Shard (original version)
203 words
by Brandon L. Rucker
Originally published in the anthology A Pint of Bloody Fiction by U.K. publisher House of Horror, September 2010, which was edited by S.E Cox and Nandy Eckle. Microfiction with just enough words to quench your bloody thirst.
He lunged at her clumsily, but missed. That imprecision cost him. Unknown to him was the fact that she had a weapon. At the moment he lunged she used cat-quick reflexes to duck and avoid his attack. She scrambled to the basement floor. This allowed her to strike swift just as he recovered. She used a broken mirror shard to slice into his Achilles as if it were a mere thin ribbon made of fine silk. He screamed in agony, lumbered to the floor like a wounded animal shot in the wild. Predator had become prey. As blood began to flow from the injured tendon without pause, endorphins and adrenaline masked his pain as he struggled to get back on his feet, finish the job. She had other plans. She wanted to see more of his blood before she was finished with him. She kicked him in his back and that landed him again. She struck the other Achilles. Blood ran. She restrained him to apply a sedative, undressed him and pierced his genitals with the shard. She sliced the sack, severed the member. Torrential blood flowed. She needed to be sure her husband paid for what he did to their young daughter.
Copyright © 2010 by Brandon L. Rucker. All Rights Reserved.
NOTE: the newer “expanded” version can be read on Smashwords.
Lost Signal 