* * *
The first thing Jabir noticed when he hit the ground was how surprisingly soft it was. The glowing blue tube that had formed as he fell through the opening in the portal threads had turned out to be a safe slide—albeit a very long and exciting one.
Now, he blinked up at the canopy of lush green above him, watching the tube vanish as quickly as it had appeared. A shaft of sunlight pierced through the trees and warmed his face. He was lying in the center of a wide forest clearing, the grass soft, the air fresh… and the crushed bag of potato chips under his back crinkling in protest.
“Well, that’s new,” he muttered, brushing a lazy hand across his shirt. Golden crumbs scattered like stardust across the ground. He licked the salt from his fingers and sat up, reaching for his worn leather tote bag—stuffed with snacks, spare clothes, and a pair of socks he was 70% sure were clean.
His dragon stirred in the back of his mind, snorting with interest.
Shift. I want to sniff the air. This place smells… wild.
“Yeah, yeah. In a minute,” Jabir mumbled. “Let me look around first. Do you know where we landed?”
Do I look like tour guide? his dragon snapped. No. I no been here, which mean you no been here. We be careful. We no have others to help us.
“Pfft. It’s fine,” Jabir said with casual bravado as he slung the bag over one shoulder. “Look at it—sunshine, birds, grass, no acid fog or scary stuff in sight. This place has total vacation vibes.”
The words had no sooner left his mouth when the ground shuddered. Jabir swallowed nervously and glanced around.
Birds quiet.
I know the birds are quiet now.
Leaves shaking.
You are not helping! he growled to his dragon.
I say we hide. Now! his dragon hissed.
“Yeah. Right. I think that’s a great idea,” he muttered as the cracking noise and the ground-shaking grew closer.
Jabir spun in a slow circle, scanning the clearing until he spotted a cluster of large mossy boulders near the edge. He bolted for them, scrambling up and ducking into the shadows between two stones just as something massive crashed through the underbrush.
Correction: Three somethings.
His breath caught as he peeked through the gap in the rocks.
They were enormous—easily twelve feet tall and built like someone crossed a linebacker with a walking mountain. One had skin like cracked river stone. Another had shaggy green hair and a nose like a mushroom. The third was a towering slab of muscle with knobby knees and a gut that bounced with every step.
Jabir’s eyes widened. Trolls?!
His mind raced back to the bedtime stories from Earth that his mom used to read to him when he was little. Sometimes they ate goats and guarded bridges. Sometimes they sang songs and made friends with princesses.
He hoped these were the friendly kind.
The female troll stopped in the center of the clearing, her thick arms crossed over a patchwork leather vest. “I’m telling you, this is where I saw the blue tunnel open,” she grumbled. “Right above this clearing.”
The second troll, with shaggy brown hair and an oversized club slung across his back, frowned at her. “You sure, Gabby? What if it was over by the lake? Or the ravine? What did you see, Williston?”
“It was here, Mikey!” she snapped. “I’m the best troll tracker in our entire village! Everyone says so—except your mother, but she doesn’t count.”
Williston sniffed the air suspiciously. “I don’t know, Mikey. I think Gabby is right.”
He took a few steps toward the boulders. Jabir’s breath hitched.
“Do you think it’s another alien, like last time?” Mikey asked.
Williston paused. Sniffed again. “Nah. Don’t smell no evil… just smells kinda… yummy.”
