Ch 5
Ned was wandering around in circles, she kept insisting to Fred and Bob that she knew where they were. She was certain that her years of experience in walking across fields and climbing fences would be an advantage in this place. She thought she knew where she was going. Bob and Fred were all too aware of Ned's position. She was completely lost. They had been going around in circles for the past half-an-hour. After a while of Ned trying to figure out where they were going. Bob and Fred had given up trying to understand her mumbles about moss growing on the North of trees and the position of the sun in the sky. Ned was sat down on a log trying to think. Bob and Fred sat down as well, they had been walking for hours. It was clear to them that they were lost and there was nothing they could do about it.
The two Hobbits were sat on the floor quietly talking about something that the humans couldn't understand. They were talking about Bilbo and whether he had this kind of trouble on his adventures.
Frodo's mind couldn't help but wander back to that time in Rivendell when he had told Bilbo that he wasn't enjoying his adventure. He was now convinced that he wasn't an explorer like his Uncle. Frodo was beginning to get very homesick and wished he was back in Middle Earth. He even thought that Mordor would be better than this. They were being led by people that didn't have a clue where they were going, especially the tallest one, she seemed very strange. He didn't know why but Frodo felt very unsafe around her and two his surprise it seemed that the other two felt the same.
Frodo's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone hitting something. Ned was next to a tree, hitting it with a twig in her frustration. Frodo and Sam were very disturbed by this but the other two seemed used to it. They carried on staring at the trees. They were beginning to get tired of just looking at trees. Trust Ned to get them into a situation like that. She swore she knew where she was going but now they were hopelessly lost.
Bob sighed. She glanced across and noticed a clearing in the trees; there she saw a sheltered part right next to it. It occurred to her that it would soon be dark and they would need to find somewhere to sleep. She was going to tell Ned but she was still hitting the tree with the twig. She was just moving on to a bush.
Bob got up and walked towards the clearing. She picked one up and dragged it into the clearing. Fred watched what Bob was doing, after a while she realised what she was doing and then got up and helped her. The Hobbits, not wanting to be left alone with the crazy one, followed Fred. On the way past Fred hit Ned on the arm. Ned turned around and looked at Fred, she still held the stick aloft and proud that she had knocked all the leaves off the tree. Fred frowned and grabbed the stick and snapped it in half. Ned gasped.
Fred walked off to help Bob and the Hobbits followed. After about an hour the five people had made a shelter, it didn't look very safe but it would keep them dry if it rained. Knowing their luck it would rain very hard that night. Ned had played a big part in the building of the shelter, she stood back, proud that she had built a shelter. Fred was glad that Ned had been there to lift the heavy logs, none of the others were strong enough. They all smiled at their success. Even the Hobbits had helped; they had collected more wood both for the shelter and the fire.
The next thing they had to do was to build and light a fire, that would be hard seeing as they had no matches. They all turned to Ned, hoping that she would know what to do. She had often boasted about being able to light a fire and now was her chance to prove it. She nodded at them with a smile on her face.
Ned began to place some firewood on a clear bit of ground. The Hobbits had collected some of the best firewood in the forest; they had camped before so they knew what to do. Bob wondered how they had made fire in Middle Earth. Bob snapped out of her thoughts and shouted at Ned to light the fire she had been looking vacantly around her. She knew that she had to light the fire before it got cold and started raining. She knew Bob and Fred hated the cold and she didn't want to make them angry.
She told Bob and Fred to go and find some large stones. They looked questioningly at Ned but she just insisted that they did what they were told. As much as they hated to admit it Ned probably knew more about this kind of thing than they did so they decided to humour her. They certainly wouldn't last on their own.
When they had cleared the camping area they started talking about what was happening, they suddenly realised what they had gotten themselves into. They had both seen the Lord of the Rings films and read the books and almost everything that happened to them was bad and someone always ended up getting hurt. They hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to them. Fred was the most wary about what was going on, she still wasn't sure what was going on.
She knew the dangers of being out in the wilderness, it was very dangerous, she had seen many films about this kind of thing and they were usually bad. She wasn't ready to die, she liked her home too much, she was still fascinated with what Frodo and Sam so she wasn't rushing to get away.
After about ten minutes walking Fred and Bob had collected the stones and were heading back to the camp. The only trouble was that neither of them had any sense of direction and neither knew the way back to the camp. Fred knew she should have paid more attention to where they were going. She tried to stay calm but the prospect of having to spend the night in the forest alone frightened her. She tried to recall everything she knew about the wild and geography. Unfortunately that wasn't a lot. She did know that moss grew on the North of trees, however, this wasn't very helpful seeing as they didn't know which direction the camp was in.
Bob and Fred began screaming for Ned hoping that she would hear them and would have some idea of how to get back. They stood in the woods and cried for help for as long as they could.
After five minutes of this they sat down on a log and signed, they knew that they were fairly quiet but surely Ned must have heard them by now. They started talking about what to do next and had just come to the conclusion that they would have to try and make their way back to camp before it got any darker when Ned appeared through the trees. They had never been so glad to see her. Bob's smile soon turned to anger though.
"What took you so long, huh?"
Bob shouted at Ned hitting her hard with the pom poms. Ned tried to get away from her but she was fuming. Fred just stood there watching, feeling sorry for Ned but not wanting to get involved, especially with the pom poms. Eventually Bob started hitting Ned and told her to lead them back to camp. It came as a surprise to Bob and Fred that Ned had been sensible enough to mark the trees. Fred wondered why she hadn't thought of that.
Ned had saved their lives, if she hadn't have been there they would be stuck out there all night. Bob wasn't so pleased, she trailed behind, still angry with Ned for taking so long, this anger was slowly fading though. Bob's main thought now was whether Ned had left the Hobbits alone and if they were all right. It wasn't such a good idea to leave them on their own but on the other hand Ned had no choice.
When they reached the camp they saw that Ned had all ready lit the fire and the two Hobbits were wrapped in their cloaks and were huddled by the fire. They were also cooking something that smelt a lot like sausages. At the thought of food Fred's face lit up and she ran over to them and sat down next to Sam who instantly handed her a plate of food. She tucked into it, only just realising how hungry she was. She turned to Bob and offered her some but she said no and walked towards the shelter.
Ned realised something was wrong and walked after her. Fred didn't notice this, she was too busy eating all food and congratulating Sam on his excellent cooking. The Hobbit seemed very proud of this and offered Fred some more food. She took it gratefully.
Bob was trying to get some things out of the shelter when Ned came in.
"What's wrong? I'm sorry I took so long to come and get you but I didn't hear you and then I had to make sure the Hobbits were safe."
"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry with myself, what have I gotten us into? It was a stupid idea to think that I could help Frodo and now I'm probably going to get us killed or lost and I didn't want that. I don't want to be the one that forced people into this. I think you and Fred should go home and I'll look after the Hobbits. That's probably safer for you two and them."
"No way. I'm not letting you have all the fun. It wasn't just your idea to look after them. You panicked back there you wouldn't last five minutes on your own. At least I have some experience outdoors. I bet you can't even light a fire."
At this Ned moved away from Bob She came back to her original place when she realised Bob wasn't going to attack.
Bob smiled at Ned pleased to see that she had agreed to stay with her. She was sure that she could stay out here alone and Ned was right. She knew nothing about survival at all. There was just one more problem, Fred. It was obvious that she didn't want to be there, she had objected when they had first told her the idea.
"What about Fred?" Bob asked hoping Ned would come up with the answer.
"I don't think Ned minds being out here too much, as long as she's with Frodo and we have a healthy supply of food." They both laughed at this point. They looked out at the shelter and watched Fred swapping stories with Frodo and Sam about their different lives. Of course, Fred could only talk between mouthfuls of food.
The sight of this made Bob and Ned feel very hungry and they went to join the other three who were still sat around the fire. They were soon tucking into a healthy meal. Sam had joked that Fred could have been a Hobbit judging by the amount of food she ate. Sam and Frodo laughed at this but Fred just smiled in amazement at being compared to a Hobbit. It was a dream come true.
After a while they were all swapping stories about previous experiences in the wild. Frodo, Sam and Fred had far more to talk about than Bob and Fred so they just sat there listening to them and laughing at appropriate times. Every now and then they would question what Ned was saying and use the smile and nod technique that had always come in useful.
It soon got dark and they were enveloped in the orange firelight, which was omitted from the fire which was still burning well despite the fact that because Ned had made it was expected to go out in a few hours. It suddenly seemed to grow quiet around the fire and they all felt very tired; the thought of sleep seemed very inviting. If only they had their nice warm beds to sleep in. Instead they had a bed of moss and fallen leaves to sleep on all night. Not the most comfortable shelter.
Fred was the first to suggest that they try and get some sleep and the others agreed with her. The thought of danger seemed to grow closer now and the temptation to stay awake just in case was overwhelming. They were all tired and decided that they were in no real danger here so they all went towards the shelter and tried to get comfortable.
Bob was the first to get to sleep, closely followed by Sam. Ned didn't want to sleep, she knew too much about what lived in the forest and the thought that something might be crawling underneath her frightened her but even she fell asleep eventually. However, it was not so easy for Fred. Fred had always hated camping ever since she found a huge bug in her sleeping bag once. It made her shiver when she thought what was in the moss she was sleeping on.
She was sure that she felt something crawling but she dismissed it as her imagination. She didn't like this camping thing at all, it sounded okay when Bob and Ned had first suggested it and now Fred wondered if this whole thing was a mistake.
Frodo wasn't worried about the bugs and spiders or the fact that they were camping out in the wild; he had done it many times before and had slept in far worse places. It was the Ring that was keeping him awake. He could feel it all the time, he felt its power growing. Another thing that worried him was the feeling that something bad drew near. It was the same feeling that he got when the Ring Wraiths were near, but he knew they couldn't be in the Forest. This wasn't Middle Earth; there was no way they could get here. He knew there was danger in the Forest but he was sure it wasn't from Wraiths.
Frodo trusted the people he travelled with but he knew they couldn't look after him if they were attacked. He tried to put these disturbing thoughts out of his mind knowing that he was safe now. It could be the last opportunity for him to get some sleep. He soon fell asleep. His dreams were confused and frightening but he didn't wake.
Fred, however, was not so lucky. She still thought she felt something moving underneath her and a new feeling had been added to this, the feeling that something was watching them. She wanted to wake the others but they would just think she was being paranoid and she probably was. She wondered if Ned or Bob had the same feeling.
She tried to look at her watch but then she remembered that her watch had broken a few days before, at the time she knew she'd need it later on and she was right. She turned over hoping one of the Hobbits was awake. She remembered in the films Frodo hardly ever slept but she could hear his soft breathing which told her that he was asleep. She felt alone and angry, she decided that she would try and wake Bob up. It didn't work and this just made Fred angrier. She wondered if this night would ever end.
Fred sat up when she heard something outside. It sounded very close. There was bound to be something bad out there, there always was in the Forest. She hoped that whatever it wasn't dangerous. She wished one of the others were awake, they would probably tell her that it was nothing but at least she wouldn't feel so alone. She had never liked the dark and it unnerved her that she couldn't see anything, if only she had a match. She wondered if she should go outside and sit next to the fire. There was light out there and it might protect her. At this last thought she cursed herself, she knew she would be no safer by the light than in the tent. It would probably be more dangerous. Whatever was out there probably wouldn't take her first anyway; it would go for Ned or Bob. She couldn't believe what she was thinking, it was terrible. She didn't want her friends to die.
The sound came again and she sat straight up and strained to listen to it. She thought about all the things that it could be. Her mind came up with all the things that lived in the Forest, when she came to the things that could hurt her she started shivering with fear. She never liked dangerous situations and she felt in more danger than she did with Ned and that was quite a statement. Ned had a way of making her feel unsafe but right then she wished Ned was awake to reassure Fred. She never thought that she'd be thinking that Ned was a safe person to be around.
The sound came once again; it seemed to be getting closer. Fred decided that she'd better go and see what it was at least she'd know what it was that way. Even though she wanted to know what it was she was still terrified of what was out there. She was debating whether to wake Bob up or not. She decided that it was probably nothing and she would go and have a look and see what it was, if she got into trouble she would scream loud enough that they would all wake up.
Fred got up and walked to the gap in the shelter, her hands were trembling and she wished that she had a torch or light of some kind so at least she could see where she was going. She tried not to wake the others although in her mind she hoped she did. She crouched down near the entrance hoping that she could avoid being seen if there was anything out there, she was terrified though.
She looked outside, the area was lit by the same orange glow from the campfire. At first she saw nothing and she breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing out there. She laughed quietly at her fear and turned to go back to bed. Before she could move she heard the sound again. She didn't really take much notice of it this time but she knew that she wouldn't sleep if she didn't see what it was.
She turned back to the entrance to see what it was. She peered out of the shelter.
Instead of something bad poking through the gap a snout poked through. A small white pony head appeared through the opening. Fred screamed in fright and fell backwards. The others woke instantly on hearing the scream. Ned was the first one to the entrance, she looked outside and saw the pony which was eating the grass near the warmth of the fire. It also seemed to be enjoying the leftovers of last night's meal.
The others were trying to calm Fred down; she was now in tears and cowering in a corner, still unsure as to what she had been confronted with. Bob was trying to get Ned's attention to see what had frightened Fred so much but Ned seemed to be looking at something outside. Bob couldn't see what it was, she hoped that whatever it was wasn't too bad, it had certainly scared Fred so it must have been pretty bad.
Ned suddenly walked out of the shelter, she came back with one of the candles the Hobbits had provided, the whole place was suddenly lit up and they could all see everything, including the smile on Ned's face. She didn't appear to be frightened at all so it couldn't have been anything too bad.
"Well, what was it?" Asked Bob rather impatiently.
Ned opened her mouth to speak but instead she started laughing. Everyone looked at her angrily wondering what was so funny about being attacked in the middle of the night. In between laughs she told the others about the pony.
"Maybe we shouldn't have come to the New Forest if Fred was so afraid of a pony. What would you have been like with a horse?" Ned couldn't stop laughing.
The others didn't find it at all funny at first but the thought of being attacked by a "killer" Shetland pony was just so funny. They were soon joining in with the joke.
Fred, however, didn't find it funny at all; in fact she was angry that they were all laughing at her. She stood up and straightened out her top and walked towards the door. How could they be so mean? This wasn't like Bob at all. She would probably have been scared too if she saw a pony in the dark trying to get into the shelter. There was no way she could have known it was just a pony. The thought almost made her laugh but she was overcome with the anger. She ran out of the shelter.
With tears in her eyes she paced around the fire, she cast a look over to the pony and almost started laughing again when it started eating more leftovers. No, she was too annoyed to laugh. She decided she'd go for a walk, on her own, in the middle of the night. At least she'd be away from her friends.
She grabbed a candle from Sam's bag and lit it on the fire. She started walking towards the trees, they didn't look that threatening, maybe it was because she had already been scared once that night and nothing could scare her again.
Ned came out of the shelter to apologise to Fred as well as to make sure she was okay. Ned knew it was easy to get confused in a place like this, it had happened to her many times. She did understand that the pony must have spooked Fred and she felt sorry for her. She wished she hadn't been so cruel to her friend.
She walked slowly towards the campfire hopeful that her friend had calmed down by now. When she got to the fire and Fred wasn't there she began to get a bit worried, Fred wasn't in the camp. Ned hoped that she hadn't gone off on her own, she had no sense of direction and would surely get lost in the woods at night. Ned shouted her name hoping that Fred hadn't gone too far away. No reply came and Ned began to shout louder but nothing happened.
Bob and the Hobbits soon appeared from inside the shelter and looked questioningly at Ned. She shrugged her shoulders and started calling louder than before. Fred was nowhere to be found. Ned didn't think she could have gone too far, she wouldn't be brave enough anyway. Ned knew she was angry but not that angry, surely. Ned was getting really worried now, she knew the dangers that were in the woods. She hoped Fred knew what she was doing. She felt guilty for laughing at her, maybe if they hadn't been so mean to her.
Bob was shouting desperately for her friend. She had lit a torch and was now waving it about trying to get Fred's attention. Fred was her best friend and she hadn't meant to upset her. She didn't know what she'd do if her friend was hurt. Bob tried to put those terrible thoughts out of her mind. It was her fault Fred was so angry. They had to find her. Ned decided that they should go and search for her.
The Forest seemed to be unusually thick but they knew they had to go in and find Fred. They owed it to her. They searched for a long time; it was nearly light when they found a strange mark on one of the trees, a chalk mark. Bob hopefully followed it. She was sure Fred had made it.
They followed these marks for about five minutes and suddenly out of the blue they saw a glow coming from behind a clump of trees. Bob rushed forwards hoping it was Fred and that she was okay. Her heart sank when she saw the disguarded candle lying on the floor. Next to it was a sight that made Bob fall to her knees. There was a pool of fairly fresh blood. Bob instinctively knew that it was Fred's.
Ned was wandering around in circles, she kept insisting to Fred and Bob that she knew where they were. She was certain that her years of experience in walking across fields and climbing fences would be an advantage in this place. She thought she knew where she was going. Bob and Fred were all too aware of Ned's position. She was completely lost. They had been going around in circles for the past half-an-hour. After a while of Ned trying to figure out where they were going. Bob and Fred had given up trying to understand her mumbles about moss growing on the North of trees and the position of the sun in the sky. Ned was sat down on a log trying to think. Bob and Fred sat down as well, they had been walking for hours. It was clear to them that they were lost and there was nothing they could do about it.
The two Hobbits were sat on the floor quietly talking about something that the humans couldn't understand. They were talking about Bilbo and whether he had this kind of trouble on his adventures.
Frodo's mind couldn't help but wander back to that time in Rivendell when he had told Bilbo that he wasn't enjoying his adventure. He was now convinced that he wasn't an explorer like his Uncle. Frodo was beginning to get very homesick and wished he was back in Middle Earth. He even thought that Mordor would be better than this. They were being led by people that didn't have a clue where they were going, especially the tallest one, she seemed very strange. He didn't know why but Frodo felt very unsafe around her and two his surprise it seemed that the other two felt the same.
Frodo's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone hitting something. Ned was next to a tree, hitting it with a twig in her frustration. Frodo and Sam were very disturbed by this but the other two seemed used to it. They carried on staring at the trees. They were beginning to get tired of just looking at trees. Trust Ned to get them into a situation like that. She swore she knew where she was going but now they were hopelessly lost.
Bob sighed. She glanced across and noticed a clearing in the trees; there she saw a sheltered part right next to it. It occurred to her that it would soon be dark and they would need to find somewhere to sleep. She was going to tell Ned but she was still hitting the tree with the twig. She was just moving on to a bush.
Bob got up and walked towards the clearing. She picked one up and dragged it into the clearing. Fred watched what Bob was doing, after a while she realised what she was doing and then got up and helped her. The Hobbits, not wanting to be left alone with the crazy one, followed Fred. On the way past Fred hit Ned on the arm. Ned turned around and looked at Fred, she still held the stick aloft and proud that she had knocked all the leaves off the tree. Fred frowned and grabbed the stick and snapped it in half. Ned gasped.
Fred walked off to help Bob and the Hobbits followed. After about an hour the five people had made a shelter, it didn't look very safe but it would keep them dry if it rained. Knowing their luck it would rain very hard that night. Ned had played a big part in the building of the shelter, she stood back, proud that she had built a shelter. Fred was glad that Ned had been there to lift the heavy logs, none of the others were strong enough. They all smiled at their success. Even the Hobbits had helped; they had collected more wood both for the shelter and the fire.
The next thing they had to do was to build and light a fire, that would be hard seeing as they had no matches. They all turned to Ned, hoping that she would know what to do. She had often boasted about being able to light a fire and now was her chance to prove it. She nodded at them with a smile on her face.
Ned began to place some firewood on a clear bit of ground. The Hobbits had collected some of the best firewood in the forest; they had camped before so they knew what to do. Bob wondered how they had made fire in Middle Earth. Bob snapped out of her thoughts and shouted at Ned to light the fire she had been looking vacantly around her. She knew that she had to light the fire before it got cold and started raining. She knew Bob and Fred hated the cold and she didn't want to make them angry.
She told Bob and Fred to go and find some large stones. They looked questioningly at Ned but she just insisted that they did what they were told. As much as they hated to admit it Ned probably knew more about this kind of thing than they did so they decided to humour her. They certainly wouldn't last on their own.
When they had cleared the camping area they started talking about what was happening, they suddenly realised what they had gotten themselves into. They had both seen the Lord of the Rings films and read the books and almost everything that happened to them was bad and someone always ended up getting hurt. They hoped the same thing wouldn't happen to them. Fred was the most wary about what was going on, she still wasn't sure what was going on.
She knew the dangers of being out in the wilderness, it was very dangerous, she had seen many films about this kind of thing and they were usually bad. She wasn't ready to die, she liked her home too much, she was still fascinated with what Frodo and Sam so she wasn't rushing to get away.
After about ten minutes walking Fred and Bob had collected the stones and were heading back to the camp. The only trouble was that neither of them had any sense of direction and neither knew the way back to the camp. Fred knew she should have paid more attention to where they were going. She tried to stay calm but the prospect of having to spend the night in the forest alone frightened her. She tried to recall everything she knew about the wild and geography. Unfortunately that wasn't a lot. She did know that moss grew on the North of trees, however, this wasn't very helpful seeing as they didn't know which direction the camp was in.
Bob and Fred began screaming for Ned hoping that she would hear them and would have some idea of how to get back. They stood in the woods and cried for help for as long as they could.
After five minutes of this they sat down on a log and signed, they knew that they were fairly quiet but surely Ned must have heard them by now. They started talking about what to do next and had just come to the conclusion that they would have to try and make their way back to camp before it got any darker when Ned appeared through the trees. They had never been so glad to see her. Bob's smile soon turned to anger though.
"What took you so long, huh?"
Bob shouted at Ned hitting her hard with the pom poms. Ned tried to get away from her but she was fuming. Fred just stood there watching, feeling sorry for Ned but not wanting to get involved, especially with the pom poms. Eventually Bob started hitting Ned and told her to lead them back to camp. It came as a surprise to Bob and Fred that Ned had been sensible enough to mark the trees. Fred wondered why she hadn't thought of that.
Ned had saved their lives, if she hadn't have been there they would be stuck out there all night. Bob wasn't so pleased, she trailed behind, still angry with Ned for taking so long, this anger was slowly fading though. Bob's main thought now was whether Ned had left the Hobbits alone and if they were all right. It wasn't such a good idea to leave them on their own but on the other hand Ned had no choice.
When they reached the camp they saw that Ned had all ready lit the fire and the two Hobbits were wrapped in their cloaks and were huddled by the fire. They were also cooking something that smelt a lot like sausages. At the thought of food Fred's face lit up and she ran over to them and sat down next to Sam who instantly handed her a plate of food. She tucked into it, only just realising how hungry she was. She turned to Bob and offered her some but she said no and walked towards the shelter.
Ned realised something was wrong and walked after her. Fred didn't notice this, she was too busy eating all food and congratulating Sam on his excellent cooking. The Hobbit seemed very proud of this and offered Fred some more food. She took it gratefully.
Bob was trying to get some things out of the shelter when Ned came in.
"What's wrong? I'm sorry I took so long to come and get you but I didn't hear you and then I had to make sure the Hobbits were safe."
"I'm not angry at you. I'm angry with myself, what have I gotten us into? It was a stupid idea to think that I could help Frodo and now I'm probably going to get us killed or lost and I didn't want that. I don't want to be the one that forced people into this. I think you and Fred should go home and I'll look after the Hobbits. That's probably safer for you two and them."
"No way. I'm not letting you have all the fun. It wasn't just your idea to look after them. You panicked back there you wouldn't last five minutes on your own. At least I have some experience outdoors. I bet you can't even light a fire."
At this Ned moved away from Bob She came back to her original place when she realised Bob wasn't going to attack.
Bob smiled at Ned pleased to see that she had agreed to stay with her. She was sure that she could stay out here alone and Ned was right. She knew nothing about survival at all. There was just one more problem, Fred. It was obvious that she didn't want to be there, she had objected when they had first told her the idea.
"What about Fred?" Bob asked hoping Ned would come up with the answer.
"I don't think Ned minds being out here too much, as long as she's with Frodo and we have a healthy supply of food." They both laughed at this point. They looked out at the shelter and watched Fred swapping stories with Frodo and Sam about their different lives. Of course, Fred could only talk between mouthfuls of food.
The sight of this made Bob and Ned feel very hungry and they went to join the other three who were still sat around the fire. They were soon tucking into a healthy meal. Sam had joked that Fred could have been a Hobbit judging by the amount of food she ate. Sam and Frodo laughed at this but Fred just smiled in amazement at being compared to a Hobbit. It was a dream come true.
After a while they were all swapping stories about previous experiences in the wild. Frodo, Sam and Fred had far more to talk about than Bob and Fred so they just sat there listening to them and laughing at appropriate times. Every now and then they would question what Ned was saying and use the smile and nod technique that had always come in useful.
It soon got dark and they were enveloped in the orange firelight, which was omitted from the fire which was still burning well despite the fact that because Ned had made it was expected to go out in a few hours. It suddenly seemed to grow quiet around the fire and they all felt very tired; the thought of sleep seemed very inviting. If only they had their nice warm beds to sleep in. Instead they had a bed of moss and fallen leaves to sleep on all night. Not the most comfortable shelter.
Fred was the first to suggest that they try and get some sleep and the others agreed with her. The thought of danger seemed to grow closer now and the temptation to stay awake just in case was overwhelming. They were all tired and decided that they were in no real danger here so they all went towards the shelter and tried to get comfortable.
Bob was the first to get to sleep, closely followed by Sam. Ned didn't want to sleep, she knew too much about what lived in the forest and the thought that something might be crawling underneath her frightened her but even she fell asleep eventually. However, it was not so easy for Fred. Fred had always hated camping ever since she found a huge bug in her sleeping bag once. It made her shiver when she thought what was in the moss she was sleeping on.
She was sure that she felt something crawling but she dismissed it as her imagination. She didn't like this camping thing at all, it sounded okay when Bob and Ned had first suggested it and now Fred wondered if this whole thing was a mistake.
Frodo wasn't worried about the bugs and spiders or the fact that they were camping out in the wild; he had done it many times before and had slept in far worse places. It was the Ring that was keeping him awake. He could feel it all the time, he felt its power growing. Another thing that worried him was the feeling that something bad drew near. It was the same feeling that he got when the Ring Wraiths were near, but he knew they couldn't be in the Forest. This wasn't Middle Earth; there was no way they could get here. He knew there was danger in the Forest but he was sure it wasn't from Wraiths.
Frodo trusted the people he travelled with but he knew they couldn't look after him if they were attacked. He tried to put these disturbing thoughts out of his mind knowing that he was safe now. It could be the last opportunity for him to get some sleep. He soon fell asleep. His dreams were confused and frightening but he didn't wake.
Fred, however, was not so lucky. She still thought she felt something moving underneath her and a new feeling had been added to this, the feeling that something was watching them. She wanted to wake the others but they would just think she was being paranoid and she probably was. She wondered if Ned or Bob had the same feeling.
She tried to look at her watch but then she remembered that her watch had broken a few days before, at the time she knew she'd need it later on and she was right. She turned over hoping one of the Hobbits was awake. She remembered in the films Frodo hardly ever slept but she could hear his soft breathing which told her that he was asleep. She felt alone and angry, she decided that she would try and wake Bob up. It didn't work and this just made Fred angrier. She wondered if this night would ever end.
Fred sat up when she heard something outside. It sounded very close. There was bound to be something bad out there, there always was in the Forest. She hoped that whatever it wasn't dangerous. She wished one of the others were awake, they would probably tell her that it was nothing but at least she wouldn't feel so alone. She had never liked the dark and it unnerved her that she couldn't see anything, if only she had a match. She wondered if she should go outside and sit next to the fire. There was light out there and it might protect her. At this last thought she cursed herself, she knew she would be no safer by the light than in the tent. It would probably be more dangerous. Whatever was out there probably wouldn't take her first anyway; it would go for Ned or Bob. She couldn't believe what she was thinking, it was terrible. She didn't want her friends to die.
The sound came again and she sat straight up and strained to listen to it. She thought about all the things that it could be. Her mind came up with all the things that lived in the Forest, when she came to the things that could hurt her she started shivering with fear. She never liked dangerous situations and she felt in more danger than she did with Ned and that was quite a statement. Ned had a way of making her feel unsafe but right then she wished Ned was awake to reassure Fred. She never thought that she'd be thinking that Ned was a safe person to be around.
The sound came once again; it seemed to be getting closer. Fred decided that she'd better go and see what it was at least she'd know what it was that way. Even though she wanted to know what it was she was still terrified of what was out there. She was debating whether to wake Bob up or not. She decided that it was probably nothing and she would go and have a look and see what it was, if she got into trouble she would scream loud enough that they would all wake up.
Fred got up and walked to the gap in the shelter, her hands were trembling and she wished that she had a torch or light of some kind so at least she could see where she was going. She tried not to wake the others although in her mind she hoped she did. She crouched down near the entrance hoping that she could avoid being seen if there was anything out there, she was terrified though.
She looked outside, the area was lit by the same orange glow from the campfire. At first she saw nothing and she breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing out there. She laughed quietly at her fear and turned to go back to bed. Before she could move she heard the sound again. She didn't really take much notice of it this time but she knew that she wouldn't sleep if she didn't see what it was.
She turned back to the entrance to see what it was. She peered out of the shelter.
Instead of something bad poking through the gap a snout poked through. A small white pony head appeared through the opening. Fred screamed in fright and fell backwards. The others woke instantly on hearing the scream. Ned was the first one to the entrance, she looked outside and saw the pony which was eating the grass near the warmth of the fire. It also seemed to be enjoying the leftovers of last night's meal.
The others were trying to calm Fred down; she was now in tears and cowering in a corner, still unsure as to what she had been confronted with. Bob was trying to get Ned's attention to see what had frightened Fred so much but Ned seemed to be looking at something outside. Bob couldn't see what it was, she hoped that whatever it was wasn't too bad, it had certainly scared Fred so it must have been pretty bad.
Ned suddenly walked out of the shelter, she came back with one of the candles the Hobbits had provided, the whole place was suddenly lit up and they could all see everything, including the smile on Ned's face. She didn't appear to be frightened at all so it couldn't have been anything too bad.
"Well, what was it?" Asked Bob rather impatiently.
Ned opened her mouth to speak but instead she started laughing. Everyone looked at her angrily wondering what was so funny about being attacked in the middle of the night. In between laughs she told the others about the pony.
"Maybe we shouldn't have come to the New Forest if Fred was so afraid of a pony. What would you have been like with a horse?" Ned couldn't stop laughing.
The others didn't find it at all funny at first but the thought of being attacked by a "killer" Shetland pony was just so funny. They were soon joining in with the joke.
Fred, however, didn't find it funny at all; in fact she was angry that they were all laughing at her. She stood up and straightened out her top and walked towards the door. How could they be so mean? This wasn't like Bob at all. She would probably have been scared too if she saw a pony in the dark trying to get into the shelter. There was no way she could have known it was just a pony. The thought almost made her laugh but she was overcome with the anger. She ran out of the shelter.
With tears in her eyes she paced around the fire, she cast a look over to the pony and almost started laughing again when it started eating more leftovers. No, she was too annoyed to laugh. She decided she'd go for a walk, on her own, in the middle of the night. At least she'd be away from her friends.
She grabbed a candle from Sam's bag and lit it on the fire. She started walking towards the trees, they didn't look that threatening, maybe it was because she had already been scared once that night and nothing could scare her again.
Ned came out of the shelter to apologise to Fred as well as to make sure she was okay. Ned knew it was easy to get confused in a place like this, it had happened to her many times. She did understand that the pony must have spooked Fred and she felt sorry for her. She wished she hadn't been so cruel to her friend.
She walked slowly towards the campfire hopeful that her friend had calmed down by now. When she got to the fire and Fred wasn't there she began to get a bit worried, Fred wasn't in the camp. Ned hoped that she hadn't gone off on her own, she had no sense of direction and would surely get lost in the woods at night. Ned shouted her name hoping that Fred hadn't gone too far away. No reply came and Ned began to shout louder but nothing happened.
Bob and the Hobbits soon appeared from inside the shelter and looked questioningly at Ned. She shrugged her shoulders and started calling louder than before. Fred was nowhere to be found. Ned didn't think she could have gone too far, she wouldn't be brave enough anyway. Ned knew she was angry but not that angry, surely. Ned was getting really worried now, she knew the dangers that were in the woods. She hoped Fred knew what she was doing. She felt guilty for laughing at her, maybe if they hadn't been so mean to her.
Bob was shouting desperately for her friend. She had lit a torch and was now waving it about trying to get Fred's attention. Fred was her best friend and she hadn't meant to upset her. She didn't know what she'd do if her friend was hurt. Bob tried to put those terrible thoughts out of her mind. It was her fault Fred was so angry. They had to find her. Ned decided that they should go and search for her.
The Forest seemed to be unusually thick but they knew they had to go in and find Fred. They owed it to her. They searched for a long time; it was nearly light when they found a strange mark on one of the trees, a chalk mark. Bob hopefully followed it. She was sure Fred had made it.
They followed these marks for about five minutes and suddenly out of the blue they saw a glow coming from behind a clump of trees. Bob rushed forwards hoping it was Fred and that she was okay. Her heart sank when she saw the disguarded candle lying on the floor. Next to it was a sight that made Bob fall to her knees. There was a pool of fairly fresh blood. Bob instinctively knew that it was Fred's.