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The hallway fell silent as the last of the ogres collapsed to the floor.
Jason lowered his sword, the ogre’s protective football gear having done little to protect them from his blows. Sheathing the blade he felt the balance of the weapon shifting.
‘I’ll have to take it to Metal Shop soon for repairs,’ Jason thought.
Heading down the hall he picked his way past debris, backpacks and books mixed with building rubble. A locker hung open, the door listing lazily on one hinge, a faded poster of a boy band still clung to the inside, the lipstick kiss faded to a muddy brown.
Out of the gloom an intersection loomed and Jason paused his journey.
To the left lay the Chem lab, the goblins within mixing a fresh batch of acid if the smell was any indication. To the right was the A/V lounge, the illusionists within able to ensnare those with a weak mind.
Moving slowly, Jason crouched low and slipped through the crossway as stealthily as he could manage, careful to keep his armor, courtesy of the Drama Club, from rattling.
Getting through the pass he let out a sigh and straighten up, resuming his trek.
Until a crunch under his foot caused the hallway to fill with noise.
“BABY, BABY, BABY!!”
Jason looked down and saw the remains of an iphone under his boot, the cracked screen flickering but doing nothing to lower the volume.
A crash from the intersection was all the motivation Jason needed to bolt down the hall.
‘God damn classic rock!’ He cursed.
Charging ahead, heedless of direction Jason focused on keeping distance between himself and the goblins and wizards pursuing him.
He ignored the classrooms, in this part of the building they were too much of a risk. Rounding a corner, he took a chance and ducked into a closet, quickly closing the door and ducking down out of sight.
Jason heard the horde thunder past, he waited a few minutes longer before relaxing. Letting out the breath he’d been holding he took a look around his shelter.
It was a janitor’s closet.
And a well-stocked one at that. Cartons of supplies, jugs of cleaners lined the shelves. The mop still had a functional head and there was not a speck of dust in sight.
There was only one place in the building he could be.
The Prince preferred his office to be kept completely spotless after all.
Peeking out into the hall Jason did not see any adversaries in either direction.
Slipping back out of the closet he made his way down the hall, away from where the horde had run.
He was nearing his goal, after all these months, nothing was going to stop him now.
Ahead, the hall opened out into a foyer.
Jason crept as close as he dared to the gap and took a look.
At the far end, he could make out the door to the Prince’s office, shattered wood still clung to the frame.
And filling the open space, patrolling the foyer, was the Jani-troll.
Knuckles scraping the floor, the troll lumbered back and forth as much as the limited space allowed. Dragging a broken broom in one hand and a crushed bottle of cleaner in the other, he occasionally reached up and fumbled with the clasps of his overalls, only for them to fall loose again.
‘No way I can fight him,’ Jason thought.
Looking around the hall for something, anything, that might help, he spied an open locker. Carefully sneaking over to it he peeked inside.
And found a skateboard.
Jason pulled it out and examined his find. One of the wheels was wobbly and the paint had long since faded, but it was more than enough for what he needed.
Waiting until the troll turned his back, Jason rushed out into the foyer. Charging straight at the door to the Prince’s office..
The troll turned at the sound and spotting Jason, raised his club and slammed down at him.
Jason waited until the last possible moment before throwing himself forward onto the skateboard, riding it with his body just above the ground he sped between the troll’s legs and launched himself into the office.
Rolling to his feet Jason drew his sword and called out.
“Prince!” he shouted, “Release her!”
“I’m fine dude, chill.” Tiffany said.
Dumbfounded, Jason took in the sight before him.
Prince lay dead on the floor, the corpse of the massive dragon taking up nearly all the space in the office. Once pom-pom jammed up it’s nose, the other buried deep in it’s eye.
Tiffany lounged contentedly in the ridges of the beast’s head, not a fold of her cheerleading uniform out of place, calmly filing her nails with a discarded dragon scale.
“Tiffany?” Jason stammered, “You… You killed a dragon?”
She glanced up at Jason before going back to her nails, switching to her other hand.
“What? Like it’s hard?”
