Hi everyone! Let me just say, welcome to this story! Hopefully I'll find enough motivation to cover all three books!
I do not own anything.
Morgan walked silently through the rain, wincing as a cold wind blew in her face. It was an unusually cool fall day for Pennsylvania, though nothing new to the people. She turned and looked behind her as the growl of an old pickup truck pulled up beside.
"Hey Mo!" called a happy voice from the inside of the truck, "What the hell are you doing?" Morgan pulled on a smile and walked to the side of the truck. It was Mark and Clarissa, two of the kids she hung out with at school.
"What does it look like I'm doing," she laughed, "I'm walking."
"Home?" Mark asked," In the rain?"
"Well yeah, I'm not lucky enough to own a car." Clarissa frowned, "But it's so cold."
"Yeah really, it feels like were gonna get an early winter…"
"Yeah, well," Morgan shrugged, "What else is new?"
"Shut up. Anyway, do you want a ride?" he offered, "Clarissa can squeeze…"
"Like hell I am," the plumper girl joked, "She'll ride in the bed." Mark gave a dramatic gasp.
"You are such a bitch."
"So what." Morgan laughed; these two were quite the characters.
"Nah, its ok guys, Williamstown's not far from here, I might kill some time there before heading home."
"Morgan, I was kidding, you can squeeze in with us," Clarissa said, her face apologetic.
"Really," Mark added," We'll give you a ride."
"No, really, it's ok. I'm walking." Morgan said her tone final. "Besides, don't you guys have to be at the school?" Realization dawned on both their faces as the both frantically pulled out their phones.
"Oh shit!" Mark yelled, "We had to be there five minutes ago!"
"Oh fuck my life! Stoms gonna kill us!"
"'This is late'," Morgan mocked their band director. All three of them laughed at her horrible imitation.
"Screw him, he's not gonna leave without us." Mark said shifting his truck to drive, "We'll still give you a ride."
"You know we wouldn't be having this problem if you would just join the fucking band," growled Clarissa playfully.
"I don't march," she laughed, "Go on guys, the Ravens need you!" They laughed again.
"Like the Ravens care," Mark whined. Clarissa sighed, "I hate Fridays." Morgan laughed.
"If you're sure..," Mark said looking worried.
"Trust me; I am perfectly ok walking home." Morgan waved them away. "Go have fun sitting in the cold watching the football game."
"Ok, well we'll see you Monday then. Or tomorrow, let's do something tomorrow."
"Fine by me."
"See you!" Morgan waved as they drove away. But once they drove away, she let shadows creep back into her heart, and she headed for Williamstown.
Morgan and her friends lived in a little town called Pennber, which lay right outside a larger town named Williamstown. Now it was a small city, though back in the day it was a thriving steel mill. Today, Williamstown was filled with abandoned train yards, buildings, and mills when steel became less important to the world. However it was a great change in scenery from Pennber's trees and woods. The two towns were connected by a serious of old train tracks and different horse trails. It took some time, but Williamstown was not out of serious walking distance from Pennber.
Morgan walked along the tracks in a solemn solitude. She was naturally a very shy and quiet girl. She knew and was friends with few people from her school, Mark and Clarissa being some of them. The other kids she hung out with were the kids who formed the marching band and drama club. Of course friends being friends, they tried to get her to join, and she went as far as join the concert band and pulling the curtain for the drama club. To her, it felt like this particularly artsy clique of students were the only ones who allowed her to be with them. She normally kept to herself.
She used to like to run though. She was of average height and lean; her legs were long and carried her easily. She used to run track, back in the innocence of middle school, but she quit soon after starting high school. The other kids that she didn't know made her uneasy and anxious, so she retreated back to hide within the band and drama kids.
Morgan arrived at the city limits with the sky dark, clouds rolling overhead like pairs of ominous eyes. It was cold and the wind was bitter, but the evening was all hers, so she lost herself to the city.
It was late when Morgan slunk into her dark house. She crept silently through the dark rooms, avoiding the creaky spots which she has grown so accustomed to. She slowly made way upstairs and silently slunk in her room, not before pausing and listening for any sound at all.
Once in the safety of her room she sighed and her shoulders slumped, a weariness taking over her small body. She set her phone and keys on her dresser and looked at herself in the mirror, wincing at what stared back at her. Her mousey brown hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, some of the layers falling out, and she was a sallow pale and unhealthily skinny. She stripped her wet shirt off and grabbed another, ignoring the light and dark bruises that decorated her skin. Small cuts and scrapes also danced on her body. She shuddered and pulled on the dry tee-shirt. The garment was large and baggy, just hanging off her bony frame. She jumped as a loud crack of thunder shook the house. Morgan instantly froze, like a deer who's heard the hammer, listening and trying to control her heavy breathing. Her anxiety was growing steadily as she made her way to the window, unbuttoning her jeans and grabbing a pair of dry, fuzzy pajama pants on the way. She opened her window as another crack of lighting lit her room, the booming thunder following closely. Morgan stuck her head out in the rain and stared at the cold night sky, stars shadowed by fast moving clouds. How odd, she thought, it should be too cold for thunder…
Suddenly her door flew open with a boom of thunder and she gasped and spun around, shutting the window in the process. A dark figure hung in the doorway.
"You fucking little-," growled the massive shadow as it stumbled into her room. Morgan gasped, backing against the window her eyes alight with fear and alarm.
"D-d-dad! Wha—," she was cut off as she was backhanded, hard, across the face, stumbling at the force of the blow. Rough hands grabbed her as she fell, shoving her up against the wall. Morgan yelped as her head smacked against the wall, leaving her slightly dazed.
"Why'd you leave you fucking cunt" he hissed, his face terribly close to hers. She shook her head and whimpered. His breath reeked of alcohol and she grasped his hand that held her shirt.
"Dad, it's me…I'm not mom…,"She winced as he shoved her harder against the wall, slamming her head again.
"Shut up!" he screamed tightening his hold, "Why'd you leave huh? Wasn't I good enough for you?" "Stop!" she screamed, tears starting fall from her eyes, "Dad! Please! Stop!" She was answered by another blow to the face, closefisted and close to her temple. She saw stars this time as she hit the floor. She tried to get up to run but a swift kick to her ribs took the wind right out of her. As she lay gasping and chocking on her floor, her father let into her. Punching and kicking, screaming obscenities at her.
"I hate you! You fucking little whore! We should have drowned you at birth you worthless animal!" Morgan could only lie there, taking the hits. She tried to get up but the fury of his blows made it impossible. So the girl took it, trying her best to shield her head and face, sobbing and begging her father to stop. Eventually, though not soon enough, the blows finally stopped and the silent room was filled with the heavy panting of a drunkard and the forced breath of a broken girl. He grabbed his daughter by her shirt scruff, her head bowing in a wounded haze. Her pained whimpers fueled the hatred in his heart.
"I'm done with you," he snarled, holding her up high; "I should have done this a long time ago." And he pushed her right through the window of her room.
The world went silent and time seemed to freeze as Morgan fell through the cold, wet air. The shattered glass fell around her like lost stars. She hit the porch roof hard, gasping as the air was knocked out of her and slivers of glass embedded themselves within her. Morgan bounced right off the porch roof with the force of her fall and with disgraceful shows of unnatural acrobatics she landed on the wet ground on her feet, crying aloud as her one ankle snapped. She collapsed on the ground crying and dizzy with pain. Incoherent thoughts flew through her mind, all telling her to run. The young girl struggled to rise, but fell with her weakened hurt body. Agonizing pain raced through her body and she looked down at her injured foot and gagged. Her ankle lay, twisted like an old gnarled tree, bloodstained bone cutting unnaturally through flesh. Still, Morgan's thoughts blared at her like alarms, telling her to run. Her pain was beginning to fade, as her body urgently pumped her with adrenaline, masking the pain to a constant throb. She rose again, shifting her wait to her good side started to hobble away, to the woods that fenced her home.
Her father was watching his daughter fall and struggle with a sick, drunken satisfaction; but his face contorted into rage as his child limp towards the forest.
"Bitch!" he roared, running downstairs, grabbing a gun out of his gun closet on his way. He slammed opened the porch screen door and raced after his daughter with uneven staggering steps. He was going to end it.
The rain fell hard and steady, and the thunder boomed as Morgan limped through the woods, alternating holding her aching chest and grasping along the trees for support. She was breathing heavily and her world was spinning, darkness slowly creeping in the corners of her eyes as she leaned against a tree to rest. She hastily buttoned her jeans, and reached into the pocket, freezing when she felt the empty fabric. Morgan in her life, developed a set of rules to help her live through this hell, and she forgot one of the most important. Never be without your cell phone. She cursed and jumped as she heard movement behind her, fear flaming up again within her, as she started to limp again. She glanced behind her but all she could see was the dark hazy trees. Taking a deep shuddering breath she dragged herself deeper through the forest. But…she was so tired…and the world was slowly fading into an abyssal black. She needed to keep going, she had to get help. But, Morgan couldn't help it, she started to fall…and fall…and fall. She gasped when she hit the muddy ground, a lot harder than she expected too. She tried to sit up but her back and chest greatly protested and she sunk to the soft mud. She looked around the best she could, but she could barely make out the dense trees through the rain.
"Hey! There's a girl out here!" was that a voice she heard? She thought it was but her head was pounding and the world was so dark and blurry, it was hard to make out. Morgan moaned, she couldn't feel the rain.
"Call 9-1-1!" definitely voices she thought. What were they saying? Everything she heard sounded like static…
"Hey! Call 9-1-1"
"Call lewdninrond…" What? Her mind felt numb and fuzzy.
"Call lord…" her mind was telling her not to give up, but she couldn't hear anymore over the static, and she was only faintly aware of a burning sensation in her ear.
"Call Lord Elrond!"
"Call the Master! There's a child out here!"
"Call Lord Elrond!" Morgan gave up. She closed her eyes, and fell into the comfort of the silent darkness.
There's the prologue, not much Lord of the Rings action now but it is all to come. To those who've read or seen this story floating around, I'm doing some edits and some rewrites. Yay for chapter replacement! But thank you for any reviews or hits on the story. Thanks for giving this story a chance. Happy Reading and have a great day!