I always loved nature. It smells so nice, especially when it's rained and its super misty out.

That was until I woke up in the middle of it. My back was killing me and my head wasn't too happy either. But Kristen had the Bacardi, and I did have a particularly good exam. I felt like a little celebration was in order.

But I didn't think I'd get so drunk that I'd end up in the woods. I mean, it's not uncommon. About half of my college campus is in the woods. Rachel was even chased by two deer once. It was pretty hilarious.

As soon as my vision focused, though, I realized that I wasn't home. This wasn't the woods I was used too. I was somewhere foreign. Somewhere I'd never been before.

And I didn't like it.

"Did we lose him?" I heard a voice ask. "I think we lost him."

I peek over the tree root and see something I never in a million years thought I would see.

Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took are laying on the ground. And all I can do is stare in shock.

There's a rustle in the bushes in front of them. "I'm gonna rip out your filthy little innards!" And the most disgusting creature I have ever seen comes out and starts chasing the Hobbits. An Orc! And holy hell I can smell him from here.

The Orc chases them through the forest and when there close enough, I call out to them. "Hey, over here! Come climb a tree!"

I start ascending, remembering that that's what they did in the movie to meet my personal favorite character, Treebeard. I hope to god that the tree I'm climbing is in fact an Ent as the Hobbits follow me with nowhere else to go.

When I reach a suitable height, I look down at Merry and Pippin. "You okay down there?" I call.

"Who are you?" Pippin asks as Merry starts to struggle. Below the latter is the Orc, tugging on his ankle and pulling him to the ground as Merry kicks it in the face.

"Merry!" Pippin calls from below me before letting out an "Ugh!" The tree starts to shift. Yes! I did it! I picked the right tree!

Pippin let's go and falls, but Treebeard catches him. As the Orc raises its sword above Merry, Treebeard moves and I hold on for dear life as his…for lack of a better word, foot squishes the Orc. "Run Merry!" Pippin calls.

"No, it's alright!" I call as the Hobbit on the ground scrambles to get away. But Treebeard is faster and picks him up with his other hand.

"Little Orcs!" Treebeard snarls.

"It's talking, Merry," Pippin says in shock. "The tree is talking."

"Tree?" Treebeard exclaims. "I am no tree. I am an Ent."

"A treehearder," Merry says, a smile on his face. "A shepherd of the forest."

"Don't talk to it, Merry," Pippin says. "Don't encourage it. It's in cahoots with that girl who almost got you killed."

"Hey!" I call down from Treebeard's head. "I was trying to save you, thank you very much."

"I do not know the one on top of my head," the Ent says. "Treebeard, some call me."

"And I'm Claire, just in case you were wondering."

"We weren't!" Pippin snaps. "Whose side are you on?"

"Side? I am on nobody's side, because nobody is on my side, little Orc. Nobody cares for the woods anymore."

"We're not Orcs. We're Hobbits," Merry tells the Ent, who just continues walking.

"Hobbits?" Treebeard asks. "Never heard of a Hobbit before. Sounds like Orc mischief to me. They come with fire, they come with axes. Knawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning. Destroyers and usurpers, curse them!"

"No, Treebeard!" I call, holding tight to my perch as the Hobbits try to get free. "They're not Orcs they're telling the truth! They're friends of Gandalf!"

Treebeard slows down. "What do you know of the Wizard, human?"

I slacken my grip. "I know he'll be severely pissed off if you kill these Hobbits."

Treebeard chuckles. "Ask him yourself, human." Treebeard drops Merry and pippin on the ground and reaches up to me, grabbing me and dropping me down beside the Hobbits. Geeze, these guys are small.

Out of nowhere, a tall man dressed in white robes appears before me and the Hobbits. "Gandalf?" Merry asks. Yup, it's him alright. Gandalf the White.

"Yes. That was what they used to call me," the Wizard says as he looks between Merry and Pippin. "I know your faces. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took." Then Gandalf turns to me. "Your face I do not know."

"I'm Claire," I tell the Wizard. "I'm not exactly from here."

"No, you wouldn't be from the forest."

"I don't think you understand," I explain. "I'm not from Middle-earth. I don't know how I got here. One minute I was in my friend Kristen's apartment, the next—,"

"What's an apartment?" Pippin asks.

"Quiet Peregrin Took," Gandalf snaps. The Wizard looks me up and down, examining. "How many are here with you?"

"I'm here by myself."

"No," Gandalf says. "How many came to Middle-earth? Who were you with before you came here?"

"Just my friends, Kristen and Rachel. But I doubt—,"

"Three." Gandalf muses. "There are three of you. So it is true then."

"What's true, Gandalf?" Merry asks.

"Three humans of a different world brought here by Sauron." Gandalf walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. "You know this story? The one you're in now, my dear?"

"The Lord of the Rings? Yes, cover to cover."

"Is anything different? Is anything changed?"

"You mean other than me being here?" I ask, confused. "No, it hasn't. And what do you mean Sauron brought me here? Sauron's just a giant eye—,"

"You know too much!" Gandalf says, cutting me off. "The story will try to change, Claire. Everything will try to change because Sauron has thrown you into his mess. But you and your friends must do their best to keep it on track, without telling the future, for it is certain if the future is made clear, it will change."

"How are we supposed to do that? I don't even know if Rachel and Kristen are here?"

"Oh, they are here," Gandalf says, looking around the forest. "Sauron knows I've figured out this plan. Merry and Pippin won't remember this conversation, my dear. Just be sure to keep the story on track."

"But Gandalf," I say, remembering the reason we put the DVDs on in the first place. "My friend Kristen. She doesn't know the story. She doesn't know where it's supposed to go. How can she guide it forward?"

"Wherever Kristen is, my dear, she will have to find her own path." Gandalf reaches into his pocket and pulls out a white cloth. "Here, fore your head," he says, handing it to me. "You must have had a nasty fall.

I reach up to my forehead and dried residue of blood is there, along with the sting of a cut. I guess I didn't notice before because of all the excitement with the Orc.

"Treebeard," Gandalf calls up to the Ent, who opens his eyes like he's been asleep. "Take them to the Entmoot. It is time you decided your place in this war."