Pizza delivery, part VII

Rule one when lost in the forest: stay where you are.
I'd love to follow that rule, but there's one problem. Whatever scared off the killer rabbit is coming closer.
Ever since that ear-piercing shriek, this part of the forest has been quiet, as if all the other creatures are afraid to be noticed.
Turning, I scanned the trees. Whatever could silence the forest's constant wailing was something I wanted to avoid. The quarterstaff in my hand seemed a vain comfort. I should be delivering pizzas, not facing mythical creatures.
Something shifted to my left, and I jerked toward it.
"Just a branch swaying." I whispered, releasing a breath. Another branch rustled, a faint trail of smoke flitting away from it. Hands tightening around my quarterstaff, I watched the smoke. It twisted through the trees, shifting constantly from one direction to another regardless of the wind.
I stepped back, something crunching beneath my shoe.
The smoke paused.
Though it  had no eyes, no form at all, I was sure it was looking at me.
With the same surety, I knew that turning my back on this thing would be a mistake.
Taking another step back, my heart raced as the smoke moved with me. It didn't come any closer, but neither did it lose ground as I continued backward. My hands trembled, palms growing slick with sweat as this backward journey continued. So long as I kept the smoke in my sight, it stayed the same distance from me.
Then I tripped.
Back smacking the ground, I coughed. Looking up, I couldn't see the smoke. I scrambled to my feet and twisted around.
And saw the smoke.
Billowing a foot from my face.
"Al- alright, you're a quick one." I gripped the strap of my delivery bag, realizing that in my haste to get up, I'd dropped my quarterstaff.
I took a careful step back, eyes watering as the smoke's scent filled my nose. A dying flame mixed with fresh blood. Not a pleasant scent, not at all.
"If I had a breath mint, I'd give it to you." Despite the chills coursing through me, I had to keep talking. If I didn't talk, the urge to turn and run would win.
And I'd probably die.
Happy thought.
"You seem to be a patient cloud of smoke. I'm not really that interesting, though, so you should go find something else to follow." I shifted my grip, bringing the main body of the delivery bag up between myself and the smoke. "That yellow rabbit could entertain you. It wanted to kill me too."
The smoke dropped a little, and I hurried back. "Ho- how about we talk about pizza? That's my job, delivering pizzas. At least, that was my job. Brend says that time moves similarly in both our worlds, so I'll probably not have my job at the pizzeria by time I get back."
I stumbled over something, and the smoke drifted closer. It's dark gray form caressed the corner of the delivery bag, inches from my fingers.
"Pizza is delicious! Far tastier then me. They've got a crust, tomato sauce, cheese, and a variety of toppings. Meat, veggies, whatever you like." I shifted my hand away from the smoke, taking hold of the bag's flap. Fingers tightening around the edge of the flap, a crazy idea struck.
"Whenever I deliver pizzas, they go in the delivery bag. Like this!" Ripping open the flap, I jerked forward with the bag.
The smoke slid through the opening, the tail of it sliding across my fingers.
A blistering cold bit through my fingers, coiling around my fingers in a freezing ache that remained as the tail of smoke disappeared into the bag.
Slapping the flap shut and pressing my frozen fingers against the velcro strap, my teeth chattered.
A slow, agonizing minute passed.
The smoke stayed in the bag.
And the fingers of my right hand remained unnaturally cold.
Shaking, I jumped as a wail broke the silence.
Whatever the smoke was, the forest seemed to think it was gone.
Which meant I should get moving.
Walking forward, I looked for my quarterstaff.
Finding it, I picked it up and looked down at my delivery bag.
The smoke still hadn't come out, but that didn't mean it wouldn't.
The smart thing would be to leave it here.
But...
If I left my delivery bag, I'd lose one of the only connections I had to my world.
I can't let it go.
Scary smoke or no, the delivery bag was part of who I was now.
"Besides," I glanced down and hesitantly set a hand on the bag as I walked forward. "If I run into another killer rabbit, letting out the smoke might give me time to get away."
Either that, or the smoke would kill me.
Probably best to think positive.