by Raven, C L
"You'd better go," Grandma told me an hour later. "It's getting dark."
I kissed her cheek and left. Perrault bounded up to me. I offered him the ham I'd sneaked out of Grandma's fridge. He snaffled it then licked my hand, his bushy tail waving like a flag of surrender.
"I can't see you donning a pair of boots and kicking the crap out of someone," I murmured into his head, kissing him.
I pulled my hood up and set off into the woods.
Silence lurked amongst the gloomy trees as though they were sealing every living creature inside their wooded tomb. Not even the dying sun was brave enough to banish the shadows that danced beneath night's flimsy veil.
Something moved in the darkness.
I stopped. Perrault's hackles rose. He growled.
"Creighton? If that's you, come out now or you're never seeing me naked again."
I unsheathed my dagger. If it was those attackers from last night, they'd get a nasty shock. They could take their fingers home as souvenirs. I listened, my heart beating warning signals through my veins. I turned around. Trees, everywhere, hiding their secrets behind their rigid bodies. Perrault padded ahead. I crept after him. For the first time in my life, the legend seemed real.
But it wasn't the wolf I had to fear.
Whatever was hiding in the woods wouldn't be placated with ham.
Perrault growled again. I raised my dagger across my body, my other hand using the basket as a shield. Twigs crunched, betraying my position to my hunter. Blackness robbed my vision. I slipped my phone from my cloak pocket and tapped the torch app. I wielded it, silver light piercing the night's brutal heart.
A shadow.
Branches reached out, trying to imprison me in their wooden dungeon. I battered them aside, ducking others and changing my path. Perrault ran by my side. Brambles scratched my thighs. I stamped them down and darted sideways to throw my hunter off track. Whispering voices promised me everlasting pain in this paradise lost.
Something collided with me. I hit a tree hard, my breath stolen from my lungs. Black rain fizzed in my vision. I thrust the dagger forwards, feeling it connect with someone. The last thing I saw was a figure standing over me.
The demon from my childhood nightmares.
Snow White's Prince Charming.
***
I sat up. My forehead whacked something and I fell back onto a velvet cushion. Glass walls imprisoned me. I hammered frantically on the lid, my hands tied.
"Let me out!"
Prince Charming crouched and stroked the coffin, whispering soothing words, which I guessed were 'hurry up and die so I can make beautiful love to your cold, dead corpse.' I'd rather smear myself in jam and dance naked through a wasp swarm. He was every inch the cardboard cut-out rich, handsome man from period dramas, who made most girls swoon. I liked my men with more character and without the corpse fetish.
He beckoned and six brides ambled over, their lifeless eyes boring into mine. They lifted the coffin and carried me. I rolled around, trying to tip the coffin, but they didn't falter.
Growling resonated through the woods. The Prince hit the ground, screaming.
"The beast!"
Then I saw what he saw – Perrault was three times his normal size, with red eyes and wicked fangs. I blinked and he was my wolf again.
He leapt at the nearest Snow White bride and they all fell. The coffin plunged, striking a rock and shattering. I covered my face as glass shards punished my flesh. Perrault appeared beside me, so I grabbed his fur and pulled myself up.
Branches slapped me, roots tripped me and the monsters in the woods watched me flee, their crimson eyes glowing like twisted fairies, trying to lure me into the eternal dance.
I burst out of the woods and stumbled up the path to Grandma's cottage. I pounded on the door with my bound fists.
"Grandma! Open up!"
The door creaked open. I hesitated then crept inside. Perrault trotted in, growling. It was too quiet.
"Grandma?"
I edged into the living room. Empty. I crossed to the kitchen. Empty. I checked the outhouse. Empty. I pushed open her bedroom door.
Grandma was sprawled on her bed, an ugly wound where her head should be. Gashes lashed her body. Blood sprayed the walls. Above the headboard was 'MARRY ME RED' written in blood.
"No." I sank to my knees, gagging at the stench. "No!" I thumped the bed. Perrault nudged me then licked my tears. I rested my head against his.
I pulled my dagger free and jammed it between my feet, sawing my rope. My arms ached, but I was finally free. I snatched up my dagger and wiped my eyes, Grandma's mutilated corpse blurring in my vision.
Perrault followed me out the back. I stopped dead and heaved. On the cutting block, was Grandma's head, an axe imbedded in her skull like a worryingly realistic Halloween prop.
"A wolf didn't do this."
Perrault howled in agreement and trotted to the cutting block. He pawed it, whining.
"I'm not getting that axe." He stamped his foot. I grimaced as I gripped the handle. "Fine. But only so I can chop the son of a bitch into firewood."
I took a deep breath, which was a huge mistake when standing downwind of a severed head. I coughed then gingerly held Grandma's head steady while I worked the axe free. I looked away, trying to ignore the squelching and the way her glassy gaze watched me reproachfully.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
I swore. The woodcutter. He marched over then paled.
"Griselda?" He looked at me. "What have you done?" He stumbled backwards. "You're in league with the wolf! Witch!"
He fled, hollering about wolves, witches and murder. Sometimes I believed our village existed in the times when fairytales were true. Except we now had WiFi.
"Our cue to leave. If anyone really believes you can wield an axe, Perrault, they deserve to be savaged."
We ran through the back garden, into another part of the woods.
"If I was watching this on screen, I'd be screaming at me not to be such an idiot," I told Perrault.
I gripped my dagger in one hand and the axe in the other as we raced through the woods.
"If we find a gingerbread house, we're outta here."
Perrault barked and led the way through the undergrowth. I'd never strayed off the path before. But I'd also never found my grandma butchered before.
We crept through the woods' blackened heart. Crumbling headstones lurked amongst the trees, each one engraved with familiar names. Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Gretel, Beauty. Red. A grave shook as something rose from its earthy tomb. Soil cascaded from it, revealing a glass coffin and a decomposing princess, her tiara sinking into her putrescent flesh.
Bushes rustled, twigs broke and my heart drummed a terrifying chorus of doom. I was tempted to use my phone's torch app, but it'd be like pricking my finger in a vampire nest. I shadowed Perrault as he hopped over a stream, my cloak floating behind me like Superman's cape. Except I wouldn't look as camp in Lycra as he did and I knew my underwear went under my clothes. My ankle twisted on landing.
Footsteps.
Behind me. No. In front. They circled me, getting closer with every step. I tried not to breathe as I edged forwards, holding my axe like a shield.
"Red."
Footsteps.
"Red."
I stalked Perrault as I ducked branches and hurdled fallen logs. I stopped dead. We were at the edge of a steep drop. Perrault peered down then looked at me.
"Isn't there another way?"
He disappeared over the edge, his furry tail beckoning.
"Miss Hood." Prince Charming stood behind me, his hands trembling as he touched my corset. I bent his fingers backwards. "You look ravishing. I could eat you up." He licked his lips.
"Stay away from me you necro! You killed my grandma!"
He wrestled me to the ground as he sniffed my hair and groaned.
"I'll slice you up like a cake!"
"Be a good girl and stay still." He moaned as his crown jew
els rubbed against me and he fumbled for my knickers. I rammed my dagger into his thigh. He yelled as I twisted it, wriggled free and kicked him in the face.
I scrambled up and jumped over the ledge. My legs buckled and I hit the slope on my back. I slithered down like a human toboggan. Brambles and twigs sliced my skin, tearing at my clothes like a lust driven lover. I wrapped my cloak around me. Trees flashed past, too fast to break my fall. I hit a log and bounced up, landing face down in a river. I groaned. I hurt everywhere and my pride needed a life-saving operation. I frantically pushed myself up. No Prince Charming. Perrault bounded over, his warm tongue investigating the cuts on my arms and drying my tears. Somehow I'd kept hold of the axe and hadn't hacked off a limb in the fall.
The surging river smothered any sound Prince Charming might make. I couldn't go back the way I'd come. My feet slipped on hidden rocks and I face planted in the water. Swearing, I hauled myself up and splashed on. Night embraced me in its star studded cloak. I shivered and pulled out my phone. Remarkably it still worked.
"Creigh, I've been attacked by the creature in the woods." He swore. "It was Prince Charming."
He laughed. "Were the dwarves there too?"
"He killed Grandma. I found her head on a chopping block. The woodcutter thinks I did it. The prince…" saying it made it real. I took a deep breath. "…tried to rape me."
"I'll fucking kill him!"
"I shoved my dagger in his thigh. I'm gutted. I loved that dagger."
"I'll make you a new one."
"I lost Great Grandma's basket. Mum'll kill me. She won't believe me about the prince."
"Maybe whatever haunts the woods isn't the wolf. Well, it probably was to the first person who saw it because that's what he was afraid of."
I waded deeper, gasping when the river's icy body collided with my skin. "What do you mean?"
"You're afraid of Prince Charming and that's who you saw. Father Smith was mauled by demons, Nigel by flesh eating creatures. Maybe it's not a wolf in Riding Woods but people's darkest nightmares."
"I used to have nightmares about the prince as a kid. I was convinced he'd kill me and put me in a glass coffin to rape me."
"What version of Snow White were you read?"
"I know everyone's supposed to be frightened of the witch, but I've always found it disturbing that a man stumbles across a dead girl in a coffin, falls in love with her and demands she be taken to his castle for a wedding. And the dwarves didn't question his motives or run a police check on him. She cooked and cleaned for them and they repaid her by shipping her off to the local pervert the minute she snuffed it."
"Stop fearing him, he'll go away."
Twigs cracked. "Bit hard when his battering ram is trying to penetrate my castle defences."
"Most girls dream of stumbling across a prince in the woods."
"I'm not most girls."
"No, you're a hot, sexy minx who stabs fairytale princes. I think I'm in love."
"The doctor can give you something for that."
I tried moving quicker but the river's currents slowed me down. Branches snapped. Perrault growled as he swam beside me.
"Where are you?"
"In a river. I don't know this area."
"I'm coming to find you."
I hung up. Hearing Creighton's voice was reassuring. But now I was alone in the dark. Another branch snapped.
I wasn't alone.
My legs ached. My boots felt heavy. My hand hurt from gripping the axe. Something brushed my leg. I flinched. Something else bumped into me. I whirled around. The full moon bathed the river in a silver glow as slowly, dead bodies floated to the surface.
I clamped my hand over my mouth. Bloated, discoloured, naked corpses brushed against me. Their open, opaque eyes gazed at the sky like star worshippers enjoying the clear night. Their mouths were locked in silent screams. Some were face down. All were once young women with long black hair and scarlet lips. A rubbery hand touched my thigh. I freaked out, trying to rush past the corpses without touching them but each time I moved, a new one rose to block my path.
"You're not real. You're a figment of my twisted imagination."
A marbled hand grabbed my wrist. I shrieked then raised the axe and chopped the corpse's hand off. Its arm flopped down but the hand remained clamped around my wrist. Cringing, I prised the fingers off then flung the hand.
I took a deep breath then pushed the dead bodies aside as I lunged for the bank. Somebody dragged me out. I looked back at the river, shaking. The corpses had vanished. The beautiful river gushed past.
"Let me remove these wet clothes."
Prince Charming.
"You're just the demon from my nightmares. You're not real."
He threw me to the ground and climbed on top of me. "Then how come you can feel me?" He thrust against me, his fumbling fingers trying to undo my corset.
I bit his cheek as Perrault leapt on his back and sank his teeth into the Prince's throat. He fell off me. I leapt up.
"Can you feel this, scumbag?" I raised the axe and hacked into his other leg.
He yelled, blood pumping from the wound. "That's not how a princess treats her prince!"
"Do I look like a fucking princess? This is for Grandma."
I snatched my dagger from his belt and slammed it into his crown jewels. His screams became a gurgle as blood spilled from his mouth and gushed from his obscenely tight trousers. I watched for a moment before raising the axe and hacking off his head. It rolled into the river with a splash. His body twitched as his blood spurted all over me. I kicked his body into the river to join his head. Then I vomited.
I scrambled up the bank and found myself on a road. It was deserted, endless. No streetlights illuminated this highway to Hell. Trees lined both sides, their iniquitous power calling to me. Perrault nudged me on, the axe dangling by my leg. Wind covered me in cold kisses. I shivered, wrapping my wet cloak around me.
The moon glowered, an unblinking eye that watched me. A gnarled branch stretched across its face; black claws that would tear it to shreds.
I wasn't sure how long I walked but a horn blast startled me. A black hearse rolled to a stop and the passenger door was flung open.
"Going my way?"
I smiled and sat in. Perrault jumped on my lap then climbed into the back, his bushy tail hitting me in the face.
"You look dead sexy soaking wet," Creighton grinned.
"I chopped Prince Charming's head off."
"Well that's not an end Disney predicted."
"Roald Dahl would've liked it."
He floored the accelerator. "Maybe we should avoid the woods for a while. I don't want Prince Charming trying to kill us when we're living out our fantasies."
"But now where will I have my wicked way with you?" I rubbed his thigh.
He jerked his thumb backwards. "We could park somewhere quiet."
"Kinky. We can use body bags instead of sleeping bags."
Teasing him kept my mind off the horrors I'd just faced. I closed my eyes but saw the bodies floating in the river, Grandma's head on the cutting block, her butchered remains and Prince Charming. I sat up and avoided looking at the woods.
"Have you ever seen anything in the woods?"
"You, naked and enjoying my company." He winked.
"Anything scarier than me."
"I'm not scared of anything." He poked his tongue out.
"Everyone's afraid of something."
"I overcame my fears. The dark, clowns, man-eating teddy bears." I laughed. "The only way to survive is to confront your fears. I've done that. Those woods can't hurt me."
"I confronted my fear and cut his head off."
"They'll leave you alone now."
"Or they'll come back and finish me. Nobody's ever escaped the monster and lived to tell the tale."
"Until now."
***
I curled up in bed, trying to sleep. Perrault insisted on coming inside and lay at the foot of my bed, snoring loudly
. Creighton tried sneaking in too, but I'd refused. I might get away with explaining a strange wolf in my bedroom, but not the village bad boy. My mum would rather I got rabies than love bites.
Something scratched the window. I told myself it was a branch, but my mind insisted it was the talons of the damned.
Perrault wriggled to his feet. Low rumbling emanated from his throat. I crept to the window, snatching a dagger from my wall. It helped having a blacksmith as a boyfriend. I flung the curtains open. The front garden was empty. The gate banged against its post. In the distance, a lone cry warned the villagers the nightmare was still alive. I closed the curtains and turned away.
SCRATCH!
I whirled around and stared into the lifeless eyes of a corpse. Her long raven hair was a stark contrast to her translucent skin. Her lips glistened with scarlet promise. A stained wedding ring burdened her wrinkled finger as her long, broken nails scraped the glass.
"Snow White!"
Behind her, the garden was filled with identical corpses. Some stood staring at the cottage, others lay in glass coffins. The moon covered their pale bodies in a silvery shroud.
"You're not real." I closed my eyes and blocked my ears. "You're not real."
I opened my eyes. Snow White smiled, revealing receding black gums.
"Red Riding Hood," she whispered.
I screamed.
"What's going on?" My mum rushed in. And screamed. "What's that creature doing in your room?"
"Protecting me from the corpses."
"What corpses?"
"The ones in the garden!" I pointed. She approached the window. The corpses had gone.
"Go back to bed. And get that mutt out of here."
"He saved my life."
"Bed. Now."
She walked out. I turned back to the window.
Snow White smiled.
"Won't you join us in the castle?"
"No!"
I pulled my cloak over my skeleton pyjamas, grabbed a sword and ran outside. I stopped in the deserted garden. Perrault stood beside me. I crept forwards, hunting for that putrid princess.
"Snow White," I called softly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. I've got a juicy red apple for you."
