Hours later -

A giant blue troll came marching in, he had white horns and was towering over us had he roared, he had an insane look in his eye almost as if he had been down here decades. My brother somehow slept through this.

He started muttering in trollish as he spoke, it was all wrong though, disoriented and mispronounced… with a certain edge to it, no eloquence nor trollish edge to it… just pure brute force.

I could speak trollish a bit… the basics, still cradling my brother in my arms, he was only 6, life wasent fair though.

Hi, how going? What place? Please eat I mean no no no no eat! Speaking troll was so difficult, I spent 3 years trying to master languageplus the the tone of the troll though I think I did a good job, my brother had no interest in learning how to make your tone rough yet eloquent, most girl trolls nowadays, like my best friend knew how to speak proper.

The bruting monster swung is head towards us and I winced back in terror, as I scooted back I realized there was bones… I didn't even have to look to know they were human… this was a very bad idea. His eyes quickly lost focus and resumed to what he was doing… I picked out the very few words I could understand.

Crush bones! I don't know… where is he? Why am I still here? What's that? I don't know… it was a honor… it was a honor… blood pie... I can't believe I did that… FATHER! Father! Father! Nooo! Waka Chaka, Waka Chaka

After that his mind seemed to go even crazier, listening to him wasent going to work, everything as incoherent to disturbing… he moved in a unnatural way, almost like if a goblin tried to walk on two legs. He seemed to always have an angry expression on, everything about him just screamed insanity and as I took a closer look at him he looked like he should have only been a young adult in trollage, but his appearenced made him look much older, his white horns were cracked and chipped and his whole body was banged up. I quickly understood why when all of a sudden he was thrown into a mad rage where he banged up against teh wal destroying some cages in the process before crushing anything. NOT A GOOD SIGN! I was trying my best to stay calm but I was never trained to deal with being stuck underground half the world away and being with a mentally insane troll.

Almost as if hearing my thoughts his crazy eyes swervled and met mine, I clutched my brothers sleeping body closer, staring back at him… was he going to kill us? His expression was contorted with rage but seemed to be expressionless at the same time, same goes for his eyes, unruly and wild like the pack of wolves I met in the forest yet had a dull emptines to them. He stormed out of the room cracking the ground as he left and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was keeping in.

My brother woke up after that, oh NOW he wakes up.

"I-i-is h-he-e g-g-go-one?!" he whimpered almost incorherently, ok apparently he had been faking.

"For now," I said surprised my voice was so even.

Hours later he came back speaking more trollish, I flinched away from him as he began muttering to himself, his voice was distracting though, my brother's eyes widened as he began talking...

Everything is emty, everything is emty, how long? 78 years of course, Wife? I wasen- yes of course, Thats a good! Nothing is here, cold stones, did they do it? Humans fall yes. Flesh-bags are tasty! Friends! Tasty! Friends! Tasty! Friend! No no no! I don't know...

He was staring directly at us… he was going crazy! I tuned him out the best I could as he started debating more… morbid stuff.

"H-he is talking about eatting us," whimpered Draal, I couldent even console him… I was never good at lying and I was as blunt as hell, I kept quiet already knowing that we would be lunch or pummeled soon, I had already tried to break out… no use… I had to do something though.

Whats your name?

His eyes fixated for a matter of 2 seconds peering almost curiously at me.

No way, yes way, Bomb? No, different, how long? Did you forget about me? Is it gone? Its crumbling isent it? Im supposed to be dead.

I felt discouraged and wanted to give up then but I kept talking.

Are we going to die?

Yes I am very deadly! Hehehe! Yes Deadly… Deadly… Deadly… that sounds familiar… better write that down… what was it again? Bats.

I winced backwards, this was not a good idea… deadly, I believed that… we had probably not been here for 24 hours and I had already seen him kill 7 creatures in front of me.

How long have you been here?

Alone. Abandoned. Rescue come soon though! They- they wouldent forget about me… if they were still alive right? Is it gone? Its falling, everything is… nothing is alive, truly alone.

I blinked at his somber tune gaining a bit of humanity? Or uhh trollanity? When I didn't speak my brother pitched in, obviously not caring I already got no answer from the exact same question earlier.

What is your name?

The splendid thing, about falling apart silently… is that you can start over as many times

as you like. If I cannot be in your life, then at least let me live in your heart. I can't remember, nothing, I prefer it that way, it is the only thing here after all, and darkness… The once familiar elements of their life reduced to nothing more than occasional mentions in conversations and faces changing in photographs…..They exist to you now as nothing more than living proof that something can still hurt you … with no contact at all

I stared at him, those words were either insanity or just to innovated for my mind to know... either way the craziness in his voice had died down, and we could make out most of his words… it still as a mystery to me.

Did it crumble? I didn't… I wanted to though…. Not back then… now I do.

What crumbles?

Whatcha talking about?

Atlas… the world…

How long had he been down here… Atlas? Where had I heard that before? Wasent that the Greek Titan who held up the sky? Grumps called dad that… we called him Grumps instead of Gramps because he was Grumpy! Oh and what Grumps called my dad but that was exclusive to him. Was he around during Greek times?

Atlas?

I think perhaps I will always hold a candle for you – even until it burns my hand.

and when the light has long since gone …. I will be there in the darkness holding what remains, quite simply because I cannot let go, I don't know where you are now though… I failed didn't I? That's why you diden't come back… I'm sorry

The troll seemed so miserable saying those words I couldent help but feel bad for him, who left him? And why did he think the world was crumbling… he seemed to have been here for ages.

Who? Who left you? Its not nice to leave someone here… I understand why you are like this...

I CANT REMBER! I FORGOT! NOTHING IS HERE! IM NOT A IDIOT! MY MIND IS FADING I KNOW! T-THEY WERENT BAD! I DONT THINK SO! I JUST WANT OUT! I WANT FREE! TO SEE THE SUN EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!

In his sudden snap I flinched back, I hit a nerve… not a good one.. the insanity was back in his eyes as he smashed his giant fist on the ground I moved my brother behind me again as he stared at him shocked. He trotted out muttering in his incoherent trollish again and I felt my body shaking.

"W-we need to get out of here now!" yelped my brother urgently.