Little Red

FIFTY

A sharp gasp left Dani's mouth as her eyes shot open before she quickly sat up and blinked a few times to rid herself of the sleep. Her eyebrows furrowed as she then looked around and quickly realized that instead of sitting on the bed with Mikey by her side...she was sitting on the ground in a field.

A field she had come to know all too well.

"Oh, no...Oh God, no," she whispered in horror as her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings.

The sound of someone laughing from behind her immediately caused Dani's heart to race as she slowly got up from the ground, and turned around to see none other than-

"Hello there, old friend. Thought you'd seen the last of me?" Henry asked with his signature smirk across his lips.

Without a second thought, Dani began to run in a random direction.

"You always did love a good chase," Henry's voice said from behind her, which only made her pump her legs harder as she continued to run farther into the field.

And suddenly, Dani's body came to a stop as she stared at the building ahead of her with widened eyes.

"No...no, no, no," she mumbled while shaking her head, and an uneasiness settled over her as she began to feel a strong urge to run inside.

Not being able to fight it, Dani allowed her legs to take her inside as her breathing came out in heavy huffs.

"Dad?... Dad?!" she called out as she looked around the barn, not fully understanding how she knew her father was there, but not really questioning it either.

"Dani," a faint voice called out, which caused the girl's eyes to widen as she instantly walked towards the sound with her heart racing a mile a minute as the worst thought popped into her mind.

"Daddy..?" she called out as she continued to go in the direction the voice had come from.

"Dani...get...help," David's voice said, and Dani immediately shook her head despite him not being able to see it.

"No! No, I'm not leaving you, Dad!!" she cried as tears glistened her eyes at the sound of his voice sounding so weak before her heart began to pound in her chest as her uneasiness intensified.

A loud gasp left then left mouth as she stopped in her tracks at the sight of her father tied up in a chair.

"Dad?! Oh my God, Dad!!" Dani said and quickly ran over to him.

David's eyes widened at the sight of his daughter before Dani felt his body relax under her touch as she held a hand up to his face. "Dani," he said as tears formed in his eyes.

"It's me, Dad. It's Dani," she said with a sob. "I'm going to get us out of here, okay?! You just have to hold on for me! Please, please hold on for me, Daddy, please!!"

Dani's fingers shook as she clawed at the rope on the man's arms, and her worry for him increased by the second as he looked much worse than he had before.

David shook his head. "No, I'm-... You have to leave, Dani...Get out..of here," he weakly said as his eyes began to flutter close, which caused Dani's breathing to pick up as her heartbeat sped even faster.

"Dad?! No...No Dad, please!! No! Please don't leave me, No!!" she cried while shaking her head.

David forced a strained smile as he said, "I love you, Dani," before his eyes fully closed as his breathing slowed to a stop.