Gray Is Not All Colorless

Rescue from Spiders

Gray is Not All Colorless

A/N: Okay, this took me a really long while, but I actually managed to push through this chapter for the past four days, trying to finish it. Geez, this was tiring.

And the job hunting that I've been doing lately hasn't exactly been helping me with my creativity, even though looking for a job is important to me personally at the moment. The job hunting, it's going okay so far, but now I'm like on pins and needles, waiting for a reply, either positive or negative.

But I really think that this chapter was worth it all, since this was one that I was looking forward to writing despite the long writing period. Well, enough worrying and waiting around. Let's finally get on with Chapter 10! Roll it!

Chapter 10

Rescue from Spiders

Tempest ran as fast as she could, even though both her legs and lungs felt like they were burning her, her cloudy gray eyes swimming with tears as she ran further and further away from Bergen Town and deeper into the dark forest. How could she have been so stupid?! Even though she hated being trapped in that place like some kind of feral, exotic pet, she thought that....

Ah, who was she kidding? She was just that, a little pet for Gristle's entertainment. Something that should have been killed a long time ago, probably when the Bergens first found her as a baby. But instead, she was prolonged to a life of eternal loneliness. It was all she ever really knew.

She felt like a fool for even starting to think that maybe Gristle cared about her. Otherwise, why would he even keep her alive for all of this time? But no, he just wanted to have a pet Troll only because he couldn't... eat her.

The very thought of that was only increasing the nausea building in her stomach. But she didn't want to stop. She just wanted to keep running until she literally couldn't run anymore. Not even the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance overhead or the cold shivers of a drizzle starting made her stop.

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Over at the edge of the forest, Bridget had just arrived, wearing a tatty raincoat and carrying a lantern in her hand. Branch was hanging onto the lantern near the top of it, his hair acting like an umbrella.

Even though it was only drizzling for the moment, from what Branch had gathered earlier about how dark the evening sky had gotten in the span of the time they traveled, and from the strengthening scent of rain above, he had a feeling that the weather was only going to get worse.

Just then, he saw something on the ground below. "Over there." He said, jumping off.

Bridget carefully followed him, providing him some light from her lantern. What Branch saw was a set of Troll-sized footprints leading into the forest.

He knelt down and gently felt around one of them. They seemed like they were made just recently, which meant that Tempest hadn't gotten very deep in there yet.

The male gray Troll looked around and found a large enough stick for him to use. He pulled out his flint from his hair and started creating sparks. Soon enough, one of the ends of the stick caught on fire, and Branch carefully picked up his newly made torch.

He then turned around and looked up at Bridget, putting the flint back in his hair. "Stay here, and keep that lantern going." He said. Then, he dashed off into the woods with his torch, following Tempest's footprints.

"Branch!" Bridget called out to him.

She wanted to follow him, but he had said to stay. And she trusted his survival skills. So all she could do was wait until he got back, and keep her lantern burning so that he could find her again.