipped and fell and cracked the skull. Bones splintered
like dead branches. Dust plumed.
Lena watched from the retreating shadows, to where her life once was.
Mark Cassell's dark fantasy novel is available
from all bookshops and also Amazon.
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Author photo (c)Christopher Shoebridge |
Mark Cassell lives in a rural part of the UK with his wife and a number of animals. He often dreams of dystopian futures, peculiar creatures, and flitting shadows. Primarily a horror writer, his steampunk, fantasy, and SF stories have featured in several anthologies and ezines.
His debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is a supernatural story and is available from Amazon.
Twitter: @Mark_Cassell ~ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarkCassell
His debut novel, The Shadow Fabric, is a supernatural story and is available from Amazon.
Twitter: @Mark_Cassell ~ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarkCassell
Very intense. Nice piece - particularly liked how it took the blood out of the tissues.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Miranda. A horror bite needs some blood, right? :-)
Deleteso descriptive, love the fact she watched her own death. :)
ReplyDeleteIn truth, I think I'd like to be a witness to my own. :-D
DeleteYou really are a master of horror; the language is just amazing- 'chewed agony' is my favourite. I felt every second as she watched her own death. Really powerful imagery!! I could go but think you get I loved it. x
ReplyDeleteThat's the first time anyone's called me a "Master of Horror". Thanks! I reckon I could get used to that... Glad you liked the story.
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