The next morning brought with it thick fogs that blanketed the trees and cooled the early air. By now the fire had all but died out, only a few embers remaining to indicate the activity the pit had held the night before. Jacen, who had slept in while all else was being prepared to leave, saw this and offered to go and collect wood to compensate. After a short lecture on never leaving without a partner in such days as these, Jacen asked Leah to go with him, and she willingly agreed.

They walked side by side with small bundles of wood slowly accumulating in their arms. They spoke each of what was going on and their own endeavor through the woods, straying ever farther from camp.

"Huh. You would think that there would be a little more wood than this, considering that this is a forest and all," Jacen commented, looking down with disappointment at his meager collection of twigs. "It's sort of ridiculous how we have to go so far just to get this much."

Leah stooped down to pick up a small branch at the foot of a tall oak tree, speaking as she did so. "Well, it is spring, and most of the branches would have fallen down last season and are now replaced with new ones. But even still…" she stood up and walked back to Jacen and they continued to march forward in their quest for fuel. They were silent for a while, concentrating on their main goal until Jacen spoke.

"Hey, Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed that one dude's ears? What did you call him….Legolas, yeah, that's it. Their all pointed."

"Yeah. I think Aragorn said he was an elf."

"An elf? But I thought that was supposed to be the kind of thing you would find in a fairy tale or…something. But…this is weird."

"You think? And what's more, I guess Gimli is a dwarf. Cool, huh?"

"Your weird too, you know that?"

They both burst out laughing. It felt good to be together again, without the awkward presence of other people, without the worry of the war or heroes. They continued to joke and laugh, forgetting all that they had been through until they stopped to rest by the foot of a tree. They sat down and Leah rested her head on Jacen's shoulder in a playful manner, perfectly comfortable with her friend so close and giggles pouring forth. They sighed but then were quiet for a moment.

"We're going to get through this, you know. I'm always here for you if anything happens in the future." Jacen was suddenly serious and he looked down at Leah, who pulled away.

"I know." Leah, laid back on the tree, and Jacen did the same as they looked into the thick fog. "Hey, Jacen, do you remember how to get back?" she turned to look at Jacen, her eyes resting upon the familiar face she had known since childhood.

"Yeah. We just go in the opposite direction we are heading now, turn left at that great oak tree and continue on for about a mile or so….. Aren't you glad you have your very own navigating device?" They started to laugh again, harder than before even though it wasn't very funny. When their laughter slowed, they listened to their echoes, but something other than their laughter sounded in their ears.

It was something deep and guttural, beyond the normal voices of men. It sounded far off, maybe half a mile, though it could have been muffled through the trees. The sound continued, and it seemed to grow in number, like there were many deep throats sounding in the distance. "I wonder what that is?" said Jacen as he stood up and looked in vain through the fog. He looked down at Leah who now looked worried. "Want to go and see what it is?"

"Jacen, I don't know—"

"It'll be fine. We can leave our wood here and come back for it later. It'll only take a second. Please?" Jacen looked back with energetic eyes, energy suddenly pulsing through him.

"Only if we come back in five minutes," Leah reluctantly agreed, and they set off in the direction of the noises, stealthily following the grunts and snarls that they heard. Within half an hour they came to a drop off in the land, and they crept up to the ledge, lying almost flat against the hanging. They stood shocked when they saw a huge camp with many crude tents and multiple bon fires blazing in scattered areas. Leah thought briefly about where all the wood had gone, but stopped suddenly. What was most shocking was what was stalking through the camp: large and hideous creatures that walked erect but held no other resemblance to humans. Their skin was tainted black with soot and dirt. Tufts of hair tangled on their heads obscured their faces, thick armor covering most of their body save their wrists and necks.

Just fifteen feet below where they hid, these things tromped about, speaking in a rough, chilling tongue. They looked down upon these creatures with the partial cover of the fog, unseen by them, and yet one stopped just below them and sniffed the air. Leah's breathing quickened as she saw this, sure that their presence was detected. "Jacen. We need to go. Now." She whispered, and Jacen motioned for them to head out.

They crawled backwards away from sight, cautious not to make a sound as they did so. They started to turn back when suddenly there was a soft crack, and Leah looked down to see that she had stepped upon a thick twig, its two parts severed neatly in two. They looked at one another for a few desperate moments, not daring to breath.

Behind them from below the drop off, a loud roar shredded through the silence, closely followed by a series of high yelps and terrifying screams, causing Jacen and Leah to cover their ears. Leah heard Jacen yell out "RUN!" and they set off, bolting for their camp with all speed they could muster. But as they sped through the trees, they saw nothing familiar through the fog, and they became disoriented, sprinting blindly in the opposite direction of the screams that began to advance at an alarming rate.

Leah dared a glance behind her and saw glimpses of dark figures weaving in an out of trees not far behind, and she gave out a yelp and pushed even harder as she saw some of them with drawn bows.

Jacen turned suddenly and she followed his movement, trusting him with what he was doing. He continued to do this, and finally it struck Leah that he was running sporadically, making him a harder target to hit.

Arrows began to sing past them, embedding themselves deep into the wood of trees and into the ground. She looked back and saw that they were only about a hundred yards away, and she turned back, straining to keep moving as fast as she was. The sharp yelps were getting louder, a sound of excitement trilling through their calls now.

A slight relief met her as they came upon the great oak: only a mile from relative safety. But just then she heard a yelp beside her and she turned to see an arrow in Jacen's back, and he stumbled forward, collapsing on the ground. Leah halted and headed back for him, but he had turned onto his side. "Run…" he choked, his eyes already beginning to glaze over. "Run…."

"No! No! I won't leave you!" she cried, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as she headed back. An arrow cut across her left arm, passing through. Leaving a deep cut on her shoulder. She glanced at it, adrenalin pulsing too thickly in her veins to feel it. Another arrow brushed her leg as she stood still as a sitting target.

"Go now. Please….I'm sorry…."

Leah took a step back, tears falling freely from her eyes. "I love you." She said as she began to turn, not willing to leave her friend.

"And I you."

Leah ran. She ran with everything she had. She felt her heart pulse in her throat as she cleared half a mile, but she tripped, and she soon turned to see a giant creature standing above her, a large sword gripped in its hand. And then it happened: everything darkened, and the creature began to stand out. The fog seemed to clear around her, and she felt an unusual energy begin to coarse through her.

She rolled out of the way as the sword was driven down, and she sprang up and rolled out of the way of another strike. She was suddenly behind the creature and she felt herself drop and kick out her leg, swinging it in front of her and catching the legs of the creature. It fell with a lout crash, and she jumped lightly over the dazed face of the creature, landing away from it as she began to run again.

She looked an saw Legolas behind a tree, his bow already trained upon one of the creatures. The others also lay in wait of their coming, their own weapons drawn to await the oncoming orcs.