Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 81

     They were lost... there was absolutely no doubt about it, the constant twists and turns of the spaghetti shaft simply too much for the young princess to properly navigate on her own... and Branch... well... Branch wasn't currently providing much help in the matter either if she were being completely honest...

     After coming to yet another dead end, Poppy just couldn't help but groan out in frustration...

"Why the hair did you make this part of the bunker so frosting confusing, Branch!?" she complained, whirling back around to her boyfriend who was currently flapping out his hands as if trying to shake off the fur that was still growing from them. "Don't you know the way out!? You built it!"

     Panicking, Branch simply shook his head, frantically looking around the impossible maze in complete and utter disorientation...

     "I... I'm sorry..." the poor boy whimpered helplessly, desperately clutching at his head with trembling fingers as if trying to dispel the pressure currently building up inside his painfully throbbing brain. "I-I... I can't... I can't think... 😖"

'Do it... kill her...'

     A small tortured whimper painfully escaping his suddenly tight throat, Branch forcibly shook his head, trying desperately to fight off the overpowering voices working to gain control...

     'Kill... kill... kill...'

     "Shut... up..." the former village grump growled out through gritted teeth as his eyes squeezed tightly shut to try and concentrate... to block out the absolutely horrendous thoughts working to consume him entirely...

What was going on...? Why was this happening to him!? He... he didn't want to hurt anyone...

Seeing the clear distress on her beloved boyfriend's face, Poppy's frustration instantly died out, the young princess' expression quickly twisting into one of pure concern...

"Hey, hey... it's ok..." she spoke soothingly, wanting so badly to pull the poor Weretroll into a tight comforting hug of support, but knowing full well that he probably wouldn't appreciate that at the moment, knowing her boyfriend well enough to understand that sometimes... he just needed his space... "Take your time, bud... I understand..."

Taking a deep shuttering breath, Branch shakily glanced up to Poppy, a look of pure helpless terror reflected clearly in his glowing blue eyes...

     "Y-you need to run..." he suddenly instructed in a desperate tone after a few moments of deafening silence. "You need to run now..."

The words caught her off guard for a moment, Poppy pausing for just a second before quickly regaining her determined expression...

"We've already been over this, Branch..." she stated firmly. "I'm not leaving you..."
"I-I know... I know..." he whimpered in response, violently shaking out his head once more. "Hey..." the young princess began softly, carefully approaching her boyfriend with a gentle gaze of compassion. "I know you're scared... I know this whole situation is stressful... and you're afraid you'll accidentally hurt someone..." She paused, placing a firm but loving hand on her soulmate's shoulder. "But I trust you, Branch... I trust that you won't hurt me... or anyone... I believe in you... I love you..."

Sniffling softly, Branch nodded, taking a deep calming breath as his fur slowly began to fade, the haze gradually lifting from his brain as his senses finally began to return to him...

"There you are..." Poppy smiled gently as all signs of the wolf quickly left her boyfriend's appearance. "I'm glad you're back..."
"I... I am too..." Branch whispered croakily, sniffling one last time before taking a quick Look around the spaghetti shaft's hallway. "Um... that-that way... the exit is that way..." he informed shakily after finally catching his bearings, pointing off down the tunnel to the right. "I-I... I think..."
"Ok... let's try it..."

Taking her boyfriend's slightly trembling hand carefully into her own, Poppy gently led him off down the path he had said led to the exit, the young princess lightly tightening her grip when the little Weretroll suddenly shook out his head once again, clearly still having a bit of trouble keeping the wolf completely away... she could see it slowly fighting its way back into him...

     "You ok...?" she asked softly, concerned for her boyfriend who simply looked up at her with a deep frown.

     There was a long moment of silence before Branch finally took another deep calming breath, gently smiling up at the love of his life.

     "I'm fine..." he assured, forcibly pushing the voices completely from his brain once and for all with a great deal of effort. "I'm better now... thanks to you..."

     If Poppy believed in him... than so did he... he could fight this... he could...

She smiled, carefully brushing her thumb across the back of Branch's hand before turning back to the path, looking back and forth from the right to the left as the pair suddenly reached a fork in the road...

     "Left..." Branch spoke out much more confidently than before as he saw the confusion on his girlfriend's face at which direction to take, carefully leading her down the correct path. "Watch your step... this tunnel is new so I haven't had time to clean it up yet... still a bit rocky..."

     It was pretty dark down here... Branch must've not had enough time to put in lights either...

     Taking another left, right, and then left again... the two trolls finally came to a large hatch in the ceiling...

     "And the spaghetti shaft leads here..." Branch announced proudly, opening up the hatch as the couple both poked their heads out into the outside world above the underground bunker.

     "Wow..." Poppy mumbled with a hint of shock to her tone, the young princess genuinely impressed as she glanced around their new surroundings in surprise. "We're all the way across town..."

"Yeah," Branch shrugged nonchalantly in response. "I've got tunnels running all through the village... just incase danger comes and I need to make a quick escape... plus... it's also safer to travel underground to get back and forth from the village when needed rather than walking completely exposed through the forest all the time... especially now..." He paused, his voice trailing off with a quick flash of embarrassment as he suddenly realized how crazy obsessive he sounded right now. Poppy probably didn't care about this at all... "I know it's probably a bit excessive..." he then muttered under his breath before the love of his life had a chance to ridicule him as others had always done in the past for his overwhelming need for safety and security.

"What...?" Poppy questioned, turning back to her boyfriend with a look of pride. "This is impressive, Branch. I had no idea you put so much work into your home! It's amazing!"
"It... it is...?" Branch asked in stunned confusion, turning back to Poppy with a flash of hope lighting up his eyes. "You bet it is! It's incredible! This must have taken you years to build! And you did it all on your own!?"

     Blushing slightly, Branch turned away with a small flustered grin, his heart fluttering from the praise he was currently receiving for something he was genuinely really proud of building... something that up until now, had only been dismissed as the paranoid grump's "fear hole"...

     Poppy really was something special...

     But... before he could even open his mouth to express his words of gratitude for the love of his life... a loud shout from off in the distance suddenly caught their attention, interrupting the moment of loving support...

     "What do you mean the wolf got Poppy!?"

     Gasping sharply in surprise, both trolls quickly turned to their left, instantly spotting the snack pack off in the forest a few feet away, Branch's heart sinking down into the deepest pit of his stomach as he saw who they were talking to...

     Creek...