Troll Hunters

by Michael Dahl

Something had changed that night for all of them. For him and Thora and Zak. And even for little Louise.

  And somehow, Pablo knew that it was just the beginning.

  THE SECOND NIGHT

  Darkness beats his Dreadful Drums —

  The Shadow comes! The Shadow comes!

  Darkness cries to every Ear —

  The Palaces of Night are here!

  Behold the Chambers deep and dim,

  Behold the Towers gaunt and grim,

  Behold the Throne that carries him,

  Behold the Shadow comes!

  — from “Servants of the Graveyard”

  by Anthony Atwood Crake

  Pablo awoke with a start. He found himself reclined in a wide, grassy field. The pale October sun was just beginning to rise over the treetops. It cast a beautiful glow upon the field. Slowly, he realized he was still in the field with the petrified trolls.

  Where’s Thora?! Pablo thought in a panic. He swiveled his head around to find that Thora was sleeping soundly right next to him. We must have fallen asleep, Pablo thought.

  Hroom … hroom …

  A strange noise made Pablo shiver. He turned his head. His gaze met a pair of dark, unblinking eyes. They bulged from mushroom-colored skin, and were as dark as a bottomless pit. Pablo squinted against the morning light. Now he could see that the dark eyes sat atop a wart-covered body about the size of a football. It collapsed, then swelled up again.

  Pablo chuckled. Just a toad, he thought. A big one.

  Pablo pinched his eyes shut. When he opened them, he saw that there were at least a dozen of the amphibians sitting and warming themselves on the petrified remains of a troll. Mist rose from the grotesque statue’s jagged, rocky sides. A second troll statue, behind the first, was also covered with the cold-blooded creatures.

  Hroom … hroom …

  The toads were croaking deep within their throats. It sounded like the beating of faraway drums. Just a few hours ago, those statues had been living creatures, chasing him and Thora, hungry for human blood. Their blood.

  “Pablo, are you okay?” asked Thora’s sleepy voice. She slowly sat up, watching Pablo with drowsy eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, pointing at the croaking creature. “Hey, look at all these frogs.”

  Thora glanced toward Pablo’s finger. “Eww, they’re everywhere!” she said. After a moment’s pause, she added, “They sure seem to like the petrified trolls.”

  Pablo nodded. “Feel how warm the statues are,” he said.

  They both held out their hands as if warming themselves by a campfire. The statues’ jagged, limblike edges gave them a frightful appearance.

  “The doctor was right,” Thora said. “The trolls look just like meteors when they’re petrified.”

  Pablo glanced at the rocky shapes. “Technically, they’d be meteorites,” he said. “That’s what you call a meteoroid that lands on earth. A meteor is the flash of light we see when it streaks through the sky. That’s what we saw last night during the meteor shower.”

  “Did you learn that in Mr. Thomas’s science class?” Thora asked.

  “I think I read it in one of my dad’s science magazines,” said Pablo. “Pretty geeky, huh?”

  Thora shrugged. “Not really,” she lied, standing up stiffly. She gazed around the empty field. “I need to find my brother.”

  Pablo turned to Thora. “Where did you last see Bryce?” he asked.

  “We were all looking for Louise in the woods,” Thora replied. “Bryce, Louise’s father, and I got separated before Dr. Hoo saved us.”

  “I didn’t see Bryce when Zak and I found you,” said Pablo.

  “Bryce left his car in the middle of the road,” said Thora. “That’s when we all started searching for Louise. But I know he wouldn’t leave me behind. Bryce has to be around here somewhere.”

  Pablo considered the awful size and speed of the trolls. A lone teenager wouldn’t stand a chance against even one of them. Then again, Pablo and the others had somehow managed to survive the night. Perhaps Bryce had, too.

  Hrooooooom … hrooom …

  One of the toads sitting on the rock opened its big mouth and yawned. It had teeth — a double row of sharp fangs that glistened with drool.

  Pablo was confused. Toads don’t have teeth like that, he thought. What in the world are these things?

  The constant croaking started to make Pablo feel uneasy. “Uh, let’s go back to the house,” he said, standing up. “We should check on Zak and Louise.”

  “Do you think they’re —” Thora began.

  The sound of a strong gust of wind interrupted her. But there were no leaves moving on the nearby branches, and Pablo felt no breeze against his skin.

  Thora pointed at some tall grass. “Look!” she cried.

  The trees were not moving, but the grass was. It swayed in a great wave, as if an invisible hand was sweeping across the field. Pablo squinted his eyes and realized the grass was being pushed aside by something closer to the ground. And it was coming straight toward them.

  “What’s going on?” Pablo said, taking a step back.

  Just then, countless snakes slid out from the grass. Their slithering shapes created a great river of brown and black and gray. They slid over and under each other, sunlight glistening off their scales.

  “There must be thousands of them!” Thora exclaimed. “We have to get out of here!’

  “Wait!” said Pablo. “They aren’t attacking us.”

  Every snake moved straight ahead, traveling toward a distant point on the horizon. “It looks like they’re heading for the Nye farm,” Thora said. “To the well.”

  Pablo stuck out a bare foot and placed it in the path of the serpents. They slid around his ankle as if it were a small tree in the path of a flood. Thora hesitated briefly, then joined him. Slowly, they made their way through the serpentine river.

  “Let’s go find Dr. Hoo,” Pablo said. “I bet he’ll know what’s up with all these snakes.”

  Thora nodded. “And he’ll know how to find my brother.”

  A small white rental car drove through Zion Falls just before sunrise. It passed the abandoned quarry, where a heavy cloud of mist loomed over the lake. It continued past several abandoned farms and empty fields. Then it traveled past a long stretch of dark trees and into a lonely field.

  It pulled onto the gravel-covered shoulder, and then stopped. Mara Lovecraft stepped out of the car. The young woman wore dark jeans, boots, and a long gray coat. Her straight black hair was tied back in a long ponytail. She found her smart phone and checked a digital map of the area. The local homes and farms were all highlighted.

  “Gamble, Tooker, O’Ryan … and Nye,” she read.

  She tapped the screen on the Nye farm and zoomed in. Then she lifted her head and stared at the far side of the field toward an old house, a few farm buildings, and a rusty silo.

  “There it is,” she said.

  Mara looked up at the dark, early morning sky and frowned. She was sorry that she had missed the meteor shower the night before. Mara heard it had been spectacular, but she had been too busy driving all night to see it. Her friend and colleague Dr. Hoo had assured her that Zion Falls would soon be the site of an even greater natural event. Dr. Hoo said that Mara’s help would be needed soon. That the future of the entire world depended on it.

  Mara remote-locked the car, then stepped into the tall, wet grass. After a few minutes of walking, she had crossed only half of the field.

  A shiver shot through her. Mara turned up her coat collar against the cold air and continued walking. What has Dr. Hoo gotten me into this time? she wondered.

  The ground beneath Mara’s feet shuddered. She bent her head to listen. A loud moan came from directly beneath her feet. Mara smiled. She muttered a few words in a strange language toward the earth.

  A moan called back to answer her. But it was not just a moan. There were words. Mara spoke again. Suddenly, the field shook fiercely as the ground ro
se up in front of her.

  The earth moved in rippling waves. Soil, rocks, leaves, and grass heaved upward into the shape of a wall. The wall turned and twisted, its sides sloping down. Weird shapes jutted out. Shapes like legs and arms.

  A breeze shuddered through the field. After the woman brushed the hair from her face, she saw a fully formed creature before her. It towered above her, like some nightmare from an ancient myth, as mud and stones and worms fell off of its limbs. The rising sun behind the woman reflected off two gleaming rocks in the figure that could easily have been mistaken for eyes.

  Mara smiled. “Greetings, old friend,” she said.

  Zak woke up in a panic. “Mom! Dad! Where are you?!” he cried.

  He threw off an unfamiliar blanket and stared up in confusion at a high, vaulted ceiling. The room was shaped like an octagon. Four of the sides were covered with floor-to-ceiling windows. Three sides were covered with tall bookshelves. A heavy door in the last wall was sealed shut.

  It took a few long moments before Zak realized where he was. That’s right, he remembered. I’m in Dr. Hoo’s library.

  Stiffly, Zak rose up from the sofa he had been sleeping on. He was still wearing the jeans and shirt from the night before. They were dirty and torn, with several spots of dried blood on his shirt.

  Zak shuddered. I’ll never forget those things that attacked us last night, he thought. I still can’t believe it really happened.

  Just then, the door pushed open with a slow creak. Zak twitched nervously.

  “You’re finally awake!” said a small blond girl.

  Zak let out a sigh of relief. “Louise,” he said. “Where is everybody?”

  “Me and Dr. Hoo are eating breakfast,” she said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “He asked me to come check on you.”

  “But what about Pablo and Thora?” Zak asked. “Where are they?”

  “They stopped the trolls out in the field,” Louise announced proudly.

  “So, they’re still gone?” Zak asked.

  Louise nodded. She looked calm, happy, and at ease. Great, thought Zak. A little kid is handling all of this better than I am.

  Suddenly, Louise’s eyebrows shot up. She ran past Zak and pounced on the sofa. “There you are!” she exclaimed.

  Nestled within the folds of Zak’s blanket was a small brown and white bunny. “I looked for you all night,” Louise said, nuzzling it.

  She turned to Zak. “Did you find him?” she asked gleefully. “Thank you so much!” Louise hugged Zak around the shoulders. The bunny’s soft ears tickled Zak’s chin as she hugged him.

  Zak shook his head. He felt dizzy and confused. A dull pain ached in his head. He felt blood crusted under a nostril.

  “The doctor said you were in a car accident,” said Louise, playing with her pet.

  “How did you know that?” Zak muttered.

  “After the trolls were gone, you sat down on the sofa and fell asleep,” said Louise. “You kept mumbling about your mom and dad.”

  “Oh,” Zak said, finding it hard to focus. A buzzing sound seemed to be slowly filling his head.

  Louise ran to a window. “Buzz, buzz,” she said.

  Zak walked up next to her and looked out. The buzzing was coming from outside. Dark, glistening clouds spiraled into long funnels.

  “Look at all those flies!” cried Louise.

  Louise was right. The clouds were, in fact, twisting swarms of insects. Thousands of them. They flew past the house to the south, following County Road One.

  “Where are they going?” asked Louise.

  “No idea,” said Zak. He heard more buzzing. He lowered his gaze to see several large houseflies banging themselves against the glass. Zak flipped the latch and opened the window. The insects zoomed off to join the swarm.

  “Cool!” cried Louise.

  I think I’m gonna be sick, thought Zak.

  Louise turned away from the window. Still holding her bunny, she grabbed one of Zak’s arms with her free hand and pulled him toward the door. “Come on,” she said. “You look hungry!”

  From the edge of the field, Thora and Pablo could see Dr. Hoo’s house. “It looks taller from this side,” Thora said.

  “I know,” said Pablo. “It’s weird, but I swear it was only two stories yesterday, but we walked up four flights of stairs.”

  They walked along the line of trees that marked the boundary between the field and the doctor’s overgrown yard. Above them, the highest tree branches blocked the sunlight from above.

  Thora shivered in the shadows. She glanced around the yard, taking it all in. The scraggly bushes next to the house reminded her of crouching trolls — like the one that had sung to her in the woods. The knobby, leafless branches looked like the arms that had reached for her.

  Are the trolls really gone? she wondered.

  Next to the edge of Dr. Hoo’s house was a tall bush that still had most of its leaves. It stood as tall as a man and swayed gently in the breeze. There was a strange, shifting shadow on the other side of it.

  Suddenly, she heard a whisper. Thora … don’t forget me …

  “What did you say?” Thora asked Pablo.

  Pablo frowned. “I didn’t say anything,” he said. “Oh, you mean about the house?”

  “No,” Thora said. “Did you say something after that?”

  “Nope,” Pablo said. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you feeling okay?”

  The sunlight was inching farther down the branches of the trees. Soon, the sun would be creeping above the roof. But the dark and gloomy bush seemed to be growing darker and larger.

  Thora … I’m hungry …

  “You’re hungry?” Thora asked Pablo.

  “I guess,” said Pablo. “Are you?”

  I need your help …

  Thora swung her head left and right. It’s not Pablo’s voice, she realized.

  It felt like whispers were coming from all around her. Cold shivers ran up and down Thora’s spine. “Where’s the door?” she asked, her voice cracking.

  “What?” said Pablo.

  Thora ran past Pablo and rushed toward the house. “The door!” Thora repeated. “The bushes are blocking the door!”

  A thick barrier of intertwined branches and vines had risen between them and the front door.

  “Thora, wait!” Pablo cried. But she was already worming her way through the bushes, shoving branches aside. Twigs snapped. Vines dragged behind her, seemingly sucking her in.

  Pablo pushed himself in, following her path. Vines clung to his shirt and his jeans. Pablo pulled them off hastily.

  The bushes grew thicker and darker the farther they ventured. With each branch they pushed aside, more whipped back at them.

  “How much farther is it?” called Pablo.

  Thora put her head down and kept shoving. At one point, the branches grew so thick that they seemed to block out all light.

  Thora … Thora …

  No, she thought. I won’t listen to it!

  Thora’s arms were scratched and bleeding, but she kept pushing forward, ripping vines from her arms and legs as she moved. Finally, she emerged on the other side, scraped and bloody. She let out a sigh of relief.

  “Thora!” cried Pablo’s voice. “Help!”

  “Take my arm!” Thora said.

  She extended her small white hand through the webbed branches. She felt a strong tug on her hand and pulled Pablo through the dark and into the light.

  Pablo leaned against the wall, panting from the effort. The door stood a few feet away. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m — I’m just tired,” Thora said. “And hungry.”

  “Me too,” said Pablo.

  As Pablo closed the door behind them, Thora noticed a darker shape within the twigs and branches. It looked like a shadow that formed the outline of a person.

  Thora … Thora … Thora!

  “Thora?” Pablo said. She looked at Pablo and saw a silver light shining in his eyes. A
t that moment, the whispers stopped.

  Without saying a word, Pablo led Thora into the house, toward the welcoming aroma of fried eggs and bacon.

  Bryce Gamble was no longer lying on the ground in the forest. Somehow, after what seemed like centuries, he had pulled away from the vines and grass. Slowly, he had crawled to the edge of the forest where he saw a house in the distance.

  It felt like months had passed since he’d been separated from Thora in the forest. They’d been looking for Louise, and lost sight of each other.

  Food, he thought. I must have food.

  Hunger pushed Bryce onward. He trudged closer to the house. Each step felt as if his feet had turned to rock. He stopped to catch his breath by the corner of the house.

  The sun was rising higher. The light stung his face and hands. He wished he could hide from the light.

  Suddenly, a shadow covered his limbs. It formed around his body like a second skin, cooling him. Calming him. The darkness around him grew deeper and thicker. He felt safe and protected now. He also felt stronger.

  Then Bryce heard voices. A girl and a boy, walking together, talking. They were heading toward the house. Toward him.

  Thora …

  Thora glanced around, but kept walking.

  Bryce tried to call Thora’s name, but his lips wouldn’t move. Shadows shaped like vines were wrapped around his mouth and face, changing him …

  Thora … help me …

  Why doesn’t she stop? Bryce thought. It must be Pablo’s fault. Yes, it’s all his fault.

  Pablo and Thora were talking to each other. Bryce couldn’t understand the words they were speaking. It sounded like another language. But Bryce knew Pablo was taking Thora away. Stealing her.

  No! Bryce thought. I won’t let him!

  Now Thora was running. Bryce had to stop them. Something made him feel like it was important to prevent them from entering that house.

  I’m so hungry…

  Why don’t they see me? Bryce wondered. He tried to grab them. It took all of his willpower to grasp onto Pablo’s clothes and arms. The shadow clinging to Bryce made it seem like Pablo was passing right through him. The darkness surrounding Bryce was so thick now that he could barely see at all.