1 Chapter 36
"ARGH! SPIDER! SPIDER!" three Orcs came running at her.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Mary-Jo got a newspaper out of her pack and rolled it up into a thin tube. She walked in the direction from which the Orcs had appeared. She found a long, hairy leg and began to hit it viciously, with the rolled up newspaper.
"BAD SPIDER!" Then she suddenly realised the size of the leg she was beating. She stopped the assault, and followed the long leg upward, with her eyes.
"Big spider! Um, I think I'm going to need a bigger paper." The three Orcs, who had previously run away from Shelob, then brought a giant rolled up newspaper to her. "Thank you." She turned back to Shelob and began to beat her again. "BAD SPIDER! BAD SPIDER! BAD SPIDER!" Eventually, Shelob couldn't take it anymore. She hobbled slowly away back to her hole, as many of her legs were now broken thanks to Mary-Jo.
Mary-Jo ran over to Sam, who was in a little crumpled pile on the floor after being attacked by Gollum. She stood him up, and he walked as quickly as he could back to Frodo, who now lay deathly white on the cold stone floor of Shelob's lair.
"Master, dear master!" he ran to Frodo's side, as did Mary-Jo. "Master, dear master!" he said again.
"Yes, we get the picture!" snapped Mary-Jo. "Quit with the 'master, dear master!' " They cut the cords that bound Frodo, and Mary-Jo put her ear to his mouth for any sign of breath and a flutter of a heartbeat. But there was nothing.
"Frodo, Mr. Frodo!" cried Sam, "Don't leave me here alone, with her! It's your Sam calling!"
"And your Mary-Jo!" she cried.
"Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!" The images in Galadriel's mirror came flooding back to him: Frodo with his pale face lying fast asleep under a great dark cliff. Or fast asleep he had thought then.
"He's dead." Sam said quietly, as the words set in.
"NO!" shouted Mary-Jo. "He can't be! Frodo! Wake up, wake up! It's all right now, she's gone! Please wake up!" she started to cry.
"We have to go on." Said Sam, suddenly. "The job still has to be done. It all depends on us now."
"We can't leave him alone, and unburied! What if that horrid creature comes back?!" she cried, alarmed that the thought could ever occur. 'But,' she thought, 'maybe we should. He's right, the ring still has to be destroyed. What would Frodo tell us to do? Go on, of course! And so would Michelle; and Gandalf and Aragorn, everybody!'
"You're right Sam. We must go on."
"I am?!" He was astonished she had agreed with him. He had actually hoped that she would want to stay with Frodo, and then he could go off alone, and be rid of her for good. But another part him was glad. At least he wouldn't get lonely, and he could talk to someone about Mr. Frodo, without them getting bored.
"Yes, we have to go on. But if we do, will need to borrow some of Frodo's belongings I'm afraid. The unmentionable, of course, and Sting. Sting will be very useful."
"And Galadriel's star-glass. We will ever be in darkness now, so it will be very handy."
"Yes, good thinking Sam." They gathered the things they needed. "We're terribly sorry, Frodo. But, if we're to go on we need these things. You understand, don't you? And don't you worry about Sam. He's in semi-safe hands." And with that, they left.
They walked, slowly and sorrowfully. Every so often, one of them would turn and look back, then carry on going. They were coming to the top of some steps and were in a Cleft at last. They stood still for a minute, and suddenly they both heard a noise of tramping feet behind them and before them: Orcs were coming up to the Cleft from the far side.
"SHIT!" whispered Mary-Jo. " Hide somewhere! Quick!" There was an area of tall, overgrown thorns to Sam's right. "There's no where else t go, quick!" and they leapt in. They had to try their very hardest not to let out the cries of pain, as the Orcs were now dangerously close. The two orc- companies met and began to argue, and then one of them spotted Frodo lying on the floor in the tunnel. They seized him and began to carry him away. Mary-Jo leapt out of the thorns, but Sam dragged her back.
"No, miss!" he said, trying not to shout. "You can't! There are loads of them, and two of us! We would die, instantly!"
"But we can't let them take Frodo! Who knows what they will do to the poor thing!!!"
"We will follow them." Said Sam. "My place is by Mr. Frodo. I don't know what I was thinking. But they must understand that. Elrond and the council, and all those Lords and Ladies with all their wisdom."
"I wasn't even meant to be there! I just joined because I was bored! I can't abandon my friend when he needs me! Come, Sam! We will go and reclaim Frodo!" And they sprang after them in the darkness.
They ran as fast as their tired legs would carry them, which wasn't quick enough. Orcs go fast in tunnels, and this one they knew well. The Orcs were travelling quicker than there pursuers, and Mary-Jo and Sam could hear the noise gradually growing more and more distant. Then they heard a rumbling noise, and just as they hurried up, a bump. As far as they could guess, the Orcs had turned and gone into the very opening that Frodo and themselves had tried and found blocked. There was a great stone in the way, but the Orcs had got through somehow. They could hear two voices coming from the other side of the stone. They listened to the Orcs conversation, and to their horror, found out that Frodo wasn't dead.
"What have we done?!" cried Mary-Jo, when the orc-voice grew further away. "He's not dead! And he's been taken by those hideous things!"
"Look!" said Sam, pointing upwards. There was a blank space between the top and low arch of the opening.
"I can't fit through there." Said Mary-Jo. "But you might. Do you think you could do it Sam? Climb through and undo whatever latch or bolt is on the other side?"
"Of course I can! We've got to get to Mr. Frodo!" She lifted him up and he climbed through the gap. Mary-Jo heard the bolt slide back, and she pushed the great stone with all her might. Eventually, they had moved it so it was just wide enough for her to fit through, but it took every ounce of energy in them to do so.
They followed the sound of the voices, which were now quite far, but still audible.
"That's what I'm going to do," said Shagrat in angry tones. "Put him in the top chamber."
"What for?" growled Gorbag. "Haven't you any lock-ups down below?"
"He's going out of harm's way, I tell you." Answered Shagrat. "See? He's precious. I don't trust all my lads and none of yours; nor you neither, when you're mad for fun. He's going where I want him, and where you won't come, if you don't keep civil. Up the top, I say. He'll be safe there."
"Will he?" said Mary-Jo. She seized Sting out of Sam's hand and charged around the corner, only to find that by some trick of the tunnel she had misjudged the distance of the voices. The two orc-figures were still some way ahead. She could see them now, black and squat against the red glare. The passage ran straight at last, up an incline; and at the end, wide open, were great double doors, leading probably to deep chambers far below the high horn of the tower. Already the Orcs with their burden had passed inside. Gorbag and Shagrat were drawing near the gate.
Sam and Mary-Jo heard a burst of hoarse singing, blaring of horns and banging of gongs, a hideous clamour. Gorbag and Shagrat were already on the threshold.
"NO!" cried Sam. "Mr. Frodo!" Mary-Jo yelled and ran forward, but their little voices were drowned in the tumult. No one heeded him. The great doors slammed to. Boom. The bars of iron fell into place inside. Clang. The gate was shut. Mary-Jo hurled herself against the bolted brazen plates and fell senseless to the ground. She was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy.
*****
A/N: I want to apologise for how badly written the first 10 or so chapters are! I re-read it last night, and it was very bad!!!!!! Oops, so sorry! Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
Luvs Elf Crumpet xXx
"ARGH! SPIDER! SPIDER!" three Orcs came running at her.
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Mary-Jo got a newspaper out of her pack and rolled it up into a thin tube. She walked in the direction from which the Orcs had appeared. She found a long, hairy leg and began to hit it viciously, with the rolled up newspaper.
"BAD SPIDER!" Then she suddenly realised the size of the leg she was beating. She stopped the assault, and followed the long leg upward, with her eyes.
"Big spider! Um, I think I'm going to need a bigger paper." The three Orcs, who had previously run away from Shelob, then brought a giant rolled up newspaper to her. "Thank you." She turned back to Shelob and began to beat her again. "BAD SPIDER! BAD SPIDER! BAD SPIDER!" Eventually, Shelob couldn't take it anymore. She hobbled slowly away back to her hole, as many of her legs were now broken thanks to Mary-Jo.
Mary-Jo ran over to Sam, who was in a little crumpled pile on the floor after being attacked by Gollum. She stood him up, and he walked as quickly as he could back to Frodo, who now lay deathly white on the cold stone floor of Shelob's lair.
"Master, dear master!" he ran to Frodo's side, as did Mary-Jo. "Master, dear master!" he said again.
"Yes, we get the picture!" snapped Mary-Jo. "Quit with the 'master, dear master!' " They cut the cords that bound Frodo, and Mary-Jo put her ear to his mouth for any sign of breath and a flutter of a heartbeat. But there was nothing.
"Frodo, Mr. Frodo!" cried Sam, "Don't leave me here alone, with her! It's your Sam calling!"
"And your Mary-Jo!" she cried.
"Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!" The images in Galadriel's mirror came flooding back to him: Frodo with his pale face lying fast asleep under a great dark cliff. Or fast asleep he had thought then.
"He's dead." Sam said quietly, as the words set in.
"NO!" shouted Mary-Jo. "He can't be! Frodo! Wake up, wake up! It's all right now, she's gone! Please wake up!" she started to cry.
"We have to go on." Said Sam, suddenly. "The job still has to be done. It all depends on us now."
"We can't leave him alone, and unburied! What if that horrid creature comes back?!" she cried, alarmed that the thought could ever occur. 'But,' she thought, 'maybe we should. He's right, the ring still has to be destroyed. What would Frodo tell us to do? Go on, of course! And so would Michelle; and Gandalf and Aragorn, everybody!'
"You're right Sam. We must go on."
"I am?!" He was astonished she had agreed with him. He had actually hoped that she would want to stay with Frodo, and then he could go off alone, and be rid of her for good. But another part him was glad. At least he wouldn't get lonely, and he could talk to someone about Mr. Frodo, without them getting bored.
"Yes, we have to go on. But if we do, will need to borrow some of Frodo's belongings I'm afraid. The unmentionable, of course, and Sting. Sting will be very useful."
"And Galadriel's star-glass. We will ever be in darkness now, so it will be very handy."
"Yes, good thinking Sam." They gathered the things they needed. "We're terribly sorry, Frodo. But, if we're to go on we need these things. You understand, don't you? And don't you worry about Sam. He's in semi-safe hands." And with that, they left.
They walked, slowly and sorrowfully. Every so often, one of them would turn and look back, then carry on going. They were coming to the top of some steps and were in a Cleft at last. They stood still for a minute, and suddenly they both heard a noise of tramping feet behind them and before them: Orcs were coming up to the Cleft from the far side.
"SHIT!" whispered Mary-Jo. " Hide somewhere! Quick!" There was an area of tall, overgrown thorns to Sam's right. "There's no where else t go, quick!" and they leapt in. They had to try their very hardest not to let out the cries of pain, as the Orcs were now dangerously close. The two orc- companies met and began to argue, and then one of them spotted Frodo lying on the floor in the tunnel. They seized him and began to carry him away. Mary-Jo leapt out of the thorns, but Sam dragged her back.
"No, miss!" he said, trying not to shout. "You can't! There are loads of them, and two of us! We would die, instantly!"
"But we can't let them take Frodo! Who knows what they will do to the poor thing!!!"
"We will follow them." Said Sam. "My place is by Mr. Frodo. I don't know what I was thinking. But they must understand that. Elrond and the council, and all those Lords and Ladies with all their wisdom."
"I wasn't even meant to be there! I just joined because I was bored! I can't abandon my friend when he needs me! Come, Sam! We will go and reclaim Frodo!" And they sprang after them in the darkness.
They ran as fast as their tired legs would carry them, which wasn't quick enough. Orcs go fast in tunnels, and this one they knew well. The Orcs were travelling quicker than there pursuers, and Mary-Jo and Sam could hear the noise gradually growing more and more distant. Then they heard a rumbling noise, and just as they hurried up, a bump. As far as they could guess, the Orcs had turned and gone into the very opening that Frodo and themselves had tried and found blocked. There was a great stone in the way, but the Orcs had got through somehow. They could hear two voices coming from the other side of the stone. They listened to the Orcs conversation, and to their horror, found out that Frodo wasn't dead.
"What have we done?!" cried Mary-Jo, when the orc-voice grew further away. "He's not dead! And he's been taken by those hideous things!"
"Look!" said Sam, pointing upwards. There was a blank space between the top and low arch of the opening.
"I can't fit through there." Said Mary-Jo. "But you might. Do you think you could do it Sam? Climb through and undo whatever latch or bolt is on the other side?"
"Of course I can! We've got to get to Mr. Frodo!" She lifted him up and he climbed through the gap. Mary-Jo heard the bolt slide back, and she pushed the great stone with all her might. Eventually, they had moved it so it was just wide enough for her to fit through, but it took every ounce of energy in them to do so.
They followed the sound of the voices, which were now quite far, but still audible.
"That's what I'm going to do," said Shagrat in angry tones. "Put him in the top chamber."
"What for?" growled Gorbag. "Haven't you any lock-ups down below?"
"He's going out of harm's way, I tell you." Answered Shagrat. "See? He's precious. I don't trust all my lads and none of yours; nor you neither, when you're mad for fun. He's going where I want him, and where you won't come, if you don't keep civil. Up the top, I say. He'll be safe there."
"Will he?" said Mary-Jo. She seized Sting out of Sam's hand and charged around the corner, only to find that by some trick of the tunnel she had misjudged the distance of the voices. The two orc-figures were still some way ahead. She could see them now, black and squat against the red glare. The passage ran straight at last, up an incline; and at the end, wide open, were great double doors, leading probably to deep chambers far below the high horn of the tower. Already the Orcs with their burden had passed inside. Gorbag and Shagrat were drawing near the gate.
Sam and Mary-Jo heard a burst of hoarse singing, blaring of horns and banging of gongs, a hideous clamour. Gorbag and Shagrat were already on the threshold.
"NO!" cried Sam. "Mr. Frodo!" Mary-Jo yelled and ran forward, but their little voices were drowned in the tumult. No one heeded him. The great doors slammed to. Boom. The bars of iron fell into place inside. Clang. The gate was shut. Mary-Jo hurled herself against the bolted brazen plates and fell senseless to the ground. She was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy.
*****
A/N: I want to apologise for how badly written the first 10 or so chapters are! I re-read it last night, and it was very bad!!!!!! Oops, so sorry! Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
Luvs Elf Crumpet xXx