I heard a scraping sound from below and the bridge twisted. “Hey!”
My head snapped up. I tried to shout but nothing came out.
Blue was dancing. “Adam!” he yelled joyfully, waving his stick like an Olympic torch. “You’re okay!”
“Yeah!” I could hear the strain in Adam’s voice. “I lost my flashlight. I’m climbing up.”
When I got to my feet, my knees almost buckled beneath me. I cleared my throat. “Blue! Grab one of the bridge’s ropes, and I’ll grab the other. Just in case this side breaks, too.” I clutched at the line, wincing as the rough twine scraped against my palms.
After one agonizingly long moment, Adam’s head poked out of the fog. He was climbing the bridge like a rope ladder. And he was almost to the top.
“Yay!” Blue cried. The words seemed to motivate Adam because he started moving faster, one hand over the other. I saw his knuckles were bloody. Finally, he pushed himself up with his elbows and rolled to safety.
“Yay!” Blue yelled again, throwing his stick in the air. It cracked me on the head as it came down.
“Ouch!” I rubbed my scalp but I couldn’t have cared less. Adam was alive. I curled up next to where he lay on the ground and took his hand, lacing my fingers through his.
There was nothing to say. He could have died, and it would have been because of me.
“I made it.” Adam sounded like he couldn’t believe it. He stretched out his arm to look at his watch. “Holy cow,” he panted. “Look at the time.” He hoisted me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
SCENE EIGHT:
TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES LEFT
Blue stood on tiptoe to see up the path. It was rocky, winding into thick woods. The branches were bare, outstretched like claws. Thick fog crawled out from the trees, twisting around our feet, daring us to enter.
Like a gentleman, Adam let me keep our last flashlight. I tried to turn it on but it wouldn’t cooperate. I banged it on the ground. Nothing.
“Great,” I muttered. After all that trouble carrying it across the bridge.
“I have something almost as good.” Adam unzipped a pocket in his coat and pulled out a pack of matches. “Find me a big stick. One with some dead leaves.”
I scanned the ground and saw a knobby branch. When I picked it up, though, I saw it was still green and remembered Adam’s lecture when we’d made a campfire. Green would smoke, not catch fire. I grabbed another branch, one with scruffy, dry leaves, and handed it to Adam.
The first match didn’t catch, but the second did. The red glow lit up Adam’s face. It was dirty and a long scratch ran along his forehead. I raised my hand to my own face. I must look like a total mess. Not camera-friendly at all.
“How much farther, do you think?” Adam asked, and I screwed my eyes shut, trying to picture the Monsterville board.
“We’re close. The troll comes right after the bridge when all the paths connect. And I remember being stuck on the troll spot and thinking that if I got lucky and rolled a six, I’d win the game.”
“And the troll is the last monster we’re up against?”
“Right.” As I said it, our path met with another. This was where all four paths converged. We were almost to the troll.
Roots protruded from the pathway, and the trees grew so closely together they seemed to be pressing in on us. I smelled rotting wood and wet earth.
The monsters hadn’t bothered with a sound effects tape here. The woods were silent—eerily silent—and the sky was pitch black. The only glow came from our makeshift torch.
“Do you think we should be using a light?” My voice seemed loud—a sure way to make the monsters come running. “Someone might see us.”
“I don’t think we could find our way without it.”
Adam was right. Even with the torch, I could barely make out the trail. We weaved around trees, ducked under branches, and climbed over a rotting trunk.
There was something weird about this setting. The bark didn’t crumble off the trees the way it did in the woods in Freeburg. And there were no dead leaves to crunch through.
This place reminded me of the zoo. The animals’ habitats all looked real, but were only imitations. I turned to Blue, who was clinging to my sleeve. “This is all fake, right?”
Adam stared into his torch. “I knew this was burning for too long. These leaves must be made out of something synthetic,” he snorted. “Check it out. Down Below did us a favor.”
The path twisted to the right, and I moved closer to Blue. “Watch out, guys. We just turned the corner.”
This pathway was rockier, and I stubbed my toe. “Ouch!” I said as I stumbled.
Up ahead, a cluster of boulders blocked the path. We’d have to crawl over them to go any farther.
“Wait,” I whispered. “This is the perfect spot for a troll.”
Adam stopped, shifting the torch from one hand to the other. “What do we do? Just wait for him to come out?”
I shook my head. “We don’t have time for that.” Crouching, I ran my hands along the ground, gathering a handful of pebbles. “Hey!” I chucked one at the boulders. “Hey!”
Adam grabbed my arm. “What are you doing?”
“Waking up the troll.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’d rather wake it up from fifteen feet away than accidentally crawl over its back.”
“Good point.” Adam picked up a pebble and chucked it at the cluster of boulders. It landed squarely on the middle one. The biggest one.
The one that was now moving.
We all froze. The boulder rose, dislodging two of the others. One hit the path and rolled away. The other split open like a melon. The troll unfolded itself and stretched, naked except for a loincloth. It looked like Tarzan. If Tarzan really let himself go.
“Urrrrrgh,” it greeted us, scratching its matted hair.
Really, really let himself go.
I cleared my throat and stood up straighter. “Hi!” I flashed a smile. Just because this thing was the size of Upchuck’s pickup, that didn’t mean it was going to murder us.
“Hi!” Adam echoed. “Mind if we get through?”
The troll glared at us, narrowing its beady eyes. It sniffed the air with a nose that looked like a squashed tomato. Slowly, slowly, it shook its head, its wide mouth parting in a smile that revealed green, nubby teeth.
“This one’s easy,” I told Adam. “Check it out.
The troll won’t sway, insists you pay
Three silver coins to make your way
But bargain yes, and you shall find
He’s happy with a mere fruit rind.”
When I was done, I nudged Adam. “Hear that? ‘A mere fruit rind.’ Give him something from your jacket. Trail mix, apple. Whatever’s left.”
Adam looked like he was in pain. “Umm …” He unzipped his jacket pockets and rummaged through them. “I don’t think …”
“Oh, no,” I whispered. “I just assumed …”
… that Adam, the Boy Scout, always had what we needed. The troll stumbled closer, each step making the ground quake. It exhaled a sour breath.
I grabbed Adam’s and Blue’s arms. “Step … back,” I said through my teeth, my brain churning furiously for a solution.
“What do we do?” Adam asked. His face was pale in the the torch’s glow. “What are trolls like?”
“Strong,” I replied automatically. “Slow. Dumb. Hungry, always.”
“I’m really sorry.” Adam’s voice was tight. “I should have rationed.”
“Not your fault.” I took another step back, wincing when a jagged rock pierced my heel.
The troll lunged at us, swiping at our feet with a giant, leathery hand. Then, in one jerky motion, it pulled Blue up by one foot, dangling him above the path.
“Lissa!” Blue squealed. “Help!”
The troll lifted Blue higher, sniffing him. It was the same way Mom checks out vegetables at the grocery store.
> I couldn’t bear to look, but I couldn’t not look, either. The troll’s neck muscles were thick cords, taut and bulging, as it examined the struggling Blue. It could open its mouth at any moment …
“Help!” Blue screamed again, twisting and thrashing in the troll’s grasp. His face was turning the color of an eggplant.
I scanned the path, searching for … something. Something that could be a “mere fruit rind.” But I saw nothing but dirt, trees, and rocks. Then I remembered. The Fruit Roll-Up! I hadn’t finished the one Adam had given me earlier.
Thank you, apricot, for being the worst flavor ever. It was fate that I couldn’t choke you down.
I shoved my hand into my pocket, pulling out the plastic wrapper. There wasn’t much left. Would it be enough?
I held the scrap out, trying not to tremble. “Hey!” My voice rang loud and clear. “You want this?”
The troll’s nostrils quivered. It raised its head and sniffed the air.
“Mmmm, apricot,” I said, waving it around. “Don’t you want it?”
The troll took a step closer. The ground vibrated, but I kept my cool. “Here.” I nodded at Blue. “Trade, okay?”
The troll just looked at me with its dumb cow eyes. “I give you this. You give me that,” I explained, pointing to Blue. The troll jerked its head up and down, and I stepped forward, extending the Fruit Roll-Up.
The troll swiped at the remnants of my snack at the same time that it dumped Blue on the ground. Adam dived to catch him.
I raised my palms at the troll to let it know I didn’t have anything else. “All gone. See?” I would have talked the same way to Adam’s dog.
The troll snorted and stuffed the Fruit Roll-Up in its mouth, swallowing it, wrapping and all. It smiled at me, the apricot sticking to its teeth.
“See you later,” I told it, waving and grinning like crazy. If I acted like we were friends, it might be dumb enough to believe it.
The troll waved and smiled back.
Adam, Blue, and I scrambled down the rocky trail, walking backward so we could keep an eye on the troll.
Another monster rule—never turn your back on something that can eat you.
SCENE NINE:
ONE HOUR AND FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES LEFT
When the troll was out of sight, Adam exhaled noisily. “That was amazing!” he told me. “Like David and Goliath.”
“Something like that.”
“I’m really sorry I didn’t help back there. I can’t believe I lost my backpack. How stupid could I be?”
“Are you kidding me?” I swiped at a branch blocking our path. “I’m the one who knew we’d have to face off against a troll. I should have remembered it needed to be fed.”
“Yeah, but Boy Scouts are always supposed to be prepared!”
“Uh-huh. But did your handbook cover Down Below? Or getting your backpack stolen by a mummy?”
Adam kicked a rock. “I’m supposed to be ready for all scenarios.”
Before I could reply, I heard crying. Blue was ahead of us, his shoulders shaking.
I ran to catch up. “Oh, Blue. I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Did the troll hurt you?”
Blue shook his head. “It’s not that.”
“What is it, then?”
He looked up with big, watery eyes. “I was just thinking about Haylie. How she has a big sister who’ll come Down Below to save her.” He dropped his chin. “No one came to save me,” he said, so softly I almost couldn’t hear him.
“Sure, they did,” I told him, hugging him close. “They just looked in the wrong places.”
Blue looked up. “What do you mean?”
“Well, no one knew to come Down Below. They thought you were somewhere Up There. Trust me, if they knew to come Down Below, they would have.”
“When you disappeared,” Adam added, “your picture was on the news every night for a month. And in the paper. And there were even helicopters searching for you.”
“Helicopters? For me?” Blue snuffled.
“Yeah. And search parties and radio announcements and private investigators. They did everything they could. Everything.”
“Okay,” Blue said in a small voice, like he wasn’t convinced.
Adam sucked in his breath. “Listen. Do you hear that?”
I closed my eyes. And suddenly, I did—tinny carnival music, far away. We’d made it.
“What does the game say we do now, Lissa?” Adam asked.
“Nothing. You just land on the tent and that’s it. You win. Aunt Lucy’s journal didn’t say anything helpful, either. The only time she was in the Transformation Room was when she escaped from it.”
“Huh.” Adam blew air out from his mouth, unsatisfied with that answer. So was I.
As we crept forward, the music got louder. Not by much—the notes were delicate, light—like what you’d hear if you wound up a jack-in-the-box.
I only hoped that nothing would pop out of the bushes and eat us.
SCENE TEN:
ONE HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LEFT
As soon as I thought about the bushes, I noticed the trail had changed, narrowing. Blue, Adam, and I had been able to walk side by side, but now we went single file. I led the way, holding Adam’s torch.
“Ouch!” something sliced through my sock and into my heel.
“You okay?” Adam asked.
“I think so.” I winced, lowering the light to squint at the ground. “I just … stepped on something.” I didn’t see a nail or a piece of broken glass glinting at me. We were surrounded by blades of grass. “I don’t see anything, though.”
I took another step. “Oh!” I gasped as the pain ripped through my foot. I froze, biting my lip and waiting for it to pass.
“What?” Adam asked.
“The grass,” I hissed. “It’s a barrier. Literally, blades of grass. The monster equivalent of a barbwire fence.”
“Can we go around it?”
I raised the torch to see the trees, but they grew so close together they were like a fortress wall. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of straying from the path.
“No,” I finally replied. “The monsters planned it this way. The only way to avoid the grass is to go back.”
No one said anything.
“I’ll go first,” Blue offered after a while. “My skin’s tough. It might not bother me.”
“Are you sure?” My feet throbbed like crazy, and I felt something warm running down my sole. Blood.
“Yep.”
“Okay, fine,” I said, angling myself so he could get around me. “But go fast!”
“Here I go!” Blue inhaled sharply and then took off across the grass, staying on the balls of his feet. He looked like he was hopping across hot coals. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!” he chanted the entire time. About fifteen feet away, he stopped. “It’s dirt now.”
I looked at the grass. Walking across it would be like crossing a floor covered in broken glass. By the time I got to Blue, I wouldn’t be able to walk, let alone save Haylie.
Adam seemed to be realizing the same thing. “Lissa, do you want to get on my back?”
I shook my head. “You can’t carry that much weight—the blades are so sharp they’ll pierce right through your shoes.”
“They’re work boots. Good ones,” Adam said, but I couldn’t let him risk it. Not after everything he’d done for me already.
“Blue!” I called. “Can you find anything to throw across? Like maybe a log?”
“Be right back!” he replied. I winced at his choice of words.
As Adam and I waited for what felt like an eternity, I heard the tinkling carnival music of the Transformation Room calling to me. Taunting me. Haylie was right there, and I couldn’t reach her. I gritted my teeth.
Footsteps approached through the darkness. Soon I could make out Blue’s pointy ears.
He was carrying something—a tree that was at least six times his size, with leafy branches and a gnarled trunk. He tossed it over the grass, parallel to the pat
h. “Come on! I’ll hold my end so it doesn’t roll.”
I turned to Adam. “You first. You had to go last on the bridge.” I crouched and pulled at the branches protruding from the top. Since the leaves were synthetic, I could grab them without ripping them.
Normally, Adam would have tried to argue, but we were burning night-light. He hopped onto the makeshift bridge and stretched his arms out for balance. “Okay,” he said, psyching himself up. A second later, he took off, moving so confidently that I didn’t worry about him falling, not even for a moment. He jumped down to the dirt on the other side.
Adam’s self-assuredness gave me courage. I crawled onto the tree and stood up, my feet stinging from where the blades had sliced them. I teetered before gaining my balance. Staring straight ahead, I took a deep breath.
With one step, I almost lost it. My legs shook and I sat back down on the trunk.
“Don’t worry about looking good!” Adam called. “If you can’t balance, walk sideways and take little steps. Or just sit and scoot.”
I exhaled, frustrated. Haylie was waiting for me. I couldn’t afford to take my sweet time.
I stood again, turning sideways and taking tiny, jerking steps to inch across the log. I ignored the pain that washed over me. Pick up the pace, I told myself.
I was almost there. This was pretty easy! I looked up from my feet to glance at Blue, who was crouched on the other side, frowning in concentration as he held the log, making sure it didn’t roll and tip me over.
Then, the second before I was going to jump for the ground, I slipped.
“Ah!” I screamed as I fell, stretching my hands to catch myself. Needle-sharp blades of grass sliced right through the bandages on my palms, then my right knee, as I hit the ground. I almost passed out from the pain.
“Oh!” I gasped as Adam leaned over and lifted me up by my armpits. He dumped me on the dirt, breathing heavily.
I curled up in a ball. Everything hurt—my hands where they’d broken my fall, my right knee where I’d kneeled, the soles of my feet. I felt nauseous, and tears were welling up in my eyes. How on earth can I walk?
Then Adam was above me, removing his jacket and tearing off the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Give me your hands.”
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