100 Theme Challenge #92 (18+)

92. Run (18+)

Warning: There's a rape tentative mentionned in this story.

Maebh was living a simple life with her grandmother. She never knew her parents, only that they’d died when she was really young, and she was numb to the pain of losing them, since she couldn’t remember their voices, let alone what they looked like. Her grandmother took care of her all of her life, she was king and sweet with her. She also taught her everything about witchcraft, because of course. What did you expect when they were living on the edge of the woods, in a small village. People preferred to ignore them most of the time, but sometimes one would show up for a favour, something to ease pain or to cure a disease. Her grandmother was generous as well, but Maebh once saw her chase away someone with fire simply for insulting her. That was quite a sight, and now Maebh knew how to do it too.

So her simple life wasn’t that simple, waking up at dawn to exercise her magic and dealing with the wolves of the forest. Her grandmother was getting old, too old to push back the occasional lone wolf who was hungry enough to adventure itself into their yard, and it was up to Maebh to throw fireballs or make it run away with thunderbolts descending on its behind.

One night, however, three wolves appeared from between the tall trees while her grandmother was tending to their garden, and she yelled for X to get out of the house as she invoked a thunderstorm with the small energy she had left. The wolves swiftly escaped the trap and continued their approach. The grandmother turned around to run to the house, but she never had time to. Sharp fangs closed on her leg, and she fell face forward. She screamed in pain and terror as all three wolves bit and clawed her.

Maebh had heard her first scream, and she only had time to get their only dagger before storming out, where she witnessed the bloody sight of her grandmother being eaten alive.

“Stop!” She screamed at the beasts, and she lunched herself on one’s back, digging the dagger in his fur, over and over again. It howled in pain and pushed her off after a few tries, and she rolled on the ground. She spat some dirt out of her mouth before promptly getting back on her feet, because she knew they soon wouldn’t be satisfied with her grandmother only. As if on cue, other wolves began to show up, and all of their eyes were settled on her. She cursed and ran back to the house. She locked the door, pushed a dresser in front of it, but already the big creatures’ bodies hitting the door were making the whole place shake. It would soon give in. Desperately, Maebh shoved her grandmother’s book with all her knowledge inside in a satchel and took off through the window. They were all focused on the door, and so they didn’t see her sneak past them to the forest.

She began to run.

Her lungs were painful and protesting against the speed of her feet when she heard the first howls behind her, meaning they were after her. She forced herself to run faster, nearly avoiding the trees and branches scratching her without her noticing them. She was too loud, and she cursed when her satchel was caught in some branches and ripped open, throwing the book on the ground with a thud. She left the bag there and instead continued to run with the book in her arms. Its weight was slowing her, but she knew she couldn’t stop, the noise of the wolves was so close now she almost could feel their breath on their neck.

She made it to a clearing, but instead of bypassing it to stay hidden from their view, she didn’t think twice and passed right in the middle of it. A body collided with hers, pushing her roughly to the ground. She gasped, breathless, and waited for the teeth to dig in her throat, but nothing happened. The weight of the beast was lifted off, and she turned on her back. The wolves had surrounded her, watching her with hungry eyes.

To her surprise and horror, their body began to morph. Their skin fell off, and before her stood naked men, at least a dozen.  The woods weren’t habited by ordinary wolves, but by werewolves, and her grandmother and her had killed some of them during the past years. She gulped as one approached her, pushed her back when she tried to get on her feet. He straddled her hips and leaned down over her to smell her; smell the fear.

“Do you know how many of my men you killed?” With a snarl he ripped off the top of her dress, leaving her chest only in her inner corset. She began to shake with terror.

“We never knew you were men wearing wolf skin. If we did, we would never…”

“Of course you would have, witch. You’d just be more careful at night, with more traps for us to fall into.”

She didn’t reply, because it was the truth. They’d never allow werewolves so close to them, but they never witnessed any of them transforming.

“So what do you intend to do to me?” She asked instead, keeping her gaze steady on the unruffled man. Instead of answering, he smirked at her, and she felt her insides turn cold. He began to push up her skirts, his dirty hands feeling the soft skin of her thighs, and she screamed and tried to kick him away. His men made sure she couldn’t move, and the alpha continued to undress her.

“I smell the innocence on you. My men and I shall find comfort with you, my dear,” he darkly chuckled.

“No…” she whispered, tears flowing freely from her eyes and down in her hair. Nobody would touch her like this, never without her consent. “You won’t.”

And Maebh screamed as she felt her body begin to shift, her bones cracking and her skin splitting open. The werewolves watched with dismay the witch transform into ashes, with nothing but her clothes left. Nobody noticed the ant escaping from them, back in the forest.

(What is 100TC?)

A revamped - or should I say rewolved? - version of the Red Riding hood... ish. Werewolves are bad people, don't trust them.