Red

The Cabin

A blind man stumbles through the trees. He is confused, but not lost; he knows where he is going.
A cabin loomes in a dark he can never see and he approaches with the confidence of someone who has made this journey too many times. The birds chirp and sing sweet melodies in the trees, helping the man keep his nerve as he nears the silent cabin.
Twigs snap underfoot; the only hint that anyone is out in the woods.
A light comes on.
As if the light triggered a sensor in his brain, the man begins to run. Although it is more like a drunken stumble, he travels a long way before he falls to the ground in his haste.
Two small, brown leather boots appear in the snow. Then two more. Then there are 7 pairs of shoes surrounding the fallen man. Each pair of shoes belongs to a tiny man, each one more hideous and cruel than the other, each one more than a little annoyed to have a cripple on their doorstep.
The blind man raises his head slowly; a show of his respect. Despite their size, these are not men to mock or ridicule.
Although he can't see, his voice is strong, if not a bit raspy as he pleads,
"Please..help me. Please!"
The dwarf at the head of the unseeing man looks about his companions, smiling a cruel, dark smile. He nods, and a rock cracks the mans skull. Two tiny men take his feet, two take his arms and the other two trail behind, hiding the rock and covering the red snow. The head dwarf lets everyone in before him and leans on the door, surveying the woods. No twigs snap, no birds sing. The door closes, and the screaming begins.