Intro.: I was falling, falling, and I did not know where I was going. A mere 13 year old girl and her friends, about to go on
the adventure of a life time. We were falling, falling, towards the "beginning of the end".
(on bus to get to Kandalore)
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"Owww." I moaned softly. I had hit my head, and, well, IT HURT. I looked around me, to see everyone on the grass.
The grass was dead, and the bus was gone. All the students, no teachers. You may be thinking, 'woohoo! party!', but
in this situation, no. We were totally confused. I re-scanned our perimeters, noticing something strangely different. OUR CLOTHES!
Everyone wore tunics of all colours, high laced boots, belts, and really gay looking pants or skirts. I knocked myself in the head to see if I was dreaming.
I tried again. This was worse than a nightmare...It was real...
One by one, people rose, viewing breath taking hills, sunset, and mountains. "Where are we?" asked Courtney. "I don't
know," I stammered, "but, doesn't it seem like the plains from ttt?" "yah," she said laughing slightly. Mo looked over. "You aren't joking are you?"
I shook my head. "No. Doesn't it look like..." she shook her head in agreeance.
My ears picked up at an unwanted noise. Mo whispered to everybody "behind here" and we hid like idiots. People dove and
scrambled, were run atop of, and made noise. "shutup!" somebody screamed, obviously frightened by the clambering noise.
It was the noise of many a heavy boot, chain, and well, other things.
Mo, Court, and I walked slowly to peer out from behind the rock. We looked at each other for quite a long time. We had
wanted this fantasy to come true for sooooo long. Why now, was it unwanted...We were in Middle Earth.
"I can't believe it." I said finally, as the noise grew closer. "Me neither." whispered Courtney, A look of fear and pain, and utter disdain flew across our faces. "Uruk-hai" said Maureen hardly moving her lips.
We had now noticed the arrows and daggers/swords protruding from our belts.
They were coming closer and closer. Though not very many, we feared for our lives. Without making a sound, we drew our
arrows, and made a plan. Since the amount was incredibly small, we figured we could take them out on our own.
Our hands quaked. We thought we would have never had to do anything like this. we were totally wrong in thinking so.
It was real, happening in front of our very eyes.
As we shot the arrows, all hell broke loose. People came to watch, unaware of what was going on. We shot at them,
many lying dead on the floor. They were looking in this direction. "Get down!" Mo screamed, as the people who didn't
were being connected with. Many classmates fell to the ground, injured or dead, but we had no time to view who, this
was becoming a dangerous game. With about 5 left, we shot at the with extreme speed, and sent them to death.
When they were gone, we looked at ourselves, what we had become, for the first time. We seemed older, mayhap a couple
of years so, seemed were taller, broader, and our eyes colder, we had killed something, and all the malice and injustice of
doing so appeared in them. Our hands shook, as we put the arrows unused back into the quiver.
We sat down on the grass, others looking bewildered. Truth be told, there was not many others. All the rest could not
be spared, as we looked on at the tragedy that had befallen us. 9 guys left, and only 3 girls standing. It was not a pleasant moment for anyone.
I looked around me, and saw the once vibrant, happy faces of Aaron, Brandon, Chris T, Kyle F, Kyle W, Mark, Miles,
and Tristan turn cold, untrusting, and in turn they had turned away.
"You must learn," I said quickly to no one in particular, "this we must use, in order to survive here. We must hide, and
then travel by nightfall." My words felt cold, as if I was not speaking them. They nodded, as Mo, Court and I prayed for our
fallen comrades. Life was not meant to be lived in this way. Where was the "x" button when you needed it?
The moment was intense, tears befelled the eyes of everyone. We just lay there, and cried, as if the world had no meaning.
There was an eerie quiet afterwards, for no one dared to reflect on what had just happened. It was as if our worlds were
slowly drifting farther and farther apart. A voice finally broke the silence. "So what do we do now?".
"We must be strong! Let as avenge our comrades. There death was not sweet but sorrowful. Let us go now and hope the Valor
will help protect us while we sleep." Mo said this in a tone of voice that wasn't familiar. She sounded of a person full of cold and hate.
Courtney whispered to no one in particular, " This has taken me unsuspectedly. Who knew our first visit to Middle Earth would begin like this. So few of us have survived. So few. . ." Courtney trailed off sounding more like she was talking to herself then the others. We began to walk once the coast seemed to become clear.
I trod infront of the group, to lead, though I must admit, was afraid of doing so, and Maureen and Courtney trailing at
the back. The boys were kept in the middle as to help them not get lost, for on our journey, we would need them.
The sky became darker, and darker, and more cold. Since we had to travel by night, this was both a good and bad thing.
Everyone was growing restless, and many complaints of "My feet hurt!" were being echoed. I did not imagine Middle Earth
as such a bad place when I was reading the books, but it became worse and worse. The temperature began to drop drastically,
and we had to stop.
I whispered to the group," We shall rest here till day break where we will continue our journey and hopeful,
we will find a village to help aid the injured." With this, I heave a sigh and start to conjure a fire with help from Tristan.
Chris T, finally realizing the truth, goes out into the forest to find wood. Maureen tugged on Chris's sleeve "Oh, do be careful Chris! The forest may not be safe." "Then I shall take someone with me," he said smiling at Mo.
He called for Miles, and they left.
The others were tired and decide to set up camp. Courtney decided to ask, "Who will take on first watch?".
No one looked too thrilled, but Aaron finally volunteered, and Mark after so, then Brandon, and so on.
Mark had now taken position for the second watch when he heard something in the forest. Mark yelled,
"Chris and Miles! They are in danger. I can sense it!" Courtney, Stephanie and Maureen, were the first to grab their bows
and arrows ran to the forest. Kyle W. grabbed a sword and followed. When they came closer to the scene, Courtney gasped!
"Miles, he is hurt!" Stephanie, Maureen, and Kyle W. rush to help aid Chris T with his combat against a "wolf of Isengard" creature,
while Courtney knelt beside Miles, looking for a trace of a heart beat.
There seemed to be one, though very little, weak. Kyle W. strikes the "wolf of Isengard" with a hard blow. With the last of
them dead and arrows all gone, Kyle W., Steph, and Mo walk to where Miles lay, and Courtney, crying softly, kneeled.
Kyle W. retorts in an angry voice, " I can't take it anymore! With one more gone, how many more will be sacrificed in the
treacherous world? How long will we hide in fear? WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" "I know!" I snapped, "but what?" I looked
at the moon, clear, shining. "I'm sorry." I stammered. "I know." he responded quietly. "In times like these, we do no have control of our feelings."
I walk up to Kyle, "We share you're grief Kyle but that does not hold you to being
angry with us. Yes, you should be angry but use it in battle, help use it to help avenge all these deaths."
With a quick prayer we walk over to the cave. Hearts being heavier than before. "Strange days are these." added Mo,
as we walked over to our camp, to bring the news of our passing.
From a quick look at their faces, the rest knew what has happened. Everyone was silent. Who needed words right now?
All they needed was each other. They finally fell asleep, fatigue finally taking over.
Somehow, Courtney took all of this worse then the others. So many of her good friends had died. Tears fell down her cheek,
without realizing so. As Mark turned away from his position, as his shift was over, he saw Courtney crying and walked to her.
With a simple wipe from his thumb and kiss on the forehead, Mark slid down the tree trunk and sat next to Courtney. He put
his arm around her shoulder. No one cared about personal issues anymore, they just all came out, we became sort of like a
close family. So, Courtney laid her head on his shoulder, letting the creeping darkness come over her.
My rest was cold and sleepless, as like many others. I could imagine we all had nightmares, but I could not remember.
We slept in the covering of trees, and brushes, thorns poking and tickling us as we had slept. It became more painful,
unto the point where I could not take it anymore, and wanted to scream and curse for everything that had happened this day.
Brandon, who was supposed to be watching at this time, had fallen asleep, and now it was late afternoon,
and everyone had awoken. After last night, no one cared that he had skipped his watch. They would have cared less if they
had died, as I get this impression. We all woke up starving, which was a huge problem.
We didn't have a toaster, microwave, bread or anything else. In short, life sucked. We sent Aaron and Kyle F. to hunt
for food, and they returned with little. How long could we last on berries? How long would it be until we reached the
nearest village, if there was one? These things were pondered by all.
"I guess we must start here." I said with a sigh. "Pick up your bows, we must practice. In these conditions, aim is an
asset.". It wasn't easy, but with time, we had gotten used to the "twang" of the bow, and targets became easily hit.
It became a game, and laughter was again aroused, as if all the pain and suffering had been washed away, for that one
moment. We were all surprised and happy with our newfound skills, but Mo, Court, and mine were on average more so skilled.
But there was work with the sword to be done. Once we had that accomplished, we challenged each other, and again, us
three coming on top. Maybe it was because we wanted to break the stereotype that girls were weaker than guys, maybe it was
because we had more to fight for, our feelings, or maybe because we just were more skilled. I won't tell you much, but I
feel it was all 3 that kept us going. Our friendships had grown stronger, and so had our respect for each other, and everyone.
It was becoming later in the afternoon, and we were beginning to pack up our things and depart, when I noticed something was
wrong. "Can you feel it? There is a presence, watching, in these woods. It has been here since late, I can sense
it." "I have felt it too." said Mo, putting down the wood from her arms. With a quick motion, she pointed ENE (East North East) and I nodded my head.
All the others seemed to be too far away to notice, except for Chris T, he took out his bow, as we did as well. We moved
swiftly, silently, like cats, towards this position, using the brush and undergrowth as our camouflage. We hid there, raising
our bows at the slightest noise. We all faced the same direction, and that was to be our downfall. We could not hear the soft steps behind us...we could not hear...
Then someone/something stepped on the tail of my tunic. I raised my bow towards the figure, Chris and Maureen doing the same.
The figure had it's bow also raised, but in the brush, I could hardly tell anything else. No one shot, and the moment became
eerily awkward. A voice broke the silence "Put down your weapons, these are friends." I knew that voice.
So did Mo. "So," I smiled, "We finally do meet."
The sunset from the trees caught his hair, shimmering, like a thousand tiny diamonds. We had secretly waited and wished for
this moment, it was the only thing we had ever truly wanted. We walked up to us, and we dropped our bows, except for Chris, who still had his raised.
"Are these them, of which we have been searching for, for countless days?" The leader, Aragorn nodded. Then the mighty elf
knelt to the floor, and reached For Mo, and my hands, he kissed them gently, our faces, undoubtedly turning a subtle red. We rose to his level, well, as close as we could get. He was a gentleman, and that was very hard to come by.
Being an elf, he was very tall, his catlike grace seeming like
movements to the wind. For a while, Mo and I just stared, Legolas grinning back, Chris shaking his head in annoyance.
"So, how about we go back and show Courtney and the others what we just happened to find?" I said laughing quietly to myself. "Sure!" began Mo. Of
course, Chris just frowned at the opportunity. "You, good sir, you seem to be in good company."
He remarked with a smile. "We would love to go with you," Aragorn began, "but we cannot. Perhaps our paths will meet again.
We looked disturbed, but smiled warmly, as Legolas waved, and departed, smiling as he went.
We watched him until he left, shadow disappearing into the abundant amount of trees, each taller, and more broad than the last. The elf hummed a tune:
"Stars betold thy wonderful grace,
Earth roaming 'ere below,
Wind shall form thy beautiful face,
All three becoming one flow...
Three of those who stand and wait
Patience may yet be their fate
New are they in lands of old,
Story still needing to be told.
We control the fate of ourselves,
and maybe, everyone else,
Depending on our company,
we mayhap accomplish our destiny."
The elf began to speak to the man. "Anondir glung elvynd tinánd legen del eow óndil belal dur elrebri riand!" the man smiled, and returned the answer of " Rhebryn!" the elf had on a puzzled look, and asked more of the man. "Anondir nóndil...Hénduil Morfildor Fyn Elywyn." Aragorn shook his head. "Dån Glamyr Addronyc, Legolas."
The elf seemed to take this as an answer, then, with looking like much thought had been put into the question asked, "Lómilmaril Belil-Garil Tadriendra Lómebrimir Urylia Celebrin Elráwyn?". The man was silent for a while, and quietly, and slowly, he answered, "Moddyn Carirraent éera Gwaythiel Lómebrimir Neling, Yraebryn Blaen, yraebryn Wiceracia, yraebryn Ginyc, yraebryyn-rah Rhaemyr Yreoc Rarcyn..."
They stopped talking for a while, the dwarf trotted along behind them. "Suppose Gandalf was right, what happens then?" asked the dwarf finally breaking the silence...
All became quiet, a hideous quiet...until it was broken, by giddy screams from Mo and myself. Chris just looked on
in disbelief, shaking his head, though we did not notice it.
Mo and I were all smiles, and
were full of talk on our way back through the forest. We had gone farther than we had thought. Which we had discovered
later, a bad thing. From the shadow, we could see what was happening. We shared brief glances, and made a decision,
without even exchanging words. Chris dropped his bow, and began to run, run swift, to meet them, and ask for help.
The number was many, and we were afraid that he would not return in time. We climbed the nearest trees, looking for a clear
shot, and when we found one, we took the chance to take it. However, we had to be extremely careful.
We watched the scene below, watched helplessly as our friends were slaying and being slain. They were putting up a good
fight, but by far, not good enough. Our luck was running out, if Chris didn't return soon, we would all be dead.
Chris wasn't having much luck either. He ran, and ran, looking for traces, to see if they were still reachable.
He had been running for what seemed like forever. He was beginning to lose hope, when he heard a faint sound. He stopped, and
turned around. There behind him stood Legolas, bow ready to fire.
"Hold," Chris said sternly, Legolas's bow, still unwavering. "What do you want?" He said somewhat coldly. "All I want,"
Chris retorted, "Is your help." He looked at him briefly. "It seems," began Legolas, "That you are doing well enough on
your own." Chris became inflamed with anger. "If I didn't need help, I wouldn't ask for it!" He drew a dagger from his hilt.
"Heed your tongue." Came the voice of Aragorn. "Put down your bow Legolas." He put it down, painstakingly. "Why is it
you need our help, do you know naught that we have but our own quest, we cannot help you." They turned, and began to leave.
Chris thought to himself 'I need to do something, I cannot let them die...' "Wait." Stammered Chris, "wait."
"I do not tell you to help me, I ask you wholeheartedly. You have seen what I have to fight for, and yet, more you haven't.
You know what it feels like to lose someone you care about, correct, it is not a pleasant feeling," "yes, but" began Aragorn.
"Pray, sir," he said, "Let me finish." "very well" said Aragorn. "as I was saying," he started again, "Do not let me lose
everything I have, because you didn't care about me, or were to caught up in your own lives. I do not ask this for me, I
ask this for my friends, who right now as we speak, are falling due to the shadow lords utter disdain, do we not have the
same purpose? Look me in the eyes, and tell me this. We have the same enemy, the same cause, something to fight for, and
alas, you still refuse to help me? What kind of people are you..." he spat, right away regretting what he had said, how he
had said it, and how it would not help the situation at hand.
"Wait." said Legolas, "We understand...and I...I am with you, lead, and I shalt follow."
They began to run, swiftly, Legolas shouting to Aragorn to follow, and Gimli behind such. They arrived quickly, though not
very quietly.
We jumped down from the trees, landing cat like, back crouched forward, one arm behind our back with our bow, the other hand
punched into the earth, and head looking down. We were back to back. I facing the east end and Maureen opposite. In an
one-action-movement, we take our bows, heads lifts up, run in opposite directions, and start shooting the orcs' backs three
arrows at a time. We run like hell has frozen over and the world was beginning to end.
We ran like nothing else mattered. Killing every orc are eyes meet.
We kill until . . . "Chris M.!!!" I heard a voice yell as loud as loud as it would carry. I couldn't believe what my eyes
had just witnessed. I couldn't believe that Chris M had just taken an arrow which looked like to be where his heart lay.
Everything stopped. I stood, my body frozen. Yet, I still saw the battle being fought. I saw Courtney, running to Chris M. that now lay on the ground. And I
saw Chris with his pain stricken face arriving back to see what had just happened, with Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli.
What I didn't see though, was an orc, insanely mad, running towards me at full force and sword carried by his arms and
hands, above his head, ready to strike. Then, I felt a push on my side, knocking me away from danger, only to realize
that someone had just saved my life. They gently shook my shoulders and all became real to my eyes again. We swiftly got up
and join the battle once more, me saying a silent thank you on the way.
I instantly thought about Chris M, but realized if I thought about her anymore, I could not be able to defend myself and others.
It was beginning to become more devastating, as blow upon devastating blow were being achieved. I could tell now some were
dead, on both sides, and that fact didn't help.
More and more seemed to be coming, and endless plain of large, black, "things". Things wielding weapons of such caliber,
such intensity. They in the trees fired, letting tens of arrows fly through the air like dark long bullets. They on the
ground wielded blades, long scimitar-shaped vessels, of drafted metals.
Though most of us lingered on the ground, a few decided to climb, climb high, into the trees.
Mark went, and Courtney, into the higher trees, he giving her his hand to help her with the climb. Once they had gotten
past the hurdle before them, they leapt into opposite branches, and began to open fire. This became a favoured distraction.
"Lean left!" Courtney yelled to Mark as an arrow flew past his head. He nodded. He whispered so only her ears could detect.
"We better move, they know where we are, it'll only be a matter of time..." he faded off, and jumped from branch to branch,
Courtney, Alas, not heeding his warnings. She aimed a well fired shot, killing one giant Uruk-hai instantly. One shot landing
close to her face, which convinced her, that for once in his life, he was right.
They had had enough of the fallance of their comrades, they now wanted to kill for the pure malice and revenge of it.
They knew where the little annoyances were positioned, and they new of the people on the floor hiding behind the shrubs.
They would no longer play stupid. They yearned for blood...and I would be lying to say they didn't get it...
Everyone in close enough range (Kyle W, Kyle F, Aaron) were swatted to the ground by a giant hand, arm rather, of something,
unpleasant, and unknown to both species of life. Something had awoken...And it seemed to be the fall everything we stood for.
It was a brave and utterly stupid thought to think that this would have been easy, but people finally realized, that this
was no ordinary foe, and that many would lose their lives in the process...
It was a giant thing...scales of stone, the same in colour, and as hard in texture. It had two giant red eyes, burning
like coals adjacent to its dark body. Its skin had spikes protruding, one in the middle of its forehead,
and along its tail. It was giant in size, like a comparison of godzilla. But those weren't the things that worried me.
The thing that worried me the most, was a little man, covered, in a flowing robe of pure white.
He glared, eyes looking down from that "thing". Not once in our lives had we ever imagined such things, and never had we
even though of saying "I'm not going to die like this" when we were to. This, I must admit, was a little disheartening,
even to those who had had these kind of experiences before.
"Never have I seen such things." came the voice of Legolas, which
I found beside me, hiding behind some brush. At this point in time, we all seemed to be hiding, or lying on the floor... Not to see another sunrise.
I nodded my head. "To comfort you in the slightest, I've never seen any of these things, this is a new world to me, literally.." He shot me a half-smile, then said, "By looking at the effects of those boys, hither..." "Them? Aaron, Kyle, and Kyle?" "Yes, them, by what they have done, I think I might find a way..." He crouched to his knees. "Climb up into that tree." He said gesturing to a tall oak.
I shot him a dazed look, but then he revealed to me the rest of his plan.
Yell to the others, yell form the treetops, use your voice! Bring them hither, in all directions, perch them on branches. Make them shoot countless arrows, distract them, shoot them at it, from all of your perches. Let the forest ring a mighty blow! Confuse the mighty beast in hopes that we can find a sullen weakness...
And with that I was off, repeating his words in a voice not my own, yelling at the tops of my lungs in a language that none than the rest of us could understand. It echoed through the forest, and we climbed as fast as we could, up into the treetops.
Making a sort of circle, we enclosed the winged creature, shooting at Maureen's count of three. It became dazed, confused, and utterly agitated, though Courtney's shot took some affect to it. She aimed right below the stomach, causing it to reel back and forth.
And like dragons, it had a softer underbelly.
Chris noticed this too, he took Courtney's lead, and aimed two arrows in the same bow towards the underbelly of the great monster. It stomped its massive feet, causing the earth to tremble. I could hear small yelps of disbelief from around the branches. "Hold!" commanded Aragorn, charging out from a bush on the ground, and stabbing the great beast, as it crumpled to the ground, and lay there, gasping its last breaths.
The man, now floating slowly down, laughed a horrible laugh. "Fools!" he spat impudently, "Do you think the fall of my carrier is any downfall of mine?! You are so sorrily forsaken then!". With that, and a blast from his staff, he sent Aragorn sprawling to the ground, and with his magic, kept him in place there, while he was pelted with stones.
Legolas ran to help him, but he too, was imprisoned in the cajoling of clods. This seemed utterly impossible until people decided to take things into their own hands. Mark snuck behind the bushes, communicating with Aaron, so he would go the opposite way. When they were directly opposite of our "circle" they charged forward, thrusting swords, and themselves into Saurumon.
They both were beaten back, but mark clutched the ground, and remained, jousting his sword into the shriveled leg of Sarumon. He yelped unexpectedly, because he never thought that any 'mortal' being could ever 'touch' him.
Mark would not give up. Despite being thrown back, and beaten, he gave his all, until he finally couldn't take it anymore, and he fell to the ground. All I could do was grab Courtney's arm in hopes that she wouldn't run, because I knew she would have, and I wasn't alone in my feelings, for Maureen grasped her other arm.
He lay there, while Saurumon remained laughing, laughing hysterically, as the wind picked up, and a storm blew forth, making it difficult, nay, almost impossible for arrows to be shot, which really didn't matter, because he shot them back with a radaghast power.
Things were melting down before our very eyes, our friendships, kin ships, our lives...
We were young, our lives were supposed to continue for a longer period of time, we were only teenagers, but teenagers now, with more a sense of loyalty, companionship, trust, and pain, than most adults in this world.
With each new blow, our hearts, minds, and bodies grew weaker. Tears of anger...tears of suffering, tears of pain...graced cheeks, as tempers began to flare to an utmost high. The stakes were becoming unbearable. The world just seemed to stop...If you could call this the world.
With Chris M., Kyle, and Mark on the floor, our numbers were decreasing...and so were their last moments...we would have said a good-bye while they were still living, if monsters weren't guarding their bodies. But needless to say, though on the ground they pelted, and swung as hard as any other, breaths becoming more rasping, especially coming from Chris M., who we knew in our hearts was not going to survive this night.
The man stood on what seemed to be on a built pillar of light. He stood and watched, as if our lives were but a simple game to him. None of us could reach him now, he was too high...or was he?
He was in range of the trees, tall pines, oaks, ashes, beeches, and many other trees. This forest was known as Eäráng Forest, and its story had not been told For many a thousand of years ago. Everything was now growing gray and old...time and the days itself were lagging onward.
Legolas and Aragorn, had now found some way to get up into the trees, being invisible to Sarumon. They perched on branches close to me, and they talked in a language, quick in pace, hurried, rushed, as if they did not want any, even their comrade Gimli, who hid in the brush below, for he could not climb.
"I know what we must do. But how do we do this them, they are mere children." "Children we are," I spoke up unasked, "but what have we become...what kind of children could stand this torture, and live, what kind of children have enough courage to live when people they have carried about died...tell me this. I have respected you since we've heard of your adventures, and for all my days after such, but if you think that this is the work of insufficiencies, and we are mere children who cannot do but a thing for their counrty..er..well..."
"We understand what you bravely state, but we have seen the end of this story..." said Aragorn. "But how?!?!?" Mo exclaimed from a nearby branch, though I, nor them, did not know she was there. "Is there anyone else there?" Aragorn asked impatiently. A quiet "me" came from Courtney, but that was it.
"Gandalf is a conjurer of many things, he can revisit the past, view the present..." "See the future?" Courtney asked..."Well yes, using the palantir, as many people do know, but what they don't know...with the aid of the essence of Déohnvàn, he can proclaim the future..and it...seems bleak for one of you..." he stammered.
"What has he foreseen?" asked Mo in a chilled voice. "The fate of one, and the fate of Sarumon." Legolas answered. "The fate of who?" I asked puzzled. "That," answered Aragorn, "he does not know, the shape keeps changing, it is but a mere shadow, but we know how this story ends...all but one of you shalt now live...that is a kind of encouraging thought...you will return home soon...or so we think."
"We will tell you the story quickly, for we have not much time." said Aragorn. "The trees here, they live, but there are only __ the number of you, use the trees, they will bear you, and help in the death of Sarumon. One must take the "leap of faith" and give up their life for this cause. That is all we can tell you. You will know what is right when the time comes." The elf rose to his feet, and recited, as if it were something he had learned in some sort of a school:
"Any person can fight the battle
of just one day.
It is when you and I add the burdens
of those two awful eternities
Yesterday and Tomorrow
that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today
that drives a person mad,
it is the remorse or bitterness
of something which happened Yesterday
and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.
Let life take it's course,
No matter what ending it may come to.
I nodded my head in silence. Great, mind-puzzles and death...not pleasant...
A great lumbering crash was heard. A great beech had been struck by lightening, and had burst into flames. Being in a tree during a lightning storm was probably not the best idea, so we jumped to the ground, and landed hard, for it was a great distance.
We all jumped, except for Chris T, who remained in the trees. "Get down!" Aragorn yelled abruptly. He made naught a sound, but climbed further up the tree. It now began to rain. Light at first, as if a morning dew, then becoming heavier, and heavier, until the sky poured water.
"Chris, are you stupid?" called one of the guys, his ankle sprained from the fall. Again he moved, not looking back. I looked from the trees, to him, to others, then to Sarumon. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to do. He was going to take that leap of faith.
"Let him go." I said quietly. I looked at Maureen, face grave with misunderstanding. I shook my head, mouthed some words, and hoped for her to understand. After uneasy silence, she decided to speak up, "He controls his own destiny, the way we control ours. Speaking of which...." her sentence was caught short when an enemy arrow flew past her head.
We left Chris then, saying silent good byes, and returned to fight the ongoing and rejoined battle. What I mean by rejoined, is more came now, instructed by nothing but pure instinct. Old injuries took toll, and new ones were arisen. Arrows became fired instantly, so anywhere you ran was the wrong way. Those arrows hurt, considering I took one to my left arm.
Our luck was running out (as if we ever had any), and something major would have to happen soon...or else. My mind raced from the task at hand to Chris, and back again. What the hell was he going to do? Or, actually, the question was going to be, how was he going to do it...?
He rustled through the trees, looking for a spot where he could perfectly plan what he was going to do. 'No. Best not think about this' he thought. The branches were beginning to become slippery, and difficult to climb. He could go no higher this night. He began to reflect on his time here, back home. A small smile crept across his face.
Meanwhile, back on the ground, we were driving them away at a good pace, when I heard Gimli count off in the dwarf language, "Raran, Glorin, Tefur!"
The man, the dwarf, and the elf lunged forward, surprising the man, who now stood on not a pillar of light, but, on the stairs of a mighty temple. They fought onward, encouraging us to stay behind, take out other nuisances. The man dug his staff into the ground, and the earth shook.
A light came from the temple, a red, glowing, dark, light. The light took power of the man, his eyes widened, and he said in many voices...
"A darkness among light,
Lies among life,
Hatred amongst peoples,
The hurt and the strife.
The injustice, the malice, the deceit and the pain,
Your life is worth nothing,
Your tears are the rain.
Your frown as the fuel that carries me on,
Your blood is like friendship, needed yet gone.
You thought that by doing what you have done,
That you could be free and your task could be won.
Your time would be ended,
But here you shall stay,
Until love and sacrifice,
Have guided your way."
He shook, coughed, and returned to be the little evil man in a white cloak, with a crude smirk on his face. He threw back Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli with a mighty blast of copper light.
Up in the trees, Chris went over those lines, one by one. He stopped at the 8th line. He recited it to himself. 'Your blood is like friendship, needed yet gone'. He laughed to himself silently. 'Friendship is what I'm doing this for...for everyone down there...' he thought. 'Better get this over with.'
The leapt from the trees silently, landing on slippery branch, one after another, careful not to slip, or his cover would be blown. He found a slight clearing, took his position, and let himself go.
All of us watched silently as he plummeted from the trees ontop of the man, sword in hand, wrestling for a good position as they rolled down the steep stairs. It was a confusing circle of colours and shapes, and arms flailing. The man shot him back with another beam of light, he hit a rock, and fell to a heap on the floor.
Breathing, and not dead, he lay there, all his efforts had been in vain. The man turned again to face us, and we stood still. Lips quivering, unsure brains pondering if it was all really worth this much suffering. I looked at Courtney, and her eyes darted to where Sarumon stood. He raised his staff, making us wait for our own untimely deaths. I knew that was coming, it wasn't anything new. He laughed, raised his hand, and then I saw it. Chris was standing behind him, with his sword out, raised over the man's head.
I stood there 2 seconds before something clicked in my brain. I nudged Aaron and Brandon in the ribs, and pointed slyly to the bow, and with my fingers, counted to three. At three we launched our arrows, distracting the man, for only about a second. He snapped them in half in the air, and threw them back, us ducking so as we wouldn't get punctured by them.
Chris crept up silently closer behind the man. He counted slowly in his head. 5...4...3...2...1.
It happened in what seemed like seconds. He swung the sword, and decapitated the man. But at the same time, the man forced his arm back, staff outputting shards of light in many colours, blue, yellow, orange, silver, purple, blinding the happenings to the eyes of us on the ground. But we all knew one thing. They were both dying.
It was July 10... Maureen's B-day, which was not pleasant in any means. His last words to us were "I'm sorry about everything..." in a faint voice... he smiled slightly, took his last breath, and left.
With our arms raised, we watched uneasily as we saw the fate of our journey unfold.
When the dust cleared, and the wind blew warmer, we saw something giant in the skies, flying towards us. We poised to protect our fallen commerades, as it came closer, and closer.
There was a figure on the giant beast. It shouted, "It is done." It came closer and closer, and when it did so, Aragorn laughed "Gandalf. What brings you here at such times as these?" The old man dismounted the giant 'eagle' like thing, and stood beside them.
He looked over to Sarumon. He said quietly "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." He nodded his head, and moved towards Chris. "Your efforts, have proven you most valuable in the unraveling of the story of Middle Earth. You searched for your destiny, instead of it having to find you. You brought down the most powerful ally of the Dark Lord, when I couldn't, or they couldn't do such. You would have been king for all you have done... all that is gold, does not glitter."
And with that, he left, promising to send us 'eagles' to get ourselves home.
I looked to the sky. What a week. We had lost some of our closest friends. We had seen the rise and fall of a 'country', the rise and fall of ourselves. I looked at Courtney, bandaging marks arm and leg. They were smiling and talking. I looked around to see Brandon, Kyle, and Aaron conversing with Aragorn about this place. I looked over at Maureen, sitting by herself, where Chris lay, reflecting on her journey. I smiled. What a week. ---Credits/Ending Statement
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What did u think? I had help from lots of people, who basically wrote it for me, thnx 2 u:
*Maureen
*Chris
*Courtney
*Alex
* NE 1 I 4got
****This part is done, but who can tell if there is more for us. Anything can happen if we put our minds to it. Hearts can be broken, the dead brought back...The imagination is the key. And now that you've got it, you may open the door...
the adventure of a life time. We were falling, falling, towards the "beginning of the end".
(on bus to get to Kandalore)
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"Owww." I moaned softly. I had hit my head, and, well, IT HURT. I looked around me, to see everyone on the grass.
The grass was dead, and the bus was gone. All the students, no teachers. You may be thinking, 'woohoo! party!', but
in this situation, no. We were totally confused. I re-scanned our perimeters, noticing something strangely different. OUR CLOTHES!
Everyone wore tunics of all colours, high laced boots, belts, and really gay looking pants or skirts. I knocked myself in the head to see if I was dreaming.
I tried again. This was worse than a nightmare...It was real...
One by one, people rose, viewing breath taking hills, sunset, and mountains. "Where are we?" asked Courtney. "I don't
know," I stammered, "but, doesn't it seem like the plains from ttt?" "yah," she said laughing slightly. Mo looked over. "You aren't joking are you?"
I shook my head. "No. Doesn't it look like..." she shook her head in agreeance.
My ears picked up at an unwanted noise. Mo whispered to everybody "behind here" and we hid like idiots. People dove and
scrambled, were run atop of, and made noise. "shutup!" somebody screamed, obviously frightened by the clambering noise.
It was the noise of many a heavy boot, chain, and well, other things.
Mo, Court, and I walked slowly to peer out from behind the rock. We looked at each other for quite a long time. We had
wanted this fantasy to come true for sooooo long. Why now, was it unwanted...We were in Middle Earth.
"I can't believe it." I said finally, as the noise grew closer. "Me neither." whispered Courtney, A look of fear and pain, and utter disdain flew across our faces. "Uruk-hai" said Maureen hardly moving her lips.
We had now noticed the arrows and daggers/swords protruding from our belts.
They were coming closer and closer. Though not very many, we feared for our lives. Without making a sound, we drew our
arrows, and made a plan. Since the amount was incredibly small, we figured we could take them out on our own.
Our hands quaked. We thought we would have never had to do anything like this. we were totally wrong in thinking so.
It was real, happening in front of our very eyes.
As we shot the arrows, all hell broke loose. People came to watch, unaware of what was going on. We shot at them,
many lying dead on the floor. They were looking in this direction. "Get down!" Mo screamed, as the people who didn't
were being connected with. Many classmates fell to the ground, injured or dead, but we had no time to view who, this
was becoming a dangerous game. With about 5 left, we shot at the with extreme speed, and sent them to death.
When they were gone, we looked at ourselves, what we had become, for the first time. We seemed older, mayhap a couple
of years so, seemed were taller, broader, and our eyes colder, we had killed something, and all the malice and injustice of
doing so appeared in them. Our hands shook, as we put the arrows unused back into the quiver.
We sat down on the grass, others looking bewildered. Truth be told, there was not many others. All the rest could not
be spared, as we looked on at the tragedy that had befallen us. 9 guys left, and only 3 girls standing. It was not a pleasant moment for anyone.
I looked around me, and saw the once vibrant, happy faces of Aaron, Brandon, Chris T, Kyle F, Kyle W, Mark, Miles,
and Tristan turn cold, untrusting, and in turn they had turned away.
"You must learn," I said quickly to no one in particular, "this we must use, in order to survive here. We must hide, and
then travel by nightfall." My words felt cold, as if I was not speaking them. They nodded, as Mo, Court and I prayed for our
fallen comrades. Life was not meant to be lived in this way. Where was the "x" button when you needed it?
The moment was intense, tears befelled the eyes of everyone. We just lay there, and cried, as if the world had no meaning.
There was an eerie quiet afterwards, for no one dared to reflect on what had just happened. It was as if our worlds were
slowly drifting farther and farther apart. A voice finally broke the silence. "So what do we do now?".
"We must be strong! Let as avenge our comrades. There death was not sweet but sorrowful. Let us go now and hope the Valor
will help protect us while we sleep." Mo said this in a tone of voice that wasn't familiar. She sounded of a person full of cold and hate.
Courtney whispered to no one in particular, " This has taken me unsuspectedly. Who knew our first visit to Middle Earth would begin like this. So few of us have survived. So few. . ." Courtney trailed off sounding more like she was talking to herself then the others. We began to walk once the coast seemed to become clear.
I trod infront of the group, to lead, though I must admit, was afraid of doing so, and Maureen and Courtney trailing at
the back. The boys were kept in the middle as to help them not get lost, for on our journey, we would need them.
The sky became darker, and darker, and more cold. Since we had to travel by night, this was both a good and bad thing.
Everyone was growing restless, and many complaints of "My feet hurt!" were being echoed. I did not imagine Middle Earth
as such a bad place when I was reading the books, but it became worse and worse. The temperature began to drop drastically,
and we had to stop.
I whispered to the group," We shall rest here till day break where we will continue our journey and hopeful,
we will find a village to help aid the injured." With this, I heave a sigh and start to conjure a fire with help from Tristan.
Chris T, finally realizing the truth, goes out into the forest to find wood. Maureen tugged on Chris's sleeve "Oh, do be careful Chris! The forest may not be safe." "Then I shall take someone with me," he said smiling at Mo.
He called for Miles, and they left.
The others were tired and decide to set up camp. Courtney decided to ask, "Who will take on first watch?".
No one looked too thrilled, but Aaron finally volunteered, and Mark after so, then Brandon, and so on.
Mark had now taken position for the second watch when he heard something in the forest. Mark yelled,
"Chris and Miles! They are in danger. I can sense it!" Courtney, Stephanie and Maureen, were the first to grab their bows
and arrows ran to the forest. Kyle W. grabbed a sword and followed. When they came closer to the scene, Courtney gasped!
"Miles, he is hurt!" Stephanie, Maureen, and Kyle W. rush to help aid Chris T with his combat against a "wolf of Isengard" creature,
while Courtney knelt beside Miles, looking for a trace of a heart beat.
There seemed to be one, though very little, weak. Kyle W. strikes the "wolf of Isengard" with a hard blow. With the last of
them dead and arrows all gone, Kyle W., Steph, and Mo walk to where Miles lay, and Courtney, crying softly, kneeled.
Kyle W. retorts in an angry voice, " I can't take it anymore! With one more gone, how many more will be sacrificed in the
treacherous world? How long will we hide in fear? WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" "I know!" I snapped, "but what?" I looked
at the moon, clear, shining. "I'm sorry." I stammered. "I know." he responded quietly. "In times like these, we do no have control of our feelings."
I walk up to Kyle, "We share you're grief Kyle but that does not hold you to being
angry with us. Yes, you should be angry but use it in battle, help use it to help avenge all these deaths."
With a quick prayer we walk over to the cave. Hearts being heavier than before. "Strange days are these." added Mo,
as we walked over to our camp, to bring the news of our passing.
From a quick look at their faces, the rest knew what has happened. Everyone was silent. Who needed words right now?
All they needed was each other. They finally fell asleep, fatigue finally taking over.
Somehow, Courtney took all of this worse then the others. So many of her good friends had died. Tears fell down her cheek,
without realizing so. As Mark turned away from his position, as his shift was over, he saw Courtney crying and walked to her.
With a simple wipe from his thumb and kiss on the forehead, Mark slid down the tree trunk and sat next to Courtney. He put
his arm around her shoulder. No one cared about personal issues anymore, they just all came out, we became sort of like a
close family. So, Courtney laid her head on his shoulder, letting the creeping darkness come over her.
My rest was cold and sleepless, as like many others. I could imagine we all had nightmares, but I could not remember.
We slept in the covering of trees, and brushes, thorns poking and tickling us as we had slept. It became more painful,
unto the point where I could not take it anymore, and wanted to scream and curse for everything that had happened this day.
Brandon, who was supposed to be watching at this time, had fallen asleep, and now it was late afternoon,
and everyone had awoken. After last night, no one cared that he had skipped his watch. They would have cared less if they
had died, as I get this impression. We all woke up starving, which was a huge problem.
We didn't have a toaster, microwave, bread or anything else. In short, life sucked. We sent Aaron and Kyle F. to hunt
for food, and they returned with little. How long could we last on berries? How long would it be until we reached the
nearest village, if there was one? These things were pondered by all.
"I guess we must start here." I said with a sigh. "Pick up your bows, we must practice. In these conditions, aim is an
asset.". It wasn't easy, but with time, we had gotten used to the "twang" of the bow, and targets became easily hit.
It became a game, and laughter was again aroused, as if all the pain and suffering had been washed away, for that one
moment. We were all surprised and happy with our newfound skills, but Mo, Court, and mine were on average more so skilled.
But there was work with the sword to be done. Once we had that accomplished, we challenged each other, and again, us
three coming on top. Maybe it was because we wanted to break the stereotype that girls were weaker than guys, maybe it was
because we had more to fight for, our feelings, or maybe because we just were more skilled. I won't tell you much, but I
feel it was all 3 that kept us going. Our friendships had grown stronger, and so had our respect for each other, and everyone.
It was becoming later in the afternoon, and we were beginning to pack up our things and depart, when I noticed something was
wrong. "Can you feel it? There is a presence, watching, in these woods. It has been here since late, I can sense
it." "I have felt it too." said Mo, putting down the wood from her arms. With a quick motion, she pointed ENE (East North East) and I nodded my head.
All the others seemed to be too far away to notice, except for Chris T, he took out his bow, as we did as well. We moved
swiftly, silently, like cats, towards this position, using the brush and undergrowth as our camouflage. We hid there, raising
our bows at the slightest noise. We all faced the same direction, and that was to be our downfall. We could not hear the soft steps behind us...we could not hear...
Then someone/something stepped on the tail of my tunic. I raised my bow towards the figure, Chris and Maureen doing the same.
The figure had it's bow also raised, but in the brush, I could hardly tell anything else. No one shot, and the moment became
eerily awkward. A voice broke the silence "Put down your weapons, these are friends." I knew that voice.
So did Mo. "So," I smiled, "We finally do meet."
The sunset from the trees caught his hair, shimmering, like a thousand tiny diamonds. We had secretly waited and wished for
this moment, it was the only thing we had ever truly wanted. We walked up to us, and we dropped our bows, except for Chris, who still had his raised.
"Are these them, of which we have been searching for, for countless days?" The leader, Aragorn nodded. Then the mighty elf
knelt to the floor, and reached For Mo, and my hands, he kissed them gently, our faces, undoubtedly turning a subtle red. We rose to his level, well, as close as we could get. He was a gentleman, and that was very hard to come by.
Being an elf, he was very tall, his catlike grace seeming like
movements to the wind. For a while, Mo and I just stared, Legolas grinning back, Chris shaking his head in annoyance.
"So, how about we go back and show Courtney and the others what we just happened to find?" I said laughing quietly to myself. "Sure!" began Mo. Of
course, Chris just frowned at the opportunity. "You, good sir, you seem to be in good company."
He remarked with a smile. "We would love to go with you," Aragorn began, "but we cannot. Perhaps our paths will meet again.
We looked disturbed, but smiled warmly, as Legolas waved, and departed, smiling as he went.
We watched him until he left, shadow disappearing into the abundant amount of trees, each taller, and more broad than the last. The elf hummed a tune:
"Stars betold thy wonderful grace,
Earth roaming 'ere below,
Wind shall form thy beautiful face,
All three becoming one flow...
Three of those who stand and wait
Patience may yet be their fate
New are they in lands of old,
Story still needing to be told.
We control the fate of ourselves,
and maybe, everyone else,
Depending on our company,
we mayhap accomplish our destiny."
The elf began to speak to the man. "Anondir glung elvynd tinánd legen del eow óndil belal dur elrebri riand!" the man smiled, and returned the answer of " Rhebryn!" the elf had on a puzzled look, and asked more of the man. "Anondir nóndil...Hénduil Morfildor Fyn Elywyn." Aragorn shook his head. "Dån Glamyr Addronyc, Legolas."
The elf seemed to take this as an answer, then, with looking like much thought had been put into the question asked, "Lómilmaril Belil-Garil Tadriendra Lómebrimir Urylia Celebrin Elráwyn?". The man was silent for a while, and quietly, and slowly, he answered, "Moddyn Carirraent éera Gwaythiel Lómebrimir Neling, Yraebryn Blaen, yraebryn Wiceracia, yraebryn Ginyc, yraebryyn-rah Rhaemyr Yreoc Rarcyn..."
They stopped talking for a while, the dwarf trotted along behind them. "Suppose Gandalf was right, what happens then?" asked the dwarf finally breaking the silence...
All became quiet, a hideous quiet...until it was broken, by giddy screams from Mo and myself. Chris just looked on
in disbelief, shaking his head, though we did not notice it.
Mo and I were all smiles, and
were full of talk on our way back through the forest. We had gone farther than we had thought. Which we had discovered
later, a bad thing. From the shadow, we could see what was happening. We shared brief glances, and made a decision,
without even exchanging words. Chris dropped his bow, and began to run, run swift, to meet them, and ask for help.
The number was many, and we were afraid that he would not return in time. We climbed the nearest trees, looking for a clear
shot, and when we found one, we took the chance to take it. However, we had to be extremely careful.
We watched the scene below, watched helplessly as our friends were slaying and being slain. They were putting up a good
fight, but by far, not good enough. Our luck was running out, if Chris didn't return soon, we would all be dead.
Chris wasn't having much luck either. He ran, and ran, looking for traces, to see if they were still reachable.
He had been running for what seemed like forever. He was beginning to lose hope, when he heard a faint sound. He stopped, and
turned around. There behind him stood Legolas, bow ready to fire.
"Hold," Chris said sternly, Legolas's bow, still unwavering. "What do you want?" He said somewhat coldly. "All I want,"
Chris retorted, "Is your help." He looked at him briefly. "It seems," began Legolas, "That you are doing well enough on
your own." Chris became inflamed with anger. "If I didn't need help, I wouldn't ask for it!" He drew a dagger from his hilt.
"Heed your tongue." Came the voice of Aragorn. "Put down your bow Legolas." He put it down, painstakingly. "Why is it
you need our help, do you know naught that we have but our own quest, we cannot help you." They turned, and began to leave.
Chris thought to himself 'I need to do something, I cannot let them die...' "Wait." Stammered Chris, "wait."
"I do not tell you to help me, I ask you wholeheartedly. You have seen what I have to fight for, and yet, more you haven't.
You know what it feels like to lose someone you care about, correct, it is not a pleasant feeling," "yes, but" began Aragorn.
"Pray, sir," he said, "Let me finish." "very well" said Aragorn. "as I was saying," he started again, "Do not let me lose
everything I have, because you didn't care about me, or were to caught up in your own lives. I do not ask this for me, I
ask this for my friends, who right now as we speak, are falling due to the shadow lords utter disdain, do we not have the
same purpose? Look me in the eyes, and tell me this. We have the same enemy, the same cause, something to fight for, and
alas, you still refuse to help me? What kind of people are you..." he spat, right away regretting what he had said, how he
had said it, and how it would not help the situation at hand.
"Wait." said Legolas, "We understand...and I...I am with you, lead, and I shalt follow."
They began to run, swiftly, Legolas shouting to Aragorn to follow, and Gimli behind such. They arrived quickly, though not
very quietly.
We jumped down from the trees, landing cat like, back crouched forward, one arm behind our back with our bow, the other hand
punched into the earth, and head looking down. We were back to back. I facing the east end and Maureen opposite. In an
one-action-movement, we take our bows, heads lifts up, run in opposite directions, and start shooting the orcs' backs three
arrows at a time. We run like hell has frozen over and the world was beginning to end.
We ran like nothing else mattered. Killing every orc are eyes meet.
We kill until . . . "Chris M.!!!" I heard a voice yell as loud as loud as it would carry. I couldn't believe what my eyes
had just witnessed. I couldn't believe that Chris M had just taken an arrow which looked like to be where his heart lay.
Everything stopped. I stood, my body frozen. Yet, I still saw the battle being fought. I saw Courtney, running to Chris M. that now lay on the ground. And I
saw Chris with his pain stricken face arriving back to see what had just happened, with Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli.
What I didn't see though, was an orc, insanely mad, running towards me at full force and sword carried by his arms and
hands, above his head, ready to strike. Then, I felt a push on my side, knocking me away from danger, only to realize
that someone had just saved my life. They gently shook my shoulders and all became real to my eyes again. We swiftly got up
and join the battle once more, me saying a silent thank you on the way.
I instantly thought about Chris M, but realized if I thought about her anymore, I could not be able to defend myself and others.
It was beginning to become more devastating, as blow upon devastating blow were being achieved. I could tell now some were
dead, on both sides, and that fact didn't help.
More and more seemed to be coming, and endless plain of large, black, "things". Things wielding weapons of such caliber,
such intensity. They in the trees fired, letting tens of arrows fly through the air like dark long bullets. They on the
ground wielded blades, long scimitar-shaped vessels, of drafted metals.
Though most of us lingered on the ground, a few decided to climb, climb high, into the trees.
Mark went, and Courtney, into the higher trees, he giving her his hand to help her with the climb. Once they had gotten
past the hurdle before them, they leapt into opposite branches, and began to open fire. This became a favoured distraction.
"Lean left!" Courtney yelled to Mark as an arrow flew past his head. He nodded. He whispered so only her ears could detect.
"We better move, they know where we are, it'll only be a matter of time..." he faded off, and jumped from branch to branch,
Courtney, Alas, not heeding his warnings. She aimed a well fired shot, killing one giant Uruk-hai instantly. One shot landing
close to her face, which convinced her, that for once in his life, he was right.
They had had enough of the fallance of their comrades, they now wanted to kill for the pure malice and revenge of it.
They knew where the little annoyances were positioned, and they new of the people on the floor hiding behind the shrubs.
They would no longer play stupid. They yearned for blood...and I would be lying to say they didn't get it...
Everyone in close enough range (Kyle W, Kyle F, Aaron) were swatted to the ground by a giant hand, arm rather, of something,
unpleasant, and unknown to both species of life. Something had awoken...And it seemed to be the fall everything we stood for.
It was a brave and utterly stupid thought to think that this would have been easy, but people finally realized, that this
was no ordinary foe, and that many would lose their lives in the process...
It was a giant thing...scales of stone, the same in colour, and as hard in texture. It had two giant red eyes, burning
like coals adjacent to its dark body. Its skin had spikes protruding, one in the middle of its forehead,
and along its tail. It was giant in size, like a comparison of godzilla. But those weren't the things that worried me.
The thing that worried me the most, was a little man, covered, in a flowing robe of pure white.
He glared, eyes looking down from that "thing". Not once in our lives had we ever imagined such things, and never had we
even though of saying "I'm not going to die like this" when we were to. This, I must admit, was a little disheartening,
even to those who had had these kind of experiences before.
"Never have I seen such things." came the voice of Legolas, which
I found beside me, hiding behind some brush. At this point in time, we all seemed to be hiding, or lying on the floor... Not to see another sunrise.
I nodded my head. "To comfort you in the slightest, I've never seen any of these things, this is a new world to me, literally.." He shot me a half-smile, then said, "By looking at the effects of those boys, hither..." "Them? Aaron, Kyle, and Kyle?" "Yes, them, by what they have done, I think I might find a way..." He crouched to his knees. "Climb up into that tree." He said gesturing to a tall oak.
I shot him a dazed look, but then he revealed to me the rest of his plan.
Yell to the others, yell form the treetops, use your voice! Bring them hither, in all directions, perch them on branches. Make them shoot countless arrows, distract them, shoot them at it, from all of your perches. Let the forest ring a mighty blow! Confuse the mighty beast in hopes that we can find a sullen weakness...
And with that I was off, repeating his words in a voice not my own, yelling at the tops of my lungs in a language that none than the rest of us could understand. It echoed through the forest, and we climbed as fast as we could, up into the treetops.
Making a sort of circle, we enclosed the winged creature, shooting at Maureen's count of three. It became dazed, confused, and utterly agitated, though Courtney's shot took some affect to it. She aimed right below the stomach, causing it to reel back and forth.
And like dragons, it had a softer underbelly.
Chris noticed this too, he took Courtney's lead, and aimed two arrows in the same bow towards the underbelly of the great monster. It stomped its massive feet, causing the earth to tremble. I could hear small yelps of disbelief from around the branches. "Hold!" commanded Aragorn, charging out from a bush on the ground, and stabbing the great beast, as it crumpled to the ground, and lay there, gasping its last breaths.
The man, now floating slowly down, laughed a horrible laugh. "Fools!" he spat impudently, "Do you think the fall of my carrier is any downfall of mine?! You are so sorrily forsaken then!". With that, and a blast from his staff, he sent Aragorn sprawling to the ground, and with his magic, kept him in place there, while he was pelted with stones.
Legolas ran to help him, but he too, was imprisoned in the cajoling of clods. This seemed utterly impossible until people decided to take things into their own hands. Mark snuck behind the bushes, communicating with Aaron, so he would go the opposite way. When they were directly opposite of our "circle" they charged forward, thrusting swords, and themselves into Saurumon.
They both were beaten back, but mark clutched the ground, and remained, jousting his sword into the shriveled leg of Sarumon. He yelped unexpectedly, because he never thought that any 'mortal' being could ever 'touch' him.
Mark would not give up. Despite being thrown back, and beaten, he gave his all, until he finally couldn't take it anymore, and he fell to the ground. All I could do was grab Courtney's arm in hopes that she wouldn't run, because I knew she would have, and I wasn't alone in my feelings, for Maureen grasped her other arm.
He lay there, while Saurumon remained laughing, laughing hysterically, as the wind picked up, and a storm blew forth, making it difficult, nay, almost impossible for arrows to be shot, which really didn't matter, because he shot them back with a radaghast power.
Things were melting down before our very eyes, our friendships, kin ships, our lives...
We were young, our lives were supposed to continue for a longer period of time, we were only teenagers, but teenagers now, with more a sense of loyalty, companionship, trust, and pain, than most adults in this world.
With each new blow, our hearts, minds, and bodies grew weaker. Tears of anger...tears of suffering, tears of pain...graced cheeks, as tempers began to flare to an utmost high. The stakes were becoming unbearable. The world just seemed to stop...If you could call this the world.
With Chris M., Kyle, and Mark on the floor, our numbers were decreasing...and so were their last moments...we would have said a good-bye while they were still living, if monsters weren't guarding their bodies. But needless to say, though on the ground they pelted, and swung as hard as any other, breaths becoming more rasping, especially coming from Chris M., who we knew in our hearts was not going to survive this night.
The man stood on what seemed to be on a built pillar of light. He stood and watched, as if our lives were but a simple game to him. None of us could reach him now, he was too high...or was he?
He was in range of the trees, tall pines, oaks, ashes, beeches, and many other trees. This forest was known as Eäráng Forest, and its story had not been told For many a thousand of years ago. Everything was now growing gray and old...time and the days itself were lagging onward.
Legolas and Aragorn, had now found some way to get up into the trees, being invisible to Sarumon. They perched on branches close to me, and they talked in a language, quick in pace, hurried, rushed, as if they did not want any, even their comrade Gimli, who hid in the brush below, for he could not climb.
"I know what we must do. But how do we do this them, they are mere children." "Children we are," I spoke up unasked, "but what have we become...what kind of children could stand this torture, and live, what kind of children have enough courage to live when people they have carried about died...tell me this. I have respected you since we've heard of your adventures, and for all my days after such, but if you think that this is the work of insufficiencies, and we are mere children who cannot do but a thing for their counrty..er..well..."
"We understand what you bravely state, but we have seen the end of this story..." said Aragorn. "But how?!?!?" Mo exclaimed from a nearby branch, though I, nor them, did not know she was there. "Is there anyone else there?" Aragorn asked impatiently. A quiet "me" came from Courtney, but that was it.
"Gandalf is a conjurer of many things, he can revisit the past, view the present..." "See the future?" Courtney asked..."Well yes, using the palantir, as many people do know, but what they don't know...with the aid of the essence of Déohnvàn, he can proclaim the future..and it...seems bleak for one of you..." he stammered.
"What has he foreseen?" asked Mo in a chilled voice. "The fate of one, and the fate of Sarumon." Legolas answered. "The fate of who?" I asked puzzled. "That," answered Aragorn, "he does not know, the shape keeps changing, it is but a mere shadow, but we know how this story ends...all but one of you shalt now live...that is a kind of encouraging thought...you will return home soon...or so we think."
"We will tell you the story quickly, for we have not much time." said Aragorn. "The trees here, they live, but there are only __ the number of you, use the trees, they will bear you, and help in the death of Sarumon. One must take the "leap of faith" and give up their life for this cause. That is all we can tell you. You will know what is right when the time comes." The elf rose to his feet, and recited, as if it were something he had learned in some sort of a school:
"Any person can fight the battle
of just one day.
It is when you and I add the burdens
of those two awful eternities
Yesterday and Tomorrow
that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today
that drives a person mad,
it is the remorse or bitterness
of something which happened Yesterday
and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.
Let life take it's course,
No matter what ending it may come to.
I nodded my head in silence. Great, mind-puzzles and death...not pleasant...
A great lumbering crash was heard. A great beech had been struck by lightening, and had burst into flames. Being in a tree during a lightning storm was probably not the best idea, so we jumped to the ground, and landed hard, for it was a great distance.
We all jumped, except for Chris T, who remained in the trees. "Get down!" Aragorn yelled abruptly. He made naught a sound, but climbed further up the tree. It now began to rain. Light at first, as if a morning dew, then becoming heavier, and heavier, until the sky poured water.
"Chris, are you stupid?" called one of the guys, his ankle sprained from the fall. Again he moved, not looking back. I looked from the trees, to him, to others, then to Sarumon. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to do. He was going to take that leap of faith.
"Let him go." I said quietly. I looked at Maureen, face grave with misunderstanding. I shook my head, mouthed some words, and hoped for her to understand. After uneasy silence, she decided to speak up, "He controls his own destiny, the way we control ours. Speaking of which...." her sentence was caught short when an enemy arrow flew past her head.
We left Chris then, saying silent good byes, and returned to fight the ongoing and rejoined battle. What I mean by rejoined, is more came now, instructed by nothing but pure instinct. Old injuries took toll, and new ones were arisen. Arrows became fired instantly, so anywhere you ran was the wrong way. Those arrows hurt, considering I took one to my left arm.
Our luck was running out (as if we ever had any), and something major would have to happen soon...or else. My mind raced from the task at hand to Chris, and back again. What the hell was he going to do? Or, actually, the question was going to be, how was he going to do it...?
He rustled through the trees, looking for a spot where he could perfectly plan what he was going to do. 'No. Best not think about this' he thought. The branches were beginning to become slippery, and difficult to climb. He could go no higher this night. He began to reflect on his time here, back home. A small smile crept across his face.
Meanwhile, back on the ground, we were driving them away at a good pace, when I heard Gimli count off in the dwarf language, "Raran, Glorin, Tefur!"
The man, the dwarf, and the elf lunged forward, surprising the man, who now stood on not a pillar of light, but, on the stairs of a mighty temple. They fought onward, encouraging us to stay behind, take out other nuisances. The man dug his staff into the ground, and the earth shook.
A light came from the temple, a red, glowing, dark, light. The light took power of the man, his eyes widened, and he said in many voices...
"A darkness among light,
Lies among life,
Hatred amongst peoples,
The hurt and the strife.
The injustice, the malice, the deceit and the pain,
Your life is worth nothing,
Your tears are the rain.
Your frown as the fuel that carries me on,
Your blood is like friendship, needed yet gone.
You thought that by doing what you have done,
That you could be free and your task could be won.
Your time would be ended,
But here you shall stay,
Until love and sacrifice,
Have guided your way."
He shook, coughed, and returned to be the little evil man in a white cloak, with a crude smirk on his face. He threw back Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli with a mighty blast of copper light.
Up in the trees, Chris went over those lines, one by one. He stopped at the 8th line. He recited it to himself. 'Your blood is like friendship, needed yet gone'. He laughed to himself silently. 'Friendship is what I'm doing this for...for everyone down there...' he thought. 'Better get this over with.'
The leapt from the trees silently, landing on slippery branch, one after another, careful not to slip, or his cover would be blown. He found a slight clearing, took his position, and let himself go.
All of us watched silently as he plummeted from the trees ontop of the man, sword in hand, wrestling for a good position as they rolled down the steep stairs. It was a confusing circle of colours and shapes, and arms flailing. The man shot him back with another beam of light, he hit a rock, and fell to a heap on the floor.
Breathing, and not dead, he lay there, all his efforts had been in vain. The man turned again to face us, and we stood still. Lips quivering, unsure brains pondering if it was all really worth this much suffering. I looked at Courtney, and her eyes darted to where Sarumon stood. He raised his staff, making us wait for our own untimely deaths. I knew that was coming, it wasn't anything new. He laughed, raised his hand, and then I saw it. Chris was standing behind him, with his sword out, raised over the man's head.
I stood there 2 seconds before something clicked in my brain. I nudged Aaron and Brandon in the ribs, and pointed slyly to the bow, and with my fingers, counted to three. At three we launched our arrows, distracting the man, for only about a second. He snapped them in half in the air, and threw them back, us ducking so as we wouldn't get punctured by them.
Chris crept up silently closer behind the man. He counted slowly in his head. 5...4...3...2...1.
It happened in what seemed like seconds. He swung the sword, and decapitated the man. But at the same time, the man forced his arm back, staff outputting shards of light in many colours, blue, yellow, orange, silver, purple, blinding the happenings to the eyes of us on the ground. But we all knew one thing. They were both dying.
It was July 10... Maureen's B-day, which was not pleasant in any means. His last words to us were "I'm sorry about everything..." in a faint voice... he smiled slightly, took his last breath, and left.
With our arms raised, we watched uneasily as we saw the fate of our journey unfold.
When the dust cleared, and the wind blew warmer, we saw something giant in the skies, flying towards us. We poised to protect our fallen commerades, as it came closer, and closer.
There was a figure on the giant beast. It shouted, "It is done." It came closer and closer, and when it did so, Aragorn laughed "Gandalf. What brings you here at such times as these?" The old man dismounted the giant 'eagle' like thing, and stood beside them.
He looked over to Sarumon. He said quietly "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." He nodded his head, and moved towards Chris. "Your efforts, have proven you most valuable in the unraveling of the story of Middle Earth. You searched for your destiny, instead of it having to find you. You brought down the most powerful ally of the Dark Lord, when I couldn't, or they couldn't do such. You would have been king for all you have done... all that is gold, does not glitter."
And with that, he left, promising to send us 'eagles' to get ourselves home.
I looked to the sky. What a week. We had lost some of our closest friends. We had seen the rise and fall of a 'country', the rise and fall of ourselves. I looked at Courtney, bandaging marks arm and leg. They were smiling and talking. I looked around to see Brandon, Kyle, and Aaron conversing with Aragorn about this place. I looked over at Maureen, sitting by herself, where Chris lay, reflecting on her journey. I smiled. What a week. ---Credits/Ending Statement
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What did u think? I had help from lots of people, who basically wrote it for me, thnx 2 u:
*Maureen
*Chris
*Courtney
*Alex
* NE 1 I 4got
****This part is done, but who can tell if there is more for us. Anything can happen if we put our minds to it. Hearts can be broken, the dead brought back...The imagination is the key. And now that you've got it, you may open the door...