by Jim Eldridge
‘We’ll need proof that he’s a crook,’ pointed out Jack.
‘We’ll get it,’ said Milo confidently. ‘But, for the moment, let’s look at the good things we’ve got. A load of money that Big Rock won as a prize. We’ve got our freedom. We’ve got each other. And we’ve got one other thing as well.’
‘The broken wheel?’ asked Jack.
Milo shook his head.
‘We’ve got Thud. Not all the time; only now and then, admittedly. But he always turns up when we need him most.’ He grinned at Jack. ‘Two great friends for the price of one. You can’t beat that!’
HUNK
CHAPTER 1
The old, battered-looking caravan, with WWT in big but faded letters on its side, rattled through the valley along the country road alongside a river.
‘What’s this place we’re going to?’ asked Robin, the ancient horse who pulled the caravan along.
‘It’s a town called Riverdam,’ answered Milo, Manager of Waldo’s Wrestling Trolls, as he held the reins. ‘It’s just along here, by the river. Around the next bend.’
The last remaining Wrestling Troll in Milo’s team, Big Rock, ran around the caravan as it trundled along, throwing punches at the air and giving practice side kicks as he ran.
‘Let me guess, there’s a dam in the river next to it,’ said Robin.
‘Yes,’ said Milo. ‘How did you know?’
‘The clue is in the name,’ said Robin sarcastically.
‘The Riverdam Slam!’ said Jack, the nine-year-old boy and the team’s Assistant Trainer, sitting next to Milo. ‘It’s only a small wrestling tournament but they say the crowds come from miles around. They’re really keen on wrestling here.’
Just around the bend in the road, there was a nice little town – a few houses, with a large wooden building in the middle.
‘That’s the place,’ said Milo. ‘That wooden building is the Town Hall where the event is to be held.’
As they drew nearer, they could see the dam, made of wood, right across the river. It looked like a bigger version of the sort of dam made by beavers: trees and logs intertwined with one another to keep back the water behind it.
Other caravans and some wagons had been parked on the green open space in front of the Town Hall. And, among them, was a carriage with the royal crest of the Kingdom of Weevil painted on the door.
‘Princess Ava is here!’ said Jack.
‘And Sam Dent!’ said Big Rock, equally pleased.
Princess Ava and the muscular figure of Sam Dent waved from the steps of the Town Hall.
Milo pulled the caravan to a halt and he and Jack jumped down. Princess Ava hugged them warmly, while Big Rock and Sam Dent bumped chests with big grins on their faces.
Although Ava was a princess and had to be always on her best and proper behaviour, now and then she managed to sneak away and wrestle as the Masked Avenger. Jack guessed that was her reason for being here at the Riverdam Slam, which she confirmed straight away. ‘I’m here to take on Grit. She’s a fantastic Wrestling Troll!
‘Yes,’ nodded Big Rock. ‘Grit, great wrestler. Nice person too. She won’t be easy.’
‘I don’t want things easy,’ said Ava. ‘I want a challenge!’
‘You’re taking a chance,’ cautioned Jack. ‘You could be unmasked.’
No one could ever know that Princess Ava was a wrestler, so she wore a full-face mask … and the mask could only be taken off if she lost.
Princess Ava shook her head. ‘I’ve seen Grit in the ring. She’s good, but I can beat her.’
‘Are you wrestling, Sam?’ Jack asked.
‘I was supposed to take on a Wrestling Orc called Slash,’ sighed Sam, disappointed, ‘but he says he wants to do tag wrestling with his orc partner, Burn.’
‘Me supposed to fight Burn!’ said Big Rock. ‘Remember, Milo?’
‘Yes, that’s what the contract said,’ nodded Milo. ‘But you can’t trust orcs. They don’t keep their word.’ Then his face lit up. ‘Why don’t you two take on Slash and Burn in a tag contest? It’ll solve everything.’
‘Brilliant!’ said Sam. He turned to Big Rock. ‘What do you say, Big Rock? You and me as tag partners?’
‘Yes!’ beamed Big Rock. ‘We beat sneaky orcs.’ And he made a fart noise to show how he felt about orcs.
‘Who else is here?’ asked Milo.
Princess Ava gave a sniff. ‘There’s a new wrestler called Hunk.’
‘I don’t know him,’ frowned Milo. ‘Where’s he from?’
‘Who knows?’ shrugged Ava. ‘He says he’s a Wrestling Troll.’ She gave a snort of derision. ‘He’s such a poser. He thinks he’s so handsome!’
‘He is,’ said Sam.
‘Well, yes, he is,’ admitted Princess Ava. ‘And he knows it.’
Robin joined them, intrigued by all this gossip. ‘A handsome troll?’ asked Robin, surprised.
‘In fact he’s a half-troll,’ said Sam.
‘Like Jack?’ asked Milo.
‘Not really,’ said Sam. ‘Hunk doesn’t change into someone different like Jack does when he becomes Thud. Hunk is human from his head down to his knees. Then he’s troll from the knees down.’
‘He’s got these great big hairy feet of which he’s very proud,’ said Princess Ava. ‘He says they are an important part of his troll ancestry.’ She gave a snort. ‘You wait till you see him. Like I said, he’s a poser. I don’t think he’s a real wrestler at all.’
‘He must be if he’s here for the tournament,’ said Jack.
‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ said Ava. ‘Anyone can turn up and say they’re a wrestler.’
‘I think you’re being unfair to him,’ said Sam. ‘He looks like a wrestler.’ He half-turned and pointed. ‘In fact, there he is now. That’s Hunk.’
The others turned, and saw a very tall, powerful, muscular figure, dressed in a skintight pale blue leotard. He had blonde hair, and he was indeed very handsome – more like a film star than a wrestler. The other noticeable thing about him was his lower legs: from his knees to his toes he had thick, rock-like legs with enormous rocky feet and thick hairs sprouting out from them.
Hunk spotted the group and waved, heading towards them with a big welcoming grin on his face.
‘Hi!’ he called. ‘My name’s Hunk!’ Then his face changed to an expression of awe. ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘It’s Big Rock! Please allow me to shake your hand!’
With that, Hunk moved towards Big Rock, his hand out. With a slightly bewildered expression on his face, Big Rock took Hunk’s hand and Hunk shook it.
‘I am such a fan of yours!’ continued Hunk. ‘I’m so glad I’ll be able to watch you! Who are you up against?’
‘Me and Sam Dent against orcs,’ said Big Rock.
‘Slash and Burn,’ added Milo. ‘Tag wrestling.’
‘Wow!’ said Hunk. ‘That should be awesome!’
‘Who are you wrestling?’ asked Jack.
‘Me?’ said Hunk. ‘I’m in the ring against Ug the Giant. We’re first on the bill tomorrow.’ He grinned. ‘It should be fun! I love wrestling!
CHAPTER 2
The next morning, after breakfast, the gang went to the Town Hall. The crowds were already assembling in a queue by the box office to get their tickets, and Jack heard lots of excited whispers of ‘There’s Big Rock!’ as they headed towards the wrestlers’ entrance at the back. Big Rock stopped and waved at the crowd and shook hands (being careful not to squeeze too hard and hurt them). He pressed his thumbprint onto the pages of autograph books that the children in the crowd offered him.
‘Nice place, nice people,’ he commented as they walked through the back door and along the corridor towards the dressing rooms. Jack walked beside him, carrying a bag with Big Rock’s costume in.
Big Rock’s costume was something that Jack guarded very carefully. It was very old, with lots of patches sewn onto it covering up holes in the cloth. In fact, sometimes Jack thought the costume was more patches than orig
inal material.
Sam Dent and Princess Ava were already there, as was a small girl troll.
‘That’s Grit,’ Milo whispered to Jack.
‘Hi, guys!’ Sam Dent greeted them. He was already dressed in his black-and-white striped leotard, with a picture of a tiger on his chest. ‘All ready, Big Rock?’
‘Ready!’ nodded Big Rock. ‘Just putting my costume on.’
And he took the bag with his costume from Jack and disappeared behind a curtain.
‘Where are the orcs?’ asked Milo. ‘I haven’t seen them yet.’
‘They say they’re not mixing with us before the bout,’ said Sam. ‘They want to make their “big entrance”.’
‘Typical orcs!’ snorted Milo. ‘Always trying something to get an edge.’
He checked the order of bouts that was pinned up on the wall:
Hunk versus Ug the Giant
Grit versus the Masked Avenger
Tag event: Big Rock and Sam Dent versus Slash and Burn
‘Big Rock and Sam aren’t on till last,’ said Milo. ‘We can watch the first two bouts from the hall. That’ll give us a chance to see how good this Hunk character is.’
‘And a chance to cheer on Princess … er … the Masked Avenger,’ said Jack.
They told Big Rock and Sam they’d see them later, and then walked into the hall. It was nearly full already, but Robin had managed to grab a space at the back and they squeezed in beside him.
The three watched as the crowd continued filing into the hall and the rows of seats filled up. Some spectators had dressed up as their favourite wrestlers. There were at least ten people wearing costumes made to look like Big Rock’s multi-patched one, with a picture of a mountain top on the front. Six or so had come dressed as Sam Dent; four girls had dressed up as Grit, two people perched one on top of the other inside a large sack that had ‘Ug the Giant’ written on it, and there were at least eight people dressed as orcs, complete with fake talons and with red eyeshadow painted around their eyes.
One person was wearing a mask in honour of the Masked Avenger. No one was dressed as Hunk, but Jack guessed that was because the half-troll was a new face on the scene, and no one knew enough about him yet.
By now the hall was absolutely packed. The house lights began to dim, and the harsh bright lights above the ring came on. Into the ring stepped the Master of Ceremonies, wearing a brightly coloured waistcoat and a big yellow bow tie.
‘My lords, ladies and gentlemen!’ he boomed, his voice filling the hall. ‘Welcome to the fantastic Riverdam Slam, featuring some of the greatest wrestlers on the scene today, as well as introducing some of the newest and up and coming wrestling stars of the future!’
At this the crowd erupted into cheers and stamped their feet and whistled. The Master of Ceremonies waved his hands asking for them to please be quiet. As an expectant hush settled over the crowd, the Master of Ceremonies once again beamed at them and made his announcement, but this time his voice had an apologetic tone.
‘Today’s programme was due to begin with a fantastic contest between Hunk, the half-troll, and Ug the Giant,’ he announced. ‘But, unfortunately, Ug was taken ill with stomach ache not long ago, and he’s had to withdraw.’
At this, there were shouts and cries of disappointment from the crowd, but before it could get out of hand the Master of Ceremonies flashed a big smile and boomed into the microphone, drowning any unhappy noises. ‘So instead we move to the next bout on the bill: a fantastically exciting match between that brilliant young rising star of Troll Wrestling – the truly formidable, and so far unbeaten … my lords, ladies and gentlemen, I give you … Grit!’
With that, the curtain at the back of the hall opened and the small, stocky figure of Grit appeared. She was about the same height as Princess Ava, but much wider, and much more muscular. Grit’s wrestling costume of bright multi-coloured spangles twinkled and shone, the reflected light from the spangles merging with the crystalline sheen of Grit’s rocky and stony skin.
Grit waved at the crowd, who cheered the small troll loudly as she stomped down the aisle to the ring, and pulled herself into it through the ropes.
‘Stomach ache?’ queried Milo, puzzled over the news about Ug. ‘That’s unusual. Most of the giants I’ve met could eat anything without suffering stomach ache.’
‘Something suspicious is going on there,’ muttered Robin. ‘I heard that Ug was seen having breakfast with Hunk.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘Remember what Princess Ava said about him? Could it just be coincidence that Ug then suffered stomach ache?’ he asked. ‘What better way for Hunk to avoid actually having to appear in the ring and prove whether he’s a real wrestler or not, than by sneaking some stuff into Ug’s breakfast.’
Jack looked around and saw Hunk standing at the back of another section of the hall, his attention fully on the ring in the middle. If he was disappointed at not being able to take part in the event, he didn’t look it.
While Grit stood in one corner of the ring and waited, the MC took centre stage again.
‘And now, Grit’s opponent, that mystery wrestler who is only known as the Masked Avenger! Yes, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, she wears a mask to hide her identity. Who is she? Is she a famous star? Is she royalty? Is she a famous wrestler appearing under an assumed name? There will only ever be one way for her mask to come off and her identity to be known, and that is if she loses! If that happens, then the person who defeats her has the right to take the mask from her head! Will that be her fate today against Grit?’
At this, there rose a huge cheer from the crowd, along with shouts of: ‘Yes!’ and, ‘Take her mask off! Take her mask off!’
‘My lords, ladies and gentlemen!’ boomed the MC, flinging his arm towards the curtains at the back of the hall. ‘Let’s have a huge Riverdam Slam welcome for … the Masked Avenger!’
The curtains parted and into the hall stepped Princess Ava dressed as the Masked Avenger. Her costume was purple and she wore a hood with two eyeholes in it completely covering her head. The crowd continued chanting ‘Take her mask off! Take her mask off!’ as Princess Ava ran down the aisle, somersaulted over the ropes into the ring to land nimbly on her feet, and then did another somersault into the centre of the ring.
She saluted the crowd as the MC announced: ‘The rules: the first to get two pinfalls or two submissions, or a knockout, is the winner! And now – let the action begin!’
The bell by the side of the ring sounded.
The Riverdam Slam had begun!
CHAPTER 3
The Masked Avenger darted out of her corner and threw herself at Grit. Jack winced and half-closed his eyes in anticipation of the Avenger crashing into the small, solid rocky figure, but instead the Avenger surprised everyone, including Grit, by suddenly dropping to the floor seconds before she hit Grit and sliding into the small troll’s shins, grabbing them with both hands. She then slid around behind Grit, pulling back to try and pull the troll over.
It didn’t work. Grit used her weight and her low centre of gravity to remain solidly upright. Then she reached down, grabbed the Avenger by one arm and threw her up into the air, caught her as she came down, and hurled her hard at the nearest corner post.
The Masked Avenger thudded into the post and crashed to the canvas.
‘Ouch!’ winced Jack. ‘That must have hurt.’
The Avenger went into the attack again, this time jumping high and leaping onto Grit’s shoulders, her feet gripping Grit’s head on either side. Then the Avenger tried a forward roll, but again Grit used her weight and low centre of gravity to stand still, like a rock. Grit slammed her hands up to clap the Avenger’s ankles to the sides of her head, and the Avenger found herself upside down with her feet trapped in Grit’s rocky fists.
BANG!
Grit slammed the Masked Avenger head first down onto the canvas twice, and then let go of her ankles.
The Avenger, dazed by the double blow to the top of her head, fell down onto the canvas, and imm
ediately Grit fell on her, pinning both the Avenger’s shoulders to the canvas.
‘One!’ shouted the crowd approvingly, as the Master of Ceremonies (now the referee) began the count. ‘Two! Three!’
Grit pushed herself up off the fallen Avenger and returned to her corner, while the crowd erupted with shouts of ‘Grit! Grit! Grit’ and ‘Take her mask off!’
‘It’s not looking good,’ said Jack, worried.
The Masked Avenger pushed herself off the canvas. To Jack, she still looked groggy, wobbling slightly as she stood up. The crowd sensed it and began shouting for Grit to finish the job.
‘Go for her!’ they yelled excitedly.
Jack, concerned, watched the Avenger stumble unsteadily. Grit saw this, and moved, throwing herself directly at the Avenger, intending to knock her to the canvas while she was still dazed and then fall on her, pinning her down once more to finish the bout.
It was then that Jack realised that the Avenger’s wobbling was an act. Quick as a flash, the Avenger swayed sidways and Grit stumbled past her, unable to change direction. Her troll-weight, which had been a major advantage when holding the Avenger down to the canvas, now put her at a disadvantage. The Avenger leapt into the air and thudded the soles of both her feet hard against Grit’s back, sending her plummeting forward into the ropes and being bounced back. As Grit stumbled backwards, trying to regain her balance, the Masked Avenger slid past her, catching her behind the knees, and the troll fell.
Immediately, the Avenger dropped on Grit’s head, smothering her and holding her head and neck down firmly on the canvas, the troll’s own weight pinioning her shoulders down.
‘One! Two! Three!’ called the referee, and the crowd erupted into applause again as this time the Masked Avenger got to her feet and strode away from her fallen opponent.
One pinfall each!