Hello!
This is an AU.
Title: The Rising Dawn Will Save Me
Rating: PG13 for horror, violence, stuff like that.
Summary: Middle Earth is being plagued by creatures that walk only in darkness. Fleeing the Shire, Bilbo Baggins goes to find shelter in the mountains. Along the way he meets certain others: an elf, a man, and two hobbits who are all recovering losses like his own. Together they must fight madness, death, and those that hunt them before all of their kind perishes in terror. AU
Ok. This is a weird idea, I know, I know, but you might enjoy it.
I had this weird dream and I got some ideas from it to write this… I also got some ideas from the movies The Last Man on Earth and Night of the Living Dead.
Disclaimer: I'm not making money off of this. And I do not own Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit or any of the ideas from the movies Night of the Living Dead and the Last Man on Earth.
Please, please, please review and give feedback! I hope you find this as interesting as I did.
Oh, and I must add to this AU thing. When I say AU, I mean AU. Some characters that should know each other don't know each other. And some characters who should be older are not older. But I merely wrote it that way, not because it is vital to the plot, but because I thought it added more originality and, quite frankly, sounded better when I wrote it over in my head.
Less rambling and onto the story!
Bilbo Baggins clutched his cloak around his shoulders as he scurried along the forest floor. He knew the cabin was up on the mountainside somewhere. The road had changed since he had last visited, however, and it was very difficult to find the way.
He and Frodo had built it and gone up there on warm summer days. It was very close to the Shire, in fact, barely enough to be considered wilderness, but yet, a different place all the same.
He had to reach there before nightfall, perhaps board it up a bit to strengthen its defenses. Oh, how he hoped it was still there!
Those things that came out at night frightened him and he did not want to spend another night huddled in a burrow with fire, clinging on through the lonely hours for dear life. No, he would not succumb to that again. He would find that cabin.
The sun slowly set over the pine trees and dusty road. The hills he stood upon were slowly sinking into darkness and he could almost feel that they wanted their prey.
It was then that he met another wanderer, eyes bright as he sat hovering within a tree, bow and arrows clutched between his fingers. But alas! An empty quiver!
Bilbo had glanced up at the sunset worriedly to find the elf there, shaking, frightened. Bilbo knew the elf was not the horrible creatures he hid from, but a person, because the creatures would only come out in darkness. Leaning back his head, the hobbit called, "Hello, Elf! I see you are also traveling these woods!"
The elf cautiously looked downward from his place of safety. He was shaking and timidly turned his face away.
"Elf! I will not hurt you! I am a mere hobbit, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire!" Bilbo replied. "I am also seeking refuge from those terrors of the darkness!"
The elf, at this, opened his blue eyes and jumped down to the ground before him. He stood gracefully, with his head held high, but his eyes so sad. "I am Legolas of Mirkwood," the elf answered. He said nothing more.
"Walk with me, Legolas." Bilbo begged. "Quickly! For I know of a place where we may find shelter…if it still exists. A cabin where my nephew and I one stayed on free, summer evenings."
It was beginning to grow darker much quicker, but Bilbo's spirits did not fall, for he saw the chimney of the cabin through a few boughs of trees. Once they reached it, it was nearly completely dark. The two of them could hear the rustling of the undead around them, and so hurried inside, bolting the door behind them.
The cabin was entirely made of wood. It was small, in fact, just big enough for Bilbo and Frodo (if he had been there). The fireplace stood against the wall while little hobbit furniture was scattered tastefully around the room. A rug was placed beside the empty hearth and three pieces of old, decayed wood were sprawled nearby. Bilbo quickly shut the door to the hallway that led to the bedrooms, dining room, study, and kitchen and bolted it. He did not want to search the other rooms for the horrible creatures in the darkness, and so simply locked himself away from them.
It was dark inside of the room, but Bilbo determined not to light a fire anyway for fear it would alert one of the creatures of their presence. If one was alerted, the rest would come. With the last ray of sun sifting away, Bilbo could just tell that there was no threat in the room and that the cabin was the way it should be. He covered up the windows subtly and sat down on a rocking chair. When the rocking chair squeaked loudly, however, both he and his elven guest froze in fright. This caused Bilbo, after alarm had passed, to change into a plushy chair by the fireplace, next to another plushy chair beside it.
Legolas stood in the center of the room, his eyes tracing the cabin in fear. He was still and quiet, and certainly, to poor Bilbo, terrible company in his time of loneliness. Finally Bilbo said, "Come, Legolas, come sit beside me. It will do you no good to stand uncomfortably through the night. We are safe here."
The elf obeyed, but nothing more. His eyes still traveled the room and his muscles still twitched nervously. Bilbo frowned and realized that something terrible must have happened to the elf for one from such a graceful race to behave so cowardly.
"Frodo and I used to come up here a lot." Bilbo remembered aloud. "We used to go fishing in the river, and berry gathering on the bushes beside the trails. It was so peaceful. We used to lie out underneath the stars-" He paused when he saw one diamond-like tear slip down the elf's cheek. "Oh, dear. I must have said something. I apologize." He quieted after that and said nothing more to his guest the rest of the night. He slowly drifted off to his first sleep in a very long time, and for once felt slightly secure in his life.
He awoke the next morning, refreshed slightly and rejuvenated. The elf, however, looked more distraught than before. Bilbo had read many times that elves did not need sleep, but he would swear to this day that that one did.
Bilbo was an adventurous hobbit, for sure, and knew at least a little something about survival. He, being a hobbit of course, tended to his most important need first- food. He took a berry gathering basket and a tiny fishing rod and made his way down to the river. He had only given Legolas one order, and that was to watch the cabin and make sure that no one except the two of them entered that living room. He handed a book laying on the hearth to him and begged him to read it while he was away.
Bilbo returned early afternoon with two little fish, some wood, and about thirty berries. He looked quite satisfied with himself. He built a tiny fire and roasted the fish over it while Legolas sat still, his eyes staring past the wall in reminisce. When the hobbit finished cooking, he served the food.
"I am not a bad cook if I do say so myself!" Bilbo complimented his own work, since it appeared that the elf would not.
Legolas nibbled at the fish delicately, still avoiding eye contact. He seemed to have grown worse than in the morning, and the book he had been assigned to read was still in the same place on the hearth.
"I only wish," Bilbo said disappointedly. "That I had done more needed work today. I should have searched out the back rooms. And I need a little more wood…Well, there is still an hour until sunset for wood…I have to get some for the fireplace, and to board up the windows…"
"Forgive me."
Bilbo looked up, startled. These were the only words the elf had spoken since he had introduced himself. Legolas's lips trembled as he apologized and Bilbo asked in reply, "My friend, forgive you for what?"
"I am embarrassed." Legolas answered, his fingers tracing the berry he held in his hands. "I should have helped you. You saved my life."
"Saved your life?" Bilbo said modestly. "Saved your life is a stretch! Surely you could have defended yourself with those finely crafted weapons of yours! Don't worry yourself a bit. We are all afraid sometimes."
"A Greenleaf is never a coward." Legolas replied softly, but more to himself than to Bilbo.
"We are all afraid sometimes," repeated the hobbit, taking another bite of fish as he stood to his feet. "I go to gather wood until sundown. You must stay here and guard this room. That is helping." At this, Bilbo left.
Legolas quickly finished his own food and watched the door attentively. If it was all he could do, he was going to do it well. This new little hobbit friend of his, well, he was certainly going to come in handy. If Bilbo had not have come along and offered him room in this cabin, then perhaps Legolas would be lying dead on the forest ground…or perhaps so devoured- He stopped. He did not want to think about it.
Bilbo returned with wood as fast as his poor little hobbit legs could carry him and plopped it unceremoniously in the center of the floor, shutting and bolting the door quickly behind him. The sun was setting quicker than he thought it would. He ran around the room frantically to make sure that the windows and door were all locked before putting out the fire and settling into his plushy chair to finish his dinner.
"There once was a hobbit who came from Bree. Among the men, he was a site to see. So he wasn't as tall, not a problem at all, it was really the size of his feet." The elf laughed. Laughed! How woundrous it was to Bilbo to hear such a pitiful creature laugh!
Legolas set down the book on a table beside him. So he had glanced through the book! It was apparently a bit of humorous poetry of hobbits, and it amused him so!
Bilbo smiled and laughed quite dearly, only stopping when his laughter grew in volume. High volume could not be afforded. He quieted to a slight chuckle and opened the book once more. "A traveler on the old road, he looked so much like a toad!, that when he would sing, out his mouth would there ring, the loudest and wildest of croaks!"
Bilbo, after a while, could not read through the darkness, but the sharp eyes of an elf could most definitely. There Legolas read to the hobbit, drifting him off into a pleasant sleep.
The next morning, Bilbo awoke a bit later. The sun was already rising high into the sky, but he could smell meat roasting delicately over the fire. The scent came wildly to him and he sat up, famished with hunger. Legolas served him a bit off of the small rabbit when he came and Bilbo was quite delighted. It seemed as if the elf was determined on paying some sort of debt.
Afterward, Legolas offered to board up the windows so that they could light a fire at night without being seen by the creatures. As he had already fetched the food, and the wood was already lying in the room, Bilbo then found that it was a perfect day to clear out the back rooms and see if all was well.
He could hear the song of the elf wafting through the room and unbolted the door. The hallway looked darkened from a while of no use and Bilbo walked cautiously down it. The first door he opened was to the kitchen. All seemed quite well. There was no door in that room, so he found nothing life threatening there. The next room was the dining area. Again, no door. The third room, across the hallway, was Frodo's old bedroom. There was no door, but a large window. Bravely, he opened the closets and small places where anything could hide. There was no threat. The fourth room was his old bedroom. Again, a large window and he had to search the area. Once more, no threat.
The last door he came to was the study. He paused, momentarily, to make sure that he could still hear Legolas's song, as it was quite comforting. Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob. Nothing. The door did not open. He tried once more. It still did not budge. It was as if it were locked from the inside!
He threw himself against it when finally, the door, rusted on the hinges, sprung open. Two voices screamed and there was a sound of a sword being drawn. Bilbo was still slightly dizzy from his knock on the head from the door, but was frightened none the less. He could hear the sound of a bow being drawn to his side, but heard the voice of Legolas demand harshly, "Who are you!?"
"An elf!" one voice came in amazement, and slight relief. The sword was sheathed. At this, Legolas placed his bow upon his back once more.
Legolas demanded once more, "Who are you!?"
The male voice replied in shock, "Boromir, son of Denethor of Gondor."
"Gondor?" Bilbo asked, beginning to make out the fuzzy colors of the intruders. Finally, he vision cloudily returned and he saw before him a strange site.
There was a man, clad in brown, with a sword in a silver sheath at his waist and a horn at his side. He was slightly bearded and was quite young. He had long, brown hair to his shoulders and his eyes shown from within his face with weariness.
Huddled in the corner with his cloak were two small hobbits, with large, round eyes. They were very young and clung onto each other in fright. They each had curly brown hair and sparkling eyes. They, however, were quite relieved when they saw another hobbit in their presence.
"Who, may we ask, are you, in our shelter?" Boromir asked coldly.
"Your shelter!?" Legolas hissed defensively. "This shelter is ours. And it was built by this hobbit!" he motioned to Bilbo.
"Who are you!?" Boromir repeated, unsheathing his sword again.
"Legolas of Mirkwood."
At this, the Gondorian sheathed once more, only this time with a smirk upon his face. He stepped quietly toward him and said, his eyes gleaming, "A king, no doubt? Shall I bow to you?" He, in mock, did in fact bow.
Legolas was about to strike him when Bilbo intervened, exclaiming, "Come, in such dire situations we must not fight! Who might these young hobbits be?" When the hobbits shrank back, Bilbo continued, "I am Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. I will not hurt you."
The first boy, who appeared to be the older of the two, stood to his feet timidly and replied, "I am Merry. And this is my cousin Pippin."
"Hello Merry and Pippin." Bilbo replied. Oh, how they reminded him so much of Frodo when he was their age! "Come into the main room. The elf Legolas has cooked up some rabbit, if you would like some." First, however, Bilbo darted across the room and made sure that the door was locked and that the closets were clear of creatures. Then he led the hobbits, Boromir and Legolas out into the living area.
"Quite the handyman." Boromir said sarcastically, viewing the four boards that Legolas had managed to place over the window. "But I wouldn't expect an elf to know anything about carpentry."
The hobbits sat down and delicately ate what was placed in front of them, as they were starving. In fact, Boromir was hungry as well, and could not deny the pleasantly prepared meal. Afterward, Boromir insisted that he help board up the rooms since Legolas seemed to be struggling.
Bilbo, meanwhile, went out and gathered more berries and fish with the hobbits. Then he placed the meat in salt, which would preserve it somewhat. If needed, he wanted them all to be able to survive in that house for days.
The fact was, however, that they could not stay up there forever. They needed to find help, but help, Bilbo knew was not going to be easy to retrieve. Perhaps he could send the most able of them out one day, early morning perhaps, to scout the surrounding towns. He sighed. An elf was the fittest of them all, but he was unsure that Legolas was ready to be released into the wilderness once more as he appeared to have gone through a traumatic experience.
Boromir and Legolas bickered as they put up the boards, although the task eventually was finished and all of the windows in the house were boarded up, although the last piece of wood was not put up until dark. They decided that the next morning they would work on the back doors, so that only the door in the front room would give them access to the outside world.
The hobbits returned at sundown, quickly as they could, and built a roaring fire. However, Bilbo was unsure if the fire would show from the outside in the darkness, so, as the last rays of sun disappeared, Boromir volunteered to go outside, sword drawn, and look.
He paused and smelled the air. It was repugnant with rotting flesh and infected blood. Holding his breath to prevent himself from vomiting, he sadly noticed that, although no light shown through the windows, black smoke billowed from the chimney visibly. He quickened his pace and stood just outside the door to the cabin. The ground was vibrating lightly from their footsteps and the trees, he noticed, looked as if they were quivering in fear. He threw himself into the room and bolted the door quickly behind him as he demanded that they put out the fire. It was done by Bilbo, who frightfully apologized for lighting one in the first place.
"A candle will have to do for light, since the smoke is not as visible." Boromir answered. And so a candle was lit.
They sat around it, staring into each other's darkened faces. The hobbit children huddled together next to Boromir on one side, while Legolas and Bilbo sat on the other.
Bilbo had brought more chairs into the room for them all, and more tables. He had hoped to make the room they sat in the main room they all existed in because it was big enough to survive in by itself, if need be.
"Well," Bilbo began quietly to break their uneasy silence. "We know little about each other, since we have simply been brought together under such frightful circumstances. Perhaps we should all tell our stories." When no one answered, Bilbo sighed and said, "I suppose that it will be me to speak first, then."
Well that was the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
Please, please, please give me feedback! Thank you!
And please read my next chapter when I post it. That chapter is, well, everyone's story and how they ended up at the cabin. So stay tuned!