Trolls and the Enchanted Forest (rewrite)

Chapter 30

Branch sat on his bed down in his bunker, rocking back and forth slightly, his eyes shut tight, as he covered his ears with his hands, still hearing the noise non-stop.

"Aaaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Stop..." he begged, crying softly. "Please... just stop..."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Poppy peeked through the doorway to check on the troll she loved more than anything else in the world, sighing when she saw how miserable he was, his hair now completely black instead of it's usual dark blue.

     "Branch..." she said softly, trying to get his attention without startling him.

     He looked up at her tears flowing from his eyes, as she gasped in horror. His eyes... instead of having their beautiful blue coloring, were pure grey. (littlekitty1346)

     "Oh, Branch..." she said softly, slowly walking over to hug him comfortingly. "You're ok... you're gonna be ok..."

     "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"

     Branch whimpered softly, as he covered his ears again, closing his eyes as he lowered his head in sadness.

With a sigh of worry, Poppy kissed his forehead, as she stood, walking back towards the door, but stopped once she actually reached it, turning back to look at Branch.

     "I'll be back, Branch..." she told him softly. "I just need to talk to our friends."

     He didn't respond. He hadn't even heard her over the constant ringing in his ears.

     "Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

     She looked at him one last time, and then turned, shutting the door gently, as she headed back into the living room, where the rest of her friends were, discussing what was going on with Branch.

"I'm worried about him, guys," Poppy said softly, walking up to the group of trolls. "What's wrong with him?"

"We already discussed this, Popsqueek. He's crazy," Barb said.
"You're not helping, Barb," Poppy grumbled angrily.
"I never said I was helpful," she shrugged, crossing her arms.

     Poppy sighed, rolling her eyes, as she looked back at the rest of her friends.

     "He's turning grey again..." she told them softly.

     They all gasped at the news, their eyes widening in shock.

     "He's that sad?" Smidge questioned, but Poppy shook her head.
"He seems miserable..." the pop queen answered. "But I don't think that's why he's losing his colors. I don't know how to describe it... but it's different than before... there's something wrong with him. Seriously wrong..."

"G... guys..." Branch said in a soft voice, suddenly wobbling out of his room, his hand resting gently on the side of his head.

Everyone turned, looking at him in concern.

"Branch? What's wrong?" Poppy asked, quickly heading towards him, concerned for her boyfriend. He didn't look well. His face was pale, and he seemed to be rather dizzy.

     "I... I don't... feel so good..." he mumbled, beginning to fall over.
"Branch!" Poppy screeched out in terror, quickly catching him as he fell, and then lowering him gently down to the floor. "Branch!? Branch!? What's wrong!? What happened!?"

     There was no answer... he just lay there in her arms, panting heavily, as he held his eyes shut gently.

     "Somethings wrong with him!" she cried, holding his head in her lap, as she stoked her fingers through his hair.

The other's came over, looking at him in concern, wondering what could possibly be going on.

     "Branch?" Poppy whispered, tears flowing from her eyes. "Can you hear me?"

Slowly, he blinked his eyes open, looking up weakly at the troll he loved.

     "You're gonna be ok, Branch..." she cried. "Please be ok..."

     She looked into his dull grey eyes, as he gazed up at her weakly, all the light seeming to fade out of them, as they slowly fell shut once more.

"Dude... what's wrong with you?" Barb asked softly in concern, placing her hand on his head to check his temperature. "Ow!" she yelled, quickly yanking her hand away from Branch. "He burnt my hand!"

"That's it," Poppy said firmly, her heart racing in terror. "We're getting you to the doctor right now, Branch."

He didn't say anything... he couldn't say anything... all he could do was lay there in Poppy's arms, struggling to breath.

"Help me get him to the hospital," Poppy said to her friends, her voice trembling with worry.

Slowly and carefully, Poppy and Barb grabbed onto Branch's arms, while Synth and Guy grabbed his legs, all of them working together to carry the light blue troll out of the bunker, and to the hospital.