Red Hood's Train

Status: Finished (June 09, 2024)

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Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop. She was all alone by herself and the only thing keeping her company were her thoughts. There were no people at the train station and the rain was falling, but luckily, she took cover in the station building while looking out of her window to ease her mind while waiting for her train.

She didn’t know where she was going exactly, but she knew the time and reason.

Red Hood pulled a pocket watch out of her hood’s pocket and looked at it in confusion.

“I was never thought how to read watches. What a shame” And then she put it back in.

The entire station was completely grey, as buildings in the countryside rarely ever get renovated. The government builds the basic infrastructure and just leaves it there to rot for eternity, and that’s why they use ugly solid materials that’ll last a long time, so they don’t have to ever come back to that place. All villages and small towns are going to become barren in a few years since most young people are going to the capital of the country.

But Red Hood wasn’t heading there either.

The train really took its time as the little girl could be found going in circles while muttering nonsense to herself. Not to mention the storm was getting worse and worse, and the night slowly started to set down, and that itself killed Red Hood’s mood.

More time passed as she was resting her big forehead on her knees. It looked like she eventually fell asleep while sitting on the cold station floor, but even that was short-lived as the train finally came and luckily it woke her up.

Red Hood immediately got up from the ground and she started running outside the station, towards the train. There were only two passengers and they looked very young, almost her age. Both of them had black hair and dark Gothic cloaks that made them seem very mysterious, but Red Hood was only thinking about how nice it would be if she had a cloak like that. She’s kinda getting tired of her usual red hood she always wears, no matter where she goes. Plus it stinks.

She got to the train and showed her card to the train’s conductor. He let her in with a smile and then disappeared from her as Red Hood went all the way into the back of the train. She really loved sitting in the back because it gave her solitude and peace of mind.

It was nice to see Red Hood smiling for a change. She was swinging her legs as she was waiting for the train to start going already. Nobody was around her, and it was really cozy. She basically had a whole area of the train for herself, and the bad weather outside made everything really comfy, especially when the light in the train got turned off when it started going. So Red Hood put a hand in her pocket, grabbing her pocket watch accidentally, probably out of excitement as her legs were still swinging. Then she put a hand into her other pocket, taking out her personal letter opener which was very sharp. So sharp that it was really convenient for cutting your own wrists.

Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop. Quite some time has passed as she was sitting on the train station’s floor, waiting for the train to come. She didn’t know when exactly it was going to stop by her station, but she knew that it was going to come eventually and that she’ll finally be able to leave the countryside.

She didn’t like the very small places that are in the middle of nowhere. But for certain reasons, she had to frequently visit them. It’s not that Red Hood didn’t enjoy going there, but staying for too long made her really dread the overall experience. She was a shy girl who’d be described as an introvert, but she wasn’t one at all. It’s just that there were no people to talk to in this small place she frequented from time to time. Her only friend would be a talking wolf.

But that was only a part of her imagination, a talking wolf can’t really exist. Especially considering how wolves are now extinct in the entirety of England. So the elders of the village always assumed it was just an imaginary friend she was talking to. But to their knowledge, the truth was much different. Red Hood actually made everything up and it wasn’t even her imaginary friend. The case is that Red Hood is a little liar who’s just prying for attention.

Her mother didn’t love her that much and she was always alone. But she never cared about her mother’s affection, she cared more about the fact she didn’t have a place to live in or barely ever any food to eat. She never talks about those things because everyone knows that the little Red Hood is a big liar.

She spent the rest of her time hugging her knees on the cold concrete floor with her eyes in tears. Red Hood hates when people bully her – she was wondering why was she completely alone again. It was pure injustice in her head but it was very well deserved.

Red Hood eventually fell asleep as the storm got stronger. It was very loud. So loud that the cranking of tree branches and the howling wind hitting the strong concrete building could be heard very well.

And then, a loud sound woke Red Hood up.

It was the train!

She was very joyful and incredibly happy now that the train finally showed up. As the passengers were coming out of the train, Red Hood put a hand in her hood’s pocket to pull something out. But out of sheer excitement, she chose the wrong one, and then quickly pulled out her hand into it right into the one she was looking for. She took her pocket watch out to see the time and then she put it back in, storming out of the train station right into the train where she approached the conductor and handed him her train ticket.

The conductor inspected the train ticket and then looked back at Red Hood. She was significantly shorter than him, and it was really funny seeing how she was looking up at him so cutely, with a worried facial expression she was always carrying. The conductor was particularly young and he was totally Red Hood’s type. She especially admired his fluffy black hair.

Then, as she was imagining all kinds of scenarios in her head, the conductor handed her back her train ticket and her blatant smile immediately dropped.

“Sorry little girl, but this ticket looks unusually old” His voice wasn’t deep to her surprise – it was oddly soothing.

“How so?” She was slowly starting to tear up.

“Besides the text being barely readable, the date on the ticket is really incorrect. Don’t you see?”

Red Hood snatched the ticket from his hand, and with tears in her eyes, she read it out loud.

“This train ticket will be valid on this day in 10 years. Sorry little girl, but I can’t help you” The conductor said while looking away from Red Hood who was crying. He closed the door before Red Hood could say anything. The train started going away from her, without taking in any new passengers.

“This surely must be a mistake, right?” She thought to herself.

Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop. Poor Red Hood was all alone in the building of the train station, waiting for her train to come so she can finally leave the countryside. She didn’t like at all the place she frequented quite often, but she was forced to go there as her mother severely neglected her, and her father was dead. But that didn’t stop Red Hood from basically living on her own, even though that nomadic way of living brought her into great dangers a lot of the time.

She was used to the cruel reality of being a child without a home you can return to. But that didn’t stop her from meeting new people and having as much fun as a regular child her age can have. Red Hood never thought anything bad of this lifestyle, in her eyes, it was a blessing she was even able to live during the most prosperous time on Earth. Red Hood was truly grateful for what she had and asked little. Many wanted to hurt her, use her, or molest her. She’s been in all kinds of situations but she was never defenseless, as she had a wolf companion by her side that always protected her no matter what.

It was an odd sight to see a grey wolf in the middle of England, considering how they have been extinct for quite some time by now. Red Hood’s most prized possession wasn’t her awfully sharp letter opener, or her broken pocket watch, rather, her most prized possession was her pet wolf, actually, it’d be wrong to call him a pet, as he was not her possession, but a friend. A very dear and meaningful friend who was always there whenever she needed him. The mere fact she saw a wolf was quite a miracle, especially considering how he was able to talk. He and Red Hood had human conversations all the time – the wolf was really mature - the relationship he and Red Hood had was of an older brother and an inexperienced younger sister.

The only problem is that the wolf couldn’t leave the countryside and she was always forced to say goodbye to him whenever leaving that little place. That alone was the biggest reason she was frequenting her relatives, just so she could go on adventures with that wolf and have endless fun with him. Being with him was like going into a wonderland. Whenever she was with the wolf she’d be able to understand the lyrics of the songs birds would sing, she could talk to snails and safely lead them home – she was conversing with the entirety of the forest, and its residents were always happy to see Red Hood come back. One time, two frogs baked her a pie, while some other time a swarm of bees got her an amber necklace with one of the bees inside – and some spiders have sown a little cap out of cobweb for her to wear.

She was truly admired among all the living beings in the forest.

Red Hood was on the edge of tears. The rain was still falling and the storm was only about to get worse, but Red Hood didn’t care. She ran out of the train station and headed straight into the forest.

The thoughts that go something along like:

“They ARE my friends. THEY ARE MY FAMILY. That’s where I live..” Have filled her head to a point that she wasn’t able to handle. Red Hood was crying, sobbing while running through the muddy path away from the train station – she was going back to the forest to hang out with her true friends, her true family, and most importantly her best friend.

But then, as she was running along the path that led back to her forest, there was a tall person standing in the middle of the road. She stopped running and after grabbing her knees to catch a breath or two, she looked up to see this person's face, and it was one she couldn’t recognize.

“M-May I pass..?” She asked shyly, all afraid of what was to come next.

“No” The young man answered.

Rain was pouring on both of them. Red Hood’s hood was off by this point and this young man didn’t have anything on his head to protect himself from the rain. Her short blonde hair was soaked, just like the man’s significantly darker hair.

Red Hood was frightened, so she put her hands into her pocket, and the man did the same.

He drew a gun and aimed it straight at Red Hood.

“PLEASE DON’T-“ Red Hood screamed and then a large wolf jumped out of the woods, heading straight for the man’s neck.

“I-It’s you..” Red Hood was happy to see her best friend, especially in this situation right now.

The man and the wolf wrestled on the ground for a few seconds before a bullet went through the wolf’s head.

“God damn it. What an annoying little creature” The man got up while fixing his dapper clothing.

“NO- You killed him! HOW COULD YOU” The little girl was terrified since it was the end for her.

“Tell me little girl, do you know who I am?” The man asked Red Hood and she shook her head.

“I’m a witch hunter. And as you can probably guess. I’m hunting for witches” He explained very calmly.

It was very dark outside but Red Hood, who was uncontrollably sobbing, could notice how her best friend didn’t even leave a scratch on the man before her friend got a bullet put through his head.

“An ordinary man with an ordinary desire. And you little girl, seem to be a witch” He aimed the gun at Red Hood again.

“I’M NOT A WITCH. YOU KILLED MY FRIEND - YOU ARE A WITCH. YOU ARE A MONSTER. DO YOU KNOW THAT?”

“I hate to break it to you, but witches can only be female” The man pulled the trigger and shot at Red Hood.

Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop.

Outside it was significantly dark. Red Hood was sitting all alone on the cold concrete floor of the train station. She was waiting for her train, in order to get away from the countryside she didn’t like at all. For some reason, Red Hood always felt the urge to visit – it was some kind of a place where she could find comfort. Arguably, the only place where she could find comfort. Red Hood is a sensitive girl, and despite being so little, she’s quite brave for someone her age. She put a hand in her pocket to look at her pocket watch. It was a brand-new watch that looked quite valuable, it even had a fob attached to it. Red Hood liked to admire it, even though she couldn’t tell the time because no one taught her how to.

No one really taught her how to do anything.

Red Hood was alone all her life, and so was she right now. The rain only got worse as time passed – she was hugging her legs, slowly drifting away to sleep.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again after a mere second, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

It was day.

Red Hood was lying in the bed. She was completely stripped of her red hood and was left with something that looked like hospital clothing. There was a single window in the room but it was too bright for her to make out what’s outside. After all, she just woke up.

The room was completely white – it had everything a patient room in a hospital would have. Although she wasn’t attached to anything or restrained anyhow. She was free to move so she got up and put her small cold feet into the blue bunny slippers placed next to her bed. They were quite fluffy and she found them to be cute, even though this shade of blue wasn’t her favorite. It was very comfortable.

She opened the brown wooden door and was welcomed by a short hallway. In the hallway, there were plenty of doors. Some were bigger, some were smaller than others. But the one at the end of the hall was particularly small. She didn’t head for that door but was rather looking for a bathroom. She easily found it as the doors were labeled correctly.

And when she got in, she turned to her left to see her reflection in the mirror.

The mirror was full of bloody tally marks. But Red Hood wasn’t shocked by that at all, but rather by the messages inscribed on the mirror.

“Wake up”

“Wake uuuuup”

“Geez, she’s probably dead” Red Hood could hear a masculine voice through a fog in her head.

Red Hood woke up with bloodshot eyes. She was crying blood in her sleep and the man backed off when she stared directly at him.

“Woah. I’m glad you’re okay but you should go to an eye doctor or something” The man made a witty remark. He didn’t seem that old to her at the moment. Before replying she started rubbing her eyes and was equally surprised as him when she saw the blood on her hands. She looked at the young man again and she realized a woman, no, a girl, was also behind him.

“Where’s the train?” Red Hood asked calmly.

“The train?” The man was confused.

“Well you see the train is leaving. Were you waiting for it?” The woman responded instead and then Red Hood got up immediately and left the train station.

“No, no, no.. I can’t miss it.. I JUST CAN’T” She was murmuring to herself as she ran out of the train station to discover the train was moving, and it was far away from a station where there was no chance of it going back.

Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop. But there was no train that could stop, there was only her reflection in the mirror. She was sobbing uncontrollably while staring into her own reflection with anger and disgust. Red Hood didn’t care about the messages in the mirror, she only cared about the train and the fact she couldn’t ever make it on time. She’s aware that the pocket watch is broken but still goes out of her way to check it as it is going to get magically repaired each time she checks it. Praying to God did not help either, but that was only because Red Hood was an atheist, why would God help an atheist? Honestly, everything she’s going through is deserved.

Red Hood put her hands on her head and then she started pulling her short black hair with all of her force while screaming in agony. There were two toilet stalls and in the moment, she bashed into one of them with her shoulder to find her own dead body.

“But I’m not-“ She was quite shocked to see a dead version of herself with slit wrists. It was a pale corpse in a red hood, with short blonde hair, and even her own letter opener that was on the ground, covered in blood. Dead Red Hood was at least smiling, while the fake one was in horrible pain.

Red Hood was waiting for the train to stop. But the only difference now is the fact she stopped caring about the train, and whether or when it’s going to stop. She was standing up in the middle of the cold and empty train station with just her sharpened letter opener in her hand. The time would still be the same whether or not she checked her pocket watch, so she didn’t bother to do it.

Red Hood rushed out of the train station and went straight into the forest. She was filled with determination and was sure she could stop everything that was happening. Even though she didn’t even know what was happening herself, or maybe she did but just didn’t want it to be true.

The rain was getting worse and worse and lightning strikes could be heard in the distance as she was running through the same path where that man tried to kill her. Her hood couldn’t stay on her head as she was running as fast as she was able to. Her hair was completely wet but her eyes weren’t.

And therefore, he was.

The man was standing at the same place where he was the last time he saw Red Hood.

He figured out Red Hood wasn’t going to stop running and was presumably going to aim at his heart with that knife she was carrying in her hand. The man put a hand in his pocket to pull out his gun but was immediately stopped by a wolf that jumped out of the bush. He bit the man’s wrist but didn’t do any damage as the special layer of clothing protected him from the wolf’s teeth. They were both on the ground though as the man was trying to get a hold of the wolf.

Red Hood saw all of that and just decided to go past them, which the man didn’t expect at all.

“Holy shit, you stupid animal” He went to pull a knife out of his pocket to stab the wolf but the wolf instantly let go as he saw the man reach out with his other hand. The rain was pretty heavy and everything was hard to see – moonlight was the only source of light in the forest and Red Hood was out of the man’s sight, while the wolf went in the separate direction.

“I see, well” The man put a hand in his inner left pocket to pull out a cigarette and a lighter.

He put the cigarette in his mouth but was not able to light it.

Red Hood was out of breath but she had to run. She was running towards the forest where everyone knew her. Where her true family lives, and where she can finally feel at home. Red Hood was finally going to reach the ending she truly desired. Red Hood wasn’t waiting for the train to stop, she was waiting to go home.