The Troll by Brian Darr

Troll!” The Coach shouted through the doors. “You’re
done!”

Chapter
4

    The
Guide ran across the barn when he saw The Troll reaching for the
latch. “What are you doing?” he asked frantically.
    “ We
don’t have a choice,” The Troll said.
    “ Are
you insane? Stall!” The Guide said.
    They
both suddenly looked up as they realized the helicopter was circling
the barn.
    “ We’re
trapped,” The Troll said. “We have a better chance if we
talk to them.”
    “ Talk
through the door. Iris and I will take the chopper down.”
    The
Troll didn’t like that the Guide seemed to have teamed up with
Iris, but couldn’t deny that they were invested in their cause
while The Troll was anxious to stab them in the back. Iris was
exactly the kind of girl The Troll liked though, and not in the way
that he would catcall her from his keyboard. She looked like the girl
next door that every guy in the neighborhood wanted. Part of The
Troll had been aware of just how consumed he was with the real
world—just how unique and adventurous the position he’d
been thrust into was. He’d played games on-line and pretended
the avatar was him and it was always thrilling, but somehow he wasn’t
able to find that same sensation. The fear of death was in the way,
but as he watched Iris and The Guide jump into action, he realized
that they either didn’t believe they were going to die, or
didn’t care. He couldn’t understand how a cause could be
more important than living. If he died right now, he’d have no
way of knowing if they even won. He’d die assuming they’d
lose, and it would be for nothing. But he was forced to adopt their
attitude for the time being because there was no other option and
deep down, he knew The Guide was right. If the bounty hunters broke
through the doors, The Troll was likely dead—especially since
The Pilot was out there.
    He
told himself to get on board. He didn’t believe it possible
that The Guide could take down the chopper, but what if he could? And
what if they got away? And what if they made it to Vegas?
    “ So
how did you cheat?” The Troll shouted through the door. It was
all he had…taunting…putting them on the defense.
    “ Open
up!” The Coach shouted. “Or we’ll burn it down!”
    “ You
don’t want me to open the door!” The Troll shouted back.
“Because I’ll fight you.”
    There
was a long pause on the other side and then the sound of muffled
laughter. They believed he was outnumbered, but they didn’t
know he had company that was willing to fight. They’d have to
beat the chopper first, and since there was no real hurry on their
end, The Troll knew he could stall for a while. “Who’s
all out there?”
    “ Me,
The Acrobat, and The Mortician. The Pilot is overhead! You don’t
have a chance!”
    “ What
will you do to me when I come out?”
    “ What
do you think?” The Coach shouted with joy in his voice.
    “ I
thought you were all supposed to compete to catch me! Why are you
teaming up?”
    “ Who
cares?!”
    “ Who
will get the credit for the kill?”
    “ You’re
wasting time!”
    “ Why
wouldn’t I dumb-ass?” The Troll asked. He wanted to
regret calling them names, but for a moment, he realized this was
fun. Maybe more fun than scary.
    “ Because
if you make it hard on us, we’ll make your death slow!”
    The
Troll bit his lip, unsure of how to proceed. He was successfully
scared. The last thing he wanted was pain. He turned and saw The
Guide and Iris were gathering supplies from the barn. Pieces of scrap
and metal tools. They were tossing them to the second level in a
pile. He was relieved just to know they had a plan. The last thing he
wanted to do was ruin it. He had to keep going.
    Iris
ran up the ladder to the second story and to the corner of the barn
where the roof descended and met the wall. She ran her fingers across
the wall, searching for a loose board. When she found it, she tugged,
keeping track of where the chopper circled at all