Jim had been concerned that wearing a shirt would remove the jelly-like coating on his back, but Vendel assured him that even though it felt squishy on his skin, it was as hard as plastic on the outside. Curious, Jim had reached back to touch it but had to stop almost instantly when his back screamed in pain. Wincing, he decided to just trust the old troll.
After he had gingerly pulled a faded Spiderman shirt over his head and swapped his blood-stained jeans for new ones, his friends all gathered around him again. Once Claire grabbed Jim's hand, she wouldn't let go.
"I thought I would never see you again." She looked up at Jim, eyes glistening with unshed tears. His expression softened, and he leaned his forehead down to rest on hers.
"I would never leave you like that. I promise." They stared deeply into each other's eyes, finding reassurance in their connection, before Toby jumped in.
He gave Jim's arm a tight hug and laughed, "Leave the mushy for the bedroom." Both Claire and Jim reddened and took a step away from the other, shuffling awkwardly. Blinky and Toby laughed good naturedly and Aaarrrgghh joined in with a slow chuckle. "But seriously," Toby continued, "We almost thought we lost you there. You can't do that to me! Who would make me lunch for school?"
Jim beamed down at Toby. "Like I said, I'm the Trollhunter. It's going to take a lot more to get rid of me." Then Aaarrrgghh leaned down and rubbed his head against Jim's arm.
"Jim okay." He stated.
"That's right buddy." Jim affirmed and pet Aaarrrgghh's head with his free hand.
Then Claire and Toby turned serious. "It's really late, Jimbo." Toby started.
The realization hit Jim suddenly. He slapped his face with his hand. "Nooo, I was supposed to make supper for my mom today! What time is it?"
Claire winced. "11:00..." Jim's eyes widened like saucers.
"Oh no, oh no! My mom is going to be so mad." Jim fretted. "Wait, what about you guys? Aren't your parents freaking out?"
They both shook their heads. "I told my parents I was at a concert with my friends. They weren't very impressed but it's better than telling them my best friend was mortally wounded by a troll." Claire snorted.
Toby also joined in. "My nana is asleep already and thinks I'm upstairs." He shrugged. "I feel bad lying but it's whatever. We tried to reach your mom too, but I don't have her number and your phone got destroyed in the fight."
Jim shook his head. "That's fine, but I need to get out of here as fast as I can. My mom is probably worried sick." He turned to address the whole room, including Vendel who stood forgotten in a corner. "Thank you all for your help. I'm so glad I have all of you for my friends." The trolls nodded and said their goodbyes as Jim hurried with his friends out the door.
Jim couldn't move any faster than a gentle speed walk so he didn't irritate his wound. Walking through Trollmarket like this was going to take forever, not to mention trying to get home without his bike. He definitely wasn't going to be able to use his bike without immense amounts of pain. Jim grabbed Claire's arm and pulled her back a little bit. "Can you teleport me outside my house?" He pleaded.
Claire shook her head, deep in thought. "I don't know. You're really weak from blood loss, I don't know if you would be able to survive the jump."
Toby turned back and joined in. "I agree with Claire. There's no way you would be able to make that jump without some sort of bad side effect."
"Come on guys, it's going to be morning before I get there at this pace. Besides, the faster I get home the faster you can get home." Jim smiled convincingly.
Claire buried her face in her hand. "I do need to get home soon or else my parents will ground me for a month." Jim nodded and relaxed, happy that he was starting to convince them.
Toby ground his teeth. "We'll do it as long as we can jump through with you to make sure you're okay on the other end."
"I would expect nothing less from my best friends!" Jim exclaimed, a wide grin on his face.
As they lined up to go through the portal, Toby spoke up from behind Jim, "Aw man, you can totally see a bruise going up your neck. It's pretty bad, all dark purple and stuff."
Surprised, Claire crossed over behind Jim too and gasped. "That is going to be hard to hide. Keep wearing turtle necks everyday."
"I already do, so it's no problem." Jim chuckled.
"Also, I don't know if you've seen your face, but you have a scratch on your left cheek. If anyone asks, just say it was my nana's cat." Toby piped up.
"Thanks, Tobs." Jim touched the scratch on his cheek, the raised scab rough beneath his fingers. "Okay, no more wasting time. Let's do this!" Jim stepped forward determinedly. Claire waved the staff, and a snake like shadow jumped from the staff to the air in front of them, coiling into a portal of darkness. Holding hands, with Jim in the middle, they all walked through.
The moment Jim's feet hit the lawn in front of his house, his legs collapsed under him. Toby and Claire both knelt beside him, softly calling his name. Jim could barely hear them, it felt like the world had bounced out of focus and he was desperately trying to get a grip on reality. In an effort to assure his friends that he was fine, Jim shakily got to his feet and brushed away their offered hands.
"I'm fine guys, really. You should get over to your families now." Jim encouraged. Claire looked dubious but summoned another shadow portal despite her fears.
"You're absolutely sure you're fine?" Claire turned back to him, concern etched into every line on her face. Jim took a single unsteady step toward her and grabbed both her hands.
"When we meet up tomorrow I'll be a thousand times better, I promise." He looked down at her.
Toby laid a hand on Jim's arm now. "Just please don't wake us up at, like 4 in the morning again…" He whined. All three shared a quiet, but hearty laugh at that. Finally, Claire turned back to her portal and waved good-bye before jumping through with the grace of a ballerina.
Toby was the next to go. "Seeya!" He called before trotting off to his house across the road. Jim watched him cross the street and enter his house, waiting until the door slowly closed behind his best friend before he slumped to the ground, letting out a groan.
It felt like his legs would never be able to support him again, and the initial numb feeling in his back had worn off, leaving behind what felt like a fire in its place. Flames licked up his back, consuming his flesh before moving in deeper to affect his thought processes to stop him from thinking about anything other than pain. Jim wasn't sure he would be able to last much longer without some form of painkiller. He only needed to make it upstairs to the bathroom, there should be Advil in the medicine cabinet.
Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he slowly started to pull himself upward, using the wall for support. He stumbled to his feet, breathing heavily. The ache only got worse the more he moved, and he was swaying like he might topple at any moment. Leaning on the wall, he shuffled forward. His mind was made up, if he wanted the pain to stop, the best thing to do would be to soldier through it and get relief as soon as possible.
Climbing up each of the step to his front door was pure agony. He couldn't say that he was looking forward to the stairs inside and grimaced each time he lifted his foot to reach the next step. After what felt like an eternity he fell into the front door, fumbling it open and practically tripping inside his house.
If he had been in his right state of mind, Jim would have noticed that all the lights were on downstairs. He also would have noticed that the door, which was always locked before the small family went to bed, was abnormally left unlocked. However, it just so happened that Jim had gone through a great ordeal that day and was in no place to start making observations. He was in too much pain to even begin to think about these abnormalities. And that was his first mistake.
As he tumbled through the doorway with a barely concealed moan of distress, Jim's vision went black as the pain overwhelmed him for a moment. He rubbed his face and blinked hard, trying to regain control of his body. As his vision slowly returned he noticed a figure sitting on a chair in the middle of the hall. Jim's eyes widened with surprise and he straightened up, despite the torture of it and looked straight into the eyes of his mother.
Hey guys! I hope you're all enjoying my work so far. Make sure you follow because I'm updating almost everyday! Also, if you have any suggestions comment down below so I can try to make your dreams happen. I have a basic story outline but any help is very welcome. Thanks so much, I can't say it enough!
