Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 80

The bunker... her boyfriend's precious home... all of his things... they were all currently being absolutely decimated by the Snack Pack... their vicious shouts echoing through the many halls of the underground structure as Poppy rushed to find Branch as soon as possible, her heart hammering inside her suddenly constricting rib cage...

     She had a hunch about where the wolf troll could possibly be hiding, so the young princess discreetly steered the other trolls in the complete opposite direction before slipping away unnoticed, heading off on her own hunt for the 'beast' in question... she just hoped she was right... she needed to get to him... before it was too late...

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     Arriving quickly at her destination, Poppy stopped to look up at the safe room door which now stood directly in front of her...

Indeed, just as she had suspected, the metal door had been completely covered in claw marks... Branch had definitely been here... but... it didn't seem as if he had been able to get inside though the state of the lock certainly suggested he had tried...

     Her heart sank at the sight before her... though it was clear the endangered Weretroll had been here only moments ago... he definitely wasn't there anymore... and that knowledge threw Poppy right back to square one on her attempt to keep her beloved boyfriend safe...

     Where could he be...?

The echoes of her friends quickly drew the young princess' attention to a distant tunnel... they were moving away from where she had left them... but... maybe that was a good thing...? At least it meant that they hadn't found their target yet either... she still had time...

Looking around the hall where she stood, Poppy quickly began scanning the surrounding area for the former village grump...

He was here probably a minute ago... maybe he was still nearby...?

"Branch!?" Poppy called out in a hushed whisper, her eyes frantically scanning the bunker tunnel for any signs of the Weretroll being anywhere nearby... "Branch!? Are you here!?"

     S i l e n c e . . .

     Ok... ok... maybe... he was somewhere else... but where...? There were just so many different twists and turns down here... it was almost daunting to think of all the possibilities...

     That didn't matter right now! She just needed to find him! She would try every single corridor in this absolute maze if she had to! Even if it took weeks!

     Whatever it took... she would find Branch...

     Just as the young princess was about to turn around and try another direction, a quiet sound suddenly made her freeze in place, her ears perking up to listen...

"P-Poppy...?"

The voice was soft... nothing but a barely audible whimper... yet... she still heard it as clear as day... her head quickly whipping around to see two glowing blue eyes stealthily peeking around a slightly opened doorframe up the hall a little ways...

Her heart sank at the sight... there were tears streaming down his cheeks... the troll she loved no longer in his wolf form... yet not completely himself either...

"Oh, Branch..." she murmured breathlessly, slowly approaching the young Weretroll who was visibly trembling on all fours. "What happened...?"

     "I-I don't know... I was asleep... I think..." he began in a soft trembling voice, his eyes frantically flicking around the area as his ears twitched in every which direction, the poor thing on high alert for any sights, smells, or sounds that might indicate another Snack Pack member was currently on their way to his location. "I remember listening to everyone's 'scary' stories... and then... I was suddenly..." His voice shakily trailed off with a small tortured whimper, the young boy taking a small cautious step back from the approaching princess as the memory of what had just occurred in the other room suddenly flashed before his eyes. "They saw me... 😨"