Emil took a step back. The first rule for survival outside the cleansed areas temporary gone from his mind. The troll stopped in its tracks, turned its head towards Emil. It still looked horrible humanoid and Emil gulped as the two eyes glued themselves to him. He took another step back, instinctively moved his hand to where his explosives should be, only to be brutally reminded that he had forgotten to bring them, having woken up too late with an all too eager to leave Sigrun hovering over him like a hawk. The troll dragged itself closer to Emil with its hands. Its horrible disfigured, clawlike hands that still reminded all too much about human hands. Emil took another step back, lowered his hand to his knife. Maybe he could outrun the troll. Maybe, just maybe.

He didn't move. He felt his heart beat in his cheast, trying to escape, trying to get the blood to start up his legs. It didn't work. The troll dragged itself one meter closer, one more meter, and one more. Suddenly the claws was over Emil's foot, they wrapped themselves around his calf. He pulled out the knife, leaned down and buried the knife in the hand, screaming in pain when the knife cut through the troll's flesh into his own. The troll hissed, pulled back, the knife clattered on the floor and Emil's legs started moving on their own.

Emil ran. Silence laid thick behind him, but then he heard walls falling apart as the troll buried its claws in them, used them to propel itself forward. Emil ducked and the troll landed infront of him, turned around hastily even though its former two legs had grown together into an unrecognizable mass. Emil halted, turned around just as the troll's claws struck down from above and ran in the other direction.

"SIGRUN!"

He jumped over debris from the walls and then the troll was infront of him again. His chest was burning, his heart pounding, pounding, and he couldn't get enough oxygen to the blood. He turned back again.

"SIGRUUUUN!"

Another stop. The troll drooled and Emil took a step back, fell over a part of the wall and then the troll was over him, tried to bite down on him and he lifted his left arm to protect his face. His arm shivered as the troll bit down on it, started shaking violently. Emil felt the troll's teeth break lose from its mouth, he heard them fall to the floor beside him, but his eyes were locked on his arm.

The clothing ripped apart as the arm grew to twice its size, transformed to a lump that reminded him all too much about the troll infront of him and fell to the floor with a bang. Emil had enough sense to roll out of the way before it crushed him. He felt the arm pulsating as it rebuild itself and he wanted to look away but couldn't take his eyes off it. He heard the troll move, heard it prepare for another assault and what used to be his arm changed shape, formed itself into a blade. He couldn't tell what was going on, his arm moved by itself, stabbed the troll, cut through its body like it had been butter and Emil shivered when the blood covered him. The troll landed on both sides of Emil and he shrieked, pulled back, settled up, got to his feet.

His arm pulsated again and he grabbed it with his right hand, tried to hold it down as it started trashing around. It broke through the wall on his side, the ceiling started to crack above him. He tried moving away, but his arm jerked in the other direction and he had to let it go as the other wall broke as well. He tried to shield himself against the debris that came falling down with his right hand, but his left hand was quicker, reshaped itself again to form a shield between him and the debris. He ducked anyway.

The debris cluttered to the floor around him, and his arm started shaking violently again, reshaping itself, and Emil tried to get up, but his arm jerked again, forced him back down. He heard another wall break, and another.

"Stop it! Stopitstopitstopit!"

The arm formed itself to a lump again, fell to the floor. To the floor that was already weak from 90 years of neglect.

The floor broke. Emil screamed as he was dragged down through it, stopped screaming as his body hit the stone floor in the basement. He felt the arm shiver one more time, and then nothing, just darkness.

"...-il. Emil, you-..."

The voice faded in and out, Emil had a hard time focusing on it as fog still dimmed his mind. He felt hands pulling at his clothes, tried to wiggle away, but stopped as pain seared through his body.

"-n't worry. I'll br-"

He tried to force his eyes open but no luck.

"-move."

He heard steps moving away, and then darkness surrounded him again. He jolted awake not a minute later, shrieked in pain and quickly slapped his right hand over his mouth. The taste of blood filled his mouth and he turned his face to the side, threw up. His body shivered slightly and he slowly turned to lay on his right side, pulling his knees to his chest, careful not to move his left arm. He pulled his forehead to his knees, not caring that he got vomit and blood in his hair, and felt the shivering turning into trembling when he started crying.

"Emil, are you alright?"

He nodded at Mikkel's words, didn't move to face the Dane. He heard the debris sliding away as Mikkel made his way over and knelt down beside him.

"Where does it hurt?"

Mikkel's hands started examine him and Emil slowly relaxed, stopped crying. Then Mikkel moved back again.

"Emil?"

Emil moved his head back, so he could look at the Dane. He carefully dried his tears with his right hand, sniffled a couple of times and then fell quiet. Mikkel looked back at Sigrun and Emil slowly settled up as she came into view. She also knelt infront of him, tried to catch his eyes. He could see worry in them and he turned his head down, almost threw up again when he saw his bloody clothes.

"'s not..." he started and gulped. "It's not mine. There was... troll."

"Yes, I heard the trashing. Are you alright?"

Emil nodded and lifted his hand again to dry off the new tears that was forming in his eyes. Blood smeared over his face and Sigrun grabbed his chin, looked him deep in the eyes, examined his head with her other hand and then let him go.

"I don't believe this. Your head was smashed! Did you suddenly just... get better?!"

Emil's hand shivered as he lifted it, pulled the fingers through his hair and carefully pressed them against the back of his head. Then he let it fall down in his lap and shook his head. Sigrun got up again, made a frustrated move with her hands and kicked a piece of wood.

"Your whole body was broken! I had to dig you out from under several tons of stone!"

"Do not exaggerate, Sigrun."

"Point is, you should not be okay!"

"My... my arm..." Emil started and clenched his right hand. "What's wrong with it?"

"There is nothing wrong with your arm", Mikkel said. "There is nothing wrong with any of you. Except that you will need a bath when we get back to the tank."

Emil swallowed and slowly turned his head to look at his left arm. He held his breath as it came into view and then looked at it, confused. He carefully touched it with his right hand, dragged it to his lap and gingerly moved his fingers. He released his breath, relaxed and then tensed up. Leaning forward another batch of vomit made it through his mouth and he started crying again. Mikkel and Sigrun looked at eachother, neither moving, neither knowing what to do. Emil calmed down after a couple of minutes and Mikkel pulled him to his feet, Sigrun made her way to the stairs and Mikkel motioned for Emil to follow their captain. When they got up Emil cast a glance towards the pile of rubble that buried the troll. He could see one of the clawlike hands sticking out under the debris and hurried his steps to get as far away from it as possible.

Lalli met them when they came closer to the tank, his hands quickly dancing over Emil to see where his maybe, kind of, one friend were hurt and when he didn't find anything he pulled his hand over Emil's mouth and cheek, drying off as much blood from his face as he could. Emil noticed how Lalli flinched a little as he lifted his left hand to pat Lalli's shoulder, and his hand stopped between them. Lalli looked at it, before carefully grabbing it and examining it. His eyes narrowed, and then he let go of Emil's hand again. Emil dropped it to his side, tilting his head a little.

"No lingering."

Mikkel pushed him forward and he almost stumbled over his own feet, but got the balance back in time. The medic ordered him to undress as he prepared the tub and Emil did so. He stopped when his pants dropped to the ground, examined his leg with his hands. Nothing. He bit his lower lip, his hands shaking slightly. He felt over the other leg as well, just to be sure, but nothing there either. His body started shaking and his breaths got shorter.

"Alright, hop in."

Mikkel motioned towards the tub and Emil complied. The water was cold and he shivered, tried to clean himself up as fast as he can, but was not approved by Mikkel. Lalli helped him and Emil smiled at the Finn.

"Payback from before, ey?"

Lalli didn't answer, his eyes narrow, as if he was focusing on the task at hand, but Emil could tell there was something else as well. His fingers had started going numb when Mikkel finally approved and let him out of the water, wrapped him in a towel and ushered him inside the tank. Emil tried to dry off, but his fingers didn't follow his orders and instead he sank down on his bed, wrapped the towel a little tighter around himself. Lalli came inside after him, climbed up to Sigrun's bed and sat there, looking at him.

"You're behaving weirder than usual, you know."

Still no answer. Emil moved his fingers, noticed the blood was back in them again and started drying off. Lalli continued looking at him, not moving, and Emil almost stumbled when he tried to put on some dry clothes.

"...Could you please stop that? It's unnerving."

Lalli turned away and Emil settled down on the bed again, looking at his friend.

"Why are you acting like this anyway?"

Lalli muttered something, but didn't give a clear answer. Emil was about to ask again when Mikkel entered.

"Your coat is damaged beyond repair, you will have to make do without a coat for the reminder of the expedition. Anyway, Sigrun told me how she found you..."

Mikkel started examining Emil more thoroughly than he had done inside the building and Emil squirmed between his hands. After what seemed like forever but wasn't more than ten minutes Mikkel let go of the Swede again and Emil made himself more comfortable on top of the bed.

"This is highly irregular. What happened in there? The way the building was trashed suggested you would be at least harmed to some degree..."

"I... don't know", Emil's hand clutched around his calf. "There was so much going on I didn't have time to take it in. I... uh... I think I dropped my knife in there..."

Mikkel let out a sigh.

"I will tell Sigrun, and then we will see what our next course of action should be."

Mikkel left the room and Emil leaned towards the wall, let out a sigh and looked at Lalli.

"I don't think I could have described what happened anyway. What was that even? Was I hallucinating?"

Lalli shrugged. Emil wasn't sure if the mage had understood him or simply didn't know what to say. Emil shook his head and looked towards the ceiling. This expedition was just one disaster after the other.