Shards by Shane Jiraiya Cummings Read Free Book Online Page B

after I've bled you dry, you'll be hit with the
plastic surgery bills. I'll still be beautiful when that slut is
old and grey!"
    She stumbled through a dense
knot of primordial snow-locked pines. A small clearing opened up
before her. In the centre, untouched by the falling snow, a
circular plane of ice sparkled in the twilight gloom.
    She edged closer.
    A mini blizzard swirled through
the clearing, picking up drifts of snow and stealing them away on
the breeze. Huddled near the circle of ice, she bundled herself
tight against the gale. For a few fleeting moments, her world was
nothing but a white blur.
    Once the mini-blizzard abated,
Sara glanced around the clearing. The sentinel pines were still
blanketed in snow, but each was now armed with a thousand shards of
ice, bristling from branches like warding blades.
    As she studied the clearing for
the way back, she glanced down at the frosted tarn. Her breath
caught in her throat.
    Gazing back at her was a
perfect reflection. Shimmering golden hair, flawless lines. Even
her puffy snow-clothes appeared to gleam in the ghostly
reflection.
    Stunned, she crouched closer,
leaning over the ice to stare and admire. All thoughts of Paul were
forgotten.
    Fingers of arctic cold chilled
the air around her. More snow spiralled to the earth but none fell
upon the glass-like surface.
    Her reflection was everything
she ever wanted. Faultless. Ideal. No wrinkles lining her eyes. No
blemishes of age.
    Captivated by her beauty, she
extended a hand toward the shimmering plane.
    She brushed the ice.
    Sudden, numbing cold infused
her body. An intense white flash blinded her. An instant later she
was enveloped by serenity. A flawless goddess entombed within the
ice.
    Beauty was hers eternal,
beneath pallid wisps of snow.
    * * *
    Cruel Summer: Shadow
    They had all deserted her.
    Jamie and Todd went off to body
surf. Reuben had dragged Dad off to dig a hole. They all left at
once, all promised they'd return soon.
    After hours of sandcastles and
wading, they still hadn't returned.
    Stranded on the beach, sitting
in her family's encampment of towels and bags, little Stacey
watched the dusk shadows lengthen across the sand.
    The last clumps of beach-goers
were trekking homeward. Only a solitary girl remained nearby, a
girl staring skyward whom she didn't dare disturb.
    But Stacey wouldn't cry.
Wrapped in her sandy towel, she welcomed the crowding shadows as
they reached for her. They would be her new family tonight.
    * * *
    A Killer Smile
    Every girl needs a killer
smile. White teeth like bleached bone, ruby lips the shade of
blood. A neat slit in the face more precise than a deft blade
twist. Every time you flash it, some hapless fool drops like a coal
sack at your feet.
    Nothing wins your victim over,
or is as persuasive, as a serial killer smile. Except a pair of
razor-sharp stilettos. Or an axe.
    * * *
    Congo Jenga
    "Wriggly little shit." He
stabbed the blade into his thigh. Stifled the scream. Withdrew the
blade with clumsy palms amid a gush of blood.
    Stabbing himself had become a
problem since his fingers had withered off.
    The worm squirmed, just beneath
his skin, toward his groin.
    He fumbled the slick knife.
Pressed it between his palms. Stabbed again into his thigh, inches
above the first wound. Gritted teeth didn't silence his cry a
second time.
    The worm continued upwards. The
blade missed yet again.
    Tears trickled down his face as
he slid the knife out. It clattered to the floor.
    "Please God, no." He slumped to
the ground, dizzy from blood loss. Again.
    The worm burrowed towards his
anus.
    A fingerless hand swatted at
it, the effort futile. His fingers, like his hair, nose, and toes,
had withered and dropped off. All thanks to the fucking little worm
crawling inside him.
    His body was scabbed and
scarred---desperate attempts to cut the little bastard out, time and
again, dozens of times over.
    It started on his return from
Africa. After the loss of his hair, the doctors rationalised it