The Adventures of Azalea and Twig (book 5)

Chapter 16

"Ugh..." Pansy groaned, as she sat up slowly, holding her head. She was dizzy, and felt a little nauseous.

Her vision was blurry at first, but soon cleared, as she looked at her surroundings. She gasped, seeing Poppy and Branch on the floor next to her.

"Poppy! Branch!" she yelled, shaking them gently, but they wouldn't wake up.

"Come on, guys. Wake up. Wake up!"

"Oh... you're awake," she suddenly heard. She looked up, seeing the head hunter, standing on the other side of the cell door.

"Let us out of here!" she demanded, but he just chuckled at her.
"Don't worry. I've got plans for all of you. And the blue one..." He pointed to Branch, who was still unconscious on the floor. "Goes first."

He laughed, maniacally, beginning to walk away.

Pansy looked back at the two trolls, trying again to wake them up, but nothing worked.

She knew there was nothing she could do. All she could do was wait until they woke up on their own, though she had no idea how long that would be, and they needed to find a way out of there as soon as possible, or they were all doomed.

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"Ow..." Branch groaned, a few minutes later, slowly beginning to wake up.

Pansy looked over at him from where she sat on the floor, as he sat up, rubbing his head.

     "Wha... what happened?" he muttered. He turned his head, his eyes widening, as he saw Poppy.

     "Poppy!" he yelled, flipping over onto his hands and knees, trying to wake her up.

     "It's not gonna work," Pansy said, startling Branch a little. He jumped, turning to face her.

     "P... Pansy?"
"Don't worry, Branch. She's not hurt. She'll wake up on her own."

     He looked back at Poppy, tears in his eyes.

     Pansy saw he was worried, and went over to comfort him.

     "She'll be ok, Branch," she said, softly. He looked up at her, wiping his tears away.

Just then, Poppy began to move, sitting up slowly. She looked around, confused, her gaze finally resting on Branch.

"Poppy!" he yelled with joy, hugging her tight. "I'm so glad you're..." His words cut off, his eyes widening, as he remembered something.

"The kids! Where are the kids!?" he said, panicking, as he jumped to his feet, looking around frantically.

     "Branch, you need to calm down," Pansy said.
"Don't you tell me to calm down, women! My kids are missing, and possibly in danger! We're in danger!"

     He started hyperventilating, as he began to pace back and forth, his hands on his head, as he gripped his hair in his fingers.

     "It's ok, Branch," Poppy said calmly. "My dad isn't here either. That means they probably got away, and we'll get away too."

     She put her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes.

     "Ok," he said, taking a deep breath. "You're right. We're not gonna get out of here by freaking out."
"Actually..." they suddenly heard. "You're not going to get out of here at all."

     They all turned, seeing the head hunter with two other hunters.

     Branch put himself in front of Poppy, holding out his arms.

     "Take the blue one first," the head hunter said. "He's the biggest threat out of the three."

     Poppy's eyes widened, hearing what they were saying.

     "No!" she shouted, pushing her way in front of Branch.
"Poppy, stay back," Branch whispered, grabbing onto her shoulders, but she pulled away.

     "Take me," she said.
"What!? No way. Poppy," he grabbed onto her, pulling her back to him.
"Branch," she whispered. "This will give you and my mom time to think of how to escape."
"No, Poppy. I'm not going to let you do this."

     "So brave," the head hunter, interrupted, sarcastically. He looked at the trolls, seeing the fear on Branch's face at the thought of them hurting Poppy.

     "You know what... take the pink one. Make the blue one suffer a bit longer."
"No!" Branch shouted, blocking Poppy again. "I won't let you take her!"

     The hunters opened the cell door, instantly shoving Branch to the ground.

     "No!" he shouted jumping back up to his feet, and running to block Poppy again.

     He glared at them, breathing heavily. He wasn't going to back down. No one was going to hurt Poppy on his watch.

     Suddenly, one of the hunters pulled out a tranquilizer gun, shooting Branch with it. He stumbled, but didn't fall. He wasn't going to let them take Poppy.

     His eyes blinked slowly, as he struggled to stay awake.

     "Branch..." Poppy whispered, seeing how much he was struggling to protect her.

     Slowly, his vision blurred, as he began to fall backwards. Poppy caught him, lowering him down to the ground.

     "It'll be ok, Branch," she whispered to him, as he looked up at her, trying desperately to keep his eyes open. "Find a way out of here. Don't worry about me."
"Poppy..." he mumbled, barely conscious.

     The hunters walked over, grabbing Poppy, and dragging her away from Branch.

     "No," he muttered, trying to get up, but he just fell right back down.

     Poppy looked at him sadly, tears in her eyes, as they dragged her away.

     "No... please..." he said, his breathing getting heavier, as he fought to stay awake. "Poppy..."

     Slowly, his eyes blinked shut, everything going black.