Red
By Justin Thomas
Why?
Why does it hurt so much? What… What did I do wrong? Nana was right, I should
of listened to her, she told me that is wasn’t safe in these woods… Stupid
wolf, this is all of his fault, stupid mutt, getting all horny about seeing me
in my new red cloak that Nana had given me for my birthday, damn thing is torn
too… Is it raining? Oh God! It is raining! Shit! I er, never mind, Nana never
did like that language too much. A tree! If only the… Yes! It’s hollow, ah,
that feels much better.
I
look up at the sky, the clouds, are a rolling black, menacing to look at, the
rain is coming down like stones thrown from Heaven. My arm feels tender and as
I examine it, fresh tears sting my eyes; the bite is deeper than I thought it
was, and blood still flows freely from my wound. The skin around the bite is
rough and jagged, I growl in annoyance and in pain, tearing off some of my
cloak from the bottom, I grit my teeth, focus, and wrap the cloth around my
wound tightly, bringing with it fresh tears. Leaning back against the hollow in
the tree I sniffle, wishing this was all a dream, wanting this nightmare to be
no more, being on the run from a homicidal wolf that has a craving for female
flesh is enough to want to scream and walk up, safe.
A
distant howl makes me shiver more, wrapping my torn cloak around me, I feel a
little light headed, it has to be recovering from shock, and my arm seems to
hurt more. A glance tells me that my blood had already darkened my crimson
wrapping. I shake my head, loosening more my long black hair, which gets in the
way of my green eyes. I close them; right now I would rather hide my slender
five foot, six inch frame. At a hundred and thirty pounds I was no match for
that large wolf, thank God for that stick… His bushy white fur should have been
my first warning that he was the one that was the danger in these woods. The
second warning should have been when he started talking in that low, raspy
voice of his, I guess all wolves sound like that, but I never want to find out.
I should of started running, a mistake as I was curious; I never before had a
wolf tell me how pretty I looked, or how good I smelled… Oh Father in Heaven, I
never want to see those cunning yellow eyes ever again, please, get me out of
here…
The
storm is starting to get worse, my view of outside is ruined, making me even
more worried about the wolf sneaking up on me. Every flash of lightning
followed by the crash of thunder is doing nothing from making me fleeing from
my temporary shelter. Even now, after running farther deeper into the woods, I
realize with a sinking feeling that I’m lost, lost, wounded, and fearing for my
life. I’m scared, I’m so scared, never wanting this in the first place, my arm
is starting to ache again, I can’t sleep…
I
hit my head hard against the tree, awake, cold, I suddenly realize that it’s
stopped raining, everything is quiet, even the wind doesn’t make a tree shake
its branches. My heart skips a beat, nothing, at least the darkness is
alleviated with the half moon, my night vision barely picks out the fallen debris
as I emerge from my shelter, and my breath makes itself known in the weak
moonlight as I gently nurse my arm. It’s stiff, I cradle it gently as I start
to walk slowly, I still feel light headed, not wanting to fall over I take
smaller steps. But even as I try to walk quietly my heart jumps at every sound
I make, thinking that the wolf will hear me as the wet grass and mall branches
give me away. My breathing is too loud, surely the wolf will hear that, more
tears flow as I shiver, and a sob nearly rents itself from my weakened body. I
have to be strong, even if I don’t feel like it…
The
wind starts to blow, the crisp, clean air isn’t helping me to keep warm, the
breeze feels like ice when it snows, and I start to shiver harder. I stop
suddenly when I hear a howl perks my ears, the hairs on my skin stand straight
up.
I
feel like a rabbit when it hears a predator, small, helpless, and not knowing
where my doom is going to come from. I shift my gaze around me, nothing moves,
nothing seems to be alive, but I know he’s out there, somewhere, I can feel his
gaze on me, watching me, knowing that I can’t see him.
I
sniffle as I feel really alone out here, abandoned, not even God seems to be
here with me, He’s left me to die in this forest. I take a tentative, small
step forward, then another, ready to run at the slightest hint that the wolf is
there. But I can still feel that lofty gaze caressing my body, savoring the
moment, waiting patiently, and enjoying this. I start to move faster, no clear
directions on where I’m going, all I know is that I have to get out of here,
far away from this evil forest, and the wolf. I silently wish that I can see my
cabin, walk inside, where Nana is waiting for me, knowing that she would help
me get warm, tend to my wound, and tell me that everything is going to alright,
that it’s all going to be fine…
Hours
seem to go by since I’ve left my hollow tree, the one place where I felt safe
in these woods. It’s still quiet, not even the night animals are making any
noise, what I would give to hear the owl make its call, but their all asleep,
safe, and snug in their homes. I stop and lean against a tree to strengthen my
weakened state. Glancing down to make sure my next step wouldn’t be in a puddle
I stop, my heart freezes in my chest, my blood is like ice as I take a step
backwards and fall down.
My
mouth opens as I scream, and scream for my dear Nana, the one who was supposed
to protect me, the one who was supposed to tell me that everything was going to
fine, that this was all a nightmare. I scream for my Nana who will now never
come.
I
gag as I turn away from the grisly sight, her throat was ripped open, blood
still seeped from her wounds sluggishly, and her insides were strewn about,
seemingly like in celebration. Her lantern was broken, thrown against a tree as
I look again, not wanting to believe that my Nana is dead. Her eyes are wide
and glassy, her mouth opened to let out a scream that will now never be
uttered, forever in a state of surprise and terror. The wolf was here… He had
killed her… I start sobbing uncontrollably, not caring if I was killed right
then and there, my mind unwilling to comprehend what it was seeing… My Nana,
dead… No! No! No! This can’t be right! I turn away as I vomit from not being
able to breathe, my tears blinding me as I wipe them away, and shiver more as I
hear soft laughter…
“My,
my, I see you found my present, a shame though, she didn’t even fight back at
all. Maybe it was because I scared her stiff.” The wolf said as he appeared
from the shadows and laid next to her corpse, and nuzzled her head gently,
licking her wound tenderly, mocking me with his show of power. His tail wagged
as he watched me, amused at my reaction with disgust and horror. I tried to
speak, but a fresh sob escaped me, he continued to watch, seeming to smile at
my plight. “Now, now, my darling Red.” He chuckled as he got up and got closer.
“Even if you weren’t injured, or cold, I could still outrun you, that branch
hurt, and I always get my revenge.” He growled in my ear, my shivering
increased as I knew this was it, I was going to die right here, I closed my
eyes waiting to die. I could feel his fur brush against me as he circled me
slowly, and I nearly cried out as I felt his hot breath against my cheek.
“P-Please.”
I whisper as I cry more, shaking with terror as I felt him nip my neck. “Ohh.”
He cooed. “Is my little Red scared?” I nod as I open my eyes, staring back into
his merciless yellow ones. “Good.” With that he pushed me forward onto my back,
knocking some of the air out of my body and into the face of my dead Nana. I
couldn’t help but scream in terror as I felt his hot breath on the back of my
neck, and his teeth tearing into my flesh.
My
consciousness began to fade as I managed to hear a crunching sound, all my
pain, and sadness leaving me. A faint smile crossed my face, as I was now free,
free from my cage of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment