MADELINE'S P.O.V.

There was no time for me or Madison to question the hedgehogs further. The dog - one of the evil animals - was running as fast as a...well, a dog. Madison and I took a quick glance at each other before taking off with the good animals.

The four of us ran and ran. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us. The word "scared" was not enough to describe how Madison and I were feeling. Let us say that we were...super scared.

No? You readers do not like super scared? Jeez. You are one tough crowd.

It was more than obvious to me that this wave of fear was washing over me. There was not one part of my skin that was not covered in sweat. I could not stop my hands from quivering. Like I said earlier, I was super scared. I was so afraid that the evil dog would catch up to us and attack us. Kill us.

I do not know why, but I shouted at the animal at the top of my lungs. "Bad dog! You are a bad dog! Such a bad dog!"

"You want him to get angrier?!" Madison snapped.

"How convenient!" Mr. Prickles declared. "There is a cabin up ahead! We can hide in there until the pesky dog leaves!"

We were almost to said cabin, when Wobbles lost his balance and fell on his furry belly.

"Wobbles!" I shouted his name. I turned around and hurried to his side. I scooped him up and continued running for my life.

"I...I tripped over a stick," Wobbles explained. It was easy to tell that he was out of breath.

I did not want to, but my curiosity got the best of me. I needed to know how close the dog was. Holding my breath, I looked behind me - and saw that the animal was catching up. Less than ten inches before the dog could attack.

Wobbles must have looked behind us too because he said, "There...is no time...for us to reach the cabin."

I did not like the sound of that.

"What do we do?!" I demanded. I was freaking out at this point. You could hear the panic in my voice.

"There is only one thing that we can do." He glanced up at me, his nose twitching. "How good of a climber are you, human?"

"My name is Madeline."

"Okay, Madeline. You did not answer my question."

"To answer your question, no. I am not a climber."

"Well, you will have to be one tonight."

"Why?"

"You will need to climb a tree."

"Okay. Wait, what?"

"You have to climb one of the trees."

"Are you crazy?! I have never climbed a tree!"

"We will be safer in a tree because dogs cannot climb them."

"We will be safer in the cabin as soon as we get in."

"We will not make it to the cabin!"

That is when the scariest thing happened to me.

I felt two paws on my back, and the next thing that I knew, I lost my balance and fell forward. I uttered a scream as my face made contact with the ground.

"Madeline!" Madison screamed.

Wobbles tumbled out of my hands and made contact with a tree trunk. I lifted my head and spat out mud. My face was covered in mud, even my eyelids.

As I was wiping off the mud with my sleeve, I felt the paws again. This time, they clung onto my shoulders and spun me around like a pancake. When I realized that it was the evil dog, I froze. I could not cry out for help. I could not move a muscle.

The animal, still panting, brought his face so close to mine that our noses touched. I was prepared for him to speak. Not with his mouth, but with his mind. But to my surprise, he never did. He just stared at me as if he were sucking my soul out of my body. He stared into my eyes.

Uncomfortable with what he was doing, I was able to find my voice. "W-what do you want?" I stuttered.

The golden retriever remained silent and pressed his nose against mine. We stared at each other for about another minute before he pulled away and raised his paw above his head.

It took me a few seconds to realize what was sticking out of his paw. Claws. Sharp claws.

"No! Please!" I pleaded. I shielded my face using my hands. "I am too young to die!"

"Back away from the human!"

Still holding up my hands, I turned to the area where the voice came from. So did the dog. You readers will never believe what we saw in a million years.

A skunk. A skunk had appeared in this swamp - and was only a few inches away from me and the dog.

I slowly lowered my hands and yelled, "Oh, no! Not a skunk!"

"You got that right," the skunk said. "I am everyone's worst nightmare. I am a skunk. And I am not afraid of using my secret weapon. So I suggest that you get away."

The dog growled at the skunk, but slowly got off me.

I swear that a grin spread across the skunk's face. "A good dog. You are a good doggy. Now go! Leave this swamp before you smell like yesterday's news!"

The dog let out one more growl before running off in the opposite direction and disappearing in the mist. I sat up and examined myself. Not a scratch was on me, but the front of both my shirt and my pants were caked with mud.

The skunk scurried towards me. "You okay, human?"

"I-I think so," I stammered. "T-thank you."

"For what?"

"For saving me from that dog."

"The dog was not the only thing that I was protecting you from. I was also protecting you from the killer."