CHAPTER 1

Katie Ridgeback was walking down the street, humming a little tune to herself. Katie was 17 years old. She had brown hair, green eyes, and a lovable smile. She was skinny and very athletic looking. She had to walk home for that day since her ride had mistakenly left her. She got very upset when she found this out but she shrugged it off. As she was nearing her house, she saw an old woman sitting on the ground in tattered clothes holding a cup in her hand. The old lady was sitting in an alley.

"A penny for the poor," she was saying. The lady was old. It looked like she had been preserved in an old photograph. Her hair was white and her skin and clothes had a yellow tint to them. Katie walked into the alley and froze right in front of the old lady and put her hand in her pocket. She drew out 5 dollars and put it in the old lady's cup.

"Are you all right, madam. Do you need some help?" asked Katie. "After all, you are sitting on the sidewalk all alone. I could help you walk to the nearest homeless shelter." For a while the lady said nothing. Katie stood there, wondering to herself if the old lady was deaf or had a hearing problem Katie was just about to repeat her question when the old lady spoke in a very harsh voice.

"Is that you child?" Katie looked around with curiosity. There was no one in the street. Katie's head then turned to the old lady. The old lady's face was contorted with some strange expression. Katie could not quite place the expression on her face.

"Child, are you going to answer me or not? I know that you are not deaf and have heard my question."

"Are you talking to me?" Katie asked with a trance of fear in her voice.

"Yes, I am talking to you. You must be the 'child'. Only the one I am searching for would ask such a stupid question as that. Also, Who else would be willing to stop and talk to an old lady? I have been waiting for 11 years. There has been at least 100 people walk by me without a glance. The disappointment in today's society oh, nevermind. That is not important. You are different from most people. You are willing to make sacrifices for the ones you love. You are the perfect one to do this task. Come sit down." Katie looked a little bit with fear as the old lady made the offer. She knew that she was more courteous than most people were, but what this old lady was saying was crazy. What task was she going to have to do? Katie was very confused. Then she thought of a good excuse.

"I really have to go home. I am not sure that my parents would allow me to talk to a complete stranger. I meant no offense, of course. I am so sorry." Katie said to the old lady. "I need to go home and'85and do homework. I have a big essay due tomorrow and I need to get it done."

"Excellent. That is the answer that I expected. You are ready to due the task that God in the heavens has appointed to you. You are the perfect one for this gift." The old lady paused because she saw Katie look at her strangely. She continued, " At least, you deserve this gift. Here you go," said the old lady. She hands Katie a small box. It was a small package entirely covered in light blue paper. There was even a matching bow. "I hope it didn't cost the old lady that much. I would hate to take this gift knowing she could have money," thought Katie. However, with the look at the old lady's face, Katie took the gift that the old lady was still holding. Katie turned her back on the old lady looking at the package.

"Thanks, I…" said Katie, turning back to face the old lady and seeing nothing. Then she realized that the old lady was gone. The woman had vanished into midair. "That was weird," thought Katie. For a moment, she looked around for the old lady to see if she had suddenly walked off. There was no trace of her left. Katie was the only person on the street. Then Katie left the alley and continued her walk towards home. Finally, she arrived home at Sierra Blvd. She unlocked the door and walked inside. She set her backpack down in the living room and went into her bedroom to change out of her school uniform and into more comfortable clothes. When she got into the bedroom, she set the package down on her bed and went to her closet to find something to wear. After she had changed into khaki shorts and a pink T-shirt, her eyes strayed back to the odd little package. As Katie continued to look at the package, it began to vibrate. It fell off the bed and onto the floor. It continued to vibrate. Katie suddenly noticed a tag that had fallen off the package. The tag instructed her to open the package. Katie thought to herself, " Might as well do what the tag says."

Katie had a difficult time opening the package. (It is very hard to open a moving package.) Just as she had finally gotten the wrapping off, she thought she heard the phone ringing. "Oh well, I will just answer it after I finish opening the package," she thought to herself. After a few moments, the package suddenly opened on its own. Katie looked and saw that there was nothing inside.

"That was odd," said Katie aloud to herself. She got up, to answer the phone, and then there was a swishing noise behind her ear. Suddenly, she felt that someone was pulling on her and she found that she was in a dark place and it seemed to be moving. Katie couldn't she where she was going. Then Katie became petrified, paralyzed with fear. She didn't know what to do. The last thing she remembered was a golden light. That is when she blacked out.

"Someone that I trust and ought to be trusted," said Frodo with an ease that Katie did not expect of him. She was surprised at how calm and relaxed he seemed. Katie turned her attention back to the girl. She had settled herself in Frodo's chair and looked at peace. Frodo placed the ring, which he had been holding in his hand, on the table at last and went to stand behind the young lady.