Ch 4
Ned looked around trying to act like a James Bond style spy. Unfortunately it wasn't working very well, in fact Bob and Fred thought it was attracting more attention than just walking through the school. Fred grabbed Ned's arm and pulled her from the corner where she was now peeking forward. She gave Ned a fierce look and silenced her complaints. She was really starting to annoy Fred and she was beginning to think that she had made a mistake tagging along with Bob and Ned.
Frodo and Sam walked behind the three students hoping they knew what they were doing, if only Aragorn was with them, he'd know what to do. Frodo had a suspicion that the three people had no idea what they were doing, especially the tall one. Frodo didn't see how any of this could be happening. It all seemed impossible.
Frodo wondered where they were. The three students hadn't been much help and hadn't told them anything. Frodo had heard something about a school but it was nothing like the schools in The Shire. Sam and Frodo had never seen anything like it, it frightened them a lot, not knowing where they were. They wished they were back in Middle Earth, they had expected that it would be a bad journey but they never thought this would happen.
They finally reached the school gates and Ned, Fred and Bob prayed that there wasn't a teacher there. There was no way they could talk their way out of a situation like that. They ran quickly down the steep hill making sure the two Hobbits were behind them all the way; they could afford to lose them now. In the distance a silver car came up the road and came towards them quickly when it spotted them.
All of them were relieved except the Hobbits who were too scared by the strange thing to move.
The car stopped by them and they forced the Hobbits to get inside. They received a little resistance but no too much in their current situation anything was better than being caught. When they were all in the car sped off, the driver, Bob's older sister, was asking them questions that they just couldn't answer.
They soon reached the bottom of the hill and Bob's sister, Marie, asked them which way she should go, to the town or to the country. Despite Frodo and Sam's protests that they should head for town and try and find their friends the three students knew that they had to protect the Hobbits and the best place to do that was in the country. They headed away from the town.
**
Gimli moved restlessly on the hard bench that was meant to be a bed. It didn't feel like a bed to him. It was just a bench with a single pillow and a thin sheet. Gimli was sharing a cell with another criminal who was a lot taller and stronger than he was.
Gimli was angry with the people that put him in the cell and although he didn't want to admit it he was scared as well. He felt weak and vulnerable in this place. He never realised how much he relied on his weapon but now he didn't have it he wished he did. It would be far easier to get out if he had it. He wished that he could break through the bars, he had gotten out of worse situations than this but now he felt helpless.
Gimli screamed at the guards every time they went by hoping they would pay some attention to him but they all ignored him and this just made him shout louder. He knew there must be some way out of the cell it was just a matter of finding it and that was the hard part.
**
Legolas was learning fast in this new environment, he knew that as long as he didn't speak to anyone then they would leave him alone. He didn't want to attract too much attention to himself. He knew his friends would have made quite a show in the town and he didn't want to be the same. He was a skilled tracker and so he knew that in this place there was little chance of finding his friends on foot.
Legolas had recently discovered something that might help him. When he had first seen the things that ran along the roads they had frightened him but now he had become accustomed to them and had worked out that these people for transport were using them. If only he had one. It would certainly save time.
After a while of walking Legolas came across a red pole with some sort of sign. He didn't know what it meant but there were several people queuing at the pole. Legolas decided that it might be a good idea to ask them what this place was. It would be worth the risk to help his friends. He picked out one of the people that didn't look quite so threatening. He chose an elderly woman.
"Excuse me," Legolas didn't sound his usual confident self, " what is this place?"
The woman didn't hear at first but when Legolas repeated the question she said,
"Ahhh, is it your first time in Salisbury, dear?" She smiled again.
Legolas nodded not really understanding what she was saying. Sometimes he wished he had the power of Galadriel, being able to read minds would have been very helpful in a place like this.
The woman seemed to drift off for a while but then she came back and smiled again at the Elf.
"This is the queue for the bus, dear." She smiled yet again and Legolas was beginning to get a bit concerned.
He didn't have the same people skills that Lord Elrond had nor the patience his father had.
"The bus?" He questioned. "What's the bus?" The woman laughed and turned around and went back to her vacant staring. Legolas was convinced that he should have chosen someone better.
He decided that he had no choice but to get onto this thing called a bus so he just waited with the other people. He looked around trying to figure out what this place was, all around him were bright colours and hundreds of people were buzzing around him seemingly aimlessly.
Legolas hoped his friends were all right. He hoped they were back in Middle Earth continuing the quest without him.
His thoughts were interrupted by the roaring sound of the bus. It was huge, bigger than any cart Legolas had ever seen. It was bright red in colour and made so much noise. It had two levels and there were already people inside.
The bus opened its doors and the people streamed in each stopping for a second to give something to the driver. When Legolas reached the man that appeared to be operating the thing he just walked straight past. The man grabbed Legolas by the arm and pulled him back. Legolas resisted the urge to reach for his bow in such a public place. The man told Legolas to pay. They had no form of currency in Middle Earth so Legolas had no idea what he meant. He shook his head.
The man was about to throw him off the bus when a young woman came up and threw some money on the counter. The bus driver let Legolas go and thanked the woman. Legolas was pleased that he had found some good in this bad place. He turned to the woman before sitting down and thanked her. She didn't reply and just pushed past Legolas. He was not surprised at this.
He went to find another seat but they were all full. He hadn't realised there would be so many people, they were all crowded together. The bus was claustrophobic and silent at the same time and it was not a nice atmosphere.
The bus doors closed and made Legolas feel trapped. The bus started vibrating and Legolas was shocked. He didn't know what to do. He gripped hold of a nearby pole and held on tightly as the bus started moving. The movement made Legolas feel very ill.
**
Gandalf had been fighting against the traffic for almost an hour and he was beginning to get very tired of it. He had seen many terrifying things in his time but this was something else. Knowing that the Ring and Ring-bearer were out there alone was enough to terrify even him.
He was now walking against a crowd of people who were flooding across a road; the traffic had stopped and was letting the people pass. He decided it was best to cross with them as he could get swept away and get hurt by one of the creatures that patrolled the roads.
After another five minutes of walking he came to a place that looked familiar in some way. He had seen it somewhere before but not in Middle Earth, it was somewhere in this new place. After all his experiences he couldn't remember much. Then he did remember where he had seen something like it before. It was next to the road; he had seen it at the previous crossing. He smiled to himself, pleased that he could work something out in this new world. He knew he should test his theory. With this in mind he stepped out into the road in front of a speeding creature. Instead of stopping the creature shouted loudly at him and carried on. Gandalf was very confused as he jumped to the side of the road to avoid the thing.
He didn't know what to do next. He knew there was a way to cross but he didn't know how. In frustration he hit a pole with his staff. The sound it made was metallic, this, to Gandalf, was a good sign.
Gandalf hit the pole again but harder than before. After nothing happened he took a closer look. There was a box with writing on it but it didn't make any sense to him. The actual word was 'PUSH' but that made no sense. Push what? He looked below the word and saw something that might actually work.
He decided that he should find out what this thing actually did. It must have been of some importance, it was highlighted in colour. Maybe the button wanted him to push it. He placed his finger on the round circle and pushed it. As soon as he did this a sign appeared saying 'WAIT'. The word was in lights and this was very odd to Gandalf who thought it might have been some kind of wizardry. Nothing like it had ever been seen in Middle Earth.
Gandalf didn't know what to do next. He stood at the side of the road as the creatures continued to stream past him. After about a minute the traffic came to a halt. Gandalf looked at it and began searching for the reason. On another panel on the other side of the road there was another sign illuminated. This one didn't have any writing but it had a picture of a man. A small green man. It made a continuous beeping noise but Gandalf could determine the source.
After another minute the man began flashing and promptly disappeared. The beeping stopped and the creatures began moving again. Now Gandalf understood what was going on. Whenever someone pushed the button the man came up and ordered the traffic to stop.
Gandalf smiled at the ingenious invention and pushed the button again, a little more confidently this time. Once again the 'WAIT' sign came up. The green man came again and did its job. Gandalf rushed across the road. He was pleased that he hadn't been knocked down by one of the creatures.
Ned looked around trying to act like a James Bond style spy. Unfortunately it wasn't working very well, in fact Bob and Fred thought it was attracting more attention than just walking through the school. Fred grabbed Ned's arm and pulled her from the corner where she was now peeking forward. She gave Ned a fierce look and silenced her complaints. She was really starting to annoy Fred and she was beginning to think that she had made a mistake tagging along with Bob and Ned.
Frodo and Sam walked behind the three students hoping they knew what they were doing, if only Aragorn was with them, he'd know what to do. Frodo had a suspicion that the three people had no idea what they were doing, especially the tall one. Frodo didn't see how any of this could be happening. It all seemed impossible.
Frodo wondered where they were. The three students hadn't been much help and hadn't told them anything. Frodo had heard something about a school but it was nothing like the schools in The Shire. Sam and Frodo had never seen anything like it, it frightened them a lot, not knowing where they were. They wished they were back in Middle Earth, they had expected that it would be a bad journey but they never thought this would happen.
They finally reached the school gates and Ned, Fred and Bob prayed that there wasn't a teacher there. There was no way they could talk their way out of a situation like that. They ran quickly down the steep hill making sure the two Hobbits were behind them all the way; they could afford to lose them now. In the distance a silver car came up the road and came towards them quickly when it spotted them.
All of them were relieved except the Hobbits who were too scared by the strange thing to move.
The car stopped by them and they forced the Hobbits to get inside. They received a little resistance but no too much in their current situation anything was better than being caught. When they were all in the car sped off, the driver, Bob's older sister, was asking them questions that they just couldn't answer.
They soon reached the bottom of the hill and Bob's sister, Marie, asked them which way she should go, to the town or to the country. Despite Frodo and Sam's protests that they should head for town and try and find their friends the three students knew that they had to protect the Hobbits and the best place to do that was in the country. They headed away from the town.
**
Gimli moved restlessly on the hard bench that was meant to be a bed. It didn't feel like a bed to him. It was just a bench with a single pillow and a thin sheet. Gimli was sharing a cell with another criminal who was a lot taller and stronger than he was.
Gimli was angry with the people that put him in the cell and although he didn't want to admit it he was scared as well. He felt weak and vulnerable in this place. He never realised how much he relied on his weapon but now he didn't have it he wished he did. It would be far easier to get out if he had it. He wished that he could break through the bars, he had gotten out of worse situations than this but now he felt helpless.
Gimli screamed at the guards every time they went by hoping they would pay some attention to him but they all ignored him and this just made him shout louder. He knew there must be some way out of the cell it was just a matter of finding it and that was the hard part.
**
Legolas was learning fast in this new environment, he knew that as long as he didn't speak to anyone then they would leave him alone. He didn't want to attract too much attention to himself. He knew his friends would have made quite a show in the town and he didn't want to be the same. He was a skilled tracker and so he knew that in this place there was little chance of finding his friends on foot.
Legolas had recently discovered something that might help him. When he had first seen the things that ran along the roads they had frightened him but now he had become accustomed to them and had worked out that these people for transport were using them. If only he had one. It would certainly save time.
After a while of walking Legolas came across a red pole with some sort of sign. He didn't know what it meant but there were several people queuing at the pole. Legolas decided that it might be a good idea to ask them what this place was. It would be worth the risk to help his friends. He picked out one of the people that didn't look quite so threatening. He chose an elderly woman.
"Excuse me," Legolas didn't sound his usual confident self, " what is this place?"
The woman didn't hear at first but when Legolas repeated the question she said,
"Ahhh, is it your first time in Salisbury, dear?" She smiled again.
Legolas nodded not really understanding what she was saying. Sometimes he wished he had the power of Galadriel, being able to read minds would have been very helpful in a place like this.
The woman seemed to drift off for a while but then she came back and smiled again at the Elf.
"This is the queue for the bus, dear." She smiled yet again and Legolas was beginning to get a bit concerned.
He didn't have the same people skills that Lord Elrond had nor the patience his father had.
"The bus?" He questioned. "What's the bus?" The woman laughed and turned around and went back to her vacant staring. Legolas was convinced that he should have chosen someone better.
He decided that he had no choice but to get onto this thing called a bus so he just waited with the other people. He looked around trying to figure out what this place was, all around him were bright colours and hundreds of people were buzzing around him seemingly aimlessly.
Legolas hoped his friends were all right. He hoped they were back in Middle Earth continuing the quest without him.
His thoughts were interrupted by the roaring sound of the bus. It was huge, bigger than any cart Legolas had ever seen. It was bright red in colour and made so much noise. It had two levels and there were already people inside.
The bus opened its doors and the people streamed in each stopping for a second to give something to the driver. When Legolas reached the man that appeared to be operating the thing he just walked straight past. The man grabbed Legolas by the arm and pulled him back. Legolas resisted the urge to reach for his bow in such a public place. The man told Legolas to pay. They had no form of currency in Middle Earth so Legolas had no idea what he meant. He shook his head.
The man was about to throw him off the bus when a young woman came up and threw some money on the counter. The bus driver let Legolas go and thanked the woman. Legolas was pleased that he had found some good in this bad place. He turned to the woman before sitting down and thanked her. She didn't reply and just pushed past Legolas. He was not surprised at this.
He went to find another seat but they were all full. He hadn't realised there would be so many people, they were all crowded together. The bus was claustrophobic and silent at the same time and it was not a nice atmosphere.
The bus doors closed and made Legolas feel trapped. The bus started vibrating and Legolas was shocked. He didn't know what to do. He gripped hold of a nearby pole and held on tightly as the bus started moving. The movement made Legolas feel very ill.
**
Gandalf had been fighting against the traffic for almost an hour and he was beginning to get very tired of it. He had seen many terrifying things in his time but this was something else. Knowing that the Ring and Ring-bearer were out there alone was enough to terrify even him.
He was now walking against a crowd of people who were flooding across a road; the traffic had stopped and was letting the people pass. He decided it was best to cross with them as he could get swept away and get hurt by one of the creatures that patrolled the roads.
After another five minutes of walking he came to a place that looked familiar in some way. He had seen it somewhere before but not in Middle Earth, it was somewhere in this new place. After all his experiences he couldn't remember much. Then he did remember where he had seen something like it before. It was next to the road; he had seen it at the previous crossing. He smiled to himself, pleased that he could work something out in this new world. He knew he should test his theory. With this in mind he stepped out into the road in front of a speeding creature. Instead of stopping the creature shouted loudly at him and carried on. Gandalf was very confused as he jumped to the side of the road to avoid the thing.
He didn't know what to do next. He knew there was a way to cross but he didn't know how. In frustration he hit a pole with his staff. The sound it made was metallic, this, to Gandalf, was a good sign.
Gandalf hit the pole again but harder than before. After nothing happened he took a closer look. There was a box with writing on it but it didn't make any sense to him. The actual word was 'PUSH' but that made no sense. Push what? He looked below the word and saw something that might actually work.
He decided that he should find out what this thing actually did. It must have been of some importance, it was highlighted in colour. Maybe the button wanted him to push it. He placed his finger on the round circle and pushed it. As soon as he did this a sign appeared saying 'WAIT'. The word was in lights and this was very odd to Gandalf who thought it might have been some kind of wizardry. Nothing like it had ever been seen in Middle Earth.
Gandalf didn't know what to do next. He stood at the side of the road as the creatures continued to stream past him. After about a minute the traffic came to a halt. Gandalf looked at it and began searching for the reason. On another panel on the other side of the road there was another sign illuminated. This one didn't have any writing but it had a picture of a man. A small green man. It made a continuous beeping noise but Gandalf could determine the source.
After another minute the man began flashing and promptly disappeared. The beeping stopped and the creatures began moving again. Now Gandalf understood what was going on. Whenever someone pushed the button the man came up and ordered the traffic to stop.
Gandalf smiled at the ingenious invention and pushed the button again, a little more confidently this time. Once again the 'WAIT' sign came up. The green man came again and did its job. Gandalf rushed across the road. He was pleased that he hadn't been knocked down by one of the creatures.