Little Red's grandmother was laying in bed, but her arms and legs were scattered around the room like toys discarded by a child. The scent of iron filled her nostrils. Right in front of her, a... A Thing was eating her grandmother. It was dressed like a person, in a blood-soaked sheepskin vest, and a triangular hat was perched atop its head, which was buried in her grandmother's stomach.

Slurp, slurp, munch. Crunch.

It sounded like a starving man eagerly devouring a roasted chicken.

The wicker basket fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The young woman was frozen in horror as she stared at this unreal sight, her thoughts grinding to a halt in order to prevent her from curling up in a ball and screaming until she was hoarse.

No. No no no no no no no no no. This can't be real. This can't be happening!

Suddenly, the creature stopped. It raised its head from the half-eaten woman and slowly turned its torso around in a way that would break the spine of human, showing Little Red its terrible face.

The first thing she saw was the blood. So much blood, coating its large mouth, filled with long yellow teeth. Such a thing could only be described as a monster. The monster had an elongated face and pointed ears, like a wolf, but instead of fur there was merely gray skin the color of a corpse stretched tautly over a sickening mixture of human and canine features. Its black eyes locked onto the young woman's, and its awful mouth twisted into a hideous grin.

"Hello.. My dear... You're... So... Sweet to.... visit," the monster spoke in a guttural voice more jarring than a knife scraping a brick wall.

I- I have to get out of here! It's going to kill me! She managed to collect her thoughts enough to scream this in her mind.

The monster fully turned around to face her. It's unnaturally lanky arms were as long as its legs, and it brought a clawed hand up to its mouth and licked a thick layer of gore off with a long black tongue.

"Mmm... You're grandmother was... An excellent appetizer. The elderly are... Not very filling... Though."

I need to move!

Little Red took a step back, but her legs had become like jelly, and she felt a lance of pain in her tailbone as she fell onto her rear.

Stay back! Stay back! She wanted to scream, but the words got stuck in her throat.

With a predatory leer, the monster took a step towards her.

No! I need to get out of here. I don't want to die I don't want to die!

"Ha...Hahahahaha." It's laughter was like needles piercing her ears.

I'm not going to let it eat me!

Mustering her willpower, the young woman began pushing herself backwards, away from the monster, with her hands and feet. She was making slow progress, but growing steadily closer to the door.

"Where... Are you going... Little girl? Won't you... join me for... supper?" the creature mocked.

Little Red reached the door, and realized she needed to get up. With the shakiness of a newborn calf, she managed to get to her feet, and back out of the house. The monster lumbered after her at a leisurely pace, almost dragging its fingertips on the ground as it stood hunched over, as if it was unsure if it was a man or a beast- of course, such an abomination could hardly be mistaken for either.

After putting some distance between them, the young woman turned her back on the monster and broke out into a run, willing her legs to carry her faster than the wind and farther away than the captial from the creature behind her.

"Run... Little Red Riding Hood... Run like the wind... I will catch you... And eat you... No matter how fast or far you run..."

The monster was filled with an indescribable euphoria when it tortured and ate the old woman alive, and it had made sure to rip out her tongue so the young human wouldn't be warned by her screams. The look of pure terror on girl in red's face when she stumbled upon him eating her grandmother was priceless, just the expression it longed to see. The monster didn't need to eat humans, but it knew that humans feared being eaten, and so it delighted in devouring them while they still lived. The terror and despair that consumed their hearts as it consumed their flesh was the best nourishment it wish for. It licked its lips as it increased its pace, beginning to use its arms to move faster, like a beast. Soon the young human's screams would serenade its years, and sweet, tender flesh would enter its gullet.

Little Red ran. She was running faster than she had ever run in her life. Her legs burned like molten lead was being injected into her muscles, but she kept running as fast as she could despite the pain. She never looked behind her, but she could sense that the monster was gaining on her. She could hear its animalistic lope as it hounded her heels.

She ran down the familiar road she always took to her grandmother's house, toward the village, away from the horrific scene that was seared into her mind like a fiery brand.

If I can get home I'll be safe. If I can get home I'll be safe. If I can get home- the young woman repeated the assertion in her mind like a holy mantra as the woods grew darker, and the sun's light became tinged with crimson. A crow's cackling could be heard in the treetops above.

If I can get home I'll be safe. If-

One misstep. It had rained the previous night; Little Red stepped on an especially slick portion of the path, and the ground came rushing up to meet her face. She threw her arms out and caught herself on the ground, before hurriedly getting back onto her feet. She practically leapt into a frantic dash, but an iron hand gripped the back of her cloak and yanked her to the ground with a sharp tug. The fall knocked the air out of her lungs, and Little Red struggled to breathe as she looked up at the sunset painting the treetops orange and red, like her riding cloak.

The sun was abruptly obscured by a dark shape. The wolflike monster loomed over Little Red Riding Hood like a demon from Hell. It positioned itself over her body, pinning her shoulders down with its cruel claws that dug into her flesh and drew blood. The pain was numbed by the wave of despair that washed over her.

It's over... I'm going to die. This monster is going to eat me. The resignation was almost a twisted sense of relief. The creature's next words washed away this ghost of relief.

"Giving up... Already? That's okay... There's no need to hurry... Unlike... the last one... I can... take my time with... you..."

Little Red felt a mountain of despair crushing her heart as she looked into the monster's souless black eyes. Her mind, which had become too numb for fear, managed to make room for even more terror- much to the creature's delight as it savored the woman's suffering.

"I think I'll start... With your fingers. I'm still a bit... Full... So you can eat them. Don't worry... It's just like... Biting carrots in half..."

As the horror of this sunk in, Little Red froze as if petrified by a gorgon.

"Hahaha, don't be... So nervous... I'll show you... How to bite off one... Then... you can do the rest..."

The monster released its grip on one of her shoulders, which oozed blood, and grasped one of Little Red's hands. Using just the force from its thumb, it managed to unclasp her fingers, which had been firmly clenched. Holding her ring finger between its thumb and forefinger, it grinned as she managed to summon the will to struggle in vain. As it brought her finger to his mouth, an idle thought crossed her mind as she was pushed to the brink of madness by terror and despair.

What big teeth you have.

Crunch!