The dog actually stopped and threw Davion a confused look over its shoulder. "What?"

  Thinking that the dog didn't hear him the first time, Davion repeated, "Do you have any ideas?"

  "Why are you asking me? I'm a dog."

  "You're a talking dog. Shouldn't you have some ideas?"

  "I'm not sure what you were expecting. Yes, I can talk, but I don't know how you humans think. You humans do the strangest things."

  Haven't you been around humans for a while now? You know what a hospital is. Shouldn't you have at least some idea?

  Unfortunately, it looked like it was pointless to keep asking.

  Davion decided to change the topic and asked, "When did you get here?" At the dog's bewildered look, he added, "I mean the rumors about the wolf only popped up recently, and this is the first time I'm seeing you. When did you show up in this town?"

  The dog remained silent, staring unblinkingly at him with its big yellow eyes.

  Feeling a bit uneasy by its silence, Davion asked, "Can't you tell me?"

  "It's not that I can't tell you. It's just I wouldn't know," the dog said as it resumed walking.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I don't keep track of stuff like that."

  "I don't get it."

  Suddenly, the dog stopped in its tracks and turned around to face him. Davion stopped to gawk at the dog's expression.

  Why does it feel like it's judging me for something?

  "I've said it before. I'm a dog. Why would I need to know the time? I only need to know if it's day or night," the dog said.

  He hadn't considered that. Davion couldn't imagine being unable to know what time it was. Everyone carried a phone or at least a watch to keep track of the time. In hindsight, it would be weird that a dog could tell the time, but this was no ordinary dog. It was a talking dog.

  Davion's brows furrowed as he went over his thoughts again and slapped his forehead. The dog flinched.

  "I'm so stupid," Davion muttered. "I have my phone."

  Ignoring the dog's presence, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Somehow his phone remained undamaged despite everything that happened, and Davion eagerly typed in his passcode. His face fell when he saw that he had no signal.

  So much for that. I really thought I could get in contact with my parents or one of my relatives.

  Now that he thought about it, he wondered how everyone was doing. After he had gotten separated from his friends, he had completely forgotten about them. Considering everything that happened, Davion was sure his friends wouldn't blame him too much. If they were in his place, they would surely act the same way.

  "Wait a minute. Is my phone broken?" He shook his phone and pressed on the screen a couple of times. "That can't be the right time."

  He remembered that it had been around six when he last checked. That had been the last time he checked in with his relatives to let them know he was still okay. They had reminded him that trick-or-treating was supposed to only be for an hour, but they hadn't forced him to come back either.

  His phone currently said it was only five minutes after six.

  That can't be right. It has definitely been longer than five minutes. What's going on?

  "What's the matter?" the dog asked, hovering over Davion as if trying to see what he was looking at.

  "The clock on my phone is broken. It says it's only been five minutes," he said, showing the screen to the dog.

  "...I don't know what that means."

  "Oh, right. Well, it means not a lot of time has passed."

  "And?"

  "It doesn't make sense. We've been walking and running for a while now. It should at least be fifteen minutes. I don't know what's wrong. It looks fine."

  "Does it really matter? We just need to keep walking until we get to the hospital."

  "I guess you're right."

  Davion still felt something was iffy about the whole thing, but it was right. He could worry about figuring out what his phone's problem was later after they visited his twin sister and woke her up.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  He returned his phone back into his pockets.

  Right as they were about to start walking again, Davion abruptly asked, "Are you really sure you don't know when you got here? You don't have a clue? Not even a little?"

  The dog pawed at the ground, digging up dirt, and barked, "Yes, I don't know. I just remember looking for food and a place to rest when I stumbled into town. I avoided humans so they wouldn't catch a glimpse of me."

  Caught completely off guard, Davion stumbled back. He nearly tripped over his feet to put some distance between him and the angry dog. Davion raised his hands and repeatedly apologized.

  Please don't bite me. Please don't bite me.

  Instead of responding, the dog spun around and stormed off. It kicked up dirt everywhere, with most flying in Davion's direction. He watched the dog's retreating figure for several moments before chasing after it. Davion quickly caught up to it and kept some distance between them as he stared into its back. An awkward silence settled upon the duo, but Davion didn't know how to break it.

  Davion didn't want to take the chance that the dog would lunge at him the next time he spoke.

  Why was the dog so upset?

  He couldn't wrap his head around it. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what would cause the dog to become so aggressive.

  Was it because he kept asking so many questions?

  It was the only thing he could think of that he did. They hadn't done much else.

  Was it really bothered by all my questions? I know I asked a lot, but was it really bad enough to make it want to bite my head off? I just don't get it. It doesn't make any sense.

  After thinking about it a bit more, Davion decided that he shouldn't worry about it anymore. As long as the dog helped his twin sister, it didn't matter. It wasn't like they would stay together. They would end up going their separate ways afterwards.

  Then a thought hit him.

  Stopping in his tracks, he blurted out, "Are you mad that I don't think of you as a dog?"

  The dog stumbled but didn't turn around, which Davion took as proof that he was right.

  So that's the reason why it got so upset. It's a complete misunderstanding. I did think it was a wolf at first, but I know better now. I have never once said it wasn't a dog. I have to clear it up before things get worse.

  "So, I know you're a dog and all..." he trailed off, scrambling to come up with the right words to say.

  All of a sudden, the dog rushed forward and put some distance between them. Startled, Davion stopped in his tracks. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, and he ran after the dog.

  "I really need to talk to you," Davion said once he caught up.

  Unfortunately, the dog's only reaction was to run off again.

  Davion was getting a bit annoyed. All he wanted to do was fix the misunderstanding between them, but it wasn't cooperating. If he didn't need the dog's help, he would have turned around and walked away.

  He took several deep breaths before he chased after the dog. This caused it to run even faster. In turn, Davion grimaced and sprinted.

  Soon it became a game of cat and mouse, but instead of a cat and mouse, it was a human and a dog. Neither one of them was willing to give in; however, it was just a matter of time before one of them got tired. Sadly, it turned out to be him.

  With sweat dripping down his forehead and his clothes sticking to his skin, Davion slowed to a jog. Even though he wanted to keep running after the dog, his limbs refused to cooperate as it got farther and farther away. It eventually disappeared into the fog, leaving him completely alone. He came to a complete stop and rested his hands on his knees as he panted.

  Seriously? How is it not tired yet? Is it because it's a dog? It's not going to leave me here all alone, right?

  Davion stared in the direction the dog had gone, searching for signs of the dog's return.

  After some time passed, he was forced to admit that the dog was probably not going to come back. It would have done so already unless it had somehow gotten lost. He was pretty sure that wasn't the case given the dog's keen sense of smell.

  "Did it really abandon me?" Davion mumbled to himself, falling onto his butt.

  He sat there in a daze.

  What was he supposed to do now?

  With the dog gone, he was completely on his own. As soon as he thought that, it finally hit him that he was alone.

  In an instant, he jumped to his feet only to fall flat on his face the next second. Davion groaned. He laid there for several moments before rolling onto his back.

  Everything hurts, but I can't stay here by myself. I have to find someone. Anyone.

  Being left alone made his stomach flip and churn.

  Davion knew how dangerous it could be traveling alone. It had been drilled into his head by the school and his family. They had talked about what he should do to avoid it and what to do when he had no choice, but that was under normal circumstances. Right now things were anything but normal.

  He swallowed, wishing the dog was by his side.

  Even though their time together was short, he had gotten accustomed to its presence. The dog had become his companion not long after he had gotten separated from his friends, so he hadn't been on his own for long. As long as the dog was at his side, he had nothing to fear except for maybe a deranged huntsman. Now he was at a complete loss.

  Suddenly, there was a beep. His eyes widened, recognizing the sound. Davion eagerly pulled out his phone, expecting to see a message, only to see a warning that the battery was running low. He stared unblinkingly at the screen. Then he lowered his hand and gazed despondently up at the fog-covered sky.

  Davion had really thought that one of his relatives had finally gotten in contact with him.

  What were they doing right now? Were they panicking and searching for him frantically?

  Since he hadn't checked back in with them when he was supposed to, they wouldn't just let it slide. He was sure they had acted as promised and got everyone involved. At least that was what he would like to think.

  It's really quiet.

  He didn't hear a single sound other than his breathing.

  If they were really looking for him, wouldn't he be able to hear them?

  Now that he thought about it, he hadn't encountered anyone since he got separated from his friends. He should have at least bumped into someone even with the fog swirling around him. The dog and crazy huntsman didn't count.

  After forcing himself to sit up, Davion checked his phone again and saw that there was still no signal.

  Did he somehow end up in another world?

  The idea was ridiculous. Things like ending up in another world only happened in stories, but it would explain a lot of things, like where the mysterious fog had come from or why the time on his phone hadn't changed. Falling into the story of Red Riding Hood made more sense than the characters appearing in real life. However, figuring that out didn't really help him.

  So what if he was in the story? How was he supposed to get out and return to the real world?

  Unfortunately, there was no one around to answer his questions.

  The phone beeped again, pulling him out of his thoughts. Davion frowned at the screen before turning it off. His fuzzy reflection stared right back at him. Then he returned the phone back into his pocket. He studied his surroundings with a serious expression until he eventually settled for following in the same direction the dog had disappeared to.