She stopped from walking; she let down her red hood covering her head.
Awaiting beyond her was the Dark Forest and her grannie's house just beyond it.undreds of hectares of area covered with shadowed, tall, rigid trees. The sunlight is afraid of piercing its thick, bushy leaves atop leaving seemingly darkness to the ground. There's no telling what could be hiding behind bushes that are as wide as dog houses, or behind the trees that would be a good camoflouge for any hunter or predator lurking to catch its prey.
She was palace guard for the moment; she stood and stared at it, taking long breaths before plunging herself into the forest. She grabbed her basket beside her, arranged the cloth covering its top, and fixes her bright, red hood that somehow acts as a cloak. She took another heavy breath and with a step forward she knew there's no more turning back, not until she finishes her delivery.
Leaves crunching, branches breaking, rocks toppling, winds howling. She's been walking for nearly an hour, trudging through bushes and branches, observing her perimeters and cautiously watching beyond every dark corners.
Lately, it has become quite. Too quite. The sudden mute is making her stomach filled with butterflies. She knew that something must be wrong, because she's been travelling through the Dark Forest multiple times and she knew that silence is the Forest's, and its creature's, enemy.
She stopped and senses something. It was right behind her, hidden in the dark. She never moved, but was never afraid too. She can handle these kinds of situations on her because she had handle them before.
And with the sound of branch breaking the intense silence, she quickly took off. She sprinted across giant roots that came out of the ground, around huge rocks that blocked the way, and slid under a tree branched that had fallen months ago. She did not stop running and dodging obsticles along her way. She looked back for a second and saw two huge piercing red eyes following her. She knows what it is.
The red eyes were gaining on her, but she did not stop from running even faster. She was losing breath with every step, but she wasn't slowing down. She has a plan. She slid her arm inside the basket and ready it to pull out something. She saw a trail of violet, blooming mushrooms, which indicates that her grannie's house is not that far. She followed it half way and then stopped. She stood still as she faces her enemy getting even more closer than ever.
She lifted her hand out from the basket and pulled out a loaded double-barrel shotgun and pointed it at her enemy's direction. The red eyes following her slowed down.
"Red." A raspy voice came out of the being with the red eyes. "It's nice to see you again."
"Same here." Red replied with a strong feminine voice. "Now go back to where you came from."
The being laughed. It walked slowly out of the dark and revealed itself. It's a dire wolf with strong, dirty, gray fur; long, pointed snout; piercing eyes with dark corneas; slender yet powerful limbs with long knives on its paws; sharp, pointy, large teeth. These wolves are not any ordinary wolves for they are much bigger, hungrier, and best at killing their preys.
"Talking like a real hunter, are you?" The wolf said, taller than Red's height.
"I'm not a hunter, Urdon, but I do know how to use this, just like how I used it to blast Jaeger's brains out weeks ago." Red taunted. She stepped back, her gun pointed at the wolf, following it wherever it walks.
"Jaeger was a fool. He never thought about ambushing you because he thought you're just an ordinary girl frolicking around the forest. He never knew you, Red Hoodlard." The wolf stepped a little closer in front of red, but far enough to prevent her from anticipating to shoot him. "Oh, but I do. I know where you travel through these woods. I know why you deliver those baskets to your dear grannie."
"That doesn't matter. I change my directions every now and then, and the contents inside my basket does not concern a pug like you, so back off before I kill you." She locks her gun to its target, a quick shot to the head and the wolf will surely die.
"Come on now, Red." The wolf constantly walked even closer and make smaller crouches. It locks itself to Red. Red anxiously and slowly walks away but kept her gun pointed at Urdon. "I just wanted a nice... piece... of... meat."
"You puppies already butchered those three little pigs!" She can't shoot him at her range, not right now. If she does then it might just wound the wolf and she'll have to reload.
"Aren't you satisfied enough with that that you raid villages just to suffice your selfish hunger problem?" Only one shot would kill these wolves, straight to the heart or to the head. Shooting them in any part would just wound or weaken them but they would still catch their prey.
"And we're even more hungry because of your blasted grannie!" The wolf got even closer and was ready for his attack. Red prepares herself for an impending pounce.
"So now, I'll jusy have my meal today." The wolf stopped and crouched even more. The nails of his claws were showing, his teeth were exposed, and his eyes were more piercing than even.
He prepares to launch himself towards Red. "And you're the main course!"