Pain was all I could feel as slowly I awoke, my eyes stayed shut, and the smell of burning rubble filled my nostrils. Everything hurt as if I had been hit by a truck and thrown off a mountain side. I gripped the loose rocks under my hand as I groaned, trying to push myself on my back so I could breathe without dust filling my throat, though this only caused me to cough. Out of my knowledge, three hunters stood behind me, silently watching with their weapons drawn. One was tall, with dark hair and blue eyes, clad in black, holding a long sword. The other, short with red hair and long beard, equipped with axes. The third had pointed ears and long blonde hair, wearing a dark green tunic with a loaded bow in hand. They stared as I struggled, slowly lowering their weapons.
"I wonder what land this one strides from, ill equipped for such weather." The man murmured to his allies as he put away his sword.
"Perhaps from the heavens, a fallen star?" Guessed the elf.
"Or perhaps a poor lass that was at the wrong place, at the wrong time." The dwarf grumbled. It was then I realized I was dressed in my night clothes, a dark tank top, with gray tights, my golden blonde hair lay in the dirt, and my white skin was made dark from the ash, blue eyes still closed.
"How might we deal with her?" The pointy eared one inquired, putting away his arrow.
"Well, we can't just leave her here, the dead will tear her to pieces!" The shortest one stated while putting his axe away.
'The dead?' I thought to myself, eyes springing open. To my surprise, I was in the center of what looked like a once busy city, though now looked destroyed. Skyscrapers were toppled over, or were missing large portions of structure, with burn marks covering the paint and tile. Clouds covered the sun that lingered above, leaving a dim, eerie light upon the land.
"We know not if even this woman can walk, though we must remember the evil that catches up with us in each passing second. We do not know how to stop them, and she would slow us down immensely, and get us all killed." The man paused, gritting his teeth as if to silence his harsh words. "The kindest thing we could do is end her suffering."
"No, wait...!" I struggled through more coughing as I pushed myself to my knees, hunching over as pain flew up my spine. They all jumped back, weapons pulled and aimed at me again. "The dead..." I struggled. "They are walking, aren't they?"
"How do you know this?" Hissed the elf, looking down the shaft of his arrow as she fell backwards onto her butt.
"Heh... because it's the most common legend from where I come from." It hurt to breath, to sit there, but I didn't want to die, I had to do something. "Look, I can help you..." I grunted, becoming very dizzy. "But in return for information, you must get me somewhere safe, so I at least have a chance at surviving..."
"Why should we trust you?" The blonde one snarled in return.
"Look around you... Do you see anyone else who can tell you nearly all there is to know about these things? Face it... You may need my help as much as I need yours, and if we both don't get it... we'll all die." I chuckled slightly, knowing that I may have wrapped them around my finger.
"And what then would you have us do." The elf squinted at me with annoyance.
"They have an extremely hard time climbing things, and don't know how to open doors... My suggestion would be to find a stable building to take shelter in, preferably on the second or third floor... You don't want to go too high in case of an emergency." I explained to them weakly. The three looked at each other with a sigh.
"Gimli?" The dark haired man raised a brow at his companion.
"Do not look to me, you are the same race, Aragorn, you take her." The dwarf protested.
"Maybe Legolas should, he is, in fact, the strongest out of all of us." The man smiled at his friend who glared intensely at him.
"I have a bow and can fight from a range," the elf countered.
"They will still catch up if we cannot move fast enough, you would keep the same steady pace with her on your back, whereas I would not." The one called Aragorn argued.
"He's got ye' there laddie, better just give it up and grab the lass before we all become somebody's dinner." Gimli spoke with a grumble, nervously looking around.
"You would not say the same if you, in turn, had to carry her." Legolas growled before walking up to me. "I know not yet if you are a curse, or perhaps good luck in disguise, either way, you're a burden nonetheless." With that he grabbed my wrists and slung me across his shoulders, I groaned slightly from his firm and quick movements. "Hush, you have it easy, for now." He almost whispered. I couldn't tell how he had carried me, scouting out buildings and homes, most I'd turn down, saying they weren't suitable for our situation. Finally we came to a small apartment building, it was only three stories high, and the rooms looked exceptionally large,I insisted we take refuge there, for it seemed virtually unharmed compared to the rest. The others sighed and agreed, leaving the dwarf and man to scout out the stairs and hallways to ensure their safety, while the elf followed with me on his back. The two eventually chose a room in the abandoned building on the second floor, and closed the door gently behind us. I could hear the elf gritting his teeth as he walked towards a couch, he then grabbed my ankles and wrists, harshly setting me down on the cushions before taking out a dagger from the sheath on his back, and pointing it at my throat. "You have worked us long enough girl, I am tired of this." He growled while pressing the sharpened edge against my skin.
"Legolas!" The man hissed.
"No!" He barked back at the man. "You will tell us what you know, and I will spare your life. Now speak!"