The Berserker

“But why did you want to do it again in the winter?” Marcus asked Wilson. “It’s colder now than it was in November.”

“Because I wanted to test out the new gear that Pete bought.”

“Because you wanted to see if you could see the trolls,” Marcus said accusingly, under his breath.

“What was that?” Wilson asked him.

“Nothing,” he said back. “Just that it’s freezing, again.”

Wilson looked to the night sky and laughed a little.

“Can you remember,” he said. “It was me complaining last time.”

“And didn’t you complain.”

“And then the bite alarm went off and I caught a...”

Wilson was cut off by the beep beep beep of his new bite alarm, and he looked at Marcus with his mouth open.

“What the frick,” he said as he jumped up and pulled at the rod, feeling the pull back with the weight of the fish on the hook. “I’m in,” he said excitedly, and he played the fish as he had a thousand times before. “It’s a tench, Marc,” he said, “I can feel it.”

Wilson brought the fish to the surface and caught a glimpse of the head.

“It’s a monster, Marc,” Wilson shouted, “Got to be an 8 pounder at least.”

Marcus grabbed the landing net, and patiently waited to slide the Tench into it, when a noise that sounded like a hungry baby wailing for a bottle came from across the lake on Holy Island.

The boys looked at each other and both had a face of fear.

“Not again,” Marcus whispered, and they both looked toward the noise.

They both stood to run to their bikes when the splashing from the island froze them to the spot, forcing them to move only to turn and watch the troll running toward them.

As they turned, they both relaxed a little.

Stood on the banks of the island was the elder that Pete had reached the agreement with, and its huge hand was raised as it waved to them.

In the water, floating on a raft made of tree trunks, was the fishing gear that they had returned to collect the day after they had seen the troll.

Marcus and Wilson instinctively waved back as the elder turned away from them, and there splashing in the water, where the elder had been stood, was a troll that stood about 18 inches high, and they were sure there was no green hair and definitely no red lipstick.