Dalton wanted more information from Malcolm. After showing him the vial of pheromones, Malcolm told him to follow him, claiming to have seen the cavern where goblins were sleeping. Dalton doubted it. The man wasn’t trustworthy.

Still, Malcolm held up the paid time off like gourmet steak in front of a hungry dog, demanding he follow him, else he gets no days off.

It frustrated Dalton to no end, but he did what he was told. Still, he was getting a tedious familiarity of danger that blared in the back of his head, demanding he abandon ship while he had the chance.

Dalton stopped in his steps. “You know, on second thought, I think I wil-”

“Were here!” Malcolm spoke over him.

They stepped out of the tunnel they were in, into a well lit cavern where, as Malcolm had told him there were thousands of goblins sleeping. Dalton had doubted Malcolm, but overlooking the sight over a small ridge, Dalton couldn’t help but swallow.

Then, Malcolm pressed his head behind a rock.

“What are you doing? Do you want them to spot you?” Malcolm hissed under his breath. He pointed to a sentry on the other side of the cavern, sitting on a ridge yawning in boredom.

Dalton was slightly impressed. Malcolm truly felt like he had his shit together…unlike the when he signed up him up for illegal dark monster dueling.

He was poking his head out slightly from the side of the rock, surveying the area, until he found what he was looking for.

He turned to Dalton. Eyes serious

“Let me tell you my plan,” Malcolm took out the vial of goblin pheromones, placing it between them. “We’re going to use this goblin pheromones as a distraction. There is a goblin that took Zeus from me.”

“Zeus?” Dalton then remembered. “You mean your rifle.”

“Yes.” Malcolm nodded. “A Goblin General has it. If you look over there, you’ll see him. Hard to miss. Bigger than any other goblin here.”

Motioning for Dalton to look, Dalton crawled past him and poked his head from behind the rock. He looked around for a few minutes, and just like Malcolm had said, he found a giant goblin. It was bigger than the one that kidnapped Ozul, at least three times larger. Malcolm’s gun was hung over its shoulder.

“Yeah, I see it.” Dalton turned back to Malcolm. “So, you’re going to get your gun back?”

“Zeus is one of my most powerful guns. It could blow a hole through the ceiling of this cavern. It can kill a measly Goblin King. I just didn’t expect myself to be captured so quickly.” He spat. “But I guess that’s what calamity befalls me.”

“Calamity?”

“Anyways, you’re going to sneak over to the Goblin General. I’ll swing to the other side, and I will throw the pheromones. That’ll cause them to go into a frenzy and distract the General long enough for you to grab my gun.”

Dalton blinked. “You’re giving me the least dangerous job…what is happening here?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t give my subordinate a terrible job.” He clasped Dalton’s shoulder, giving him an empathic gaze. “You need to stay alive. Everyone needs to stay alive and have a functioning asshole. We’ll get you those days off, I swear.”

For the first time since he took this job, hope was swelling in his chest. The cynicism that had been birthed from this job fled him.

“Okay.” Dalton straightened his back, giving a firm nod. “I’ll go ahead and sneak over there.”

“Good. Once I see you over there, I’ll toss the pheromones.”

Dalton nodded. He was about to stand up, but Malcolm grabbed his shoulder. He pointed at the sentry on the other side. As the goblin turned away for a second to yawn, Malcom pushed him.

“Now go.”

Dalton climbed down the ridge, scurried to the next rock. He peeked from behind it to make sure that there was no sentry looking, and then did the same, climbing down another level.

Once he climbed down to the base level, he snuck to the rock behind the Goblin General. Unlike the smaller goblins, the General stood like a statue, his eyes fully open surveying the situation. Dalton watched him for a few minutes, and he noticed that he hadn’t blinked even once.

Dalton nervously looked to the other side of the ridge, to see if Malcolm had made it yet. He hadn’t. His heart started beating heavy, and loud. He wondered where he could be. His head went a little darker, what if this was his plan from the beginning? Leaving him alone.

Doubt overtook Dalton, and every second he didn’t see Malcolm, the more that doubt devoured him. He was about to try and sneak away, when suddenly the General turned his gaze towards him.

He froze. He swallowed, feeling like a rock was stuck in his throat. The General took a step towards him, and Dalton slowly backed away, and pivoted his back against the rock. He hid behind the shadows and held his breath in hopes that the General wouldn’t spot him.

The General’s large footsteps shook the ground a little. He leaned in to look behind the rock. Dalton could see under his chin, and for a moment he was sure that the General would look down and spot him. Dalton covered his mouth and waited for judgement.

A noise like rocks clattering down the wall came from behind the General, and he immediately swung his head behind him. With the General’s attention caught, Dalton scuttered behind the next nearest rock. The General turned back and looked at the place Dalton had just once been. Satisfied that nothing was there, he went back to his spot.

Dalton took in a deep relieved breath. He leaned his back against the rock and slid down on his bottom. If that General hadn’t been caught by the noise, he would have been caught. Dalton’s fingers picked at the silly tie he was still wearing. It felt absolutely chocking and he loosened it a little.

Where was he? If he had followed the plan, he would be able to take the gun by now. After he calmed down, Dalton take another peek from behind his current hiding spot. The General was still in his spot, standing as still as a statue.

Then something caught his eye.

Malcolm waved his hand from behind the rock on the General’s left side. Dalton didn’t understand. What was he doing there, instead of-

He threw something in the air. Dalton arched his head up, his eyes widening as he spotted what he had thrown. It was the vial of goblin pheromones.

That bastard betrayed me. Dalton mouthed.

The vial shattered right on top of the rock Dalton was hiding behind.

The golden powder blew into Dalton’s face. He rubbed his eyes free of the powder, and when he opened his eyes, he witnessed true horror.

A sea of red eyes gazed upon him. Their face twisted and contorted as the smell of pheromones tickled their noses. And each of those goblins would set their eyes upon him.

Dalton took a step back, and his heel snaped a twig.

Like a meal bell being rung, the goblins screeched and jumped him. Dalton tried to climb, but their long green fingers grabbed his shirt, and pulled him down. Their nails ripped his shirt, cutting his chest. Dalton tried to move away, but many of hands pinned his hands down. They pinned his ankles down.

In the corner of his eyes, he spotted Malcolm with his giant rifle, giving him a salute.

“You bastard!” Dalton yelled. “I swear, if I survive, I’m going to kill you!”

His voice was drowned by the goblins screaming in glee. One pulled his pants off, but they started to fight over who would go first, and they started to kill each other. The General Goblin swept five of them off Dalton, they smashed against the cavern walls like flies.

The General gave a hungry look, and as he pulled his pants down, ten goblins jumped him, stabbing furiously with sticks and rusted knives. He roared, and twisted his upper body to throw them off. Three of them stuck, and one of them stuck their knife in his eye.

As they were distracted, Dalton tried to sneak away, but the ones not attacking the General grabbed his ankle and bound them in place with rope like livestock. Dalton screamed, as he tried to pull away, and a goblin smacked him in the head with a club.

His vision shook, and he was flipped on his back by a goblin. He saw three goblins in his ringing vision, and their heads popped off with a swing from the General. More climbed on his back, stabbing him, and finally he fell on top of Dalton, bleeding and warm.

The goblins screamed and they worked in tandem to pull the General off of Dalton. Dalton in shock, kept his eyes at the ceiling.

He saw a flash and the next thing he remembered seeing was total darkness, and the sound of rocks falling.