Shane Smith

Shane Smith is a heavily committed reader and creator of mythology. The power of storytelling dominates every single aspect of his life. His first completed novel, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, is a high octane fantasy work full of parable, intrigue, horror, romance, and suspense. The first book in a planned "Jungle Triptych", the book uses metaphor to tell the story of the Everyman, through the narrative of a warrior thrust into a nightmarish world against his will. With no memory, no confidence, and a hideous suit of armor encasing his entire body, he must break through the monsters of the Jungle and the demons of his heart to rescue his destined beloved, an enchantingly beautiful woman known as Happiness.

Shane is a member of Creative Quills, a Carnegie Library literary group. He has stories published in two collections by the group available on Amazon, ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVES and TALES AND TRAILS: A WESTERN ODYSSEY

He is currently working on the rest of his Jungle trilogy, as well as a horror novel, THE LABORATORY OF DOCTOR LARUZO.

You can read his stories, poetry, and book excerpts on his blog at

www.domainofshane.wordpress.com

Excerpt from THE FIRST AND THE LAST: Chapter Five

My head felt like it was spinning because of what he did next. He lifted a brown bag next to us and emptied its contents onto the table. They were the Omega plants themselves. It was at that moment that I first believed them to be conscious and have a will of their own; for even though I could hear no voices, I felt so strongly that they were literally begging me to consume them. As I stared at them with horror, everything and everyone in the room faded away from my perception. It was just me and the plants. Everything else was a sickly blackness. I reached down for them and upon touching them I heard Alpha speak; whether audibly or inside my mind I know not. “Don’t do it, Warrior. Remember Happiness.” But I couldn’t resist. As I began to devour them, the darkness around me got even worse. All feeling was emptied from me, even the pain of my wounded arm, which had broken free of the sling I was wearing to bring the evil to my mouth. I couldn’t even think of Happiness. Then, after I ate them all, the darkness frightened me, so I ran to try to escape it. But it was more than fear that propelled me. It was the desire for more plants. After running frantically for a while, I found myself outside. I knew this only because instead of the black, I saw gray, which must have been the sunlight distorted by my pathetically wayward soul. Everything was gray, but I could still make out the faint silhouettes of trees. I ran towards them, knowing that somewhere in the Jungle there were more plants. But then, I remembered that I didn't have to go very far. Frantically, I ran faster and faster amongst the trees to reach the road of purification. I was hindered for a moment by crashing into a couple of Frog Princes. I could only see their blurry forms for a split second as I tread upon their painful faces and heard their cries of surprise and anguish. Everything became clearer in my sight for a few moments. I was almost coming to my senses, almost feeling true contrition for trampling them, but that feeling went away quicker than it had arrived. Their faces became green and alive and then went back to gray as I turned to look at them briefly. Then, I forgot all about them and kept on running. I was in such a blinded state of blackened desire that the only explanation for being able to find the flowers of evil was that they were calling for me. It wasn’t an actual voice, but I felt something that sent sweetness to my heart just as Alpha’s singing would have. It only took me a few seconds to find them. I could actually see their beautiful green colors against the backdrop of gray. Falling to my knees, I reached for them and shoved them into my selfish mouth. I hadn't consumed but a handful before I felt an immense pain in the back of my skull and fell to my face unconscious.