Chapter 123

Chapter 123: The Giant Wolf

The squirrel’s frantic rambling made Yu Sheng think of many things at once, from possible loopholes in the Forest to ways to break Little Red Riding Hood’s curse. But before that, his curiosity about the squirrel only grew.

He asked bluntly, eyes on the squirrel: “You really want to help Little Red Riding Hood escape the Forest, don’t you? Why?”

“Why what?” The squirrel froze. “Does there need to be a reason?”

“You’re an entity born in this Forest too,” Yu Sheng said, frowning. “You helped me before. Why would you choose to help a human who ‘invaded’ this place?”

The squirrel stood there, rubbing its face with its paws. It muttered: “Right… why… why would I help…”

Then it went completely still, as if its brain had shut down.

Yu Sheng winced. The little rodent clearly didn’t have much processing power. Even as an entity, it could still bug out. He worried he had crashed it with one question.

Just as he feared the squirrel might stay frozen forever, the little thing twitched as if it had rebooted. It threw both paws in the air and squeaked: “I am a squirrel!”

“I know you’re a squirrel,” Yu Sheng said carefully.

“I’m a super cute squirrel, a small animal in the Forest,” the squirrel squealed. “Stories have to have a small animal like me, a carefree creature of the Forest that helps kids who are about to get eaten. Yes, there has to be a small animal like that! It should also sing. I can’t sing, but I will still help cursed children who are lost in the Forest, because I am a squirrel!”

It stood tall, paws raised, shouting with excitement. It looked like it had just found, or found again, the meaning of its own existence.

Irene leaned toward Yu Sheng’s ear and whispered: “Is it actually sick? It really doesn’t look stable.”

“Born of the Black Forest,” Yu Sheng murmured, thoughtful. “This is probably one of the rules of the Fairy Tale.”

“Why do you think so,” she asked.

“In a Fairy Tale, there must be a threat that tries to kill the protagonist, and a friend who tries to help. In the Forest, that ‘friend’ is usually a small animal. That’s how I see it.”

“I see,” she said.

The squirrel suddenly froze again, then stood on tiptoe as if listening. In a blink it sprang onto Yu Sheng, scrambling up to his shoulder.

Irene stared, then protested: “Hey! That spot is mine!”

“Shh,” the squirrel hissed, trembling so hard Yu Sheng could feel it. “Listen to outside. Listen.”

Yu Sheng nodded to Irene to keep quiet. He crept to the window and pressed his ear toward the Forest.

Silence. Dead silence. Even the faraway wind and the faint wolf howls that always circled the Little House had vanished.

The hush smothered the Little House. Then a sudden knock at the door split the night, sharp and harsh.

Bang bang bang. Bang bang bang.

The knocking was steady and slow, like it was beating on his heart.

“The wolf is here, the wolf is here, and the Little House’s fire is about to burn out,” the squirrel whispered, shaking. “How did it drain so fast? Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

Yu Sheng glanced at the fireplace in the corner. The flames were shrinking fast. Even though there was plenty of fuel, the fire looked like it was being sucked away into nothing.

He turned to Irene and asked: “In your current state, can you fight?”

“Probably not. I’m just a projection that squeezed in here, remember? You summoned me with a stick-figure sketch. How strong could I be?” Irene’s frame wobbled in the air. “At best I can cheer for you. Try not to die too horribly. I’ll have nightmares.”

Yu Sheng almost choked. [This doll is great at everything except her mouth.]

Bang bang bang.

The knocks came again, now as loud as thunder. The entire Little House shook. Walls creaked. The roof swayed.

The squirrel screamed, then, from who knew where, whipped out a stiff pine needle like a one-handed sword and grabbed an acorn like a shield with the other paw: “The Squirrel Knight is ready! The Squirrel Knight is ready!”

The third round of knocks hit. Shelves and wooden wardrobes toppled in a quake-like shudder, boomed, then vanished into thin air. Only a tiny glow was left in the fireplace. Cracks split the walls. Then a giant hole tore open in the roof.

Yu Sheng saw an eye, a wolf’s eye glowing cold light, pressed to the hole, with a long black-furred face behind it.

The deafening pounding resumed. Outside, the wolf slammed the Little House like a drum about to fall apart.

The last spark in the fireplace died. In those terrible blows, the wooden house shattered. The red strings and torn cloth wound around the door and windows ripped with a shriek, a sound so sharp it felt like a scream. Then the Evil Wolf’s gigantic form appeared before Yu Sheng and Irene.

It was even bigger than the Evil Wolf that crawled from Little Red Riding Hood’s shadow in the Museum. Bigger than a house. It stood so close that its body hid almost the entire sky from Yu Sheng’s view. The tall, twisted creature slowly lowered its head. Its wild, crazed eyes stared coldly at the prey that had spilled out of the Little House, as if savoring the final step of the hunt.

“It got bigger again! Bigger!” the squirrel screamed, clutching its Pine Needle Sword and Acorn Shield, head tipped back, voice breaking. “Little Red Riding Hood must be more and more afraid! The more she fears, the bigger the wolf gets!”

Yu Sheng whipped his head around and started: “Are you saying-”

He never finished. Panic shattered the squirrel’s reason. It let out a piercing cry, raised its pine needle high, and leaped into the air, charging the Giant Wolf as if running up invisible steps: “The Squirrel Knight is ready! The Squirrel Knight will protect you!”

“Hey! Wait!” Yu Sheng shouted.

The squirrel didn’t answer. It shot forward like lightning, tiny needle aimed true.

Its hoarse, off-key singing floated down from above: “The Squirrel Knight appears on the little forest path, it will help the lonely Little Red Riding Hood,” the lyrics were odd, the tune awful. Like it said, a story must have a small animal that helps cursed children, and it must sing. It could not sing, but it sang anyway.

In a blink, the small body vanished into the Giant Wolf’s mouth.

The wolf didn’t even tilt its head. It simply opened its jaws, so it looked like the squirrel jumped in on purpose.

The ugly song cut off. The wolf’s teeth clicked and ground a little. Then it lowered its head. Its eyes on Yu Sheng held a trace of puzzlement. To the Forest, both Yu Sheng and Irene were intruders that shouldn’t exist.

“The squirrel is dead!” Irene gasped at last. “I thought it would burst out with something at the key moment. How did it die that fast?”

A blast of wind slammed down. The Giant Wolf’s paw crashed where Yu Sheng had been.

Yu Sheng was already moving. He stomped, shattered the ground underfoot, sprang aside, then dove beneath the wolf’s body, looking for a blind spot: “Save the comments. I might be dead next.”

Irene’s frame swooped after him and asked: “Any last words to pass along?”

Yu Sheng rolled under another strike and shouted: “Tell Foxy this: buns for dinner! Have her take the ground pork out of the fridge!”

“Got it,” Irene said as her frame wobbled through the gale from the wolf’s swinging tail. She was turning transparent. “I’m leaving. This place is starting to push me out.”

“Bye. I’ll be back soon,” Yu Sheng called, waving.

Her frame vanished from sight.

A sudden gale roared. The Giant Wolf finally lost its patience with the pest darting under its belly. It hopped sideways, locked eyes on the small figure on the ground, and pounced again.

Yu Sheng didn’t dodge. He grinned and taunted: “Come on. Try something good. One bite, and it is yours for life.”