Little Red

EIGHT

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOD AND DEATH!!⚠️

Waking up in a dark forest was not on Dani's to-do list as she stood up to her feet and shivered when a cold wind blew around her.

"What the hell?" she mumbled. "Where the hell am I?"

Looking around with a frown, Dani cautiously stepped forward to search for other people.

"Hello?" she called out and frowned even more as she was met with silence.

"Okay," she mumbled while hugging herself. "This isn't creepy or anything..."

The sudden sound of a leaf crunching immediately caused the girl to pause as she stiffened at the sound, and slowly turned her head towards the direction it came from with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hello?... Is someone there?" she questioned. "Mikey?...Greta?...Momma?"

Another leaf crunched before another, and as it sounded way closer than the one before it, Dani's breath hitched in her throat before her eyes widened in shock as she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"H...Hello?! Anybody?!" she called out and her breathing picked up as the footsteps grew nearer. "No...No! Somebody help!! Anybody!! Help me, please!!"

And suddenly the footsteps stopped, and Dani held in a breath as she avoided eye contact with her new companion. After a few seconds of silence, she slowly lifted her head and gasped at the sight of the person she once thought she'd never have the chance to see again.

"Gr...Grandma Neenie?!" she tearfully asked.

The woman in question said nothing in response, but the warm smile on her face was enough to cause joy in her granddaughter's heart as she let out a sob.

"Grandma Neenie!!" Dani exclaimed and shouted in frustration as she discovered that she still couldn't move.

In an instant, the smile vanished from Janine's features as she gave her granddaughter one last glance and walked away.

Dani shook her head as she watched her go. "No...No, Grandma Neenie, wait! Wait, please don't go! Please! Don't leave me again, please!!"

The girl moved her feet again and gasped as she was finally able to take a step forward. Not wasting another second, Dani quickly ran off into the direction she saw her grandmother go in while calling out the woman's name.

"Grandma Neenie!! Wait!!" she cried. "Please! Wait!!"

Dani stopped as she came to the middle of the forest with her grandmother nowhere in sight, and tears formed in her eyes again as she'd realized she had been left all alone.

"No," she said with a sob. "Please come back...Please don't me alone again."

She rubbed her eyes and turned around with another sob, but gasped as she was met with that all too familiar little brown cottage sitting across the bridge, and a sudden warmth filled her body as the lights were shining brightly from the inside.

"Grandma Neenie!!" Dani said to herself in excitement and ran off into the house. "Grandma Neenie?! Grandma Neenie, it's me!! It's Dani, it's-"

A loud, horrified gasp cut off her words as once she turned the doorknob on the front door, the terrifying sight of blood on her grandmother's living room walls welcomed her into the home. Dani's breathing staggered as she took a step back in shock and shook her head.