Davion had to admit that it did sound like him. The only difference was that he was a boy and not a girl. Well, that and the fact that the old woman was definitely not his grandma. He wouldn't make the same mistake he made with the dog.

  Wait a second.

  His eyes widened, and he mumbled, "Is she the grandma?"

  "What?" the dog asked, poking its nose into his face.

  He shoved the dog's face away as he asked, "Don't you remember the story I told you about? The one about Red Riding Hood?" At the dog's blank look, Davion fumed. "How could you forget? I just told it to you not long ago. I thought dogs had good memories."

  "Why would I remember that?"

  Davion blankly stared at the dog, unable to decide whether or not he should scream at it.

  Eventually, he settled with saying, "Whatever. The point is that I think the old woman is the grandmother from the story, which means her granddaughter is Red Riding Hood."

  The dog nodded. "Okay, so what does that mean?"

  He was left speechless.

  What did it mean?

  That was a good question. Davion hadn't thought about it when he had his revelation. He had just been so excited about his discovery that he overlooked how unimportant it was.

  So what if the old woman he met was the grandma from the story and that her granddaughter was Red Riding Hood?

  It wouldn't help them leave the forest and get to the hospital. Davion didn't even know where the old woman or her granddaughter was now.

  Davion sighed. "Forget it. Let's just get out of this place."

  When he put pressure on his legs, he grimaced, which didn't go unnoticed by the dog. "You shouldn't move if there's something wrong with your legs. When I hurt one of my legs, I always hide away to recover."

  "Thanks, but I don't think a little rest would make my legs better."

  "Can you show me your legs?"

  Right as he was about to protest, Davion remembered a very important detail.

  What am I doing? The dog can heal me.

  He couldn't believe he forgot about it when he had literally been thinking about getting the dog to heal his twin sister. Fortunately, no one was around to make fun of him for having a brain fart.

  Davion settled back onto the ground and pulled up his pants. Once he did, he hissed. The dog recoiled, its mouth curling into a scowl that made it look sinister. In the dim light, they could see the scrapes and small cuts covering the reddened skin of legs. He grimaced at the state of his legs, unable to comprehend how they ended up like this.

  "What happened? How did your legs end up like this?" the dog demanded, its yellow eyes staring deep into his soul.

  Unable to give a proper answer, Davion just looked back at his legs. He prodded a cut and flinched at the sharp pain.

  The dog swatted at his hand and snapped, "Stop it. Are you trying to make it worse?"

  He never thought he would see the day where a giant dog would be lecturing him like his mom. No one would believe it if he told them. Then again, this entire night was so unbelievable that he would have a hard time believing it, and he was the one living it.

  "Hold still. It might sting," the dog said, bending down over his leg.

  Davion eagerly watched, wanting to see it work its magic, only to be disappointed that it simply licked his legs.

  Really? Is that it? Where's the magic?

  This was not at all what he imagined. He didn't know what he was expecting, but this wasn't it.

  Every time the dog's tongue brushed against his scrapes and small cuts, he winced. Davion couldn't take it anymore and pushed the dog away from his legs, feeling gross.

  "Ugh. That's enough," he muttered, wiping the dog drool off his legs.

  That's when he noticed something strange and stopped what he was doing to take a better look at his legs. His eyes widened in disbelief. He tentatively touched a smooth section of his skin, unable to find the cut that he had been sure was there moments ago. Then Davion snapped his head up to stare at the dog.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "What are you looking at me like that for?" the dog asked.

  He simply asked, "How?" When the dog didn't seem to understand his question, Davion asked again, "How did you heal my legs?"

  "I just did."

  "That's not an answer."

  "Why are you unhappy? Now that your legs are better, you can walk."

  "I'm not unhappy. I just can't figure out how you did it."

  "Haven't you seen a dog lick their wounds and get better?"

  "No."

  Davion had seen plenty of animals lick their wounds all the time. He had even once seen kids do the same if they got a small cut, but he had never seen anything or anyone heal from just doing that.

  Well, it is a big talking dog, so maybe that makes a difference.

  The dog huffed, turning its nose up as it said, "If you don't like it, then I won't do it again."

  He immediately said, "Sorry. Thanks for healing my legs." It ignored him. "Please don't leave."

  This grabbed the dog's attention. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "Really?"

  "I won't make that mistake again."

  Hearing that, Davion breathed a sigh of relief.

  For a moment, he had been worried that he had upset the dog so much that it would run off again, leaving him behind. If that happened, he wasn't sure they would find each other again.

  The dog nudged his side with its nose and said, "Come on. Get up. Aren't we going to meet your sister?"

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting up," Davion said, pushing the dog away as he stood up. "How do we get out of this forest?"

  "I have no clue."

  Davion stared. The dog stared back. For several moments, neither of them said a thing and didn't break eye contact.

  He was the first to break the silence. "What do you mean you don't know?"

  "How am I supposed to know?" the dog asked, taking a few steps back from Davion.

  "Shouldn't you remember which way you came in?"

  "No. What about you? Why don't you remember the way out?"

  "I don't know how I got here. One moment I was in the town, the next I was in the forest."

  "Well, it's the same for me."

  This can't be happening. How are we supposed to get out if neither of us knows where the exit is? The forest is so big that it'll take forever for us to find it.

  Suddenly, a howl pierced through the air. They tensed, their eyes darting around, but neither of them could spot the wolf anywhere. Despite this, the duo didn't let their guard down and continued to scrutinize their surroundings when Davion spotted something unusual in the fog. He squinted his eyes, focusing his attention on the one spot before they were blown wide open.

  "Run!" he shouted, spinning on his heel.

  Before either of them had the chance to run, a large wolf burst through the fog. Davion screamed, and the dog growled. The wolf skidded to a stop in front of them, snarling.

  "Stay back. It's dangerous," the dog snapped as it kept its eyes on the wolf.

  Davion didn't need to be told twice and scurried away to a spot farther away where he could keep an eye on the both of them while staying out of danger. The two sides circled each other warily, with neither of them willing to make the first move. His heart raced as he could only helplessly watch, hoping the dog would win, but the longer he looked, the more he felt something was strange.

  That wolf. It looks funny. I don't know what it is.

  Suddenly, the wolf charged towards Davion. He screamed, turning to run. The dog sprinted to cut the wolf off, only for the wolf to abruptly turn course and lunge at the dog.

  His eyes widened. "Watch out!"

  Unfortunately, his warning came too late as the wolf sank its teeth into the dog's side. It yelped in pain and thrashed underneath the wolf. Davion anxiously looked around, searching for a way to save the dog.

  He didn't have anything that he could use. His basket had long since been empty of candy, and it wouldn't be a good weapon to use. It would probably break if he hit the wolf with it. Davion doubted his phone would do much against the huge wolf either. If anything, it would only aggravate it more. That was assuming he could even hit it. He didn't think his aim was good enough nor was sure he could get close enough without getting caught up in the fight.

  Then his eyes landed on a large branch a couple feet away from him. Without hesitation, he rushed to grab it. Davion lifted it, his arms straining against the weight. He lumbered over to where the dog and wolf were before tossing the branch with all his might at the wolf.

  Please work. Please work.

  The branch grazed the wolf's side, but it was enough. The wolf released its grip on the dog and snapped at Davion. The dog took the chance to bite back and dig its teeth into the wolf's neck.

  "You can do it," Davion cheered, still breathing heavily from his previous effort.

  Just as things were looking up, the huntsman stepped out from the trees and bushes. Everyone froze, staring at each other in various states of shock.

  Davion couldn't believe his luck. First it was the wolf. Now it was the huntsman. He hadn't even heard the later coming until it was too late. This was the worst possible scenario.

  The huntsman was the first to recover and raised his ax, saying, "Got you now, you mangy wolves."

  "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a wolf?" the dog snapped, scrambling away from the wolf.

  "I'll have two new wolf pelts to add to my collection."

  At the huntsman's words, Davion choked.

  What?

  He knew that some people like to keep trophies of animals they caught, but the huntsman from the story never did that. The worst thing he did was cut up the wolf to save Red Riding Hood and the grandma before sewing the wolf up with stones.

  The huntsman charged, causing the wolf and dog to go in opposite directions. Unfortunately, the wolf chose to dash in Davion's direction while the huntsman chased after the dog. Davion's eyes widened, and he bolted. He could hear the dog's shouts about being a dog and how the huntsman should be going after the real wolf, growing fainter as Davion tried to outrun the wolf.

  What do I do? It's catching up. I don't think I can outrun it.

  Davion dared to peek behind him and nearly screamed in fright at the sight of the wolf about to bite his red cloak. In a flash, he was looking forward, his eyes darting around for a way to escape his predicament.

  He had to lose the wolf before it was too late.

  Then his foot caught onto something. Davion stumbled and fell to the side, rolling. Pain shot through his body as branches and stones poked into him. When he finally stopped rolling, he laid on his back momentarily stunned and gasping for air. He could vaguely hear the wolf running off, leaving him behind.

  Luck seemed to be on his side this time.

  After some time, he forced himself to sit up with a groan. His head spun, and he pressed a hand against it. Feeling something wet and sticky, he pulled his hand away. Blood covered his hand. Davion cursed as he struggled to get back on his feet. That's when he heard a branch snap. He whipped his head around and saw a wolf.