Call of the Wild (rewrite)

Chapter 42

     "AHHHHH!" Poppy and Branch both screamed in terror as they began to quickly fall down into the deep, dark abyss, until suddenly... someone caught them, clinging tightly onto the back of Branch's jacket, the puppy troll still biting down on Poppy's cape, holding onto her tightly and refusing to let go. He had to keep her safe...

     Slowly, Poppy and Branch both looked up, shocked to see Slamm-oh holding onto them, keeping the two friends from falling to their painful untimely deaths.

     Branch's ears drooped down at the sight of this Party Crasher, his eyes widening in terror as he whimpered softly. He knew exactly what this lizard creature was going to do...

     "Hello, princess," Slamm-oh said, smirking evilly down at the two trolls who hung helplessly in his grasp. "I can't let you fall, now can I? You see... Bash wants you alive..."

     Slowly, his gaze turned to Branch, his eyes narrowing at the terrified puppy troll who could only whimper softly, staring up at this predator in fear.

     "And you..." Slamm-oh grumbled angrily. "He wants you alive too." The Party Crasher smiled fiendishly before continuing. "So he can dispose of you himself... painfully..."

     "Leave him alone!" Poppy yelled out, punching at the air threateningly, trying to scare off this threat. "Leave us both alone!"

     Slamm-oh smirked at her again, amused by her words. That little pip-squeak actually thought she could take him on!? Yeah right...

     "Can't do that, princess," he said with a slight chuckle. "You two are coming with me..."

     Slowly, he raised them up towards himself, pulling the two trolls up onto the edge of the cliff.

     Once he was sure it was safe, Branch quickly let go of Poppy's cape so that she landed on the ground, her bare feet sinking slightly into the snow below.

     "Run!" he shouted to her, begging her to leave. Begging her to get somewhere... anywhere that was safe...

     Shocked, the Party Crasher looked at Branch in confusion, still holding the little puppy troll off of the ground by the back of his jacket.

     "You can talk?" Slamm-oh questioned, stunned to hear actual words coming out of this creature's mouth when he had always known him to be silent.

     Poppy looked at him for a moment, and then quickly turned her gaze to Branch, her eyes wide in fear.

     Branch however, never took his eyes off of Poppy, pleading with her to just save herself...

     "Go..." he whispered, hoping she would listen, as a single teardrop fell from his eye.

     Finally, without even a single word... Poppy turned, quickly taking off at top speed, doing as she was told...

     Slamm-oh had been distracted by Branch talking, but finally noticed Poppy running away, turning to her with a scowl.

     "Hey! You get back here!" he yelled after her, but of course she didn't listen to him... she was listening to Branch... her best friend... he wanted her to run... so that's exactly what she did...

     The large Party Crasher didn't even try to run after her, standing in the same spot as he growled in anger, watching as the young princess escaped, quickly leaving his sight.

     Finally, he looked back at Branch with an evil glare, the little puppy troll shrinking down in terror, frightened by the sinister look he as getting from this monster...

     "I'll get her later," he hissed, bringing Branch up to his face so he could look him in the eyes. "Besides... Bash will be very happy when I bring you back to him, you little runaway."

     Branch gulped at his words, whimpering softly in fear. He knew Bash was going to hurt him... hurt him like he had always done in the past... but worse than that... they were still after Poppy! He just hoped she had actually gotten away. Far... far... away...

     Slowly, a sinister smirk began to form on Slamm-oh's face as he stared right at the terrified puppy troll in his grasp, coming up with a fiendish idea.

     "Bash said he wanted you alive..." he said softly. "But he said nothing about you being un-injured..."

     Suddenly... without any warning whatsoever... the large Party Crasher threw Branch, causing the little puppy troll to slam hard into a rock, bashing his head as he came in contact with it.

     Branch yelped in pain, falling right down to the ground, Slamm-oh laughing at how weak this little runt was.

     Whimpering softly, the injured puppy troll tried to stand up, but he just fell right back down, weak from the pain... too weak to do anything but lay there whimpering as Slamm-oh began to approach, pulling a large stick out of his pocket.

     Branch's eyes widened at the sight of the evil stick, trying once again to force himself up to his four feet, but he just couldn't move... he couldn't do anything but stare in terror, as this monster approached him threateningly...

     "Not... not the stick... please not the stick..." he begged, tears of fear beginning to form in his crystal blue eyes, but the Party Crasher didn't listen. Instead he just chuckled at this whimp's fear, whacking him hard with the stick several times, causing the little puppy troll to yelp out loudly, his cries of pain echoing over the mountain...

—————

     Poppy heard the sudden yelp, recognizing it instantly as her best friend. He was in pain... that Party Crasher was hurting him...

     Coming to a complete stop, the young princess turned back towards where she had left her friend, her eyes wide in fear as she listened mournfully to the puppy troll's constant yelps.

     "Branch..." she whispered, tears beginning to flow from her eyes, not knowing what to do...

     He had told her to run... he wanted her to leave... he wanted her to be safe... but she couldn't do that... she couldn't just leave him there to suffer. She had to save him...

     Quickly, she turned, running back towards Branch without hesitation...