Blood-Red Basket

A Story by Totoro-Sama

Who could it be? Where was the girl? Why was the forest ... so still?

-----Required Paragraph Inserted :

-----"It was half past six in the evening when the police arrived at the crime scene. The bakery was surrounded by a crowd of journalists and people from the town. Cop Fox and his team were quick to enter and seal the crime scene, telling the journalists to clear away. The staff was pale and seemed frozen with fear, the two corpses lay blood covered on the flat. Fox knew one of them very well as he's been a customer of this bakery; it was the 35 year old baker. But I was most surprised when his partner told him who the other dead person was, so this was the reason of all the press surrounding the bakery."

"My God ... there is no way!"

-----Cop Fox suddenly stepped back, aghast by the information presented to him. Under the cold, silent night, he kept shaking his head, hoping that if he denied the truth well-enough, the truth would disappear ... and fade like the scent of sweets carried by a breeze. The Baker ... The Baker ... and ...

-----The Woods suddenly shook with laughter as the crowd, Mr. Fox, and his team turned to face it. The trees rustled with the sound while a sharp breeze blew through them all, sending shivers down everyone's spine. Not even the starry night consoled them. The starry night could not shade the truth. The killer was there. It was the only explanation. Someone needed to go and get the monster. Yet ... why did they all feel ... Why did they feel that they already knew who it was? As they sent the crowd back in their houses with cold reassurances ... Why did they lie to themselves? Why did they fail to regard the vital piece of evidence left by the baker ... and the corpse?

"Boss ..."

-----One of the members of his team crept up behind the Fox, who was still staring at the scene of the crime,

"We have to go. We can't let the monster escape."

-----Why did they call it the "monster"? They knew full well who it was.

"Okay."

-----The Scene would forever be imprinted in his mind as the Fox knelt down to grab a pair of bloodied scissors.

- As they drive -

-----The car drove as if it shook with fear as the wheels rolled over stone by stone. Trees waned over them, their dark branches rustling and rustling to hide their only guide: the moon ... and it's friends: the stars. To remain discreet, the group had not turned on the headlights. The only sounds leading them were the deranged giggling that they assumed were from "the monster" and the barraging of the breeze. With each small distance closer, the people inside the vehicle felt nothing but dread. They were all sitting ducks.

"There, driver! Do you see the light? Let us stop here!"

-----Fox, who had been sitting in the back leaned over to point toward a still, constant light off to the distance, behind the waving of the long branches. Everything was pitch black around the sight, so it was easy to find. The light ... It seemed to be one that would be found outside of a cottage ... but ... who would be living here? Grandma's cottage had been the other way. They had seen Grandma walking inside it herself. They had seen Grandma looking over at them when they had driven by ... so .. who? Who had ... built a cottage here without any permission whatsoever? Wouldn't the officials had seen it being built? No. There was no time to question. They had to act. As the group exited the car and closed the door slowly, they positioned their firearms. The insane giggling seemed to echo louder and louder with each step. This giggling ... this giggling they knew belonged to ...

"Oh! It's you!"

-----When the team had cleared the long branches that served to hide the "murderer", they looked upon a nice, well-built cottage in a clearing, as Fox had expected. It was well-positioned on a clear hill. The stones looked clean, "too" new, and there were steps leading toward a door; steps that were lined with blooming, well-cultivated moon-flowers, swaying under the starry sky. On the steps, had been a little girl, donned in a long, red cape, with her back faced toward them. Her head had been turned to the side, cheeks rosy and fair, to look back at the fox and his team. Virgin-blue eyes glowed with a strange abnormality while soft, brown curls poured over her shoulders.

"Little Red, do you live alone here?"

"No, I do not. Oh Fox! Why are you so pale? Why is it that you look upon me with eyes filled with such fear?"

-----When the girl in the hood turned around, two hands holding into a neat, covered basket, the team's eyes were stricken with the dread that Little Red described herself.

"Little Red, why are you bathed in the color of your hood?"

-----Little Red casually looked down at her white dress. Before, it had been white. But now, it was white adorned in drops of stained red. Surprisingly, virgin-blue eyes were not affected as she gazed down at herself. In fact, when she looked up, they remained the same ... even though she had looked to be a gruesome mess. Her dress, knee-high had been pattered and bombarded with the color. Below the knee, it looked as if she had stepped in the river of red. Even black Mary-Janes ceased to remain it's original color. The basket ... the basket had been the only thing that remained void of the paint. The young girl gripped on the handle with such strength. It was something that she wouldn't let go. Little Red was particular about the way she held it. She didn't let the white cover get anywhere near her stained image. The smell of freshly-baked cookies filled the air.

-----She giggled. It was identical to the giggle they heard on the team's way here.

-----Could the culprit ...

-----Could it have been her?

"Little Red----"

"Oh! Mr. Fox. You ask why I am this color? I do not know myself!"

"Little Red ... I--"

"Oh! Mr. Fox! I do not recall! Why am I such a mess?"

-----Mr. Fox and his team couldn't bear speaking. Their words were stuck in their throat as they looked upon the seemingly calm, Little Red, glowing with the well-cultivated flowers in the moonlight. A silence brooded over them. Virgin-blue eyes ... they had suddenly changed with the mention of her not recalling anything. The small body trembled. Something was definitely off. Was she "the monster"?

"I love him ... I rea-really do ... I re-really ..."

"Little Red ...?"

-----Mr. Fox placed a brave foot closer up the steps, and Little Red stepped back. Her hands remained secure on the basket. The breeze blew by, confirming the scent of well-baked sweets. He still had the bloodied scissors in one of his hands. He had to confirm it was Red's. These were the same pair he had given to her for the girl's birthday. The pair he had given her the day before. The moon shone down brightly on the two figures. Their shadows steeped over the moon-flowers. Little Red looked down, hiding a tear-stained face.

"Please go away ... Mr. Fox ... go away ..."

"Little Red ...?"

"Please go away ... I love him ... If you get any closer ... you will ..."

-----Suddenly, a savage howl crept up behind Mr. Fox and his team.

-----How could it be? The other body ... It had been Mr. Wolf himself!

-----Why?!

-----And like the scent of sweets carried by the breeze, the truth faded ... and disappeared.

© 2014 Totoro-Sama

Author's Note

This is my piece for my first contest in Writer's Cafe!
I'm kind of new at this, so please go easy on me ...
I hope you all like it.
For the Contest : "Complete this Short Story" by M.K. Jawdat
Picture Found on : Tumblr

My Review

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Reviews

Delmar Cooper

You will do well in the contest, but even if you don't it was worth the experience. The story is well written and seems grammaticaly pure. I read a poem by KL Gppde this week about LRRH. Sexy stuff, but Little Red is a sexy and dark tale. I think you did it justice.

Posted 10 Years Ago

10 Years Ago

;w; Thank you. I am grateful for your praise!

Zahra

nice story, nicely done . . . .

Posted 10 Years Ago

10 Years Ago

Thank you :D

For Who I Am

WOW! I love this! I am literally trembliing as II write thiss. Wow! I lovve it!

Posted 10 Years Ago

10 Years Ago

Thank you!!! :D

FayteX

Wow! Flawless! This was really good Totoro ^^ I really hope you win! I'll be rooting for you all the way! I'll be sure to double check for any mistakes, but because this is a contest piece, expect a harsh crackdown x3 great job! ^^b I look forward to reading more!