Startled, Davion froze. The wolf took this chance to throw him off, sending him sprawling. When he sat up, he found himself face to face with the wolf. Its large teeth gleamed menacingly at him as Davion quivered, expecting the wolf to bite him.

However, he never expected to hear the wolf say, "What was that for? That hurt."

Davion's mouth dropped.

Did the wolf just talk? Wolves can't talk. It's impossible. I'm not going crazy, am I?

The wolf eyed him warily as it asked, "You're not another one of those people thinking the rumors are true, are you? I'll have you know that I'm a decent dog. I'm no wolf."

Unsure how to respond, Davion blinked.

Now that he was face to face with the wolf, he could now see that the wolf, or rather dog, was telling the truth. Even though it did look similar to a wolf, it actually wasn't one. In fact, it looked like one of those dogs he had seen in the shelter when he and his sister had considered getting a pet at one point, except bigger.

After several moments, he said, "I'm sorry?"

It was the dog's turn to be stunned.

The dog blinked at him a couple of times before it said, "Oh, it's no problem. This isn't the first time someone mistook me for a wolf."

Was this really happening?

Out of all the things he could have expected, Davion never imagined that he would one day be speaking with a talking dog. It sounded like something that would come out of a fairytale or fantasy book. He honestly had no clue what was going on anymore.

"Anyway, I will be taking my leave before someone else thinks it's a good idea to tackle me," the dog said, turning away from Davion.

"Wait," Davion blurted out.

The dog actually stopped to throw him a look that he couldn't decipher over its shoulders.

He swallowed. "Are you really not the wolf they were talking about in the rumors?"

This earned him an exasperated look. "I told you I'm a dog. I know you humans mistake me for a wolf all the time, but I'm really just a big dog."

"Oh."

Davion knew it had been a long shot, but for a moment, he had really thought the rumors might be true and that he would be able to wake up his twin sister.

Picking up on the sad tone in Davion's voice, the dog fully turned around and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Well...it's my sister." When the dog remained silent, Davion continued, "My sister is currently in the hospital. We were supposed to go trick-or-treating today, but she got into an accident. She fell and hit her head. The doctors said she would be fine, but she's conscious. No one knows when she'll wake up."

"Is that why you chased after me? You thought the rumors were true and wanted to cure your sister."

He nodded. The dog remained silent, and Davion guiltily looked down.

Even though he had done it with good intentions, he had hurt the dog trying to help his twin sister. It was probably judging him right now, thinking he was dumb enough to believe the rumors.

The dog sighed. "I guess I can help."

Davion snapped his head up and stared at the dog with wide eyes.

Did the dog say what he thought it said?

Undeterred by Davion's reaction, the dog said, "Show me the way to the hospital. I'll see what I can do."

"You really are the wolf from the rumors," Davion blurted out.

"I'm a dog, not a wolf!"

He jerked back as it continued to rant about how it was a dog and not a wolf. It pawed at the ground, digging up dirt and sending dust everywhere. Some of it landed on the discarded basket and spilled candy.

Well, as long as it could help him with his twin sister's condition, he didn't care in the slightest.

I wonder why the rumors say it's a wolf and not a dog. Is it because everyone mixed it up with the Red Riding Hood story?

Once the dog calmed down, it said, "We can go now. Lead the way." Then it added, "Remember I'm a dog and not a wolf."

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After hearing the dog go on a long tirade about being a dog, Davion was pretty sure the information was fully engraved into his brain.

Getting to his feet, Davion retrieved his fallen basket and candy as he said, "I actually don't know where we are. The fog is too thick."

The dog huffed. "The fog is annoying. It seems to follow me everywhere, no matter how fast I run."

Davion's thoughts turned to the rumors, but he didn't remember any of the rumors mentioning anything about a fog.

Fog wasn't in the Red Riding Hood story either. Maybe he somehow missed the rumors about the fog, like he missed the ones that mentioned having a wish granted for catching the wolf.

Since neither of them knew where they currently were or which way was the right one, the two set out in a random direction with hopes they were going the right way. They barely made it a few steps when a figure suddenly stepped out in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. The dog growled as Davion trembled beneath the shadow of the looming man.

Where had he come from?

He hadn't even seen a hint of anyone approaching before the man seemingly popped into existence in front of them. This was the first time he had seen such a large man before. The man had to be as tall as a building. What made it even scarier was the large ax in the man's hand. It looked like the man was ready to cut down someone, and that someone might be them.

"I finally found you, you wolf," the man said, his loud voice making Davion cover his ears.

The dog snarled. "I'm no wolf. I told you that already."

"I know a wolf when I see one. I won't let you get away this time. I'm not going to let you harm the girl."

----------------------------------------

For a moment, Davion completely forgot his fear as he stared at the large man in confusion.

Girl? What girl?

Davion was pretty sure that the only ones around were the three of them unless there was a girl hiding somewhere close by where he couldn't see. If there was, then the giant man had to have good eyes to be able to see through the fog.

"Why won't you leave me alone? I've never hurt anyone," the dog said as it backed away to put some space between them.

This caused Davion, who had been slightly behind the dog, to take several steps back.

"Girl," the man snapped. "Get away from the wolf before it tries to eat you."

It took Davion a moment to realize that the girl the man had been referring to had been himself.

"I'm not a girl," he blurted out.

This was the first time that anyone had called him a girl. No, that wasn't quite right. There had been plenty of times when other people commented on how he looked like his twin sister and vice versa or had mixed the two. It was almost like being called a girl but not quite.

His outburst didn't faze the man as the man said, "Get away from the wolf before it decides to eat you."

"What are you talking about? This isn't a wolf. It's a dog," Davion said.

"Girl, I know a wolf when I see one. I have hunted plenty."

Something about the man's words niggled at the back of Davion's head. His brows furrowed as he wracked his brain trying to figure out what it could be.

I feel like I've heard those words somewhere before. Where?

When the man took a step towards them, the wolf snapped, "Run."

Without thinking, Davion obeyed. He spun on his heel and sprinted away from the giant man. Some of the candy from his basket flew out from his sudden action, but he didn't spare a second glance back.

There were more important things than losing some candy.

The dog easily caught up to him and matched his pace, running alongside him. Out of the corner of his eye, Davion glanced at the dog with questions on the tip of his tongue.

What was going on? Who was that man? Why was he after the dog?

They didn't get very far when something flew by them, missing the both of them by a few inches. The sudden gust of wind that brushed past them caused Davion to stumble and nearly fall to the ground. The dog, on the other hand, skidded to a stop, kicking up dust and dirt. Once Davion regained his balance, he took a moment to get a good look at what had passed them. His jaw dropped at the sight of an ax embedded into the ground.

The ground around it was cracked, highlighting just how powerful the ax and throw had been.

If that had hit me, I would have been a goner.

Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted into the air. He kicked his legs frantically, flailing against whatever had caught him.

"Enough, girl," the man said as he continued to hold Davion by his red cloak.

He wanted to argue back, but the red cloak's string dug into his throat, making it difficult to breathe. His hands clawed at the string, hoping to either pull it away from his throat or untie the knot so he could be free. After several failed attempts—he couldn't fit his fingers underneath the string and the knot was too tough—Davion kicked towards the man, hoping he could force the man to let him go.

Unfortunately, his legs were too short to reach the man.

"Let him go," the dog demanded, its fur standing on edge.

"It's time that I end your reign of terror," the man said.

The dog lunged at the man only to be knocked aside with a punch. Its head crashed into the ground not far from them, and it whimpered pitifully.

"Stop it," Davion managed to say through gritted teeth.

Either his words were too quiet to hear, or the man simply didn't care to listen, as the man didn't react to them and walked towards the ax. The man easily ripped the ax out of the ground, dropping bits of dirt and stone everywhere. Then he turned towards the dog that had gotten to its feet, ready to swing his ax again. A loud howl stopped him in his tracks.

"What? Another wolf?" the man muttered to himself, lowering his ax and scanning his surroundings.

The dog took the opportunity to leap towards the man and bite into his leg. The man cursed, dropping Davion to the ground. Davion rolled across the ground before stopping a few feet away. He coughed several times trying to catch his breath now that his throat was no longer being choked by the string.

"You damn wolf," the man snarled, raising his ax high above his head.

Davion's eyes widened. He frantically searched his surroundings for a way to save the dog from the man. His eyes landed on the bits of candy that had spilled from his basket near him.

He scrambled to grab a few and tossed them at the man's face, screaming, "Don't touch him."

The candy bounced off the man, having no effect. Davion continued to grab the candy off the floor and picked up his basket along the way. Then one piece stabbed the man in the eye, causing the man to scream in pain. The dog took advantage of the man's distraction to quickly bolt away towards Davion, who was still throwing candy. Once the dog reached him, Davion stopped what he was doing and ran. Another howl pierced through the night air.

Isn't that a wolf's howl? Is it the real wolf from the rumors?

Even though Davion had questions, he focused on getting as far away from the man as possible. He could worry about it later when they didn't have a crazy giant man wielding an ax chasing after them.