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ELI The past few months had been the best of Eli’s life. Since that night at the museum, Steve’s torments had dropped steadily. Eli couldn’t even remember the last time he had been jammed into a locker. There was still the occasional shove in the hallways or a yelled insult, but that was just to keep their “cover”. And having Steve’s friendship more than made up for that. They almost always met up after school and on the weekends. At first, it was all creepslaying business, but even they couldn’t find enough to fill every day. “So you’re telling me that I’m supposed to be able to graph a line off of this shit?” Steve asked in disbelief, snapping Eli out of his thoughts. He hung off the edge of his bed to look at Steve’s homework spread out on the ground. “We went over this last week Steve,” Eli said, exasperated. When he’d offered to help Steve get his grades up (without just doing the homework for him, thank you very much) he hadn’t anticipated just how stubbornly Steve would resist learning when he didn’t want to. Eli had seen some of the essays Steve had written on topics that actually interested him and they were, frankly, brilliant. But math was a whole other story. “Look. I’m not smart like you. Could you just do all the graphing problems? I can do the rest.” Steve looked hopefully up into Eli’s eyes. Eli swallowed and ignored the flutter in his heart. “No, Steve,” Eli said in what he hoped was a firm voice, “you have to actually learn this stuff. You’ll need to know it for college. After that, you can forget it all.” Steve grumbled to himself and looked back down at his paper. “So the ¼ there is the slope and the 3 is where the line intercepts the y-axis,” Eli began. “Whoa! What’s the slope thingy and the y what?” Steve interrupted. Eli groaned and reminded himself to be patient with Steve. He wasn’t stupid; he just hated math. “Eli!” his mother shouted up the stairs, “It’s ten o’clock. Don’t you think it’s time your friend headed home?” “Yes! Freed from the evil homework overlord!” Steve crowed and snapped his math book shut. “You know I’m just gonna make you do it tomorrow,” Eli said as Steve stood and started collecting his stuff. “No one makes the great Steve Palchuck do anything, ” Steve announced. Eli raised both eyebrows at him. “But… I’ll be back tomorrow night. Just because I need to know it for college. Not cause you made me.” Eli nodded dramatically and watched Steve sling a backpack over his shoulder. He felt suddenly panicked as Steve turned away. He reached out a hand and almost asked if Steve would like to spend the night, but quickly drew it back. “See you tomorrow, Steve.” “Later, buttsnack,” Steve replied, but these days the insult was said with affection rather than contempt. The familiar words calmed Eli even as Steve let the door fall closed behind him. As baseless as it was, Eli still feared that one day Steve would be shoving him back into lockers and their friendship would be over as suddenly as it had begun.
STEVE
Steve hopped onto his Vespa, stared up at Eli’s brightly lit window one more time, and then glanced at his watch. 10:15. His mother had told him to be home by ten (“And I mean it this time, Steve! No more sneaking in past midnight!”) but somehow he always let time slip by when he was with Eli. Probably because he actually let himself be… himself around Eli. None of the bravado and coolness he forced on everyone else. He sighed and started up his Vespa. He’d get to see Eli again tomorrow. Even if it was at school, it was better than not seeing him at all. As he sped into the dark night, images of his past self harassing and bullying Eli flashed through his mind as they always did after he saw his friend. He felt terrible about all he’d put the poor little guy through before they became the creepslayerz and, if he was being honest with himself, what he did to Eli to this day just to keep his reputation at school. By the time he’d made it home, Steve was hovering between crying and smashing the nearest breakable object. He was just so frustrated by himself and by his stupid, bullying “friends” at school who were leaving him one by one every time he couldn’t bring himself to knock a freshman over because all he could think about were Eli’s judgment-filled eyes. Growling, he jumped off his Vespa and let it crash to the floor of the garage. “Steve! Is that you?” he heard his mother call out. “Yeah, I know I’m late, mom!” he shouted back, “Leave me the hell alone!” He flung the door to the house open and came face to face with a scowling Coach Lawrence. “That is no way to speak to your mother,” he said, “I’ve told you before, don’t repay a simple question with hostility. We all need to learn to coexist peacefully.” “Just leave me alone,” Steve shoved past the coach, aiming to lock himself up in his room until he had to leave for school tomorrow. Coach Lawrence grabbed his arm. “Kid. I know you’ve had it rough with your dad and all, but it’s time to let go of all that. Don’t let his abuse run your life. Become better than it.” Something about the coach’s words struck a chord in Steve. He found himself really wanting to cry and hug it out like the coach often suggested. “Let go of me,” Steve hissed and shoved past the coach. He needed to make it to his room before he fell apart. He slammed his door as hard as he could and collapsed back against it. He could hear the murmur of his mother and the coach talking downstairs. Probably about him. He thought about how he’d much rather be at Eli’s and then he thought about how he didn’t deserve to be Eli’s friend at all. A tear slid down his cheek. He angrily wiped it off his cheek and desperately fought against the next couple. Cool men didn’t cry. And Steve Palchuck was cool, dammit! His shoulders trembled and he hung his head. Not after all he’d done to Eli. That hadn’t been cool or manly or any of the things Steve thought he’d been proving he was. Become better than it . That’s what Coach had said. What would Eli do? Not that Eli, the sweet nerd that he was, would ever have done the horrible things Steve had done. Eli would approach it maturely and apologize, face to face. But what if Eli didn’t accept Steve’s apology? What if that brought back all the memories they had both conveniently been ignoring and Eli left Steve? Then Steve would be alone again. It didn’t matter. It was the right thing to do if Steve ever wanted peace from the guilt-ridden memories. Steve wiped his face and stood up. He needed to make a plan for tomorrow. A Steve Palchuck worthy plan of action called “The Never Before Seen Steve Apology Mission”. Steve forced a smirk. Making it sound awesome took that pesky fear away. At least he pretended it did.
ELI
Eli was suspicious. Not only had Steve approached him in the hallway and asked where they were meeting up after school in the hearing of other people but he’d done it with an oddly forced grin. He didn’t like thinking it, but he couldn’t help it. Was Steve setting some sort of trap for him like he would have before they formed the Creepslayerz? Eli slid his history book into his locker and headed towards the lunch hall. Was it because he was forcing Steve to do math? Steve hadn’t seemed that upset about it. More like resigned. Eli used one finger to push his glasses back up his nose. It was useless wondering about a reason for something Steve might not even be doing. Still, his foot nervously tapped as he waited in the lunch line. By the time he’d gotten his food and found an empty table to sit at, he’d managed to calm his thoughts and almost had himself believing that Steve had just forgotten about their cover for a moment and wasn’t planning something sinister. That was until Steve sat down right next to him. “Hey, Pepperbuddy,” Steve said in a carefully crafted, nonchalant way. “Uh… Steve,” Eli replied, struggling to find more words. “Don’t look so surprised,” Steve smiled tensely and ruffled Eli’s hair, “You looked pretty sad sitting all alone over here.” Eli blushed and his left hand raised to gently touch the hair Steve had just tousled. He didn’t know if he should point out that the entire lunchroom was staring at them or just let Steve continue focusing intently on his macaroni and cheese. “You…” Eli began, floundered, and then found his voice again, “You do know that we’re still at school, right?” “Do you think I’d be eating this crap at home?” Steve asked and let a few hard lumps of macaroni fall off his fork. “Depends on if Coach tried cooking again or not,” Eli tried for a joke and watched a genuine smile twitch at the edges of Steve’s lips. He glanced around the room and saw that most of the room had at least stopped blatantly staring. Unfortunately, they were now sneaking peeks and whispering to each other. Eli’s eyes caught a curious glance from Jim where he sat with Claire and Toby halfway across the lunchroom. He shrugged in response and Jim went back to stirring his food. “Seriously, Steve,” Eli whispered, unable to keep silent any longer, “What about our cover?” “Decided it was stupid,” he said around a full mouth, then swallowed, “It’s not like us being friends outs us as,” he leaned closer to Eli and lowered his voice, “Creep hunters.” Eli couldn’t help the grin that popped onto his face. He’d always thought Steve’s cover was stupid. Maybe now they could be real friends and hug in the hallways and stuff. And this, sitting in the lunch hall together, didn’t feel anything like a trick or a setup. The rest of the day went by in a blur. Eli was really looking forward to hanging out with Steve after school. Maybe now he didn’t have to worry about Steve never coming back each time he left. He actually started whistling as he skipped into the school’s parking lot and made a beeline for his bike. He and Steve had agreed to just meet up at Eli’s like usual and he couldn’t wait to get home. Plus, his Moms didn’t like him out too far past dark. As he knelt down to undo the lock on his bike, he felt an odd shiver crawl up the back of his spine, almost like he was being watched. All the worries about Steve planning something awful crashed back down on him. He whipped around and reached into the side pocket on his backpack for the shuriken he stored there. A few students lingered in the far corner of the parking lot, but it was otherwise empty. Eli had stayed late helping reshelve books in the library as he did every Tuesday and Thursday, so almost everyone had left. His eyes searched the parking lot anyway before he lowered his hand and turned back to the bike lock. A rock clattered behind Eli and he swung around again just in time to see someone disappear behind the bushes. “Steve, if that’s you this is not funny at all.” Eli tried to sound confident even though his voice cracked at the end. “Show yourself.” “If you wish,” a voice like sand shifting in the wind came from behind the bushes as… something raised itself from the bushes. It was an off-white color, lumpy, and had no discernable facial features beyond a single, crooked eye and a slit that apparently served as a mouth. Eli opened his mouth to scream, but the thing moved faster than its bulk would suggest possible and wrapped a large hand around his mouth. “Now, now. We haven’t even gotten to know each other.” Eli fumbled at the zipper on his backpack, missed once, twice. The thing’s hand was now covering his nose as well and he couldn’t breathe. Just as he began to feel light-headed, he gripped the zipper, ripped the pocket open, grabbed his weapon, and sunk the shuriken into the creep’s single eye. It twitched, the hand loosening for a millisecond before tightening even further. Five eyes popped up on its face like bubbles in a boiling pot while the injured one sunk back into its skin and the shuriken fell, useless, into the grass and out of sight. Eli kicked weakly at the body of the thing, fighting against unconsciousness. It was a losing battle, his spasming lungs unable to pull in any oxygen, and eventually the darkness swept over him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
STEVE
Steve was not freaking out. He was not. He’d been waiting outside Eli’s house for over an hour past their meet up time. Both of Eli’s moms had popped a head out and offered for him to come inside, but he’d wanted to wait for Eli who was still. Not. Here. It wasn’t like Steve had psyched himself up all day for this apology or anything. Just a normal, fine day for Eli to be late doing GOD KNOWS WHAT. Steve took a deep breath. An apology wouldn’t do any good if he was angry. Eli probably had a lot more books to file than he normally did. Yeah, that was it. Midterms were coming up, people were checking out more books, totally reasonable. But an hour?! Without answering his phone? Steve stood up to pace again. “Steve?” Eli’s mom stepped outside, the one who actually like him, “Eli just called us. Said he’ll be a bit late. He’s studying with a friend.” “With… a friend?” Steve asked incredulously. As far as Steve knew, he was Eli’s only friend. “I told him you were waiting and he said to tell you to go home.” Eli’s mom looked genuinely sorry to say that. “I… okay.” Steve grabbed his helmet and slung it onto his head. “Tell him to call me when he gets home. I have a bone to pick with him.” “Uh, sure, Steve. Have a nice night.” She waved as she headed inside. Steve grumbled to himself as climbed onto his Vespa and sped down the road. “Found some friends better than me, the reformed bully. To think I was going to apologize. He wouldn’t have even cared.” He pulled into his garage and slowly pulled open the door. He didn’t want another talk with Coach. He crept up the stairs, willing the tv too stay on and his mother to stay distracted. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was in his bedroom. Then he punched the wall. It wasn’t like Eli to blow people off. But maybe Steve had messed up? He thought he’d been doing the right thing by dropping the cover but maybe… Eli wanted it to stay that way? No. That made no sense. He pulled out his phone and shot off a text to Eli. what happened 2night? thought we had plans Sent 7:04 pm A thought struck Steve. Maybe it was creepslaying! Maybe Eli had seen something urgent. But why hadn’t he called him? They were a team, dammit. His phone pinged and Steve scrambled to grab it from the bed where he’d dropped it. Leave me alone Steve Received 7:07 pm Steve blinked. His left leg wobbled. He sat down hard on his bed. What had he done to make Eli say something like that? Eli was the sweetest person he knew. He had seemingly forgiven Steve for years of bullying after just one night. Maybe he’d finally come to his senses and seen that people like Steve were a dime a dozen. Panic squeezed its cold fist around Steve’s heart as his mind immediately rejected that thought. He was special. He was Steve Palchuck. Why was Eli leaving him? why? Sent 7:09 pm Steve waited. Those three letters glaring up at him in harsh black and white. His phone screen dimmed and he tapped it. Do I really have to spell it out for you? Received 7:12 pm The words hit him like a punch in the gut because.. he knew. no Sent 7:13 pm Steve turned off his phone and curled up on his side. So that was it. No more Creepslayerz. No more game nights where Steve decimated Eli, but Eli kept playing anyway. No more math and science together. No more Eli. For the second night in a row, Steve was struggling against tears. And that just wasn’t who the Spring Fling King Steve Palchuck was. Steve sat up fast, throwing his phone across the room. He punched the wall again, cracking the plaster. “Steve, are you okay?” his mother asked. “I’m fucking fine, mom!” he screamed back. “Language, Steve,” his mom and Coach called back in perfect unison. Steve ground his teeth but refrained from responding. Eli was gonna pay for this tomorrow. Steve Palchuck doesn’t let things go easily.
ELI
The first thing Eli noticed was the smell. It was a combination of stale water and mold ten times stronger than he had ever experienced before. The next thing was the ropes. They were wrapped around his body, holding him up in a sitting position against a pole and pinning his arms to his sides. He opened his eyes and was greeted with darkness. Something dripped on his neck. He shivered. “Hello,” he called in a voice that was meant to be brave but shook with fear. “Is anyone there?” His voice echoed back to him and he winced at the shrillness. Still, the echoes told him that he was in a relatively small, enclosed space. Probably a cave if the smell and liquid dripping onto him had anything to say about it. All of this just screamed creepers. His bottom lip trembled and he wished Steve were with him. Time passed. Without any light or anything to do it was hard to judge how much. His butt had fallen asleep, but he'd given up trying to readjust. It only made the ropes pinch his skin and make it even harder to breathe. Now, he was just trying to think rationally about how to escape, but without being able to see or even feel around to know what kind of space he was in, it was impossible to come up with a viable plan. Something moved in the darkness and Eli was immediately alert. He wasn’t sure if he’d heard something or if he’d just felt the air shift, but he knew he wasn’t alone anymore. His eyes caught movement to his left and he strained his neck to look. The movement became a light and, in the light, he saw two figures walking towards him carrying a glowing crystal, the source of the light. One was clearly the small, green creeper type that had initially brought Steve and Eli together (goblin, Jim had said). The other was some form of larger troll, blocky and a brown color with traces of blue and green. “The fleshbag’s awake,” the troll announced in a garbled, wet voice. “Waka muchalka,” the goblin confirmed. Eli swallowed and ran his tongue along the insides of his teeth. “What do you want with me?” He demanded, proud of how little his voice shook. “Mankahol Gak. Famkewir!” the goblin said. Eli glanced at him and then at the troll. “Excuse him, he doesn’t speak English,” the troll explained. “I am Knulcar, this is Telmaw, and all we want is the trollhunter dead.” He grinned a gap-toothed, mossy smile and placed the crystal on a small shelf off to Eli’s right. Eli took a moment to survey his surroundings while figuring out a response. He was indeed in a cave. The only exit was the tunnel the two creepers had entered by. Other than a few pieces of what appeared to be junk, it was empty. The “pillar” Eli was tied to was actually a stalagmite. “I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake,” he said, refocusing on Knulcar and setting his jaw, “I am not the trollhunter and I will not give him up no matter how much you torture me!” Knulcar laughed and Eli winced. It sounded like globs of mud being slapped together repeatedly. “You? The trollhunter? Of course not. And we don’t need to torture you. We already know who he is.” “Then why kidnap me?” Eli asked, the fear evident in his words. “Because you are close enough but not too close.” Knulcar reached into a bag he was carrying and produced two rolls and a bottle of water. “Once the trollhunter is dead, we’ll let you go. No harm done. Just think of this as a vacation. No one will even know you were gone.” He pushed the bread into Eli’s face. “Now, eat! We can’t have you starving to death.”
STEVE
Apparently, losing his best friend put Steve in a mood. Nobody talked to him. No one tried to high five him in the hallway. Crowds just parted as he stalked to his locker. The first time he tried to unlock it he went too far on the second turn and ended up just pulling uselessly at the door. He slammed his hand against the locker in anger and people jumped away from him on both sides. He tried the lock again and actually managed to open it. He shoved a random book in his backpack, he honestly couldn’t remember which class he had first, and scanned the courtyard for Eli. There. On the opposite side, kneeling on the ground and struggling with his locker. Steve’s first instinct was to rush over and shove his cute, goofy face into the wall. He marched across the courtyard, still unsure if he was going to greet Eli with fists or questions. When he was ten feet away, Eli turned around, his eyes growing wide as he saw Steve. He cowered and lifted both hands up. “Please, maybe we can let the locker stuffing go for just one day,” he pleaded. Steve stopped dead in his tracks, horror at the fear on Eli’s face coursing through his veins. Eli should never look like that because of him. All plans of revenge drifted up in smoke and he crouched down to Eli’s level. “Hey, Pepperbuddy, what are you worried about,” Steve said, trying to make his voice sound like his mother’s always did when she was consoling him after his father lost his temper. “Sure I’m pissed about yesterday but we both know that locker stuffing is old news.” A look of confusion briefly passed over Eli’s face before being replaced with skepticism and more of that damn fear. “What do you mean old news?” Eli asked, “What are you gonna do to me now?” Steve frowned, his temper rising. He opened his mouth to ask Eli what exactly he was playing at when the bell rang, startling them both. “After school. You and me in the woods,” Steve said, “We need to talk. And you better not skip out this time.” School dragged by. Steve saw Eli in class, but the other boy studiously ignored him. Even when Steve threw a note at him in History, Eli just dodged it and scowled in Steve’s direction. When the final bell rang, Steve all but ran from the building to their secret meeting spot in the woods. He sat on the stump with Creepslayersz carved into it and waited. And waited. Just like yesterday. He ripped his phone from his pocket and speed-dialed Eli. “Why are you calling me?” Eli answered. “You’re not here. I told you to meet in the woods,” Steve said through gritted teeth, trying his best not to shout. “If I have the choice of whether or not to show up for a beating I’ll choose not,” Eli said and then hung up the phone as if he hadn’t just stabbed Steve in the chest. Steve exploded up from the stump and threw his backpack at the nearest tree, barely keeping himself from sending his phone right after it. “I am Steve Palchuck. I’m even trying to be a better Steve. For him! Why would he do this to me?” he screamed and listened to his voice fade away into the trees. His mind spun just wanting to know WHY. Maybe… maybe it was really a creepslaying thing! Maybe a troll or something had one of his mothers as a hostage and was forcing Eli to push Steve away so they couldn’t do their slaying anymore! That sounded a bit far-fetched but still… Steve should make sure his best friend wasn’t actually in trouble. He sat on the stump and thought about the best way to spy on Eli. It wouldn’t actually be that hard. He had a pretty reliable schedule. First, though, Steve should make sure everyone in his house was safe. Yes, he would go visit Eli. Luckily, Eli’s nicer mom answered the door. The other one still blamed him for crashing their car. “Oh, Steve, it’s good to see you. Eli’s been in a mood all day and I think you may be just what he needs to snap out of it,” she smiled sweetly, “Let me just let him know you’re here. He’s holed up in his room right now.” “Thank you, Mrs. Pepperjack,” Steve replied and waited outside, fingers drumming against his thigh nervously. “Eli! Steve’s here!” she called up. “Don’t let him in, Mom!” his voice drifted back. Mrs. Pepperjack’s eyebrows shot up and she glanced at Steve. “He’s been like that all day. I don’t know what I did. I just need to talk to him,” Steve pleaded. “At least come down and talk to him, honey,” she said, concern lacing her voice. “Fine, Mom,” Eli sounded exasperated. Steve heard his feet on the stairs and the only way to describe it was that he thundered down. Eli always sounded like a fairy gently tripping down the stairs. Something was very wrong. “I’ll give you two a moment,” Mrs. Pepperjack gently pushed Eli outside and closed the door. “What is going on Eli? You’re acting really weird.” “Me? Weird? If it’s my lunch money you want just say it. And you gotta give me your homework for me to actually do it,” Eli responded with that defeated whine Steve hadn’t heard in months lacing his every word. “I just want you to tell me what I did wrong,” Steve said, reaching out for Eli’s shoulder. Eli flinched backward and Steve clenched his fists. “What is this shit?” he growled, trying to be better than he knew he was and not give in to anger. “I thought we were past this.” “Just stop harassing me. Seriously. If I see you here again, I’ll have my mother call your parents.” Eli threatened. Steve felt his entire face twitch. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Clenching his fists, he turned around and looked for his Vespa before remembering he had chosen to walk here. Stomping harder than he probably should have, Steve made his way to the sidewalk and turned towards the school where he’d left it. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew he needed to leave before he said or did something he’d regret. By the time he’d made it to the school, Steve had managed to cool off enough to have at least some rational thought and several things stood out as odd. Eli had thrown out his “fine, mom” attitude without apologizing, had referred to Steve as having “parents” when he knew it was just his mom, and of course the obvious. He seemed to have no interest in being part of the Creepslayerz anymore. He kept telling himself to think like Eli. Nothing had seemed suspicious about the house other than Eli himself. So cross out the hostage mother idea. So, it was time to investigate Eli. Maybe he’d been forced to drink some crazy troll juice and had his memory wiped. But... what was he thinking? The only thing Eli seemed to have forgotten was his friendship with Steve and... his bike. Steve cocked his head and walked away from his Vespa. The school bike rack should have been empty at this time, but Eli’s red and silver bike remained, glimmering in the lamp lights. He lifted the helmet buckled to the handlebars and read Eli P. on the inside. Yep, definitely his bike. Steve checked the lock. It didn’t seem stuck or anything. Maybe Eli had forgotten his code? Not likely. He remembered everything. Steve knelt on the ground to make sure the lock wasn’t broken and something sharp dug into his kneecap. “Ouch!” Steve complained, jerking up. He felt around in the grass and produced one of Eli’s shurikens. He sat down hard and just stared at it. He knew it was a very important piece of this puzzle, but he just couldn’t figure out how. Eli leaving his bike at school, losing a shuriken, and not acting like Eli. What did it all add up to? Maybe, just maybe… that was all because he wasn’t Eli. Steve’s eyes widened and he tucked the shuriken away in his back pocket. A creepslayer had to explore every possibility. And that was definitely a possibility.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
ELI
Eli coughed. He wasn’t entirely sure if he needed to anymore or if he was just bored enough that coughing was better than nothing. He wriggled and coughed some more as the ropes dug into his chest. A crystal unexpectedly came to life and began glowing just two feet away from him.
“I have some questions,” the sandy voice that had kidnapped him said. Eli strained his head in the direction of the voice That lumpy troll came into view, exactly as Eli remembered but this time he had three eyes spread seemingly at random across his otherwise featureless face.
“You can ask,” Eli said, setting his jaw. He didn’t know why these trolls wanted Jim dead, but he sure as heck wasn’t going to help them do it.
“You know a Steve Palchuck, yes?” it asked. Eli’s heart skipped a beat and worry for Steve flooded his mind. Had they taken him too? He glanced at the expectant troll and nodded mutely, hoping for more information about Steve. “Well, it seems our intel on him may have been lacking. What exactly is your relationship with that boy?”
Eli blinked rapidly. That was not a question he had expected. His heart rate kicked up a notch. Should he answer? It seemed a harmless question. But what exactly was the answer anyway? The snick of a blade being drawn immediately drew Eli back to the present. The cold steel pressed up against his throat.
“We’ve kept you alive because your death is not crucial to our plan. But neither is your life,” the troll threatened.
“We’re just friends!” Eli blurted out. “We do homework, play games… you know, friend things.”
“I see.” The blade was put away. “Thank you, Eli. We didn’t know that.” The troll walked away, taking the light with him and leaving Eli alone in the dark with his worry for Steve. He coughed.
STEVE
Steve had his ambush set. He was leaning up against the locker next to Eli”s. If “Eli” didn’t want to go to school without his books and get in trouble with the teachers, he had to get close to Steve. He glanced behind him. He had no idea which direction he would come from.
“Hey, Steve,” Eli’s voice sounded from right next to him. Steve screamed.The entire courtyard went silent, all eyes on the pair of boys. Steve smiled, embarrassed, and the entire school seemed to collectively shrug their shoulders and move on with their day. “Did I startle you?” Eli asked with a grin slapped across his face.
“You…” Steve stuttered, completely taken aback by the apparent friendliness, “But, yesterday… you… What is going on?”
“I’m really sorry about yesterday. I’d just learned that my aunt had died,” Eli did a perfect impression a sad and remorseful. Steve squinted at him, not buying the lie for a second, and leaned forwards.
“Oh, really. Then tell me: What are the first lines the narrator says in Romeo and Juliet?” Steve asked. Eli blinked in confusion.
“Why would I remember that? It’s been months,” Eli responded. Steve squinted; Eli never forgot a thing. He knew from experience that Eli could still recite from that script and the first line was something easily remembered. But he couldn’t let the imposter catch on that he knew.
“Good point,” Steve said. And backed up. “Gotta get to math. At least I get my favourite subject first thing in the morning.” The Eli-imposter smiled and nodded as if that was a perfectly reasonable statement and headed towards Eli’s first class. Steve waited till he was out of sight and then bolted. There was no way he was going to waste time with school while Eli was missing. Eli could yell at him about it later once he’d been rescued.
Steve got Jim’s contact up on his phone. He might not like Jim, but this was Eli they were talking about. Steve was going to gather all the help he could. The phone rang for entirely too long, but, just as Steve was convinced it would go to voicemail, Jim answered.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jim, I still hate your guts, but I need your help. Correction. Eli needs your help. He’s missing!” Steve explained.
“Have you,” something crashed in the background, “checked the library. Way in the back. I just saw him this NO, TOBY, DO NOT TOUCH THAT!” Jim shouted. Steve winced and pulled the phone away from his ear a little.
“He’s a fake!” Steve replied, trying to be heard over whatever racket was coming from Jim’s side.
“Look, I’m sure you’ll find him. I… oh my god… um, I’ve gotta go.” Jim hung up. Steve looked at his phone and watched the screen turn black. Of course, the mighty trollhunter had more important things to worry about than Eli. Steve growled under his breath. He’d just have to find his best friend himself. Maybe, once he found Eli all by himself, Jim and the others would actually trust him.
Steve stalked over to the bike rack where Eli’s bike still stood and tossed his backpack to the ground. When the creeper had taken Eli, he would have fought back. Since Steve found the shuriken here, he assumed this is where he was taken from. There had to be some tunnel entrance close by that Eli and something large enough to grab him could fit through. If Steve found that, he was at least one step up from his current status of no fucking clue.
He poked around the immediate area for a while but only found a hole large enough for a rat or maybe a rabbit. Frustrated, Steve slumped against the side of the school. How was he supposed to find Eli if he couldn’t find this tunnel? He slapped the wall with his palm, trying to force himself to think. For all he knew, Eli’s life could be in danger this very second.
Steve looked up just in time to see Senor Uhl stride out of the school, sipping his ever-present coffee. He ducked behind the bushes to his right and out of sight. No one wanted to get caught skipping out on school by that menace of a teacher. Senor Uhl drew in a deep breath and surveyed the parking lot as if it all belonged to him. Steve tried to quiet his breathing and leaned further back, placing a hand behind him for balance. After one more sip of coffee, Senor Uhl headed back inside, apparently satisfied with his examination.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Steve shifted his weight so he wouldn’t get a face full of twigs and leaves as he stood up. The hand he'd placed on the ground for support slipped on loose earth and he landed flat on his back. With a yelp, Steve jumped to his feet and tried to brush the dirt off his back. He glared down at the offending soil that had dirtied his favourite blue shirt. After feeling like it had received and understood his irritation, he almost turned his attention back to the bike rike to start the search from scratch, but something caught his eye. When it slipped, his hand had carved a trough in the ground and exposed what appeared to be slats of wood.
“Oh, Steve Palchuck has you now,” Steve’s lips curled up into a smirk, “Nothing escapes these owl eyes.” He knelt on the ground, grimaced, accepted that he would be a filthy mess after this, and began clearing off what quickly showed itself to be a trap door plenty large enough for a troll. He found an iron ring embedded in one end and pulled up. He groaned in effort, but the heavy trap door lifted silently. Bracing one arm against the door to keep it open, he grabbed his backpack with the other. Last night, once he had given up on getting any decent amount of sleep, he had stuffed it with anything and everything he thought might be useful. He wasn’t exactly sure why that one, abandoned can of silly string at the bottom of his closet had made the cut, but he hadn't quite been able to make himself put it back either.
Steve rummaged in the pack and produced one of those flashlights that very easily doubles as a deadly weapon. He flicked it on and shone it into the hole. A ladder that appeared to have been constructed by drunk third-graders leaned against the side and continued down what Steve estimated to be twenty feet. He swallowed, reminded himself that he wasn’t afraid of anything, and lowered himself into the hole.
ELI
Eli was thirsty. The water the creepers had given him who knows how many hours ago wasn’t anywhere close to enough and the constant dripping on the back of his neck was driving him insane. Earlier, he had managed to move one of his arms. It had felt amazing to be in a different position for all of two seconds until his tendon realized it was being overstretched. Of course, he had been unable to move it again and his tendon was still throbbing.
Something thumped further down the tunnel. Eli stiffened. He wasn’t really feeling up to another visit from the creepers. Unless they had water. Everything would be better with water. A beam of light flailed around the tunnel, there was another thump, and then a curse was yelped in a wonderfully familiar, human voice.
“Steve?” Eli called out, his heart beating faster in hope. “Is that you?”
“Eli? You over there, buddy?” Steve called out.
“Yes! Just follow the tunnel down to me,” he answered. He felt a renewed urge to struggle against his bonds even though he knew Steve was just moments away from freeing him. Steve stepped into the cave and set his flashlight on the ground so it illuminated most of the small cave. He knelt down behind the stalagmite and started undoing the knots.
“I was so worried about you,” he said and placed a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Eli smiled and blushed.
“Thank you for finding me,” he said and then added, “Do you have a knife? They could be back any minute and this is gonna take forever.”
“No. All I brought is the flashlight. Wanted to travel light, just in case it came down to a fight,” Steve explained.
“Somehow, I think a knife would have been more useful in a fight,” Eli said as he felt the ropes loosen around his chest. He took in a deep, appreciative breath. After another few excruciatingly long minutes, Eli was free. He stood up and popped his back. He looked up at Steve but noticed movement behind him.
“Steve, look out!” he warned. Steve whipped around just in time to come face to face with… Steve. Eli gasped and backed up into a wall. What sort of trick was this? Which one was his Steve?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
30 minutes ago…
JIM
Jim had been having a good day. He’d actually gotten a decent night’s sleep after Toby convinced Blinky that even the Trollhunter needed more than 4 hours of sleep every once in a while. He and Claire had plans to go on an actual date that night and he couldn’t have been more excited. He really should have known that things wouldn’t go as planned. The moment he opened the door to his house, he knew something was wrong. His skin crawled as he pulled the amulet out of his school bag.
“What’s wrong?” Claire whispered, reaching for her shadow staff. Toby was the last to catch on. He stopped laughing and glanced at the worried expression on his friend’s faces.
“I don’t know,” Jim muttered as he armoured up, the blue light reflecting off the pale walls of the entryway. He crept up to the corner and peered into his dining room. He gasped and backed up into Claire and Toby.
His mother had been unconscious, tied to a kitchen chair. He was pretty sure he hadn’t seen any blood, so that was something. But next to her had been a troll unlike any he had seen. Its shapeless body seemed to be made of wet sand and a single eye floated in the mush where his face should have been. It was obviously waiting for him.
“Some weird troll's got my mom. Claire, you and Toby attack the troll. I’ll go straight for my mom. As soon as she’s free I’ll help you guys,” Jim instructed.
“What are you whispering about over there, Trollhunter?” a voice like gravel demanded from the dining room.
“Oh, crap,” Toby said and took a step back.
“Let’s go,” Jim said and charged into the dining room, Claire right behind him. She headed directly for the troll and with a swing of her staff, smoothly intercepted the lumpy limb flung in Jim’s direction. Jims fell to his knees behind his mother, narrowly avoiding being kicked in the head by Toby as he floated past, gripping his war hammer. One swipe of Daylight freed his mother and he dragged her into the relative safety of the living room.
“We got this Jim,” Claire shouted, “Make sure she’s alright.” Something shattered and the troll roared. Jim laid his mother down on the couch and checked for any blood or bruising. Finding none, he immediately panicked. If the troll hadn’t hit his mom to knock her out, it must have drugged her. The question now was what and if it would have any permanent effects. He pulled out his phone to call Blinky. Before he could even unlock it, a call from Steve popped up. Jim almost rejected it before realizing that if
Steve
was calling him, it had to be a true emergency.
Something heavy crashed to the floor behind him and Jim hurried to make sure Toby and Claire were okay as he picked up Steve’s call.
“What’s wrong?’ he demanded, eyes widening as he saw a fallen bookcase and numerous books and broken dishes decorating the dining room.
“Jim, I still hate your guts, but I need your help. Correction. Eli needs your help. He’s missing!” Steve said, sounding as if he was closer to panic than he would ever admit.
“Have you,” Jim ducking to avoid a flying bowl, “checked the library. Way in the back. I just saw him this - NO TOBY DO NOT TOUCH THAT!” Jim yelled as Toby reached for a green stone the troll had dropped. It looked suspiciously like a dwarkstone and Jim did not need that exploding in his house.
“He’s a fake!” Steve exclaimed. Jim jammed the phone between his ear and shoulder as he drew his sword. This was one tough troll and his friends needed help.
“Look, I’m sure you’ll find him. I…” Jim trailed off as the troll hit Toby full force and sent him flying into the dwarkstone, “oh my god… um,” it started to blink, “I’ve got to go.” He threw down his phone, not caring if he’d actually hung up or not, and scooped up the dwarkstone. He chunked it out of his kitchen window and into his backyard. He felt a sudden wave of regret that he’d never played baseball as it didn’t even manage to clear his fence. With a final, frenzied display of blinking, it exploded, leveling his backyard and repainting the back of his house a lovely shade of mud.
Forcing himself to worry about it later, he resummoned his sword and rushed back into the dining room. Claire was helping Toby up. They both appeared relatively unhurt. There was a suspicious absence of a huge, sandy troll. Jim rushed into the living room and breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he confirmed that his mother had not been abducted by said troll.
“Where did it go?” Jim demanded.
“I don’t know,” Claire admitted. “We were too distracted by the dwarkstone.”
“It just disappeared,” Toby added, “Like a magician.” Jim groaned in annoyance and rubbed a hand over his face. This was just what he needed today. He turned around, trying to find where he’d thrown his phone. Time to call Blinky. Date officially canceled.
Now…
ELI
“No. Don't turn into me, too,” the second Steve muttered, horrified, as he stared at the Steve who had just finished untying Eli.
Same clothes. Same face. Same voice. Eli’s eyes bounced back and forth between Steve 1 and Steve 2. What were shapeshifters weaknesses? Iron? Silver? He didn't have either anyway! Or was Eli just hallucinating from dehydration? He grabbed his head with both hands and continued staring at the two Steves.
“Hey, pepperbuddy,” Steve 2 said, unslinging a backpack from his shoulders, “It’s okay. We’ll defeat it together.”
“Don’t listen to him, Eli,” Steve 1 said, “He’s the fake.”
Eli’s eyes widened. That didn’t help! How was he supposed to choose a Steve to fight against!? The two Steves scowled matching frowns at each other. Steve 2 let his backpack drop to the floor. He held a heavy flashlight in one hand and the other clutched something Eli couldn’t quite make out. Steve 1 tossed his flashlight and let it roll away, raising both fists in an obvious challenge to Steve 2.
The light from the discarded flashlight created odd, menacing shadows across both Steves’ faces. Steve 1 swung at Steve 2 and Steve 2 countered with the flashlight, both just barely missing the other’s strike. Eli stepped forward, worried for his friend, then stepped backwards. One was his friend. The other was a monster.
“Just stay there, Eli,” Steve 1 called, “I’ll kick his ass! Don’t want you getting hurt.” Eli scowled, suspicion forming in his mind. The real Steve never told him to stay back. Hadn’t Steve 2 said they’d do this together? Just as Eli was about to jump in on Steve 2’s team, Steve 1 got in a lucky punch.
“Fuck!” Steve 2 yelped, blood spurting out of his nose and running down his face. Eli gasped. He hated to see Steve in pain but… he’d never heard Steve say that specific swear before. He always used ‘flip’. But to be fair, Steve hadn’t sworn that much since he learned about Eli’s dislike for it. Maybe he used ‘fuck’ all the time when Eli wasn’t around! Eli whimpered and put a hand against the cool rock behind him. This was torture.
His eyes swept the cave, mind spinning for an idea or a clue or anything that might help the real Steve. A dull thud echoed through the cave as Steve 2’s flashlight collided with the side of Steve 1’s head. Steve 1 stumbled backwards, moaning in pain. Steve 2’s other hand came up, holding a spray can. He positioned it in front of Steve 1’s face and pressed down. Colorful string came pouring out, completely covering the other Steve’s face. The look of pure confusion on Steve 2’s face as he looked down at the bottle was 100% authentic.
“I thought this was my mother’s pepper spray!” he cried.
“Hit him again!” Eli instructed, motioning to the flashlight. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but he was suddenly completely certain as to which Steve was his Steve. Steve clocked him hard in the back of his head and the fake Steve went down hard.
“Let’s get out of here,” Steve said, grabbing Eli’s wrist with one hand and his backpack with the other. They plunged into the tunnel, Steve almost dragging Eli behind him as Eli figured out how to run after being tied up for so long. They made a left. Then a right.
“Do you... know... your way out of here?” Eli gasped, lungs already declaring defeat and begging for rest.
“I made it in here to rescue you, didn’t I?” Steve responded, and shot a cocky, slightly bloody, smirk back at Eli. He tried to smile back, but his foot caught a rock and he would have gone down if not for Steve catching him. At that moment the flashlight blinked once, faded, and sputtered out leaving the two of them in complete darkness.
“Stupid piece of crap,” Steve said. He let go of Eli's wrist to mess with the flashlight. It turned on for a brief, joyful second only to fade out again.
“Flashlights aren’t supposed to be used to hit people,” Eli announced, failing to keep the quiver out of his voice. Even if Steve did know his way out of here, he probably couldn’t find it in the dark. He put a hand out in front of him and found Steve’s bicep, then his hand that was still fiddling with the flashlight. He pulled it off of the broken instrument and wove their fingers together. Steve didn’t say anything. He didn’t let go either.
“If you follow the right side of a maze, you’ll eventually get out,” Eli said, recalling a book he had read last year.
“Right,” Steve said slowly, “Okay. Let’s go.” Since Eli’s right hand was busy holding Steve’s left and neither boy felt like letting go, it was up to Steve to lead them out. They continued at a much slower pace until Steve reached a turn.
“I don’t think I turned here,” he said, “I’m pretty sure I went straight past it.”
“But…” Eli began. Then he realized that these tunnels could lead all sorts of places and go on for miles. Maybe a bit of direction could help them. “Okay.”
He could feel the tension in Steve’s hand as they passed the open mouth of the tunnel. He knew as soon as they reached another wall because Steve’s hand relaxed in his. He also knew that they’d made a mistake the instant his face collided with solid earth.
“Dead end,” Eli moaned, rubbing his nose with his left hand. “Unless there was a cave-in in the last ten minutes, you didn’t come this way.”
“Oh, man,” Steve muttered, his grip on Eli’s hand becoming painful, “We’re lost.”
“It’s okay. We can still follow the right wall, just go back to that turn,” Eli said in as close to a reassuring voice as he was capable of at the moment.
“Yeah, okay,” Steve said and turned around. If he was aware that he was now walking close enough to Eli that their arms were rubbing together, he didn’t mention it.