"I like horse," screams Hendry.

"I like horse," scream Hendry.

"I like horse," Hendry screams

"I like horse," Hendry screamed (why used past tense)

Say you are writing a story about people talking to each other. Which one will you use?

For example, in http://www.fanfiction.net/s/569887/1/Little-Red-Riding-Hood-The-Wolf-s-Version people use past tense to describe speech. In most stories I read people use past tense. I wonder why.

Here, another story also uses past tenses http://www.magickeys.com/books/noblegnarble/page9.html#pictop

Is there any stories that use present tense so it's easier to understand? Is using past tense the de facto standard in grammar?