Chapter 65

119 8 10
                                    

The five trolls and puppy troll walked through the dark and somewhat spooky bunker, on their way down a long tunnel that would eventually lead the six friends to the simulation room.

"Sorry it's so dark..." Rose apologized, leading the way. "I haven't really finished this section of the Bunker. Lights are usually the last things I put in."

     Branch looked around the dark space, making sure to stick close to Poppy, a little scared of his spooky surroundings.

The tunnel kind of reminded him of a cave he found for shelter once when he still lived out in the forest. Unfortunately... he was still fairly new at the whole surviving alone in the wild thing... so he hadn't realized until it was too late that the cave he had found wasn't as safe a shelter as he had thought... being overrun by Growl Beasts lurking stealthily in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to lunge out and attack their latest victim. Branch had barely escaped with his life that night... what if those big monsters were hiding in the darkness of this tunnel too? Just waiting to pounce out at them to gain their dinner...

Poppy looked down at the little puppy troll, instantly noticing his fear as he pushed his body tightly into her leg, whimpering softly as he looked all around himself defensively.

"It's ok, Branch," she told him softly, gently placing a comforting hand on his head. "I'm right here. Nothing's gonna hurt you..."

He looked up at her, smiling slightly at her words as he nodded, knowing she was right.

Poppy was there. Poppy would protect him... and he would protect Poppy... No matter what...

—————

Finally, the group of friends reached the simulation room, Rose leading Poppy and Branch inside, straight through the big metal door.

"Ok. I want you two to go first. See what fighting moves you got," she told the two children with a smile. "I'll just make the adjustments once I get into the control room and you'll be good to go."

"Ok. We got this," Poppy said, full of enthusiasm. "You ready Branch?" He nodded at her question, smiling wide up at the love of his life to let her know he was ready to do whatever she wanted...

"Branch do training. Branch protect Poppy," he said happily, beginning to jump around slightly in excitement. "Arf!"

     "Alright," Rose said, stepping out of the room

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

"Alright," Rose said, stepping out of the room. "I'll get the simulation up and running in just a few seconds."

She walked out, the door immediately shutting behind her, leaving the two trolls alone in the dimly lit room.

Branch looked around for a moment, finally beginning to sniff the air in confusion. Where were they? And why were they alone?

No one else had been in this room for a long time... he could tell by the smells... so why were he and Poppy here now? Was it some sort of game? Maybe this was part of the training Poppy had mentioned... Was he supposed to lead her out of the room and back to the others? He could probably do that...

Call of the Wild (rewrite)Where stories live. Discover now