ASHLEY
"Oh, my G—" Andrea slaps a hand over my mouth before I could finish my sentence, her light blue eyes as wide as my dark ones. Arrows are stuck in the remains of what used to be Dwarves, quickly identified as Goblin arrows. I pull my pistol out of the back waistband of my pants, making sure the safety was off and there was a bullet in the chamber. Goblins don't stand a chance against bullets. Andi suddenly falls onto the hard ground with a gasp, a tentacle wrapped around one of her ankles and dragging her backwards to the lake. "We've got Nessie," I shout, making Kharl spin on his heel with the rifle he brought with him in hand. The others that have swords pull them out while we try to keep the Hobbits back lest they get hurt and cause us more problems. "Andi, stop floppin' around, I don't have a clean shot!"
Aragorn rushes forward and severs the tentacle, helping me to pull the blonde to safety. "You don't have a clean shot," she screams, hands balled into fists," you don't shoot at something that's holding your friend hostage!" I push Andi out of the way and raise my pistol, firing rapidly at the tentacles that had surfaced, one eye squeezed shut and my tongue barely poking out as I concentrate on what I am doing. Shooting is like a second nature for me and my dad used to joke that I took to it like a duck takes to water. One tentacle that had managed to escape being attacked picks Andi up again, hauling her high in the air. I lower my pistol hesitantly, biting my lower lip as I zone in on the tentacle. Up, I think with as much command as I could manage. Up, you slimy bastard! Slowly but surely, the creature hiding under the water begins to rise, letting out a God awful screeching noise and dropping Andrea in its panic. Boromir catches Andi before she can touch the water, running towards the shore.
"Into the mines," Gandalf shouts, waving towards the entrance with his staff. Our little Fellowship does as commanded, Kharl grabbing my arm and practically dragging me after him. Not too long after we're all inside does Nessie make the entrance cave in and blackness surround us.
"Oh hell," I whimper quietly as my asthma makes it feel like my throat was being squeezed by an invisible pair of hands. Struggling to breathe, I curl up into a ball and rest my forehead against my knees. Boromir crouches next to me, rubbing soothing circles on my back.
"Breathe in deeply, in your nose and out your mouth," he instructs quietly. I try and do what he suggested to no avail as my breathing becomes more erratic and hard to catch. Kharl pushes Boromir out of the way with a scowl as he pulls a pill bottle out of his pants pocket. The Albuterol pill is the only thing that works when I start to have an asthma attack or something of the like. I snatch the little pill out of my brother's hand and swallow it quickly, waiting desperately for it to start to work. When my heart begins to beat rapidly in my chest, my breathing begins to even out again—a good sign that my asthma was receding and I could focus again.
"Maybe you shouldn't walk," Legolas says, taking a small step towards me. Kharl stands in his way with a glare on his face.
"She's fine, Elf," he spits, not moving.
"I am just trying to—"
"I don't give a flying fuck what you're trying to do, I said she's fine." Leggy's face draws into a deep frown and I know that if someone doesn't step in soon we'll have a full out murder going on. Just as the elf opens his mouth with a retort I cut him off with a response of my own.
"I really don't care," I snarl," we're trapped in a damn cave, and if you two don't knock it off, I will take Kharl's Duct Tape and tape you both together!"
"How do you know I have Duct tape?"
"Well, 'cause you're Kharl."
"Damn right I am," he smirks, pulling a roll out of the ever-present backpack on his shoulders and hiding it quickly when he notices the glare I send in his direction. The glow emanating from Gandalf's staff casts an eerie light in the cavern, only adding to the effect of my anger. Clearing his throat, he asks," Are we gonna get going anytime soon?"
"Be on your guard," the Wizard warns as he steps between the Elf and Kharl," there are fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world." Kharl and Legolas glare at each other as we start moving, but are wise to keep their mouths shut, especially since they're annoying both Andi and me. "Quickly, now… It's a four-day journey to the other side. We should hope that we can pass by unnoticed." Unnoticed by what? It's obvious that whatever happened here happened long ago. Shrugging, I keep my eyes on the bridge we're on, almost positive that it would collapse under me at any moment and send me falling into the darkness below.
Good lord, do my feet hurt! We've been walking for what seems like hours and so far there's been no real indicator that we're anywhere near the end, and I'm ready to collapse. "The wealth of Moria was not in gold or jewels, but in Mithril," Gandalf informs us, touching something shiny on the walls. The crystal on his staff brightens and illuminates the mine, showing us walls upon walls of the shiny substance. My eyes widen, having never seen so much wealth in my life, and I've broken in to some pretty elite museums in my time.
"Oh...Shiny," Andrea and I say in unison, running our hands over the smooth walls in awe. Gandy nods and smiles before leading us further into the mine. I'm reminded of the Hobbit when it describes all the gold and jewels and trinkets before Bilbo wakes Smaug by taking a cup back to the Dwarves.
"My old friend Bilbo was given a shirt of Mithril rings. Thorin Oakenshield thought he had earned it, and indeed he had."
"Oh, that was a Kingly gift," Gimli states with pride for his ancestor.
"Yes it was. One worth more than the Shire itself." My eyes widen slightly, picturing the rolling hills and grassy meadows of the Shire with a longing to be there and far away from this death trap. Our group starts up some treacherous looking stairs with twin groans coming from Pip and me. About halfway up the steep stairs, one of the steps crumbles under Pippin's feet and would've sent the small hobbit tumbling down if not for Merry catching him at the last moment.
"Careful, Pip," I tell him, looking back over my shoulder before continuing to climb. The so-called steps were basically a stone ladder because they steadily went straight up in the air instead of at an incline. When I finally reach the top I notice Gandalf's confused stare as he continues to look around. "Oh hell, what is it now, Gandy?"
"I do not remember this place."
*~LATER THAT NIGHT~*
I lie back on my bedroll, staring at the ceiling high above my head and praying to any deity listening that those stalactites up there don't fall and impale me while I'm conscious. If I'm going to die, then I want it to be while I'm asleep and can't feel a thing. Pip was curled up on my left, already snoring while Merry and Sam spoke quietly about the Shire, Boromir was giving Andi pointers on how best to keep the sword Elrond gave her sharp, Kharl was tossing a small rock from hand to hand, Gandalf was staring into the darkness, Aragorn and Leggy were talking together about protection.
It basically left me by myself with no one to converse with, only my thoughts to keep me company, which wasn't a good thing since most of my thoughts were on the weird side. Mostly, I thought about what I could be doing right now—unpacking boxes in my new apartment is the most likely, going over my lesson plan for Monday, Facetiming Andi and Kharl. "Ash," Kharl requests," sing me something so I don't go postal in this place."
"Do I have to," I moan, raising my head just enough to look up at him.
"Yeah, you do."
"Then Andi's doing it with me."
"Goddamn it, Kharl," Andi grumbles, able to hear us even though she's sitting across the way. "Fine, but we're singing the song I pick with no comments from the clown section." She sends Kharl a pointed look and he mimes zipping his lips with a nod. "Defying Gravity, Ash." This is fine, I know this song, I can do this. It's the song Andi and I sang during our high school drama theater and we still sang it from time to time when we were in good moods.
"Something has changed within me," I start shyly, feeling my social anxiety come rushing back after all these years of having it under control. "Something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game."
"Too late for second guessing, too late to go back to sleep; it's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap."
"It's time to try defying gravity," we sing together, Andrea moving to sit beside me as I rise up on my elbows. "I think I'll try defying gravity and you won't bring me down. I'm through accepting limits because someone said they're so. Some things I cannot change, until I try I'll never know! Too long I've been afraid of losing love I guess I've lost. Well, if that's love it comes at much too high a cost! I'd sooner buy defying gravity, kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity and you won't bring me down."
"Unlimited, my future is unlimited and I've just had a vision almost like a prophecy. I know it sounds truly crazy, and true, the vision's hazy, but I swear someday I'll be flying so high! Kiss me goodbye!"
"So if you care to find me," I sing a little more confidently," look to the western sky! As someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly and if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free! To those who'd ground me, take a message back from me!"
"Tell them how I am defying gravity," we sing in unison once more," I'm flying high, defying gravity, and soon I'll match them in renown. And nobody in all of Oz, no wizards that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!" I take a few deep breaths, smiling even though I know I'm not the best singer in the world, especially compared to Andi. Still, it still boosts my ego with the rest of our group gives us a polite applause.
"Thank you," Andi says with a grin, forcing me to stand with her to take a dramatic bow. "We're here every Tuesday, bring your family." Giggling, I go along with her show, even managing a curtsy that didn't look too horrible.
"You both did an amazing job," Aragorn compliments from his spot against one of the walls. "You should sing more often." Andrea winks at me, making her way over to her man and seating herself in his lap.
"Okay, I'm going to sleep before Kharl asks me to do anything else tonight," I state, laying back down and covering myself with the meagre blanket that had been stuffed into my pack. "Night, people."
I lean back against one of the larger rocks in the room, staring morosely down at the book I could just barely read in the semi darkness. "Are we lost," Pippin asks quietly.
"No," Merry hisses back at him.
"I think we are."
"Shh, Gandalf's thinking."
"Merry?"
"What?!"
"I'm hungry." My stomach gives a small rumble, agreeing with what Pippin had just said. I'm starving and could do with a pickle right about now. Oh, or those ranch pork chop thingies! Mmm, food…. Leggy sits down next to me, giving me a friendly smile as I put my book back into my bag.
"How are you feeling," he asks.
"Fine, I guess," I shrug, looking anywhere but at him. It was still kind of awkward around these guys since I was struggling to cope with the fact that they're real. Only a few weeks back had I been comfortable in my home, studying for my final and getting graduation stuff in order, now I'm on a quest and if I ever get back home no one will believe me. God, maybe I shouldn't have broken up with Marek, I bet this wouldn't have happened if I'd moved to Texas with him.
"You look pale."
"I'm always pale." The elf chuckles slightly, nodding his head and looking out into the darkness that Gandy's staff couldn't reach. I see Andi get up and walk over to Gandalf out of the corner of my eye, but pay no attention to it. It's only natural that she be curious about what carrying the Ring entails and who better to bug than the old geezer that thinks he knows every damn thing there is to know?
"Ah," Gandy says happily," it's that way." I look up at the wizard, raising an eyebrow in doubt. "Do not give me that look Ashley Callaghan. I know exactly which way I am going." Aragorn smiles at that, giving me a teasing look.
"You have remembered," Merry says confidently.
"No Merry, it just smells better down here," Andrea explains, following Gandy down the passageway.
"Great," I remark when I'm at the start of the passageway," more stairs." With a heavy sigh, I start down them, glad that they weren't like the ones we climbed to get here, but cursing that patches of moss were grown in places and made them slick underfoot. Boromir walks beside me, one of his hands resting against my arm in case I slip. It wasn't the first time since we entered this place, I slipped the day before and the only thing that kept me from falling into a dark chasm was Aragorn's quick reflexes. The next room we enter is huge with large columns and Dwarfish runes carved into the stone, the columns seeming to go in forever as though someone had placed a mirror inside to reflect them.
"Behold," Gandalf proclaims," the great realm and Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf." We continue to walk through the many great halls of the city, all of us marveling at the sheer size of the place. We do, that is, until Gimli spots something that sends him running forward in a panic. "Gimli!"
"No…No," Gimli cries, falling to his knees in front a stone coffin, "No!" The room we follow him into is as ransacked as the rest, the Dwarves basically pincushions for all the black-feathered arrows protruding from their bones and armor.
"Here lies Balin," Gandalf reads," son of Fundin, Lord of Moria. He is dead, then. It's as I feared." I suck in a deep breath, Balin having been one of my favorite Dwarves in The Hobbit. With my eyes closed tightly, I focus solely on trying not to get sick at all the death that surrounds this place, nearly jumping out of my skin when I hear a series of loud, echoing thumps followed by silence, and then Gandalf yelling at Pippin. With a growl, I step and Gandy's foot as hard as I can until Aragorn drags me away. Everyone falls silent afterwards, but we all go on high alert when loud booms are heard echoing throughout the mine like drums. Maybe that's what they are, war drums, and then the sounds of horns blaring and running footsteps hurrying to where we are.
"Orcs," Legolas states, hearing them. Boromir runs to the doors of the room as I run over to Andi and Kharl, feeling safer closer to my friends even if it's only a tiny bit.
"Get back," Aragorn commands, pushing the hobbits, Andi, and me back," stay close to Gandalf." Aragorn, Leggy, and Boromir rush forward to barricade the door, Boromir peeking through a crack to see just what we're going up against.
"They have a Cave-troll," Boromir informs us in a slightly worried tone.
"Why the hell can't we have one of those," I shout, pulling my P-22 out of the back waistband of my breeches," think of all the damage we could do!" Andrea nods in agreement, unsheathing her sword and giving it a couple of test swipes as Kharl readies his rifle.
"This might kill us," Kharl says, moving to stand closer to me, fighting back a grin. I let out a breathless laugh, adrenaline already rushing through my veins. "At least it won't be in some boring way like—"
"—like slipping on a banana peel?" With matching grins, we face the door expectantly as the rotted wood is slowly broken away. Leggy and Aragorn fire arrows through the holes in the door, obviously hitting some of the creatures because we heard loud screeches every time an arrow went through. The double doors burst open, Orcs pouring inside with shields, axes, and swords—all crudely made and probably able to cause a case of tetanus if you're scratched by one. I hop onto the coffin next to Gimli, letting out my own war yell as I begin firing at the ugly bastards. I've never been in a battle before and I gotta say, it's pretty freaking fun if you don't get killed, seriously injured, or a case of Rabies! "Let's go, bitches, I can do this all day!" Hmm, maybe it's night time now. Everything seems to slow down slightly when a huge creature bursts into the room, taking part of one of the doors out with him: The cave-troll. It lets out a God awful roar as it raises a giant hammer and slams it down to the ground, narrowly missing Sam's small body.
Vibrating with pure rage and adrenaline, I jump down into the fray, tossing Andi my pistol and pulling out a dagger as I fight my way through the crowd to the long chain dangling from around the cave-troll's thick neck. Boromir and Aragorn had already been tossed away, but the troll didn't notice me as I climbed up the chain and onto the top of his head. "Don't—You—Hurt—My—Hobbit," I yell, each word punctuated by a stab from the dagger. Growling, the troll grasps me in one of its hands and tosses me through the air and against one of the walls, the impact driving the air out of my lungs and making me see black spots. Sam pulls me to my feet, one of his small hands clutching an iron frying pan and smacking Orcs in the face.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," he states proudly, using the pan to knock out another Orc. Laughing, I pat his shoulder and pick my dagger back up, using my shirt sleeve to wipe some blood off my face before it could get in my eyes and blind me. "Are you alright, Miss Ashley?"
"Never been better." I hop a couple of times, trying to get my energy going again before I run back into the fight.
"Christ on a stick!" The frightened shout makes my head snap to the side, looking for Andrea and spotting her being dragged by the troll. With a frustrated growl, I slit the throat of the Orc in front of me and begin to slowly make my way over to her, noticing Aragorn doing the same. I get there in time to see the troll raise the spear Aragorn uses to hunt with, ready to plunge it into Andi.
"Cover me," I scream at Aragorn as I focus on the troll. It was hard to focus solely on the monster with so much action going on around me, but I manage it, and I'm able levitate the monster before it gets the chance to follow through with its plans, tossing it across the room onto the last of the Orcs that were heading this way.
"Thanks," she says breathlessly, using a pillar to stand up a little shakily. I nod, bending over with my hands on my knees. It had been a brutal fight, but my team had come out on top and that's what really mattered right now. None of us get much time to rest before the screeching of Orcs fills the halls and we're running off again towards the Bride of Khazad-dûm.
"I fucking hate this place!" A large crowd of Orcs form and begin to chase after us, their constant screeching grating on my nerves to the point where I was ready to turn around and screech back just as loud. It doesn't take long for them to have us surrounded on all sides, pointing weapons and grinning maliciously. "This is still better than slipping on a banana peel, I suppose." I give Kharl an amused look, gripping my dagger and taking my pistol back from Andi. She would only use it if her sword was taken and the Orc hoard had all turned on her.
A monstrous growl drowns out the Orcs and whatever Kharl said next, an orange glow coming from a far doorway, reminding me of the scene out of The Hobbit when Smaug breathes fire into the tunnel Bilbo's running down. Whatever made the noise is obviously feared by the Orcs because the moment the sound is heard they scatter with shrieks of terror.
"That's probably not a good thing, is it," Kharl asks uncertainly. All of us turn to face the glowing doorway with apprehension. I doubt it's a random Dwarf with a lantern that's willing to give us cake and show us a secret city where all the other Dwarves have been living. The glow begins to stretch down the hall towards us, and, unconsciously, I move a little closer to Aragorn.
"A Balrog," Gandalf says grimly," a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" We turn back the way we'd came, sprinting to some new doorway and down some stairs, Boromir holding tightly to one of my arms. I didn't feel very safe with him when the stairs we were running down ended abruptly and Boromir and I nearly fell into the lava below.
"Jesus, man, if you have a death wish don't drag me down with you," I shout irritably, suddenly grateful for Leggy when he grabs the two of us back to safe ground, sending a worried look over his shoulder. Our group follows Aragorn down a different set of stairs, heading for a bridge I could just make out in the distance. I have bad eye-sight in general, but trying to see things far away in a dark cavern doesn't help any. Halfway to the bridge our group stops suddenly when we see a huge gap missing—all except Leggy, of course, his ass keeps running, grabs my arm, and jumps to the other side. I pull my arm out of his grasp, turning to face the others. "Throw me a Hobbit!"
Boromir picks up Pippin, and tosses him to me. I catch Pip and set him down, turning around again to see if I could get any of the others, but Gandy's beat me to the punch and jumped himself, barely missing being hit by an Orc arrow. They crowded around the walls and fired at us, one arrow embedding itself in the ground by my foot. Boromir picks up Sam and Merry before making the jump, followed by Kharl as more of the stairs behind them crumbling away to make the gap wider. Gimli jumps next and would have fallen if Leggy hadn't grabbed onto his beard and pulled him up.
I wince, knowing that would hurt like hell, but it mainly hurt Gimli's pride, I'm sure. More chunks of the stairs fall away, making it impossible for Aragorn and Andi to make it to our side. After another growl from the Balrog, stone from the ceiling falls down and crashes through the stairs behind Andi and Aragorn, making the blonde scream and Aragorn hold her closer to him. Aragorn leans forward as the piece they're on begins to fall forward towards us, the two of them falling forward when their side hits ours. We run soon after for a sturdier spot, but do not get very far before the Balrog finally shows itself—a horrid, black creature that that had glowing orange eyes like embers fighting to stay lit. All but Gandalf make it to the other side of the bridge; Gandy stops not even halfway over and turns to face the demon.
"You cannot pass," he shouts," I am a member of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you..." The creature shoots fire at Gandalf but a glowing, white light prevents it from reaching him. "...flame of Udûn! Go back to the shadow." The creature takes a step forward, brandishing a whip of fire. "You shall not pass!" Gandalf brings his staff and sword together, slamming them down onto the bridge and a bright light explodes from it, making the Balrog take a step back. The next time it tries to go forward, the bridge collapses under it, sending it to the ground below. Gandalf turns his back to it with a sigh and the Balrog's whip wraps around his ankle, forcing the old man onto his stomach and dragging him to the very edge where Gandalf finds something to hold on to. "Fly, you fools," he hisses before he's dragged into the unending blackness below.
Feeling almost numb with shock, I allow someone to pull me out of the cavern and outside to a boulder half sticking out of the ground to sit down on. I hadn't experienced a death of someone close since my cousin's car accident last summer. "It's time to go," Kharl whispers, brushing some of my tangled hair off my face in a soothing gesture. "Can you walk?" I nod and he helps me to stand, the reality of the situation hitting me as we begin to run again.