Blood-Red Riding Hood

Call is a bit typical of me, but I loved going to my grandma's house. My grandma lives out on a farm in Iowa. I don't live there, so I eagerly waited for the few times a year we went out there. It was so fun! So much space to run around on, plenty of animals to play with, and she even had a pool. And she gave me lots of sweets, too.

Anyways, it was just over a year ago. My parents, my aunt and uncle, and I were all out there for Memorial Day. Memorial day is in April, so it was a bit nippy. My mom told me I could bring my favorite red hoodie. She hated the thing, so that's why I was excited.

A few days into the trip, I wasn't doing anything so I hopped on my computer, turned some music, and shut the door to the room I was staying in. My music was on half volume, so it was pretty loud. Anyways, I was just sitting there, typing away as I always do, when I heard my grandma's dog begin to bark. Now, her dog barks, just not that loud. It scared the crap out of me, so I ripped out my earbuds and listened. I don't know what I was waiting for, but eventually I slowly got up and walked downstairs, flinching at every creak. I told myself over and over again, "You're out in the country. No one would break into a house in the country." I walked cautiously into the living room, where my grandma and aunt were sitting. My grandma, though, had gotten up to let the dog out. "What happened?" I asked.

"'Dunno. The dog just started spazzing. Thinkin' she saw something outside. And it wasn't no normal bark, somethin' fierce." My aunt said. I stared out the window as I saw my grandma and her dog outside. There was a drop-off on the driveway they were standing on, so the dog just paced along the side, as if trying to figure out the fastest way down, or showing she protected the place. As I looked, I could swear I saw a pair of golden eyes looking from the few trees that spaced the house from the barn. I brushed it off, telling myself it was one of the many cats my grandma had wandering the farm.

When my grandma came back inside I asked, "What was out there?" "I don't know. The dog's calmed down now and is eating some food." She said. I looked at her for a second, shrugged, then went back upstairs. Nothing unusual happened the rest of the night, until I went to bed.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I laid there, listening to music as those golden eyes floated through my mind. They had to have just been a cat, right? As the night wore on, I finally began to drift off to sleep. Just as I did, my eyes shot open as I saw the door begin to open very slowly. I froze, watching in horror as the door slowly opened completely on its own. The fact that it was opening wasn't what scared me, it was the fact that I didn't hear it at all. I had my music on lower, because the house was quieter. And that door was probably the loudest door ever in existence.