Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 33

     All of the trolls ran outside, rain immediately pouring down onto them, as Branch led the way to his bunker, dragging Poppy behind him.

     The ground quaked rapidly, making it hard for them to keep their balance, wind blew fiercely, trying to knock them over, but they still kept running, fighting against the forces trying to hold them back.

     Finally, Branch spotted the bunker, picking up the pace a bit, still dragging Poppy behind him. She was his first priority right now. He had to get her to safety.

     "Hurry! Everyone in the bunker!" he yelled back to the group of trolls trailing behind them, but as they got closer, the earth shot up in front of them, suddenly blocking their path.

     "AHHH!" they all screamed in shock, stopping dead in their tracks, as they looked up at the massive dirt wall right in front of them.

     "No..." Branch whispered, his eyes wide in fear. "No, no, no..."

     "Branch!? What do we do!?" Poppy cried out, looking at Branch in terror.
"Um..." Branch muttered, looking around. "Uh... this way! Hurry!"

     He started running again, heading the long way to his bunker, but a streak of fire suddenly shot out in front of them.

     "AHHHHH!" everyone screamed again, stumbling back a bit to avoid running into the flames.

     Branch looked around frantically, as the flames began to surround them in a ring of fire.

     "What do we do now!?" Guy yelled out in a panic.
"We're all done for!" Tiny screamed, both him and his father falling to the ground, kicking and screaming, as they cried like little babies.

     Everyone began to panic, yelling and screaming over each other, as Branch continued looking around for a way to escape, the fire surrounding completely.

     "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" he suddenly heard over the panicked screams. "Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

     He turned towards the sound, his eyes widening as he saw a small path through the fire. That was it! That was their chance to escape!

     "This way!" he shouted. "Hurry!"

     Quickly, he grabbed onto Poppy's wrist again, dragging her forwards, leading the way out of the flames.

     Everyone stoped shouting, seeing Branch running, and then followed, as he led them through the gap in the flames.

     Branch looked back, seeing the fire quickly move to follow them, chasing them through the forest.

     "Run! Don't stop!" Branch yelled back to everyone, the fire right on their heels.

     "Aaaaaaaaaa!"

     He turned towards the sound, quickly making a sharp left to head in the direction it had come from.

     Quickly, everyone followed Branch, running for the lives, as the fire quickly skidded through the grass, following their every move.

     "Aaaaaaaa!"

     Branch quickly turned towards the sound again, leading the group of trolls to the right, stopping as they were suddenly cut off by a tall rock wall.

     "What now, Branch!?" Poppy asked worried, seeing that they were now trapped.

     "Umm... uh..." Branch stuttered, looking around, trying to think, as the flames came closer and closer.

     "Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

     He looked up towards the sound, getting an idea.

     "Everyone! Climb the cliff!" he ordered, pointing up to a ledge on top of the rock wall. "Go! Hurry!"

     Quickly, everyone started climbing  up the cliff, Branch and Poppy staying behind to make sure everyone got up safely.

     "Go, Poppy!" Branch yelled, once everyone was on the ledge.
"But... but..." Poppy stuttered, looking at Branch in fear, worrying about him.

     The trail of fire was getting closer, and she was worried that if he didn't go first... he would get caught in the flames. She couldn't lose him again...

     "Now, Poppy!" Branch demanded. "Climb now!"

     He gave her a boost, helping her start climbing, and then quickly began to climb up after her.

     The fire reached the wall, stopping for a moment, as if looking up at the fleeing trolls.

     Suddenly, it began climbing up the rock wall after the two trolls, quickly gaining on them.

     Branch looked down, his eyes widening in fear, as he noticed the flames right beneath him, getting closer and closer to sucking him in.

     "Oh frosting..." he muttered softly, quickly turning back to Poppy. "Climb faster!" he yelled up to her. "And don't look down!"

     Of course, after hearing Branch say 'don't look down', she immediately looked down.

     "Sugar!" she shouted, her eyes widening, as she saw the flames still coming after them.

     They both continued to climb, Poppy finally reaching the top of the rock wall, several trolls reaching down to pull her up onto the ledge.

     Once she was standing on solid ground, she turned, helping to pull Branch up to safety.

     He stood, looking around in a panic. There was nowhere left to go! There was another rock wall blocking their path, this one way too steep, and smooth to climb.

     "No..." Branch muttered softly, his eyes wide in fear. They were trapped...

     Everyone looked down at the fire, as the flames crept over the edge, heading right for the helpless trolls.

     "AHHH!" everyone screamed in terror, backing up as far as they could go, until their backs were against the rock wall.

     The fire crawled closer and closer, as Poppy and Branch held hands, Branch standing in front of the troll he loved, trying to protect her, as he hugged her tight, both of them whimpering softly in fear.

     Suddenly, the fire stopped moving, looking at the trolls for a moment, before slowly beginning to retreat back down the cliff.

     Everyone stood still, as they panted heavily in fear, watching the flames until they were completely out of sight.

     "What the frosting..." Poppy muttered, breathing heavily. "Was that..."