Please don't hate me, my life is a mess. And I know you really like this, but sometimes I just don't have time to sit down and write. Thanks so much for liking my story though.
Honestly, you guys are the best. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 25: Should we spill?
How I've managed to get myself and Claire mixed up in this much of a mess this time around… The amount of chaos here in Corbin, just went up.
"What the fricking hell is that?!" I hear a familiar girls voice from around the corner, proceeding to sigh and slam my horns into the nearest thing. Leaving cracks in the sheetrock and paint of the school's wall.
Maggie pauses her goblin slashing for a moment, head picking up at the noise. "Was that…"
"Ashley," Claire sighes.
"What is she doing here?" I yell.
Claire bats a goblin down the hall with her staff, grunting as she replies. "She's probably the one the goblins came here for."
"Who's up for damage control?" NotEnrique asks with a slightly demonic grin.
"Busy," Maggie grunts. Using one of her escrima sticks to kill a goblin.
"Do I look like I can do damage control?" I grunt at the changeling.
"Do I?" He laughs before turning to Claire. "Sis, I think it's your turn."
"Ughhh! Fine, but I'm not cleaning up this mess." She smirks, gesturing to the smashed gobblin all over the halls before turning to run around the next corner, only to slam directly into Ashley.
I dive for the nearest hall and poke my head around to watch out of sight.
The girl's face pales at the sight of the goblins and like, then lights up like it's christmas. "Cool, can I help?" She says.
Claire narrows her eyes and glares, and pushes the girl back around the corner. I then return to helping Maggie with the goblins, even though it doesn't seem like she needs it.
Around the corner I hear Claire. "What are you doing here?"
"Came in late to work on a project. So can I help?"
"No, we're good. Just, forget you ever saw any of this and go home."
"I came here to get away from home," Ashley says.
I listen as Claire takes a deep breath. "Ashley, I need you to not be here right now. Ok?"
"Ughhh! Why. It's not like I have friends to tell what I see. Wait… Are those the things that attacked Liv? You're covered in the same scratches she is! What was it? Gotta be something supernatural. What's all over the walls… And you? Ew it smells. Common, please!"
Damn, that girl's observant! But too many people already know. Too many people will know… if our other friends ever stop asking questions.
"I'm sorry, Ashley," Claire says. "It's not up to me. It's not my secret. And it's too dangerous."
"If there's a chance of death, that only makes it more appealing."
"I really hope you're joking, because I don't want you dead, or eaten. Now, just…"
"Fine, fine. I'm leaving." I hear her say, smiling.
Claire comes back and falls right into the swing of things.
"She was joking, right?" I ask.
Claire shrugs. "It's an honest 50/50 with her. But we're Gen Z, so it's kinda in our humor."
"Fair enough."
"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get rid of the rest of these goblins," Maggie says.
"Agreed," I growl.
…
It's probably two or three in the morning, we don't go to our cave, it's too far for how tired the girls are. We go to maggie's house, sleep in the movie room. It's been about three weeks since she'd found out. And other then small amounts of training on the weekends, she was an incredible addition to team Trollhunter.
I wake Claire up from off the beanbag, wearing some borrowed PJ's. After I make them breakfast, the three of us drowsily make our way to the school just before the break of dawn.
The second we walk in the doors, I scent something off. As well as all of the teachers looking like their hiding something.
"Shit!" I say under my breath.
"Language, Jim," Claire scolds. "What is it?"
"We forgot to get rid of the evidence." I say as I drag my hand down my face.
"Shit," the girls murmur in unison.
We run to the areas that the goblins got in first and find it's blocked off with caution tape. Though all the green goo is plainly visible. Detective skinner yelling at his phone because someone isn't picking up…
Crap he's probably trying to call Claire or I, both our phones are back in NTM.
I jump the yellow tape and run over to him, getting yelled at my several teachers on my way.
"Skinner," I say as I walk up.
"Jim! Finally, I've been trying to call you since 4AM."
"Sorry, phones are back at the cave." I say.
Claire and Maggie duck under the tape and also get yelled at, Maggie very proudly produces her middle finger.
"Alright," he says slowly. "What am I supposed to do. They don't know what all this is. They want me to find out. And they want to know why some of this goo has arms and legs. Also, I think you missed one, and it's in the vents." The detective points up at the ceiling.
Focusing my hearing I listen for the tell tale signs of goblins in the vents, and he's right. But luckily it's only one.
"I'll have to get it later," I say. "There's nothing I can do about it during the day, looking like this."
"What about me?" Maggie asks.
"K, let me rephrase that. We won't be doing anything during the day. Because someone might see the goblin."
"Actually Jim," Claire puts her hand on my shoulder. "That might not be a bad idea."
My expression falls flat. "Claire, do you want Blinkey to ground me for life?"
"No," she smiles. "But think about it. How are we going to explain all of this, plus our wounds, and everything else."
I take a breath and consider her suggestion, she's not wrong. She rarely is.
"Dang it!" I growl. "Skinner, get everyone out of this hall and talk to the principal, have him set up an emergency assembly first thing. Maggie, I need you to find a cage, or a crate. Something to put the goblin in where it's visible. Claire, be my lookout."
Everyone nods and goes their separate ways. Once I'm sure the hallway is clear, I jump and grab the vent grate on the ceiling. I pull it down, crawl inside the vent, and begin to track the goblin.
It doesn't take long to find it, being as smelly and noisy as they are. Then make my way back to the hall I came from where Claire is waiting. Maggie's arrived with two milk crates from the kitchen and some zip ties.
I slide out of the vent and land next to the girls, holding a very uncooperative goblin.
Shoving it in one milk crate, Maggie slams the other on top. And Claire begins putting the zip ties on each handle.
The goblin growling and snapping the whole time, shaking the crates and being feisty.
"Clever thinking with the milk crates and zipties." I say. The goblin still making a racket.
"Always in the mood to Macgyver something," She smiles.
The hall, filled with the sound of distressed goblin.
I give it a quiet roar, enough to shake it's cage and growl at it. "Shut up!" I snarl. "Be quiet if you want to keep living."
Dark, I know. But it stops making noise.
I throw my jacket over the top and pick up the combined crates that make a cage. And together we find detective Skinner. Who is waiting with the principal.
He sees me carrying the cage and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Please, please, please, don't tell me you have a goblin in there."
The principal does a double take at what was said and I give a sheepish smile to both men.
"A goblin," principal Sands asks. Disbelief written clearly on his face. He looks back at Detective and gains a something akin to a sneer on his lips. "You want me to hold an emergency assembly to explain why the halls are covered in green goo as a prank. And now you're saying that it was put there by goblins?"
Claire shakes her head, glaring. "It wasn't put there by goblins, it is goblin. Or what's left after they get smashed."
"Yeah, no," The principal says. "And I'll just send you three to detention for spreading the goo all over the school."
He tries walking away, but Maggie is in front of him in a moment and grabs his wrist, twisting it expertly. Making him spin around to face me. She holds his arm twisted against his back.
"Jim's the kind of person you want to listen to, Mr. Sands, I think you should pay him a bit more respect."
I stare at the girl like she's nuts, mainly because she is, and shake my head. "Maggie, what are you doing?"
"I… I'm getting his respect, that's what you taught me…"
"If you think that's how you get respect with human adult authority, you missed the whole point of that lesson," Claire says.
I set aside the quiet goblin and gently move Maggie away from the principal.
"I'd like to apologize, Mr. Sands. I've been teaching Maggie about my culture, I think she forgot the usual standards."
The principal rubs his arm and gives me a nod.
"If you let me explain, sir. Before I moved here, it was my job to keep certain things a secret from humans. And to keep humans safe from things that aren't quite… safe."
Mr. Sands looked at me with both confusion, and like he was ready to dial the mad house.
"I know, I sound nuts, but just trust me? Let me show you."
He looks skeptically at the crates I'd set down, but gives a wary nod.
"Alright, so this is the same kind of thing that attacked Livia Moon. Not a wild animal. This is called a goblin." I remove the jacket and the goblin's beady eyes stare up at us, it hisses at me before cowering in the corner.
The principal jumps back. "What the hell is that thing? It's hideous. It's… ugh, it smells."
"A goblin, Principal Sands," Claire states. "The halls are covered in the remains of several hundred other goblins."
"What happened to them?" he asks.
"We did," Maggie says.
"Last night, my scout I've had keeping an eye on the goblin hordes, allerted me to the movement of them. They were targeting a student who had stayed late to work on a school project. We intercepted them and killed several of the hordes before the rest retreated. This one," I point to the caged creature, "mannaged to hide in the vents till this morning."
"Killed?" He asks, eyes wide.
I nod. "That's kind of my job."
"Under normal circumstances," Claire begins. "We would like to keep goblins, or Jim's 'job' a secret. But seeing as they've been here for over a month, and their numbers keep growing…"
"I need everyone to know about the creatures that could harm them, I can't let anyone else get hurt like Livia. And I'd like to avoid killing goblins in the halls for hours at a time."
"And you need the assembly to notify everyone about these creatures."
I give a single nod and the principal looks to Skinner.
"You knew about these things?"
"No," Skinner says. "I only know that Jim protects people from things we don't understand."
"Alright, I'll set up the assembly." He says, posture rigid and eyes confused. He walks briskly down the hall toward the office and I drape my Jacket back over the 'cage'.
"Are you sure I'm doing the right thing?" I ask Claire.
"Yeah, I'm sure. If we're gonna keep everyone safe, we've got to educate them."
"I just wish I could help you guys more," Skinner says.
"You're doing plenty, thanks." I say, then turn to Maggie. "But what the hell Maggs?! Are you trying to get charged with assault? You only use violence to gain respect from trolls."
She shrugs. "I've been doing that for years, I have yet to be arrested." She says then walks away.
I take a deep breath. "Sometimes, I just want to go back to California and be human," I say as I pinch the bridge of my nose.
Claire leans against me and pecs me on the cheek. "Normal is so boring, but Maggie is something else."
"Something else indeed." Skinner says.