Chapter one: Down.
"I'm telling you, there is a massive hole in the ground somewhere around here." Sam stomped a few times on the dirt, as if to break through it while I giggled and sat down on a fallen tree.
"You're an idiot." I replied while shaking my head.
"No, I'm not, I'm not kidding Ada, it's around here somewhere." For a while, we sat in silence, the only sounds were nature and Sam's stomping, the earth sounded firm though, there was no hole. "Fine, we'll keep going for a bit longer."
"Sam just give up, there's nothing here to find." Nevertheless, we walked on for another half hour before Sam felt the area was familiar. He searched just as thoroughly before crying out in victory.
"I told you there was a hole in the ground!" He called and I frowned, getting up and dusting down my camo pants, hefting up my backpack as I joined him at the base of a great elm tree; laughing, we knelt down and looked down into the black emptiness.
"This is some Alice in Wonderland shit Sam." I whispered, meeting his eye with a grin. "I have the desire to drop something in and see how far it goes." He nodded excitedly and scrounged up a rock, holding it over the chasm; we held our breath as he dropped it. The air whistled around the rock as it fell, we both heard the stone hit the ground after about ten seconds, so there wasn't much of a drop. "Do we have a torch?" Sam nodded and handed me his phone, I used the flash light feature to look around the hole.
"It looks like there's a tunnel opening at the bottom because the light doesn't reach into it." Sam observed and I nodded. "Maybe we should go get some food, come back tomorrow and crawl through the tunnel."
"I don't know, what if there's a bear in there or some kind of racoon?"
We argued all the way back to the house, all night we discussed the idea of going down the hole, not knowing how far the tunnel went or where it would come out. In the end, it seemed as though we were agreed, it was worth the risk so long as we were well prepared.
When morning came, Sam and I packed our backpacks, dressed for cold weather since caves and tunnels could get awfully cold sometimes; it was nearly eight when we left, a note for Sam's mother left pinned to the door. That way, if we got stuck or hurt, she'd know where we'd gone. Walking briskly, Sam took the lead and by time the clock struck ten, we were there.
"Alright, I'll go first." Sam said, turning his flashlight on and using it to look into the hole, making sure nothing had crawled in there overnight. He began by dropping in his backpack, clenching his light between his teeth while putting one foot over the edge of the hole. Slowly, Sam eased himself down onto his belly, sliding backwards until nothing but the tips of his fingers were visible; a few seconds passed before he let go and I heard the thump as he landed. "Come on, it's not as deep as we thought."
Taking a deep breath, I dropped my bag down to him and followed his entrance method, easing myself down until my fingers gripped the hole. Closing my eyes, I let go and felt the air beneath me, only for a few seconds until the scent of dirt and damp was surrounding me.
"That wasn't so bad." I agreed before shouldering my bag and casting my light around, Sam had been right, there was a tunnel, tall enough that we didn't have to crawl at the least, we had to stoop. Sam took the lead, stepping lightly, on the walls, I could see trickles of water and reached out, finding that the dirt was giving way to slimy, cold stone and that the floor was beginning to swim in water. "Sam, the walls and floor, their wet and they're not dirt anymore." He nodded and began to pant, under our feet the tunnel sloped upwards and to the left. Many twists were ahead of us and we spent almost two hours by my watch just going back and forth, trying to find an end to the maze.
At long last, the tunnel turned downwards and on the right, we could make out a ray of sunlight on the grey stone wall. Speeding up, we made for the exit, excitement renewed; after another half hour, we were out in the open air, amongst a ruin, swimming in water. As we stepped into the open, a dozen men in armour froze and stared at us, it took a few breaths but eventually they woke up and came to their senses, drawing swords on the pair of strangers.
"Who goes there?" One of them called and Sam stepped forwards, holding his hands up in surrender.
"We were just exploring a tunnel but we didn't know it would come out here." He replied carefully and the man did not lower his weapon. "In fact, we're a bit unsure of where this is."
"You are in the Kingdom of Gondor, in the city of Osgiliath. Tell us your names."
"My name is Sam, this is my cousin Ada, we didn't mean to cause you any bother." The men shifted and then the man in charge leaned over to one companion, who nodded and left us.
"You will wait here and be questioned by Captain Boromir or the Citadel." Sam nodded as I looked over my shoulder, noticing that behind us, the tunnel opening was gone and in its place sat a crumbling wall surrounded by rubble. Tugging on his shirt, I pointed it out to Sam, who groaned and cursed under his breath.
"What is this?" A new voice called, Sam stood a little straighter as a tall, broad man in shining armour approached, a younger man in leather armour following, a bow slung over his back and a sword at his side. "Who are you?"
"The boy said their names are Sam and Ada, unusual names Captain." The soldier explained, hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.
"Indeed," the younger man stepped closer and frowned, "where did you come from, you cannot be from Gondor, or Rohan…nor any land in Middle Earth." Swallowing, Sam looked down at me before shrugging.
"I told your man, we found a hole in the woods and followed the tunnel at the bottom of it, we've been walking for nearly three hours just trying to find a way out." Sam said gruffly and the two men exchanged a sceptical look.
"I will ask you again, where did you come from?"
"As you pointed out, we're not exactly from this…Middle Earth." I interjected, ignoring Sam's look of warning by folding my arms across my chest and scowling at the pair as they took notice of me.
"Forgive us, lady, but we must be sure you are not spies from Mordor, scouting our defences and trying to find a weakness." The armoured man said more gently and I raised an eyebrow, still keeping my arms folded.
"We shall have you taken to Minas Tirith; no one will disturb you until we return."