Lost and found: A journey of time

II

Suddenly, they heard footsteps in the bushes nearby. All three kids stopped dead in their tracks. Andrew instinctively reached for Elizabeth and William, grabbing their arms tightly and pulling them behind their backs protectively. He didn't know who could've been approaching. But after a while, he realized these weren't human footsteps. Instead, he heard claws scratching along the dirt as whatever was making those noises approached closer.

When the creature appeared out of the shadows, it was a fox. Elizabeth sighed. "It's just a fox," she muttered under her breath as she relaxed her shoulders. William breaks away from her older brother's grasp. The fox froze, its amber eyes locked onto theirs. Then, in the blink of an eye, its twist the fur became flesh, paws became hands, and the fox was no more; a boy stood where the fox had been, smiling at them as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Well, that's new, and fuck this shit," Elizabeth muttered, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the sight. The fox-turned-boy cocked his head to the side as he studied them, a curious sparkle in his eyes.

"I've never seen you before," he said, his tone light with wonder.

Andrew found himself stepping forward, his curiosity piqued. "Who are you?" he asked, studying the stranger with wide eyes. The boy smiled a crooked grin that made him look mischievous.

"I could ask the same thing about you three," he replied, chuckling softly as he looked them over. "But to answer your question, my name's Charlie Hoya.

"And I'm a kind of local here," Charlie Hoya added with a smug grin, his eyes shimmering with mischief. "I'm guessing you guys live in this part of the neighborhood or something." He crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby tree, looking at them as if they were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

"This looks like a neighborhood to you," Elizabeth asked sarcastically.

Charlie gives them a weird look. "Um, what? Yeah, sure."

"I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get home before my mom knows I snuck out again." He transformed back into a fox and ran off into the woods.

"So are we dead, or is this just a dream?" Elizabeth wondered aloud.

Andrew shook his head and frowned. "We aren't dead. And this isn't a dream. That fox-boy... Something's wrong here. It's almost as if we've stepped into a different reality or something." He said

"Drew I don't want your dorky brain to be on my nerves; please save your nerdy thoughts for Will," Elizabeth said. "We are literally in the middle of nowhere with a fox that can turn into a person, and you say we're not in a dream; well, it looks like we are," she said.

"Let's say if we are in a different reality, should we have a home, cool parents,  and a gorgeous house" As soon as the words left Elizabeth's mouth, the ground rumbled, and the air has energy aroubd them that made Andrew's skin prickle. A loud  crash echoed through the field, and before their eyes, a house appeared
perfect and completely out of nowhere. It was as if the world itself had bent to Elizabeth's words.

"What the fuck, Elizabeth Smith, what did you do?" Andrew whispered harshly.

"I don't know!"

"Come guys, you shouldn't stay long outside; dinner is almost done, and your father is going to be here any minute now," the woman said, smiling warmly at them. She beckoned them to come inside the house. William ran excitedly towards the woman, but Elizabeth held him back.

"Will what you are doing? We don't know these people." Elizabeth warned, looking at her younger brother in confusion.

"Oh, come on, Beth, we do need a house to stay in for now, and she seems nice; you were the one who asked for this and you did say we should have a gorgeous house," William said and ran towards the woman.