Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then it's not mine. Characters belong to the amazing J.R.R. Tolkien, and some of the ideas portrayed probably came from other fanfics and stories I've read.
Notes: ** is the thoughts of our main character Ellen.
Chapter One
Ellen scrolled down the screen. Her hazel eyes tried to focus on the web page displayed on her PC notebook. After two hours worth of work researching for an online class, anyone would have been going cross-eyed. She had finished the paper and mailed it to her professor, but there was still one thing she wanted to do before she went to bed.
Closing yet another pop-up advertisement, she sighed impatiently. *How many pop-ups were there that began with the word "SAVE!" ?*
Yet another pop-up appeared. She was ready to delete it when she suddenly realized it was an I.M. from her friend Conrad. She'd known him for a few years, but only recently had she begun to talk to him - pretty regularly. He was a nice guy and fun to hang out with on occasion. Chatting with him, she waited for the site to load.
Thankfully, her computer was on top of things and downloaded the site she wanted in a matter of seconds. "Lord of the Rings - Fanfiction" the title bar read. Ellen loved the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. She'd read The Hobbit in ninth grade and had been hooked ever since. It didn't take her long to discover the Lord of the Rings trilogy. After that followed The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. She found it simply amazing that anyone could have created such a specific history of an entirely fictional world and the people who lived in it. Tolkien hadn't missed a detail in his life's works.
Ellen had been ecstatic to hear that they were filming movies based on Tolkien's trilogy: Lord of the Rings. She saw the first two films of the three movie series in the theatre, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the third. She loved how so much of the movie plots stuck to the story plot, but they had left out some important parts. All in all, the books were better, but it was so neat to watch them on the screen. Conrad really hadn't been too impressed with the first movie, and had refused to see the second, even though Ellen had convinced him there was more action involved. Conrad wasn't into reading, and he didn't like Lord of the Rings, but that didn't affect Ellen's opinions about either. She loved both, the literature and the movies.
In the movies, the interpretation of the scenery was amazing, simply stunning. Rivendell had looked exactly like she had imagined it. The mountains were great and towering, and the forests were thick and mysterious.
The casting directors had done well with the characters too. Wonderful actors and actresses were chosen for the parts. They all seemed to click with their rolls. The elves were tall, willowy and pale. The men who played the wizards were very convincing. The hobbits were adorable and innocent, and the mortals… well they behaved much like mortals.
Ellen read down the list of fanfics and stories that had been added to the site that day. There were a few she had been following, the authors had managed to grab her attention with different viewpoints, and new ideas. But lately, more and more of the stories emerged where some girl had managed to fall into Middle earth. It was an epidemic. There was nothing wrong with the "Mary-Sues" and other similar works, many of them Ellen found to be humorous and funny. But some of them proved pointless, they were the products of authors just trying to work themselves into the Fellowship, and get hooked up with that elf character, whom Ellen had always considered to be rather negative in the books. Yes, she had to admit, his character was pretty admirable in the movie, but that's all he was: a character.
Still chatting with Conrad, she spied a fic that looked promising, and clicked on it. Oops. Looks like the fellowship got sucked into some poor girls house. Interesting. Skipping onto the next chapter, she read on as the Hobbits began reeking havoc, the humans became glued to the television, wondering at the new "devilry" - the dwarf was facing off with the family dog, and the elf was using up all the hot water. After a few chapters and a few giggles, Ellen closed the page and saying goodbye to Conrad, she signed off. Turning off her PC, she packed it away and turned off her bedroom light.
It had started to rain. She could hear it drumming on the porch next to her room. Laying in the dark, Ellen thought about her day. It hadn't been too bad. It had been the last day of finals, and she had summer vacation to look forward to. Conrad had promised they would get together sometime to hang out. That would be fun, if she could find the time. Between work, babysitting, and getting ready for college the next fall, she wasn't too sure how much free time she would have. But it was all part of growing up, and it had to be done. College was going to be awesome, but she was going to miss her friends. Especially Conrad. There was a low rumble in the distance. Sounded like the weather channel had been right for once. They had been calling for thunder showers.
Rolling over in bed, Ellen realized how obvious it was to everyone that she like him. Except to him it seemed. But it wasn't worth starting something. She was going away, and being close to him would only make it harder to say goodbye. Getting into a relationship was the last thing she needed right now. *Enough about him already!*
Realizing she was never going to get to sleep while she thought about him, Ellen tried to focus on something else. The fanfic she had read was witty, but it wasn't one of the better pieces of literature she had read. And she hadn't been too surprised at the predictability of the story. And the elf had constantly been hitting on the author. Out of all the fanfics she had read, Ellen found the elf was most often the one who got "lucky". Aragorn was often left alone because he was taken: at least he had Arwen to claim him, but then she was most often bashed in the fanfics for being ditsy. Arwen didn't make too many appearances in the books. In fact, it was a well known fact among the fanfics that she had stolen an important part of Glorfindel (the elf who saved Frodo from the Wraiths in the book). No one seemed to want the dwarf Gimli, but he was often used quite successfully as a comical character. And the hobbits were hobbits: Merry and Pippin always wanting food, food, food. Poor Frodo was paranoid about the ring, and Sam was paranoid about Frodo. Lightning flashed outside her bedroom window, illuminating her room for a split second. The rain grew heavier, as another low rumble echoed through the night.
Yawning, Ellen closed her eyes, wondering how people could be so creative, to throw all these different situations at the fellowship characters. *That must be what happens when someone has time to spare. Must be nice.* Yawning again, her thoughts drifted back to Conrad, while her body slowly gave into sleep. All was dark and peaceful with the steady sound of rain when suddenly, there was a flash of lightning from the outside, so close that it made the house shake.
Sitting up, Ellen saw the electric had gone out. The hall light had been on before, she had seen the glow under her doorway. Now it was pitch black. She reached over and opened the bed stand drawer to check for her flashlight. It wasn't there. Remembering she had used it earlier to look in the attic, she realized she must have left it somewhere on her dresser. She sighed, peeled off her covers, and swung her feet out of bed. Bumping into a few scattered things on the floor, Ellen made her way to the dresser. Grappling around in the dark, she failed to find it. Another sigh. *Cha.* After she had come down from the attic, she had placed the flash light on her dresser, then she had set it on her bed stand, behind the lamp, thinking she would replace it in the drawer later. Shaking her head at her poor thinking, she stepped carefully in the dark toward her bed.
There was a crash outside, louder than a train wreck, and then another flash of lighting struck nearby, shaking the house. Ellen felt a jolt, and then perceived a falling sensation. She braced for impact with the floor, but it did not come. She blacked out long before she had time to hit the floor.
