A dark haze clouded over Merry's eyes as he slowly drew them open. He lifted his head to view the area around him but a wave of dizziness swept over him forcing him back to the floor. Though everything was blurry, he could make out a small fire with three figures huddled around it. Groaning, he rubbed his aching nose to feel moisture quickly envelop his fingertips; blood. It dawned on him then where he was and who was with him. The hobbit tried to limp away as quietly as he could but the previous blow had left him disoriented and he soon stumbled over his own feet. The noise only alerted the men behind him. Rough hands grasped his cloak and jerked him backward while uttering the word 'sneak'. A startled yelp echoed in the cave when his back slammed into the stone floor.
"You fool!" Nephril hissed at Merwin. "We can't have him crying out like that! The noise could reach the entrance and draw the attention of guards. I have no intention of being captured, especially knowing what the possible penalty could be. Bring him back here."
Merry cringed as two sets of hands hauled him off the floor by his shoulders and legs. At first the hobbit remained docile, allowing the men to carry him to the fire, until he finally realized where they intended to place him. He whipped around violently in means to free himself but it only caused the two men to squeeze their hands into him, causing an unbearable pressure in his ankles and clavicle. A gasp of defeat came from him as he was lowered to the floor. Nephril eagerly took the hobbit into his lap, spinning Merry around until he was face down in front of the fire with the other two men sitting across while his legs were beside the man's hips. A tremble of dread he couldn't contain coursed over his body when Nephril shoved his cloak aside. The sensation of large fingertips tickled down his spine causing sweat to slide down his brow. Panic began to form within him when the rutted fingers slid under his shirt and grazed over his flesh.
"Hm, such soft lovely skin you have," Nephril murmured. "It will be such a shame when we have sliced you to pieces in the end. Oh well, perhaps I could take a piece with me for a keepsake. I suppose the memory of what I will do to you will also suffice."
"Don't touch me!" Merry cried in revulsion. "You have no right to do this! Let me go at once or you will answer to King Elessar!"
Nephril laughed maliciously at him. "I doubt that Halfling. By the time I'm done with we'll be long gone. Why, I bet your body will never be found in here. But let us get off the morbid subject."
Merry gritted his teeth as the fingers descended to his rear. Unable to bear the thought of what would proceed, Merry attempted to leap to the side to avoid the exploring fingers. Nephril was slightly taken back by the abrupt movement but he was able to latch onto the sides of Merry's trousers and pulled back. The hobbit managed to wriggle free from the man's grasp but in doing so had wiggled out of a portion of his breeches, allowing his milky cheeks to be shown in the firelight. Humiliation crashed over him and he struggled to get the pants back up. His cheeks flushed a deep crimson as he saw all three men eyeing him. With his pants fully on Merry turned onto his back. Nephril grasped the hobbit's feet and dragged him across the floor until he was back in his lap.
"Aw, now why did you have to pull those back up for?" Nephril chuckled. "You look so much better without them." He tugged again on the trousers. "I wonder if you'll be as good as your son was."
Merry's eyes widened at the comment. For a moment he thought his ears were playing tricks on him. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me," Nephril hissed.
"You are lying," Merry muttered. "How could you know that I have a son?"
"No, I'm not," Nephril sadistically grinned. "I've been watching over your friends and loved ones for the past year. You should know hobbits, they love to gossip and gossip travels fast in The Shire, even to sly dogs such as myself. Well, my boys and I left things alone for a bit but when that boy of yours turned twenty, well, we couldn't leave things alone then. He was a sweet little thing wasn't he? We just couldn't resist something as young and tempting as him could we?"
"I should say," Thorine laughed.
"Yup, one very good lay," Merwin sneered.
'No, no, they're lying,' Merry thought. 'They have to be lying.'
"We left him alive though," Nephril said. "Death would have been too good for him. He'll carry the pain of that night with him until the end of his days that is if he doesn't kill himself before then. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if he chose that path. He was pretty messed up when we left him cowering, weeping, and bloodied. I suppose the same fate could go to those foster parents of his. You see, I had Thorine and Merwin hold them down so they could have the pleasure of witnessing me taking their adopted son. The boys and I did it all night long. Just like what we're going to do with you with one exception. We'll do away with you when we're done."
Sadness crept into him. Tears spilled down the side of his cheeks while his chest heaved with racking sobs. He didn't want to believe what the man was saying. He couldn't believe all the misery he had endured in his wretched life was now being passed onto his beloved son; his only son. A cloth was placed around his mouth, bringing him back to reality at the gruff contact. His clenched shut.
Nephril leaned against Merry's ear. "I think I shall go visit The Shire again when the weather is better. I want to play with that delightful son of yours one more time, if he's still around. I'm sure my men will take their fair turn as well. He had such beautiful hazel eyes. Hm, you do not have hazel eyes. Ah, he must have gotten them from your wife. Alas, it is a shame my cousin had to do away with her. I'm sure she was quite the looker too. Oh well, your son will have to do."
The hobbit's eyes flew open and the dark orbs no longer contained sorrow or despair but untamed fury. All the years of anguish had finally taken its toll on the hobbit. Something deep inside his mind had snapped.
Eyelids twitching, body shaking, Merry shot up from the ground landing a powerful kick to Nephril's jaw. The sheer force sent the men toppling over, slightly dazed from the blow. In a frenzy he spun around and charged at the other two men, grabbing anything he could find on the floor that made a feasible weapon. Thorine and Merwin were taken back at Merry's brashness and gazed in shock as he made his second blow, ramming a stone into the side of Merwin's head. The man instantly collapsed on the floor, eyes still open and mouth gapping in distress. Blood was oozing from the wound, creating a stream down the ground. Merry threw the rock to the bloodied rock, containing fragments of flesh and bone, to the floor.
Thorine rose to tackle Merry but the hobbit leapt to the side and rolled toward a small set of daggers. Taking two of them in his hands Merry twisted back around to see Thorine attempting another charge. The hobbit ducked as the man reached for him and slashed at the bottom portion of his ankle. Thorine fell to the floor howling in agony as the blade pierced his tendon. When he gazed back up the last sight he ever took in was Merry descending upon him, piercing the soft tissue around his neck with the cold steel.
The hobbit sensed a smoldering gaze boring into the back of his head. Holding his head high, Merry turned back around until he locked eyes with Nephril. The man was sitting up massaging his aching jaw. His eyes were darting from the hobbit, to Thorine, to Merwin, and to the dagger Merry held that that splayed droplets of blood on the floor.
"You'll pay for this hobbit," Nephril hissed.
Merry gazed back silently at the man, his hands scrunching on the butt end of the daggers. As the man rose the hobbit leaped at him, wildly waving the blades at him. Nephril was able to grab Merry but succeeded in getting his arms cut in the process. The man smashed his full weight into the hobbit, sending him spiraling into the floor. Before he could rise back up Nephril fell upon him, instantly pinning him. Both daggers were batted out of his palms and his wrists were forced above his head. The crushing amount of weight placed on his stomach caused him to gag. He could feel his strength beginning to diminish.
"I must admit you're quite the fighter my little Halfling," Nephril said. "But you only managed to dispose of Thorine and Merwin because they were buffoons. I, on the other hand, am a different story. You'll have to do better then that to get rid of me." The man flexed his hips against Merry's causing the hobbit to gasp. There was hardness pressing on him. "You may bleed to death when I'm through."
"No!" Merry screamed as Nephril began to tear his pants off. "Stop!"
The man only laughed and tangled his hands into the soft locks on his head. He lifted Merry's head and pounded it into the floor. The cave seemed to spin as dizziness once again came over Merry. The man above him was grunting, fingers fumbling in his pants to remove his straining flesh. He almost retched at the feeling of his pants being pulled off and legs being pushed to his chest. A scream broke from him as Nephril began to shove himself inside the unwilling body. The pain was intolerable for Merry; he couldn't bear it. Merry's head was shaking back and forth at the throbbing agony spreading throughout his lower body.
He was no longer in the cave but in a dark forest being dragged away. Behind him he could see his dear cousin trying to reach him. With a cry Pippin leaped into the air and rammed into one of the orc's feet. The orc howled in shock and toppled to the ground, losing his hold on Merry. The hobbit tried to scramble to his feet but another orc from behind swept his feet from underneath, sending him crashing to the ground.
"I warned you, you filthy maggot!" it spat.
Merry let out a strangled cry as the orc uncoiled its whip and struck Pippin on the back. Merry fought relentlessly to free himself but he could not escape the crushing hold. He was taken deep into the woods and flung on the wet ground. Claws were all over his body, groping and tearing. White-hot pain entered his body as his softest tissues were sliced open and no matter how he shifted his body or what angle he was turned there was no escaping it. Over and over. His bottom was torn; his mouth was torn; but worst of all, his heart torn.
Merry's eyes opened as the burning in his lower body intensified. Nephril was pounding into him, still trying to fully impale the hobbit. He gritted his teeth as the man violated him. He could hear crunching and it dawned upon him the noise was from his breaking bones within his pelvis. The driving force of Nephril's thrusts were making his fragile bones crack.
Nephril groaned. "So nice and tight but your son was far more superior."
Merry yowled and collided the front of his skull with Nephril's. The man snarled at the pain and placed his hand on his Merry's head trying to keep another blow from hitting. With his back on the floor Merry gazed around for something, anything that would rid himself of man. The daggers were too far from his grasp but he saw an object far better. His hand crept near the fire as Nephril lowered his head, extending his tongue to lap at the hobbit's neck.
"Just what are you planning on doing with a burning twig my little whore?" Nephril snickered. "Are you planning on burning me to death?"
"No, how could I possibly do that?" Merry admitted, moaning in pain. "But I do plan on doing this."
By the time he caught sight of the burning twig it was too late for him to move. The hobbit drove it as far as he could into the man's eye, puncturing him. Nephril shrieked and fell back rolling around the floor. Merry sprang to his feet and cursed at the sharp agony in his bottom. He toppled over from the pain and wept into the floor. He removed the gag and breathed heavily. Placing one of his hands near his ravaged opening he felt a cool liquid flow onto his hand. Twisting around, he found his pants and pulled them back on knowing that the blood was all ready seeping through the material.
Though in great misery from his wounds, the hobbit crawled away from the fire toward the opening of the cave. Glancing behind he found that Nephril was lying motionless. Satisfied he continued his journey into the darkness until he came into plain view of light of day. Finally, he was out of the cave and in the woods. Once more, he rose from the ground but fell yet again from the weakness in his legs.
Merry threw his head back while letting out a pained wail. Something sharp had pierced his lower back. Gazing behind he saw Nephril's ragged form hovering over him holding the butt end of a sword. His eye was shut but he could make a piece of the twig still lodged and showing over the eyelid. The man drew out the sword from Merry's body eliciting yet another strangled sob. Merry looked away as Nephril rose his sword and drove it into his back once more. Darkness was coming over him. The sword was taken out and he could feel the tip pressing on the nape of his neck. The blow never came. Nephril gave a startled cry and fell to the ground alongside Merry. A different sword had been driven into him.
Merry gazed up at his savior and smiled weakly.
More to follow.