Phoenix Hood: Red Riding Hood Revamped

Red

"Crim! I'm going to deliver cookies to Grandma!"

"Alright, Red! Drive safe, and I'll take care of things here," my hazel-eyed younger sister and business partner waved me off as I grabbed the blush box. I darted to my sedan with my grandma's favorite red velvet cookies. It didn't take me long to get there. The lawn was a lush spread of five acres of land with a light stone mansion in the center of a sea of green. 

Something felt off as I approached the mansion door, and I reached into my pocket and retrieved a golden key from the back pocket of my black jeans. Grandma was up in age, and sometimes I was uneasy knowing that she lived alone. After raising my sister and me, she gave us a rather large home to reside in on the large family estate. 

Opening the door, I called out to her, "Grandma! It's Red. I brought your cookies from the bakery." There was no response, and that was odd. Usually, grandma would have spoken and started down the winding staircase. 

"Grandma?"

There was the sound of heavy footsteps upstairs. What could that be? I dropped the box of cookies and ran upstairs. As I approached grandma's room, the heavy steps got louder, and I stormed into the bedroom. 

Fear and bewilderment consumed my soul as a giant beast towered over my grandma's bloody body. I screamed, and the beast turned to me. It was huge with merciless, yellow eyes, mangled teeth, and unkept black and gray fur. It howled and hurled toward me and knocked me down. In absolute shock, I picked myself up and chased after it. The beast leaped from the top of the stairs to the main floor, crushing the box of cookies on the way out the door.

"Grandma!" I rushed to her side. Her tan skin was becoming cool with death, and the only lingering warmth was the pool of blood in which she lay. I cried. My heart burned! 

"What could have happened here?" 

There was only one way to know. But it was forbidden to me. 

I shouldn't, but I needed to know what happened. Staring into her lifeless amber eyes, I touched the thick blood. Then I did the unthinkable. Well, unthinkable to an ordinary person. I tasted her blood. There was nothing metallic at all; it was actually pretty sweet. 

My vision became hazy, and my sight traveled back hundreds of years, then thousands. People and places I've never seen. War and death plagued my eyes until I couldn't do it any longer. I coughed and spit. All of a sudden, a harsh, metallic taste consumed my tongue. I ran from that house as fast as I could. Slamming the door behind me, I ran to my sedan and raced to the bakery. I had to get my sister!

My mind flitted from the present to a past I had never lived. It felt like it took an eternity to arrive at the bakery. I hurried inside to see my sister placing brownies inside the display. She turned slightly and smiled, briefly flashing her fangs at me.

"You're back so soon? How was grandma?" I looked around at the customers, some who were like us and others who were not.

"She wasn't feeling well, so I couldn't stay like I usually do," I lied. I put an apron on, trying to act normal before I snatched Crim by the arm and dragged her into the kitchen.

"What's your problem?" She rubbed her arm, and a frown came across her face.

"Grandma is dead. She was murdered."

Gasping, "Red, what? Did you go to the police?"

"No, I can't!"

"What do you mean? You have to report the murder. Did you see it happen?"

"That's why I can't tell the police! It was a werewolf! Once they find out that I'm the heiress of the estate, they may think I did it. They may not even believe me about the werewolf."