I raised my green eyes to look at the skeleton woman in front of me. Her dress was a midnight black with a silver shawl wrapped around her frail shoulders. Strands of fly away hair swirled around her white bun. "H-Hello Aunt Elinor." I stammered, hugging the boxes to my chest.
"Hello, child." Her words made me shiver and almost drop the boxes. "Where's your father?"
"By the car." I turned my head to look at Dad, who struggled climbing up the concrete steps.
"Hello… Elinor… It's…Been…Awhile." He puffed, steam leaking from his mouth. I frowned at him, reaching out a freezing hand to help him steady the box.
"Mortimer! Yes, dear, it's been a while." She snatched the box from my hand, and let dad step inside. "Meggie, you can go across the street and play with the girl." Elinor shot me a scowl and slammed the door on my face.
I stuck out my tongue and turned on my heel, but I didn't head across the street. I looked around at the landscape. Honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting, but I was surprised. The grass was neatly cut and evenly green, a small birdbath spurting water from the middle of the yard.
I saw a small white door behind the side of the house, and my fingers mechanically reached for the knob. "I wonder what's behind here." I murmured aloud, turning to ice cold knob to the right and pushing the door open.
A howl erupted from behind, and I jumped backwards a few steps to peer inside. The backyard was fenced in, and a rather large crate sat in the center. Taking a few small steps, I tried to open the cage up. Something nipped my fingers, and I pulled back onto my back.
Blood drizzled from my pointer finger and my middle finger. I frowned at the cage when it burst open. A huge wolf-like thing broke open the door, and I screamed in horror. Drool drizzled down its jaws, which contained hundreds of razor sharp teeth. "Aunt Elinor!" I cried, squeezing my fingers together as I stood up and started running toward the open door.
The wolf grabbed my heel and pressed down on it, and I landed on my stomach with a thud. I cried out in pain and tried to kick the beastly thing in the face. Somebody yelled my name. My vision blurred at the edges, and Dad came bounding out with a baseball bat.
"Dad." My voice sounded distant, far away. Warmth spread around my ankle and leg, making it sticky and disgusting. My vision was blackening. A squeal came from the thing, and I closed my eyes.
"What's happening, Elinor?" I heard Dad slam the crate door shut and smelled his breath on my face. "What did that thing do to her?"
"I'm sorry, Mortimer! I didn't know…" Dad brushed his fingers across my face. "I didn't know she would do that!"
"Where did even get this wolf?" Mortimer shouted at her.
"Remember when you read to her Little Red Riding Hood? And the wolf came out? Where did you think it had to go?"
"Elinor, just call an ambulance." My dad sounded weary and tired, but I felt something cold hit my face. He was crying.
Now, you might think "Well, It's no big deal. He's crying." But if you knew my dad very well, then you would know that he only cried whenever Risa –my mother- was sucked into the book. He cried for weeks, only stopping to take care of me. So, when my father cries, it was pretty bad. Distraught.
I opened my eyes to him. "Daddy, don't cry." I whispered, my voice sounding parched. "I'll be okay. I won't leave you."
"Oh Meggie." He took off his jacket and laid it on me. "What should I tell them? What should I tell you?"
"What was she saying," Big swallow, "about the wolf thing?"
"Meggie, I'll tell you when you're well." His voice was cracking at the sound of roaring beeps and flashing lights. "But what should I tell them?"
"Put me over by those rocks and tell them I fell off." I murmured, feeling my head. "I think I'll go into a coma soon; I hit my head. It'll be…" And my words were cut off by the bursting of a gate and footsteps pounding on the sidewalk.
