Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter 11:

Chapter 11

My body fell to the ground and my ears were filled with the screams of the town people. I heard a huge howl from outside the building.

The wolf did this...but how?

Smoke filled my lungs and I choked. Already the air was becoming overly poisoned and people were walking around dazed and dizzy. We have to get out, we have to get out or everyone’s going to die.

Eruphial nudged my shoulder and I looked up at him with watery eyes. The smoke clouded my vision and stung my eyes and lungs. It felt like I was inhaling gaseous water, like I was choking on the air. Eruphial’s eyes were wide in panic. He didn’t like the heat on his body, the flames licking at his ankles.

My father pulled me off the ground and dragged me away from the worst of the flames. We have to get out and run, even if it means taking our chances with the wolf. Either we get roasted alive or possibly die by the creature outside. We had to try.

“What are we going to do?” people screamed. They banged on the door, making their hands burned red and blistered. Some were praying, kneeling on the already hot ground with sweat pouring off their body. I wanted to scream at them to get off their knees and help but I seemed to be speechless. My body wouldn’t function; I saw everything like I was looking through someone’s eyes.

“Alice!” my sister screamed in my ear breaking me back into reality. “What are we to do?”

I thought hard. Once again, the future of our town was in my hands. I had to think quick, efficiently and effectively. But I didn’t know what to do. What could I do? I was just a girl; a girl with a horse and a family; a girl with a broken family…a girl with her heart broken by the death of her brother…a girl who had the ability to end all the towns suffering. I just had to give the wolf what he wanted.

Me…

I pushed passed people and grabbed the edge of a pew trying to lift its body off the ground. “Help me,” I squirmed feeling the burn on my back. My hands were already slipping from the sweat but I continued to hold on tight. “Help!”

My father came to my rescue, grabbing the other end and lifting high into the air. I felt the strain leave my knees but returned to my shoulders instead. Even though it was hot and the sides were on fire the town parted and we rushed as fast as we could through. I looked at my father quickly. Sweat covered his face and dribbled down his temples. His biceps rippled under the weight of the hot wood.

“On the count of three,” he said. “One…two…”

“Three!” the people screamed.

We swung the heavy wood back and then toppled it forward and onto the door. With the wood already beginning to break it didn’t take much effort for the pew to demolish the rest. Fresh, cold air rushed inside ignited the flames more and crackled loudly. I pushed through leaning onto a white-hot piece of metal that seared my skin. I screamed and collapsed onto the snow. People jumped over me and spilled out onto the snow patting down the flames of our clothes and rolling on the ice. I grabbed a handful of ice and pressed it onto my wound. It almost melted the ice completely. I didn’t take it away until the blister was numb.

Eruphial stamped his feet and neighed loudly. My eyes searched the night shadows looking for any sign of the creature. There was nothing, nothing at all. That didn’t relax my heart any more though; it was too quiet to be safe. I grabbed the hem of my gown and placed my foot on the saddled foothold.

A hand pulled me roughly from my mount. “What do you think you are doing?” my mother hissed at me. Her hair was black at the ends and frayed from being burnt. Her eyes were filled with fright. She had just escaped a creature and a fire and now she may loose another child.