Chapter 2:

Barbara sat as still as if she was made of stone. She didn't feel the coldness against her flush skin for she only felt the chill of fear. Her heart was clenched in worry. This was not happening. Please, this was not happening. She had run up the stairs three at a time and flung Jim's bedroom door open with such force it banged against the wall. His lamp was off, his bed sheets unruffled. And his window- cracked open, the winds low whistle eerily humming. Her heart fluttered before she flung herself down the two flights of stairs to the basement. He was only doing his laundry, nothing to worry about. Except the hanging light was not switched on and the machines did not rumble in the darkness. He- he was in the kitchen cooking them a snack and she just didn't notice. Again she ran up the stairs and skidded around the corner only to find an empty kitchen. She slowly walked to the living room and sunk onto the couch. What was she going to do? He could be anywhere. Anywhere in town. Anywhere. She wished with every part of her being he was in the hospital and her phone was going to ring and she was going to hear her sons voice on the other side, or at least a nurse calling her in to bring her son home after a quick checkup. And she'd rush in to find her son standing in the waiting room, his warm smile there to reassure his presence. Except she knew he wasn't there. Knew it in her bones. Knew it because Claire hadn't said hospital. She hadn't even mentioned 9-1-1. What she had said was get him to Blinky. Yet there was no Blinky on staff. Her eyes did not wander from a single worn spot on the table and she hadn't even realized she had fallen into a light slumber until there was a shuffle and the creak of hinges as the front door swung open. Barbara bolted up right, staring at the doorway. Her mind worked slowly, processing the sight in front of her. Her son had walked through the door, yet he sagged a bit and his arm was slung over Toby's broad shoulders. Claire was right behind them, shutting the door with a quiet snap that pulled the mother out of her state of stupor.

"Jim!" She rushed forward. She wanted to kiss his face everywhere, she wanted to hold him tightly and never let go. but the way his tired eyes looked at her and the way his hand was pressed against his side sparked the doctor within her and she bent down slightly to help Toby bring her son to the couch. He sat with a hiss as she backed away, her hands over her mouth.

"Hey, mom. I- I'm sorry. I-" He couldn't seem to find the right words. His eyes would stare at her then dart to the ground, the window, the door, then back at her.

"Are you okay?" She whispered. She half expected him to say fine, just tripped except he met her eyes and held her gaze.

"No, mom, I'm not okay. I should have told you a long, long time ago, but I- I just didn't know how. And then I couldn't because I wanted- no, I needed to keep you safe." Both Toby and Claire sat silently, though she felt their moral support as if was a solid object in the room. He still grasped his side and her eyes wandered to his hand. His eyes followed hers and then he sighed, though it was cut short as his breathe froze for a second as if he was in pain. Because he is in pain. She made to get up but he began speaking again, his word keeping her in place.

"I know you've noticed my behavior. I know you know I'm not home at night. Or the bruises I get aren't from tripping on sidewalks. But how could I tell you that-" He looked down at the ground, struggling to find the right words again, "that I'm not really over at Toby's house playing video games all the time or at Claire's studying all night when I'm really fighting." He looked up.

"Fighting?" She questioned.

"Fighting. Battling. Training for war." He held out his arms and she couldn't help but notice a bit of blood on his jacket. but she kept listening to his words, after all, it was nothing that serious, right? "We're called Troll Hunters. We're the first line and last defense against Gunmar." Her son's eyes lit up with burning rage behind them, but it was quenched as he continued talking. "We might be young to you, but we've seen and done things. And we're worriers now. I'm known as the Trollhunter, the Trolls chosen fighter, granted Daylight's Magic by Merlin himself." He fell silent, waiting for her response.

"Warriors?" She whispered. "Magic? Merlin? Trolls? I- I don't understand, Jim."

"Then let us show you." He glanced at Claire expectantly. Barbara stared at the girl as she stood and removed a small object from her jacket. Holding a square-like object in the flat of her palm, Barbara jumped as it extended beyond the height of the girl her self. With an experimental twirl, Claire righted the stick, letting the base rest against the floorboards.

"I use the magic of this staff to create portals." She held her hand out and Barbara gasped as a small black hole appeared above her outstretched arm, and from the black expanse dropped Barbara's car keys, which the girl gently placed on the coffee table between them. She stayed silent as Toby stood and also pulled a small object from his pocket and Barbara leapt backwards slightly as a large, impossible-to-lift glowing, orange war hammer lit the living room in a soft glow. The short boy swung it in a circle before putting it in front of him.

"This is my war hammer, Mrs. Lake. It's basically just a hammer." He shrugged. "I smash things with it." Barbara turned expectantly towards her son, taking everything in though she still felt as if this reality she was in was a dream. Her son gave her that sweet smile of his. He made to stand and Barbara was about to insist he sit back down but Claire grabbed his elbow and gently hoisted him up. He too reached into his pocket and pulled from it a circular object.

"For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is Mine to Command." Barbara stood up sharply as blue light came out of her son's chest and turned into armor? She watched as the glowing metal wrapped her boy's body and he dropped to his feet. She hadn't even realized he had floated a couple inches off the ground. He reached behind his back and pulled a very large sword in front of him, holding it at his side but angling the flat of the blade towards her.

"This is what we do, mom. When we're not where we say we are. When I'm not in my room at night. When I miss days at school. We protect the trolls that live in Troll Market, a beautiful cave full of life and energy beneath our feet. We protect it from an Troll who has gone bad. From changelings who spy for him. And from goblins." Barbara finally found her voice.

"You what? Jim! Trolls? Armor?" She gestured at his body. "I mean, I wouldn't believe you, but how can I not when the proof is in front of me." She paced back and forth, her hand rubbing the back of her neck absent-mindedly. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Jim placed the sword on his back, the hilt poking above his shoulder. "I know it's a lot to take in, mom." He smiled. "And yes, trolls. Creatures of stone. Some have four arms. Some have six eyes. Some grow moss on their backs." He chuckled gently. "You should meet Blinky some day, he's been dying to meet you." The word dying had brought her eyes back to where Jim's hand had strayed to his side again. Her eyes softened and she placed her arms around her son. Her head rested on his shoulder. When had he gotten so tall?

"Sit." She whispered. She saw the pained relief in his face as he sat back down on the couch. Though her eyes were open, she did not see what was before her. She was remembering the cold voice she had heard taunting her son. And she could never forget her sons scream.

"Mom?" She looked down at his face.

"And what happened tonight? I heard it all. I heard- you scream." She whispered the last part, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I- It was Angor Rot. He's an, uh, assassin that's been hunting me a while and he stabbed me." He rushed his last words. "But I'm fine, see!" He opened his arms wide.

"Stabbed! Jim! You should be at the hospital right now, not sitting on this couch!" She jumped up and grabbed the keys on the table beside her.

"No, mom, I've already been treated. Blinky helped." Barbara looked at him skeptically. Jim rolled his eyes but lifted up his shirt anyway, revealing crisp, white bandages. It was finally too much for her. In a span of a second, she had enveloped her son in a bone-crushing hug.

"You almost died tonight! Died, Jim! I could have lost you!" She looked at him, panic in her eyes.

"Don't remind me." He whispered. She didn't miss the unmistakable shadow that crossed his face. His eyes seemed to take on an extra weight that reflected all that he'd seen. His body caved in slightly, as if the world rested on his shoulders. No, not a world, she thought, two worlds, Trolls and Humans. Her son, still in high school with his life ahead of him, still a child, for goodness sake, had the life of a soldier thrusted onto him, it's weight so heavy it showed in his face and the way he held himself.

"Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry." She forcefully breathed out of her nose in a sudden flare of annoyance and anger. "But why on earth did you not tell me! I'm your mother! I'm supposed to take care of you. I'm supposed to have all the worry. I'm supposed to have the struggles. Not you! Your not supposed to have to worry about death at your age. All of you! You three are in high school. You not supposed to have already experienced war! Your not supposed to fear for your lives! And at such a young age! And your not supposed to know what being stabbed feels like!" She waved her arms around, flustered. This was her son and she couldn't even take care of him yet he waged a war unseen and still made her breakfast in the morning and kissed her goodnight. "Why haven't you given this role you've taken on to someone more worthy?" She said, exasperated.

"Because I'm the only one that is worthy." He muttered.

"What?"

"This amulet," he pointed to the circular object stuck in his armor above his heart, "it contains the magic of Merlin himself. It's the power of Daylight. And when a Trollhunter dies, the amulet finds the next worthiest troll to become the next Trollhunter in a long line of Trollhunters, or in my case, a human became their protector. I'm the only one that can protect them all. They're not a race of fighters, they're, well, they're basically kind-hearted giants. Though they're not that big, only several feet above my height. And I'm the only won worthy enough to wield this magic. Believe me, I doubted myself sometimes, but it's true. Toby and Claire, they help me in this fight, because I can't do it alone. Be grateful their here, too, their the greatest friends anyone can have." He smiled at them both as they nodded in agreement to his words.

"Oh Jim, but you shouldn't have to do this!"

"No, I shouldn't have to do this, but I need to do this. They need a protector, mom, and I'm, we're, their only hope for their survival." Barbara sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her son again, trying to remind herself he's still her son, yet she couldn't help but feel that he had grown in wisdom and strength beyond his age.