Grouchy
HIS SNOWFLAKE. HER BLOOD-RED eyes—lumps of coal floating in tomato soup—stare at him hungrily. She bends down to where the fuses intersect on the ground. She cocks her head, breathes quick, shallow rasps.
Grouchy’s match burns down until it scorches his fingers.
He should light the fuse now, but can’t. The explosion would tear her apart, and clearly she’s different than the other Horrors. She hasn’t hissed and lunged. She’s studying the web of fuses.
Maybe she’s getting better.
A thought blossoms in Grouchy’s head. Maybe the dandy-ass Prince wasn’t her true love and that’s why Snow woke up wrong. Maybe if she had a kiss from a love that was true, like him, she would be okay.
One kiss, and he can cure her.
The flame bites his fingers.
“Shit.” He drops the match.
Snow extends a hand under the lowest of the fuses and swings her arm in a slow, lazy arc, gradually collecting each fuse in her palm and popping each out of its explosive.
With a flick of her fingers, the fuses fall to the ground.
She steps closer. Viscera and ash coat her yellowed dress. Her comb still protrudes from her singed hair. Dried blood and gristle cover her beautiful face, likewise her chest. All he can think of is vanilla ice cream smothered in raspberry sauce. And, of course, how the hells is that comb still in her hair?
His Snowflake smiles, her teeth now stained dirty red. She tilts her chin at him, her head still cocked at that jaunty angle like a scarecrow on a post. With a glance down the spiral passage, she bellows a raspy hiss like a rusty blade drawn across a porous rock.
For a moment, only silence.
From below, a chorus of ghoulish voices hisses in response. She’s communicating with them.
Balls.
Still smiling, she turns back to Grouchy and waves a quick wiggle of her fingers now topped with shattered nails.
B-bye.
Grouchy’s stomach tightens into a hard shell. He turns and runs, chancing one last look back at his beautiful Snow. She’s there, still waving.
No longer smiling.
YOU ARE READING
That Risen Snow: A Scary Tale of Snow White and Zombies (Wattys 2014 Award Winner)
FantasyBook One of the Scary Tales The zombie sequel to Snow White begins where the classic fairy tale ends, with the Prince’s kiss waking Snow from her cursed slumber. Snow wakes up, but she doesn’t wake up right. Now a deranged zombie, Snow infects both...
