HOLLY SHORT

The troll was directly below her, pounding against the town’s outer wall, which was coming away in chunks beneath his powerful fingers. Holly sucked in a startled gasp. This guy was a monster! Big as an elephant and ten times as mean. But this particular beast was worse than mean, he was scared.

‘Control,’ said Holly into her mike. ‘Runner located. Situation critical topside.’

Root himself was on the other side of the comlink.

‘Clarify, Captain.’

Holly pointed her video link at the troll.

‘Runner is going through the town wall. Contact imminent. How far away are Retrieval?’

‘ETA five minutes minimum. We’re still in the shuttle.’

Holly bit her lip. Root was in the shuttle?

‘That’s too long, Commander. This whole town is going to explode in ten seconds…I’m going in.’

‘Negative, Holly… Captain Short. You don’t have an invite. You know the law. Hold your position.’

‘But, Commander – ‘

Root cut her off. ‘No! No buts, Captain. Hang back. That’s an order!’

Holly’s entire body felt like a heartbeat. Petrol fumes were addling her brain. What could she do? What was the right decision to make? Lives or orders?

Then the troll broke through the wall and a child’s voice split the night.

‘Aiuto!’ it screamed.

Help. An invitation. At a stretch.

‘Sorry, Commander. The troll is light-crazy and there are children in there.’

She could imagine Root’s face, purple with rage as he spat into the mike.

‘I’ll have your stripes, Short! You’ll spend the next hundred years on drain duty!’

But it was no use. Holly had disconnected her mike and swooped in after the troll.