Hewie could sense that something wasn't right. He didn't know what exactly, but he never questioned his intuition. German Shepherds rarely do. And Hewie wasn't just any German Shepherd, most German Shepherds have brown and black markings. But Hewie was white like snow. He couldn't account for his peculiar coloring; both his mother and father (as far as he knew) had had standard markings. He considered it a blessing. It made him different and special, the pick of the litter. He had been walking down the long dark corridor with Fiona for what seemed like hours, making sure to keep close to the frightened girl. The smell of blood lingered heavy in Hewie's nose. Can't humans smell what they're walking into? He brushed himself up against Fiona's bare shivering leg one more time to reassure herthat he was there. She could have at least dressed appropriately for this outing. She was wearing a short pleated skirt and an intricately embellished low-cut top. At least the sleeves were long, tapering into bands at the forearm. Fiona stopped in the corridor and gave Hewie a scratch behind his right ear.
Silly girl, she shouldn't have ever made her way onto the castle grounds. Hewie had told her not to go. Begged her. The whole place smelled like blood. But had she listened? No, of course not. Humans will always do what they want. When Fiona had as much as stepped beyond the iron gate it closed of it's own accord, leaving Hewie separated on the other side. Fiona hadn't seen the warning signs, couldn't smell the stink of the situation she was in even then. She had proceeded onward leaving Hewie barking madly at her to come back. Frantic, Hewie began to dig. By the time he had gotten through the top layer of sod he heard Fiona screaming near what must have been the entrance of the castle. Fear drove Hewie's paws to dig faster than they had ever dug before, he quickly gauged the space he had made underneath the fence and dove under. It was a little tight. Hewie had to hold his breath to get his back haunches under the iron fence, but then he was through and running toward Fiona's screams with his ears back and his head down. A new smell arose on the wind, like human body odor and fecis mingled with the sweet perfume that Fiona was wearing. A second later a huge lumbering figure came into view. Somewhere under those pungent smells Hewie detected the smell of a man, but he was not like any Hewie had seen before. He was giant, humpbacked, and loud, wearing clothes that looked like they were made from large potato sacks and yet they somehow managed to be too small. The mouth in his small round head was open wide in a scream that revealed crooked and decaying teeth. The giant was bearing down on Fiona who had sunk to her bare knees with her arms above her head covering her eyes. Hewie leaped between them and turned on the man, hackles raised and teeth bared. Lowering his head he emitted a growl followed by several barks. The giant man stopped and teetered for a moment uncertainly as if he would lose his balance, then he uttered an unintelligible shriek and raised his giant right arm above his head. Hewie lunged at the giant's other arm finding a hold on the flesh above the wrist. The smell burned Hewie's nose and made his eyes water, but he followed through, diving forward and throwing the giant off balance. A scream of agony and frustration erupted from the giant as he hit the ground. Hewie chanced a look in Fiona's direction and saw that she was opening the heavy wooden door to the castle. She called him, and like a good dog he came.
And now as they were stopped in the corridor, the constant smell of blood was overwhelmed by a familiar odor. Hewie's ears went flat against his head as he turned to see the giant at the end of the corridor. Hewie now noticed that the giant was holding an old rag-doll in his left hand that had dirty blonde hair almost the same color as Fiona's. Fiona screamed.