A/N: Still debating if I should keep writing this story. Let me know, okay? My ego needs constant fuel and coddling in order for me to fully accept myself and my accomplishments, haha. Anyway, thanks for checking this out as it is, even though I am regardless really unsure about this story.
"Hold on a minute," I said, looking at the Viggo lookalike in the darkness and holding my hands up. "You cannot possibly be Viggo Mortensen, can you? I don't believe this for a second."
I could see his brows furrowing in the darkness, but he still remained as stiff as a board. I was obviously a little confused, but then again you never know what kind of weirdos it's possible to encounter in the woods at night. Although the most puzzling thing about this situation was the fact that this guy looked so much like Mr. Motensen in those Lord of The Rings movies.
"I do not know of whom you speak," he said.
I looked at Anthony, who was looking right back at me. I shrugged at Anthony, still a little uncomfortable with the fact that he was still pointing his sword at us. I looked at the sword from the corner of my eyes, and it looked extremely authentic and dangerous.
"Maybe he doesn't know who that is, Anthony."
Anthony shook his head like he was waking up from a dream, his mouth slightly agape.
"I don't see how that matters, Lana. Obviously if he doesn't know who Viggo is, then he's not Viggo. Come on."
I shrugged again, a little bit more aggressively this time. I still had my soda cup in my hands, and it was at least halfway full.
"Uh, man, you know that guy in those Lord of The Rings movies? The dude who played Aragorn? That's who you look like. Any relation?" I asked, looking at him curiously, waiting for his response.
Once I had said that, however, he visibly stiffened even more, raising his sword towards me.
"Whoa buddy! Watch it with that thing!" I exclaimed, raising my arms and taking a few steps backwards.
"Where do you and your associate come from? How do you know my name?" he said in a low yet stern voice.
I looked at Anthony again, a smile spreading across my face. Was this guy for real? He didn't even look like he was joking in the slightest.
"Man, me and my 'associate' were just swinging in from town. We were going to hang out in the woods for awhile, you know, have some snacks and listen to music, when we met this crazy guy at the convince store down the road. Next thing you know, some shit straight from Twin Peaks or something starts happening, and we're being chased by the apparition of this man or something. We get a flat tire, run into the woods away from the guy who was chasing us, and then we got lost. Now we're here, obviously, talking to you."
The poor man looked very puzzled, and angled his head at us quizzically.
"Some of the things you speak of sound very unfamiliar to me. Convince store? Tire? And which town? There are no known settlements around for miles."
My eyes widened, I couldn't help the grin spreading across my face. Anthony looked the same way, and we both had no choice but to howl with laughter.
"Anthony, do you hear this guy? Where the hell does he think he's from? Whoa!"
We couldn't contain our laughter, but the man was obviously irritated and confused. He looked at both of us, never once letting his sword down, although I wished he would just put that thing away.
"Shhhh! Lower your voices. I wish to know more of where you two came from," he said, furiously giving Anthony and I some kind of ocular pat down.
"Listen guy, you can stop talking like that now. I mean come on, we know you're not really Aragorn or Viggo Mortensen or whoever it is you're pretending to be." Anthony said, giving him a smug look.
The man now stood, frozen, apparently at a loss. This was getting a little ridiculous. I mean, unless this was some mentally unsettled person, he couldn't really believe he was from Middle Earth or whatever?
"I- I still am unsure of your purposes," he said. "I did not reveal my identity to you, yet you seem to both be aware of it and at the same time deny it."
Anthony and I broke out into another round of chortles.
"Okay then, pal, where do you think we are then?"
"We are on the outskirts of the Misty Mountains," he said, as if he was stating the obvious. "However I cannot say more, as I am wary of you two and your intentions."
"Oh, man, this guy cannot be serious," I groaned with a laugh, looking at Anthony with an exasperated expression. "Look buddy, can you just drop the facade for a second and tell us how to get back to the road? We don't really have time to be playing make-believe right now.
"Perhaps my companions would like to be the judge of who is playing make-believe,"
What? There's more freaks hanging out with this guy? Why the hell would anyone be camping out like this in the middle of winter? I was thinking Anthony and I should just make a run for it, but a part of me just wanted to see who else was with this nut.
The man stepped back, apparently trusting us not to get the hell out of dodge while he wasn't looking. I quickly turned to Anthony, the both of us continuing our mirth.
"What the fuck is going on?" Anthony said through breathy cackles.
"I don't know! This guy thinks he's from Lord of The Rings or some shit! I can't believe this night! Wait until we tell Jess and Micheal about this,"
"Should we scram?" Anthony asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
"No, no. Let's see what these guys are up to! Now, I know that guy has that absurd sword, but he can't just start swinging it at us, for god's sake."
"Well, I don't know about that, Lana, but I do think we should see what these screwballs are up to. This is the weirdest night I've had since that one Wednesday last November."
Suddenly, before Anthony and I had time to remissness about our previous escapades (which involved camping out in Burger King overnight), the guy reappeared, bringing with him some other freaky characters.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Anthony yelled, both of us looking at the men with huge eyes and disbelieving expressions, our grins never faltering.
These guys couldn't be real, I thought. There was an old man who looked just like Gandalf and a blonde man that looked just like that Legolas character. Anthony and I must have gotten knocked out or something, and we were hallucinating. There was no other way this was happening in real life.
"Orlando! Can I have your autograph?" I yelled, toppling over onto Anthony with laughter. I could feel his body spasm with with snickers, and he had to be thinking the same things as me.
The three of them looked at each other with baffled expressions, not even cracking a smile. How can they be so serious? And how on earth did these uncanny lookalikes manage to find each other?
"Anthony, what are these guys called again? You know, they used to do this in that park back at home. What's it called? LARDing or something?"
"LARPing!" Anthony guffawed.
Before Anthony and I could shout out any more banter at these guys, the old guy started to barrage us with questions. At first they were more general, asking about our whereabouts, but as he went on, he sounded more and more confident that we actually were in Middle Earth. I had read all those Tolkien books when I was in high school, and remembered most of the details with pretty good accuracy, but it was apparent that these clowns were scholars on them or something.
Soon enough, the sun began to lighten the area a little, and I was slightly put out by this. There was no way Anthony and I had been with these guys for more than an hour, and when we had left the car, it was only a little before 11 PM.
As the sun began to lighten up the forest around us, it was clear that this was not the forest surrounding Marquette. The trees were far more scraggly and sparse, and as I looked around a little more, I noticed mountains. Mountains? This had to be a dream or something.
"Whoa, hold on a minute. Where are we? Where are these mountains coming from?" I asked, starting to feel a little panicked. Anthony gaped around, and I knew he was starting to notice this himself, the both of us becoming concerned.
"Did I not already tell you where we were? Are you and your companion completely oblivious to where you've been going?" said the guy who kept claiming to be Aragorn.
I shook my head, feeling completely disoriented. "Apparently we are," I said, at a loss for words.
All five of us just kind of stood there, exchanging looks, unsure of what was going on. These guys were probably stumped as to why Anthony and I had stumbled into their weird little world. On the other hand, though, I was positive that this was some far-out dream. There was no other possible explanation. That creep at the convince store had probably knocked Anthony and I out and was most likely killing us at this very moment.
"Anthony, what do you think is happening?"
He shrugged. "I have no clue, man. I was thinking that this was some weird dream, but then I know for a goddamn fact you are never this lucid and self-aware in a dream."
I paused for a moment, mulling that fact over. This was indeed true, and I could never recall a dream that I've ever had that was this vivid. Suddenly, I became extra worried.
"Anthony, do you think we're dead?" I said in a low voice.
The three characters behind us lightened their expressions, and from the corner of my eyes I could see them crack a smile for the first time. Where they finding humor in that? Anthony, however, looked at me with an earnestly baffled face.
"Shit," he said, suddenly looking around. "Maybe we are! Jesus, this is what the afterlife is?! Fuckin' A, Lana. I would have never guessed."
While Anthony and I discussed the idea that we were potentially dead, the Lord of The Rings lookalikes murmured to each other in hushed voices.
After a few minutes, we were interrupted by the wizard looking guy, who may or may not have actually been Gandalf at this point.
"Young ones,' he said, obviously addressing us. Anthony and I raised our eyebrows at each other, kind of eager to actually hear him out.
"The three of us have decided that you both most likely pose no threat. However, regardless of how innocent and out of place you may seem, we'd like you to accompany us for a little while on our travels. There are many questions I have that remain unanswered, starting with your strange appearances and garb. Neither of you look of this realm."
"Man, you've got that right. But wait a minute,"
I said, thinking that Anthony and I had somehow actually ended up in Middle Earth. I wanted to test these guys a little bit, and I lowered my voice, ready to provoke them. Maybe their reactions to me knowing things about their quest would give me some more hints on whether or not these guys were the real deal, so to speak.
"Do you mean you want us to come with you on your whole quest thing? You know, to destroy the Ring of Power and whatnot? We're probably on our way to... uh, the Pass of Caradhras, right?"
Their faces fell, and they all looked at each other nervously.
"How did you learn of our errand?" the Aragorn guy asked in a strained voice.
Anthony and I looked at each other chortling.
"I think we all have some explaining to do," I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
