Grimm Games

Chapter 28: By the Rules

The three out of place knocks on the door still rang in my head. Before I reached the door handle to open it and see who would greet me on the other side, Millie interjected and placed her hand on the handle first.

I didn't argue when she slowly pulled the door open. A sliver of the eclipsing artificial sunlight peered through the crack.

An odd hush settled over the room. A stillness like no other. Spencer stood over Sonya as if keeping watch, and she remained seated on the floor. I glanced back at Jade who waited in the corner of the room and thankfully out of harm's way.

The quietness outside captured my attention, but my curiosity allowed me to break the silence. "Who's there?" I whispered. "Tobias? Hello?"

A sudden scurry in the straw to the left startled me, but the adrenaline rush only amplified my senses and I immediately made out the large rat watching us near a haystack. It cleaned itself, licking its paws and running them over its head like an oversized squirrel.

But before I could turn around to assure everyone that it was safe, behind the smashed and toppled mound of straw stood a figure. The dim lights of the once sepia colored environment now took on a dusky tone that cast shadows and created silhouettes in various corners.

The figure stood tall and slim in the black shadow of the haystack. A pointy, brimless hat atop its head reminded me of the shape of a cornucopia. While I tried to figure out what I was witnessing, a sense of calm overtook me.

My curiosity increased tenfold, and the surrounding silence transformed into an uneasy yet satisfying tune. The large rat continued cleaning it mangy fur, unbothered by my footsteps as I stepped across the threshold and into the sunsetting light.

The golden rays of sunshine warmed my skin and the comfort of the gentle breeze across my body curled my lips into a smile. Bliss overcame me, followed by a sourness in my gut. The unease was easy to overlook as I moved closer to the now writhing silhouette.

The ground beneath my feet thumped like a rhythmic heartbeat, and a sweet voice carried in the breeze, whispering, "Come to me." It warbled in my inner ear when it said, "You're mine."

Out of nowhere, my body jolted backward onto the straw covered ground. I looked to my left and right to see Millie and Jade gripping my arms as we all lay on the straw strewn ground. The rhythmic thumping again took my attention, but this time I saw the source. The giant troll charging toward us.

"Babe, snap out of it." Jade's urgent voice stole my attention.

What was happening?

"Get back to the safe zone!" Millie screamed.

With that, I briefly glanced around for the safe house while allowing them to pull me to my feet. As the Troll rushed toward us nearly toppling us like bowling pins, we parted and scattered in opposite directions.

Upon hearing Spencer and Dylan calling out from small shack, I realized how far away we were. Almost twenty feet separated me from the safe zone.

Before I could ask what happen and how I got so far away from safety, the Troll stumbled and struggled to catch its balance. It's layers of skin and fat ripples threw him off balance, slowing him down before it swung around to charge us again like a massive, fleshy, raging bull.

I spotted Jade, and immediately grew angry that she would put herself in harm's way. "Watch out!" I called, but she was too fixated on me to acknowledge the Troll coming straight at her with the most violent thump, thump, thump.

"Play," the Troll roared. Black goo oozed from the rat bite on its foot. "Play now."

"No!" I screamed, ripping the blade from my brass cuff, and flinging it toward the injured foot of the giant.