Part 3 is here.
Goldberg's story was not a pleasant one.
"Joel Fields," he said as he drove, "is not a good place."
Cliffey was confused. Joel Fields was supposed to be like heaven. Every goat knew that. For as long as he could remember, Pete, Sarah and he had dreamed of living there.
But then, if he had wanted to live there for so long...why had he turned back?
"Joel Fields used to be just like everywhere else. Gemma Meadows, Joel Fields, Sophie Springs, Alex Marsh, they all had their goods and bads, but nowhere was particularly better than anywhere else."
"So what happened?" asked Cliffey as they drove over a bridge.
Goldberg shook his head. "A monster."
"A monster?!"
"A goat-eating monster. Teeth like carving knives, eyes like cannonballs, breath like the month-old eggs of the dead. If you believe the stories, he arrived in the Fields one Monday, and started eating that afternoon. By nightfall, he'd eaten every goat there. Not one was left."
Cliffey shivered.
"Nobody's set foot in Joel Fields ever since," said Goldberg. "Why on Earth would Sarah and Pete want to go there?"
Cliffey wasn't sure what to say. "I guess they heard differently," he mumbled uncertainly.
Goldberg's van sped on.
* * *
Meanwhile, Pete and Sarah's progress had come to a halt.
"You don't know the way, do you?" asked Sarah.
"Hm."
"I thought we'd be there by now, Pete. It's getting dark."
"Hm."
"Well, you'd better pick a direction quickly. That troll could be right behind us."
"Hm."
"Come on, Pete!" Sarah yelled. "We didn't come all this way to let a fork in the road defeat us! Which way are we going?"
"I...I'm not sure. It's not like I have a map or anything."
"Well, should we split up then? You can go left, and I can go-"
"No, no!"
"...Okay, I'll go left, and you can go right."
Pete rolled his eyes. "No, I mean we can't split up. What if one of us gets to Joel Fields, and the other one ends up wondering endlessly in the forest alone? We have to stay together."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Fine. So which way shall we go?"
Just then, they heard a familiar roar coming down the path towards them. The troll was right behind them, alright. And he was gaining fast.
And Pete still didn't know which way to go.
So Sarah took charge. "We're going left. Come on! Quick!"
And into the forest they ran.
* * *
There was one thing Cliffey didn't quite understand.
"So...how come the monster stopped at Joel Fields? Why didn't he come to the Meadows?"
"No one knows for sure," said Goldberg. "Some say he was so full after his feast at Joel Fields that he just went home. Some think that he got lost on the way to his next feast, and he's been wondering endlessly in the forest ever since. And some..." Goldberg paused. "Some say he's still there."
Cliffey shivered again. He told himself that it was simply because the sun had gone down, and night was settling in. The nights had been very cold recently.
"For what it's worth," Goldberg continued, "I think the monster's long gone. I reckon that, if those two do get to Joel Fields, all they'll find is a few acres of overgrown grass. But, you know, better safe than-"
Goldberg stopped abruptly.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Cliffey.
"That bridge we went over a couple of miles ago," said Goldberg, thinking. "Didn't there used to be a troll under it?"
TO BE CONTINUED
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