Chapter 6：Crime Scene

As Red and the policeman are leaving her room, she steps in something that makes her sock wet. She looks down to see she's stepped in blood forming a paw print. Paw prints go from Granny's door to hers. She loses her breath seeing all the blood at the entrance of Granny's room.

"Let's get you outta here asap," The policeman says, standing at Red's side to best block her view of the room. What little she can see of the room is red, another officer is standing on the other side of the doorway, mumbling into a radio. As they exit the house into the cold air of the night, bright red and blue lights flash on and off as the officers two cars partly block the road.

"Take a seat," The officer says as he opens the passenger door, "I'm a phone in some stuff real quick," He turns around, pulling up his radio and starts talking into it. Even if Red could hear what he was saying, she wouldn't know from the utter shock of everything that's just happened. Her mind's racing at a million miles and hour and she's struggling to keep up with it.

All she can do is stare at her house where only mere minutes earlier she was trying to go to bed after a long yelling argument with her Granny. And now, she's sitting in a police car after walking past a room covered in blood. She feels a sudden chill down her spine when she gets the feeling of being watched by something. She turns to the forest, but sees nothing but trees and darkness. The once welcoming trees, now seemed close and huddled together, as if they were trying to keep the forest closed off from people, or perhaps trying to keep whatever was in them from getting out.

There's more flashing lights and a siren as an ambulance and another police car show up. Paramedics come out and walk up to Red.

"Hey there kiddo," One of them says with a warm smile as they kneel down, "My name's Todd, you feeling alright?" He asks with concern. Red looks at the woods before looking back at him and slowly nodding, "That's good. Is it alright if I make sure you don't have any injuries?" She nods again. Todd checks here eyes, her pulse and makes sure there's no visible injuries.

"You don't seem to be harmed at all, that's good," He says with relief, "Let's take you to the station. You can ride up front if you want," Red takes the offer and sits up front with Todd and the other paramedic, an older man with white hair and a strong but gentle gaze. They drive through the woken town, people tiredly looking through their windows to see what all the commotion is about. Entering the station, Red is seated in the lobby.

The warm hug from the blanket is the only thing bringing her any comfort. Despite the darkness being only outside, it feels like the light is only barely able to keep it from attacking the building. The whole air seemingly feels different.

"Say what?" An officer at the front desk asks into a phone, "Granny's..." The person glances at Red and sees that she's listening. The officer turns away and covers their mouth when finishing the sentence. Red doesn't need to hear what she said to know that Granny is dead. If she weren't so shaken from everything she would probably start crying, but she's too tired to feel or think anything.

"Red...Red...sweety wake up..."

"...W-what..?" Red finally responds, feeling groggy. She sits up and opens her eyes to see she had fallen asleep on the chairs. She looks up to see a relieved Sheran.

"Thank goodness you're not hurt," She says with a sigh, "You're father's on the phone waiting to talk to you, he's worried sick,"

"What, dad?" Is all Red can respond with as everything comes flooding back. She shakes herself awake and gets up. Walking past the front doors she sees it's still the middle of the night. Her and Sheran walk over to the counter where the officer from earlier is one the phone still.

"She just woke up," The woman says into the phone, "Here she is now sir," She holds the phone out to Red. Red has to stand on her tip-toes a bit to reach it.

"Hello?"

"Red?! Oh thank god!" Her dad's voice exclaims through the phone, "I've been trying to call you ever since I got off the phone with the police, but they told me your phone is currently being checked for fingerprints or something,"

"Oh, I didn't know. Granny took it away shortly after I got home," She replies, still a bit tired.

"Yeah...about that...uh..."

"Granny's dead," Red says, finishing the statement, "I overheard the police..."

"Oh, alright...well uh, I'd come get you but someone or something's tampered with my truck and it won't start. I asked Sheran if you could spend the night at her house if that's alright with you, and then she can drop you off at my house in the morning"

"Yeah, sure,"

"Great, try your best to get some rest alright? It sounds like you've been through a lot,"

"Will do...see ya tomorrow," She says with a slight smile.

"See ya in the morning," And he hangs up. Red hands the phone back to the officer and turns to Sheran.

"I've already got a bed made back home, let's go get some rest," Sheran says with a smile. The two head out, Red keeping one eye on the forest the whole drive to Sheran's. Once they get there Red quickly falls asleep the second she gets on the bed in the guest room.

...

"How are things?" Chief Winslow asks as he walks out of his cop car.

"...You best see for yourself chief," Officer Brant replies. As they walk up the driveway Winslow sees Todd examining Red for any injuries. They enter the house, past a broken front door into a rather unsettling view. The hallway looks perfectly normal, with it's pink rug, but then as you get to the first door on the left, there's blood stains oozing from the doorway, and looking straight ahead is a door that's torn apart, bloody paw prints walking from the bloody doorway to it and then more leading back to the entrance.

They walk to room on the left, and the sight of the scene even makes Winslow feel a shiver. Body parts are strewn about, with the body of what can be assumed to be Granny laying in the bed, blood coming from torn apart limbs, and a slice wound going along her entire neck. The face is gashed so badly the only way they can tell it's Granny is cause of the sweater she's in, a custom green and pink one that only she owns and can fit. There's another body on the floor, the face just as torn up, with no way of knowing who it is.

Both arms have been torn off, blood splattering the walls, meaning one or more must have been torn off while the person was standing. The clothes on the person are completely torn revealing huge claw marks, and what seem to be teeth marks. Chunks of the back seem to have been ripped off with teeth, revealing the spine.

"Oh god," Brant says, covering his mouth, "You don't think whatever did this, started eating them do you?" Winslow has to steel himself before he can answer.

"I wish I could say no, but after everything I've seen, yes. Whatever killed them, was looking for a meal,"

"Uh sir, come look at this," Officer Valery states. Winslow walks past the body on the ground and to the bed where Valery is closely examining the wounds.

"I think there was more than one attacker, look at the wound here," She says gesturing to the neck slice, "This wound is too clean to be done by, whatever did the rest. It looks to be from a knife while the injuries on the face and body are from claws or something,"

"Hm, you may be right..."

"I think I found something," Brant says walking over to the body on the floor. He has to turn away as he kneels down, and covers his mouth to keep himself from hurling.

He pulls up a bloody axe from the floor.

"So whoever this was," Winslow says walking to the body, "Killed Granny or at least slit her throat for some unknown motive," he turns to Granny's body, "Than...something came and attacked them both, and won,"

"Could a bear have done this?" The two officers ask with concern.

"That's a possibility. Brant, I want you to find anything you can that might help us figure out what the hell happened tonight, bag it, and bring it to the station to be analyzed asap. Valery, radio this in, and don't be stingy on the details. I want you two to stay wary, whatever did this could be near still, so make sure you both stay until you're both ready to leave, got it?"

"Got it..."

"Alright, I'm gonna check around outside for anything,"

As Winslow walks outside he sees the Ambulance heading off into town. He glares at the woods, the trees huddled together, acting as a cage.

"Are you trying to hide something, or keep something from getting out?" He asks quietly. He examines the drive way and sees some faded blood trails, forming incomplete paw prints. He follows them to the other side of the driveway and they disappear into the grass. He pulls out his flashlight and notices patches of grass that are partly flattened. Following them with the ray of light, they lead of into the woods.

"Gosh dammit...this can't be happening again..." He mutters to himself. He pulls out his phone and calls someone.

"Randy, it's back, when can you meet me at the station?"