Between Daylight and Darkness
Chapter 21
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Ao3
"I mean it does look kind of similar..." Toby poked at the green blob with a stick.
"It's the same, trust me,"
Everyone else clustered in, eager to get a close look at the thing. Darci hung back, arms folded, all too happy to keep her distance. The 'creeper' was flat as a pancake with tire tracks down the middle, but there was a still a leg here, pointy ear there. Enough for Jim to recognize it from a photo.
"Goblin..." AAARRRGGHH said with a low grumble, moving to Toby's side.
Darci bit her lip, glancing up and down the street for what was probably the twelfth time in five minutes. They were standing in the road right outside Eli's house. The sun had gone down less than an hour ago, but darkness fell fast. Even the glow of street and porch lights only seemed to highlight the shadows. Her stomach kept twisting up despite her attempts to smooth it. Sure it wasn't really that late, and no one in Arcadia really went out after dark, so chances of being spotted or running into trouble were pretty low. But being out in the open with all the trolls felt so...exposed.
And based on the way Jim wouldn't stop looking around in every direction every five seconds, he felt the same way.
"Goblin?" Claire looked up from where she'd been poking at the mess with a stick of her own "What are those?"
"Goblins are among the most deadly of vermin known to trollkind," Blinky stepped up to flank AAARRRGGHH, face grave "Ruthless tricksters, petty street vandals who leave a wake of destruction wherever they go," he planted all four of his hands on his hips, glaring down at the road-killed goblin "This is not good!"
Darci fought to keep her breathing even. She knew this, she knew this already. Trolls were real, magic was real, all sorts of creepy crawlies probably lurked around after dark. But there was a difference between 'knowing' and standing in front of a creepy crawly's smashed corpse.
"Well hey, it's dead," Mary said with a shrug "Can't do anything any more, so let's get out of here and down to the library where we can--"
"On the contrary Master Mary, for every goblin you see, there two score you do not,"
Darci swallowed hard. Great, just great, more of these goblin things running around their town.
As if she didn't worry enough when dad went out on his shifts
"And as for the unfortunate soul who ran over this fellow...may Skaargen's swift blade have mercy," Blinky spat on two palms, rubbed both sets of hands together, and placed a fist over his chest, expression mournful.
"What do you mean?" Jim stepped up to him.
"Naturally, goblin vengeance is ten-fold," Blinky held up ten finger with all four hands.
Claire rolled her eyes "Of course, obviously,"
"Wait..." Jim's eyes widened "Are you saying whoever ran this goblin over is in serious trouble!?"
"Guys look!" Toby ran up to them from the sidewalk, Darci hadn't even noticed him wandering off "A delivery driver left a sticky note on Eli's house, their truck must have been what squashed the goblin!"
"Hey let me see that," Toby held out the note, allowing Jim to snatch it up, scanning over the narrow strip of pink paper "The driver's returning at at eight tonight," Jim looked up at them, a firm set to his jaw and every trace of anxiety gone "Which means we need to be here to, I'm not going to let some poor guy become goblin chow on my watch."
"Master Jim!" Blinky threw his arms out wide, fanged mouth spreading into a wide grin "Answering the call!"
"Stakeout!" Toby cheered.
Claire place a hand on her hip with a smirk "I could go for a little goblin hunt,"
"Meh," Mary shrugged "Why not, beats studying algebra,"
"Y-- yeah," Darci forced a grin "Let's get these goblins,"
Jim was right, they couldn't let an innocent person get hurt, and she wasn't going to let her friends face goblins alone, but that didn't mean wouldn't rather be anywhere but here.
Two backs of chips, six sticks of beef jerky, and and hour and a half of hunkering down in the bushes later there were still no goblins in sight.
"Oh man I'm so thirsty," Claire groaned from behind her "Why did you bring all those salty snacks and nothing to drink?"
"So our bladders are full right when the action starts going down?" Toby's voice now "Rookie mistake,"
Darci held back a snicker without turning her head, keeping watch through a gap in the fence posts. Her dad had told her more than a couple of times that stakeouts were one of the most boring parts of his job, second only to paperwork. Watching street corners and alleys from his car for upwards of six hours just waiting for something that may or may not happen.
To be fair her dad did mention a solution to the bathroom problem that involved empty water bottles, but in the interest of preserving the innocence of her eyes, she wasn't going to bring it up.
"Snacks good," AAARRRGGHH's voice, followed by the crunching of him munching on the plastic.
Darci shifted her gaze from the street to the cluster of bushes on the other side of it, where the other half of their group was keeping watch. Even in the dark across the street she could see Mary poking her head out, the silver glint of Jim's armor through the leaves.
From behind her the walkie talkie crackled to life "Hey guys, all clear on this end. How's it going over there?"
"All good in the hood, Trollhunter, except once we finish here we're in dire need of refreshment, too many salty snacks and not enough hydration. Other than that nothing unusual. WarHammer out,"
"Wait?" Claire now "When did we decide on code names?"
"I just came up with mine an hour into our stakeout, I think it fits,"
"Well if you're Warhammer, I'll be Queen Death Viper 5000,"
Darci bit her cheek to keep from laughing, about to tell Claire that her code name definitely needed some work, when she spotted a flicker of light down the road.
She reached back and snagged the walkie talkie, raising it to her face "The truck's here!"
In an instant everyone went silent, all holding their breath as the large vehicle lumbered to a stop in front of Eli's house. The driver, a youngish looking guy jamming along to whatever music was playing in his headphones, hopping out and heading around back to grab the package.
From behind her Darci could feel Toby tense, no doubt ready to jump out any second "Ok guys, we need to get the driver out of here before the goblins show up, so as soon as Jim gives the signal, we--"
A shadow moved over her, Darci tore her gaze away from the fence to see AAARRRGGHH's resting on Toby's back, keeping him in place.
Glancing up, Darci saw that AAARRRGGHH's face was grim, other arm raised to point at a street light at the end of the block.
Less than a second later that same light went dark, the sound of shattering glass echoing from across the street.
Darci's blood ran cold.
In sequence, all the lights across the street were extinguished. On the one directly across from them Darci caught a glimpse of spindly arms swiping down towards the bulb just before it was extinguished.
Lifting his hand from Toby, AAARRRGGHH reached around all three of them, pulling them close as the night came alive with chitters and whispers.
Mouth dry, Darci found herself almost involuntarily pulled back to peering through the crack in the fence.
Dozens of red eyes glowed in the shadows, more and more and more with every second. With the lights out she couldn't see everything clearly but she could see enough. Round little bodies skittering around on thin limbs. Creeping out from bushes and alleys towards the glow of Eli's porch light.
Goblins, they had to be. Not smashed up and pulverized, but very alive and very fast, moving with single minded purpose towards their prey. The delivery driver was surrounded and he didn't even know it, still rocking along to his music as he headed up the sidewalk to Eli's house.
Darci jumped when the walkie crackled with Blinky's voice.
"Great trouble! There appears to be far more than I had anticipated. Stay down and don't make a sound! In their frenzied state they'll attack any in their path!"
She swallowed hard, hands trembling against the wood of the fence.
AAARRRGGHH pulled them closer.
Meanwhile the driver was ringing Eli's doorbell, the glowing bulb on Eli's porch of the only remaining sources of light on the street. The door opened to reveal Eli inside. The two of them spoke for a moment, she could hear that they were talking but was too far away to understand the exact words, especially over her own heartbeat booming in her ears. The driver passed Eli the box in his arms before stepping inside, Eli shutting the door behind him.
The last street light, the one directly above the truck, went dark. The chitters and whispers became louder, full on growls and howls. Goblins, dozens of them, poured out of the dark and scurried up the street, heading straight for Eli's house
Even if AAARRRGGHH hadn't been holding her back Darci couldn't move, frozen in place peering through the fence, blood turned to ice and heart pounding wildly.
What to do, there was no way they could handle that many of them, even with Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, the goblins would swarm them in seconds. But if they stayed put Eli and the driver were done for. Couldn't just sit back and do nothing, but going out there and facing the goblins themselves--
"Wait!" the walkie sounded again, this time with Mary's voice "The goblins aren't going after Eli or the driver,"
After a few seconds of watching with held breath Darci realized that Mary was right. The goblins were converging in the street, half the crowd already crawling over the truck, completely ignoring the house and the people inside.
"Yeah it doesn't look like the the goblins are after either of them," Claire said slowly "The goblins are going after the truck,"
It was true, the goblins were swarming the truck now, burying it in writhing green bodies, swaying back and forth under their combined weight, goblins all snarling and hissing aggressively as they tore at the truck with their claws. They were even saying actual words now, the occasional 'Waka chaka wa' coming up above the sound of tearing metal.
"Unexpected," Blinky on the walkie now "It appears their dispute isn't with the driver at all, but rather the transportation that had flattened their kinsman,"
"Kinda dumb but it works in our favor," she felt more than saw Toby siding up to her, peering at the goblin covered truck through his own fence gap "The driver's probably gonna have to Uber home though,"
A heavy breath left her, ice vanishing and warmth rushing back in all at once, sinking down on her knees limp and boneless. Eli and the driver weren't in danger, that meant there was no reason to put themselves in danger. They just had to hang back until the goblins left and they would be home free. They didn't have to do anything and no one would get hurt. Still...
She glanced back up through the fence. The entire truck was covered now, every speck of metal and rubber hidden, covered by writhing goblin bodies. Metal popping and whining as they tore it apart piece by piece. It reminded her of how piranhas could strip a cow to the bone in less than a minute. Seeing that go down ten feet in front of her, a swarm of goblins tearing apart a truck with their bare hands, with the thought that they'd nearly had to put themselves in the middle of that....
A full body shudder swept over her.
"All will be well as long as none of us become frightened," Blinky's voice crackled again "Goblins can smell fear, indeed they crave the pheromone of terror,"
Darci's heart shot right back up into her throat.
"I thought the first rule of Trollhunting was to always be afraid!?" Jim hissed from the walkie.
"Trolls, not goblins," AAARRRGGHH rumbled.
"You're only telling us this now!?" Claire whispered frantically.
"They can smell fear!? This is too much!" Toby raised an arm and took a deep sniff of himself "Oh no I can smell it to!"
"Then stop or they will eat you!"
Darci couldn't get enough air, breaths coming hard and fast, she knew she had to quiet down but her body wouldn't obey. Heart in her throat, blood rushing in her ears and trembling all over. Could the goblins smell her now? How long until they caught a whiff and came after them?
If she tried to say anything she was only going to end up screaming, but Jim ended up putting it into words better than she could.
"Blinky we can't just turn fear off! If we could don't you think--"
"Too late!" Claire darted back with a yelp.
Involuntary, Darci found her gaze shifted back to the truck, or more accurately, what was left of it.
Ahead of them goblins milled about a pile of loose metal scraps in the road. Most goblins were still tearing at truck parts with their teeth, but several had turned away, perking up and staring at the fence.
Staring straight at them.
Darci's heart stopped, arms and legs turning to lead, mind going white. She could feel Toby scrambling back.
"Run dudes!"
Half of the hoard of goblins surged towards them, Darci still couldn't make her legs work but felt someone yank her to her feet. All of them racing away in a scramble of panicked shouts.
They took off down the street, goblins chasing after them, Darci recognized the person pulling her along as Claire. Jim, Blinky, and AAARRRGGHH were running just a few feet ahead of them, but Toby and Mary were behind them with the gap rapidly growing.
And the goblins were gaining on them.
Jim turned back, opening his mouth to shout something, but before he could get a single word out AAARRRGGHH ducked back, scooped them up with one massive arm and dropped them on his shoulders. A second later he snatched up Claire and Darci to, dumping them on his back and bounding ahead without even breaking his stride.
She dug her fingers into the mossy fur of AAARRRGGHH's back, Claire was shouting something beside her and goblins howling behind them, hanging on for dear life.
With only three of them running now they were able to go much faster, but not fast enough to shake the goblins. Claws scratching at the pavement. Their hisses and howls and 'waka chaka's always just behind them.
"We need to find a refuge!" Blinky shouted "Trollmarket is too far!"
"Let's head to my house!" Toby hollered back "It's the closest and the smell of cats should cover us!"
"Right! Blink! AAARRRGGHH! This way!"
Jim made a sharp right, running down a side street, Blinky and AAARRRGGHH charging after him. The sound of goblin feet pattering on the asphalt behind them didn't fade, but didn't get louder.
Darci tightened her grip, trying to get her breathing under control.
It was ok, they were ok. AAARRRGGHH had them, he would protect them, they would outrun the goblins and get to Toby's house were it was sa--
Angry snarls came from directly above her, Darci glanced up just in time to see a group of goblins jump down from a tree onto AAARRRGGHH. And them. Grimy claws digging into her hair and shirt and a mouth full of sharp teeth just inches away from her neck.
A scream ripped out of her as she writhed and bucked, desperate to get the goblin off. The others were shouting and hollering to, frantically fighting them off while AAARRRGGHH batted more falling goblins away. Mary grabbed one and threw it to the ground, Claire kicked another and knocked away the one on Darci's back. Toby yanked at one that was gripping AAARRRGGHH's horn, tearing it free with both hands and throwing it to the ground.
AAARRRGGHH pivoted around another turn, shifting his center of gravity and sending Toby off balance.
Her heartbeat stuttered, Darci knew what was about to happen but couldn't make herself move to stop it.
Toby toppled backwards with a wail, Claire and Mary whipping around and each grabbing one of his ankles, keeping gripping AAARRRGGHH's mane in a death grip with their other hands while Toby screamed from beneath them, desperately trying to bat away the two pursuing goblins on the street.
"Get it off get it off get it off!"
Do something, their your friends, don't just sit there. Do something.
Darci managed to pry one hand free, reaching out to grasp Claire's arm. With the three of them pulling they were able to haul Toby up onto the relative safety of AAARRRGGHH's shoulders and out of the immediate reach of the goblins.
Mary was saying something but she couldn't hear over the pounding of her own heart.
It's ok, you're ok, you're all ok--
From out of nowhere Darci found herself being lifted and dropped to the ground alongside the others. In two blinks she recognized their surroundings as Toby's backyard, with AAARRRGGHH having dropped them over the fence. Jim and Blinky scrambling over on their own while AAARRRGGHH just jumped, landing with a tooth rattling thud.
There was a flash as the burglar lights came on. The growls of approaching goblins turned to enraged hisses, but didn't disappear. Darci glanced over to see Toby and Claire standing at the door, Toby fiddling with his keys. In a second another problem hit her.
"Guy's AAARRRGGHH is too big! We need to find another way--"
Toby finally managed to open the door and AAARRRGGHH strode ahead without hesitation. As he came up to the door, one of his arms slid down with a bony pop.
Darci could only watch, hang-jawed, an expression she could see shared by Toby, Claire, Jim, and Mary as AAARRRGGHH's shoulders and elbows jerked free of their joints, bending and contorting unnaturally, allowing him to just fit his body through the door, everything snapping back into place once he was inside.
"Come!" Blinky hurried over to the open door, he actually fit without having to dislocate anything "We must take cover!"
Darci couldn't move, still staring open mouthed, shock at seeing AAARRRGGHH casually dislocate his entire body warring with terror of the approaching goblins.
Blinky waved again, more exasperated now "Quickly now!"
That finally spurred Jim at least into motion, pulling her up by the shoulders and rushing them all into the house, Toby slamming the door behind them.
"Upstairs guys!" Toby shouted "Don't worry about Nana hearing, she's going bingo hall hopping tonight with Phil and Jerry,"
Adrenaline still pumping, they all clamored up the stairs. It was a tight fit into Toby's room, AAARRRGGHH popping his joints out again to fit through the door, Claire ducking under his noodle limp arm to run over and shut the blinds.
Then they were there, inside a house that didn't make her feel nearly as safe as it should, squished together with the trolls in a tiny room, goblin growls replaced with their own panting breaths.
Darci could feel herself shaking, so sure that any second goblins were going to break down the door and swarm them. Any second they would bust in and they were done for. The others looked almost as on edge as she felt, Toby and Mary pacing all over, checking the window and door over and over, Claire's chest was heaving with the force of her breaths. Jim was stone still, but based on the way his hair was prickled up and his eyes kept darting all around he was tense to.
But as the seconds crawled by no goblin attack came. No hissing or clicking of claws on wood. Their frantic panting dying down until the only sound was strained silence.
"I...I don't hear them anymore," Jim said at last "I think we're in the clear,"
Toby flopped back on his bed with a gusty sigh. Mary sinking down beside him while Claire slumped against the wall.
Darci could still hear her heartbeat booming, all her limbs were jello. She was barely able to make it to desk chair before her legs gave out beneath her.
That...that was terrifying. If they hadn't gotten away...
Claws in her hair and fangs inches from her throat
Her vision pulled in and out, gripping her knees to remind herself that she was in fact here and alive.
She never wanted to do anything like that ever again.
In front of her Blinky was pacing back and forth, he couldn't get very far thanks to how small and crowded the room was "I'm sorry to say Master Jim, but your town is infested with goblins!" he grabbed Jim with his upper two arms and shook him.
"Ok," Jim sucked in a deep breath and pushed away from Blinky "Ok ok ok, trolls I can deal with because at least they stay underground and in the dark-- wait does the sun burn goblins to?"
AAARRRGGHH shook his head "Goblins prefer shadows, but not hurt by sun,"
Jim grabbed both horns with a groan that stretched out into a growl "Of course they aren't!" he snapped his head in Blinky's direction "All this troll stuff was bad enough, but I don't even have the bandwidth to-- there's just so many-- urhgghgh! What do you even want me to do here!?"
"Must find den," AAARRRGGHH spoke up.
"Yes, and eradicate them at once before they seek their revenge!" Blinky balled all four hands into fists.
"What!?" Darci squeaked out "The goblins are going to come after us now!?"
"Yes, now that they have your scent, and know the location of Tobias' hut, it is only a matter of time until they pursue you as well. Goblins are no great intellectuals, but are single minded and ruthless in pursuit of their prey. Your only hope is to destroy their nest and scatter the horde, making the surviving goblins forgo their hunt in favor of their own survival,"
Darci made a sound halfway between a shriek and a whimper.
"Hey hey let's just chill here," Mary pushed herself to her feet "So we find the den, get rid of it, and our goblin problem goes bye bye. Easy. So where do goblins like to hunker down?"
"Haven't the foggiest," Blinky tapped his chin with one arm and folded the other three "Goblins are hardy vermin, able to endure the harshest of environments, and....endure..."
Blinky paused, stepping over to the dollhouse, AAARRRGGHH following shortly behind him.
Through the window Darci could see Chopmsky presenting Sally-Go-Back with a doll plate full of crumbs surrounding a burning birthday candle, overall weird but pretty normal for Chopmsky according to what Toby had told her, looking up and giving a furious cheep towards Blinky that probably meant something along the lines of 'Mind your own business!'.
"Great Gronka Mora! What is the gnome doing in this dollhouse!?"
Jim forced out a laugh "You told me to take care of the gnome, so...we're taking care of it,"
Blinky scowled, both of his right fists against his hip and top left one pointing an accusing finger at Jim "This is in direct violation of rule number two! Whatever happened to finishing the fight!?"
"And rule number one is to always be afraid-- except if you're around goblins 'cause they smell fear apparently, and rule number three is hit them in the gnards, which I'm pretty sure goblins don't have!" Jim snapped "Your rules make less sense than algebra, which, oh yeah, I have in a few hours, unless we all get eaten by goblins!"
Blinky bristled, four out of six eyes twitching, he raised a hand and opened his mouth, but before he could say a word AAARRRGGHH put a hand on his shoulder.
AAARRRGGHH gave Blinky a long look before turning towards Jim.
"Rules good, but learning in forge different from real battles, need to learn rules along with real fights, Jim also busy with human things,"
Blinky deflated, sighing and patting AAARRRGGHH's hand with two of his own "My husband is correct, the three rules are crucial for a Trollhunter's training...but there can be difficulty translating academic lessons to practical experience. AAARRRGGHH and I will take a more...practical approach to your training going forward, along with accommodation towards your human life. We will seek out this den, wherever it may be, you just focus on your training and your studies,"
"Th-- thanks Blinky," Jim said with a sigh.
Blinky smiled back, before abruptly shifting back to a scowl "But a gnome in a dollhouse!?"
"Ok forget the gnome for a second, I have to ask," Toby stepped forward "What was that contortionist routine AARRRGGHH pulled back there?"
"Yeah I was wondering about that to," Claire added.
"I wasn't gonna say anything, but I'm also pretty curious," Mary stepped up to Toby's side.
Three out of six eyes blinked in surprise "Ah, yes, I suppose you wouldn't know, being raised on the surface, but many trolls can dislocate and relocate their joints at will,"
"Help big trolls fit in small spaces," AAARRRGGHH nodded along.
".....can Jim do that?"
"Tobes!"
"What? I want to know about all your troll superpowers!"
Blinky tapped his chin thoughtfully "There is an direct correlation between how large a troll is and how mobile their joints are. For smaller trolls dislocation and relocation are far more difficult, but in theory I suppose it could be possible for you,"
"Wha do ya say Jim?" Toby nudged him with an elbow "Want to give it a shot?"
"Dude no!"
"If it would help, AAARRRGGHH or myself could initiate the dislocation process for you,"
"Hang on," Mary fished through her pockets "Let me get my camera ready--"
"Ok time out," Jim made a 'T' with his hands "There will be no dislocating any more joints tonight!"
"Actually," Claire cut in "I can pop one of my pinkies in and out at will,"
"Perfect!" Blinky grinned "A human control! Now we have a comparison to--"
There were more words said but Darci tuned them out, voices turning into static in her ears. Nails digging into her knees so hard they were nearly breaking the skin, anything to keep from screaming.
We could have died tonight and you guys are talking about AAARRRGGHH popping his arm in and out!?
She could still see the gnashing teeth, hear the growls, goblins snapping right on their heels.
Tonight had been the second time they were in real, actual danger. The others didn't seem to be bothered by it, but Darci was done. She wanted to go back to video games and poker nights, popping into Trollmarket after school for trollish lessons and getting back home before dark without anything trying to kill or eat them.
But deep down she knew that wasn't going to happen, and felt awful for even wanting it.
The others clearly didn't want to quit this Trollhunting stuff, and Jim didn't get to. The five of them were a team, and she couldn't just dip out and let them face life or death danger all alone. Which meant that as much as the thought terrified her, she was going to be in the thick of the danger right along with them.
Mary said something, Jim scowled and the others all laughed.
But the others weren't freaking out like she was, so maybe the problem was her, maybe she was just a coward who needed to toughen up and be a team player
Darci's insides twisted in on themselves, if it weren't for the fact she hadn't had any of Toby's snacks earlier she knew she would have thrown up.