Entry 17: 

The tower of steam in front of me was about twenty feet taller than my building. I wasn’t sure how Merith's circles worked, but I didn’t think they’d stop a giant from stepping on me. So hiding inside my home wasn't much of an option. Running down the road to give it the slip was easier for me, since I had places to hide.  But then I would be responsible for a Troll tearing up the city and killing innocent people. It’d be another reason for Merith to lock me up. 

Mullaly was a small park directly across the street from the gym. It had a large grassy field for picnics, and on the corner was a huge baseball field with bleacher seating. Lucky for me, no one was there at that hour, and I needed a spot to move where it didn’t involve me trying to fight a giant monster between cluttered streets and apartment buildings. I ran into the park, screaming, of course. 

“MERITH! HEY MERITH! I MESSED UP AGAIN! YOU WERE RIGHT! CAN I GET SOME HELP HERE!” I shouted, running deeper into the park. I didn't dare look behind me. I knew If I did, it’d just slow me down. My long legs had taken me pretty far, as I made it to the middle of the open field in less than a minute. Too bad, it only took five earth-shaking tremors from where I came from before I was airborne again. 

“WAHOOO COME ON!” I shouted. Dig-Doug, as I could call it now, had picked me up and placed me in front of its face. The thing’s mug had become a mashed up version of both Trolls' features, along with four beadies eyes like a real Archinary. Its thick obsidian fingers were so smooth that my hands kept slipping off as I tried to push myself out of his grip. If it wasn’t for my hoodie, my body would have been crushed from the pressure. I couldn’t speak, let alone scream, when it opened its mouth. 

The road to a Troll's stomach is laden with hundreds of rows of thin, squared, razors all turning in opposite directions surrounding a bottomless void. Not a place I wanted to be. Staring death in the face is never something ya get used to. This goes especially if you were just cheating at a handball game less than 10 minutes earlier. Wait, that might actually have checked out. Look, the one thing I’ve learned when it comes to facing a sudden, and even gruesome demise, is to face it. It's not gonna get worse, so ya might as well say something cool. I screamed a name I didn’t often say-before falling to the ground.

 I hit the field hard, rolling over a few times until I settled down. Groaning on my back, totally dazed, I stared up at the dead-eyed, hungry monster looking over me. I was trapped. Or so I thought. The Dig-doug had stopped moving. 

“What the…” I muttered watching the monster in front of me utterly frozen.

“WHAT...WHAT IS THIS?”  the Troll shouted, struggling to make sense of everything. That's when it collapsed. My body still had the good sense to move when I needed it. I pushed myself away, crawling backward as the beast dropped to its knees and elbows. It winced in pain looking like it was carrying the weight of the world on its back. 

“Merith? '' I muttered, looking around, but instead of a tiny elf in a jumpsuit, I got something much darker. They stepped out from behind Dig-Doug's feet. Dressed in all black, their face concealed behind a piece of cloth and a thin hood. He person wore tight black bodysuits with a squared-off  tactical vest that dawned white circle in the center. I knew what this person was immediately. 

Wasting no time, he started his attack, rushing Dig-Doug's left leg. He started palm striking the monster's feet before working up to the arms. The points of contact he made left glowing bright orange balls along the Trolls body that started to connect and spread across its body. Then he slipped underneath and jumped higher than a normal person should-touching the Troll's chest. When they landed, Dig-Doug started convulsing. The orange glow along the body had overtaken Dig-Doug, and resembled a flicking ball of energy that had formed the man's right hand. Hand. He backed off, waving at someone from where I was sitting. 

“NOW!” he shouted. Then a second figure in black appeared from behind me, walking towards the Troll. They were shorter, wider and holding a crystal Pike in her hand. It was time to end it. 

“W...WaRMbirtH!” Dig-Doug called out. I then saw something I had never seen in a Troll. There was a level of panic in those eyes that made my blood turn cold and made Raven hair flash before my eyes. I shot to my feet. 

“Hey guys, can we wait a minute?” I said, trying to sound reasonable. No one responded. “ Look, this isn’t a normal Troll anymore! I don’t think we have to kill-” My plea for leniency was stopped short by a shot to the chest. I didn’t see what hit me; it looked like nothing, but I was in the grass again, gasping like Dig-Doug. I sat up in time to stare at that big dufus as it mouthed one final request. 

“Help me?” I muttered before watching the beast get flattened. The Troll's head exploded into fleshy shrapnel while the rest of it sank into a giant crater in the middle of the field. It got quiet after that. The two in black walked over to each other, then turned their attention to me.