ANDREA
Gray clouds cover the sun, blocking its warmth as Ashley and I run into battle; shouts reach my ears, but I force myself to block them out the best I can. Kharl runs to join us, cutting down any enemy that gets in his way. Familiar faces blur: Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas. Elves blend in with men. Orcs together with Urak-Hai charge at us still. I use fire to help my friends and allies in vanquishing the enemies that surround us, but the battle, it seems, will never draw to a close….
I jerk awake, shuddering at the nightmare that had me tossing and turning until I'd rolled completely off my little mat. A sharp rock made its home in the small of my back and I wince as I slowly sit up to brush it away. At least Sam got some sleep. He was sprawled out on his bedroll and snoring quietly with his lips parted a little.
I close my eyes and lie back down, but the burning eye suddenly appears causing me to jump again, another rock scraping against my back. I let out a hiss of pain, deciding to just give up since sleep probably wouldn't be coming again any time soon. The way to Moria has been a lot harder without the Fellowship, and even Sam's hazel eyes aren't as filled with hope as they were back in Rivendell. He left his friends just to make sure I would be okay.
Same wakes a few minutes later, stretching his arms over his head as he sits up and looks around. "Depressing," he states," that's what this land is." I nod in agreement, wishing we had some color that's not the gray of rock and fog or the dark overcast sky. Was just a tiny bit of sunlight too much to ask for here?
"Come on, Sammy," I sigh, standing up," let's try and make a little headway today." He nods and begins to pack up our camp while I take care of the fire, able to put it out with just a flick of my hand. Of all the things Elrond lied about, I'm glad this little perk wasn't one of them. After convincing Sam to do it, we begin our descent from the large rock perch using his elvish rope.
"Can you see the bottom," Sam asks after fifteen minutes of repelling down the rock face. I look down, hoping I could see even the barest hint of what was waiting for us down there, but all I see is heavy fog.
"Not yet, now stop looking down!" I-spy something annoying.
Is Gandalf there? I thought he died.Yes, this is how Ashley and I have been passing the time. Sad isn't it? There's little else to do since I'm on a doomed mission and she's been kidnapped. We get a few more feet when small rocks start to rain down on me, Sam's foot having slipped and nearly sending him tumbling own with a shout. "Catch," he calls as a small box falls from his pack," Andrea, grab it quick!" Before I had a chance to react, the box hits me in the face, making me lose my grip out of shock and begin to fall. Oh no, I don't want to die this way! I'm too young! I hit solid ground before I had time to scream, the air knocked out of me. Huh?I pat my body down, laughing breathlessly when I find no injuries.
"I'm alive, it's a miracle! SAM, YOU'RE DEAD!" When he reaches the ground, I tackle him, smacking him on the back of the head. "Consider yourself lucky I feel merciful, it's rare." He nods and there's a scared yet relieved glint in his eyes. "Oh, by the way, I found the bottom." We both laugh at that, glad to finally have a moment that's not brutally depressing. I hold up the box of doom that caused my fall in the palm of my hand. "What's in this?"
"Just a bit of seasoning," he shrugs," I thought we could use it if we ate some roast chicken." I laugh again, dropping the box into his hand.
"I would love me some roast chicken, Sammy, but I don't think we'll be getting it anytime soon."
"You never know." I just smile in amusement and walk over to the silver rope.
"We can't leave this here since someone might follow us down." I touch the Ring through the material of my shirt, already feeling the effects. It messed with my emotions most of the time, made my head ache like it never has before.
"Who's gonna follow us down here? Lady Galadriel gave me that, but my knots are untieable." I don't have the heart to tell him 'untieable' isn't a real word or that someoneis following us. He tugs on the rope to prove his point only to have it come free and land at our feet.
I pat his shoulder with a gentle smile," Well, at least you get to keep it." He looks at the bit of it he holds in his child-sized hand, probably thinking about what would've happened if it had come free while we were descending the mountain side. Oh, that would not have been a pretty thing to see.
*~30 MINUTES LATER~*
When we finally reach the top of another steep hill, we're able to see Mordor, the gray clouds seeming to flash with fire over the top of the enormous volcano. It's still too far away for my liking, I want to get this over with so I can get back to Aragorn. Is that what the volcano in Pompeii looked like before it erupted and killed all those people? "Mordor," Sam announces," the one place we have to get to that makes most grown men run in terror. Admit it, Miss Andrea, we're lost."
"Believe me, if I could I'd ask for directions and a map... and some food that isn't elvish," I reply snappishly. I look over at the volcano again and I'm overcome by images of the burning eye, causing me to stumble and fall on my butt. Ugh, why did I have to volunteer for Ring duty when I could've just let Frodo do all the hard work?
"Miss Andrea?" I ignore him, focusing on getting my breathing back to normal. "It's the Ring." I nod slowly, hating to admit the weakness.
"It feels heavier, like it's a freakin' tractor tire instead of a tiny metal circle." I clutch at it through the material of my shirt to see if it's still the normal size of rings, surprised to find that it hasn't changed since the last time I clutched it. My left leg begins to throb painfully as my old ACL injury comes back to haunt me. Ha, and to think it was all better. That's what I get for thinking hopeful thoughts! "What food do we have," I ask after taking a drink of water. Damn you, Sam for making me think of roast chicken, or even better, my lemon chicken! I can feel my mouth begin to water in anticipation to find out what we can dine on tonight or even right now.
"Lembas bread," he answers," lots and lots of it." He breaks me off a piece and throws it to me before taking a piece for himself. By this point I'd be willing to eat grass just for a different taste. "You know, this foreign stuff is pretty good."
"Is there anything that can put a damper on that cheery mood of yours?"
"Uh, not that I know of, no." I chuckle at that very true fact, glad that Sam came with me just so I'd have someone around to keep me from becoming an emotional mess. After we finish eating we begin to walk again, keeping a close eye on the heavy clouds above us.
Not long after we start walking again we have to scramble to find shelter from the rain. Thankfully we find a deep ravine and the cloaks that Galadriel gave us are warm enough to keep us from getting Hypothermia or the flu. I look up in time to see Gollum's pale eyes glaring down at us. I'm gonna wring his bloody neck if he keeps making me jump like this! Many hours and a starring contest later, sleep overwhelms me. I dream of riding a dragon over a beautiful countryside through clear skies and when I wake up it's no longer raining, but it is foggy as all get out.
Sam and I once again begin to climb over the mountainous landscape, trying to find a path to takes us to Mordor, but only managing to go in circles. As if that wasn't bad enough, a scent of sulfur and rotting things hung in the air and made my stomach churn. I tried to breathe through my mouth, but even that didn't really help. "We're going to be attacked tonight," I tell him quietly in case Gollum was nearby.
"How do you know?"
"I saw Gollum last night and Ashley warned me this morning when she woke up. She's still remembering things and she thought advance warning would help us prepare for it." Sam nods, still unable to fully process the fact that he was fictional in the land I'm from. "We'll walk until nightfall and then we'll pretend to sleep until Gollum attacks."
"Then what?"
"Then we capture him." We climb until nightfall, then we begin to make camp as we usually do. Sam was in charge of the bedrolls and makeshift shelter while I conjured the fire, sparks spitting from the rocks until I focus harder to create a fire large enough to keep us warm while we ate a piece of the Lembas bread. The bread itself wasn't too bad, it reminded me of the honey butter from Golden Corral, but it quickly grew dull after munching on it for weeks on end. I nod to Sam once we finished our meal, both of us drawing the hood of our cloaks over our heads before lying down for the night.
I could hear Gollum's heavy breathing half an hour later, the ex-Hobbit sounding like some who'd run for a mile without stopping and now couldn't catch his breath. I almost felt bad for him, but I knew for a fact that he planned on mugging and killing me. That right there gave me the strength to do what I have to in order to keep Sam and me safe.
"They're thieves," Gollum growls," they're thieves." Overhead I could hear distant thunder and the sound of loose pebbles tumbling down from the rocks whenever Gollum moved. "The filthy little thieves. Where is it? They stole it from us. My precious. Curse them, we hates them! It's ours, it is, and we wants it!"
I open my eyes and lunge at him with Sam right behind me. Together we pull him off of the boulder he was crouching on and struggle to hold him still. He was a lot stronger than his scrawny form suggests and I'm thrown to the hard, rocky ground with the Ring showing in plain sight. Gollum throws Sam on the other side of him and dives for the Ring that's still hanging around my throat. I keep a tight hold on his wrists so he can't get it. With a grunt, I move forward, tackling him to the ground with all my weight pressed on him, and holding him there by sitting on his stomach with his hands pinned above his nearly hairless head.
"Hold still or I'll run you through," I snarl. Gollum's struggles increase until I put the tip of my sword under his chin. "Sam, bind his wrists with the elvish rope, then tie him to a rock." When I remember what had happened just yesterday, I quickly change my mind about that. "On second thought, maybe I should do it." Sam hands me the rope and helps hold Gollum down while I tie him up. Instead of his wrists I tie the rope around his neck like a collar, I then tie him very securely to a big rock just out of reach of our camp. He won't be getting away anytime soon by golly!
*~THE NEXT DAY~*
Gollum's tortured screams fill the air as Sam pulls him along. The few teeth the creature has plainly showing, crooked and rotten because of how little care he had for them. "It burns us and freezes," he complains loudly," the nasty Elves-"
"SHUT UP," I exclaim," or I'll just tie you to a rock and leave you!"
"No, that would kill us!"
"Does it look like I care?" I heave a sigh, running a hand through my knotted blonde hair. Gollum was writhing on the hard ground, taking no notice of the sharp rocks cutting into the thick skin of his back. He was even scrawnier in daylight, barely more than skin and bones. "I'll make you a deal—we'll untie you if you help get us to Mordor safely." Gollum nods helplessly, pulling at the rope and looking up at me with big blue eyes. "There's a good boy." I untie the rope and help him to stand. "Now, do you swear on the precious, I mean the Ring?"
"Yes, we swears, we swears!"
"I don't believe you," Sam yells, running forward. I grab him before he can do Gollum any harm. "If we let him go, he'll throttle us while we sleep!"
"We'll bind him at night and let him lead us in the daytime, simple as that," I return in a hard tone. After a short break we set off again, following Gollum this time. He's a fast little fucker, I'll give him that much and it was hard for Sam and me to keep up with him. He mumbles as he scurries along some kind of path only he can see, looking over his shoulder at us every few feet and gaining more ground the further along we go.
When we finally catch completely up to him, he lets out a growl before sprinting away even faster than before. We chase after him, but he knows this land better than us and we're easily evaded. Sam and I reach a fork in the road when we stop, unsure which way Gollum had gone. "What did I tell you," Sam says angrily," he's gone and run off!" Gollum pops up on a rock ledge seconds after that, looking as though he'd never run off in the first place.
"This way Hobbitses," he calls for us. I'm not a damn hobbit, I'm a grown ass woman! Sam and I share a frustrated look, following Gollum once more.