CHAPTER TWELVE-

As night fell and storm clouds rolled in, lights began to twinkle in the distance. Normally this wouldn't make me, or any of the men and elves straining to see into the darkness, but the multitude of lights told us that it was Saruman's Uruk-hai army. A flash of lightning lit the edge of the clearing we were situated in as the massive beasts began to pour out of the trees.

"Pardon me sir," a boy of no more than twelve or thirteen summers whispered as he tugged at my sleeve, "but is it true that we are facing an army that was created by the great wizard, Saruman?" The sour look on my face seemed to frighten the boy, "I am sorry boy. Hearing Saruman called a great wizard is infuriating! He may have been a great wizard at one time, but his mind has turned to evil and dark things. The answer to your question is 'Yes.' We are facing an army of Uruk-hai, bred for our destruction." Upon hearing this the boy turned a pale green and began to shiver. "Do not worry lady," Gimli's brogue floated up from somewhere between us, "We have an army of elves and the Eorlingas! The bloody beasts don't stand a chance against us!"

A sharp pain struck me in the rib cage and I found myself being stared down by an angry dwarf. "Ye could have been a little gentler with the lad. He has seen too few summers to even be a part of this battle, let alone to know what we are up against." "He asked me the question and I answered. He has the right to know as much as you or I," I growled.

There was a particularly explosive clap of thunder and rain began to fall in curtains. With every blinding flash of lightning I was afforded a glimpse of the Uruk army drawing closer. Before long the army was standing before the gates of the Hornburg.

The old man standing next to me had drawn his bow and his arms were beginning to shake. I kicked his leg and his arrow arched into the air. With the next flash of lightning I saw an Uruk in the front row of the army fall to the ground, face first in the mud, an arrow protruding from his neck. "The battle is on," I mumbled under my breath.

As his underling fell, the Uruk that commanded the army let loose with a ferocious cry. No sooner had his roar faded on the wind then Saruman's army charged the walls of Helm's Deep. "Archers take aim! FIRE," Aragorn ordered the Lorien and Rivendell archers. A volley of arrows whistled through the air like thousands of angry bees. Only a few of the beasts fell as they began to raise ladders on the walls. "Legolas! The neck and the arm pit! Tell the archers to aim for the gaps in their armor at the neck and the arm pits," I shouted. The elf gave me a strange look, but nodded and began informing the captains and telling them to send the word down the line.

Uruks began to pour over the wall. Their roars of hatred for beings other than themselves was enough to chill the blood in my veins but I kept fighting. I had been fighting a particularly fierce Uruk-hai when I heard Gimli's voice, "Behind ye lad!" I turned in time to see his axe embed itself in the crotch of my assailant, effectively slicing his cock and balls in half, killing him in seconds.

Orophin had just saved Haldir for the third time when he shouted, "That's three more you owe me brother!" Haldir shook his head and smiled. The smile was wiped off of his face as his brother's head flew through the air and landed at his feet. Thankfully I was close enough that I was able to be at his side as he began to fight like an enraged mumakil. I kept all of the Uruks at bay, even slaying the one that should have killed him. As his would be killer fell, blood began to seep from my nose at a steady rate.

"It seems that your foreknowledge has prevented you from staying uninjured," Gimli teased me. This bloody nose was my indication that Eru was displeased with me for having saved Haldir's life. The pain in my head was growing steadily until I was so distracted that I did not see the Uruk that sunk a blade into my thigh. Knowing only pain and rage, I ignored the stomach churning feeling as I pulled the blade loose and fought on.

Four hours before dawn, as bodies began to litter the path along the wall, a massive explosion blew a hole in the wall. It was as if someone had opened a floodgate! Large, odiferous, snarling brutes began flowing through the wall. "FALL BACK! FALL BACK TO THE KEEP," Theoden's voice echoed through the sounds of fighting and dying.

Once we were inside the keep I worked with the Eorlingas to secure the doors. I barely managed to dodge a spear as we worked to patch the remaining hole in the sturdy doors. Stumbling over to a bench in the shadow of a column I plopped down, exhausted. My vision began to grow blurry and weak. Darkness began to close in as I heard Boromir shouting, "Aragorn! Over here! Lord Geisler has a deep wound and is losing a lot of blood!"

The hazy form of the future king swam in my vision as the dull throb that had accompanied the pit where the twisted blade had been turned to a powerful burning sensation as it was packed with Athelas and miruvor was forced down my throat.

"I am sorry for doubting you my friend," Aragorn whispered. "You had good reason to. I should have told you, but I doubt that you would have allowed that to happen to yourself. I had to ensure that the events were kept as close to what they should have been as possible. I believe that Eru has punished me by allowing me to be injured. Haldir should have died, but I saved him. Should I not survive the night I name you, Theodred, Boromir, and the others his adopted family," I finished before losing consciousness.