Red Riding Hood

Chapter One

"It's always darkest before the dawn."

~Unknown

Derek stumbled blindly through the cold forest. He had fallen multiple times over roots and sticks. He didn't know what was happening. Or why.

All he remembered was Mistress being mad. He had displeased her once again and he knew it. He was already punishing himself on the inside.

Was this a punishment?

He knew that Mistress sometimes took things to the extreme, but he never would have imagined this.

Derek was slapped in the face by a low hanging branch and was knocked off his feet after stumbling over a root. He could feel blood running down his legs- or at least he thought it was blood- from the cuts on his naked boy.

His teeth chattered from the cold as he thought, This is hell. Pure hell. The only thing on his body was his thick, blocky collar. An ugly black that Derek had never liked.

He stubbed his toe on a stick but didn't fall this time. Derek couldn't take another fall, not right now anyway.

It was a good time before a light cut through the blackened forest. It was faint, but it was there. He followed the light- his only chance of survival- to his best ability. Roots were now mostly ignored. Stubbed toes were a thing of the past. Hurt was overthought to the point that it didn't even register with Derek anymore. All he could think about was getting to the light.

The once dim light was now a brilliance against the night. Burning the brightest Derek could have ever imagined. He had to have been one-hundred yards or so away at the time, and the distance was diminishing by the moment. He could make out the shape of a cabin and maybe an outhouse. He wasn't sure, but he was close now.

Defiantly an outhouse. Must be an old cabin, Derek thought. Someone must be home, the lights are on. His bare feet dragged across fallen leaves and sticks. They were surely bruised by now.

He closed in on the lighted house and almost fell over the front steps. Beside the light brown door was a lit up doorbell. A harsh cough ripped through his throat as he stuffed his finger in the bells inner shell. He heard a faint ring through the cabin and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard footsteps. The door opened and just as the young man in front of him came into view, his body gave out and he fell forward, the world going back.

A/N: This is my new story called "Red Riding Hood." I will be updating it every other week or sooner if I have more time. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, there will be many more to come.