Fairytale Forest

The beast was ahead of them. Its eyes flickered between them they were filled with fury and fearlessness. As the brothers approached it, they thought about if this would be the last eyes they stared into. Were they marching towards the death of fools or the life of heroes?

There was a long dramatic pause.

"...So? What happened Grandpa?" The young boy was leaning on the edge of the log he sat on, feeling the heat of the fire linger around his face. The wise old man slammed his book shut on his knees, struggling to pick it up. The boy's face dropped and he whimpered
like a sad dog.

"It's well past your bedtime. But first thing tomorrow we'll find out." The boy gave out a painful sigh as his Grandpa slid the massive book off his knees. The fire slowly died and its strong flame weakened.

The boy sat in bed thinking about his grandfather. They were so close yet he knew so little about him. He was a vault of mystery and the key was nowhere to be found. The loud snores shouted in his ears, so for hours he laid wide awake, thinking.

Eventually curiosity overtook his mind. Why would his grandfather never finish a story? Was the ending sad? He couldn't control his curiosity. He sprung out of bed, making sneaky steps across the creaky floorboards. His grandfather was lost in his dreams. He picked up a lantern and felt around for the door.

As he looked around the campfire for the book, he stuck the dim lantern out so he could just see amongst the darkness. He ran his hand across a log until he felt a big solid book. He tried picking it up but it weighed more than he did. As he opened the book, a mystical cloud of dust escaped. A small piece of red ribbon stuck out to mark the story he had heard earlier. He flicked through the old paper, catching glimpses of words like troll and witches as well as some frighteningly real drawings of monsters and ugly indescribable things.

He reached the page. The writing was worn away and messy. His eyes flickered down the page, searching for the last word he heard. However. He didn't find a happy ending nor a sad one. He found a crimson red stain and shredded paper. It looked as if something had clawed viciously at it. It was slightly unnerving. What could have done this? Something supernatural? Or an angry dog? His grandfather never ended his stories as there was no ending. With all his strength, he disappointedly closed the book. As he got up, there was a faint rustling in the bushes...

He called out hesitantly. No reply. He shuffled towards the bushes and called out again. There was an enraged snarl so he backed away. Suddenly, he felt a rush of air push him. He turned his head to see an animal grab the book with its set of teeth. They looked like deadly thorns. He began to chase it through the forest.

It was hard to keep up. This animal was fast. His lantern only emitted light slightly ahead of him. He had to think fast. The leaves crunched below him and the wind howled through the trees. He was determined to get the book back though. It had a mystery and he wanted to solve it. The light caught up to the animal's tail. It was scruffy and unkempt. But as he took his eyes off his feet, a large tree trunk appeared ahead of him. He reached out to the tail and he tripped up, landing in a pile of dirt and autumn leaves. The animal was gone.

He got up and dusted himself off. There were a few leaves still in his hair. He looked around for the lantern but his fingertips jumped as he felt some shards of glass scattered everywhere. Luckily the sun peeked out in the distance so he could see barely. In the dirt were small footprints like a dog's. He began to shuffle as his leg was injured. He didn't shout this time. It would just send the book further away from him.

He was in the heart of the forest. Trees stretched into the sky. They seemed to go on forever. In the distance he could see the shaggy black tail sticking out behind a tree. The boy clenched his fists and tried to walk faster. As he approached it, he got quieter and sneaker. He looked around the tree to see something terrifying. It wasn't a dog. It was a beast.

Its eyes were filled with fury and fearlessness. They were bright yellow like the moon. It released the book from its set of fangs. It was now ripped up and covered in gooey saliva. It stood up proudly to reveal its true size. It stretched out its strong arms and howled, making birds flee from trees. The boy fell down and crawled backwards until he hit a tree. He came to a stop and lay there injured, innocent, staring at death. As it approached him, the ground shook with every step. He could now feel the breath of the beast grab him. It was over. He closed his eyes.

He heard a whoosh. He opened his eyes to see an arrow stuck into the eye of the beast. Crimson red trickled down its dark fur, shivering in shock. In its eyes were now fear. It stopped breathing and collapsed. The boy sat breathless, staring at it. Then he looked up to see a man in pyjamas with a crossbow.

"What are you doing out here?"

He couldn't speak. His mind was lost in a forest of mystery.

"...what was that thing Grandpa?"

His grandfather dropped his crossbow and stared solemnly at the book. He picked it up, careless of the fluid which covered and its heaviness. He flicked through the pages.

"It's true. All of it."