KHARL

The amount of running I've done since coming to this Godforsaken realm is completely unreal. Climbing up mountains, climbing back down mountains, running for my life through a cave that would make Batman jealous, narrowly dodging Goblin arrows; it was enough to drive a man crazy and that's not necessarily a long drive for me anyway. Now, as if it hadn't been bad enough, I was stuck with two out of shape Hobbits in a forest that seemed to creak and groan more than my grandpa's sore joints.

Jumping over gnarled roots wasn't the easiest thing to do in the dark, the canopy of leaves overhead barely letting in slivers of moonlight that I used to guide us further into the trees. Every now and then I would glance over my shoulder in an attempt to spot the Orc hunting us, but the shadows were always shifting with the breeze and made it difficult to see anything.

After nearly two hours, the Hobbits collapsed on the soft ground, huddling close as they peered around. I stopped near them, hands on my knees as I attempted to catch my breath and soothe the cramping in my side. It was one thing to go for a healthy jog along a hiking trail, but something else entirely to sprint through a forest you've never even seen before with no idea of which direction to follow.

The forest's noises were becoming slightly familiar and repetitive as the time wore on, but I was always straining to hear familiar footsteps or even a faint, breathless curse from the direction we came from. Ash is out there somewhere and all I can do is hope that she's found a tree to hide out in.

Gasping, I pull out one of my pistols, taking it off safety and attempting to chamber a round only to have the slide stick out. Running out of ammo is the last thing I needed right now. Where the hell is Lady Luck when you need her?

"I think we lost him," Pippin breathes, beginning to calm down. I never allow my tensed muscles to relax, having learned that lesson from previous hunting trips. After being treed on two occasions by angry Bobcats, I learned my lesson.

I turn my head in the direction of rustling, footsteps too heavy for anything but an Orc to make. "Quietly," I instruct in a whisper," get up and—" The Orc bursts through the underbrush with his lips pulled back over sharpened teeth. "Run!" The three of us start to sprint again, hiding behind a large tree when we had a chance. I keep a hand over each of the Hobbits mouths, muffling the sound of their gasping while holding my breath.

"Come here," the Orc roars, growing angrier the longer he ran around the woods. Distantly, I recognized the sounds of screams and horses' hooves, putting it down to my imagination since none of my captors had horses with them. I look at Merry and point one of my fingers at a tree a bit away from us, then point upwards. He nods, grabs Pippin's arm, and they try to run as quickly and quietly as they can with me right behind them, making sure we're not followed.

"I'm gonna regret this." I suck in a deep breath as I hear the Orc's footsteps growing close again, turning to face the monster. Ignoring the doubt curling in my belly, I start towards the Orc at a dead sprint, prepared to tackle him and hold him off long enough for the Hobbits to escape. Just as I tense my muscles to jump, a rough hand lifts me off the ground and the Orc below me is stepped on by what looked like the truck of a massive tree.

Holy shit, Mother Nature's attacking!

The hand made of branches tightens its hold on me, bringing me further up from the ground. "I swear," I shout, bringing up my arms to cover my face," I didn't piss in the river two weeks ago!"

"Well, that's good, I guess," Pippin quips. I look up and see Pip hanging tightly to the tree that holds us. The tree, I know there's a name for it 'cause Andrea talks non-stop about stuff like this, grasps Pip in its free hand while Merry and I are sharing a hand. Ent, that's what this fucker's called!The Ent begins to walk, his hands squeezing into fists as he rants about Orcs and their dirty tricks. That's when it dawns on me, he thinks we're Orcs here to cause harm to him and the forest.

"We're Hobbits," Merry shouts desperately," Hobbits, our friend here is a Man!"

"Never heard of a Hobbit," the Ent says, slowly as if he talked too fast or too loud his words would be swept away by the wind. "Maybe you are, though. Either way, the White Wizard will know."

Worriedly, Pippin turns his head to face Merry and I, whispering," White Wizard?" I could think of only one person with that title and I seriously doubt that Saruman will give the okay for us to keep breathing.

"Whatever happens," I murmur with grim resolve," stay behind me." The Hobbits, while capable, weren't exactly the strongest things to walk the earth and I'd be damned if I let something happen to them if I could stop it. They didn't deserve to die at the hands of Saruman and I'll go down swinging if only to stall that outcome.

The Ent lets go of us a few long strides later, allowing us to fall and land on the leaf-covered ground at the feet of the White Wizard.