Draal panted heavily and paused, his metallic arm reaching out and leaning on the tunnel wall, the dirt crumbling a bit under his pressure. His other hand pressed against his head as he shook it a little, trying to wave the sense of dizziness away. The pain didn't only bring him dizziness, either. The troll swallowed and did his best to push the nausea away as well, not willing to give into the pain just yet. He had to find the Trollhunter. Find his brother. Then, he could relax and let the pain stop him.

He growled and gave his head one final big shake before putting his arms back to his side. Taking a few more deep breaths, he lifted his nose and sniffed a few times. He could still find the scent of both his troll brothers and sisters, Blinkous, that of the human girl Claire, and another human, one that smelled of magic. That was only one of the unfamiliar scents he could faintly pick up from these tunnels.

But for some reason, he couldn't find the Trollhunter's. At least, not exactly. The scent was different. He grunted with frustration, narrowing his orange eyes. So far, the only luck he was having was that he knew that the rest of the trolls were heading this way.

Imagine his surprise when he had returned to Troll Market. The heartstone was dead, and havoc had spread across his former home. Draal had been devastated, but it hadn't taken long for him to figure out that this was the aftermath of the battle. It also hadn't taken him long to find out which tunnels his kind where using. A simple few moments of thought had concluded that his people were searching for a new heartstone, the Trollhunter with them.

Another surprise had come to him when he saw that the humans of Arcadia knew of troll kind. In an effort to catch up with the others as fast as he could, Draal had taken to continuing his journey, even in the day. As long as he stayed out of the sunlight, he was safe for now. However, the city of Arcadia had taken heavy damage during the fight, and some former hiding places he had known were now... no longer hiding places. An alley had turned more into a shady roadway, one that two teenagers had been occupying, much to his surprise. However, the two boys hadn't been afraid of him, merely startled to see him there. They had even started conversation with him, to which Draal had had no idea how to reply. The smallest of them looked concerned of his wounds as well.

"What happened to you?" he had said as he approached with hands hovering upwards, his voice squeaky like a young child's. "A-Are you okay?"

The other one, larger and older, had rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with a smirk. "He sure doesn't look 'okay'," he had scoffed.

The younger boy gulped and pushed up his glasses, still approaching. "W-Why haven't you left with the other trolls?" he asked, reaching out a little too close with his small hand.

Draal had snorted through his nose and retreated a few steps quickly, though it caused him pain. "You.. you know of trolls know, humans?" he had said quietly, blinking a few times. He had been really unsure how to go about it.

The bigger one uncrossed his arms and nodded with a triumphant grin. "Well, we figured out before most of Arcadia," he boasted, puffing out his chest.

"B-But everyone in Arcadia knew after the big fight a few days ago," the other one finished, taking his hand back after seeing that the big blue troll was wary.

"Yeah, but Lake had to go take them to find a new... lungstone or something," said the blonde, waving his hand a little.

To this Draal had perked up slightly. "Lake? As in the Trollhunter?" he had asked, his voice rising a little in hopefulness.

The two teens shared a look, both of them turning their heads back to him and nodding. "A-And it was a heartstone," the younger one mumbled.

Draal smiled in relief, sighing. "Thank you for that," he had said quietly, and before either of them could reply, he hurried away, sniffing for the tunnel his friends had taken.

Draal wondered how long it would be before other humans outside of Arcadia learned of their existence. The thought made him snort as he continued to walk, glancing around at the tunnels. Scuffles of dirt below him and a few grazes along the wall showed that their indeed had been activity here, thought probably a day or two ago. The troll sighed and quickened his pace, wanting to get to the others as soon as possible. He had no idea how long it would take him to catch up with them, and they were no doubt traveling almost constantly as well. It had been a few days since he had entered the tunnels, thriving off what he could while only taking short stops. Every inch of his body begged him to stop and sleep for hours upon hours, but he knew he couldn't do that. Then the rest of his kind would be far ahead of him, and the farther away he was, the more chance it was that his body would eventually give out before he reached them.

Draal sighed and smiled softly. It was such a strange thought, thinking about his own survival when it had been mere days ago when he hadn't even been alive. Perhaps it made him jittery, or think about it a little too much. Often he found himself mumbling about how that woman, Elaine, had managed to not only bring him back to life, but another troll as well. Or how long it would be before his body rejected life again. He wondered if maybe he was a little weaker now. Wondered who that other troll had been. But he didn't really wish to dwell on these things. He just wanted to find his friends, then ask the questions.

Draal's chest sent him another stab of pain and he faltered slightly, huffing through his nose in annoyance. He paused for a moment to regain himself, but when he did, his nose picked up a new scent. One he didn't recognize. His back spikes pricked slightly as he froze, his eyes widening a bit as he sniffed the air a few more times to be sure. Indeed, there was a strong scent coming from behind him, something new and unnerving. He turned his head slowly, growling low in his throat. The tunnel was dark behind him, but his keen eyes picked up slight movement.

"Who goes there?" he called loudly, turning all the way around.

A few sets of pale blue eyes blinked in and out of the darkness, making the injured troll's heart speed up slightly. He lowered himself and tensed, ready to pounce and attack if need be. He growled loud and waited, not wanting to strike first if whatever it was would leave him be if he didn't.

One of the pairs of eyes grew closer, until the creature stepped out to where he could fully see it. To his surprise, it was of troll-like manner, it's skin made of stone with horns peeking out of it's head and other places in it's body. However, it seemed wrong. It's jaws were flat against its head, almost sunken in, and full of sharp, imperfect teeth that jutted harshly out of its mouth, unlike most fangs that jutted out of most troll's mouths. It's arms were thinner, and its back legs were shaped a strange way as it crawled out on all fours, like a creepy half demon. The body was leaner and skinnier, the spikes only evident on its head and a few other places, but they were small. Its eyes were still glowing that pale, unearthly blue, much unlike any troll's eyes Draal had ever seen before. The creature was growling and hissing, a long tongue slithering in and out of the horrible mouth.

The bigger troll backed away a few steps, very creeped out by its appearance. "W-What are you?!" he said in horror, placing both fists on the ground warily.

The creature cocked its head a little, groaning and hissing at the same time. "Yooouu..," it started as it raised a thin, clawed finger at him. "Yoooouu arrre... ooourrr prreeeyy!!" it hissed.

"What?!" he cried just as the demon troll pounced, agile as a wildcat. Draal cried out as the thing landed on his back, its thin hands clinging to a few of his back spikes. Horrified, the bigger troll tried to shake it off, roaring threateningly as a few others stepped out as well, seeing their prey vulnerable. Another one of the creatures thumped at his arm just as the one on top of him dug its teeth into the back of his neck. Draal roared loudly and swung his arm, hitting the one that was pouncing on him and sending it flying into another. The fourth hissed angrily and circled around him. Draal tried to follow while at the same time prying off the one on his back.

The creature continued to circle him for a few more moments. Draal roared as he finally pulled the other off his back, the thing screeching terribly. The big blue troll was a bit surprised that these things were able to harm him so easily, biting through the rough skin like it was nothing. The one circling him screamed when he threw the one his was holding into it. Draal roared in the heat of battle, rolling up into a ball and charging at the two in front of him, his signature move. They screamed and hissed and he shoved them into a wall, sending the structure shaking harshly. The creatures now stunned, Draal stood back to his full height, groaning sharply as a knife of pain stabbed into his chest, and now the back of his neck and head as well.

The troll jumped when he heard the other two scream from behind him, but didn't turn quick enough to stop one from grabbing at his legs while the other jumped on his metallic arm. Draal growled and tried to pry it off of him, but the one holding his feet caused him to trip and land on his back. He grunted and growled as he struggled, another pouncing on him and snapping at his face. The bigger troll swung around, pinned to the ground. He began to panic, knowing that if the fourth came at this time, he was a goner.

Again.

He roared as loud as he could, grabbing the neck of the one biting at him. He couldn't fall here! He had to find the Trollhunter! He had more reason now than ever too. He had to warn him of these new creatures! He bared his teeth, still growling as he kicked the other two off and jumped up, despite his screaming body. The one in his hand screamed and thrashed, but Draal paid that no mind as he slammed it into a wall as hard as he could. Its cries stopped short as it went limp dazedly, but Draal didn't stop there. He continued to pound it into the wall several times, again and again as it squeaked feebly, its pale eyes paling even more. Finally as he hit it again, its eyes went out. Roaring, he tossed it to the side, panting heavily as it hit the ground and rolled a few times. His metal arm hung at his side as he glanced at the other three, all of them frozen and watching him with blank expression while moaning. Draal glanced down at the one he had just killed, gasping sharply when he saw it.

It was dead.

But it hadn't turned to stone.

The other three screeched and jumped, making the bigger troll flinch. But the creatures didn't pounce on him, instead grabbing their fallen comrade with their claws and teeth. Draal stared in horror as the began to tear it apart, shoving his pieces in their jaws and chewing. Their attention was no longer on him, and a few other eyes blinked from the darkness, also approaching the dead one with surprising speed.

Draal's breath came out quickly in terror, his eyes wide and terrified. In a split second, he swung around and ran, his entire body shaking from the pain and the fear.

~

Well, here's the third chapter. How y'all like it?

I hope it was terrifying. I have no idea how good I am at writing creepy, but I hope it made you shudder a little. Imagine those things as Golem, but creepier, and with horns here and there. And claws. And stone skin. But the screeching? Pretty much the same.

*shudder*

Well, see ya next chapter!