Red and Jack walk alongside the railcars, each with a bag over their shoulder.

  “So, what do you think?” Red asks. “Sullen and sulky or sprint out all aggressive like?”

  Jack takes hold of the handle as he gets ready to open the door. “I imagine he’s going to be pissed, for sure.” Jack lifts the bar out of place, then pulls open the door. They both look in but don’t see Wolf at the door like they expect. Red finally catches the glimmer of his eyes as he sits back in the shadows. A low growl starts to come from the car and Red just rolls her eyes.

  “Get over yourself, pup.”

  Wolf walks over to the door’s ledge and stares down at Red. “One of these days Red…”

  “Yes? Go on.” She looks at him expectantly. “I’m sure you were about to lay out some life changing ultimatum, so let’s not waste the opportunity. I don’t trust you, pup. I’m not giving you free reign around us while this is the case. If you don’t like that, then hit the road, Jack.”

  “Wait, what?” Jack looks over confused.

  Red looks back at him as well, confused by his outburst but then replays her words in her mind, before shaking her head. “Not you, Jack. It’s just a saying.” She looks back to Wolf. “I’m meaning that Wolf is welcome to bail if he has a problem with my rules. If he doesn’t start working to earn our trust, then he might as well leave now.” She looks at Wolf expectantly. “So, what’s it going to be pup?”

  Wolf glances over to Jack, who nods back to him. “From now on,” Wolf starts.

  “Nope, I don’t do demands. Requests, maybe, but we’re not there yet. Try again.”

  Wolf grits his teeth. “I’ll tag along, for now, but can you stop calling me pup?”

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  Red tilts her head, seeming to contemplate. “That’s up to you, but the next time you piss on my firewood, I’m going to rub your nose in it—and I don’t mean that figuratively.”

  Wolf’s ears flatten against his head on hearing she knew.

  “I can appreciate a good prank amongst friends, but that’s not what’s going on here. And we’re not even moving in the right direction for that. So, start behaving like a grown up, and I’ll consider treating you like one.

  Wolf sighs, then nods.

  “Let’s just get moving again. We’ve still need to head back to my—our world before we go elsewhere.”

  Wolf perks up, his curiosity overriding his frustration. “What? Why head back?”

  “It’s a bit complicated, but it would be safe for you to assume that we have to step into the real world before we move onto something new. The problem with that little detail is that the hag can track us anytime I step back into the real world.

  Sarah puts her hands on her hips, and Jack crosses his arms as they both turn to look at him.

  Wolf looks back and forth between them. “What?”

  “Did you happen to pick up on anything attached to that information?” Jack asks. “Think about what she just told you, Wolf.”

  “Yeah, I got it. It sucks, but we can’t do anything about that.”

  Jack shakes his head. “She just gave you an important detail. She said something, which we’re not sure even her grandmother knows.”

  “Ok? And that’s relevant how exactly?”

  “Who’s to say you don’t run off and go report what you know to her grandmother, possibly revealing some of Sarah’s weaknesses?”

  “Really? Me? Run and snitch to the supposed zombie witch about Red? Trust me, I’m not one to—” Wolf’s dismissive gaze shifts as he hears his own words. “Trust?” he asks looking back at them.

  Jack nods as Red draws her glowing blade and opens a new portal. She walks through as he continues looking at Wolf.

  “That’s right, Wolf. She told you about a weakness, so you need recognize that. Your trust is important to her, and she knows it’s something you both have to work on. If we continue this path together, we’ll have to trust one another…some of our lives may even depend on you two trusting one another.” Jack adjusts the ammo on his shoulder then turns to follow Red.

  Wolf stares at the two on the other side of the portal, watching as they continue to walk away. He pauses longer than he had previously. Both the motivation to leave and the motivation to follow continuing to rise, neither option becoming more appealing than the other. For now, Red and Jack are the only things familiar to him. Familiar is enough for now, but that might not always be the case. The portal begins to shrink, and he runs through before it closes.