Into the Shadows of Arcadia

The Battle of Two Bridges

A cloudy sky covered the land as cars drove by, the man on the radio speaking to his listeners. On the street, people shielded themselves from the rain with umbrellas. In the hospital, Jim sat up in his hospital bed, Toby leaning inward, trying to listen to the voicemail that had been sent. It was Strikler with Blinky in the background.

"Master Jim!"

"You must listen to me very carefully Mr. Lake. Meet me in the alley beside the theater alone if you ever want to see your friend again. Bring the real amulet."

"Don't come! It's a trap! You are the key Master Jim the final piece."

"Shut him up!"

"Don't come to the Bridge! Under no circumstan-"

The line cut off.

"I've listened to it a hundred times now, and I still don't know what to do."

"You don't have to do this alone. You've got Aaarrrgghh, Draal, me."

"They said I had to be alone. If I'm not, what do you think they'll do to Blinky?"

"Blinky made it clear. Under no circumstances. That means they have found the other guy, dude you are the final piece. If you show Gunmar has all that he needs."

"Enough friends have gotten hurt because of me. No more."

"Well, it's your call. You're the Trollhunter. Here. I picked it up in the woods after they dragged you away. I thought since we found it together, we'd always be in this together."

They looked at each other in silence until Barbara walked in.

"Hello, Toby."

"Hey, Dr. Lake. I was just leaving. He's all yours. Can you believe it? Coyotes!"

"You have good friends. One even stayed by your side all night."

"Yeah, there's really no one like Toby."

"Actually, it was a girl. She said her name was Claire...I want you to talk to me and I expect to hear the truth. What were you doing in the woods?"

"Well, Claire thought she heard her brother crying in the woods, so we went in, but it was this pack of crazy coyotes and-"

"The truth, Jim."

"Those scratches weren't from coyotes."

"I swear! You can ask Claire."

"Stop lying to me! You come home from school covered in bruises, sneak out in the middle of the night, get arrested for a silly Chubby Tracker?"

"I know you're angry, but-"

"Angry? I'm not angry and I'm long past worried. I'm terrified! You're young and you think you're invincible, but one of these days, you're gonna...find out you're not. We all do. Please, tell me what is happening to my son. I found this in a cookbook."

She pulled out the letter that he had written to her when he was unsure if he was going to survive in the fight against Draal. 

"It's still sealed."

"Whatever is happening, whatever it is you're afraid to say, I want you to tell me, face to face. Believe it or not, there was a time when you used to share everything with me."

"Mom-"

His face suddenly dropped, and he looked away, broken. He couldn't tell her. To protect her. Realizing that he wasn't going to tell her, she pulled away and stood.

"If that's the way you feel, your doctor has discharged you, Mr. Lake. Good luck at the play."

"Mom, I'm sorry."