The duo didn't stop running until they could no longer keep going and collapsed to the ground. Pebbles dug into Davion's cheek as he stared at the dog that had flattened itself until it looked like an animal rug.

"What was that?" Davion asked in between pants.

"Sorry," the dog said. "I didn't mean to drag you into my problems."

"Why did the man attack you? He really seemed to think you're a wolf and wanted to hurt you."

"I have no idea. He seems to think I'm a dangerous wolf that needs to be put down, but I've never met him until recently."

"Do you really have no idea?"

"Have you seen how he acts? It's impossible to talk to him. It's always him raving that I'm a wolf and how he's going to cut me up and then sew me with some stones."

Davion was hit with a sudden realization.

He pushed himself off the ground and got to his knees as he said, "Wait a minute. Is he the huntsman?"

The dog turned its head and gave him a strange look. "Huntsman?"

"Have you heard of Red Riding Hood?"

"Are you talking about yourself?"

What? Where did it get that idea?

Then he remembered what he was wearing. No wonder the dog thought Red Riding Hood referred to himself. He was wearing his twin sister's costume, which fit the description to a tee.

"No, this is just a costume based on Red Riding Hood," Davion said, waving a hand in front of his face. "It's a story about a girl, a wolf, a grandma, and a huntsman."

Raising its head and tilting it to one side, the dog said, "So you're saying that the man who keeps thinking I'm a wolf is the huntsman from the story. What makes you so sure?"

"Well, the story of Red Riding Hood is supposed to have happened here, and there have been rumors going around about a wolf being spotted. It's kind of why I tackled you earlier, remember?"

"Can you tell me about those rumors?"

"Don't you already know about them? I thought you mentioned them before."

"I only know a little bit. I just know that the humans were talking about a wolf going around eating people."

Davion blinked.

He couldn't recall there being any rumors about anyone being eaten by a wolf. There were definitely plenty of rumors of people claiming that was what happened if the wolf caught you, but that was it. There wasn't a single rumor about someone going missing because they were eaten by the wolf.

"Where did you hear that from?" Davion asked.

"Here and there," the dog said.

That wasn't helpful in the slightest.

Seeing no point in asking further, Davion spilled what he knew. While he spoke, his eyes darted around on the lookout for that man. He wasn't the only one, as the dog's ear would occasionally twitch, and it would glance in one direction before turning its attention back to Davion. When this happened, he would stop speaking and look in the same direction.

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that the man was the huntsman from the story. No wonder he thought there was something strange about the man earlier. Davion had never seen the man before, and there was no way he wouldn't hear about him given how massive the man was.

Once Davion finished saying everything he knew about the rumors, he jumped right into telling the story of Red Riding Hood.

At the end of it, the dog considered his words before it finally said, "Huh. It sounds hard to believe, but maybe you're on to something. I never expected to encounter characters from a story."

Is it really that hard to believe that a character from a story is real when you can talk? I've never met a talking dog before until I met you.

"He must think you're the wolf that ate the grandma and girl in the story. That's why he keeps chasing after you and trying to cut you up with his ax. He's probably thinking he'll save them if he does that," Davion said.

"I'm no wolf, especially a wolf that eats people," the dog snapped.

"I said he thinks you are."

"Well, I'm not. I'm one hundred percent innocent. I would never eat a person."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Well, the huntsman obviously doesn't believe you. He's not going to stop chasing you as long as he thinks you're the wolf he's looking for."

The dog whined, covering its face with its paws. "This is horrible. This is a complete case of mistaken identity. This is the worst."

Davion simply petted the dog's fur.

There wasn't much else he could do. The huntsman was obviously out of his mind and wouldn't stop at nothing to put the dog down. If they bumped into him again, the chances of them getting him to listen were slim if not nonexistent. Last time, they barely escaped in one piece. They only got away because of the wolf's howl.

His hand stopped combing through the dog's fur as he blurted out, "That's it."

The dog perked up. "What's it?"

"Remember what stopped the huntsman from hitting you with his ax? It had been a wolf's howl. That has to be the real wolf that the huntsman is looking for."

In the blink of an eye, the dog jumped to its feet. It threw itself onto Davion, sending him sprawling to the ground and lathering his face with licks.

"Hey. Stop that. I mean it," Davion said in between licks.

After several minutes, he finally pushed the excited dog off of him.

He was pretty sure that the dog had let him go because there was simply no way he would have been able to push the dog off of him given how heavy it was. It had felt like being crushed by a ton of bricks.

"That's great. We just have to find the wolf and make it clear things up," the dog said as it scurried around him.

"I don't know. I mean, if I had the huntsman after me, I wouldn't dare to get close. What makes you think the wolf is going to help you?" Davion said as he wiped the dog's drool off his face and stood up.

This instantly dampened the dog's mood, and its wagging tail fell.

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

Davion felt a little bad for the dog, but he knew he wasn't wrong. The wolf was clearly keeping its distance from the huntsman if the dog was the one that kept bumping into him. It probably was hiding somewhere where the huntsman wouldn't get to it, which was what he would do if he were in the wolf's place.

But why did it keep howling? Wouldn't it attract attention?

This wasn't the first time he had heard the howls. If he remembered correctly, this was probably the third or fourth time he heard the wolf's howls today. If it kept howling, the huntsman would surely be able to track it down. He was a huntsman after all. It made no sense. No matter how hard Davion wracked his brains, he really couldn't come up with an answer.

"Then what do you suggest? I can't keep running from the huntsman forever," the dog whined.

He shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you."

"If you can't help me, how am I supposed to help your sister?" Davion instantly frowned as the dog continued, "I'm not saying I don't want to help your sister, but will it really be safe for us to head to the hospital with the huntsman chasing us?"

Oh, that's what it meant.

Now that Davion knew that the dog hadn't brought up his twin sister as a threat, he felt a bit guilty for thinking badly of it. It had a point. They had no idea where they were, and the fog didn't help. There was a chance they would bump into the huntsman while trying to find the hospital. Even if they did somehow find the hospital, he didn't dare imagine what the huntsman would do if he barged in while they were in his twin sister's room. They couldn't let that happen.

"What should we do?" Davion asked helplessly. "We don't have anyone who could help."

"What about the girl and grandma from the story? Do you think they would help?" the dog asked.

"...I'm pretty sure they would scream for the huntsman."

In fact, he was very certain that they would run in the opposite direction while screaming.

I couldn't even tell it was a dog without it being pointed out to me, and we were literally face to face. We wouldn't be able to get close, much less talk to them.

After a while, the dog declared, "There's no point sticking around here. The huntsman might find us again. We should keep moving and head towards the hospital."

Davion agreed, but there was a slight problem. "Which way do we go? If we're not careful, we'll just end up walking into him like before."

"Not this time. Since I took a bite out of him, I can now smell his blood. I'll be able to smell him a mile away."

He perked up.

That's right. Dogs had a strong sense of smell. In that case, it would be able to tell when the huntsman was close, and they would be able to avoid him with no problem.

"Wait," he said as his happy mood faded. "How come you couldn't smell him before? Shouldn't you be able to smell him without having to bite him and drawing blood?"

The dog flinched, and its ears flattened against its head. "Normally, I would, but there are a lot of smells right now, so it was a bit hard for me to pinpoint him."

Since Davion wasn't a dog himself, he had to accept the dog's words at face value. Besides, there was no reason for the dog to lie to him about it.

What would be the point?

"Let's head this way," the dog said looking in one direction.

Davion obediently trailed after the trotting dog. The duo walked through the fog for some time without encountering anything or anyone.

It felt like an endless road stretched out in front of them. For all Davion knew, they could easily be walking in circles. He could only rely on the dog and hope it was leading them down the right path.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, Davion asked, "So how are you going to help my sister?"

"What?" the dog asked as one of its ears twitched.

"I said how are you going to help my sister?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I just want to know. The rumors don't say how it's done. They just say a wish is granted if you're caught."

"I just can."

"Can't you just tell me?"

"I don't know what you want me to say. Do you think I'm going to magically wake her up by licking her face?"

The image of the big dog licking his unconscious twin sister's face earned a laugh.

He honestly didn't know what he was expecting, but that certainly wasn't it. It made for a really bizarre picture. Davion was sure everyone in the hospital would freak out if they saw it happen.

"I don't think you would be able to get away with it," he said still smiling. "My parents and the doctors would try to stop you."

"About that. They're not going to stop me from going into the hospital, are they?" the dog asked.

"What are you—"

Then it hit him.

How was he supposed to get the dog into the hospital?

Davion had been so focused on catching the dog and bringing it to the hospital to wake his twin sister up that he forgot a very important detail. Animals weren't allowed inside. There was no way the doctors and nurses would allow a dog, much less a big one like the one next to him, inside. They wouldn't even be able to get in through the front door.

What do I do? I have to find a way to sneak the dog inside, but that's easier said than done. It's way too big for me to hide in my clothes or basket. Sharlene isn't on the ground floor, so it's not like it could just peek its head through the window either.

He sheepishly asked, "Do you have any ideas?"