phobias // n.h. au

seven

seven»»

Waves of panic flew up and down my spine as if it was the beach. My hands felt empty and shaky without Niall's presence, and now I was left in the worst possible place for me.

I collected as much if my brain as possible, remembering what Niall had said about these people.

'Ghosts are the nicest, then trolls.' I nodded to myself and pushed my way out of the middle of the sidewalk and to the opening of an alleyway. My head swiveled from side to side, searching for what a ghost looked like based off Harry.

I had no idea what a troll looks like, so I was stuck with a ghost, yet thee were none in sight. I breathed heavily and turned around, the nervous feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach. The alley was empty, but I could still feel a presence.

"Niall what does a troll look like?" I questioned.

"They look like a garden gnome of crack, minus the hat."

he said. I held back a laugh, and instead turned my attention back to the crowded walkways. The streets were even crowded.

I searched and finally found one, opposite side of the street. I thought off my rules before I jumped out if the alleyway, earning a few yells.

The troll was moving fast, and I fought through the crowd until I was almost at the street. I felt two hands behind me and a sudden push, sending me flying out into the busy street, receiving a loud honk from a taxi driver. I turned around and looked at the thing that pushed me.

It stood the tallest in the crowd, double the height of everything else, with the longest skinniest legs and arms I've ever seen. Everything was black, except the light streaks of red, as if they were veins. The red ran all the way up from its claws on its feet and the talons on its hands, up to its face where teeth sharper than I've seen dripped blue, and eyes black as night surrounded by red stared down at me. It's scowl was inevitable, and as it took a step towards me, Niall spoke up.

"Tristan get up and get going! You need to move now!"

He yelled nervously at me.

I scooted back a little before jumping to my feet and sprinting across the rest of the street, jumping at the few cars that didn't seem like they were going to stop. I heard the thing laugh at me, and the laugh sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and burned my eardrums.

I tried to tune it out and yelled at Niall when I reached the other side of the street.

"What the hell was that?" I huffed, out of breath from running.

"A Nightmare. The meanest horror in the realm. Keep your distance, they have a temper."

he said, still sounding a little nervous. I nodded and continued running, the troll in sight again. I finally fought my way through, careful to not step on anyone's feet. My lips were glued shut, worried about showing my teeth.

I finally ended up next to the troll, and played it off a little like I just missed the bus that pulled away. I stopped and turned to the troll.

"I just moved from a small village to here, and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get ba- into the mortal world?" I stuttered, utterly scared to death. The troll looked over me, green eyes peering up and down while I stood nervously. I averted my gaze incase it thought I was staring.

"Follow me, hun." it finally decided and turned around. I followed closely behind it, silently congratulating myself and hearing Niall's cheering.

"Great job Tristan. I'll meet you at home."

he said, as we neared a large street side building that was unmarked.