Red

Epilogue

It was chaos when our world came crashing down around us. It wasn't a loud chaos, it was the kind when the air was tense, and all was silent. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. I use that saying lightly now, Santa didn't make it out in time. Now you know the real reason you don't get your Christmas wishes anymore. That day was the most apocalyptic day of my existence, the only apocalyptic day of my existence. Yet, one from the outside might've called it a beautiful summer day. They wouldn't be wrong, even when I think of that day I can still hear the birds chirping. I see the bright blue sky. I feel the warm rays of the sun flooding through the cottage windows. It was a day where I would take mom's muffins to grandma's house. And that's exactly what I did.

Mom had packed the muffins in my wicker-style picnic basket while I put on my favorite cloak. The cloak was made of a soft, crimson-red fabric. It was thick enough to keep me warm in the winter, but light enough to keep me cool in the summer. I draped the cloak over my shoulders and tied the black ribbons in place so they sat just below my collarbones.

I met my mother in the kitchen where she had my basket packed and ready to go. I smiled at her and took the basket into the crook of my arms. She laughed, "Always so eager." Her voice mischievous, and her eyes full of abortion.

Mom pecks my cheek, her arms reached behind me and pulled my hood over my head. "There," she smiled proudly. "You're ready to start today's exciting adventure!" She winks.

"I'll be back before dusk, grandma has been going to sleep earlier these past weeks," My voice held a sadness. Fables usually live forever, but some become stricken with terrible illness. Witches can somewhat tame the ailment, but only for a short period of time. Grandma's time was almost up. Mother nodded curtly, "I'll keep the light on for you, just in case." I smile and wave bye as I walked out of our small woodland cottage.

I took the same path I always had taken, the one the Woodsman marked and cleared for me. After years of use the dirt was beaten and smooth. There wasn't a twig, or a rock to be seen down the trail. It was as if the trees never dared to drop a leaf on the trail. I made my way merrily down the path.

My pace was more rushed than usual, Bigby would be out today, waiting in the shadows. He knows I come out on days like this, a lot of girls do, but he terrorizes me more than any other girl in the land. I have know idea why he favors me, maybe he's trying to get even with me. I mean I'm the reason the Woodsman split him open with an axe and filled his belly full of stones. It's not my fault that he targeted my grandma in the first place, he played a sick twisted game with me that day. I shake my head, trying to stop the flashback that was slowly forming in my brain.

I'm not reliving my story, not now, not ever.

The brush on both sides of the trail began to thicken, the grass now came above my shoulders, and the bush cast large shadows on the ground. They seem to grab and pull my dress as I walked along. This part of the wood made me anxious, I wrap my cloak tightly around my body. Seeking some sort of relief. I round the final bend, and grandma's house appears. My heart jumps and a smile grandma's smiling face popped into my head.

A low rumble in the bushes knocked me out of my euphoria. Hastily, I put down my basket, then I let my hood fall against my back. The wind carries my scent, and I reach my hand down to my belt where a small, silver dagger sat in a fine leather holster. I rested my hand on the hilt of the fine dagger. "Show yourself," my voice was even, and it carried out a foreign authority. A chilling, deep, sultry—bellowing chuckle danced its way to my ears and down my back.

"Now, Now, Little Red," a voice darkly, but softly, prompted from the brush. "You know that I am faster, and more stronger than you will ever be. One small jump from me, could easily snap that pretty neck of yours." Bigby stepped on a nearby twig, and the small snap rang through the air. My breathing hitched, and my grip on the dagger hilt tightened. I was too afraid to let him win, so I fought back.

"Enlighten me then Bigby, If you can kill me that easily, why haven't you? Seems weird to me keep the bane of your existence alive and breathing, don't you think?" The hatred I felt amplified through my voice could slice through any frozen heart.

Too bad Bigby doesn't have heart. A growl ripped through the air, I gasped as my fingers began tremble at my side. I curled them into a tight fist, I am not weak, I am not afraid.

I am afraid...

His chest continued to rumble, I felt vibrations in my own chest. I knew he was the ability to push me off the edge of sanity with the breath of his lungs. "Don't give yourself so much credit, Red." Even though his voice rasped, it still wrapped around me in a tight velvet vice. I can't breathe. If I'm drowning why try and swim? He'll just find a way to pull me under. Play this twisted game, a game where nothing is in my favor. Maybe fighting while I can still stand is my only option, I'll go down fighting.

I let go of the dagger, and let my arms fall at my side. "There. Now stop being a coward, show your horrid self." My heart fluttered in my chest, like a songbird's wings as it takes off. Slowly, like the predator Bigby is, he makes his way out of the dark shadows of the brush. But Bigby was a shadow himself with a coat black as a new moon night. His coat seemed to shimmer in the small glints of sunlight the trees let through, in another life I could say that it was beautiful. Bigby was massive, his shoulders came over my head and he was longer than a medium sized carriage. His bright amber eyes locked on mine, that small customary thing nearly pushed me off the edge. Bigby's white teeth glinted in the sun, his lips were peeled back in a wolfish smirk. Finally, after all this torment, he's finally going to pit me out of my misery. I gulp and take one cautious step backwards. "Let me see my grandmother, one last time. Please Bigby," I pleaded. Small tears welled up in my eyes, my gandmother would be heartbroken to find out that I was torn to shreads a small ways from her home.

"No," Bigby's voice was powerful and sharp. I flinched, but quickly covered it up with a glare, "How dare you! I've never asked anything from you, I've let you ruin my life for five years! I'm not going... never will I..." I became short of breath, and the world started to fade away. I fought the oncoming blackness, I pushed it away as hard as I could, but it swallowed me. My mind went blank and my knees gave out. I hit the cold, soft ground.

Soft ground...