Chapter Text
Drek’s eyes are wide as the Sphinx claws at the two trolls, the older troll, Leppalúði is not moving however the older troll Drek can’t remember the name of is fighting against the Sphinx, he is dizzy and things are loud. Conner tenses, he sees the red of Drek’s cheek and the blood on the white snow growing wider. He looks over to everyone else. Mark looks Cassie, he knows they need to get out of here. Cassie is scared, she is afraid of dying, afraid of injuries, afraid of what might happen to her new friends, are they friends? She doesn’t really know yet.
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Everything is loud, the sphinx is panting and I hear Mark yell and I turn to him, he grabs Conners hand, looking over to Cassie and I. “Guys run now!” Mark shouts and we all run down the hill of the forest, the wind against my face is cold but I do not care. The car isn’t far away from us, only a few minutes but with the snow it makes it harder for me to run, I see Cassie having the same problem from our shared hight. I run fast on adrenaline breathing hard, the adrenaline is rising fast, there are sticks on the ground, half buried while still poking out of the ground, the rest on trees. Shouts are in the distance of the trolls and Sphinx, the fighting is violent and lasting longer than I expected with how fast the first one went down.
something feels wrong in my gut but I can’t place it nor do I have the time as we reach the bottom of the icy hill.
I look around quickly, they are all still with me, we are all out of breath but Conner seems to be the one most composed, it doesn’t matter right now though, I run south with the other three following beside me. Conner is no long questioning my directions as now there is slightly less snow but it’s obviously noticeable that we are heading to solid hard ground.
The feeling in my gut is getting worse, like something bad is about to happen but I see my car and relief starts to bloom as I slow down with the others.
“What the Fuck and who the fuck was that!” Conner yells, it seems he hadn’t known of the Sphinx and the stream that she protects, shouldn’t he have done research if he was gonna go hiking in the forest during winter or was he just being as stupid as he was when all that bullshit started.
“That was the Sphinx, she is supposed to be the streams guardian, from what she has said though when we were cornered, I think she might have expanded that a little and now the guardian of the full forest.”
“A little?” Mark asks with a raised eyebrow with Cassie looking between us as we all speak. Conner raises an eyebrow confused about the whole conversation.
“Yeah okay, now we got bigger problems besides us just getting away from the trolls which we have done.” Conner says looking reasonably stressed.
“What’s that?” I ask genuinely confused, If he starts his bullshit again about how he doesn’t want to get in the car with a fa-
“The trolls took my keys and I am assuming your keys as well?” He states it like a fact but it comes more like a question and I see looks of realization on the others faces but Cassie tenses from what I assume is from the realization.
I grab the pins from my pocket that Cassie had given me earlier and approach my car door, pushing the end of one pin deep and fiddling till I feel the correct placement as I insert the second pin above and press down slowly while twisting. I feel it loosen and the click that follows even without the sound. I open the door and look around, I know I have a second set of keys in my car just in case mine break while in it, it’s happened before and I am not ready for that to happen again, well I am prepared for that to happen but it’s more likely to not. This was definitely not a solution to a problem I didn’t think would ever happen.
“Alright guys get in fast so we can go-“ I cut myself off as I look at Cassie, she’s tense and looks like she just saw a rat jump out of a washing machine.
“Cassie, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” mark asks, obviously noticing something was up.
Conner also freezes as him and Cassie lock eyes, he seems to come to the same conclusion Cassie does, whatever that conclusion was.
“We have a problem.” Cassie says, her voice had gone quiet with her eyes showing a mix of panic and deep fear.
“What’s wrong now?” Mark asks now looking as worried and concerned as I feel myself, like a piece of a puzzle that is missing. That bad feeling form earlier has returned.
“Didn’t Gryla say she had kids?” Conners concerned voice said carrying through my ears like water going down a waterfall.
“So?” I ask, what is the point of this question and why would that matter right now?
Mark sighs, “Yeah, Gryla is from a myth, she is said to have 13 children, all have names that tend to match their personalities, they normally mean stupid things, I think one of her kids names mean door slammer or something like that?”
I can’t help but let out a small laugh “Really? You seem to know some about these trolls than, think that can be helpful for later?”
Mark shrugs
“What does them not being in the cave have to do with anything when they obviously aren’t here?” Something feels like it’s just out of place but Mark still seems just as confused as before along side me.
“If they were planning to chop us up today so we could be fresh for their kids than that means they have to be here, in other words-“
“We need to leave now,” Cassie finishes and it finally clicks in my mind that the troll’s children are somewhere nearby and too close to be safe.
“Shit we need to get in and leave before we become stew and not stay here any longer, lets go!” I say in a breathless exasperated tone and right before a bang rings out, loud and sudden.”
“Ketkrókur, I found them”
Mark’s eyes, already wide manage to widen more when he hears the name.
Shit