I was peddling as fast as I could, the electric motor in the bike doing half the work, but not enough for how fast I needed to get to Toby's dentist. My legs were still burning. I leaned forward, cutting through the many corners of Arcadia.
The moment I skidded up to the building, I jumped off the bike, locked it to a crooked street pole, and rushed inside. Dr. Modues orthodontist office was just like I remembered, cold and way too bright, and somehow always smelling like peptobismol-flavored latex.
I passed the receptionist without a word. She didn't even look up. There was a long hallway of identical doors ahead of me, but I already knew where to go, first on the left. Not that I needed the memory. I could hear Toby's whimpering through the walls like a siren call.
I didn't bother knocking.
I shoved the door open and stepped in.
Toby was slumped back in the reclining chair, cheeks stuffed with cotton, eyes wide the second he saw me.
"*JIM!*" he tried to sit up, but the dentist gently pushed him back down like this was just another Thursday.
"Please, just—dude, listen to me," Toby said, trying to talk around the numb side of his mouth. "You're not gonna believe this but—okay, so—REALl trolls broke into my house last night. Like, actual, giant trolls with eight eyes and disgusting breath and claws and everything. I was screaming—like, really screaming, but they just kept talking like I wasn't even there."
I kept still, leaning against the wall. My arms crossed. My heart wasn't racing. My mind, though... that was already working overtime.
"One of them—the ugliest one—he said something about me. Called me the 'chosen one' or something. I don't even know what that means! But it was about the amulet." His eyes locked onto mine. "The one we found in the stone pile, remember? Jim, I think this is all connected."
I didn't say anything right away. Toby looked at me like I held the answer to everything. And I guess, in a way, I did.
"I know how it sounds," he said, quieter now. "But you gotta believe me, man."
"I do," I said.
Toby blinked. "You… do?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I believe you. And we're going to figure out how this amulet works."
He stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Then, slowly, a little grin pushed through all the gauze in his mouth.
"Together," I added.
That was all he needed to hear.
---
I was already back on my bike. Helmet buckled. I'd speak with him again soon.
Peddling away slow this time, letting the soft downhill slope and motor carry me.
I didn't need to rush anymore. Not yet.
But the gears in my head were turning faster than the wheels.
That amulet—yeah, I knew exactly what it was. Not just because of what we found. Because I watched the show but I couldnt put my finger on how exactly it felt to wear it.
But I wasn't going to wait around for that moment to happen. The advantage of memory—our memory.
Destiny is a gift and I was gonna use it starting now.
———"
First stop, the dollar store.
Not glamorous, but it got the job done.
I strolled in, grabbed a basket, and started scanning for the basics. No one really pays attention to a teenager buying weird crap if you look like you might be working on a school project. Which, technically… I was. A project called "Show Up and Don't Die."
Flashlight? Tossed it in.
Duct tape? Always.
A multi-bit screwdriver set—cheap plastic, sure, but it'd hold up for now.
Plastic clamps, a cheap magnifying lens, zip ties, two small LED puck lights, and a few packs of AA and coin batteries. Also found a couple of metal garden stakes and a roll of flexible wire. Not sure how I'd use them yet, but I'd figure it out. I always did.
By the time I hit the register, I'd stacked the basket like a game of Tetris. Total came to $29.58.
Still enough left for phase two.
Not soon after I arrived at the thift store directly down the block.
Now this was more my speed.
I walked past the cracked glass doors, and the smell of dust, old books, and fabric softener hit me like a brick. I dug through bins like I was on a time-sensitive treasure hunt. Scored a dented lunchbox that would work as a portable kit container, a busted Bluetooth speaker I could scrap for a battery and casing, and—miracle of miracles—a worn-down but functioning soldering iron with a wall plug.
Five dollars.
I almost hugged the cashier.
Grand total: $42.35.
I still had enough left over for a burrito or better yet a spare set of gloves if I found a dollar bin somewhere.
I strapped everything to the back of my bike using a couple bungee cords I'd yanked off a "Free Stuff" pile on the sidewalk. Honestly, Arcadia had more junk lying around than it knew what to do with. Good thing I needed junk.
I couldnt wait to get a hand on troll materials I was already used to building and discovering new technologieswith there new material it could only be better for all of us.