Author: Trust No One
Category: Angst / Action
Rating: PG13
Summary: A birthday gift turns out to be more than lawyer Mel bargains for when she joins a Virtual Reality experiment only to awaken in Middle-Earth (circa 3017) and find out how it's all gone wrong...Pre LotR
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, except for Mel and Tamara. They belong to Tolkien, to whom I am forever grateful!!
A/N: I'm not making money out of this…and while the 'wake-up in Middle-Earth' theme has been explored before, I hope that my take on it will keep you interested….
Please R&R!
~ 1. A Birthday Gift ~
I never cared much for birthdays. Especially since the few close friends I have turn up at my doorstep whether invited or not. I even tried going away and switching off my phone the one time, but it didn't really work.
'I'm sick of your attitude.' Tamara chided, 'You're a grown woman. Just accept that you have friends that want to share your birthday with you.'
So, for fear of appearing difficult and immature, I let Tamara organize my 30th birthday party. The truth was, I knew better than to argue with her. Tamara was my partner in a small but lucrative law practice and the closest thing I had to a family.
I had recently broken off a four-year relationship and had it not been for my work and Tamara, I would have cut myself off further from the world. Only she and I knew that I still ached over the breakup and that I wasn't quite ready to pick up where I had left off.
She also knew I did not feel much like celebrating. My work calendar was an absolute nightmare and I loathed wasting time in restaurants, indulging, eating and drinking. It was enough when one had to do that for business. I knew the next day I'd be puffy-eyed and queasy from all the rich food and wine. Tamara, however, would not take no for an answer. She reckoned we could handle a weekend away from the office. I agreed, albeit reluctantly.
'You're worse than my mother, you know' I blurted out at her.
My birthday gift was going to be something really unusual, according to Tamara, something that would draw me out of my dormant state. I tried to show interest and secretly hoped Tamara wasn't trying to set me up with someone... but then I thought better of it. She would respect my space. I felt guilty for being unfair to her, even in my thoughts.
We went out that night with a few close friends to my favourite restaurant. I was supposed to get my present afterwards, which in all fairness stirred my curiosity a little.
It was a few minutes after the waiter had brought the desserts that I first began to feel light-headed and my heart started hammering in my chest. Great, I thought, the fish was off... We'd dined dozens of times at the Japanese place, yet none of us had ever been sick.
I realized something was truly wrong when I noticed Tamara's face swimming in and out of focus. Then I realized that it was not my trusted friend and business partner that sat across the table from me. It was a dark, long-haired man, with a craggy and unshaven face, smoking what appeared to be a pipe. He was speaking softly but I could not make out the words. Or was it the language?
This was all wrong. What was happening? I tried calling out for Tamara, but the words formed on my lips gurgled like I was submerged underwater. Suddenly, I was drowning, my mouth and throat filling up with liquid. I panicked. It was all happening so fast I had no time to register where I was. I struggled for breath. Then all became dark and I was aware of voices around me before I sank into unconsciousness.
~~
'Mel'
I swam up.
Cold fingers grasping my arm… a soft touch. Then a voice, a familiar voice.
'Mel'
Warm light filtering through my eyelids…then Tamara's face leaning close to mine. Smiling. Tired, worried looking eyes...
The air smelled fresh, sweet almost and there was a scent that I could not define, almost like crisp, clean linen aired on a cold winter morning.
'What happened…?'
My throat was ragged and my mouth felt terribly dry.
'You were allergic to that fish you ate.' Tamara replied gently.
'Nonsense, I had that fish …so many times before…' I said, big gaps between my words. Talking was strenuous and I was wondering, whatever had taxed my body so?
'Well, I know it's silly, but that's what it was.' Tamara said. I was too tired to argue with her.
'I'm thirsty…'
I found that I could sit up without difficulty, as long as I did it slowly. I drank, gulped rather, the water that Tamara handed me, looking around at the same time. The room was strange for a hospital ward. It was painted an unusual shade of ivory. The ceiling was exceptionally high and arched and it bore strange stone carvings. The headboard of my bed had the same carvings, only in wood. It looked like a deformed tree, it's crown twisted out of shape by a tornado. It looked odd yet original. There was no other furniture in the room except the chair Tamara sat on and what looked like a dresser, again carved in the same manner.
It was beautiful, but bizarre and I could not help feeling overwhelmed and suspicious at the same time.
'Tamara, what is this place?'
A strange smile creased Tamara's features. Her blue eyes seemed electric with a light that I'd never quite noticed before. She had a glow about her that I hadn't seen before either.
'It's your birthday present.' she said softly.
'Is this like a health spa or something?' I asked stupidly, fully aware that after a food allergy that had nearly killed me I should be in hospital, with a drip hanging from my arm. I looked but there was none. What alarmed me was the unrecognizable pastiness of my arms, blue veins visible through semi-transparent skin, no trace of the tan I usually sported from my early morning surfing sessions. It was almost like the arms did not belong to me at all.
'Tamara, I'm suitably freaked out now, okay? Enough of this surprise already! Will you tell me what's happening?'
Wild thoughts raced through my head. Something was wrong.
'How long have I been out exactly?' I asked, dreading an answer that had occurred to me, something like " Three years".
'About seventy hours' she said and I let out a sigh of relief. Still, three days was a long time. Weekend must be over, work…
'Where are we?'
I considered myself a rational, articulate human being and my mind refused to comprehend the next words that came out of Tamara's mouth.
'Remember Middle-Earth?'
~~
The stylish high ceiling collapsed. This was either a twisted dream or that I had already died and long-buried memories were surfacing before my soul left my body once and for all. Tamara couldn't really be there, I was just imagining it.
I must have looked appalled as I slumped back onto the bed because Tamara started explaining right away.
'Oh, no, Mel, not the real Middle-Earth...' Her smile was almost sad, as if she really yearned for all this to be real. That was Tamara all right, escapist and geeky, even at her age.
'It's a Virtual Reality Projection. I thought you'd like it as a birthday present. Jerry suggested it since he's been involved in the development since the beginning and he guaranteed it to be an experience out of this world.'
You can say that again, I mused. Tamara had been right when she promised me an outstanding birthday gift.
'Tamara, this is incredible. How did you ever think of something like this?'
It all seemed so real. I did not really know what to expect from a Virtual Reality projection, I never even knew it existed, but the clarity of image, sound and taste was flawless. I could not fathom how I was in fact strapped to a chair with VR goggles over my eyes.
Jumping off the bed – feeling surprisingly steady on my feet - I ran to the window, pushing the curtain aside. I remember thinking how sheer and natural the translucent material was to the touch… this was too perfect.
The view that I saw from the window was spectacular. The afternoon light trickling through tree branches…the top of other trees on the southward slope, the sun kissing them in a symphony greens, rusts and yellows. A gentle fragrant wind brushed against my cheeks and played with my hair. The air smelled so fresh and clean I felt like I was drawing my first breath ever.
It was inconceivable to think all this was unreal, that it had been created and resided in the memory of a computer. Who could have invented the images that lay before my eyes sprawled in luscious beauty?
Before my mind could summon up the name of the place, Tamara was behind me, whispering.
'Lothlorien. Kingdom of the Elves'
~~
So there you have it! There will be more and it will get a lot worse, hehe!! Let me know if I should go on or not!!!
I'd like to have feedback and suggestions especially since English is not my native language….
