The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Frozen Bloom  
by Kathleen McCluskey 

   Deep in the remnants of Eden, where no human foot should tread, a single branch grew. Encased in an enamel sheath of ice, it stood as the last relic of a paradise long forsaken by God and angels alike. The branch, they whispered, was the final living fragment of the Tree of Knowledge, the source of humanity’s first sin.

Over centuries, rumors spread of its existence, carried by desperate whispers in the dark. It was said that the bloom within the ice held secrets even the serpent dared not reveal. Some believed it to be salvation. Others, a punishment worse than death. None who sought the bloom ever returned.

Annie had heard the whispers, faint at first but growing louder each night. The voice was soft, almost soothing, coiling around her thoughts like a viper. Come. You are worthy. Break the ice, taste the bloom, and all shall  be revealed.

   Desperation drove her. Her life was a crumbling ruin; debts she couldn’t pay, betrayals she couldn’t forgive and a loneliness that gnawed at her soul. If the bloom held even a sliver of truth or power, it was worth the risk.

The journey was brutal. Eden was no longer the lush paradise of old, now it was a barren wasteland. A place where the sun seemed afraid to shine. Shadows danced unnaturally beneath the gnarled tree, and the air carried a chill that burrowed into her bones.

When Annie finally found the branch, she stopped dead. It was smaller that she’d imagined, a fragile stem encased in the ice so clear it shimmered like glass. The flower within, a scarlet bud, pulsed faintly as though alive. It didn’t belong here, not in this desolate place. It was too vibrant, too perfect.

She hesitated, The voice returned, low and insistent. Do not fear. This is what you came for.

Her breath fogged in the frozen air as she reached out. The ice was colder than she expected, her fingertips burned as if seared by fire. For a moment she thought she could hear faint screams coming from within, but they were quickly drowned out by the voice.

 Break the ice. Take what is yours.

   Her fingers trembled, but she pressed harder. A sharp crack split the air, louder than thunder, as a tiny fracture raced down the length of the branch. The sound echoed endlessly in the dead forest. The ice began to melt, droplets sizzling as they hit the ground.

The bloom stirred. Its petals unfurled slowly, revealing a deep red flower that seemed to bleed light. Annie’s breath caught in her throat. It was beautiful, more than she’d ever dreamt.

But then she saw what lay within.

The heart of the flower wasn’t a simple stamen or pistil but a writhing mass of faces. Human faces. Their mouths opened and closed in silent screams, their eyes wide with terror. Annie stumbled back, but her hand was frozen in place. She was locked onto the ice of the branch.

The voice returned, no longer soft but sharp and cruel. Did you think knowledge came without a cost? Look, child. Look upon the truth.

   Annie tried to pull away, but it was too late. The faces turned to her, their eyes locking onto hers. She felt a terrible pull, as though her very soul was being ripped from her body. Her reflection appeared in the petals. Her own face distorted and twisted in agony.

Memories flooded her mind, not her own but ancient and alien. She saw Cain wandering the cursed Earth, the first man to seek the bloom. She saw generations of pilgrims and sinners who had come here, all drawn by the same whispering promise. She saw their fates, consumed by the flower. Their souls trapped within its petals, forever feeding on the terrible truth.

Annie screamed, but no sound came. Her body collapsed to the ground, lifeless, as her face appeared among the others in the bloom. Her mouth lay frozen in an eternal cry.

The ice began to reform, crawling up the branch with unnatural speed. Within moments, the bloom was encased once more, as pristine and untouched as it had been perviously.

Far away, another dream began. A new voice whispered in the ear of a desperate soul. Come. You are worthy. Break the ice, taste the bloom. All shall be revealed.

Eden’s curse lives on.

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Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Into the Quiet 
by Kathleen McCluskey 

   The snow swallowed her screams first. A split second earlier, the slopes had been alive; skis carving lines into fresh powder, laughter on her lips as she raced the wind. Then the world thundered down in white, a torrent of snow and silence, and she disappeared.

It hadn’t hurt, not at first. Just the shock of being pressed in all directions, like the hands of a giant folding her into its icy grasp. As the snow packed tight, the pressure grew unbearable. She tried to move, to breathe, to scream again, but there was no room for sound. No room for her.

It had been hours, she thought, or minutes. Time didn’t belong here. Her body ached as her warmth was leached into the snow. The snow crawled inside her veins like a poison. Her eyes fluttered shut.

When she opened them, she was standing.

The cave of ice stretched in both directions, walls glistening like crystals in the pale, blue light. Frost coated her eyelashes, her parka, her fur lined boots her mother had bought for the trip. A trip that she would never finish. She couldn’t feel the cold anymore. Maybe that was the first sign.

She walked.

Her footsteps made no sound, and the ice beneath her was soft, like clouded glass. Shadows danced in her periphery, curling shapes that vanished when she tried to look at them. “Is this how it ends?” She thought.

The thought came not as a fear but as a whisper of knowing. She had died, hadn’t she? In that crushing avalanche, the mountain had claimed her. There would be search parties soon, brave men and women with shovels and dogs, shouting her name in the snow. But they would not find her in time. The cave of ice was now her tomb.

A faint glow appeared at the end of the tunnel and she walked toward it like her legs belonged to somebody else. The light brightened until it became blinding. Molten gold spilled through the cracks of the ice. She felt warmth again, a hint of summer on bare skin.

Memories flooded in: her father teaching her to ski at seven, her sister crying with laughter after a clumsy fall. Warm fires and soft blankets. Hands holding hers. Love. Life.

She paused just shy of the light.

Beyond it was something she could not name, something vast and endless. Perhaps it was peace. Perhaps it was nothing. But she was afraid to go any further. Her breath, though she no longer needed it, caught in her throat.

Behind her, the tunnel stretched forever, dark and waiting.

Her heart stirred. “No. Not yet.” She thought.

She turned.

Somewhere far away, buried beneath mountains of snow, there was still a chance. A thin, fragile, thread pulling her back to a world where her body lay cold but not empty yet. Her family waited there. Life waited there.

The ice trembled as if displeased. The light faded behind her and the cold howled in fury, clawing at her cheeks as she ran.

“Not yet,” she whispered. “I’m not ready.”

And from somewhere above a rescue dog barked.

.

Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!