They all walked on in silence, away from the mouth of the river. Finally,
they reached a little shelter. They entered into it.
Inside was another man. He had jet-black hair and eyes, and his clothing was much like the first man's. "Who are they, Maedhros?" he asked.
"We're not from around here," Liza said.
"They have babies?" the second man asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Don't they look rather young...?" Max's face flushed. "They're my youngest brothers," he said.
"What are your names?" the first man, obviously Maedhros, asked. They all introduced themselves, and the second man introduced himself as Maglor, Maedhros's younger brother. Mike suddenly wobbled and his eyes clouded over. Maglor caught him and set him down on the floor. "I'm sorry we do not have chairs," he said.
"It's OK," Mike said, breathing heavily. At Maglor's confusion, he said, "I mean it's all right."
Max put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Mike, are you OK?" he asked.
"Yes," Mike said, looking his brother in the eye. "But you're not. You're shaking, your breath is short, and your eyes look watery."
Max snapped straight up. He had given Aaron and Adam to Chris to hold, and they suddenly started crying. Chris cradled them with Tyler's help, a little bewildered. "I'm just tired," Max said in a whisper. "That's all."
"You're the worst liar I ever knew," Mike said. "Even CARL could lie better!"
Carl smiled, then realized what his brother had said. "Hey!" he shouted. Max managed a little smile. "No, I'm really just tired," he insisted.
"You must all sleep," Maglor spoke up. They finally got settled down, but most of them really were too sleepy to know what their bed was. Max finally found himself drifting off when Floyd rolled into his space. He forcefully pushed the blond-haired boy back. Lying back down, he glanced over at Liza.
He had never seen her asleep. When she was awake, she was always on her guard, lively, active, understanding, funny, serious... Etcetera, etcetera. But when she was asleep... It had caught Max off guard. To him, she looked more vulnerable, maybe even sad. Without thinking, he reached forward and touched her cheek. Realizing what he was doing, he drew his hand back in a flash, blushing. If Liza had woken up, she would've killed him... "Max!" She would've screamed, "You're touching me in my sleep?!"
"Liza, it was just your cheek!" He'd scream. "Nothing personal!"
He lay on his back. Why had he done it? Then again, why'd he feel guilty about it? Maybe... Now that he was getting older, he was thinking differently about Liza. As in-
Max blushed furiously and was glad no one else was awake. How could he think that?! That maybe he was starting to like Liza as MORE than a friend? I should be ashamed, really ashamed, he thought. He sighed and willed himself to sleep, still blushing.
-_-_-_-_-
"Maa-aa-aax... You're all RED. Are you OK? You sick?"
Max opened his eyes tiredly, only to see Liza's face hovering above his. "What?" he snapped. "Me? Sick? Red? No! OK? Yes!" He jumped up. Liza gave him a Look- an are-you-sure-you're-OK-'cause-you're-sure-acting-like-an- idiot Look.
They got ready to depart. They assured Maglor and Maedhros they didn't need a guide back to their home. "Are you sure?" Maedhros asked. "Evil things prowl round this area, especially recently."
"We'll be all right," Max said. "Thank you for letting us stay the night." And they were off.
They were a way away from the brother's place when they were ambushed. All was silent one minute; the next disgusting creatures were leaping from every direction, wielding strange and cruel looking weapons. Everyone but Max escaped the demon's clutches.
"MAX!!" Liza screamed as he was carried away.
"Run! Go!" he yelled back. "Get back to Maedhros & Maglor's. Just RUN!"
They ran back, distraught. The brothers were shocked to see them return, and immediately set out after hearing what happened to Max. "You should have heeded my words," Maedhros said. "Your friend may not be alive when you next see him."
-_-_-_-_-_-
Max felt someone give a shove from behind, and the force of it caused him to fall to his knees. His hands were tied behind his back and the bonds were cruelly tight, cutting into his skin. One of the disgusting beings gave him a sharp kick in his side. "Get up!" It spat.
Max gave it a glare that could freeze water on a scorching July day. He struggled to his feet and moved on.
His clothes were now very dirty-he had already fallen three times. The second time he scraped his face on a rock and it began to bleed. His legs were tired-- he was tired, period. But he realized early on that he couldn't show fear, or that he was tired, upset, anything of that nature. He had to keep calm.
It was hours until finally Max saw three great mountain-like things wreathed in a black smoke. He took a breath and started coughing hard. All the while he was being pushed along as he tried coughing into his shoulder. His face stung where the rock had cut it, and the smoke irritated his eyes to the point where tears filled them to overflowing.
Soon the group came to tall, black, grim gates. They opened before. One of the creatures fell to the pitted earth for no apparent reason, and some who Max had thought were his comrades jumped up and began plunging their weapons into him. Max turned away quickly, feeling his throat constrict and his stomach churn.
He was led under the earth, into a dark, dank, and, yes, DREARY place where thousands of the ugly creatures and wolves with razor sharp teeth lurked. It seemed they walked for hours but finally he was thrown down on the floor of a large chamber. "What's this?" a scratchy voice asked.
"Prisoner," another voice answered.
Max sat up and glared hatefully at the creatures. "Looks like it's a tough one," one of the things chuckled. "Did it fall along the way?"
"Tripped."
"Didn't faint? Well, well. But it said their names...?"
"Yeh, so it must have somethin' to do with 'em," one of the things said, kicking Max.
The second guffawed. "Well, if it does," he sneered. "We'll get it out of it."
-_-_-_-_-_-
Meanwhile, everyone else was slowly following the footprints left by Max and his captors. "From the way you've described them," Maedhros was saying to Liza, "it sounds like your friend was captured by orcs."
"'Orcs'?" Liza repeated.
Maedhros nodded. "What they want him for, I do not know."
"He did yell out for us to go back to your place," Floyd said worridly. "By name."
Maedhros stiffened slightly. "They may try to get something out of him... I'm not sure what information they'd want, but-"
"What?!" Liza half-shrieked. "'Get something out of him'?" Maedhros nodded slowly. "They have their ways."
"Like...?"
Maedhros looked at her with his piercing dark eyes, as if to say "you KNOW what." Nonetheless he answered her: "Torture." Then he looked away.
Floyd placed a reassuring hand on Liza's shoulder. She turned to face him, tears starting in her eyes. "What if he dies?" she whispered shakily. Floyd blinked. "He won't," he said, faking confidence. "Max is tough. I'm sure he'll live." He smiled a small smile. Liza wiped her eyes.
"I'm such a wimp..." She said.
Floyd shook his head. "No, you are not," he said sharply.
Liza smiled bitterly. "Max might think so," she said. "Or at least jokingly. 'Liza, you're so wimpy,' he'd say. Then I'd hit him outside his head." She smiled. "Yeah, the jerk better be alive when we get there, or else." She laughed at Floyd's mildly surprised face. "Yeah, we call each other names a lot."
Floyd smiled wanly, then faced forwards again. "Come on, let's catch up," he said.
-_-_-_-_-_-
The creature advanced on Max. He was tied to a board to keep him from trying to get away. He maintained a steely glare, even as the creature began to finger his means of torture. "Now," it snarled, "What should I use?" It fingered a long whip, small daggers, some things Max didn't recognize. The thing grinned cruelly. "What to use, what to use?"
It picked up what looked like a whip with thorns on it. Max swallowed. He told himself it didn't look too bad-then he told himself that was a lie. Looking at the thorns, he could see blood dried black. Some were completely covered in the stuff. He turned his head away.
"Scared, are we?" the torturer chuckled. "Well... Maybe we'll get the information we want out of him after all." He wrapped the whip around Max's left arm and tightened it. Immediately, it cut through his clothes and into his skin. He turned his head away as the blood came, and tried to block out the pain.
-_-_-_-_-_-
"There they are!"
The "search party" as Liza coined it, could now see a desolate landscape before them with three peaks towering above. The air was almost unbreathable-every breath taken resulted in a coughing fit. And everyone was drained and tired. "We gotta stop," Liza panted.
"No!" Floyd insisted, shaking his head.
Maedhros looked at the boy. "She's right," he said. "We should stop."
"But-"
"We can't help your friend if we're tired, can we?" Maedhros snapped a little harshly. He turned and sighed. "Sorry," he muttered.
Later, that night, they all huddled behind a pile of rocks, dirt, and dead plants, and tried to sleep. All the while Floyd was forming a plan in his mind. Once everyone was finally asleep, he slipped away and made his way for the peaks.
-_-_-_-_-
Max squeezed his eyes shut as hot tears began building up in them. "Tell us!" his torturer snapped again. "What do you know?"
"Nothing!" Max snapped. His arm was on fire with pain. He couldn't block it out. He felt his blood running down his arm as the thorns bit into his flesh. Nothing could have prepared him for this. The torturer leaned in close, close enough for Max to smell his foul breath.
"Do I have to up the method?" he hissed, spitting on Max's face while he grabbed a regular whip. "Or will you tell us what we want to know? You know those accursed Noldor? Speak!"
Max swallowed and glared at the torturer's ugly face. His ears had sharp things sticking through them, and he had rings pierced to his nose and two on his mouth. His skin was a sickly color that Max couldn't determine in the dim light. It had a sick touch as well. His eyes were yellow and his teeth were sharp, as were his nails, which began to dig into Max's skin. His face has strange tattoos on it. He wore mostly armor and chain mail. Whatever cloth he had on was tattered and frayed. And he was dirty. His ugliness matched his cruelty. "I," Max finally breathed, "know nothing about what you speak. I know no one in this land. I just arrived here."
The torturer lashed his whip at Max's face. "Damn you," he swore. "Tell me what I need to know!" He lashed out at Max again.
This time, the tears overflowed in Max's eyes and he couldn't hold them in. "Stop," he pleaded. Trying to sound defiant, but failing miserably. The torturer's eyes gleamed with a cold, cruel light. "Stop?" he mocked. "Why should I?"
He came in close and put the whip around his victim's neck. "Now tell me! Or you die." He tightened the whip. At the same time he reached for a knife. "Well?"
Through his pain and anguish, Max refused to give in. "No, no, no," he mumbled. "I'll die before I tell you anything."
"So you do know something!" The torturer tightened the whip and set the knife to the arm that wasn't injured yet. It began to dig into Max's flesh.
The tears kept coming. "I know nothing. Just let me go."
The knife dug deeper and the whip tightened. I'm going to die, Max thought. I'm going to die and I'll never see anyone again. Not Liza, not Floyd, not mum, not dad. He shut his eyes tightly. They were going to take his life before they took anything else. What did they want? His head reeled with pain, confusion, and certainty of death. In a sudden rage, the torturer pulled back and lashed Max with the whip continuously. "TELL ME!" he bellowed.
The door slammed open and all that could be heard was Max's soft sobbing. Then the torturer snapped, "What is it?"
Another foul voice answered. "The Lord Melkor wishes that this one be hung from Thangorodrim like the other cursed prisoner."
"The Thangorodrim treatment? Again?" the torturer groaned. "Oh well." He unstrapped Max. "Come on," he snapped, pushing the bruised boy towards the door.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Floyd stopped for a while, breathing heavily, to check his progress. He was almost to the three towering peaks. Wearily, he sat down. He wanted to rest badly, but he urged himself on. He was fearful of what awaited him, but also fearful of what would happen if he didn't get there. So he stood up and kept going.
It wasn't long till he reached the foot of the middle peak. He looked up, seeing the dirty sky through jagged precipices and sharp edges. On some parts the side was smooth, but even those probably had nicks. Then he saw something that surprised him. Off to his right, there was a path leading up the mountain. He thought he heard sounds, and they seemed to be coming from within the mountain, but he didn't stop to try to find an entrance to the inside. He began running up, following the path before him.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Come on!"
Max stumbled up the path. His torturer was kicking him on. Another of the ugly creatures brought up the rear. They were walking a path up a tall, tall mountain-most likely to push me off, he thought. They had already been walking for hours already. Max was tired and still in horrible pain, but the tears were gone. He had already begun to collect himself, or at least try.
It went on for another four solid hours. Finally, they came to a precipice and the creature in the rear carefully worked his way around Max and the other. Looking at the precipice, Max could see what looked like a clamp that was faceted onto the rock-with the skeleton of a hand in it. His right hand went dead and he bit his lip. Not again, he thought unknowingly.
The thing worked at the clamp for a whole hour-the torturer always yelling at him to either hurry it up or he'd push him down Thangorodrim and hang up "his victim" himself. The name seemed familiar to Max, but not quite. It was as if he had heard it long ago. Finally, the creature opened the clamp. "Why'd it take so long?" the torturer demanded, spitting.
"The Lord Melkor fashioned it himself. Very intricate. He made it so no one could escape it." It opened the clamp and the skeleton hand fell, clattering down the mountain. The torturer pushed "his victim" forward, causing him to pitch forward, almost falling down the mountain with the skeleton. "Get up!" it spat. When Max did not, it reached down and pulled him up violently. "I told you GET UP," it spat, its face close to Max's. Then it pushed him again, only this time towards the other creature.
Just as the other was reaching and grabbing his arm, there came a great screech from the sky. A huge black shadow swooped down and knocked the now- panicking torturer over the edge. Its body bounced down the steep slope, and Max turned his head away, only to see the others horrified face.
"An Eagle!" it screeched. It began to run, but the Eagle swooped down on him as well. Still clutching Max's arm, it began to fall, screaming. Max panicked for a second, but its grip loosed and it fell, finally gone. Max waited for his turn.
It never came. Instead, the Eagle looked him straight in the eye and swooped down lower, low enough for the fifteen-year-old to climb onto its back. Slowly, uncertainly, he did so. Once he was on, the Eagle flew off.
The first thing Max wanted to do was sleep. He closed his eyes, until the Eagle suddenly stopped. His eyes snapped open, he sat up, and the first thing he saw was Floyd standing on the path, then climbing onto the Eagle's back. "Floyd!" he said, his voice cracking. Tears sprang unwanted to his eyes.
"Max!" Floyd exclaimed. It had been hours since either of them had heard the other's voice, or seen the other. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"I'm OK," Max said. "But, but... This bird..."
His friend smiled a little sheepishly. "I broke off from the others to come find me. They were going to stop for the night. But I had a gut feeling that we shouldn't wait, so..." He shrugged.
"If they wake up, they'll be worried," Max pointed out. "When you come back, they'll get on your case." He didn't want to use the word "kill": not even in a joking way. He himself had almost been killed. "But, this bird... Those things back there called it an Eagle."
Floyd absentmindedly patted the great Eagle. "I...thought I'd never get to you in time. I knew you had to be on the mountain, so I was climbing, but it was so long and so hard. I thought I was too late. I think I said something. I don't remember. Then he"-Floyd nodded towards the Eagle- "suddenly flew down. I don't know why, but I thought he could help. I told him, and I could've sworn he said he had seen someone who fit my description of you a way ways up."
"He talks?" Max asked.
"Well... Not really, I don't think. It's like his eyes speak his mind." Floyd sighed, then continued. "Anyway, he suddenly flew right off-I thought he'd left me to climb the rest of the way. That's why I was so surprised when he came sailing back down, and with you."
It wasn't soon before the Eagle set down a little way away from where the others were. They were already awake, and when Floyd and Max ran up-Max limped-most of them ran up to meet them.
Liza was in tears, which was a first for her. She threw her arms around Max and sobbed. "We thought you were dead!" she sobbed. "Oh, look at you... What did they DO to you?!" She touched his cheek softly, another gesture that surprised Max. "Don't touch," he said. "It still hurts."
"Sorry," Liza sniffled. Agnes ran up, bawling about people who she thought were dead and how her brother went up and left. Floyd went to try to calm her down as Max's brothers crowded around him. Caleb was the first to notice the Eagle. "The..." He muttered. Then he turned around and yelled, "Hey, there's a big bird over here!"
Maedhros ran up. "Shh, don't yell," he said. "The enemy may-" He stopped, staring at the Eagle. "Thorondor," he said under his breath in a choking way.
The Eagle seemed to nod its head just slightly. Then he spread his wings and took to the sky. In a minute, he was gone.
It was Maglor that broke the silence. "We must get you all back to your home," he said. "Your mothers and fathers must be terribly worried." He turned, then stopped. "But... Where do you live?" For the first time, he gave their clothes a serious look at. All of them, except for Agnes, wore pants and sweatshirts or a hoodie that were baggy. Agnes wore flares made for girls her age and a small pink hoodie. He muttered something under his breath in another tongue.
Liza had regained her normal composure. "We aren't from anywhere around here," she said. Her voice was strong and steady again, not like only a minute ago. "We'll find our way back."
"Without getting attacked?" Maglor countered.
"We can try," Liza snapped back.
"Calm down," Maedhros said, stepping in. "I'm afraid my brother is right- we don't need to repeat the previous events. With at least one escort, you should get home safely enough."
Max nodded absentmindedly. "We should be going then," he murmured.
Maglor went back to where his brother and he were staying, while Maedhros guarded the group. His left hand rested readily on his sword and he kept a close eye on Max, who seemed fatigued. Max was getting more tired, and there were times when his vision blurred or things became dark. He ached, and some of his wounds still bled.
Finally, they came to a tunnel of trees much like the one the group had passed through when they first entered what seemed like a strange, dream- like world. "I'll leave you here," Maedhros said, and left.
Eagerly, the group began to jog through the tunnel. Soon, they saw light ahead and were beginning to run, when a large tree root suddenly became visible and they all tripped.
For them all, there was a prolonged sensation of falling and a sharp pain on one side, then, all went dark.
Inside was another man. He had jet-black hair and eyes, and his clothing was much like the first man's. "Who are they, Maedhros?" he asked.
"We're not from around here," Liza said.
"They have babies?" the second man asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Don't they look rather young...?" Max's face flushed. "They're my youngest brothers," he said.
"What are your names?" the first man, obviously Maedhros, asked. They all introduced themselves, and the second man introduced himself as Maglor, Maedhros's younger brother. Mike suddenly wobbled and his eyes clouded over. Maglor caught him and set him down on the floor. "I'm sorry we do not have chairs," he said.
"It's OK," Mike said, breathing heavily. At Maglor's confusion, he said, "I mean it's all right."
Max put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Mike, are you OK?" he asked.
"Yes," Mike said, looking his brother in the eye. "But you're not. You're shaking, your breath is short, and your eyes look watery."
Max snapped straight up. He had given Aaron and Adam to Chris to hold, and they suddenly started crying. Chris cradled them with Tyler's help, a little bewildered. "I'm just tired," Max said in a whisper. "That's all."
"You're the worst liar I ever knew," Mike said. "Even CARL could lie better!"
Carl smiled, then realized what his brother had said. "Hey!" he shouted. Max managed a little smile. "No, I'm really just tired," he insisted.
"You must all sleep," Maglor spoke up. They finally got settled down, but most of them really were too sleepy to know what their bed was. Max finally found himself drifting off when Floyd rolled into his space. He forcefully pushed the blond-haired boy back. Lying back down, he glanced over at Liza.
He had never seen her asleep. When she was awake, she was always on her guard, lively, active, understanding, funny, serious... Etcetera, etcetera. But when she was asleep... It had caught Max off guard. To him, she looked more vulnerable, maybe even sad. Without thinking, he reached forward and touched her cheek. Realizing what he was doing, he drew his hand back in a flash, blushing. If Liza had woken up, she would've killed him... "Max!" She would've screamed, "You're touching me in my sleep?!"
"Liza, it was just your cheek!" He'd scream. "Nothing personal!"
He lay on his back. Why had he done it? Then again, why'd he feel guilty about it? Maybe... Now that he was getting older, he was thinking differently about Liza. As in-
Max blushed furiously and was glad no one else was awake. How could he think that?! That maybe he was starting to like Liza as MORE than a friend? I should be ashamed, really ashamed, he thought. He sighed and willed himself to sleep, still blushing.
-_-_-_-_-
"Maa-aa-aax... You're all RED. Are you OK? You sick?"
Max opened his eyes tiredly, only to see Liza's face hovering above his. "What?" he snapped. "Me? Sick? Red? No! OK? Yes!" He jumped up. Liza gave him a Look- an are-you-sure-you're-OK-'cause-you're-sure-acting-like-an- idiot Look.
They got ready to depart. They assured Maglor and Maedhros they didn't need a guide back to their home. "Are you sure?" Maedhros asked. "Evil things prowl round this area, especially recently."
"We'll be all right," Max said. "Thank you for letting us stay the night." And they were off.
They were a way away from the brother's place when they were ambushed. All was silent one minute; the next disgusting creatures were leaping from every direction, wielding strange and cruel looking weapons. Everyone but Max escaped the demon's clutches.
"MAX!!" Liza screamed as he was carried away.
"Run! Go!" he yelled back. "Get back to Maedhros & Maglor's. Just RUN!"
They ran back, distraught. The brothers were shocked to see them return, and immediately set out after hearing what happened to Max. "You should have heeded my words," Maedhros said. "Your friend may not be alive when you next see him."
-_-_-_-_-_-
Max felt someone give a shove from behind, and the force of it caused him to fall to his knees. His hands were tied behind his back and the bonds were cruelly tight, cutting into his skin. One of the disgusting beings gave him a sharp kick in his side. "Get up!" It spat.
Max gave it a glare that could freeze water on a scorching July day. He struggled to his feet and moved on.
His clothes were now very dirty-he had already fallen three times. The second time he scraped his face on a rock and it began to bleed. His legs were tired-- he was tired, period. But he realized early on that he couldn't show fear, or that he was tired, upset, anything of that nature. He had to keep calm.
It was hours until finally Max saw three great mountain-like things wreathed in a black smoke. He took a breath and started coughing hard. All the while he was being pushed along as he tried coughing into his shoulder. His face stung where the rock had cut it, and the smoke irritated his eyes to the point where tears filled them to overflowing.
Soon the group came to tall, black, grim gates. They opened before. One of the creatures fell to the pitted earth for no apparent reason, and some who Max had thought were his comrades jumped up and began plunging their weapons into him. Max turned away quickly, feeling his throat constrict and his stomach churn.
He was led under the earth, into a dark, dank, and, yes, DREARY place where thousands of the ugly creatures and wolves with razor sharp teeth lurked. It seemed they walked for hours but finally he was thrown down on the floor of a large chamber. "What's this?" a scratchy voice asked.
"Prisoner," another voice answered.
Max sat up and glared hatefully at the creatures. "Looks like it's a tough one," one of the things chuckled. "Did it fall along the way?"
"Tripped."
"Didn't faint? Well, well. But it said their names...?"
"Yeh, so it must have somethin' to do with 'em," one of the things said, kicking Max.
The second guffawed. "Well, if it does," he sneered. "We'll get it out of it."
-_-_-_-_-_-
Meanwhile, everyone else was slowly following the footprints left by Max and his captors. "From the way you've described them," Maedhros was saying to Liza, "it sounds like your friend was captured by orcs."
"'Orcs'?" Liza repeated.
Maedhros nodded. "What they want him for, I do not know."
"He did yell out for us to go back to your place," Floyd said worridly. "By name."
Maedhros stiffened slightly. "They may try to get something out of him... I'm not sure what information they'd want, but-"
"What?!" Liza half-shrieked. "'Get something out of him'?" Maedhros nodded slowly. "They have their ways."
"Like...?"
Maedhros looked at her with his piercing dark eyes, as if to say "you KNOW what." Nonetheless he answered her: "Torture." Then he looked away.
Floyd placed a reassuring hand on Liza's shoulder. She turned to face him, tears starting in her eyes. "What if he dies?" she whispered shakily. Floyd blinked. "He won't," he said, faking confidence. "Max is tough. I'm sure he'll live." He smiled a small smile. Liza wiped her eyes.
"I'm such a wimp..." She said.
Floyd shook his head. "No, you are not," he said sharply.
Liza smiled bitterly. "Max might think so," she said. "Or at least jokingly. 'Liza, you're so wimpy,' he'd say. Then I'd hit him outside his head." She smiled. "Yeah, the jerk better be alive when we get there, or else." She laughed at Floyd's mildly surprised face. "Yeah, we call each other names a lot."
Floyd smiled wanly, then faced forwards again. "Come on, let's catch up," he said.
-_-_-_-_-_-
The creature advanced on Max. He was tied to a board to keep him from trying to get away. He maintained a steely glare, even as the creature began to finger his means of torture. "Now," it snarled, "What should I use?" It fingered a long whip, small daggers, some things Max didn't recognize. The thing grinned cruelly. "What to use, what to use?"
It picked up what looked like a whip with thorns on it. Max swallowed. He told himself it didn't look too bad-then he told himself that was a lie. Looking at the thorns, he could see blood dried black. Some were completely covered in the stuff. He turned his head away.
"Scared, are we?" the torturer chuckled. "Well... Maybe we'll get the information we want out of him after all." He wrapped the whip around Max's left arm and tightened it. Immediately, it cut through his clothes and into his skin. He turned his head away as the blood came, and tried to block out the pain.
-_-_-_-_-_-
"There they are!"
The "search party" as Liza coined it, could now see a desolate landscape before them with three peaks towering above. The air was almost unbreathable-every breath taken resulted in a coughing fit. And everyone was drained and tired. "We gotta stop," Liza panted.
"No!" Floyd insisted, shaking his head.
Maedhros looked at the boy. "She's right," he said. "We should stop."
"But-"
"We can't help your friend if we're tired, can we?" Maedhros snapped a little harshly. He turned and sighed. "Sorry," he muttered.
Later, that night, they all huddled behind a pile of rocks, dirt, and dead plants, and tried to sleep. All the while Floyd was forming a plan in his mind. Once everyone was finally asleep, he slipped away and made his way for the peaks.
-_-_-_-_-
Max squeezed his eyes shut as hot tears began building up in them. "Tell us!" his torturer snapped again. "What do you know?"
"Nothing!" Max snapped. His arm was on fire with pain. He couldn't block it out. He felt his blood running down his arm as the thorns bit into his flesh. Nothing could have prepared him for this. The torturer leaned in close, close enough for Max to smell his foul breath.
"Do I have to up the method?" he hissed, spitting on Max's face while he grabbed a regular whip. "Or will you tell us what we want to know? You know those accursed Noldor? Speak!"
Max swallowed and glared at the torturer's ugly face. His ears had sharp things sticking through them, and he had rings pierced to his nose and two on his mouth. His skin was a sickly color that Max couldn't determine in the dim light. It had a sick touch as well. His eyes were yellow and his teeth were sharp, as were his nails, which began to dig into Max's skin. His face has strange tattoos on it. He wore mostly armor and chain mail. Whatever cloth he had on was tattered and frayed. And he was dirty. His ugliness matched his cruelty. "I," Max finally breathed, "know nothing about what you speak. I know no one in this land. I just arrived here."
The torturer lashed his whip at Max's face. "Damn you," he swore. "Tell me what I need to know!" He lashed out at Max again.
This time, the tears overflowed in Max's eyes and he couldn't hold them in. "Stop," he pleaded. Trying to sound defiant, but failing miserably. The torturer's eyes gleamed with a cold, cruel light. "Stop?" he mocked. "Why should I?"
He came in close and put the whip around his victim's neck. "Now tell me! Or you die." He tightened the whip. At the same time he reached for a knife. "Well?"
Through his pain and anguish, Max refused to give in. "No, no, no," he mumbled. "I'll die before I tell you anything."
"So you do know something!" The torturer tightened the whip and set the knife to the arm that wasn't injured yet. It began to dig into Max's flesh.
The tears kept coming. "I know nothing. Just let me go."
The knife dug deeper and the whip tightened. I'm going to die, Max thought. I'm going to die and I'll never see anyone again. Not Liza, not Floyd, not mum, not dad. He shut his eyes tightly. They were going to take his life before they took anything else. What did they want? His head reeled with pain, confusion, and certainty of death. In a sudden rage, the torturer pulled back and lashed Max with the whip continuously. "TELL ME!" he bellowed.
The door slammed open and all that could be heard was Max's soft sobbing. Then the torturer snapped, "What is it?"
Another foul voice answered. "The Lord Melkor wishes that this one be hung from Thangorodrim like the other cursed prisoner."
"The Thangorodrim treatment? Again?" the torturer groaned. "Oh well." He unstrapped Max. "Come on," he snapped, pushing the bruised boy towards the door.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Floyd stopped for a while, breathing heavily, to check his progress. He was almost to the three towering peaks. Wearily, he sat down. He wanted to rest badly, but he urged himself on. He was fearful of what awaited him, but also fearful of what would happen if he didn't get there. So he stood up and kept going.
It wasn't long till he reached the foot of the middle peak. He looked up, seeing the dirty sky through jagged precipices and sharp edges. On some parts the side was smooth, but even those probably had nicks. Then he saw something that surprised him. Off to his right, there was a path leading up the mountain. He thought he heard sounds, and they seemed to be coming from within the mountain, but he didn't stop to try to find an entrance to the inside. He began running up, following the path before him.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Come on!"
Max stumbled up the path. His torturer was kicking him on. Another of the ugly creatures brought up the rear. They were walking a path up a tall, tall mountain-most likely to push me off, he thought. They had already been walking for hours already. Max was tired and still in horrible pain, but the tears were gone. He had already begun to collect himself, or at least try.
It went on for another four solid hours. Finally, they came to a precipice and the creature in the rear carefully worked his way around Max and the other. Looking at the precipice, Max could see what looked like a clamp that was faceted onto the rock-with the skeleton of a hand in it. His right hand went dead and he bit his lip. Not again, he thought unknowingly.
The thing worked at the clamp for a whole hour-the torturer always yelling at him to either hurry it up or he'd push him down Thangorodrim and hang up "his victim" himself. The name seemed familiar to Max, but not quite. It was as if he had heard it long ago. Finally, the creature opened the clamp. "Why'd it take so long?" the torturer demanded, spitting.
"The Lord Melkor fashioned it himself. Very intricate. He made it so no one could escape it." It opened the clamp and the skeleton hand fell, clattering down the mountain. The torturer pushed "his victim" forward, causing him to pitch forward, almost falling down the mountain with the skeleton. "Get up!" it spat. When Max did not, it reached down and pulled him up violently. "I told you GET UP," it spat, its face close to Max's. Then it pushed him again, only this time towards the other creature.
Just as the other was reaching and grabbing his arm, there came a great screech from the sky. A huge black shadow swooped down and knocked the now- panicking torturer over the edge. Its body bounced down the steep slope, and Max turned his head away, only to see the others horrified face.
"An Eagle!" it screeched. It began to run, but the Eagle swooped down on him as well. Still clutching Max's arm, it began to fall, screaming. Max panicked for a second, but its grip loosed and it fell, finally gone. Max waited for his turn.
It never came. Instead, the Eagle looked him straight in the eye and swooped down lower, low enough for the fifteen-year-old to climb onto its back. Slowly, uncertainly, he did so. Once he was on, the Eagle flew off.
The first thing Max wanted to do was sleep. He closed his eyes, until the Eagle suddenly stopped. His eyes snapped open, he sat up, and the first thing he saw was Floyd standing on the path, then climbing onto the Eagle's back. "Floyd!" he said, his voice cracking. Tears sprang unwanted to his eyes.
"Max!" Floyd exclaimed. It had been hours since either of them had heard the other's voice, or seen the other. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"I'm OK," Max said. "But, but... This bird..."
His friend smiled a little sheepishly. "I broke off from the others to come find me. They were going to stop for the night. But I had a gut feeling that we shouldn't wait, so..." He shrugged.
"If they wake up, they'll be worried," Max pointed out. "When you come back, they'll get on your case." He didn't want to use the word "kill": not even in a joking way. He himself had almost been killed. "But, this bird... Those things back there called it an Eagle."
Floyd absentmindedly patted the great Eagle. "I...thought I'd never get to you in time. I knew you had to be on the mountain, so I was climbing, but it was so long and so hard. I thought I was too late. I think I said something. I don't remember. Then he"-Floyd nodded towards the Eagle- "suddenly flew down. I don't know why, but I thought he could help. I told him, and I could've sworn he said he had seen someone who fit my description of you a way ways up."
"He talks?" Max asked.
"Well... Not really, I don't think. It's like his eyes speak his mind." Floyd sighed, then continued. "Anyway, he suddenly flew right off-I thought he'd left me to climb the rest of the way. That's why I was so surprised when he came sailing back down, and with you."
It wasn't soon before the Eagle set down a little way away from where the others were. They were already awake, and when Floyd and Max ran up-Max limped-most of them ran up to meet them.
Liza was in tears, which was a first for her. She threw her arms around Max and sobbed. "We thought you were dead!" she sobbed. "Oh, look at you... What did they DO to you?!" She touched his cheek softly, another gesture that surprised Max. "Don't touch," he said. "It still hurts."
"Sorry," Liza sniffled. Agnes ran up, bawling about people who she thought were dead and how her brother went up and left. Floyd went to try to calm her down as Max's brothers crowded around him. Caleb was the first to notice the Eagle. "The..." He muttered. Then he turned around and yelled, "Hey, there's a big bird over here!"
Maedhros ran up. "Shh, don't yell," he said. "The enemy may-" He stopped, staring at the Eagle. "Thorondor," he said under his breath in a choking way.
The Eagle seemed to nod its head just slightly. Then he spread his wings and took to the sky. In a minute, he was gone.
It was Maglor that broke the silence. "We must get you all back to your home," he said. "Your mothers and fathers must be terribly worried." He turned, then stopped. "But... Where do you live?" For the first time, he gave their clothes a serious look at. All of them, except for Agnes, wore pants and sweatshirts or a hoodie that were baggy. Agnes wore flares made for girls her age and a small pink hoodie. He muttered something under his breath in another tongue.
Liza had regained her normal composure. "We aren't from anywhere around here," she said. Her voice was strong and steady again, not like only a minute ago. "We'll find our way back."
"Without getting attacked?" Maglor countered.
"We can try," Liza snapped back.
"Calm down," Maedhros said, stepping in. "I'm afraid my brother is right- we don't need to repeat the previous events. With at least one escort, you should get home safely enough."
Max nodded absentmindedly. "We should be going then," he murmured.
Maglor went back to where his brother and he were staying, while Maedhros guarded the group. His left hand rested readily on his sword and he kept a close eye on Max, who seemed fatigued. Max was getting more tired, and there were times when his vision blurred or things became dark. He ached, and some of his wounds still bled.
Finally, they came to a tunnel of trees much like the one the group had passed through when they first entered what seemed like a strange, dream- like world. "I'll leave you here," Maedhros said, and left.
Eagerly, the group began to jog through the tunnel. Soon, they saw light ahead and were beginning to run, when a large tree root suddenly became visible and they all tripped.
For them all, there was a prolonged sensation of falling and a sharp pain on one side, then, all went dark.