Dean glanced around, puzzled. "Sam?" He called his brother's name through the darkness.

"Dean?"

Dean swiveled around and squinted through the darkness. As his eyes got more used to the dark, he could faintly make out a tall figure ambling blindly toward him. "Sammy? Is that you?"

The figure tripped slightly and regained his footing. "Yeah, its me." He reached his hands out in front of him to feel for anything that he would run into. "Where the hell are we?"

Dean ducked as one of Sam's hands almost smacked him in the face. "Hey! Watch it!" Dean grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him beside him to keep him from running into anything else. "Wait till your eyes adjust, so you don't knock into anything else."

Sam nodded, then realized Dean couldn't really see him. "Yeah, okay." He squinted around, trying to see through the thick black. "Where the hell are we?"

"I don't know. It'd help if we could actually see anything." Dean started feeling around for a switch or something to see with. "See if you can find a light switch or flashlight," he told Sam.

Sam started feeling around for a switch, carefully gliding his hands along the wall. He was about to move on to another wall when his fingers connected with a small switch sticking out from the wall. He flipped it up and a bright light flooded the room they were in.

Both him and Dean shielded their eyes, groaning from how bright it was from being in the dark for so long.

Sam blinked his eyes to see through the blinding light, and had soon had his eyes adjusted to it. He scanned his surroundings as Dean got used to the light.

They were in a small room, about the size of a storage room, that was filled with crates and boxes. A few crates had labels stamped on them with black ink, with the sender and receivers town name on them.

Sam walked over to one and peered at it as Dean came and looked over his shoulder.

The stamp was smudged, ink blending the first few letters together.

"It's smudged, but I think I can still make out a few letters…" Sam analyzed the stamp of the receiving town, listing the letters out loud. "A-B-L-E-T-O-W-N. Abletown?"

"Is there a state listed?" Dean asked, trying to place the city of Abletown.

"No," Sam replied, confused. "Abletown...I've never heard of it. You?"

Dean shook his head. "Doesnt sound familiar, but there are a lot of cities. We couldn't know each one." Dean looked around the room and noticed a door across the room on the opposite wall. "I say we go find out where we are exactly from the locals."

Sam nodded and followed Dean out the door.

XxX

Sam and Dean walked along the empty streets, their heads scanning everywhere for someone to ask.

"This is strange, creepy even. This place is literally a ghost town," Sam spoke, noting the eerie silence and dark windows.

Dean nodded, still scanning the streets.

A rustle from beside them in the tall grass stopped them in their tracks.

Dean looked over just in time to see someone duck behind a tree. "Hey!"

The stranger hid behind the tree, holding their breath.

"I saw you, whoever you are. There's no use in hiding." Dean looked over at Sam and silently cocked his head to the side, signaling for Sam to go on the other side of the tree to block the stranger from running away. He pulled out his gun and held it out, ready to defend himself.

"We aren't going to hurt you…" Sam spoke calmly, trying to coax the person out.

"Who -who are you?" A small, frightened voice called, a small figure poking its head out from behind the tree.

Dean quickly put the gun down and hid it. "My name is Dean, and this is my brother Sam." He motioned to Sam and Sam waved a little.

The small figure stepped out a little farther, the shadows still covering their face. "You're not going to hurt me...right?"

"Of course not. We just want to ask you some questions," Sam smiled. "Can you help us?"

"How would I help?" The small voice asked softly.

"You could start by coming out from the shadows," Dean tried, smiling, "Please?"

The figure paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating their options, and sighed. The figure stepped out into the moonlight, causing Dean and Sam to be caught off guard.

A girl, maybe fifteen at most, was standing there, her eyes wide and frightened. She had long brown hair that curled down to her shoulders, and bright brown eyes to match. Her face was lightly freckled and her cheeks were red from the cold, night air. She wore a bright red coat, the hem coming just above her knees. Under her coat was a white shirt and brown, worn out jeans. A shiny necklace sparkled in the moonlight, but Dean couldn't make out what the pendant was.

"What -uh...what are you doing out here all alone?" Sam asked, kneeling down to her level.

"I was on my way to my grandma's house, but...when I got there…" Tears rolled down her face and she began to cry.

Sam moved closer to her, causing her to flinch a little. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. We aren't going to hurt you."

The little girl nodded, and let Sam come closer.

Sam looked into her bright brown eyes, "Just tell me what happened."

She nodded, stealing a glance at Dean, who was slowly coming nearer, before beginning again. "I was walking faster than I normally do because gramma always says 'don't get caught in the dark', so I knew that I had to get their before the night fell. I knocked on her door, but she didn't answer. I tried the knob, but stopped because I heard her scream."

"Your grandma?" Dean asked, now kneeling just like Sam.

She nodded, "Yes. I knew something was wrong, so I stepped off of her doorstep, but that's when the man grabbed me."

"What man?" Sam asked.

"A really big man. He grabbed me from behind and tried to…choke me…" More tears rolled down her face, and Sam moved to wipe them away.

"It's okay, it's okay. He can't get you now."

"How did you get away from him?" Dean asked.

"I kicked him. He swore and dropped me. That's how I got this," she showed them her bruised arm and scraped-up elbow. "I ran as fast as I could, but I could hear him behind me. Before I knew it, I was here."

"Is that why you hid behind the tree?" Sam asked.

"Mhmm. I didn't know if you two were with him or not." Fear entered her eyes again. "You're not, are you?"

"No, no. We're the good guys. We save people every day," Dean assured her.

She smiled, "Really? Can you save me?"

Dean smiled, "Of course. My brother and I, you see, we hunt down bad guys and make sure they can't do anything to hurt anyone else any more. We'll do that for you, too, don't you worry."

The girl smiled wide and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you! Thank you!" She squealed. She released him, her smile still wide. "You can save my grandma, too, right?"

Dean exchanged a worried glance with Sam.

Sam shook his head as if to say 'don't tell her', his eyes sad.

Dean sighed, "Sure. Of course."

She smiled wider and her teeth glimmered pearly white in the dark. "Thank you, Dean." She looked over at Sam. "Thank you, Sam."

Sam smiled, "You're welcome -uh...um...I dont think we ever got your name?"

"Maisie, but most people call me Red."

"Red? Why?" Sam asked, the puzzle pieces slowly coming together in his mind.

Red pointed to her coat. "My coat, silly! My gramma made it for me; pretty, huh?"

"Yeah, very...Hey, Maisie, can I speak to my brother quick?" Sam asked, pulling Dean away.

"Sure," she shrugged, watching them with big eyes.

Sam smiled once before pulling Dean away and out of earshot.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Red coat? Grandma's house? A 'big man' attacking her? Remind you of anything?" Sam spoke just above a loud whisper.

"No, why?" Dean asked, glancing at the kid.

"Oh for God's sake. Her name is Red, Dean. Red."

"Yeah, so? I've heard stranger. Didn't you hear about Kim's baby? North West? People are crazy, Sam," Dean rambled.

"No, you're missing the point. A girl named Red, a.k.a. Maisie, walks alone in the forest, headed for her grandma's house. A man, let's say his name is Wolf, attacks her and her grandma. The only thing missing here is a protagonist that ultimately kills Wolf and cuts him open, filling his stomach with stones. Ring a bell?" Sam watched Dean's face clear of confusion.

"Are you saying that that little girl is little red riding hood? Come on, Sammy, that's impossible. Little Red Riding Hood is just a fable, a fairytale."

"Maybe, but maybe not. Look at her, Dean. She fits the character," Sam looked at the girl again, as did Dean. "You can't tell me that you don't see it."

"Okay, yes, she does bear a tiny resemblance to a fairytale character, but that doesn't mean she is one. It's just a coincidence. It has to be…"

"How about we ask her?" Sam suggested, already moving to join the girl again.

Dean grabbed his arm. "And say what? 'Are you little red riding hood? You know, the girl from the fairytale?' How crazy do you think we'll sound?"

Sam sighed. "Then we ask where we are. Maybe she can lead us to some clues. We can also look at her grandma's house. Maybe it'll explain something."

Dean let a beat pass before he nodded, following Sam to Red again.

"Hi, Maisie," Sam smiled.

"Call me Red, everyone else does," she grinned.

"Okay, Red, can you show us where your grandma lives?" Sam asked politely.

"Sure, follow me." She began to walk ahead of them, but paused on the sidewalk.

"Red? What's the matter?" Dean asked, concern in his voice.

"I'm...I'm afraid of the dark," she replied softly.

"Don't worry, we're here to protect you." Sam offered his hand to her and she took it, relaxing immediately.

She walked with them, leading them down the street, and over the hills, to grandma's house they walked.

Thanks for reading my first chapter! I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be posted soon :)

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