The Troll by Brian Darr

distance, The Guide spotted a barn and they redirected their
walk. “What’s the deal with trolling?” The Guide
asked. “What’s so fun about it?”
    “ I
don’t know. I’m good at it.”
    “ Isn’t
that like being good at being an asshole?”
    “ You
know, the government used to hire trolls to push their agendas and
sway people for or against politicians and policies.”
    “ So
what?”
    “ So
it was a necessity.”
    “ Because
the government did it?” The Guide asked with a chuckle. “You
really have a messed up sense of priorities.”
    “ What
else am I going to do? Most people on the boards are just worshiping
idols of some sort. How’s that much better?”
    “ People
use the boards to connect. You try to come between them. You ruin
things instead of building them.”
    “ Says
the guy who is trying to restore the chaos that the world once was.”
    The
Guide stopped, and suddenly, he was angry. “First of all, the
world wasn’t chaos. It was free. We were allowed to make
choices, and a lot of people made bad choices, but we were at least
free to be who we wanted to be and not worry about someone hacking
our brain and killing us. Second, the fact that you’re not
pissed off about what happened to everyone is staggering. Who cares
how many people were murdered before Psi? The Moderator has killed
more people than anyone in the history of the world. What does it
take to make you angry?”
    The
Troll shrugged as if he didn’t know the answer, but The Guide
suddenly saw the truth and let out a small gasp. “You want to
be with them, don’t you?” The Guide asked. “You
would have done the same thing in their shoes.”
    “ Maybe
not the same way, but I can’t argue with a better world.”
    “ It
wasn’t just bad people who died when Psi froze us all. It was a
randomized group of people who needed to NOT be paralyzed in that
moment. No one was targeted. All they cared about was the takeover
and of the millions who died, not one was selected because of who
they were. All that mattered was that The Moderator wanted power.”
    “ Can
we not talk about this?”
    “ Some
troll you are. Aren’t you supposed to be the one doing the
provoking?”
    Some
troll he really was, The Troll thought. It really was different face
to face. He didn’t have time to plan his answer or use trickery
against his opponent. In the real world, with real issues, facing a
real human being, he was stumped. The Troll couldn’t wait to
get away from The Guide. He clearly was looked down on by everyone
that was part of the resistance: The Surfer, The Guide, they all saw
him as the wrong pick, and he felt uncomfortable around them.
    When
they finally made it to the barn, the smell of straw filled the air.
The barn was two tiered and musty, as if nothing had been inside for
a long time and was left to marinate in its own odors. The wooden
beams were strong, and it would be a good hideout for the night. They
could even stay for days if they wanted the bounty hunters to
pass…maybe weeks if they hoped to be forgotten entirely. The
Troll ran strategies through his head of the many ways they could
beat the folks at…
    And
then he snapped out of it. For a second, the thrill of the game
overcame him, but he dismissed it and reminded himself of the real
mission: Escape the clutches of The Guide, find the nearest tower,
and transmit the signal. He was lucky The Guide hadn’t forced
him to hand over Rainbow, and even luckier that they had found a
place to sleep with plenty of time to call off the hunt. He was
cooperative with The Guide and tried to get along the remainder of
the evening. The last thing he needed was to be discovered for his
real plan. They hunted together and managed to find and capture a
rabbit. They found a pond with fish and dinner was fantastic. It
wasn’t roast duck, but as hungry as The Troll was, it could
have been.
    At
the end of the evening, when their eyes were heavy, they covered
their bodies with hay and