Under the Bridge: Part Thirteen

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten,Part Eleven, Part Twelve

We passed through the trees and made it back out under the bridge.

“Hurry!” said Mygle. “We need to close it!”

“How?” I asked.

“Simple.”

It didn’t matter because the troll came through and knocked over all three of us.

“Did you think you could get away that easy?” the troll asked us.

Mygle and I put up a fight against her but it was all moot, she was dominating us and we stood no chance.

She knocked Mygle against wall which rendered him unconscious. If I didn’t stand a chance against the troll with him, I was definitely screwed now.

She walked up to me and towered above me.

“Pathetic human,” she said.

“Paladin,” I corrected her.

“No matter. You’re dead.”

The troll brought up both of her hands, ready to bring them down to end my life. Suddenly there was a gun shot and the troll jerked and fell backwards. I looked back and saw Kerry on the ground with a red mark on her forehead. She had obviously fired the gun and the kickback was too much for her.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity I got up and double kicked the troll back towards the wall. As it started to fall back through the door she grabbed on the sides to keep from falling back.

“This is not the end,” she promised. “I will be back, Wes Parker. There is a storm coming your way and you will not survive.”

“It’s time for you to go,” I told her as I kicked her back into the world from whence she came.

Mygle finally woke up and saw what had happened.

“Close it!” he yelled.

“I don’t know how, Mygle,” I told him.

“Slash it with your axe.”

I picked up one of my axes and slashed the spot where the magical door was and it made a huge cut. At first it seemed like it only made things worse but eventually it hardened and it was nothing more than a stone wall.

“Huh,” I said. “I never knew they could do that.”

“I feel like I’ll regret telling you that,” Mygle whined.

I looked back over at Kerry and she was shaking and wide-eyed. I walked over to her and she jumped as I tried to pick her up.

“It’s OK,” I promised her. “They’re gone now.”

Reluctantly she let me help her up and we walked her home.

“I’m sorry I got you into this,” I said.

“I just want to get home,” she complained. “I want to forget everything that happened.”

“Kerry, I’m sorry.”

“Just get me home.”

I did just that, feeling a deep regret in the pit of my stomach. When we got her back she went to run inside but I grabbed her by the arm.

“Please let me go,” she begged.

“Wait,” I said. “I want to give you something.”

“What?”

“This.” I flashed her memory, taking away the good and the bad. All I had ever wanted was to be with Kerry but she was too terrified of the person I had become.

That night I had found a new motel to stay at given that I had pretty much destroyed the last room I stayed in. I let Mygle spend the night with me but in the morning I made him go. He didn’t fight me because he had other places to be anyway. I hate to admit it but I was glad that he had been with me. I don’t think I would have made it through this ordeal without him.

My bike was finally ready by noon that day. Rodney was still working the counter and had taken my card for payment. It was more than I expected but I had an unlimited supply of money, so it didn’t matter.

When he brought my keys over to me he pulled them back as I reached for them.

“I’m not in the mood, Rodney,” I told him.

“Come on,” he said. “Grab it.”

As I reached for it again he pulled it away. This time I punched him in the stomach and he dropped the keys in my hand.

“Thanks,” I said, and walked away.

At least I was going to walk away with some satisfaction. But one thing was for sure: I was never coming back to this town again…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Twelve

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven

When I hit the ground I rolled away from the trolls who immediately converged on Mygle and I. The giant troll threw Mygle as well. The troll that I landed closest to was obviously the first one to get to me. It swung down with its giant sword but I knocked it away with both my axes and spun around. I was within inches of cutting off its head but it moved out of the way. At the same time another troll came in and tried to stab me, but I sidestepped, only to be kicked by a third troll. I rolled back at least 15 feet.

Kerry screamed and one of the trolls went to hit her. I brought out my Desert Eagles and shot it until it fell to the ground. I didn’t get to shoot any others, though, as the troll that kicked me knocked them out of my hands. I reached for my axes again and took out one of the troll’s legs. Despite all of what was going on I took time to realize how disgusting it was.

I chanced a look over at Mygle and saw that he was doing OK against the two trolls that were keeping him occupied. I only had one troll left. That is after I beheaded the one whose leg I had just cut off.

The large monster swung left and right, trying desperately to kill me, but even though it could fight it didn’t stand a chance against me. After the 10^th or 11^th swing I finally went for the killing blow and hit it right in the back with both of my axes. That is when the biggest troll, the one we were really there to kill, hit me right in the right kidney. I’m not afraid to admit that that really hurt, and I mean really, really hurt.

“Pathetic creature,” it spat. “I have waited quite a long time for this.”

Mygle was done with his two trolls and tried to attack the large one, but it swatted him away like a fly. I tried to take advantage of the situation but it just punched me in the other kidney. I don’t know how we got the best of this creature the first time because it was like I had no fight training at all.

“Why are you so much larger than the rest of your kind?” I asked after a coughing fit.

It leaned in really close. “I am the first of my kind. I am the mother of all trolls.” That was one ugly she.

I looked at her with complete shock and awe. I have never met the first of any creature nor would I have expected to have met one. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you coming out now? You’ve clearly been hiding in here for a long time.”

“I was summoned out.”

“By what?”

“I have heard stories of you, Wes Parker. You have killed many of my kind and cousins.”

I sat back on my knees, getting a little more comfortable. “So you came out to bring me here? I summoned you?” That would certainly explain why they were attacking my home town.

She—it was hard to call the ugly thing in front of me a she—leaned in close again. “I was summoned because of you, not by you.”

“What does that mean?” I asked her.

“It doesn’t matter. You die now.”

She brought both her hands up and I readied myself to jump out of the way. I didn’t need to, however, as Mygle came in and knocked the she-beast right over. He took a large rock and bashed it over her head. It did nothing, though, and she threw him off of her.

“Run,” he yelled as he flew by. Normally I would do everything I could to kill the monster but I agreed with Mygle. Running was the best idea. She would clearly get the best of us.

I ran over to Kerry and quickly freed her from the post she was tied to. She didn’t try to stop me as I picked her up and started to run. As I passed by Mygle I picked him up and threw him on my back.

“Did you know she was the first?” I yelled to him.

“No,” he replied, “but who cares. Just keep running.”

“Right.”

Kerry looked like she was going to die.

Mygle was giving me directions, bringing us back to the door.

“It’s right between those two trees,” he told me.

“What do I do?” I asked.

“Just run between them.”

We were about 15 feet away and the giant troll was right at our heels. With every effort I had I jumped forward and went right for the middle of the trees…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Eleven

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Sven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Twelve

I expected to pass through the wall but instead my face connected with the stone, and it hurt a little. Mygle laughed and I was about to backhand him.

“What the hell?” I said.

“You can’t just walk in,” he told me. “Otherwise you guys would be able to come in whenever you want.”

“Do you think maybe next time you could tell me before I walk into a wall?”

“Sure. Just grab my hand.” With much disdain I did.

We both walked forward and passed through the portal into the other world. It felt like we were walking through jelly, which felt kind of cool. I was slightly excited but a little nervous because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. For all I knew I could be walking into a nest of monsters and would be dead in seconds.

Once we passed through no one met us and I was amazed to see the place looked like we were in some sort of forest. It smelled like a bunch dead animals were burned and everything was black and dark purple instead of green, but it was a forest nonetheless.

I looked around, cautious of anything that might come out and attack us but so far we were good.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“Home,” was all he said. I didn’t bother asking more. I got the idea.

“Come this way,” he said.

I took three steps when I heard something move behind me.

“What was that?” I asked as I whipped around.

“Don’t stop,” he told me, “just keep walking.”

I took his advice and kept going. I didn’t want to take any chances on getting eaten. That is when I heard the noise again. When I turned around this time, though, whatever was following was staring me right in the face. It looked curious and innocent, which meant that it absolutely wasn’t. It had a large head with sharp horns and it walked on all fours. It was standing as high as I was.

“Don’t move,” Mygle warned.

I didn’t respond back to him. I figured if he didn’t want me to move than he didn’t want me to talk either, so I just stared at the things big round, red eyes.

“I will get rid of this thing,” he promised.

“What are you going to do?” I whispered as quietly as I could.

“Just hold still.”

He grabbed the bag out of my hands and opened up the peanut butter and bread. The creature standing in front of me looked at him like he was either going to eat him or who knows what. I guess it just looked like he was going to eat him.

Mygle took a piece of bread and dipped it in peanut butter. He then threw it away from us and the monster immediately ran after it.

“Run,” Mygle said.

We both ran away from the thing as fast as we could, putting as much distance behind it as we could. I had no idea what it was and I didn’t want to find out as it mauled us.

“What was that?” I asked as we started to slow down.

“Don’t worry about it,” he told me.

“Oh OK.”

“Shh.”

“Don’t shush me.”

“Shhh!” he pointed past some trees into a clearing where the five trolls were holding Kerry.

“Kerry,” I whispered.

They had her tied to the post and were just standing around her. It was like they were waiting for something. Well, they were waiting for us, obviously. We moved in closer and tried to get a better look.

“There’s only five,” Mygle pointed out.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Where’s the other one?”

“Which one?”

“The big one.”

I knew the moment he said it where it was. I was lifted into the air and thrown toward the group of trolls…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Ten

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

I couldn’t believe it. They just took her right through the wall where they came from. I had never been to… uh… wherever it was they came from. For all I know it could just bring them underground or to some other world.

“Uh, oh,” said Mygle.

“What do we do?” I asked.

“We go in.”

“Can we?”

“Yeah, but we might not make it out.”

“That doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”

“Wait,” he said as he put his hand up to stop me. “We can’t just run in.”

“Why not?” I asked him.

“We gonna need something.”

“Like what?”

Mygle didn’t bother telling me what we needed but instead started heading back into town.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“To a food store,” he replied.

“Why are we walking?”

“Your bike is broken.”

“Yes, but you could teleport us.”

“Yeah I could. That is if you want to lose your arm.”

“OK then, but let’s go now.”

I agreed that it was best to walk rather than lose some of my limbs, but I decided that we should run. The longer we took the lower our chances of saving Kerry were. Mygle didn’t seem bothered by that, which was good because I would have just run anyway.

We arrived at the store and Mygle made himself invisible to everyone else but me. It was relatively busy but that was probably because of all the Black Friday shoppers that were done looking for their deals.

“What are we looking for?” I asked as we walked through the front doors.

“Just follow me,” he beckoned.

I did follow him until we made it to the isle with cleaning products. I thought I saw him going towards the window cleaner, which made me think we would be going up against vampires but instead he reached for the air freshener in the spray bottle.

“Grab that,” he told me.

“Why?” I asked as I took it off the shelf.

“It will keep unwanted things away and hide our smell. Well, you mostly.”

“OK. Is that it?”

“No. We need some peanut butter.”

“I take it you have been in there before.”

“Of course,” he said. “Trolls aren’t the only monsters that live through that doorway.”

“Great. More monsters. No offense.”

“Where we’re going there will only be trolls, I hope.”

“I guess that’s somewhat comforting.”

We found the peanut butter, got some bread to go with it, and made our way to the front. I didn’t really care if anyone thought I was crazy for talking to myself and luckily I didn’t run into anyone else that I knew.

After I paid for the “supplies” we left. I ran back to the bridge just as fast as I had left it and felt like we had already wasted too much time.

“We need to spray ourselves before we go in,” Mygle told me. So we did.

“When we get in there,” Mygle started, “try to stay with me. If you get lost you’ll have no way of getting out.”

“I really hate that I need you for this,” I said.

“Aren’t you glad I came?”

“Yeah.”

For a few seconds we just stared at the wall of the bridge until eventually I took a step forward and passed through…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Nine

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

“We need to go now,” I said.

Without waiting for a response I grabbed Kerry and just started running. I knew Mygle would be able to keep up so I didn’t bother looking back to see if he was OK. Kerry was screaming but I had to ignore it. The troll was unreasonably fast and it was gaining on us.

I was utterly confused. Trolls never, and I mean never, go out during the daytime. Plus it said it was coming back with more trolls so it didn’t really make sense. Maybe it wanted to get the element of surprise, which it certainly did. I had no idea it would be showing up like this.

Kerry was running so slow it was actually bugging me, so I just picked her right up and carried her in my arms. I wouldn’t be able to run as fast as I could if it was just me but it was certainly faster than we were going.

Mygle popped up next to us.

“I can hold it off for a second so you can get her to safety,” he said. I nodded my head and he stopped to fight the troll.

I looked back and saw Mygle had indeed slowed down the giant monster and that would give me the time I needed to get Kerry away from it.

We had been running down a street that was outside of the city so thankfully no one else saw what was going on, I think. We reached a safe distance away and I put her down.

“What is going on?” she asked, barely able to get the words out.

“Remember when I said I was hunting a troll?” I answered with a question.

“I thought you were kidding.”

“Obviously I wasn’t.”

“Is this what you have been doing?”

“Yes. I would love to stick around and tell you about it but you need to run now.”

“I’m so scared.”

“Look at me,” I said to her. I took her face and my hands and looked her straight in the eye. She was trembling so much I thought she was going to shake right out of my hands.

“You are going to be fine,” I promised her. “I need you to be brave and run. I will be able to kill this monster and you will get away. OK?”

She looked at me as if she wouldn’t be able to be brave but eventually she nodded her head.

“I’ll come find you,” I said to her.

She nodded her head again and then ran away. As I turned around to see what was going on with the troll and Mygle but I was met with a giant fist to the face. It felt like my head was knocked right off my neck and I saw spots. The troll had hit me so hard that instead of flying backwards I just fell right on my back, painfully hard.

As I hit the ground I expected the thing to continue to beat me but for the first few seconds I just lay there, silently. When I looked up I saw that Mygle had engaged the monster again, which was good because it might have killed me otherwise. I hated that I owed him.

I pushed myself up and looked around for my bag. I had brought it with me because I couldn’t leave it at the hotel or with my bike. With my axes in my hands I went in to give the little gremlin a hand.

“It’s about time,” he said as I took my first swing at the troll. I missed and it took another swing at me. I had managed to block it but it knocked me back a few feet as I slid across the ground.

“Sorry,” I replied, “but I was a little busy.”

“Just kill this giant ball of ugly.”

The troll didn’t like that comment. It grabbed Mygle by the neck and slammed him to the ground. I went to jump in but it just grabbed me by the throat. The thing was incredibly strong.

“I told you I would be back with more,” it said.

“WES!” I heard Kerry scream.

I looked over and saw she was being dragged away by a troll with five others surrounding them. I hadn’t realized that we were back at the bridge and they started dragging her to the wall.

“NO!” I shouted. They pulled her into the wall and she was gone.

The troll holding me by the neck whipped me into the other side of the bridge and started for the wall it came from.

“Follow us if you dare,” it begged, and it was gone…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Eight

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

When I walked out of the bathroom Kerry was waiting for me, and so was Mygle. They both waved at me. I didn’t know why Mygle had stuck around given how frightened he was a second ago, and I had told him to leave.

“You all set?” Kerry asked as I sat down.

“Yeah,” I said.

“What was that about?”

“I thought I saw a ghost.”

“OK?” She seemed a little concerned. I wasn’t sure if it was for my sanity or for her own safety.

We ate the pizza and talked about what we had been doing. Well, she told me what she had been up to. I couldn’t tell her that I had been hunting monsters for the past five years. She would think I was crazy.

A lot had changed since I had been gone. She had a whole new group of friends. When we were younger and it wasn’t just her and I hanging out, there were three other friends that we hung out with. Apparently they all had a falling out and said that she had changed. It didn’t seem to bother her—she had time to get over it—but it bothered me a little. We were all good friends so the idea that I probably wouldn’t be talking to them even if I was still living my normal life was sad. I was very quick to take her side because she hadn’t changed a bit. She was still as nice and funny as she was back then. Everyone else clearly grew up to be jerks. We were both better off without them.

Mygle tried joining in on the conversation several times, trying to make me slip up and look like a lunatic but I just ignored him. Eventually he got bored and decided to just leave us alone. It was great after that point.

After we were done eating we decided to go for a walk. I hadn’t heard anything about my bike yet so it couldn’t hurt to spend more time with her.

“It seems like I have been doing all of the talking here,” she pointed out. “What has your life been like since you left here?”

I’ve been hunting monsters.

“There isn’t much to tell,” I lied. “When I left here I was taken in by a man named Drake. He taught me a lot. He was kind of a hard-ass but it wasn’t like he was mean. It was more teaching and making sure I knew the truth. Drake really helped me out when I needed it.”

“Where is he now?” she asked me.

I felt a wave of sadness and guilt rush over me as I thought about it. “He died.”

“I’m sorry, Wes.”

“Not your fault.”

She stopped in front of me and looked into my eyes. There was sadness in them. She put her hand on my cheek. It felt so warm and nice, and I felt my heart beat really fast.

“You know when we were growing up I always had the hugest crush on you,” she said. I just about collapsed on the ground right there. I couldn’t believe she had just said that.

“I did, too,” I admitted.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was 11 and intimidated.”

“You’re not 11 anymore.”

I started to lean in and felt the heat rushing up to my face. As I got closer and closer she didn’t pull away or stop me. My heart was starting to hit my chest so hard I thought it was going to burst out of my chest just like in the movie Aliens. That was a weird place to go at that moment.

We were within millimeters of each other when Mygle appeared next to us shouting. After my heart started beating again I didn’t even wait for it and just kicked him square in the chest. As he rolled away I looked over at Kerry and the shocked on her face was evident. She was shocked, I realized, because she could see Mygle.

“What is your problem?” I asked him.

“What is that?” Kerry asked. She became more and more frightened by the second.

“Do you have to ruin every moment I have?” I continued to ask him.

He was trying to say something but I had kicked him so hard that was having trouble trying to breathe.

“You deserve that you little jerk,” I said to him.

He shook his head and mumbled.

“What?” I asked.

He looked off to the side.

“Wes, what is that?” Kerry asked again and sounded more terrified than before. This time she wasn’t looking at Mygle but was looking behind me. I suddenly became aware of the thumping sound.

I knew what it was before I even turned around: the giant troll from the night before was charging right at us…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Seven

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

I stood outside the pizza place waiting for Kerry. I half expected her to not show up. It also occurred to me that this may not be a date and I could be over thinking it. This was way too nerve racking.

The man that I was chasing was a complete mystery to me. He was someone I’d never seen before and he honestly freaked me out. I’d never seen someone human-sized that could disappear like that. Plus, he seemed to be human. I tried to think back if there were any monsters that Drake, my mentor and teacher, had told me about that might be rare but there was nothing coming to mind. It made me worry.

It had been a few hours since I had seen Mygle and it was kind of a relief, but I wanted to ask him about the guy I chased. It was too late for that, though, as Kerry was heading towards me with a smile on her face. There was an equal smile on mine.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“I half expected you to be gone.” If I had killed the troll I would have been.

“I couldn’t get myself to leave.”

“Good.”

I found it odd that she had taken to me so quickly and didn’t feel too awkward about my parents dying. Then again she doesn’t remember how they died.

“Shall we?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she said.

We both entered the shop and the smell of pizza filled my nostrils. It made me realize how hungry I was. Kerry decided we were going to split a large but there was no way that I was going to let her get away with paying.

We sat a table while we waited for our pizza to cook.

“So where have you been?” she asked me.

“I’ve been to a few different places,” I answered. “Never really could find a place that felt like home.”

Her smile quickly faded. “I couldn’t believe it when it happened. It was all so fast. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

“Me either.”

“What happened?”

I had read the reports when they were released. It was a home invasion gone wrong and I was lucky enough to get out alive. It was obvious that Drake, or whoever was keeping my credit card in check, had some pull. Maybe it was the agency that covered it up.

“I don’t really remember,” I lied. “When I woke up I was in the hospital. Whoever…I must have been knocked out.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“It’s OK.”

The girl working the counter brought the pizza and sodas over to us. I reached for my soda just in time for Mygle to appear. I practically threw my soda everywhere. Just like a ghost, a gremlin can choose who can see or hear it. So, naturally I looked like a crazy person.

“Whoa,” Kerry gasped. “Are you OK?”

“Stellar,” I replied. “Will you excuse me?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

I took myself into the bathroom with Mygle right behind me, which was good because I had every intention of smashing his head into the mirror.

When we got in the bathroom there was another person in there so I didn’t say anything at first but just started cleaning myself off. Eventually the man finished his business and walked out. I turned to Mygle and put on the most furious face I could muster.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” I asked him.

“It’s not like you’ll melt,” he replied.

“I thought I told you to go away?”

“Eh. I couldn’t. Plus I knew you would still like me.”

“I don’t like you, Mygle.”

“Right. Didn’t look like the date was going so well.”

“It was just fine until you showed up. Wait, how long were you there for?”

“Not long,” he lied.

“Whatever.”

I finished cleaning up as much as I could. It wasn’t easy cleaning soda off of anything and I wasn’t going to feel good until I showered and washed my clothes.

“I want you gone,” I told him. “As soon as we walk out of here, go.”

He just nodded his head.

“Before you go,” I began, “there was a man that was following me earlier. I couldn’t really see he face because he had a black hat and jacket, but he had a deep voice and he disappeared. He transported. Do you have any idea what or who that could be?”

I could see the color drain from his face and his eyes opened wide.

“Nope,” he said.

“It doesn’t look like you don’t know,” I responded.

He just shook his head and walked away, leaving me in the bathroom by myself. Mygle was definitely lying to me and whoever that man or thing was scared the crap out of him…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Six

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven

I woke up to Mygle smacking me in the face as hard as he could. We then spent the next five minutes fighting in the room and making a complete mess. He was having a lot of fun while I on the other hand was really trying to kill him. It would really be no skin off my back if my axe were accidentally buried into his head.

After we managed to calm down I tried as best as I could to pick up. Luckily I had no limit on my card because we broke a lot of things. The worst part was that I might have to come back that night and I really didn’t want to face the workers. Maybe I would try to find another place to stay.

Before I went to meet Kerry I needed to get my bike looked at. Plus it was a few hours before we were supposed to meet, so I had some time. Mygle insisted on coming with me but I told him if he followed me I wouldn’t like him anymore. I didn’t really like him to begin with but it certainly struck home and he didn’t come with me.

The shop was surprisingly busy. Being a smaller town I almost expected them to be closed the day after Thanksgiving but they had to make money. I walked through the front door and noticed a couple of people waiting and a kid behind the desk. He looked to be about my age and the moment I walked up to him I immediately regretted it.

“Can I help you?” he asked as he looked up. For the first couple seconds he just looked at me but then a smile stretched across his face. “Squirt.”

“Rodney,” I replied. Rodney Hill. He was a grade above me and he always gave me the hardest time.

“Long time no see. Why are you back?”

“Visiting.”

“Who?” I could see that he genuinely felt bad for that comment. “Sorry.”

“I was just in the area and my bike was damaged.”

He leaned back so he could see my motorcycle.

“Jeez,” he said. “What happened?”

“Deer ran out in front of me,” I lied.

“How are you OK?”

“I got lucky.”

He started tapping his pen on the desk.

“I don’t know if we have time for you today,” he said, reverting back to his jerk self.

“Just tell me how long,” I sighed.

“Watch it. Don’t you remember the old days?”

I leaned right into his face. “That was a long time ago.”

My intimidation tactic didn’t really seem to threaten him. If he continued to give me a hard time, assuming that I would see him past this moment, then I would have to make sure that I made it clear that I could kick the crap out of him. Maybe I would kick the crap out of him.

“Calm down squirt,” he said. “We’ll take a look at it and call you. What’s your number?”

I gave it to him.

“We’ll call you soon,” he promised.

“I’m not a squirt,” I told him.

“Huh?”

“I’m not a squirt anymore. If you haven’t noticed, I’m taller than you are.”

He cracked a smile. I tossed the keys in the counter and walked out of there. I felt an old anger start to rise in me and I didn’t like it. It wasn’t that I was upset about what he said but the fact that it was making me angry.

I looked at my phone and realized that I still had over two hours before I needed to meet Kerry, so I still had plenty of time. That’s when I noticed a man with a black cowboy hat and a black coat staring right at me. He was a good distance away so I didn’t have the best view but it looked like he was smiling. It was hard to tell because the collar on his jacket was popped, covering the bottom half of his face.

I started walking toward him and he immediately walked in the other direction, confirming that he was watching me. We both walked down the street for a good two minutes and the pace was slowly picking up until we were both jogging. There was no way that this guy was going to be able to outrun me, so I decided to put it in high gear.

The man rounded a corner and was out of sight. I started to run as fast as I could but I didn’t get far. The moment I rounded the corner my feet came out from underneath me and I landed on my back about five feet down the alley. As the air started to find its way back into my lungs I turned around to look at the man. His face was still hard to see but he was laughing.

“Wes Parker,” he said.

I didn’t know what to say back but I didn’t have the time anyway. He spun around and by the time he did the full 360 he disappeared…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Five

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

Mygle and I looked back and forth at each other. He simply shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the first troll he had killed. The one good thing about trolls is disposing of them in very easy. They just slowly disintegrate, which is good because they are harder to move than an 18-wheeler.

The one problem was their weapons wouldn’t just disappear so we did have to get rid of them. If someone came by and saw a sword that was too big for two people to hold, it might raise some questions. We gathered them up and threw them into a hole we dug 10 feet in the woods.

“Anything about that seem weird?” I asked him.

“That troll was big,” he said.

“You knew that was going to happen.”

“I had my thoughts.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t want to say.”

“I’m going to cut your hand off for that one.”

“Go and try.”

I felt like backhanding him but it would be a waste of time.

“Why did the troll give up so quickly?” I asked. “And I have never seen a troll speak like that.”

“What would you expect?” he asked me.

“Me troll. Me hungry.”

“Ha!”

I smiled.

“Maybe the troll is smarter,” he said. “Maybe it was surprised by us.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve never met a smart troll. Then again I’ve ran into some weird things lately.”

“Like what?”

I filled him into what had happened over the past couple of months. For a few seconds he just stared at me.

“Does any of that mean anything to you?” I asked him.

He shook his head. I think he was lying.

“OK then,” I said. “We should stay here in case it comes back.”

“It won’t,” he promised.

“How do you know?”

“It said it wasn’t coming back until tomorrow.”

“It could lie.”

“It wasn’t.”

I was frustrated but I could tell he believed that to be true and that was enough for me. “OK.”

“Where are we staying?” he asked me.

“We? I’m going to see if I can find a room. You are going to find your own way.”

“Always so harsh, Wes.”

“I don’t like you.”

“Come on.”

“No.”

Needless to say, an hour later we were both held up in a crappy hotel room where some of the letters on the sign were either out or flickering. There was an awful smell coming from the bathroom and there was only one bed. I made it very clear that he was going to be sleeping on the floor. Surprisingly he listened to me.

I looked at the crumby clock radio and saw that it was getting close to midnight.

“You miss it?” Mygle asked me.

“Miss what?” I replied.

“Your old life?”

“No,” I lied to him. I did wish that I could get back to before finding out I was a paladin. “You?”

“No.” I could tell he was lying. I really wondered what could have happened that would have made him not want to be with his kind.

For the rest of the night neither of us said I word. Clearly we both missed our old lives but we didn’t want to admit it to each other.

I thought about the next day and how I needed to get my bike fixed. I hoped the damages weren’t too bad and I didn’t think it was if I was still able to drive on it. It would probably be beneficial if I learned how to fix it myself but that would also require getting a hold of the parts.

A realization popped into my head, interrupting any other thoughts: I would have to follow through with going on my date the next day. Kerry was the love of my life and I had never been on a date before. I haven’t had much time to go on a date, OK? I’ve been a little busy.

I found myself more afraid to face Kerry than I was the troll. I was going on a date…

 

Under the Bridge: Part Four

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve

I knew Mygle wanted to work with me for a reason. He knew that the troll was going to be huge like this and he didn’t want to take it on alone. I have to admit I didn’t blame him because neither did I, especially after I saw the other three come out after it.

The three “normal” sized ones all carried some sort of weapon with them: a sword, a club and a spear. The large one didn’t have anything, which kind of made me nervous, more than I already was. It either meant it didn’t need it or that it wasn’t planning on doing anything. I pretended it was the latter.

They were already looking at us when they came out so it wasn’t really a surprise when they headed right for us.

“You knew it was going to be like this,” I muttered to Mygle.

“Kinda,” he replied. “I didn’t know there would be four.”

“Should I be worried?”

“I don’t know.”

He didn’t say anything else and went right in for a fight. I wasn’t as eager as he was so I waited to see which one he went for first. As he charged in, two of the smaller trolls stepped forward to meet him. Mygle was within 10 feet of them when he disappeared. He then reappeared behind one of them and took their head right off. I think I might have forgotten to mention that besides his little knife he had a very sharp short-sword. That little squirt always surprised me.

The other one was quick to learn, though, so when Mygle tried to pull the same trick again the troll simply ducked. Trolls are fast so the other one was able to prevent Mygle from killing it so quickly.

I had spent so much time watching Mygle fight that I failed to see the club swing right into my chest. The best way to describe how it felt would comparing it to getting hit by a truck. Luckily the bridge was there to stop me from flying away too far. That hurt just as much as the club hitting me.

Somehow the wind didn’t get knocked out of me, luckily, so I was ready when the troll tried to hit me again. I rolled out of the way and he smashed the stone wall instead. I used that open opportunity to swing my axe right across his midsection. It left a scratch but it moved out of the way just in time to avoid death.

I looked over at Mygle and saw that he was wearing the troll down. He might not be able to overpower the troll but he could certainly outlast it.

The troll I was fighting brought the club down at me but I knocked it out of the way and spun around. As I made the full 360-degree spin I brought my axe around right across the monster’s throat. I’ll leave out the gory details but the thing was definitely dead. Mygle just about had his down but I didn’t want him to get the glory of killing two of them.

I took my axe and threw it as hard as I could. The thing buried into the troll’s back and fell to the ground. As it fell to its face I ran up to it, ripped my axe right out of the troll, and jumped into the air at the large troll.

“Hey,” Mygle complained as I flew by.

So far the giant troll had stayed back but I figured I would take the chance that it wouldn’t be ready for me. I was wrong. It took its large arm and swung, swatting me out of the way like I was a useless fly. I rolled on the ground and dropped both my axes.

Mygle decided that he would try as well but he ended up right next to me.

“We are going to have to work at this together,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mygle agreed with me.

“I’ll fake high and go low and you vice versa.”

“OK, yeah.”

We both got up and ran at him. I grabbed my axes and faked like I was going high and Mygle did the opposite. The giant troll fell for it and went to swat us both. When we both switched directions I could see the confusion on its face. The two of us swung at it; I cut its arm as it tried to block me and Mygle got its leg. As I flew past it I spun around and kicked it in the back of the head. The thing fell to its knees.

“Ah ha,” Mygle yelled.

The troll moved quicker than I expect and rolled back into the wall. Its head was still sticking out so it could talk to us. It spoke in a very deep voice.

“You may have bested me now,” it said, “but I will return with more and I will take you.” Then it was gone.

I felt like it gave up a little too easily. But I also felt like it was telling the truth and we were in big trouble…