The Land Never Lost

Chapter 7

Peter watched from his high perch. Besides what little moonlight could sneak its way through the canopy of trees, the clearing was a combination of branches, dirt, leaves, and shade. Peter's eyes darted from Trinkett and back to the clearing. The low rumbling was moving from the ground up into the trees. Leaves in the wind seemed to be whistling an alert. Tension grew with the rumbling, which seemed louder than it actually was due to the silence of the rest of the woods. Nature was playing against Peter's own. The hyper boy couldn't take the suspense when suddenly, everything went quiet. The rumbling ceased as the world became muted. A dark hand emerged from the shade of a tree. Fingers gripped the edges of the shadow like a ledge. Pulling itself out of darkness was a hulking Gloom. Peter stood in awe watching how a Gloom manifests.

Trinket placed a warm hand on Peter. Her golden eyes met Peter's blues. She mouthed the words "just wait". Peter, rather unnaturally, was in no particular rush. They stood looking down at the clearing as five more regular sized glooms popped out of random shadows.

The hulking Gloom walked to a tree. It calmly placed a huge hand on the trunk. Dark energy radiated on the tree in the form of a hand print right where the Gloom touched. With a loud crack the tree snapped and toppled over. The big guy turned around slowly and sat down on the part that he had broken off. The five others were standing motionless. The bigger Gloom, obviously the leader, raised both hands. Its palms were pointed at the others. They looked at the leader simultaneously. The outward turned palms were turned inwards to face the leader. The glooms all walked to form a half circle around the larger one.

Peter watched, amazed at how orderly they were acting. The meeting between them produced no sound, but Peter was sure they were communicating. A Silent understanding passed through all the monsters. Trinkett's whisper broke the silence. Peter was so transfixed he nearly fell off the branch.

"Be careful Peter. We are going to wait to see what happens. They normally break off in duos at the most. When one separates, we go after that one." Trinkett said.

"Okay."

"I'll talk you through it." she said.

"Okay"

"And if you feel..."

"Tink! Too many rules. When I agree to an adventure, I'm all in. No need to think." Peter interrupted with a smile so pure Trinkett had trouble not laughing. This boy was unlike any she had ever seen. Granted she hadn't personally met many. But Trinkett had been watching over humans for a very long time.

The two returned their attention back to the glooms in the clearing. They were all facing the duo's direction. "Um Tink, is it just me or are they looking directly at us?" Peter asked in a shaky voice. Trinkett was standing in front of Peter with an arm protectively covering him.

"Hey Tink, let me help!" Peter said.

Trinkett turned to face Peter. "This is too much for you. I thought this would be easy. Please stay up here. Don't you dare think about getting involved.".

Trinkett removed her jacket and back flipped off the branch. The monsters wasted no time to react. Before she landed, two launched large branches they picked off the floor. The fairy spun in mid air. The two branches narrowly missed her. In a green flash she kicked one in the head. Trinkett rushed a second and punched it three quick times in the stomach. Two Gloom bodies lay doubled over on the clearing ground. Now sporting pointy ears and golden wings, Trinkett stood and faced her remaining enemies.

Three met her gaze. She took notice of the big Gloom looking intensely at Peter. That one had an unnatural interest in Peter. Trinkett looked back to check on the boy. All three glooms dashed at the fairy while her glance was averted. Peter was crouched on the branch. He met Trinkett's eyes. She gave him a wink. A Gloom threw both arms out wildly to grab her. Trinkett flashed in a blinding emerald light. When the light subsided, Trinkett was flying around all three glooms in her small fairy form. They swung their arms in frustration trying to grab the tiny warrior. One Gloom punched another. Another smacked one. All Trinkett had to do was fly around and cause chaos. The enemies were dealing with themselves. She was laughing so purely it radiated through the bark of every tree in the woods. Up the trunk, through the branch, and into Peter's soul as he joined in.