Chapter 6

I growled, or tried to, although it came out more like a confused whimper. My body felt heavier as the pain began to melt away my mind, making every action shaky. Still, there was no way I was going to stand still in front of this oafish giant, so I turned and ran for my life.

Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded across my snout as I crashed into an invisible barrier and rebounded back, crying out as I tripped over my own feet. Greedily sucking in air, I could only watch as the fearsome troll neared, unable to muster the strength to stand. It waved its hand dismissively as if telling me to scamper off, but before I could a wave of drowsiness washed over me and darkness replaced my vision.

I woke up, I think. Dozy, I couldn't make much sense of anything before my mind blanked out, like before, and I fell back to sleep.

Once again, I woke up, stirring loudly as I scratched the ground, outraged at fading feast in front of me. I had fought so hard, working bruises and scars all over my body for this food, and now it was just disappearing. My anger petered away into distress and finally misery as it became apparent it had all been a dream, a very pleasurable and livening one but still a dream.

Glancing around, I quickly remembered where I was, the biggest giveaway being the giant staring at me doe-eyed. Mind scrambling together an escape plan, I tried to act concussed, continuing to look around with a dopey, blank expression.

"This is amazing," the troll said, coming into my reach. "You can think."

Well, of course I could - what a silly observation. My irritation gave away to elation as I realised that if the troll moved a little closer, I could dig my teeth into it. While my claws were dangerous, the power of my jaws was at another level.

The troll abruptly stopped and smirked. "Coherent thought at that. But, mind you, you should stop thinking about escaping - you can't leave without my permission."

All the more reason to kill this monster. Pooling my mana into my legs, I prepared for a shock attack, tensing my muscles.

"Is killing all you think about? I haven't even done anything," the troll said with an undertone of exasperation.

I would have been a scatterbrain if I hadn't clocked on by then - this monster was reading my mind! Exactly as I fearfully thought this, the troll guffawed, making me feel even more vulnerable.

It brushed tears from its blue cheeks. "You don't need to worry so much - I'm not interested in killing you. Besides, why would I when I just fixed you up."

Looking over myself, I noticed a lack of blood across my brown coat. My senses were numb for some reason but I could still tell the unseen wounds had been mostly healed, especially my ribs. I mean, I had been breathing all this time without difficulty after all.

"Not fully healed. I can do so if you tell me about yourself, though."

Why would a troll want to hear me talk? Or think for that matter. Although my human memories rarely told me anything, the images it now flashed in my head showed trolls as violent, hyper-aggressive monsters who were primal at best. There was an accompanying feeling of disdain alongside the images.

"Not all of us," the troll said with a noticeable stiffness. "Besides, all you've thought about here is how to kill me, so who are you to judge?"

That was… fair enough. Admittedly, most of my daily thoughts were on killing, chasing, and eating. Feeling a little ashamed, I looked away from the troll's gaze.

It drew in a deep breath and visibly calmed. "He's just an animal, Tal. He doesn't know any better," the troll, apparently called Tal, mumbled under its breath. It then addressed me. "First of all, I am a she, not an it. Secondly, those images in your mind - they weren't yours." She ended with a questioning inflexion.

I wondered whether I should tell her, then decided to, after all, she didn't seem to want to kill me and maybe she knew more about my locked away memories.

"That's… impossible." Tal stumbled back, shaking her head, "But how else could a bear think so coherently, Tal? A bloody bear!"

I felt offended as who was to say bears weren't secretly capable of eloquent thought. Although, thinking back, none of my victims had shown considerable intelligence. Maybe this just meant I was a smart bear?

"This is beyond smartness," Tal replied, "Bears naturally cannot think to this degree. I've read many bear thoughts and they are simple and basic, several degrees below what you're displaying right now. Fucking damnation, I can't even sense a lie from you. So you've actually got locked away memories?"

I nodded.

"Okay, then try accessing them and show me the lock."

I shook my head vigorously. Still, she broke through my refusals with her silver tongue and, I eventually gave in. Bumbling onto my locked memories, I took a deep breath and mentally touched them. The pain was immediate and intense, making me bellow as I squirmed.

Simultaneously, Tal screamed, likely meaning the pain had passed through. It took her a while to consider me again. "Damnation - someone definitely crafted that with proper defences to block access. In fact, that same person likely changed you as well while injecting those memories in there."

I shrugged at her words. If it meant I wasn't a scatterbrain like the other bears, falling for my admittedly bearly thought-out traps, then I was fine. In fact, a little chuffed.

"But you do want to access them, right?" Tal asked.

My answer was a definite YES!

There was no way to not be curious about the freeloader in my mind, occasionally naming things and giving insights but usually staying silent.

"Well then, I think we can help each other out. You seem like a bear who doesn't mind getting his paws dirty, and I just so happen to have a few jobs that need doing. In return, I can crack the lock on your memories."