The Huldra Hostility

by Michael Almich

  Daniel looked at him and turned back to the window. Suddenly, he pointed to the northeast!

  “There! Another!”

  Shy turned to the right and could easily make out another bobbing light. Sam had noticed their intentness and moved over with them.

  “What is it?” He said in his gravelly voice.

  “We think it is trolls… or, a will-o’-the wisp” Daniel added doubtfully, glancing at Shy.

  Shy too, was already beginning to doubt the will-o’-the wisp possibility.

  Sam saw the light now too, and all three boys tracked it from right to left across their vision. Eventually it too faded out of sight.

  They looked for more.

  Shy spared a quick glance back at the other boys. No one was paying any attention except Eddie. Daniel saw his glance and looked back too.

  “See, he is spying on us.” Daniel said.

  “What is he supposed to do?” Shy retorted. “No one is even talking to him!”

  The two friends looked at each other with a bit of hostility, and then they both began to giggle. They looked back out through the screens.

  Sam pointed this time!

  “I see three!” He rasped.

  Daniel and Shy looked, and sure enough, three more lights bobbed through the forest. These, however, were coming from a different direction. They appeared from the southwest, heading north.

  “What is going on?” Daniel questioned to no one in particular.

  He jumped when a response came from directly in front of them. Shy’s vision popped, so he assumed it did for the other two as well. There stood Tom T, hands on his hips, following the lights with his eyes.

  “I told you, Shylock. I warned you. She gathers an army. This is war… or will be. Those are troll lanterns, and more trolls accompany them than the number of lights you see. Trolls, reds, goblins, and worse… She gathers them. If and when she sends them against us I will not be able to protect you.”

  With that warning, he took off at a run. He moved so swiftly, that many would assume he had just disappeared.

  The three boys heard silence behind them and turned to look at the others. They had evidently heard the warning, or at the very least seen the nisse with their new-found vision. They all stared.

  Tad had been engrossed in his book, and had missed all the activity, but sensed the sudden attentiveness in the Hive. He looked up questioningly. The boys still stared at where the nisse had been. Eddie must had heard the voice of the nisse, but he had not been able to see him. The boy was looking a little unsure, Shy thought.

  Quickly Daniel took control and said, “Tad, how about a story?”

  The lithe, average sized counselor stood and stretched like a cat.

  “Ooooo…. I s’pose. But a short one,” Tad began as he moved in front of all the boys.

  Shy looked at Daniel as if to say, nice one! Daniel gave him a slight nod in reply. Then, as they maneuvered into position to listen to Tad, Daniel whispered, “We need to talk to the others tomorrow… plan the skit and our escape to find the fossegrimen.”

  Shy nodded this time.

  “And…” Daniel said, “we need to talk about this army…”

  Shy just looked up at Tad, he didn’t want to think about an army of unseelie.

  Chapter Eight

  Sunshine and chocolate chip cookies had been taken from the world

  Several days passed and the group of boys worked on their skit. They had to include Eddie, so discussing their plans had been difficult. That first day, they basically joked around and wasted time, as boys in the summer tend to do. That night Daniel rounded them all up, except Eddie, and laid out his plan for the skit. They would tell Eddie what he needed to know the next day.

  From that point things went smoothly. They even rehearsed the skit a couple times. The key part involved Eddie thinking they were trees and chasing Shy, Sam, and Daniel off into the woods with his axe. The three would just keep running at that point, straight to the waterfall, in search of the tantalizing half-truths of the fossegrimen.

  ***

  The boys were not the only plotters sneaking around with their plans. Eddie was determined to get his hands on this potion that the other boys claimed to have. It was easy to sneak off to search for it, because the others never included him anyway. So, when Daniel quietly gathered the boys for their secret meeting, Eddie went off to search each of their cabins. He had watched secretly, and knew how to get into each of the cabins in the trees. His first stop was Sawyer and Finn’s cabin. He doubted that he would find what he was looking for here. These two boys seemed a little hyper to Eddie. He doubted that Daniel, the obvious leader, would allow them to hold onto this secret recipe. However, he needed to rule them out, and it was the closest cabin to the Raven. So, he slid down the smooth pine pole, polished from years of use, into the Cardinal cabin.

  The cabin was an unmitigated disaster! Somehow, the Raven cabin was picked up every day. Henry had originally assumed Shy was a neat freak and he was picking up after them every day. Now he was starting to wonder if it was this Tom T creature that they kept talking about; the one he had heard speak in the Hive. Eddie shook his head. It was so hard to believe that a fairy creature was real. He had to find that potion.

  He looked around the strewn clothes and blankets. He saw parts of cookies and other snacks sitting around that had been smuggled from the Lodge. These two trouble-makers, and that is definitely what they were from what he had seen, must have made that creature angry. It was definitely not picking up their cabin. This was more than one day’s mess.

  He couldn’t see anything that would qualify as a potion or recipe, and so decided to move on. He looked around and realized that he didn’t know how to get out! There was no obvious exit. No trapdoor and trampoline like the Raven cabin. He had watched the boys go in, but never thought to wait to watch them come out! In the end, he climbed back up the pole.

  He moved higher into the trees over the ropes, planks, and other aerial pathways to the Eagle cabin. This was where Daniel and Sam stayed. It was likely that Daniel had the recipe. So, he grasped the rope and climbed laboriously hand over hand up into the Eagle cabin. It was similar inside to the Raven, and was neat and picked up. The trouble was, there was nowhere to hide anything. He found nothing. One chance left, he thought and climbed down.

  By now he was a little tired. He had done a lot of climbing, and his arms were continually tired from all the chopping of wood he had done. His ability with the axe had improved, however, and his arms were getting stronger.

  Finally he reached the Jay cabin. There would be no climbing here, only a tightrope walk over empty air. Luckily there was a rope to hang onto also. Eddie grasped the overhead rope with his newly callused hands and edged out over the forest. He moved slowly and as he got about halfway, he couldn’t resist the temptation, and looked down. Instantly his grasp tightened and his breath caught. Though it was getting dark, he could still see the forest floor far below. He looked back up at his hands and forced himself to keep moving.

  This cabin was two stories high! He quickly searched the lower level, and then moved up to the lofted area. He moved blankets, clothes, and pillows. Just like in the other cabins he found nothing. Dejected, but figuring that the boys would be returning soon he moved back down and prepared to leave. As he reached the screen door entrance, he turned back one last time, and something caught his eye. In the joists that held the lofted upper level was a leather pouch!

  He moved quickly now, grabbed the pouch and opened it. It smelled a little like a pine tree. There was a small jar in it that contained an oozy, semi-clear liquid. It was disgusting! It looked like the slobber from his neighbor’s St. Bernard dog back home. He could feel the time ticking away. Finally he forced himself to swab up a big glop on his finger, closed his eyes, and wiped it all around his eyelid.

  He waited. Nothing. Besides a little stinging where it had gotten into his eyes, he felt nothing. No change. No fairy magic. He screwed the
top back on the jar, placed it back in the pouch, and returned it to its place. He was angry now. He knew it! Those kids were living in an imaginary world. He berated himself as he left. How could he have fallen for such an unbelievable tale?

  He edged out onto the tightrope, still fuming. Halfway across, he looked to the platform that was his destination. He felt a strange sensation. Almost like time was slowing down. His vision became blurry. He assumed he had some of the jelly-like ooze in his eyes. He released one hand from the safety rope to wipe his eyes, and then tried to focus again on the platform. Suddenly he felt a pop in his vision. It felt like time - after being in slow motion for several seconds - had decided to catch up real quick. There, standing grumpily on the platform ahead of him, was a small, hairy, man-like creature! It was wearing ragged clothes and glaring at Eddie!

  Eddie, in shock, let go of the safety rope with his other hand. He felt dizzy. He felt himself lose balance and begin to fall into the dark forest below!

  Then, he felt himself jerk to a stop by his arm. Something had him. He felt himself swing back and forth as he was carried toward the platform. He was then pulled upward, onto the platform, and face-to-face with Tom T!

  “So, you decided to seek out the sight also?” The bristly hairs moved on the upper lip of the nisse.

  “Wh... who… what are you?”

  “You will see much that you don’t know of now, angry one. I am the least of your worries. You should stay close to the others. They, at least, have some knowledge of the situation they are in. It is getting very dangerous here in the forest. Especially for those with the sight. Eventually for everyone…”

  With that cryptic answer, the nisse was gone.

  ***

  When Shy returned to the Raven, he saw Eddie bundled in his hammock. It appeared that he was shivering, maybe even crying. Shy instantly felt bad. If he hadn’t been at the secret meeting with all the other guys, he would have assumed they had done something mean to Eddie.

  “Eddie, what’s wrong?”

  “Leave me alone.” The boy whispered.

  “Did something happen?”

  Eddie sat up in his hammock and yelled at Shy, “I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!”

  He then lay back down, facing away from Shy.

  Shy was taken aback. He wondered if he should go get Tad. In the end he decided that maybe the boy was homesick, and he should just leave him to work it out for himself.

  ***

  The Fourth of July was filled with fun and games. It seemed to Shy that every year the Fourth was perfectly sunny and hot. This year was no different. As he ate lunch on the picnic tables out behind the Lodge, he listened to Henry drone on about some online game he had played this past year. His mind drifted. He wondered how his mom was spending the Fourth. He felt a pang of homesickness along with guilt that he wasn’t with her. As he explored the guilt, he realized that part of it was due to the fact that he hadn’t thought much of her or his dad since he had arrived at camp. He had been too busy. At least his mom had Shep to watch over her. Shy felt that no fairy creatures would ever bother her with Shep on guard.

  He was woken from his thoughts when Portia slid onto the bench next to him.

  “Hi!” She said in her bright way.

  Shy felt his stomach start to flip, as it often did when Portia was near.

  “Hi!” He replied with a smile.

  He saw out of the corner of his eye that Claire had also moved in next to Daniel. He glanced at the Lake cabin girls’ table. It seemed suspicious to him that they were all looking somewhere else. They were usually always keyed in on Claire, if not Portia. Something was afoot.

  Portia’s arms were tan and lean, Shy noticed when she slid her hand onto his. She had some kind of a popsicle in her other hand. He looked up at her face and saw her eyes were on him. He blushed.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Dunno.” Shy replied. “You guys ready for your skit?” He asked. He could feel the warmth from her hand radiating into him. It seemed like all he could think about was how energized he felt with her hand on his. He sat up a little straighter. Electricity charged into him from her grasp, almost to the point where he couldn’t stand it. She was answering his question but he couldn’t think of anything else but her hand.

  “… right? Shy? Are you even listening to me?”

  “What? Yeah, I mean, well…”

  It seemed to him like her hand grasped his even tighter now. He looked up into her eyes. She was looking at him, and smiled. Her white teeth matched the white of her eyes, and each contrasted with her bronze skin and bright blue eyes. He was simply mesmerized and couldn’t make sense of the words coming from her lips.

  “… you OK?” Shy heard her ask as concern flashed across her countenance.

  He pulled his hand away and looked away from her face and forced himself to focus.

  “Yeah, sorry. I’m just really tired. Eddie has been dreaming the last couple nights and keeping me awake.”

  It really wasn’t a lie; the boy had been talking in his sleep and having nightmares. Besides he couldn’t tell her she was so lovely that he couldn’t think straight. He felt the red creeping up into his face again, and tried to force it away.

  She looked right into his eyes, and appeared to believe him.

  “So Shy,” she began, “what are you guys up to? I mean we know something is up. You all have been acting strange lately… not stupid boy strange… not like Sawyer does. You have been pretty quiet, and whispering… it’s just not like you all.”

  He had been trying to look away so as not to give anything away by his expression. He had sneaked a look at Daniel and saw that Claire must be pressing him for information in the same way.

  “Shy, we know something is up, and we want in.”

  He looked back to her sharply. There was no way he was going to put her in harm’s way like he had last summer. The huldra had her under its power, and he didn’t want that to happen again.

  “Nothing is up. We don’t have any plans.” He lied.

  She gave him a look that said she clearly didn’t believe him. Shaking her head, she stood and walked back to her table. She didn’t look back. He felt like sunshine and chocolate chip cookies had been taken from the world. He almost stood up and went after her to tell her the whole plan. He felt empty inside, and wasn’t sure if it was because he had lied to her, or simply because she wasn’t next to him anymore.

  Ralph, who had been sitting on the other side of Shy, elbowed him in the ribs and leaned in close.

  “You did the right thing Shy. Way to stay strong!”

  “I feel bad for lying.” Shy whispered back as he stared at the Lake girls’ table. He hadn’t realized that Ralph had been listening in, but now turned to the shy, quiet one of their group.

  “You think this is gonna be dangerous, right? I mean, when I really think about it, I am pretty scared.” Shy admitted.

  “I am terrified,” he said, “but I don’t want to miss a thing. I started a journal last summer Shy. I am writing down everything that happens. Someday, maybe I will write a book!” He patted a little leather bound notebook that sat under his elbow.

  Shy sensed the excitement in his voice. Maybe Ralph was coming out of his shell a little, just like Shy himself did last summer. Shy glanced at the notebook, and then up at Ralph.

  “It will be good to have our adventures written down Ralph.” He encouraged the other boy.

  Daniel came and sat down next to Shy with a plop.

  “Girls!” He said with frustration. “Claire was trying to root our plans out of me. She claims they want to help. At first I thought one of you had told her what we were planning. She talked like she already knew. She can be sneaky smart, that one.”

  Shy smiled. Claire did have a very crafty side underneath her bossy exterior.

  “Portia just tried the same with me. When I wouldn’t tell her, she just got up and walked away!” Shy said.

  “Daniel cracked his knuckles and said,
“Maybe we better tell the guys to stay away from the Lake girls until further notice.”

  Shy nodded and looked back at the girls. Several of them were staring right back!

  ***

  Figuring it would be a long night, Sam, Shy, and Daniel attempted to nap back at the Hive that afternoon. They all came to the same conclusion: no one would be able to nap if Henry was anywhere nearby. They eventually banished him and the other boys from the Hive, but could still hear Henry’s shrieks from the far off walkways as the other boys played some version of Tag. So, they decided to practice their skit, and even included Eddie. By the time Tad rounded them up for the BBQ, they were famished from laughing at the ad-libbed lines and actions that had been added to the skit. Even Eddie was laughing and joking with them all, which surprised Shy.

  They took the long path down to the shore, passing by the beach opposite the Lake cabins. The girls were just making their way across the lake, paddling their aluminum canoes. Tad halted their procession to wait for Mad Meg and her campers.

  Shy looked at Daniel and raised his eyebrows. Daniel moved up alongside Shy.

  “I talked with everyone except Eddie. None of the guys will rat out our plan to the girls. Eddie doesn’t know anything about it, so we are OK there.” Daniel reassured him.

  Shy nodded, but as he looked back out at Claire and Portia, he saw several other girls returning his look. Penelope and Kennedi both made eye contact with Shy, and then looked at each other with a knowing smile. Shy had a bad feeling about the evening’s events. Those girls were up to something, he could feel it.