Thanks again to daisymall13 for your reviews! And I reread your first review – unfortunately this story is rather short. Lol its only like 6 chapters I think. Sorry I cant think of a way to make it longer.

And thank you everyone else who has read. Please review and give me constructive criticism! I am not a professional writer.

I own nothing.

Enjoy!

All three turned, ready to attack, when they heard a sound coming from slightly behind and to the right of them. Glaema was bent next to a tree, losing what little food he had not digested since breakfast. With soft sighs, Legolas and Aragorn turned their attention back to the mess that was before them while Galodar went to stand guard over Glaema. The young man was badly shaken up and if they were all honest with themselves, the two older men and the elf were too.

With naught but a look from Estel, Legolas resumed a vigil over the remaining members of the company. Aragorn slowly walked around the tree three times. The first time, he checked each man, making sure they were indeed dead. They hung low enough that he could grab their wrist to check for a pulse. They… were a mess of flesh and bone. The second time, he tried to see if their attacker or attackers had left any tracks, to which he found none. The third pass around the tree was to make sure he did not miss anything.

Aragorn was about to say that they needed to bury the bodies, but he noticed a tenseness in Legolas's stance. He too tensed and waited.

Legolas had been watching the trees when he thought he heard something. After a full minute of straining his senses, he heard it. Whispers.

Looking at the other rangers, he saw that they too had noticed the faint sounds. Realizing it would be folly to stay in this cursed forest much longer, the elf knew without a doubt that they needed to leave. Now.

Making his way over to Aragorn, Legolas did the math in his head. It was now about two hours after midday and, since it was early spring, the sun would set in about four hours. They had at least seven hours of walking ahead of them. They were already tired. They had pushed themselves to try to meet Gandalf as quickly as possible and they had barely eaten at all today.

Legolas's mouth went dry and his pulse spiked as he realized they would not make it out of the forest before sunset. Somewhere deep in his being he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they would all die if they stayed here after sunset.

Aragorn opened his mouth before Legolas got the chance to. "We need to leave, now." he spoke with urgency in his voice. Legolas even saw a brief flash of fear in the man's grey eyes.

Legolas nodded his consent, and said, "We need to run if we are to make it. If we stay here past sunset, we will not survive."

Looking at Galodar and Gleama, Aragorn summoned every bit of confidence he could muster. "We must leave these woods before the sun falls. We will have to run to be out in time." He even managed a small grin and an encouraging nod.

All present nodded in agreement, and started at a brisk pace due west. They took breaks here and there, but they did not tarry long out of fear.

Two hours later, they had stopped again to drink some water. They were making good time and at this pace they should be out of the forest in another two hours. Legolas surveyed the men around him. Gleama, the youngest of the group, was afraid. His hands shook a little, but the young man was putting on a brave front. Galodar was also afraid, but he was simply better at hiding it. He was doing everything he could to keep Gleama calm. Estel showed no fear on his face, like the others. Only because Legolas had known the man so long, had he been able to spot the fear in his eyes.

A moment later, Aragorn called them all up to resume their run. Dodging branches and jumping over roots, the small group ran for a less than a half an hour before Legolas and Estel heard a cry come from right behind them. Quickly swiveling around, they brought their weapons up and were met with only a silent forest. There was no one there. Gleama and Galodar were gone, but this time there was a trail that led back east. The two friends ran as fast as they could to try to catch up with their enemy and their friends.

For what seemed like a short eternity, they ran. Pushing aside branches and vegetation, they pushed themselves to run faster and faster. They had to catch up!

Finally pushing through was seemed particularly dense underbrush, Legolas and Aragorn's mad dash ended when both stumbled over something and landed face first in the dirt. Quickly flipping over from their stomachs to their backsides, they brought their weapons up to fight their unseen foe.

The weapons in both sets of hands fell slack as their owners gazed upon what they had tripped over. Before them lay the bodies of Gleama and Galodar.