Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 56

"I'm gonna die!" Branch wailed in complete and utter terror, the survivalist now pacing back and forth as Poppy watched on in despair, the poor girl having no clue what she could possibly say or do to help calm her friend's nerves after the horrible tragedy that had just accrued only a few moments before. "They're gonna figure out what I am and... and... and kill me! Poppy!" He turned, quickly grabbing hold of his best friend's shoulders as he gazed straight into her gorgeous eyes, panic reflecting clearly in his own. "What do I do!?"

"Well first..." Poppy started in a soft and calming tone, the young princess gently removing the young boy's hands from her shoulders before taking them comfortingly in her own. "You need to calm down..."

"Calm down? Calm down!?" Branch shouted out loudly in pure disbelief, the village grump pulling harshly away from the love of his life to resume anxiously pacing back and forth, his hands flailing around dramatically in the air above his head as he panicked. "How am I supposed to calm down, Poppy!? I'm about to die!"

"Branch... you are not going to die..." the young girl assured, trying her best to help the gray troll relax. "I won't let them hurt you... we'll think of something... I promise..."

"They... they want me to... to hunt the wolf... but... but... but I'm the wolf!" the poor boy cried out in pure terror, no longer seeming to be able to hear his best friend over his own horrified thoughts. "They're hunting me!"

"Calm down, Branch..." Poppy said again, worried her friend might accidentally give himself a panic attack. "Just breath... you're gonna be ok..."

She tried to take Branch into a comforting hug, but he just pulled away, the paranoid recluse continuing to pace back and forth... back and forth... back and forth...

"They're... they're gonna find ou... out..." the terrified troll muttered in a soft whisper, speaking under his breath as the poor boy paced anxiously, the little gray troll's hands clutching tightly at his thick black hair in complete panic, his eyes wide as he stared at the ground below his feet. "They're... they're gonna find out... they... they want me dead... they... they... they're gonna kill me!"

Poppy could see the pure and utter terror painted all over her friend's face... she could hear it in his trembling voice as the village grump did his best to avoid eye contact, his head low to try and hide his horrified face from his secret crush...

His breath seemed to get stuck in his throat as time went on, coming out as a horrid wheezing sound that showed the poor boy was indeed having trouble taking in air... he... he couldn't breath...

"Branch, please!" the young princess begged, tears of worry beginning to flood from her eyes as she watched what was happening to her best friend in that horrible moment...

     She could actually hear the village grump's heart pounding inside of his chest, his breath getting heavier and heavier as he just continued to panic, ignoring every word the pink troll said to him...

     Finally, the young boy stopped pacing, instead placing both hands on his knees to try and keep his balance, his stomach twisting into a tight knot as if he were going to puke...

     His head low, and eyes closed... Branch couldn't help but wheeze loudly, the poor terrified troll trying with all his might to get the air he so desperately needed into his lungs... but... it was no use... he was panicking far too much to breath...

     He was about to pass out from fear... Poppy could see it... if he didn't calm down immediately... his poor aching heart would surly give out...

     "Branch!" the young princess cried in another desperate attempt to get her best friend in the whole world to listen to her... "You need to relax!"

Wait... relax...

With a small gasp of realization, Poppy grabbed hold of the dying troll before quickly putting a decent amount of pressure on a specific part of his neck with a single trembling finger, the young boy's eyes immediately widening as a paralyzing shock shot down his spine, sending the village grump collapsing right down to the ground in an instant...

"B... Branch?" Poppy whispered, the young princess looking down at her friend who now lay flat on his back, his tongue flopped out of his mouth as his hand twitched slightly, a few soft grunts escaping the little Weretroll's throat as he sighed deeply in content, seemingly in a transcendent state of some sort, his mind no longer aware of what was currently going on around him...

'Well...' Poppy couldn't help but think to herself as she watched Branch laying peacefully in his incapacitated state of extreme relaxation. 'At least he's calm...'