Okay, things are going to get serious in this chapter. No humor in this chapter, this is where it gets real.
Sofia had never been more scared in her life then when Chef led her and all the other trolls in the bird cage into the kitchen. Despite her best efforts to put on a brave face she couldn't hide the fact that she was terrified that she might literally die tonight. She was only eight, she still had a good long life ahead of her, and it might all end tonight unless they all found someway to escape.
"I'm so sorry about all of this." Chef chuckled as she put the cage on the kitchen counter. "But I couldn't just let you leave right before the Trollstice feast. A meal that you are all invited to. And when I meal all I mean every last troll in the troll village."
"You'll never find them." Poppy growled, trying to remain brave for the rest of the group. "Not where their hiding.
The Chef didn't seem concerned at all. "Oh you're right I could never find the trolls by myself, but maybe I could with someone they knew. Someone they trusted! someone like this guy!"
Chef unzipped her fanny pack and pulled out Creek by the hair, who was in a zen like meditation pose.
"Hello everyone." Creek smiled while still staying in his meditation pose.
"Creek your alive!" Poppy cheered as the Chef sat him down on the counter. Branch though did not seem to be sharing Poppy's joy. How could Creek still be alive after everything that he's been through, how could he be so calm while in the Chef's presence? What did Chef mean she could find the trolls with someone they trusted unless...
"He's selling us out!" Branch wrapped his hair around Creek's neck and started strangling him, forcing Poppy and Sofia to pull him back and restrain him before he killed Creek.
"Branch, calm down." Poppy yelled "Let explain himself, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this."
"Thank you Poppy." Creek said rubbing his neck from where Branch wrapped his hair around Creek's throat. Creek then let out a deep sigh and explained himself. "I'm selling you out."
This time it was Poppy's turn to wrap her hair around Creek's neck in anger. Branch and Sofia who was both equally furious with Creek over his betrayal stood back and didn't interfere this time. However the rest of the gang did interfered and pulled the scolding mad Poppy off Creek.
"You better explain yourself Creek!" Poppy screamed.
Once Creek calmed down from the rush of adrenaline he received from nearly being strangled twice, he began to explain himself again.
"As I was about to except my fate I had what can only be described as a awakening. You see I didn't want to die, so I shot myself out of the bergen king's mouth and begged with the chef to make a deal with her. In exchange for my life I would give her all the trolls in the village.
"No." Poppy cried.
"Trust me," Creek said "I wish there was some other me not getting eaten way."
"But their isn't" Chef said sharpening a knife.
"Creek, please don't do this." Poppy cried.
"Trust me Poppy, this is something I am going to live with for the rest of my life. At least you get to die with a clear conscious. In a way you can say, I'm doing this for you." Creek then reached into Poppy's hair and pulled out Poppy's cow bell and booping Poppy's nose with it.
Now it was Sofia's turn to snap. "You don't deserve Poppy's love!" Sofia screamed "You were Poppy's favorite, she LOVED you and you betrayed her! You betrayed us all! Your just going to let us all die while you live in peace? Your a coward, a pathetic little coward!"
Creek turned around to face Sofia after her blow up. Sofia rarely ever snapped at people like that but after working so hard to save him only for him to sell them out was enough for her to reach her breaking point.
"Oh while it's on my mind Chef you see that one troll over there that said all those mean and hurtful things to me?" Creek pointed to Sofia and her eyes went wide as she realized what he was about to do "Well she is actually a human but that amulet she wears around her neck gives her the power to turn into a troll."
"Oh really?" Chef grinned staring down at Sofia.
"Imagine what you could do with that amulet. You could turn anybody into a troll with it. The king, that maid, anybody. You will never had a shortage of trolls with it."
"The amulet doesn't work like that." Sofia protested "It only gives you a power when you do a..." Creek didn't listen as he wrapped his hair around Sofia's amulet, nearly choking her as he yanked the amulet off.
"Give that back!" Sofia demanded "You don't know what you are doing!"
"Why should I it's not like you are going to need it much longer anyway." Creek then shoved Sofia to the back of the cage before handing the amulet to Chef. "Here you go Chef."
"Excellent, I must say you have impressed me. Now lead me to the other trolls."
"As you wish." Creek then left leaving a very heartbroken Poppy, and a very angry and shocked everybody else in locked in the cage alone. Outside of Poppy, Sofia was the most shocked of them all. Not only did Creek, the troll they risked life and limb for betray them, but he also gave Creek her amulet, preventing Sofia from turning back into human form. She was stuck in troll form, powerless to change back, realization of her fate sinking in, Sofia crouched down on the floor of the cage and started to cry.
"Amber was right," Sofia cried "I never should have gone on this adventure." As Sofia sat on the ground, tears welding up in her eyes, she thought of all the people she might never see again. Her parents, her siblings, Clover and the rest of her animal friends, Mr. Cedric and Baileywick, as well as all her friends in the village. She wouldn't see any of them again because of her choice to go on a stupid suicide mission. "Oh what have I gotten myself into?"
Branch stood in silence as he watched Sofia crying on the floor. For the first time in a long time he actually felt sorry for someone other than himself. Sofia might have gotten on his nerves a few times, and Branch might have been a little mean to her, but Sofia was just a kid. A kid who unfortunately got in way over her head. Feeling that she was in need of some comfort Branch walked over to Sofia and put his arm around her in a comforting hug.
"Hey there, it's going to be okay."
"No, no it's not going to be okay Branch." Sofia cried "We're all going to die don't you see that? You were right Branch, this was a bad idea. You were right about everything."
Branch let out a sigh, for once, he didn't want to be right. He wanted to tell her that it was not over that there was still hope. But not even he knew how to escape this one. Still, Sofia was in a state of distraught and panic, and the last thing she needed to hear was that there was no hope. The old him would have blown up at them with a said "I told you so." But something inside Branch for some reason changed. He didn't know why but somehow both Sofia and Poppy for some reason got to him and actually made him see the positive in situations. Heck they showed Bridget true happiness when Branch was more than willing to beat the snot of the bergen girl, grab their friends and head for the hills. Sofia and Poppy showed that they weren't willing to give up on anybody and help bring out the happiness in everyone, even a bergen. In the way those two were starting to inspire him, and he couldn't just abandon them now in their time of need.
"You know something Sofia?" Branch said getting emotional for a moment. "I was wrong about you."
"What do you mean?" Sofia asked, stopping her tears for a moment to listen.
"When you first arrived in the troll village and it was revealed that you were actually a human, I thought you were bad news. I thought you were working with the bergens and was going to lead us all to our doom. But I see now that I was wrong. What you have done, helping out that bergen girl find happiness and helping us find Creek, showed me that you were not who I thought you was. Plus they wouldn't be trying to eat you if you was working for them. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for being a jerk to you. But I'm am going to do cruel things to Creek if I ever get out of here and get my hands on him."
Sofia chuckled a little at that last part, because she wanted to do the same thing to him. "I was a little wrong about you too Branch. I thought you were just a grumpy, heartless, sad troll who was didn't like or trusted anyone and was just mad at the world for no reason. But I now see the pain that you experienced as a child watching your grandmother die, that there was a reason for your sadness. And during Bridget's date with the king, when you helped her find the right words to say to the king, showed that deep down you do have a heart after all. So I apologize myself for my opinion about you."
"Well, I guess I sort of earned the opinion you had of me for a while didn't I? I wasn't really the nicest person to you."
"Branch?" Sofia asked "What are we going to do now?"
"I... I don't know Sofia." Branch admitted, really wishing he had a answer.
"I'm scared Branch."
"I'm scared too kid."
"I don't want to die." Sofia then buried her head in Branch's shoulder and started weeping hard. Branch wrapped his arms around Sofia in comfort as Sofia cried "I don't want to die Branch, I don't want to die!" Branch tried his best to put on a brave face and be calm, but deep down even he feared that this really was the end for them.
Down in Branch's bunker in the troll village, Peppy heard the sound of Poppy's cowbell being banged outside.
"Listen," Peppy said to the other trolls. "It's Poppy's cowbell, she made it!"
All the trolls ran out of the bunker to welcome Poppy and their friends back home. However they all stopped in confusion when all they saw was Creek holding Poppy's cowbell.
"Creek?" Peppy gasped in confusion. Creek just gave a smug smile and shrugged his shoulders as Chef picked him up and put him safely on her shoulder. That is when all the other Bergen cooks stepped out of the shadows all wearing fanny packs to put the trolls in.
"Oh no!" Peppy gasped, he knew what was about to happen.
What, what are you all looking at me like that for? You all know i pull cliffhangers like this all the time. It's my way to get you to keep coming back. So put your pitchforks down.