The Troll (12 page)

“
To
The Moderator? The population? Why are you trying to make good people
feel low instead of using your brain for an actual cause?”

“
I
agree,” Iris said. “That’s the whole point.”

“
What
is?” The Troll asked, directing his attention toward her.

“
You
sit behind the safety of your computer, fighting battles and always
winning. It’s in your nature to win. I followed your posts and
I saw it in you: You refuse to lose. That’s why I picked you.
Whether behind a computer or out in the world, people like you refuse
to let others defeat them. That’s why you insulted everyone at
the bounty hunter dinner. You knew they had the best of you and you
took it back.”

The
Guide watched The Troll closely, waiting for a response. Iris really
had the right idea, but she might have picked someone
incapable—someone who tried to run away—who didn’t
seem to have what it took to face The Moderator. He was the one man
who The Troll couldn’t even address at dinner. The Troll shook
his head slowly and his hands found his pockets.

“
I
get it,” he said. “And I wish I could do what it is you
want, but I believe the world is just fine, and I don’t think
it will ever go back to how it was before, and I don’t know if
anyone wants it…”

He
was cut off by the sputter of gunfire and before they could try to
find the source of the noise, two lines of holes in the barn wall
suddenly formed and appeared in a line across the ceiling as the
buzzing sound of a helicopter overhead passed.

“
Shit!”
The Guide yelled. “We gotta go.”

He
didn’t bother to question how they were found. He ran to the
door and as he swung it open, he realized they were trapped. Walking
toward them from fifty feet away was The Coach, The Mortician, and
The Acrobat. Overhead, the chopper circled, which carried The Pilot
wearing his usual frozen expression.

The
Guide slammed the doors closed and ran to The Troll. “You need
to give me Rainbow now.”

“
No,”
The Troll said. “You can’t just leave me here.”

“
It’s
all we can do. If they catch you, Iris and I still have a chance.”

“
We’re
all getting out of here together,” Iris said.

Another
line of bullets ripped chunks of wood from the barn and worked its
way toward where Iris stood. The Guide suddenly wrapped an arm around
her waist and pulled her aside. The chopper passed overhead, but the
threat was at the door now. The shadows of three people under the
barn door stretched across the ground.

The
sound of the chopper blades began to circle back around as The Guide
shoved a large block of wood in front of the doors to block them from
opening, but it wouldn’t last long.

“
Come
on out Troll!” The Coach shouted through the doors. “You’re
done!”

Chapter
4

The
Guide ran across the barn when he saw The Troll reaching for the
latch. “What are you doing?” he asked frantically.

“
We
don’t have a choice,” The Troll said.

“
Are
you insane? Stall!” The Guide said.

They
both suddenly looked up as they realized the helicopter was circling
the barn.

“
We’re
trapped,” The Troll said. “We have a better chance if we
talk to them.”

“
Talk
through the door. Iris and I will take the chopper down.”

The
Troll didn’t like that the Guide seemed to have teamed up with
Iris, but couldn’t deny that they were invested in their cause
while The Troll was anxious to stab them in the back. Iris was
exactly the kind of girl The Troll liked though, and not in the way
that he would catcall her from his keyboard. She looked like the girl
next door that every guy in the neighborhood wanted. Part of The
Troll had been aware of just how consumed he was with the real
world—just how unique and adventurous the position he’d
been thrust into was. He’d played games on-line and pretended
the avatar was him and it was always thrilling, but somehow he wasn’t
able to find that same sensation. The fear of death was in the way,
but as he watched Iris and The Guide jump into action, he realized
that they either didn’t believe they were going to die, or
didn’t care. He couldn’t understand how a cause could be
more important than living. If he died right now, he’d have no
way of knowing if they even won. He’d die assuming they’d
lose, and it would be for nothing. But he was forced to adopt their
attitude for the time being because there was no other option and
deep down, he knew The Guide was right. If the bounty hunters broke
through the doors, The Troll was likely dead—especially since
The Pilot was out there.

He
told himself to get on board. He didn’t believe it possible
that The Guide could take down the chopper, but what if he could? And
what if they got away? And what if they made it to Vegas?

“
So
how did you cheat?” The Troll shouted through the door. It was
all he had…taunting…putting them on the defense.

“
Open
up!” The Coach shouted. “Or we’ll burn it down!”

“
You
don’t want me to open the door!” The Troll shouted back.
“Because I’ll fight you.”

There
was a long pause on the other side and then the sound of muffled
laughter. They believed he was outnumbered, but they didn’t
know he had company that was willing to fight. They’d have to
beat the chopper first, and since there was no real hurry on their
end, The Troll knew he could stall for a while. “Who’s
all out there?”

“
Me,
The Acrobat, and The Mortician. The Pilot is overhead! You don’t
have a chance!”

“
What
will you do to me when I come out?”

“
What
do you think?” The Coach shouted with joy in his voice.

“
I
thought you were all supposed to compete to catch me! Why are you
teaming up?”

“
Who
cares?!”

“
Who
will get the credit for the kill?”

“
You’re
wasting time!”

“
Why
wouldn’t I dumb-ass?” The Troll asked. He wanted to
regret calling them names, but for a moment, he realized this was
fun. Maybe more fun than scary.

“
Because
if you make it hard on us, we’ll make your death slow!”

The
Troll bit his lip, unsure of how to proceed. He was successfully
scared. The last thing he wanted was pain. He turned and saw The
Guide and Iris were gathering supplies from the barn. Pieces of scrap
and metal tools. They were tossing them to the second level in a
pile. He was relieved just to know they had a plan. The last thing he
wanted to do was ruin it. He had to keep going.

Iris
ran up the ladder to the second story and to the corner of the barn
where the roof descended and met the wall. She ran her fingers across
the wall, searching for a loose board. When she found it, she tugged,
keeping track of where the chopper circled at all times. When it was
on the other end of the barn, she’d pull until the boards were
loose enough that a whole person could climb onto the roof. She kept
pulling at boards until two people could.

Meanwhile,
The Guide found everything that wasn’t nailed down in the barn:
Shovels, hoes, tractor equipment, and most importantly: Ropes,
chains, and a barb wire coil. He turned from Iris to The Troll. The
longer they held the bounty hunters off, the more hope he had. He
watched The Troll for a moment, disgusted that he'd almost opened the
door.

When
all supplies were gathered, Iris joined him as they bound everything
together, wrapping barbed wire and rope around each tool until it was
one large haphazard net of metal, wood, and wire. “We’ll
have one shot at this,” The Guide said, and Iris nodded. They
both turned to where The Troll stood, yelling through the door, but
he was running out of time.

The
door shook as it was hit from the outside and the wooden barricade
shook with each hit. Eventually they would break through.

“
Let’s
go,” he said and Iris and The Guide slipped through the
opening.

The
Troll stood frozen, watching the door and expecting it to burst open
at any moment. Suddenly the thuds stopped and everything was quiet
except for the sound of the chopper. The Troll looked up and saw
Iris’s leg as it slipped from a hole they’d created in
the barn. “Great,” he said to himself and shook his head.
They could easily run off without him and leave him to die.

Or
he could transmit now. The Moderator had said that at any point in
time, he could do it. He felt the shape of Rainbow in his pocket. He
knew he didn’t have much time. He reached in his pocket
frantically, ready to save himself and end this once and for all, but
suddenly felt a gust of air whiz down behind him. He turned just as
The Acrobat fell into place. The last thought he had before a
side-kick knocked the wind out of him and sent him into the barn wall
was that the wiry little guy must have climbed the outer wall and
used his acrobatics to work his way into the barn.

The
Troll sat up as The Acrobat walked to the door. “Wait!”
he shouted, but The Acrobat kept moving, seemingly about to unlatch
the door. He quickly stood and rushed the man, trying to wrap his
arms around him, but The Acrobat side stepped him easily and sent The
Troll face first into the hay. “Come on man,” The Troll
said. “Do me a favor. You were the nice one.”

The
Acrobat kept moving, but The Troll pulled himself into a running
stance and rushed him again, this time connecting his shoulder with
The Acrobat’s back. Both men fell forward and crashed into a
bench, a tangle of arms and legs. The Acrobat was the better fighter,
but wound up by happenstance, pinned under The Troll’s body.
Acrobat brought his free foot up and to The Troll’s surprise,
kicked him in the face, knocking The Troll on his back again.

Blood
fell in a stream and this time, as The Troll watched The Acrobat get
to his feet, he knew he wouldn’t get up.

The
helicopter flew by again, withholding fire as if waiting to see how
the men on the ground fared out. The Guide and Iris crouched at the
edge of the roof, praying they wouldn’t be seen before their
opportunity arrived. The chopper flew in patterns, and eventually it
would come straight over the roof.

They
positioned themselves, holding opposite ends of their net, both with
one knee wedged on the roof and a foot holding them in place. “I’m
going to get his attention,” Iris said, and started crawling up
the roof for visibility.

The
Guide tried to stop her, but Iris began her climb quickly, her mind
made up. It could work, but The Guide was unusually protective of
her. When she reached the top, she waived her hand to get The Pilot’s
attention. He wasn’t sure she was seen until the sound of the
helicopter suddenly changed and the propellers shifted in their
direction. She waived to The Guide and he began his climb, trying to
pace himself to reach the top as the chopper did. As he neared the
high point, he felt the wind of the propellers. Iris and The Guide
found each others eyes and with a mutual understanding, they both
stood on the very top holding the net.

The
chopper moved forward with guns aimed. They threw the net high and
for a moment, it was suspended in the air, the weight of the net
fighting the power of the propellers. Then, a chain caught and—a
little at first—then all at once, the whole thing was sucked
into the propellers and as they cascaded down the roof to get away,
the propellers began clunking and sparks flew, and then halted all
together.

The
Guide watched as the chopper began a free-fall and he watched in
shock as he saw The Pilot, who’s face was frozen without
reaction or fear.

The
Acrobat reached the door and had his hand on the wooden lever when
suddenly the helicopter crashed through the corner of the barn,
bringing a shower of wooden splinters and smoke with it. It came
straight down, but the propellers were stuck in place.

The
Acrobat dived to the side and The Troll hurried backward, but not
fast enough. As the barn collapsed inward a wall at a time, The Troll
ran across the room and dived behind a pile of haystacks. He looked
up long enough to see the world darken as it all caved in.

Iris
stood outside the remaining wall with The Guide, hugging the wall
with their bodies, uncertain of the fate of The Troll and the bounty
hunters on the other side.

“
They
thought he was the only one inside,” The Guide said as a
thought began formulating in his head.