The Shards by Gary Alan Wassner Page A

pit that bothered her so, while Tamara had done just the opposite. She realized that the hole in the earth was perhaps the only place they could hide, and she was walking slowly toward it to see if there was even one edge that they could step down over without careening into the chasm.
    “I cannot, sister!” Angeline shouted as if she had guessed what her friend was contemplating. “You would have to blindfold me and knock me out before I could get even as close to the edge of that as you are now!”
    “What choice have we, sister?” she asked as she paced the perimeter carefully. “I would rather take my chances down below than up here. Whatever that is…” she said, pointing to the approaching darkness, “…it is surely coming our way. And I have a very bad feeling about it!”
    “Sister, I am petrified! I cannot do this,” Angeline replied. “Is there no other option?”
    “None that I can see,” Tamara responded, searching all the while for the best place to begin their descent.
    “You must help me then,” Angeline said, struggling to reconcile herself to the idea. “I am embarrassed that I am behaving this way sister, but truly I would not be if I could help it. Heights are my greatest weakness,” she confessed abjectly and solemn.
    “No one of us is perfect, sister. I have so many weaknesses that I could not even claim one to be my greatest,” Tamara replied humbly. “Now come to me and do not look down. I think that I have found a place where we can safely step,” she said reaching out her hand in support.
    Angeline moved carefully toward her and clasped her friend’s outstretched fingers firmly. Together they approached the precipice.
    “Look! Over here, as I suspected. The surface is soft where the vegetation grows and I can dig my boot into it. We can also use the branches to hold on to. They seem securely anchored in the earth,” Tamara said as she tugged upon the protruding twigs with her free hand. “I will go first, but you must not resist when I call you. Wait though until I am certain that the ground will hold me. If it can sustain my weight, you have nothing to fear,” she said smiling, despite the circumstances.
    Angeline took a deep breath and then reluctantly released Tamara’s hand. The sky had darkened considerably in the last few minutes, and both women were sure that they could hear a buzzing sound in the air though it did not sound exactly like any insects they recognized. The noise chilled them both to the bone, and that made it easier for Angeline to gather the courage to confront her fear. There was something so menacing in the air that she could practically reach out and touch it. By now, she had no doubt that this horror was coming for them, and the chasm before her suddenly loomed quite clearly as the better of the two alternatives.
    “There seem to be many crevices down here into which we can step. It is far better than I hoped!” Tamara shouted from just below the surface. “Come now. Use the same places that I used. They are no longer slippery and your feet are smaller than mine. You should have no problem,” she encouraged.
    Angeline slowly but surely inched her way toward the edge. She crouched down and used both her hands to stabilize herself as she backed one leg over the side. Tamara’s strong hands grabbed her foot and placed it securely onto the first footing, wedging it deep into the soft but solid soil.
    “The next one is just below to the left a bit. You can do it, Angeline! It really is not as difficult as it seems. Just don’t look down,” she said.
    “I am alright, sister,” Angeline replied. “If you could see what I see now, I think you would understand that down here is where I would rather be!” she said, as a heavy and unnatural darkness quickly enveloped the entire area, shutting what was left of the sunlight off almost completely. “We must hurry now, sister. The noise up here is almost unbearable!”
    Tamara needed no further