Darin had long since lost sight of the girl, but it didn't matter. As it happened, he was a fairly decent tracker and didn't find it difficult to follow the path she had made. This area also appeared to be infrequently traveled by humans, and her bare feet made distinctive tracks.
As he went, he saw several fresh deer tracks, and signs that birds, squirrels and a badger had been on this trail very recently. He also came across a set of fresh boot prints after some time. They headed off on a side path where he could see what looked like a small cabin through the trees. The girl's prints, however, stayed on the wider trail, so he continued forward until he could see the cottage where she must have entered.
At this point, he began to wonder what he was doing and whether or not he should just go home, when he caught sight of another pair of boot prints. These prints were smaller and narrower than the other set he had seen, and there was something odd. The tracks went around the perimeter of the house, as if someone had been scouting it out.
Feeling worried, Darin followed the impressions to the back door, and quickly became very alarmed. The back door had clearly been jimmied open, and he could hear soft weeping from the interior. Something had clearly happened, and it wasn't good.
Then something that seemed even worse happened- the sound stopped. Much as he strained his ears, he could hear nothing over the loud bird calls and rustling of leaves in the wind. What had happened?
For a moment Darin considered bursting in, but if there was a dangerous criminal still in the home, he might not be much of a match. Young and strong he might be, but he was still only half grown and weaponless. He didn't even have any shoes on to make his kicks more forceful.
They could be tied up or worse... his mind raced. Not knowing the level of the threat, he couldn't risk being overpowered- that wouldn't help her or her grandmother. Even if there wasn't an evil intruder in the house, something was wrong. He was a stranger himself, but he knew exactly where to get someone who should be able to help.
His mind made up, he sprinted back the way he had come towards a certain side path.
YOU ARE READING
Little Red Riding Hood and the Prince
FantasíaOnce upon a time, a little girl in a red hood found herself in a whole lot of trouble and was saved in the nick of time by a brave woodsman... right? Or is that really how the story goes? In this fairytale mashup you'll find that things happened a...
