Disclaimer: LOTR characters belong to Tolkien. Adriana is mine.
Scene: A bored girl goes for a walk in the jungle, and stumbles through a gate into another place...
Another Place
This was the last time she went on holiday with her parents!! They were so damn controlling! First they tell her she can't take a friend with her, then they have the cheek to tell her she couldn't even go off by herself!
Dangerous place my ass! Adriana thought as she stalked through the jungle. If they think I'm scared of a few snakes they've got another think coming! I mean, it's a just a glorified wood for god's sake!
She was in South America, Peru to be exact. It was one of her parents "adventure" holidays, which meant they drove round the country in a Land Rover for two weeks, dragging her along with them, because at 16 she was, in their words, "Too young to stay at home alone"
She could have stayed with a friend, but "We don't want to impose on someone else's parents. Two weeks is too long"
Damn right. Too long to get whisked around a strange country looking at some crumbly old ruins, when she should be somewhere like Ibiza doing normal teenage things, i.e.; underage drinking and meeting guys. The trouble was, that's exactly what her parents had thought she'd do.
"You'll be safer with us" They'd said. Yeah, sure. Safer and one hell of a lot more bored!
Right now her parents were off looking at some crappy old temple with some archaeological group they'd tagged onto. She'd only managed to stay back at the "camp" thanks to a fake stomach upset. Must be that bloody dog-meat you made me eat. Adriana thought bitterly. Not only did the miles of empty jungle bore her half to death, but the food tasted terrible, and the amount of injections she'd had to have before coming just took the piss. She didn't even know what half these diseases were! Hopefully her parents would think she had one and send her back to England.
As soon as they had left that morning she'd told the guide, some Peruvian with a name that sounded like "Fisherprice" that she was going to explore. His English was non-existent, but he was getting paid enough to do whatever her or her parents wanted. Well, she said enough, but what was a lot out here was probably pocket change back home. Anyway, the guy had just smiled and nodded and off she'd gone into the undergrowth.
Just a torch, machete and packed lunch! She thought happily, cutting down vines and any other plant that got remotely in her way. She knew that the camp was back that way, and her dad had said something about a village being this way, which was the direction she'd been walking in for the past hour. She was hot, tired, but anything was better than lying in a cramped tent with insects crawling all over you. At least now she was outside with insects crawling all over her.
Eventually she came to what looked like a cliff face rising out of the jungle. It just appeared before her through the trees like some giant wall blocking her path. Slowly she turned round. I guess the village isn't here after all. She thought in a way that said she'd expected it all along. Great. Well, I've come this far!
With that she stepped forwards and began to scale the cliff. It was sheer further up, but the lower half was a mess of fallen rocks which formed a sort of haphazard staircase up to a large fissure in the stone. After about 5 minutes of sweated effort she reached it and sat down just inside the entrance, glad of the shade from the hot sun.
The fissure reached back into the cliff face as far as Adriana could see, which wasn't very far considering it was pitch black. After regaining her breath she got out her torch and switched it on, illuminating about 10m back into the "cave". The floor was uneven, but stretched back further than the area of light cast by the torch.
Adriana cast a glance back out into the harsh sunlight. Her parents wouldn't be back till late, and it couldn't be past noon yet, and going a few metres further would hardly make a difference on the miles she must've covered already.
With that in mind, she got to her feet and set off into the cave.
Wait a second, what am I doing? She suddenly stopped dead. What if I get lost in here? There's no way I could find my way out!
Which was why she took a scrap of paper out of her pocket, hunted for a pen, and, starting from the entrance to the cave, began to record her steps.
20 paces forwards...three left...five forwards...
And so she went on. Every time she came to a branch in the path she recorded which tunnel she'd taken, left, right, 2^nd on the right, middle, until the scrap of paper was nearly full. The cave was blacker than black, the only illumination coming from her little torch, glinting off the natural crystals in the walls.
Just when she'd decided to turn back, she came to another branch in the path.
By now I should be way under the cliff! She thought with some wonder. I wonder how far back this thing stretches, and if anyone's come here before? But by the looks of things no one had. The cave, although with a ceiling a good two feet above her head, and with dry walls which were sure to provide good protection against the elements, looked like not even animals had come inside. There were no bones on the floor, nothing to suggest it had ever been visited.
Well then, I'd better leave my mark!
Adriana picked up a sharp stone from the floor of the tunnel, and stepped forwards to carve her name on the wall. Her plan was to do it just inside the right-hand tunnel of the three which she could choose from, but as she took that step...
The cave vanished. Adriana was standing in sunlight again, but this time it was gentler. Green grass sloped away before her, waving in the gentle summer breeze which ruffled her long black hair.
"What the..." She voiced her bewilderment, dropping the stone without realising.
The cave was behind her, it's opening like some black mouth of doom, the only blemish in an otherwise perfect cliff face which rose up to meet white mountains towering thousands of feet above, their tops shrouded in cloud. Instead of jungle the grass in front of her met with a deep green forest which stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Oh, damn" Adriana turned to go back into the cave, only to find that no matter how far she went, when she turned to look back the soft grass and gentle forest were still there.
Huh, I'd love my parents to see this! She thought happily. A piece of British countryside in the middle of Peru...only Peru's not here anymore...
Panic suddenly filled her chest, and she found herself running down the slope as fast as she could towards the woods. She crashed into the trees and leaped over fallen branches in her haste to reach anywhere that seemed remotely normal.
After a minute she stopped. The woods were silent. I must've scared all the animals away She decided, but deep down she wasn't so sure. Woods weren't supposed to be this quiet; there were always birds singing in the trees, or insects buzzing round.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The feeling where someone is watching you was very strong, and slowly she turned...
"Oh, hello there!" She exclaimed in relief as she saw the man standing in the trees. "I'm lost, could you tell me where I am?"
The man was tall, over six foot, and heavyset like a logger. He had a straggly growth of thick hair and a black beard that masked his mouth. His eyes were small and set deep in his face, and he was wearing the clothes of someone who you'd expect to see living in a forest, but nevertheless, Adriana was lost, and he was there.
He stood watching her, a look of bemusement on his face.
Must be Spanish The girl thought. This is probably just the place on the other side of the cliff...That village dad talked about!
"Erm...Soy Inglesa" She said now, confident once more, hoping that the man would get the picture and say something helpful like, "The village is this way" or "I can show you back to your camp"
But he just stood there, and instead of understanding, she saw a different look in his eyes. One that she definitely didn't like.
"Could you tell me where I am, please?" She said, quieter now as the man came slowly towards her, his eyes sweeping her up and down.
"Erek mblang yug nriff rek" Was what the words he uttered sounded like.
That sure as hell wasn't Spanish Was the thought that jumped into Adriana's mind about the same time the big man lunged at her.
She shrieked, jumping backwards to get out of his way, but he was fast, and had knocked her to the ground before she could get the breath to scream. His weight crushed her down, pinning her arms to her sides as he said something else in his uncouth tongue, before grabbing her round the waist.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Adriana's mind screamed. What did they tell you, huh? They said that this was a dangerous place, and you didn't listen, and now you're about to get raped by some bloke with a beard the size of Lancashire!
She struggled, but the man made a noise like laughing and said something else she didn't understand. She understood his tone well enough though.
"Get off me!" She managed to cry through teeth clenched with the effort of drawing breath. The man laughed again, and then a thought came to her.
While he was busy fiddling with his clothing at the same time as holding her down and laying half on top of her, she twisted her wrist enough to get her hand into her trouser pocket. Here she found the small penknife she started carrying when she realised you couldn't carve a spoon out of a branch with a machete. Flicking it open, she angled her wrist upwards and pushed as hard as she could, feeling the three-inch blade slide into the man's flesh as easily as into an apple.
The man screamed and pulled back, and Adriana took the opportunity to wriggle out from under him, scramble to her feet, and run for her life.
A/N; The Spanish, in case you couldn't guess, meant "I'm English", and as for what the man said, well, I made that up. I had to put all those in b/c ff.net doesn't like italics or bold. I'll try my best not to make this a Mary-Sue!
Scene: A bored girl goes for a walk in the jungle, and stumbles through a gate into another place...
Another Place
This was the last time she went on holiday with her parents!! They were so damn controlling! First they tell her she can't take a friend with her, then they have the cheek to tell her she couldn't even go off by herself!
Dangerous place my ass! Adriana thought as she stalked through the jungle. If they think I'm scared of a few snakes they've got another think coming! I mean, it's a just a glorified wood for god's sake!
She was in South America, Peru to be exact. It was one of her parents "adventure" holidays, which meant they drove round the country in a Land Rover for two weeks, dragging her along with them, because at 16 she was, in their words, "Too young to stay at home alone"
She could have stayed with a friend, but "We don't want to impose on someone else's parents. Two weeks is too long"
Damn right. Too long to get whisked around a strange country looking at some crumbly old ruins, when she should be somewhere like Ibiza doing normal teenage things, i.e.; underage drinking and meeting guys. The trouble was, that's exactly what her parents had thought she'd do.
"You'll be safer with us" They'd said. Yeah, sure. Safer and one hell of a lot more bored!
Right now her parents were off looking at some crappy old temple with some archaeological group they'd tagged onto. She'd only managed to stay back at the "camp" thanks to a fake stomach upset. Must be that bloody dog-meat you made me eat. Adriana thought bitterly. Not only did the miles of empty jungle bore her half to death, but the food tasted terrible, and the amount of injections she'd had to have before coming just took the piss. She didn't even know what half these diseases were! Hopefully her parents would think she had one and send her back to England.
As soon as they had left that morning she'd told the guide, some Peruvian with a name that sounded like "Fisherprice" that she was going to explore. His English was non-existent, but he was getting paid enough to do whatever her or her parents wanted. Well, she said enough, but what was a lot out here was probably pocket change back home. Anyway, the guy had just smiled and nodded and off she'd gone into the undergrowth.
Just a torch, machete and packed lunch! She thought happily, cutting down vines and any other plant that got remotely in her way. She knew that the camp was back that way, and her dad had said something about a village being this way, which was the direction she'd been walking in for the past hour. She was hot, tired, but anything was better than lying in a cramped tent with insects crawling all over you. At least now she was outside with insects crawling all over her.
Eventually she came to what looked like a cliff face rising out of the jungle. It just appeared before her through the trees like some giant wall blocking her path. Slowly she turned round. I guess the village isn't here after all. She thought in a way that said she'd expected it all along. Great. Well, I've come this far!
With that she stepped forwards and began to scale the cliff. It was sheer further up, but the lower half was a mess of fallen rocks which formed a sort of haphazard staircase up to a large fissure in the stone. After about 5 minutes of sweated effort she reached it and sat down just inside the entrance, glad of the shade from the hot sun.
The fissure reached back into the cliff face as far as Adriana could see, which wasn't very far considering it was pitch black. After regaining her breath she got out her torch and switched it on, illuminating about 10m back into the "cave". The floor was uneven, but stretched back further than the area of light cast by the torch.
Adriana cast a glance back out into the harsh sunlight. Her parents wouldn't be back till late, and it couldn't be past noon yet, and going a few metres further would hardly make a difference on the miles she must've covered already.
With that in mind, she got to her feet and set off into the cave.
Wait a second, what am I doing? She suddenly stopped dead. What if I get lost in here? There's no way I could find my way out!
Which was why she took a scrap of paper out of her pocket, hunted for a pen, and, starting from the entrance to the cave, began to record her steps.
20 paces forwards...three left...five forwards...
And so she went on. Every time she came to a branch in the path she recorded which tunnel she'd taken, left, right, 2^nd on the right, middle, until the scrap of paper was nearly full. The cave was blacker than black, the only illumination coming from her little torch, glinting off the natural crystals in the walls.
Just when she'd decided to turn back, she came to another branch in the path.
By now I should be way under the cliff! She thought with some wonder. I wonder how far back this thing stretches, and if anyone's come here before? But by the looks of things no one had. The cave, although with a ceiling a good two feet above her head, and with dry walls which were sure to provide good protection against the elements, looked like not even animals had come inside. There were no bones on the floor, nothing to suggest it had ever been visited.
Well then, I'd better leave my mark!
Adriana picked up a sharp stone from the floor of the tunnel, and stepped forwards to carve her name on the wall. Her plan was to do it just inside the right-hand tunnel of the three which she could choose from, but as she took that step...
The cave vanished. Adriana was standing in sunlight again, but this time it was gentler. Green grass sloped away before her, waving in the gentle summer breeze which ruffled her long black hair.
"What the..." She voiced her bewilderment, dropping the stone without realising.
The cave was behind her, it's opening like some black mouth of doom, the only blemish in an otherwise perfect cliff face which rose up to meet white mountains towering thousands of feet above, their tops shrouded in cloud. Instead of jungle the grass in front of her met with a deep green forest which stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Oh, damn" Adriana turned to go back into the cave, only to find that no matter how far she went, when she turned to look back the soft grass and gentle forest were still there.
Huh, I'd love my parents to see this! She thought happily. A piece of British countryside in the middle of Peru...only Peru's not here anymore...
Panic suddenly filled her chest, and she found herself running down the slope as fast as she could towards the woods. She crashed into the trees and leaped over fallen branches in her haste to reach anywhere that seemed remotely normal.
After a minute she stopped. The woods were silent. I must've scared all the animals away She decided, but deep down she wasn't so sure. Woods weren't supposed to be this quiet; there were always birds singing in the trees, or insects buzzing round.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The feeling where someone is watching you was very strong, and slowly she turned...
"Oh, hello there!" She exclaimed in relief as she saw the man standing in the trees. "I'm lost, could you tell me where I am?"
The man was tall, over six foot, and heavyset like a logger. He had a straggly growth of thick hair and a black beard that masked his mouth. His eyes were small and set deep in his face, and he was wearing the clothes of someone who you'd expect to see living in a forest, but nevertheless, Adriana was lost, and he was there.
He stood watching her, a look of bemusement on his face.
Must be Spanish The girl thought. This is probably just the place on the other side of the cliff...That village dad talked about!
"Erm...Soy Inglesa" She said now, confident once more, hoping that the man would get the picture and say something helpful like, "The village is this way" or "I can show you back to your camp"
But he just stood there, and instead of understanding, she saw a different look in his eyes. One that she definitely didn't like.
"Could you tell me where I am, please?" She said, quieter now as the man came slowly towards her, his eyes sweeping her up and down.
"Erek mblang yug nriff rek" Was what the words he uttered sounded like.
That sure as hell wasn't Spanish Was the thought that jumped into Adriana's mind about the same time the big man lunged at her.
She shrieked, jumping backwards to get out of his way, but he was fast, and had knocked her to the ground before she could get the breath to scream. His weight crushed her down, pinning her arms to her sides as he said something else in his uncouth tongue, before grabbing her round the waist.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Adriana's mind screamed. What did they tell you, huh? They said that this was a dangerous place, and you didn't listen, and now you're about to get raped by some bloke with a beard the size of Lancashire!
She struggled, but the man made a noise like laughing and said something else she didn't understand. She understood his tone well enough though.
"Get off me!" She managed to cry through teeth clenched with the effort of drawing breath. The man laughed again, and then a thought came to her.
While he was busy fiddling with his clothing at the same time as holding her down and laying half on top of her, she twisted her wrist enough to get her hand into her trouser pocket. Here she found the small penknife she started carrying when she realised you couldn't carve a spoon out of a branch with a machete. Flicking it open, she angled her wrist upwards and pushed as hard as she could, feeling the three-inch blade slide into the man's flesh as easily as into an apple.
The man screamed and pulled back, and Adriana took the opportunity to wriggle out from under him, scramble to her feet, and run for her life.
A/N; The Spanish, in case you couldn't guess, meant "I'm English", and as for what the man said, well, I made that up. I had to put all those in b/c ff.net doesn't like italics or bold. I'll try my best not to make this a Mary-Sue!