This certainly caught Davion's attention.

  His eyes widened as he blurted out, "Really?"

  Miss Wolf nodded. "Yes, but we will have to part ways here."

  "Huh? But why?"

  They had only just found each other.

  Why were they going their separate ways?

  "Well, I doubt you want to bump into the huntsman again, which is going to happen if we stay together." Davion shuddered at the idea as Miss Wolf turned to face in one direction. "If you go down that path, you'll be able to return home."

  Davion glanced in the direction the wolf was looking at, but he couldn't see what made it so special.

  "Are you sure that's the right way?" he asked hesitantly.

  "Technically, it doesn't really matter which way you go since we'll be making sure you return safely," Miss Wolf said as it nudged its head in the other wolf's direction.

  He opened his mouth only to close it the next moment.

  Miss Wolf still hadn't told them what it had learned from the other wolf. Even though he was curious about how they intended to get him home while being separated, he wasn't sure he wanted to know more, especially if it involved the huntsman.

  "Will we see each other again?" he asked instead.

  "Probably not. If we did, that would probably mean my sibling had come back here and done something again," Miss Wolf said.

  "Oh, don't worry," the old woman said as she patted Davion on the head. "Everything will turn out okay. I'm sure your parents would be so relieved to see you."

  I completely forgot she was there.

  "Uh, thank you, Grandma." Then Davion realized something. "Grandma—"

  "Oh, you're such a good child. Take good care of yourself. I'll stay with these two to find my granddaughter."

  When had she finally realized he wasn't her granddaughter?

  Davion didn't get a chance to ask as Miss Wolf said, "Shoo. Get going. None of this involves you anymore."

  After studying everyone's expressions, Davion finally said, "Thank you, everyone. Goodbye."

  As he and the wolf headed down the path Miss Wolf pointed out to them, Davion kept glancing over his shoulders. The trio didn't move from their spot, watching the duo disappear into the fog. Once Davion could no longer see them, he focused his attention on what was in front of him. All he could see was endless fog.

  Will I really be able to get home this way?

  Even though he was certain that Miss Wolf wouldn't lie to him, he found himself doubting the wolf's words. He couldn't see how he was going to get home at this rate.

  Suddenly, the fog cleared up like it hadn't been there in the first place. It happened so unexpectedly that Davion paused and blinked several times in disbelief. Scanning his surroundings, he found that they were in the middle of a familiar street. Just as he was coming to terms with the fact that he returned safely, he heard shouting. His head snapped towards the sound, and he saw his friends rushing over to him, screaming his name.

  As they came to a complete stop in front of him, one said, "Davion, thank goodness, you're okay."

  "I'm sorry for worrying you guys," Davion said.

  "How are you so calm?" one of his friends demanded, pointing a finger at him. "Do you know how freaked out we were when we couldn't find you?"

  They were pushed aside by another friend who said, "We're just glad you're okay. You really scared us there."

  A different friend nodded his head. "We thought for sure the wolf had found you."

  "What happened to your basket?" one of his friends asked.

  "I lost it when we were running from the wolf," Davion said.

  "Sorry."

  "Don't worry about it."

  It wasn't even that important to him. It was just a random basket his grandma had given him to use to hold his candy. There were other chances to get candy. He was just happy to get away from wherever he had been.

  "Are you sure you're okay?" a different friend asked hesitantly.

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

  "I'm good. What about you guys?"

  "What do you think?" one of them snapped. "We were looking for you everywhere." We didn't even have time to trick-or-treat."

  "Don't scare us like that," another chimed in.

  Making a placating gesture, Davion said, "Sorry. I promise I won't do it again."

  "You better not. If you do, we won't look for you."

  He knew they were just saying that. They didn't really mean it. If something similar happened again, they would surely search for him. He would do the same for them.

  "Seriously, what happened?" someone asked.

  "I promise to tell you guys more later," Davion said with a wave. "I have to get back home. I'm sure my relatives are wondering where I am."

  His friends grimaced, and one said, "Okay, let's go together."

  "I can go by myself."

  "Nuh-uh. No way. You disappeared the last time we got separated. We're going together."

  Seeing that they weren't going to give up, Davion reluctantly gave in and let his friends surround him. As they walked away, he searched the area until he spotted the dog hiding behind some bushes nearby.

  So that's where it went.

  It had disappeared so abruptly that he almost thought that the wolf hadn't returned with him. It had probably noticed his friends before Davion did and hid before it could be spotted by them, which was probably the smart thing to do. Davion didn't think it would end well if they met each other.

  The group slowly made their way to Davion's house, with the dog doing a surprisingly good job stealthily following behind them.

  If he hadn't been actively keeping an eye out for it, he would have missed it. For such a big dog, it really knew how to stay out of sight. Davion couldn't help but be impressed.

  All thoughts about the dog disappeared as someone said, "Davion, is that you?"

  Davion instantly recognized that it was one of his uncles. Said uncle was storming towards them as some of his relatives either followed behind or stood back to watch. He grimaced as he prepared himself for what was about to happen next.

  His uncle stopped in front of the group and crossed his arms as he said, "Young man, you're grounded."

  Even though Davion knew it had been coming, he still felt indignant. It wasn't like he had ghosted everyone on purpose. The weird place he had been had prevented him from contacting anyone. Of course he had no way to explain it without sounding crazy.

  Who would believe he had been surrounded by a mysterious fog that had cut him off from everyone or how he had ended up wandering in the woods with characters from Red Riding Hood?

  Then his uncle turned his attention to his friends and said, "You boys better get going. It's late, and Davion needs to get inside."

  His friends shared uneasy glances before they reluctantly walked away. They kept looking back in his direction as his uncle dragged him back to the house. Not wanting to set anyone off, Davion kept his mouth shut as he waited for the right moment to speak up.

  Once they were inside the house, he said, "I want to go visit my sister in the hospital."

  Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong moment to speak, as one of his aunts snapped, "You finally come home, and you want to run off again."

  He wanted to protest that he hadn't run off when another relative chimed in, "You're so inconsiderate. You don't think about others when you do things."

  Davion couldn't believe their audacity. They had no right to talk, but no one seemed to care what he thought.

  "So late?" one of his cousins asked.

  "I'm not going to take you," another aunt said.

  Several other relatives chimed in to say the same thing.

  No one was willing to give Davion a ride to the hospital, which was no surprise. He really didn't think any of them would be willing to help him out. It would be the end of the world if it happened. The only reason he even returned to the house instead of going directly to the hospital was in case his parents were home. He didn't want to worry them with his disappearance.

  "I can go myself," he declared once his relatives quieted down.

  One of his uncles raised an eyebrow and asked, "How are you going to get there?"

  He didn't have an answer. Davion was just a kid, so he couldn't drive there. Walking would take him forever, and he didn't know how to call for a taxi. There were buses, but he would have to find one that was available.

  As if reading his thoughts, an aunt asked, "Do you really think we'll just let you walk off on your own in the dark? Are you crazy?"

  Maybe he had overestimated their lack of care for him.

  "Go to your room and stay out of trouble," the uncle in front of him ordered.

  Knowing he had no way to get out of his current situation, he solemnly went to his room. Once inside, the door shut behind him with a loud thud. Davion took a moment to glare back at the door and stick his tongue out. Then he headed towards the window and opened it. The dog stared up at him.

  "Are we going?" it asked, wagging its tail.

  "Wait a second," he said.

  Davion scanned the room looking for something he could use.

  If he couldn't get anyone to take him to the hospital or leave through the front door, he would have to sneak out. It would be tricky since he was on the second floor. Fortunately, he had an idea.

  He gathered up his bedsheets and clothes, creating a pile. Davion paused to peek outside his bedroom door to see if anyone was nearby. The moment the door opened, he saw one of his uncles giving him an unamused look. The duo stared at each other silently for a couple of moments. Instead of saying anything, Davion quietly closed the door and locked it.

  It would be hard to explain why he was creating a rope out of his bedsheets and clothes.

  After some time, Davion finally had his rope and threw it out the window. The dog backed away as he crawled down. Once his feet silently hit the ground, he released the rope and glanced back up at the window. Seeing that no one had suddenly rushed to the window, Davion guessed that his plan to escape unnoticed worked and turned his attention to the waiting dog.

  "Let's hurry before my relatives find out I sneaked out," he whispered.

  The dog didn't argue, and the duo hurried away.

  They got to the hospital in record time thanks to the dog letting Davion ride him after realizing how long it would take for them to get there if they went at Davion's pace. However, Davion swore he would never do it again, as it had been one of the most painful ways to travel. There had been many moments where he thought he would fall off.

  Next time I will stick to walking no matter how long it takes.

  Taking a moment to catch his breath, Davion rubbed his lower back with a grimace. That's when he realized that the dog was heading for the hospital entrance.

  "Wait a second. What are you doing?" he asked as he hurried to cut it off.

  The dog gave him an odd look. "I'm going inside. Didn't you want me to help your sister?"

  "Did you forget how you look? If you try walking in, everyone is going to panic."

  "Can't you convince them I'm a dog?"

  "No. Even if I did, they still wouldn't let you in. Animals aren't allowed inside."

  It was natural. Most places didn't let animals inside anyway, much less a hospital.

  "So how are we going to do this if I can't go inside?" the dog asked.