Fury

Hyde And Go Seek

Her nose red and irritated from the smell of fresh mince meat baking in the sun, which rose from brown paper package clutched to her chest. Eva looked down at her phone, two bridges down three left to go. Bridges were  key to finding the fair, a portal to its direct location, she just had to find the right one.

Looking both ways, she tucked the package under her arm, drawing the copper aroma further away from her, she crossed the street.

Reaching the mouth of 'Last Chance' alley - the  backstreet which lead to the less desirable part of town, she held her breath.

The slim coated passage stank of desperation, a  pungent odour which acted like a warning and deterred the most sensible minds. Gasping, the moment the short journey ended and the grey sky became more apparent, she sighed with relief, finally she'd found the right one.

A tinned growl ran from the stone bridge up ahead. Hidden within it's curvature, a Jotnar - or more commonly known as a troll, concealed himself from sunlight's deadly caress. Years of abuse and malnourishment allowed the poor giant - with his curved spine and hunched back, to easily press within the carved crevice.

Unwrapping the bloody parcel and laying it on the ground, Eva kicked it towards the shadows. The ginormous beast sniffed, testing the air. He'd been tricked once before, drugged to wake toothless and without his tusks.

Purring, he snatched the brown paper and mashed the goats meat between his gums. Watching Eva with his puppy dog eyes as she approached the shade.

Eva shivered, dressed in a top and tails, the towering creature slurping down - what looked like noodled brains, was a disturbing sight. His gentleman's attire thought to make him seem less threatening, had the opposite effect.

His tails - torn across his back, gave a grotesque glimpse of his horned hunch, the arms had been ripped off and the polished buttons holding the stretched fabric together at the front, were moments away from catapulting.

His satin hat balanced precariously upon his bulbous ear, looked like a tiny teacup and saucer. Add to that his pink-stained white gloves and clawed feet ripping through his dress shoes, was the very reason he earned the nickname.

"Hyde."

Wiping his bear like mitts across his lips, he smiled down at Eva.

"You bring gold?" He was meant to offer a riddle - the standard procedure for entry into the grounds, a password system of sorts.

Eva shook her head, "First born - the kid, you just ate." The third -less used, way to pay a toll. Though it never specified what kind of kid - a vagueness, she'd used to her advantage.

"Fleshy bad, fleshy trick Hyde." He snarled, smashing his first against the stone. "Gold is toll! Bleaty no good!"

"Nevertheless you accepted my gift, in return I ask for safe passage."

"Bad bad fleshy. Nots to worry, gold to gets back." Drooling in to her face, he chuckled -"Or I eats you."

Pounding on the bricks and mortar, he punched a hole in the stone. The dark earth behind swirled, churning into a large circle.
Stepping towards to the entrance, Eva narrowly missed Hyde's beef hooks.

"Fleshies makes good soup." He hissed behind her. A reminder she'd have to be more cunning on the way back. With a hard shove, she fell into the black abyss. The light at the end of the tunnel neared closer and the ground rushed to met her.