The rays of sunlight pierce the eyes of Spruce Tree as his eyes flutter open. The window to his right was annoying, but he first had to figure out where he is exactly. His last memories weren't exactly pleasant, but at least he seems to be resting on a soft bed instead of the ground.
He moves his head slightly so he's staring at the ceiling, but even that small action has a horrible price. He winces in pain from the shock of moving the stiff muscle. He studies the ceiling carefully, a mixture of silver and white hair mixed lightly in delicate patterns. He's home. But how?
A motion to his left causes him to turn, gritting his teeth through the pain. A larger red troll sits by his bed, his hands tightly gripping Spruce's hand. It takes a second for Spruce's eyes to focus on the troll, before he realizes it's a glitter troll sleeping soundly. It's Hugster. Pruce can't help the dopey smile that covers his face as he watches the troll sleep. He wants to say something, but when he opens his mouth, his throat hurts horribly and he can't say a word. He instead coughs heartily, waking the sleeping Hugster. It takes a few moments of hazy recognition in the burgundy troll's eyes, but his face lights up immensely as he recognizes that Spruce is awake.
"Spruce." He says, gently squeezing Spruce's hand and gently placing his forehead on the green troll's forehead. Silent tears fall down the trolls cheek and onto Spruce before he takes a step back. He rushes out of the room in a blur.
Before Spruce can question Hugster's actions, three figures surround him. Spruce has to take a few blinks to recognize his brother and closest friend. Plum and Ash smile at Spruce as they gently check his vitals and perform a quick once over. Once they're done, they help to gently prop Spruce up so he can see the whole room. Hugster takes his hand once more as Spruce begins to recognize his surroundings.
"Spruce, thank sugar you're back." Ash nearly chokes out as he collapses at the foot of the bed and begins to sob. Spruce opens his mouth to talk once more, but the same pain stops him, causing him to go into another coughing fit.
"Are you ok?" Hugster asks worriedly.
Spruce nods and tries to reach to his throat to indicate he's thirsty. He wants to pat his neck to show it, but he can't move his hand. Of course his left hand is taken up by Hugster, but why isn't his other hand making contact with his throat? As sluggish as he is, he should've reached it by now.
A sinking feeling places itself in Spruce's heart as he slowly looks down to his right side. Nothing. Only a small bandaged off nub where his right arm used to be. He moves his mouth, but nothing comes out, this time from pure shock. Spruce looks around frantically.
"Spruce." Plum says gently as she rests her hand on Spruce's shoulder," It appears you were in a bad accident when you were on your trip."
"They did their best." Hugsters says quietly as he squeezes Spruce's hand," They stopped the bleeding and amputated the last part of your arm and…" Hugster slowly lifts the covers to reveal Spruce's left stump right below his hip, bandaged neatly like his arm.
Spruce sits in shock, staring at his leg. The pit in his stomach was growing. Memories want to come back, but something is stopping them, something Spruce doesn't want to touch. He wants to know why it happened, but deep inside he's scared of the known answer. Spruce looks around the room once more to try and get a grip on reality so he doesn't break down. The room is small, not the regular room he's been used to sleeping in. All the furniture is smaller, his foot even touches the baseboard of the bed. This wasn't his room, this was…
"Branch." Spruce says in alarm, his hoarse throat shocking the room. Spruce coughs violently as Hugster quickly turns to fill a glass with water. He slowly help's Spruce to take a few sips. Spruce tries to clear his throat.
"Spruce, Spruce, it's ok." Plum says gently.
Spruce realizes he's crying, and he's hyperventilating. He tries to take a few deep breaths but his shaking only increases as his memories try harder to creep back into his head. He shakily reaches out for Hugster, who pulls him into a loving embrace. Hugster gently pats Spruce's head, trying to sooth him.
"What happened out there?" Hugster asks quietly.
That one sentence unlocks the flood gates, and Spruce's memories come flooding back in. He yells in agony over the pain he'd experienced in the past four weeks, but the tears that pour down his face are in frustration and self hatred as he remembers what he's done to his son. Spruce cries and screams for what feels like an eternity to everyone in the room. Once he finally calms down, he snuggles into Hugster's chest, softly sobbing.
"Spruce, I'm going to ask you a question." sits on the right side of the bed and gently taps on Spruce's shoulder," Can you please tell us what happened? Take as much time as you need to, but we need to hear the exact story from the source."
Spruce shakily turns his head and takes a couple deep breaths. He sits up straight and leans heavily against the wall, before making direct eye contact with Plum.
"Alright here's how it went…"
"Branch slow down." Spruce laughed as he looked up in the trees to see the little grey blur jumping from branch to branch.
"I'm just so excited to get those books!" Branch said as he landed next to Spruce on the ground.
"I know buddy." Spruce chuckled," But we need to make sure to save our energy so that we can quickly dart in and out of the troll tree."
"I'll be so quick, I'll be like a ninja." Branch covered his body with his hair then jumped from side to side," All sneaky."
"I know that you'll be sneaky as a mouse, or even quieter. However, we'll have to try and be as discreet as possible. It's only been three years, we don't know how much of a grudge they hold against us. They may even have bergens patrolling the tree." Spruce stopped as he thought of the words he's said, then looked down to Branch who shook slightly as he walked slowly next to Spruce.
"Are they hunting us?" Branch asked weakly.
Spruce looked down and smiled gently, before grabbing Branch and carrying him in his arms. Spruce gently placed his forehead on Branch's, and without saying a word the two continued forwards. Spruce humed a small song as Branch rested his head on Spruce's shoulder. A small smile on his mouth, and a twinge of blue appearing on his ears.
It took three days for the pair to reach the root tunnels, the two stopped in awe to look at the multitude of tunnels. It took another half day to figure out a tunnel to explore. However, the tunnels had expanded and twisted in the three years since the previous trip. This led to five days of being continually lost through the tunnels. But with marking the sides of the caves, they made an easy path back out.
When they finally emerged out of the tree they were shocked at what they saw. The tree with dark red and orange leaves. The troll tree has never had anything but green and healthy leaves before. What's more, every pod layed on the ground, some completely torn apart, some smashed into the ground, and others cracked and broken. Not one was left in the tree.
The most heartbreaking site to Branch was the assortment of holes dug all around the tree. He noticed a particular mound of dirt dug up, where his godmother was supposed to be resting eternally. Branch grasped Spruce tightly before Spruce embraced him.
The two snuck down quietly, observing the sadness of the bergens' day to day lives. They didn't seem to pay any mind to the tree, instead wallowing in their own misery. On the ground they managed to find a rainbow patterned pod, only slightly cracked, near the base of the tree. They walked in and looked upon the multitude of scrapbooks strewn upon the floor and messily lying on shelves. Branch and Spruce looked excitedly to each other as they dug through the books. They couldn't take much between the two of them, so they had to make careful choices. It took another day to make their final choices.
Spruce ended up taking eight books, four on the history of the trolls before their isolation in the troll tree, and four on medical practices that had been worn from use between the doctors in the village. Branch could only manage to grab five books. He grabbed two books of assorted fairy tales for his friends, and two books on advanced survivalist skills written by his ancestors, and a critter identifying guide.
After securing the books the two trolls snuck back into the tunnels and made their way to through the tunnel. It took them only a day to get fully through the tunnel with their markings. They happily celebrated together as they approached the end of the tunnel.
"I think we'll be able to get back quickly." Spruce said, gently tossing Branches hair," Took a little longer than we thought, but at least we found out the library is still in tack."
Before Branch could respond, a loud thud shook the ground around the pair. Spruce and Branch tried their best to regain their balance, before another thud. Then another. A large figure emerged from the forest, and Branch's color faded to white as he realized what was in front of him.
"I knew it was a good idea to stick around this area of the forest." Helga 'Chef' Griswold said as she emerged from the trees. She looked at the two trolls before her before her eyes settled on Branch, a twinge of recognition appeared in her eyes." It's you. You're the troll from that time."
Spruce grabbed Branch and sprinted to the other side of the small clearing. Helga quickly followed, a horrifying snarl on her face as she recognized the troll who she believed to cause all her troubles had appeared before her again.
Thus began a terrifying game of cat and mouse for three weeks. The duo would try to hide or sneak past the bergen only for her to wait them out. They had to scour for random berries and foliage to keep up their strength. The longest they went without sleep was four days, before Branch collapsed and Spruce had to drag him into a tree knot to hide for two days. They grew weaker and weaker but they knew they couldn't lead the burgen to the village. After three weeks they managed to trap her in a large bog full of surprisingly deep mud pools. They then ran for three days without stopping.
Once they were sure they had lost her, they sat and took a long rest. Branch and Spruce cried for what seemed like hours. Whether they were tears of hurt, of pain, of happiness or of grief, neither knew. But they did know that they were safe. They were finally safe. After they rested for the night, the pair decided to climb a tree and navigate their way home that way.
They spotted a familiar tree top and began making their way towards it. By this time, they had been gone for three weeks and six days. They walked, and walked, and walked. They didn't stop to forage for food, they just wanted to reach their home and give their story to the king.
Branch stumbled and fell onto the ground, exhausted. Spruce turned towards him and hurried to his side.
"Branch, it's just a little farther." Spruce said in a hoarse voice," We just need to push through this last couple of miles."
"I'm...I'm so hungry dad." Branch cried softly.
Spruce just looked at the little troll, noticing how he was little more than skin and bones at this point. He looked to himself and realized the same was true for him. He looked around at the trees, seeing if there were any berries he could pick for a quick snack. He laid his eyes upon some donut shaped purple berried on a bush ten feet in front of the two in a small clearing. Spruce knew they needed something or they'd be in serious trouble.
Spruce helped Branch to the side of the clearing and sat him upright on a tree root. Spruce instructed Branch to hide himself, and Branch did as he was told like a good son.
Spruce quickly ran into the clearing and picked a berry off the bush it sat on. He tried to squeeze it to make juice and expose the meat of the fruit, but it wouldn't pop. Spruce pushed and squeezed with all his might but the berry wouldn't budge. He looked horrified as he realized that these were Stout Berries, a berry with an unnaturally strong hide, that only the strongest troll could pop. Spruce turned to face Branch with his heart full of defeat.
The sudden darkness was the one thing the green troll could recognize before he could see Branch. Then the pain hit. He was being squeezed nearly as hard as he had been squeezing the berry. It was intense and horrid. Next he only could hear Branch's fading scream. Spruce almost blacked out, only to be thrown back into reality by the piercing light of the sun.
Spruce looked around, and he realized he was in a nest. Two large black bird chicks with large gem-like eyes sat in front of him. He tried to stumble backwards away from the birds, but a sharp stab to his back and shove forwards told him that mama was behind him, and he was on the menu for lunch. The chicks swarmed on top of him. He did his best to fight them and shove them off, but he was too weak, he was too tired.
The two chicks clamped down heavily on Spruce's right wrist and left ankle. Spruce yelled in agony as they began to pull their prey greedily and eagerly. The only noise Spruce could hear was the sickening pop of his joints dislocating and the only thing he could feel was the searing and agonizing pain of his flesh ripping apart at the seams. With one final tug, his limbs ripped off his body and Spruce let out a blood curdling scream. It was startling enough for the mama bird to knock him out of the nest in fear of his alerting a higher predator.
"Dad!" Branch screamed as he watched the green troll falling from the top of the tree. He had been sprinting his heart out after witnessing a large emerald eye crow snatch up his dad and fly away. Luckily the nest was close, but Branch didn't know if he could climb the tree fast enough to save his dad.
As soon as Spruce had fallen halfway down the tree, Branch propelled himself forwards with his hair, catching Spruce and surrounding them with his hair to cushion their fall. Once they hit the ground, he held onto Spruce tightly until the hairball stopped moving.
Once he retracted his hair, he looked in horror at the bloody mess in front of him. Spruce's stump of an arm and leg gushed blood like two macabre fountains. Branch sat in pure fear at Spruce, as his color began to fade hasilty. A sharp pain then hit Branch, shocking him.
Branch stumbled and realized he hit himself. He shook the shock from his head and knelt next to Spruce, who was out cold and sweating profusely. Panicking, Branch looked around before looking down. He looked to the pants that were lovingly given to him by the fashion couple. He whispered a thank you as he ripped the shins of each pant leg off and made two quick tourniquets for the amputated limbs.
Branch then quickly lifted Spruce onto his back. He was heavy, far heavier than anything Branch was used to. He nearly collapsed from the weight of the body and weight of exhaustion, but Branch knew what he had to do. He ran. He couldn't feel his body, he could barely see the blurred forest,and he even barely recognized the rocks he kept tripping over, but he continued. If he wasn't fast, he might lose another precious person.
'This happened because you were too needy.' A small voice rang in Branch's head. As Branch continued to run, the voice only got louder and more convincing.
Branch ran until the moon was high overhead then continued to run past the rising sun. As he stumbled, he wanted to give up and collapse. His lungs hurt and his body ached for him to rest, but the warm sensation of Spruce's blood on Branch's arms and back motivated him to continue.
Branch barely noticed when he arrived at the Troll village, until several trolls stopped him dead in his tracks. Branch was confused, he didn't know where he was. It was only when Peppy appeared before him that Branch could even begin to recognize where he was. He knew he was home.
He carefully put Spruce down, and was even more shocked that his normally stunningly dark green father figure had turned near white. Branch started to reach out to see if he was still alive, and unwrap the rest of him. He barely recognized Ash quickly approaching him before stopping so close. In a flash Plum was in front of him, then Ash, then more trolls began to crowd around him.
'They all blame you for this.' The now very loud voice in Branch's head said,' And you know it's true. It's your fault he'll die. This is all your fault.'
"My fault." Branch whispered before he got up and quickly ran to the side of the village.
He watched as four trolls came and placed Spruce onto a gurney. He watched them rush off with Plum. He watched Ash start to follow, before turning to look, with what Branch could only describe as anger in his eyes. Branch could only assume Ash was looking for him, to yell at him for his irresponsible idea, but Ash ran towards the clinic with Plum, completely ignoring Branch's existence.
Branch could then only run to his home. He threw the stone door aside, and slammed it back with his hair, before sprinting and ducking into the cavern beneath his home. He locked the small cellar door that, before tears began running down his face, then the hunger hit. The weeks without proper food, the endless running, they had begun to catch up to him.
He looked at the jars of food he had on the shelves he carved out himself. He tore them open and devoured every last shred of food in this makeshift pantry, gulping down whatever water he had stored down there as well, all while tears flooded his eyes. The voice in his head rang loud and clear with his faults and his self-hatred.
"Branch!" Peppy's voice rang out above him as Branch heard the door to his house opened.
Branch covered his mouth and ducked into a corner of the cavern. He surrounded himself with hair to disguise himself. He didn't want anyone to find him. He didn't want to be openly blamed for his father's death like he was blamed for his grandma's. He went so far as to sink his teeth into his cheek to stop him from uttering a sound.
"Branch!" Peppy's voice rang clear, the furniture was being moved around upstairs," Branch are you here?"
After five minutes Peppy's voice faded as he ran out of the rock, yelling for Branch the whole way. Branch remained hidden. He let his tears fall, but he didn't utter a single sound. He just wallowed in his now lonely world. He laid on his side, listening only to the voice in his head.
'Your fault. This is all your fault. It's always been your fault. Everyone died because of you. Remember this. Remember you're responsible for everyone's death.' The voice got louder and louder, not stopping when Branch eventually fell asleep.
Once he woke up he made a vow to himself, and he put a lock on his heart. He decided that if all he brought was death to those he loved, he would never love again. He wouldn't give anyone a chance. That day was the last day anyone ever saw the rock door to Branch's home close, never to be opened again.