TROLLS-- While Foundations Crumble (A Clay Fanfiction)

Trollstice

Darn, how do you spell that? XDDD

I have always known that there were tons of tunnels underneath the Troll Tree. Just from walking on the ground you can basically feel the hollowness underneath your feet. But I wasn't expecting as many holes as I had found.

King Peppy and I had started digging right away, and after making two or three holes only a few feet deep, we had already found multiple tunnels leading toward different directions. 

"Why and how in the world are these tunnels here?" King Peppy wondered aloud, peeking his head into yet another hole and entrance into a tunnel. 

"Well, either there were trolls digging underneath there a while ago or..." I paused. "Or the ground isn't as firm as we'd like to believe."

"Meaning?" King Peppy asked.

"Meaning, if a bajillion bergen shovels were to crash down on this earth at the same time," I explained, "we'd be dead meat."

King Peppy thought for a bit. "Then I guess we'll just have to outrun the bergen shovels." 

~~~

It took all until early morning to shovel up a good hole into a tunnel that lead in a direction that probably wouldn't lead to certain death.

Viva refused to be told to step aside, and helped us the last day with the shoveling, Poppy watching on the sidelines, awed, not realizing that all this work was just for her. 

Finally, Peppy said that we had done enough. We stepped back, admiring and yet questioning our work. 

"Okay," I began, taking out my notepad, "we have exactly two holes we're sure won't lead to dead ends or maybe something even worse. So the only way we can do this before tomorrow is by having one of us take one hole and the other taking another. But the question is..." I pondered for a bit. "...which person should do which hole?"

"I think we should all go together," King Peppy said. "If one of us falls, we all fall."

"I don't think-" I began.

"IM GOING WITH CLAY!" Viva shouted. 

"Clay! Clay!" Poppy shouted too, clapping her hands.

I flushed. "Thanks, guys, but I think you should go with your dad."

"But what if he goes into the wrong tunnel?" Viva asked.

"What if I go into the wrong tunnel?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter," King Peppy interrupted, "cause we are all going together. I already said that. Alright, Clay?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

I bit my lip. Either let the king have his way and possibly lose all of the troll population or do it my way and possibly save half of it.

Those dumb possibilities made my head spin. Which one?

I sighed. Either way, some of us would have to go. This was going to be hard. 

~~~

Only a few hours later, the entire troll village was crowded around us and the main hole that we had dug. King Peppy made an announcement of the rules and the plan.

"Okay, trolls. We're going to head in a single file line into these holes. You are all going to stay behind me unless I say not to..."

He continued with the rules but, as excited for the rules as I was, I wasn't listening. I was searching for my family.

I didn't see any of them anywhere. Usually Grandma would be near the front of the crowd or something, but I didn't even catch a glimpse of her.

If they weren't in this crowd- where in the world could they be?