Chapter 2- Insisto(A Journey)

Notice to Readers: This story does not presume to change the fate of Middle Earth. It isn't a tenth walker and my dearest hope is that it won't be construed as Mary-Sue. My biggest goal in writing this was to entertain myself and put to print what had been stewing in my mind. If you don't like what you see then don't continue to read. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Disclaimer: In no way do I own 'The Lord of the Rings' franchise. I do however own all original characters and plot lines.

"We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened."

-Mark Twain

They walked slowly, soaking everything in because it was clear to them now that they were most certainly not walking in any forest that could be found on Earth. No one had spoken since leaving the clearing. For one there just didn't seem to be a reason to break the lulling silence of the forest, for the other, what could they say. There was no clear leader of the group; there was no trail on which two or three people could walk abreast. No one had a plan that involved anything more than moving forward. The surrounding vegetation was beautiful. More colorful and lusher than anything they had ever seen before. As Chris had noticed before, the trees themselves seemed to breathe and the soft whoosh of their exhale filled the space left by the absence of human noise.

The day was bright, and the calls and murmurings of creatures large and small provided pleasant background music. Gwen at this point had lost her fear from her near drowning and was enjoying every bit of the nature walk. Her nature was too carefree for something like being lost in the middle of nowhere to bother her for long. It was like the time that she had been studying abroad and along with her friends had accidently boarded the wrong train. Halfway into the Netherlands they had realized their mistake hopped off and without tickets or knowledge of the language had made it back to their hostel in Brussels laughing and joking with each other every step of the way. She and Patrick were alike in that they could take anything that was thrown at them and run with it. Patrick at this point had his lacrosse stick looped around his shoulders, his eyes wide trying to take in everything at once, a soft smile on his face. Unfortunately for them they both had the bad habit of doing whatever they felt like without fully understanding the consequences.

That was when people like Elizabeth and Jordan came in handy. They thought things over completely and made decisions based on what their head said, not their heart. That's not to say they weren't fun loving, if they weren't the friendships would never work. No, Elizabeth and Jordan were fun loving but the worry they felt kept them from fully enjoying their new environment. Chris was apprehensive. What was around them was beautiful yes but it was quite often the fact that the most beautiful things in life carried with them the worst kinds of danger. His eyes skipped around the forest anticipating something, anything. It was because of this that he was the first to notice a doe and her fawn, not far to the groups left.

The scene was picturesque, the doe who had noticed them far before they had noticed her was gazing at them intently, her ears pointed in their direction. Her fawn was standing close to her, her head bowed as she nibbled on something. Elizabeth let out a soft gasp and Gwen cooed. "Hello" After a moment standing there, their hearts warm from the loveliness of it all, the group continued on. It wasn't long after that encounter that they reached the end of the wood.

"Well looks like we're going the right way!" said Gwen cheekily. Jordan laughed, a normal stifled laugh at first that erupted into a great bellyache of a laugh that soon had everyone else laughing just to relieve the stress of the situation. Wiping tears away from her eyes Elizabeth pointed ahead of them to a great many mounds of hills. "Maybe we'll find something over those." Chris nodded and kneeled to pick up a large branch that had been resting against some moss. "Everyone should grab a walking stick. We can use it if we have to hike and they'd be good weapons if we need them." Jordan agreed and soon everyone save Patrick who was already outfitted with his lacrosse stick had a decent sized walking stick.

It was dark before they reached any sort of shelter. They ended up making camp in the hollow of a hill. It was warm enough outside that they didn't need to huddle together for warmth. Elizabeth insisted on setting up a watch after seeing a herd of large creatures no one recognized earlier in the day. They hadn't looked unfriendly but she didn't want them coming upon the group in the night without warning. So each volunteered for a turn to watch the camp as the others slept.

Gwen had the first watch because she was too enthralled by the 'adventure' to sleep. Walking stick in hand she patrolled the top of the hill, one eye on her sleeping friends, the other on the horizon. The group would have sat and talked as the sun set but most everyone else was too exhausted from the days walk. Their next biggest challenge would be to find food and water. They hadn't come across any streams in the forest and nothing resembling a lake or river had presented itself to them during their days trek across the open land. Jordan had suggested following the herd of creatures Elizabeth had noticed but everyone was just a little too apprehensive about that, seeing as how they had no idea what the creatures were. Gwen was thankful she still had her sneakers on from practice, had she lost those she didn't know what she would have done. A melancholy wail caught her ears and she looked up to see a flock of birds flying in front of her farther afield. The wail was soft, almost lost on the breeze, but it sent a shiver up her spine and she watched the bird's graceful trail until they were out of sight.

Jordan took watch next, his back resting against the face of the hill. He was transfixed by the sky, nothing he had ever seen could compare to the shower of stars that spilled across the midnight abyss. He couldn't find any constellations he recognized but there were patterns, beautiful ones that looked like they had been handpicked and placed where they lay. Jordan had always loved astronomy. It was one of the only reasons he was still in school. His grandmother was Cheyenne and she had taught him how to pick out the patterns in the stars when he was still a little boy. She had instilled in him a great love and a great respect for the sky and all the things in life that were greater than humanity. Unlike others from her tribe she did not claim to have the sight or possess powers over the deceased. She was merely a daughter she said, a "student of Earth and all the things she teaches us if we only listen." His team at school relied on him for moral support. Even Patrick who was the captain of the team, the golden boy and killer attack man looked to him for advice. He was a good and loyal person and right now he was wondering what in the world they would do if they didn't find some way back home soon.

Patrick took watch next. Occupied with playing against an imaginary defenseman it took him a few minutes to notice the small column of smoke that had appeared in the sky a few hills over from theirs. Other people? Danger? An allusion coming from lack of food? He was hungry after all. Sliding down the hill and waking up the other as quickly and quietly as he could he brought their attention to the smoke. Chris nudged Patrick "can you smell it? Cooking fire?"

Gwen took a step forward "we're not downwind; we won't be able to tell anything unless we get closer." That said, stick in hand she began jogging in the direction of the smoke. Elizabeth was jogging beside her in a second "seriously? We're doing this? What if there's danger?"

Patrick who was behind them spoke first "just keep your head and shoulder down and don't make any noise. If it's bad we turn back and book it." Chris snorted softly "good plan but what happens if we're caught." Patrick was about to defend when Gwen raised a finger shushing them immediately. They had reached the other hill and creeping slowly they cautiously peered around the corner.