Hi, everyone, MarcellusMiro66here! This is Chapter 3 of "The Hanging Tree". Previously on "The Hanging Tree"...
(~****~)
"Harper, are you sure this is a great idea?"
"No...but I'm sure it's a good one."
"Well...what have we got to lose? I mean, besides our lives?"
"No one's going to die, you two. At least, I hope..."
Episode 3: "Rule Of Three"
The evening began to settle in after six hours passed. It was around four when the group felt their feet beginning to feel sore from the all walking involved, their aching back only adding to the pain. Not to mention, they didn't bother to stop and rest for a few minutes or more before continuing onward. The moment Harper announced their first pit stop in miles was the moment they literally collapsed onto the ground. They were aching to get some rest and set up camp...no pun intended.
Moxie and Cookie both leaned against each other's backs as they soothed each other's feet.
"Saving the Trolls...is a lot harder than I thought," Cookie groaned as Moxie rubbed her feet.
"No one said it was going to be easy," Moxie groaned as Cookie rubbed her feet.
"I did, and that was my mistake," Mandy rubbed her own feet as she spotted Aspen passing the trio carrying two buckets of water; a pair of Caterbugs appropriately carried an additional pair. Forcing herself to get up, she hobbled her way over to him and snatched the two buckets from him.
"Yeah, but no one's blaming you for it," Aspen watched as the yellow Troll dipped for her feet into them. And...there goes one half of the drinking water for us all... He turned to find Harper gazing at her reflection in the river where he retrieved the water from. But more of that later. Harper clearly has some doubts on her self-proclaimed leadership. "Harper?"
The turquoise Troll seemed to notice him calling her, as she briefly glanced back with her gaze never leaving the reflection. "Aspen's right, Mandy. No one's blaming you for thinking that this was going to be easy. Believe me...I made the same mistake."
The group minus Harper was strongly taken aback by their "leader's" response. Mandy in particular had a strong chord struck within her – not just because she made the assumption that received a questionable reaction, but because she possessed a staunch sisterly relationship with her. When she was first introduced to her by Poppy, Mandy was not exactly adept to adjusting towards younger Trolls and neither did Harper herself. However, the phrase "third time's the charm" existed for a reason; she finally managed to win her over by offering her advice and compliments towards a painting she once brushed...on the third time they met. From there, the path to friendship was slow and steady, but their bond to this day was considered unbreakable in spite of their differences.
Now, Mandy had to prove it to Harper.
"Harper...don't do that."
That time, Harper glanced away from the river and to Mandy. "Do what?"
"That. You're doubting yourself on this mission. It was never easy to begin with, considering it involves saving the other Trolls from the Bergens. You're undermining yourself by thinking it's harder than it already is."
"That's not the only problem..."
"Pardon?"
"With you guys here, there's a higher possibility of becoming a risk or liability in the crossfire. I was supposed to go alone...so nobody else would die. I would become a sacrificial lamb... A worthless martyr."
Mandy staggered back in horror as Harper's next words. "Harper! Do not call yourself worthless! You're much more than that! You're smart, confident, and determined to stand up to the challenge! L–Look! Look where we are! We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!...and that's in the best way possible!"
Harper took a minute to glance around her. The rest of her group shot her a series of sincere smiles that expressed their agreement towards Mandy's speech. She's right...or she's wrong. I don't know for sure. She eventually nodded in understanding and began to apologize. "You're right. I'm...I'm sorry. I'm just...overthinking myself."
"You don't have to apologize, Harper." Mandy pulled her in for a hug, which she returned. "You just need to not lose hope. We'll find them...eventually."
"Even if it takes three months or three years," Cookie placed both hands on her hips and nodded, leaving the others to look at her with a much befuddled expression. Moxie was the only one who acted whereas the others reacted; she punched her friend's arm and prompted to wince in pain.
"Okay then... Now that's out of the way...shall we sleep?"
"Yeah," Harper nodded and turned to Mandy with a smile, "We all deserve it."
Mandy returned said smile and nodded, "That I can agree on."
A few hours into their intended sleep, however...
("Action Reaction" – Rupert Gregson-Williams) [From Wonder Woman]
"HARPER, RUN!"
(0:00-1:02)
The turquoise Troll shot from her bed and turned towards the source of the loud warning/command. However, all she saw was a breed of spiders crawling their way. Her eyes widening in horror, she turned to face her group, who had awoken as a result of the scream. Noticing how tired they still were, though, she instantly got to her feet and helped them up.
"Everyone, we need to go! Now!"
(1:02-3:15)
Mandy was the first to notice the arachnid swarm and she gasped in terrified shock, grabbing her things and helping Moxie to her feet just as Aspen helped Cookie. They immediately made a run for it, abandoning any unnecessary belongings which ended up being torn or trampled to pieces by their eight-legged pursuers. It was because of the unlikely timing of their intervention that it was still nighttime, so no one could witness the ensuing chaos...but fortunately, neither did the spiders. Indeed, most species of spiders have inherited poor night vision despite their eight eyes, and this group was no exception. This fact didn't make the group feel any better, though.
Harper and Aspen both cut down any plants and vines that blocked their escape route, with Mandy hurling the more heavyset ones at the spiders. Her third try managed to knock three of them off their feet and onto their backs. The others merely leapt over their fallen comrades and continued to chase after them. Moxie and Cookie took any leftovers she had left and built boomerangs out of them. Amazingly enough, their first and second tries cut down their legs, but it was the third try that brought about another domino effect much like Mandy's before. Nonetheless, they proved that they weren't going to give up that easily.
(3:15-4:00)
Once their pursuers were far away enough, the group took a few minutes to take a breather before continuing on. As they did, Harper was the only one to notice the two shadowy figures in the distance following them. She was able to spot them because there was a tinge of color besides black, the color of their hooded cloaks. As she noticed them, they seemed to notice her as well, but never acknowledged this fact straightforward. 'Who are they?What are they?' As she continued to lead the group and catch up with them at the same time, the two figures seemed to get smaller and smaller every time she squinted closer and closer. The third time she looked, a better look at the two figures was in order; one of them was clearly a Troll, while the other was clearly...not.
(4:00-5:15)
Aspen suddenly had an idea. Taking a deep breath, he whistled as hard as he could. Out of nowhere, a class of Caterbugs arrived at their aid. He, Harper, Mandy, Moxie, and Cookie (after the latter two's reluctance) got on and buckled up for the ride. They swayed and swerved around in order to confuse the stalking spiders and even prompted to collide with each other, sending them tumbling all over in defeat. Once the coast was clear (mostly, as three remaining continued the chase), they took to the trees and disappeared without a trace. Harper and Mandy signaled everybody to remain quiet for the time being. Moxie and Cookie struggled the hardest, but both managed to pull through. Until it wasn't necessary any longer.
(5:15-5:55)
The spiders had found and caught up with them again, just as the Caterbugs took off again. The group (Harper especially) knew that this chase could not continue any longer. They spotted a river up ahead and headed towards it. When a spider shot its silk at a Caterbug, Harper was thrown off and into the air. She landed hard on the ground and shot up to find her Caterbug surrounded on all sides. She drew her dagger and threw herself into battle, killing two of them in the process. But the third managed to evade all of her attacks by sacrificing its own and striking her blind.
Harper shouted out in pain, but she herself didn't hear it. The others did, much to their absolute horror.
"Harper!"
The turquoise Troll ignored the overlapping shouts of numbness and grabbed the spider by its fangs. With all her mustered strength, she flipped her assailant over and stabbed it multiple times before tearing its mouth open. All the while, the group watched on with a subtle blend of shock and awe. They watched on as their leader took slow and labored breaths before she collapsed onto the ground and into a whirlpool of drowsiness. Running over to check for any signs of life, the group breathed a sigh of united relief when they located a pulse. They weren't out of danger yet, as the group's ears perked up at the sound of approaching spiders hissing in the distance. Mandy immediately hoisted Harper up and carried her as they retreated once more. Until...
BOOM!
One of the spiders made the unfortunate decision to leap down from a higher branch. The group (sans the spider, which was impaled on a protruding twig on the way) tumbled down and, in the midst of freefall, Mandy lost her grip on Harper. Separating from the others, the yellow Troll could only scream out in despair as she attempted to reach out for her sister.
"HARPER!"
Harper herself didn't discern Mandy's shout of distress amongst the ringing that filled her ears. She also didn't hear neither the sound of her hitting numerous tree branches and plants on the way down three times, nor her own yells of pain and agony as she did so. Eventually rolling down onto a patch of flowers, the turquoise Troll winced at the injuries gained. Struggling to sit up and even breathe, Harper whimpered at the sight of the amount of blood that leaked from her sutures, but no tears were released just yet. No, the tears came when it became clear that no one was coming to help her as she was stuck in a secluded area...separated from the others.
Harper finally cried. She cried as if her life depended on it.
"Help..."
From afar, the mysterious shadow materialized and watched Harper lay there in a puddle of tears. Taking pity for the poor Troll, the shadow frowned(?) and soared down to her level, going unnoticed by her who had curled up into a ball. Observing her from head to toe, it nodded in satisfaction. 'Hmm... Sufficient speed, systematic strength, competent combat... Yes, she'll make an excellent host...'
A/N: Did anybody see this coming? I sure hope not.