Ch2
Another boring lesson for Bob, Ned and Fred. Bob and Ned were sitting through a fascinating lesson of chemistry, learning all about the periodic table and atoms, things that Fred couldn't possibly understand. She was in English, one of her favourite lessons, learning all about the English language, in other words, poems. This to Fred was the most boring part of the course. She envied all the people sitting at home not doing very much. She would even have liked to be sitting in chemistry with her friends; at least they'd have something to talk about. But no, she was sat in English with Mark talking to her about some unrelated subject. Half the time she wasn't listening. She used a technique her and Bob had invented when listening to Ned talking. Smile and nod. It worked perfectly as Mark thought he was being listened to whilst Fred could think about The Lord of the Rings and think up plots to persuade her parents to let her go and see it one last time.
**
In the chemistry lesson Bob and Ned were talking, as usual about The Lord of the Rings and Ned was spurting out her usual line of questions for Bob to answer. Every now and then they would look up at the despairing teacher and nod as if they understood perfectly what was going on. They really wished Fred could be there as well it was much more fun, plus she could do her trademark jumping. She was well known for that.
Suddenly, mid question Ned started staring off into space. This was no surprise to Bob who had seen it happen so many times that she was used to it. Great, now she had no one to talk to at all. She sighed and started to actually pay attention to the lesson, every now and then looking over to Ned to see if she had awakened from her trance. Bob thought about using the pom poms against her but that punishment was reserved only for when she was really angry. Sometimes they had a mind of their own and even Bob couldn't control them. Ned and Fred had often said that they were the most dangerous weapons in the world.
Bob began to stare out of the window and imagine Elijah walking across the tennis court but instead she came up with the image of Frodo and Sam, she knew she had a good imagination but this was a little too clear, it was as if they were really there. But that was impossible; there was no way that that would ever happen. This was just her imagination going into overdrive. For a moment she feared she was turning into Ned but she quickly dissuaded this theory when Frodo didn't drop down dead.
Bob blinked to see if the image would disappear but it lingered for a while. The two figures that were making Bob increasingly uneasy suddenly dropped to the floor; Bob couldn't see why so she assumed that the images were just a fragment of her imagination. She breathed a sigh of relief; she was not turning into Ned after all. Just as Bob was about to get back to her work the two images appeared again. Bob gasped as the two Hobbits started walking towards the classroom she was in. Bob couldn't believe she was seeing this, surely this wasn't possible. Frodo and Sam couldn't be in Salisbury. Although sometimes Bob wished they were real in her heart she knew that they weren't. She glanced over to Ned to see if she had noticed anything that had been going on but like always she was looking blankly at the table as if she were in a trance but now she had a smile on her face. Bob knew that this meant she was thinking up ways to hurt Bob in her next fanfiction. Bob really hated it when she did that.
Bob tapped Ned's arm, at first there was no response but then Ned seemed to come out of her thinking state, she quickly shouted out some random word she had learned in chemistry. The whole class looked up and laughed at Ned knowing what she was like, this was not the first time Ned had one of her outbursts and by now the class were used to it.
Bob tried to get Ned to listen to her, it was a hard task because Ned had a habit of not listening to anything Bob or Fred said, this was certainly not the time for Ned to ignore Bob. She was becoming increasingly excited at the fact that her favourite fictional characters were looking into her science window. This was the stuff that Bob often dreamed of. And she really did, she often thought of Frodo and with the help of Fred they could conjure up a really vivid image of him walking across the car park. Fred and Bob were psychic and could often tell what each other were thinking. Sometimes Ned wished that she had the same powers but that certainly wouldn't fit in with the theory that Bob had recently devised to explain their bizarre connection. Her theory was that they were reincarnated twins. Bob really believed this but Fred was doubtful.
Ned suddenly came back to sense, well as sensible as Ned could get anyway. Bob was speaking so quickly so that Ned could hardly understand what she was saying. Ned looked completely bewildered as to what Bob was talking about. The pom poms were now swinging wildly Bob's shoulders and Ned feared that they might hit her.
Bob was still wildly trying to attract Ned's attention and she was beginning to get really angry. She had to use all her mental strength to control the pom poms. Ned started paying attention when Bob said something about fanfiction, hobbits and school. Ned was desperately trying to understand what she was saying but Bob was beginning to get hysterical.
Finally Bob calmed down a bit so Ned could finally understand what she was saying although it made little sense. She heard something about Frodo and Sam being in school. Ned was desperately trying to work it out in the fear that Bob might hurt her. There was certainly a Sam in the school but she didn't remember anyone called Frodo. In fact, the only person with the name Frodo was in The Lord of the Rings. But he was a fictional character and there was no way he could be there. Was there?
Bob and Ned got up and ran out of the classroom. The teacher, who had been keeping track of the odd conversation didn't bother shouting out or running after them.
**
In the ever-boring English lesson the teacher was droning on about discourse and lexis. Fred was trying to concentrate on the lesson but at the same time thinking up ways to kill Ned. Ever since year eleven they knew that Ned had been secretly taping their conversations and keeping them for future reference.
Fred was shocked when she had a sudden urge to see what Ned and Bob were doing. It was not the first time she had a feeling that something was happening that she should know about. Fred was not like Bob and Ned she couldn't just walk out of her lesson so she sat there and tried to push the feeling to the back of her mind, she found this almost impossible though.
At the end of the lesson she practically ran out and tried to find her two friends. By now she was sure something was different especially when she got to the corner and found nothing there. She couldn't understand where they were. They always met at the wall. Why wouldn't Bob wait for her? Fred had a feeling that Ned had something to do with it; she had a habit of distracting Bob.
Just as Fred was about to give up and go off to find them Ned's head poked around the doorway and she tried to attract Fred's attention it wasn't working very well. Fred was so busy trying to work out what was going on that she didn't even notice Ned until she shouted at her.
"Come quick, we've found something." Ned's voice was very quiet, something that was quite rare and didn't happen very often.
Ned led Fred into the classroom on the top floor of Wyvern. For a minute Fred thought all this was just another one of Ned's practical jokes.
The classroom they entered was very dark in fact it looked like they had sealed off the whole room. All the blinds were shut and the door and windows locked. They would be in so much trouble if the headteacher were to come in and see this. Fred was beginning to get quite worried at this point, she was used to Ned doing strange things but not Bob. She was always the sensible one of the group.
Inside the room there were two shapes that resembled people only they were smaller than you would expect in a high school. This sight made Fred very nervous, she didn't want to know what Ned had done this time. This was always the way things happened, Fred was always the last to know if anything was going on.
Fred moved towards the two figures slowly not wanting to interrupt anything that was going on. There were low and quiet whispers as though the two people were afraid of being caught. The voices got even quieter as Fred came further into the room.
She searched the room with her eyes, she was expecting something to jump out of the dark and scare her but nothing happened, this worried Fred even more.
Suddenly a thought came into her head, maybe it was Bob and Mark, he was the smallest person in the school and he was male. That must be it she thought proud at being able to work it out. The problem was her explanation didn't make sense, why would Bob and Mark be sat in a dark classroom together?
Fred decided to turn the light on and get a better look of whoever was back there. She reached over to the light switch, she was worried about what she would find but at the same time excited about what was hidden.
She flicked the switch on and bright light filled the room to reveal what lay inside. It was such a shock that Fred couldn't even speak, she simply fell to the floor and darkness over took her.
**
The manager of Marks and Spencer was still chasing Gimli. The man had called the police after Gimli had destroyed a range of women's clothing worth over two hundred pounds. The fuming manager was quickly catching up with Gimli who was now not far in front of him. The Dwarf was trying to get away but he knew he was no good over long distances. He was tiring quickly and he hadn't even reached the end of the road yet. He knew that he couldn't go on much further. He hoped that the enraged manager would stop chasing him soon.
Gimli really couldn't understand what the man was so concerned about anyway. It wasn't like he was trying to destroy anything important; they were just strange materials that had odd looking patterns on them. No Dwarf would ever be seen wearing things like that. He glanced back at the manager and tried to keep running at the same time. This didn't work and it only succeeded in slowing him down more. He knew he was no match for a fully grown clothes salesman. There was no way he could outrun him.
With this in mind Gimli stopped suddenly and drew his axe. If he couldn't run at least he could fight. The manager stopped when he saw the gleaming axe. He froze not being able to move but wishing he could run away.
Across the street a young girl was crying at the sight of the crime taking place. This triggered something inside the manager and he suddenly leapt forward and jumped onto the Dwarf and grabbed the axe.
Men in strange uniforms grabbed him whilst another took away his precious axe, there was nothing he could do about it for the hands that were holding him were strong.
The police car drove off with Gimli the Dwarf in the back and a distraught manager shouting behind it about the damaged goods. Gimli was taken to yet another strange building where he was stripped of him own clothes and given pieces of material to wear. He was then taken to a room from which there appeared to be no escape. The bars on the windows and the door were the only way he could see outside the cell.
**
Back in the school Ned and Bob were trying to bring Fred back to consciousness. She had fainted when she had seen the two hobbits sat on the table. They were now crowded into a corner not really sure what to do and afraid that someone might find them and hurt them. The lights were now off and the doors and windows locked again.
Finally Fred woke up, much to the relief of the two students who were beginning to get a little worried about her. She immediately sat up and stared at the corner where Frodo and Sam were sitting. She still couldn't believe her eyes, this just wasn't possible. Bob already knew what Fred was thinking.
"They are real, honestly and they are who you think they are." Bob was still keeping her eye on Fred because she was very pale and looked slightly confused.
Fred walked over to the corner and looked down at the two figures that were now gently shaking with fright. She smiled at them and bent down so she could see them better but she didn't want to frighten them any more.
"It's okay, you're safe here." She reassured them. This seemed to work and they stopped shaking a bit.
Fred went over to Bob and Ned. She looked back once again at the corner just in case she was dreaming. Suddenly the school bell went and it was so loud that that the Hobbits cowered into the corner with fright. Bob ran over to them and tried to tell them that it was all right.
" Are you out of your mind?" Fred asked in a hushed voice. "Was this your idea?"
"Of course not!" Ned exclaimed trying to plead her case with Fred. "Bob saw them when we were in chemistry, we couldn't just leave them out there so we brought them in here. There aren't any lessons in here so I thought this would be a good place to keep them safe."
"Well they can't stay here too long. Someone's bound to come in here sooner or later. You know that. Besides they have no where to sleep and nothing to eat."
"I know that." Ned interrupted a little annoyed at Fred's negative statements.
"Are you sure they're real?" Inquired Fred still a little suspicious. "I mean are they really Frodo and Sam?" Fred said these last two words in a hushed voice for no particular reason.
"I think so. They seem to know everything about the Shire and the War of the Ring. I think Frodo'd carrying the Ring."
"Ned, you know all those things too and you also have a ring but that doesn't make you Frodo does it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me what happened in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves." Fred said.
"Well, it all started when."
"You see? Anyone could find out about that stuff."
"Their friends are here too. In Salisbury I mean. The entire Fellowship Fred. Can you imagine? Just roaming about in the streets, nothing to hold them back."
The two friends looked at each other in a concerned silence. They thought about the Fellowship in a new and frightening place. They had weapons as well. That would certainly not good in the middle of Salisbury.
Fred was looking even more bewildered now. She wondered if anyone had noticed they were missing yet. They had to get back to their lessons soon, they couldn't afford to be caught. Fred knew they had to help the Hobbits and Ned was thinking the same thing.
None of them had any idea what to do. Ned turned to the voices in her head hoping they might give her inspiration. Nothing.
After a few more minutes thought Ned shook her head towards the other two. This was the first time the voices had let her down and for a moment she was worried. Ned sighed with relief when the voices started arguing again and sighed.
Fred was getting even more impatient and shoved past Ned to show her anger. This made Ned jump, she didn't like it when Fred got angry. Fred knew she would have to think of something. A sudden flash of inspiration flashed through her mind and she decided to follow it. She knew what they had to do. She asked Bob to call her older sister and tell her to come and pick them up.
Now all they had to do was get out of the school without being spotted. All the students and teachers were in lessons so it wasn't too much of a problem. They had a plan and now all they had to do was follow it. That part wouldn't be quite so easy.
Another boring lesson for Bob, Ned and Fred. Bob and Ned were sitting through a fascinating lesson of chemistry, learning all about the periodic table and atoms, things that Fred couldn't possibly understand. She was in English, one of her favourite lessons, learning all about the English language, in other words, poems. This to Fred was the most boring part of the course. She envied all the people sitting at home not doing very much. She would even have liked to be sitting in chemistry with her friends; at least they'd have something to talk about. But no, she was sat in English with Mark talking to her about some unrelated subject. Half the time she wasn't listening. She used a technique her and Bob had invented when listening to Ned talking. Smile and nod. It worked perfectly as Mark thought he was being listened to whilst Fred could think about The Lord of the Rings and think up plots to persuade her parents to let her go and see it one last time.
**
In the chemistry lesson Bob and Ned were talking, as usual about The Lord of the Rings and Ned was spurting out her usual line of questions for Bob to answer. Every now and then they would look up at the despairing teacher and nod as if they understood perfectly what was going on. They really wished Fred could be there as well it was much more fun, plus she could do her trademark jumping. She was well known for that.
Suddenly, mid question Ned started staring off into space. This was no surprise to Bob who had seen it happen so many times that she was used to it. Great, now she had no one to talk to at all. She sighed and started to actually pay attention to the lesson, every now and then looking over to Ned to see if she had awakened from her trance. Bob thought about using the pom poms against her but that punishment was reserved only for when she was really angry. Sometimes they had a mind of their own and even Bob couldn't control them. Ned and Fred had often said that they were the most dangerous weapons in the world.
Bob began to stare out of the window and imagine Elijah walking across the tennis court but instead she came up with the image of Frodo and Sam, she knew she had a good imagination but this was a little too clear, it was as if they were really there. But that was impossible; there was no way that that would ever happen. This was just her imagination going into overdrive. For a moment she feared she was turning into Ned but she quickly dissuaded this theory when Frodo didn't drop down dead.
Bob blinked to see if the image would disappear but it lingered for a while. The two figures that were making Bob increasingly uneasy suddenly dropped to the floor; Bob couldn't see why so she assumed that the images were just a fragment of her imagination. She breathed a sigh of relief; she was not turning into Ned after all. Just as Bob was about to get back to her work the two images appeared again. Bob gasped as the two Hobbits started walking towards the classroom she was in. Bob couldn't believe she was seeing this, surely this wasn't possible. Frodo and Sam couldn't be in Salisbury. Although sometimes Bob wished they were real in her heart she knew that they weren't. She glanced over to Ned to see if she had noticed anything that had been going on but like always she was looking blankly at the table as if she were in a trance but now she had a smile on her face. Bob knew that this meant she was thinking up ways to hurt Bob in her next fanfiction. Bob really hated it when she did that.
Bob tapped Ned's arm, at first there was no response but then Ned seemed to come out of her thinking state, she quickly shouted out some random word she had learned in chemistry. The whole class looked up and laughed at Ned knowing what she was like, this was not the first time Ned had one of her outbursts and by now the class were used to it.
Bob tried to get Ned to listen to her, it was a hard task because Ned had a habit of not listening to anything Bob or Fred said, this was certainly not the time for Ned to ignore Bob. She was becoming increasingly excited at the fact that her favourite fictional characters were looking into her science window. This was the stuff that Bob often dreamed of. And she really did, she often thought of Frodo and with the help of Fred they could conjure up a really vivid image of him walking across the car park. Fred and Bob were psychic and could often tell what each other were thinking. Sometimes Ned wished that she had the same powers but that certainly wouldn't fit in with the theory that Bob had recently devised to explain their bizarre connection. Her theory was that they were reincarnated twins. Bob really believed this but Fred was doubtful.
Ned suddenly came back to sense, well as sensible as Ned could get anyway. Bob was speaking so quickly so that Ned could hardly understand what she was saying. Ned looked completely bewildered as to what Bob was talking about. The pom poms were now swinging wildly Bob's shoulders and Ned feared that they might hit her.
Bob was still wildly trying to attract Ned's attention and she was beginning to get really angry. She had to use all her mental strength to control the pom poms. Ned started paying attention when Bob said something about fanfiction, hobbits and school. Ned was desperately trying to understand what she was saying but Bob was beginning to get hysterical.
Finally Bob calmed down a bit so Ned could finally understand what she was saying although it made little sense. She heard something about Frodo and Sam being in school. Ned was desperately trying to work it out in the fear that Bob might hurt her. There was certainly a Sam in the school but she didn't remember anyone called Frodo. In fact, the only person with the name Frodo was in The Lord of the Rings. But he was a fictional character and there was no way he could be there. Was there?
Bob and Ned got up and ran out of the classroom. The teacher, who had been keeping track of the odd conversation didn't bother shouting out or running after them.
**
In the ever-boring English lesson the teacher was droning on about discourse and lexis. Fred was trying to concentrate on the lesson but at the same time thinking up ways to kill Ned. Ever since year eleven they knew that Ned had been secretly taping their conversations and keeping them for future reference.
Fred was shocked when she had a sudden urge to see what Ned and Bob were doing. It was not the first time she had a feeling that something was happening that she should know about. Fred was not like Bob and Ned she couldn't just walk out of her lesson so she sat there and tried to push the feeling to the back of her mind, she found this almost impossible though.
At the end of the lesson she practically ran out and tried to find her two friends. By now she was sure something was different especially when she got to the corner and found nothing there. She couldn't understand where they were. They always met at the wall. Why wouldn't Bob wait for her? Fred had a feeling that Ned had something to do with it; she had a habit of distracting Bob.
Just as Fred was about to give up and go off to find them Ned's head poked around the doorway and she tried to attract Fred's attention it wasn't working very well. Fred was so busy trying to work out what was going on that she didn't even notice Ned until she shouted at her.
"Come quick, we've found something." Ned's voice was very quiet, something that was quite rare and didn't happen very often.
Ned led Fred into the classroom on the top floor of Wyvern. For a minute Fred thought all this was just another one of Ned's practical jokes.
The classroom they entered was very dark in fact it looked like they had sealed off the whole room. All the blinds were shut and the door and windows locked. They would be in so much trouble if the headteacher were to come in and see this. Fred was beginning to get quite worried at this point, she was used to Ned doing strange things but not Bob. She was always the sensible one of the group.
Inside the room there were two shapes that resembled people only they were smaller than you would expect in a high school. This sight made Fred very nervous, she didn't want to know what Ned had done this time. This was always the way things happened, Fred was always the last to know if anything was going on.
Fred moved towards the two figures slowly not wanting to interrupt anything that was going on. There were low and quiet whispers as though the two people were afraid of being caught. The voices got even quieter as Fred came further into the room.
She searched the room with her eyes, she was expecting something to jump out of the dark and scare her but nothing happened, this worried Fred even more.
Suddenly a thought came into her head, maybe it was Bob and Mark, he was the smallest person in the school and he was male. That must be it she thought proud at being able to work it out. The problem was her explanation didn't make sense, why would Bob and Mark be sat in a dark classroom together?
Fred decided to turn the light on and get a better look of whoever was back there. She reached over to the light switch, she was worried about what she would find but at the same time excited about what was hidden.
She flicked the switch on and bright light filled the room to reveal what lay inside. It was such a shock that Fred couldn't even speak, she simply fell to the floor and darkness over took her.
**
The manager of Marks and Spencer was still chasing Gimli. The man had called the police after Gimli had destroyed a range of women's clothing worth over two hundred pounds. The fuming manager was quickly catching up with Gimli who was now not far in front of him. The Dwarf was trying to get away but he knew he was no good over long distances. He was tiring quickly and he hadn't even reached the end of the road yet. He knew that he couldn't go on much further. He hoped that the enraged manager would stop chasing him soon.
Gimli really couldn't understand what the man was so concerned about anyway. It wasn't like he was trying to destroy anything important; they were just strange materials that had odd looking patterns on them. No Dwarf would ever be seen wearing things like that. He glanced back at the manager and tried to keep running at the same time. This didn't work and it only succeeded in slowing him down more. He knew he was no match for a fully grown clothes salesman. There was no way he could outrun him.
With this in mind Gimli stopped suddenly and drew his axe. If he couldn't run at least he could fight. The manager stopped when he saw the gleaming axe. He froze not being able to move but wishing he could run away.
Across the street a young girl was crying at the sight of the crime taking place. This triggered something inside the manager and he suddenly leapt forward and jumped onto the Dwarf and grabbed the axe.
Men in strange uniforms grabbed him whilst another took away his precious axe, there was nothing he could do about it for the hands that were holding him were strong.
The police car drove off with Gimli the Dwarf in the back and a distraught manager shouting behind it about the damaged goods. Gimli was taken to yet another strange building where he was stripped of him own clothes and given pieces of material to wear. He was then taken to a room from which there appeared to be no escape. The bars on the windows and the door were the only way he could see outside the cell.
**
Back in the school Ned and Bob were trying to bring Fred back to consciousness. She had fainted when she had seen the two hobbits sat on the table. They were now crowded into a corner not really sure what to do and afraid that someone might find them and hurt them. The lights were now off and the doors and windows locked again.
Finally Fred woke up, much to the relief of the two students who were beginning to get a little worried about her. She immediately sat up and stared at the corner where Frodo and Sam were sitting. She still couldn't believe her eyes, this just wasn't possible. Bob already knew what Fred was thinking.
"They are real, honestly and they are who you think they are." Bob was still keeping her eye on Fred because she was very pale and looked slightly confused.
Fred walked over to the corner and looked down at the two figures that were now gently shaking with fright. She smiled at them and bent down so she could see them better but she didn't want to frighten them any more.
"It's okay, you're safe here." She reassured them. This seemed to work and they stopped shaking a bit.
Fred went over to Bob and Ned. She looked back once again at the corner just in case she was dreaming. Suddenly the school bell went and it was so loud that that the Hobbits cowered into the corner with fright. Bob ran over to them and tried to tell them that it was all right.
" Are you out of your mind?" Fred asked in a hushed voice. "Was this your idea?"
"Of course not!" Ned exclaimed trying to plead her case with Fred. "Bob saw them when we were in chemistry, we couldn't just leave them out there so we brought them in here. There aren't any lessons in here so I thought this would be a good place to keep them safe."
"Well they can't stay here too long. Someone's bound to come in here sooner or later. You know that. Besides they have no where to sleep and nothing to eat."
"I know that." Ned interrupted a little annoyed at Fred's negative statements.
"Are you sure they're real?" Inquired Fred still a little suspicious. "I mean are they really Frodo and Sam?" Fred said these last two words in a hushed voice for no particular reason.
"I think so. They seem to know everything about the Shire and the War of the Ring. I think Frodo'd carrying the Ring."
"Ned, you know all those things too and you also have a ring but that doesn't make you Frodo does it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me what happened in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves." Fred said.
"Well, it all started when."
"You see? Anyone could find out about that stuff."
"Their friends are here too. In Salisbury I mean. The entire Fellowship Fred. Can you imagine? Just roaming about in the streets, nothing to hold them back."
The two friends looked at each other in a concerned silence. They thought about the Fellowship in a new and frightening place. They had weapons as well. That would certainly not good in the middle of Salisbury.
Fred was looking even more bewildered now. She wondered if anyone had noticed they were missing yet. They had to get back to their lessons soon, they couldn't afford to be caught. Fred knew they had to help the Hobbits and Ned was thinking the same thing.
None of them had any idea what to do. Ned turned to the voices in her head hoping they might give her inspiration. Nothing.
After a few more minutes thought Ned shook her head towards the other two. This was the first time the voices had let her down and for a moment she was worried. Ned sighed with relief when the voices started arguing again and sighed.
Fred was getting even more impatient and shoved past Ned to show her anger. This made Ned jump, she didn't like it when Fred got angry. Fred knew she would have to think of something. A sudden flash of inspiration flashed through her mind and she decided to follow it. She knew what they had to do. She asked Bob to call her older sister and tell her to come and pick them up.
Now all they had to do was get out of the school without being spotted. All the students and teachers were in lessons so it wasn't too much of a problem. They had a plan and now all they had to do was follow it. That part wouldn't be quite so easy.