Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 53

     "Yeah! Chop that guys head off!" Barb cheered, watching the flame figures fight each other, Tula standing behind her, as she watched the queen of rock in slight confusion.

     "Ummm... this is a tragic moment from our past..." Tula said nervously. "And you're... cheering for it..."
"Gore rocks!" Barb replied, with a slight laugh, cheering for the fight. "Yeah! Slice off her arm!"

     Chief Tula, slowly backed away, her eyes wide in horror.

     "Ok than..." she said softly, terrified of the queen of rock.

     "Help!" a scream suddenly rang out from somewhere off in the forest. "Help!"

     Both Tula and Barb turned off in the direction it had come from, shocked by the sudden sound.

     "Tula! We need help!"

     "That's Poppy," Barb gasped, quickly standing up from the fire, as she looked off into the forest. "Come on. We have to go see what's wrong," Chief Tula said, beginning to run towards the cries for help.

     Barb started to follow, but then turned back to the fire, as the sounds of fighting grew louder.

     "Ha!" she laughed loudly at the violence, Chief Tula turning back to her.
"Let's go, Barb!" Tula ordered.
"But this is my favorite part," the queen of rock whined, turning to give Tula the puppy dog eyes.

     Violence that I will not describe was happening in the flames, as Barb turned back to the fire, laughing loudly.

     "BARB!" Tula yelled out angrily, demanding that she come right this instant.

     "Ugh... fine!" Barb groaned, crossing her arms, as she stomped off after Tula. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

—————

     Poppy carried Branch through the forest, as she ran, trying to get him to Tula as quickly as possible.

     Branch lay limply in her arms, looking off into space, not fully aware of anything around him, as he struggled to breath, the pain getting worse and worse by the second.

     "You're gonna be ok, Branch," Poppy cried softly, as she continued running, looking down at him. "Just try to stay awake. Ok?"

He didn't respond. He just lie there weakly, unable to move, his eyes barely open.

Poppy could see him slipping away, and quickly picked up the pace, running faster through the Enchanted Forest, as she cried loudly.

     "Help!" she called out again, hoping someone would hear her. "Someone help!"
"Popsqueek!" she suddenly heard in reply.

     She gasped at the sound, her eyes widening in relief. She knew that voice...

"Barb! Barb! We're over here! Hurry!" Poppy yelled out desperately.

Quickly, Barb and Tula ran towards the shout, finally spotting Poppy holding Branch, as she ran quickly towards them, tears flowing from her eyes.

Barb's eyes widened, as she saw Branch laying limply in Poppy's arms, becoming concerned for his safety.

     "Branch!" the queen of rock cried out, picking up the pace a bit to get to her friends faster.

     Tula and Barb ran quickly over to Poppy and Branch, stopping in front of them.

"What happened!?" Tula asked in a panic, checking Branch over to try and figure out what was wrong.

"Aqua..." Poppy cried, holding Branch tight.

Carefully, Tula lifted Branch's arm, placing her fingers gently on his writ to check his pulse.

"His pulse is slow... we don't have much time," she informed. "Place him on the ground right here..."

     Poppy nodded, gently placing Branch onto the ground, so Tula could check him over easier.

     "Branch? Branch, can you hear me?" Tula asked, placing her hand on his head to check his temperature, but he didn't reply. He didn't even react to her words, continuing to stare off weakly into the distance, as he breathed slowly.

"Can... can you save him?" Poppy asked, holding Branch's hand tightly in hers, as she cried softly. "It depends..." Tula sighed, looking up at the queen of pop. "What is wrong with Aqua?"
"There's no water in the river," Poppy said through her tears, not looking away from Branch.

Chief Tula looked away sadly, as she thought about what to do.

"Ok..." she finally said, looking back up at Poppy. "We have two options here. Option number one... you two stay here, and make sure Branch stays awake, while I go and try to save Aqua. That'll help them both, but has a very low probability of actually working."

Poppy nodded, listening closely.

"And the second option?" she asked, squeezing Branch's hand lightly.
"There's a way... to unconnected Branch from Aqua," Tula said softly. "He will immediately be healed with a 100% success rate."

"That one!" Poppy yelled, interrupting Tula. "Do it! Do it now!"

"But..." Tula continued, looking at Poppy sadly. "Without a troll connected to Aqua... she will die."

Poppy gasped at the Chief's words, and then looked down at Branch, tears flowing from her eyes. She had to save him...

"D... do it," she said, squeezing tightly onto Branch's hand, as she looked back up at Tula.

Tula nodded, turning to Branch, ready to unconnected him from Aqua.

"N... no..." Branch suddenly said, his voice low and shaky. The three trolls all gasped, looking down at him in shock. He could barely speak, but he forced himself to, as he turned his head, looking weakly up at Tula. "S... s... save... A... Aq...ua."

A sharp pain shot through his stomach, as he closed his eyes tightly, finding it harder and harder to stay conscious.

"Branch..." Poppy whispered, gently stroking his cheek with her fingers. "It's... it's not worth it. If it doesn't work... you'll both die."
"At least..." he struggled to say, opening his eyes once more. "There's... a... chance..."

He looked up at her, pleading with her to listen.

"P... please. Save... Aqua..."

Poppy looked down at him for a long moment, and then slowly nodded.

     "Ok, Branch..." she whispered to him, tears flowing from her eyes. "Ok..."

Tula looked at Poppy, knowing what the decision was.

"Where is Aqua?" she asked firmly.
"Near the dam," Poppy answered, as she continued looking down at Branch, who smiled up at her weakly, as if thanking her for listening.

"Make sure he stays awake," Tula said, standing up. "I'll be back."

Quickly, she ran off towards the dam, on her way to save both Branch and Aqua.