Ch 12 evil meetings
Fred finally awoke, confused and not knowing where she was. She almost thought that the cold floor was her warm bed but this was most likely caused by the strange food and drink she had consumed. Most of what she saw the night before was blurred and not much of it made sense, the most vivid thing she remembered was that there were bodies, mutilated, wounded. Another thing that was still clear was that someone living was there with her, someone close to her. She had a feeling that it was a friend, someone she was close to, perhaps Bob or Ned. The details were fast fading and they were soon jumbled up with the other things that had once been so clear.
Fred looked around her, still disorientated and confused as to where she was. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious but it certainly wasn't a restful sleep, it was dream-filled and frightening. Although she should have felt refreshed and calm she felt that same coldness, and weakness she had sensed before she went into a coma.
The room was the same as she remembered it, dark and dingy and she felt completely alone again despite her earlier feeling that someone was guiding her. She wished Ned were there to help her; she was so knowledgeable in the subject of Lord of the Rings and was always willing to help you. Fred remembered the time when Ned had tried to give up speaking about her favourite subject for a week, she laughed when she remembered that her friend hadn't lasted a day. If only Ned was with her now, she would know what to do. Even Bob would have known more than her for she knew more about it than Fred could even hope. She had been practicing longer though. Fred had convinced herself that that was the reason, Bob had always laughed at her.
The frightened girl quietly recalled all her 'adventures' with her friends. It was true that she had once said that whenever she was around Ned that she felt like she was going to die, this was a quote that had stayed among the group for some time, but Fred didn't think that anymore, she would have felt a lot safer if Ned was there to instruct her.
Fred noticed something during her thoughts, there was no longer any sound coming from outside, she thought this rather curious. Why wouldn't they be guarding her?
She walked over to the door hoping to get some idea of what was going on. She creeped closer hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She didn't want to alert anything that might be out there that she was awake, not after what happened last time. She put her ear to the door listening to see if there was anyone out there, she heard nothing. Fred sighed in relief at least they couldn't give her any more potions. Just as she thought that images flashed through her head, memories of last night, they were awful but this time there was no one to help her, there was no comforting voice helping her.
She put her ear to the door one last time just to check. She still heard nothing, she was just about to back away when a noise came from outside. Before she could pull away the door swung open and nearly knocked her over. An orc came striding in and grabbed her arm roughly, he pulled her out of the cell, she wondered if she could pull away from him and maybe make her escape but the orc had such a strong grip that she stood no chance. A further two orcs joined then just confirmed her thoughts. There was no way she could get past them.
The orcs led her through a maze of tunnels and passages, she could never find her way around this place and she was surprised that the orcs could. Orthanc must have been huge, she could tell this because her feet were starting to ache but that could have been because she had hardly walked at all the past few days.
The orc took her to a huge door and then left her there. All three walked away from her, she didn't know what to do, she couldn't run away she couldn't find her way back through the labyrinth. She didn't know what to do. She was completely lost. Then unexpectedly a thought entered her mind that she should walk into the room, she didn't know where that came from but she did it anyway. Once again she decided that she must be under some kind of spell. But she could not resist the urge to walk into the room, she sensed that there was something inside and she needed to see what it was.
Carefully and slowly Fred opened the door, she was unsure as to what lay on the other side but something compelled her to carry on. When she walked through the door she felt a rush of excitement run through her, this surprised her, as she was completely terrified. Strangely she felt safer walking in to this place than she did when she was locked in her cell.
At first she could see nothing in the room, it looked black as night but at the far end there was a white figure standing and it seemed to be drawing Fred towards it. It was an odd feeling, she wanted to run, just like she felt earlier on when she had met with the man in white outside Orthanc. It suddenly dawned on Fred that this was the same man. It wasn't just the memory that reminded her who this stranger was, it was also that when she entered the room she seemed to exactly what was happening and what was going to happen to her. It was this last bit that frightened her most, she sensed that something bad was going to happen to her and once again she wished that that Ned or Bob were there to help her.
The man turned around and Fred instantly recognised him as Saurman. She couldn't believe it; she was stood just a few metres away from the White Wizard. It all seemed impossible to her even after everything that had happened to her so far. At first he just stared at her and she found herself becoming increasingly self-conscious, she could believe she was feeling like that she could be in terrible danger and she was thinking about how she looked in front of a Wizard. She thought that she was starting to sound like Bob.
The White Wizard walked over to her but didn't bother looking at her the way he did when she first arrived. This time he came right out with his question knowing fully well that Fred was so scared that she would tell him anything.
"Where is the One Ring?" His voice frightened her and she wanted so desperately to run away but she couldn't move, it felt just like when she was kidnapped in the forest.
"I.I." She tried to talk but she couldn't think of what to say.
She shook her head.
"Fine," came that hard voice again "just tell me where the Ring Bearer is, that isn't so hard. Or perhaps I should force it out of you. You see I have ways of making people talk." He smiled and looked towards an ugly-looking orc who was holding a firey poker in his hand.
Fred flinched at the thought of what might happen to her, she had no recollection of people ever getting tortured in Lord of the Rings, except Gollum but even then there were no details, so she had no idea what to expect. From the look on that Orc's face it was going to be something very bad. She dreaded to think what that monster could do to her.
The Wizard was now walking around her as if looking for weaknesses. Fred strangely felt a fascination with this place even though she was dreadfully afraid of what might happen to her there was something that made her want to look in every corner of this place. She could almost imagine the kinds of things Ned would ask. She was a fan of torture techniques and loved hearing of things like that and Fred knew that this would be like heaven for her. When she thought about what she was saying she realised how crazy that was, she was about to get tortured with a hot poker and she was thinking about what her friends would say. She couldn't believe it.
When she was thinking about all this a part of her remembered everything that had happened earlier and what she had seen in her hallucinations. Even now they were with her, the bodies, the loneliness. Suddenly a flood of memories came back to her and she cried out aloud, it was as if there were figures in the room with her. White spectres that were slowly encircling her and trapping her in the dungeon. There were hundreds of them all trying to get closer but it seemed that there was some invisible barrier holding them back. If Fred had been able to think straight then she might have thought that they resembled the scene in The Two Towers with all the ghosts but this was far more frightening than anything that she had ever seen. It was like the hallucinations but these things were actually there.
Saruman looked on with an evil smile on his face, he knew exactly what this weak girl was seeing, he was using his mind tricks to bring out her worst fears and bring them to life. So far it was a very entertaining show.
A few of the other Orcs that had been loitering in the background had now come out and were cheering on the Wizard and revelling in the girl's pain, they loved seeing people getting hurt and seeing these terrible things. They wished they could see what she was seeing, but for now her pained screams were enough to satisfy them as they were sure that they would soon have a chance to submit her to their own private torture.
For a while the Wizard looked on, liking the audience that were cheering for his wizardry and at seeing this thing's pain. He gave a grim smile. This soon faded when the Fred started thrashing out as if trying to get away. In distress she ran towards the great doors that to her were just a blur. One of the braver Orcs grabbed her before she reached it and roughly pushed her towards another one waiting to catch her.
This went on for a while and Saruman seemed to enjoy it for a little while but then his amused smile faded and he grabbed Fred and held her against him.
"How dare you touch my girl." He shouted commandingly.
The Orcs stopped their cheering and looked confused at the White robed leader. He held Fred close to him and looked down at her fear-filled face, she was still breathing heavily but the screaming had now stopped and there was just the occasional whimper from the scared Fred.
Saruman looked down at her and sighed, he loved seeing people like this but enough was enough, he wanted her to suffer and he feared that this would just make her more determined not to talk. He uttered a few words and the spell was lifted. The ghosts slowly walked away just as quickly as they had appeared.
Fred tried to get free from Saruman's grip but he was too strong for her, she had no idea what was going on or where all the Orcs had come from. Despite her current fear she was pleased that the ghosts had gone and that she was back among the living, no matter how evil and dangerous. She tried once again to get away but that strong arm still kept her there. He was so close to her.
"Tell me what I want to know or I will make you regret it. Who bears the Ring?"
Fred closed her eyes in an effort not to tell him anything, she wished she could and that he would let her go.
"I will make this so hard for you. I know a few disgraceful creatures that would love to get their hands on fresh, young meat, so save yourself the trouble and tell me where the Ring Bearer is." His grip was tightening and beginning to hurt Fred's arm.
She shook her head violently.
He nodded in acknowledgement and gave a quick glance at one of the Orcs, it stepped forward and Saruman pushed her towards him, he grabbed her and held the poker to her face. Even from this distance she felt the heat burning her skin. She would have tried to struggle free but she knew it would do no good so she just stood there and cried as the poker came ever closer to her skin.
"Wait..." Came another, unfamiliar voice. "She's just a child, does she look like she knows anything?"
The poker was taken away from her face and the grip on her was released, she collapsed on the floor in terror and exhaustion. She took a few short breaths and then looked around to find the source of the voice, at first she couldn't find it but then she saw him. A man was tied to a pole and was looking wildly around him. Fred looked at him and realised what the approaching Orc was going to do to him.
"Wait. Leave him alone, he's done nothing wrong." She screamed.
Fred had no idea why she did this and soon realised this when the Orc holding the poker came back towards her. She scanned the room to see if there was anywhere to run or at least buy herself some time, there was nothing, the place was sealed up. She tried to stand but found that she had no strength in her legs and could barely move them, she was unsure whether this was a spell or just pure fright.
The Orc grabbed her and once again held the poker up to her face and she felt that same burning sensation. This time the poker came into contact with skin and she felt it brandishing her skin, she screamed, they drowned out the protests of the man that had tried to help her earlier.
The Orc doing this seemed to be enjoying it. Although he only kept it there for a few seconds to Fred it appeared to go on forever and she wished she could stop it. Finally the sneering Orc withdrew the poker and let Fred fall to the floor clutching her burnt face. He then went back over to the man.
"Now it's your turn." He snarled.
The screams of Fred and the stranger mingled together and filled the tower of Orthanc. A sound that made Saruman very happy. He was going to enjoy this new being, he also knew that his Orcs would as well.
He turned to the window and looked out over his newly claimed empire, yes this girl was going to answer all his questions and was going to help him win the war.
**
Ned and Bob approached the hut, not knowing what to expect but knowing that there must be some form of shelter inside there.
"Hang on a minute." Bob said quietly. "I think I see something."
"Stop being so paranoid there could be shelter in there. We might find help, or even better we might find Sam and Frodo. Maybe even Fred. We should take the chance."
"And what if we don't like what we find. It might be a trap."
"I hardly think a Ring Wraith is going to hide out in a small hut with smoke coming out of the chimney." Ned joked.
Bob looked sternly at her and gestured towards the smoke coming from the chimney.
"We don't know what's inside there, it could be something bad." Ned rolled her eyes up, "I'm just saying that we should be careful, that's all."
Ned nodded, no longer really listening to her complaining friend. She could be so stressed sometimes. She always had to worry and sometimes it annoyed Ned. In a way she understood her friend's caution, she had seen something when she was taken over by those visions, Ned knew that something had scared her and that she was just trying to play it safe.
Ned motioned Bob forward; once again trying to adopt that stealthy thing she had done when they first left the school. Bob smiled at her friend and followed her, glad that Ned had reassured her; at least together they were safer.
They were now so close to the hut and it became clearer that there was someone inside although as they approached they couldn't see anyone. The house seemed to have an inviting, warm glow to it, something that the two tired girls craved.
They were so busy looking into the house that neither of them noticed the slope until it was right beneath them. It just so happened that Bob's reflexes were quicker that Ned's and she managed to grab hold of a trunk of a tree to stop herself falling. She grabbed out for Ned's hand to help her but she was too late.
Ned fell down the slope that was a further fall than she had first realised, she tumbled down. She reached out to try and grab something that might halt her fall and prevent her from hitting the ground but she was moving too fast and she couldn't grip anything. The ground loomed below her and she braced herself for the pain that would strike as soon as she hit the ground. Instead of the pain she thought she'd experience she felt nothing; it was actually quite nice, complete blackness.
Unfortunately for Ned she was drawn away from that blackness by the frenzied shouts of Bob from the top of the fall. She was shouting out to Ned who was now sitting up and checking herself for any injuries. She thought she might have a sprained ankle and perhaps a bruised rib but apart from that she had small cuts and bruises and her head was throbbing. She didn't think it was too serious.
Bob sighed in relief when she saw that Ned was sat up, she had to find a way of getting down there. She looked along the ridge that disguised the fall; she searched for a part that wasn't quite as steep as the rest of it.
She found what she was looking for and slowly made her way down. She used the trunks of the trees as support but still found herself slipping every now and then.
"Be careful Bob" Ned shouted out not wanting her friend to get hurt as well.
Eventually Bob reached the bottom and went over to Ned.
"I don't know what you are complaining about, that was easy." She laughed.
"Yeah, well you didn't fall down it!"
Bob grabbed Ned's hand and helped her up, Ned flinched when she tried to move her ankle and she was now certain that it was sprained. They decided that their best bet was to get to the hut, it wasn't far away now and there would be somewhere where they could rest Ned's ankle.
They took the first step forward when Bob felt a forceful pressure on the back of her head. She didn't know how but she instinctively knew that it was a gun. She put her hands up in the air and Ned followed this action, not really understanding what was going on. They stood still for a while and wondered what was happening. This was all they needed, a madman loose in the woods.
"Move!" A gruff voice commanded.
They did as they were told, they had no idea what was happening or what to expect, they hadn't thought this would happen. One thing they were glad about was that it wasn't the Black Rider that had captured them. However, this man did have a gun and that was certainly a bad thing. Only they could stumble upon the house of a mad man with a gun. It was just their luck.
The man led them into the hut and they were almost blinded by the glow that welcomed them. In one corner were two figures tied up with rope and pieces of tape over their mouths. Bob and Ned knew that it was Frodo and Sam even though they couldn't see them clearly.
The man roughly pushed them towards a crackling fire, it would have looked comfortable to them if the man had not been pointing a gun at their heads. How could this happen? What had they done so wrong? They were only trying to help Fred.
The rough looking man tied them to chairs with thick rope, there was no way they could get out of it now. Whoever this man was he came prepared.
He circled the two imprisoned girls and inspected them, he looked at them suspiciously. He seemed fascinated by them, like he hadn't seen anyone for a long time. From what Bob could make of his clothes that was true. He wore scruffy, out-of-date clothes. They were a faded brown colour, on his head he wore a ranger-like hat, this was what scared Bob, she could not see his eyes. If she had known what they were like she would have been grateful.
Bob felt a wave of terror run through her again and she shuddered but it wasn't because of their situation but she felt that familiar presence of Fred. Ned felt the shudder as they were tied together on two chairs - back- to-back.
"You need to help her, she isn't well." Ned said shortly to the man.
He didn't say anything but looked straight at her. She saw the craziness in his eyes and wondered how long this man had been out here on his own, he was obviously insane. He glared at her for a long time and she wished she could break away from him but something held her there.
After a while he moved away, he had only taken a few steps when he grabbed Ned's shoulders and held her close to his face. She could smell his breath, once again she struggled to get away from him but he held her firmly.
"You have no idea what you're getting into little girl." He said in a raspy voice.
The man got a knife out of his pocket and held it up to Ned's cheek, she saw it gleam in the light and felt the coldness of it on her skin. She sat back in the chair and decided that she shouldn't try to challenge him. He looked at her and went to walk away again but this time he came back and slashed Ned across the shoulder. She screamed out in pain and tried to grab her arm.
From the corner of the room Frodo and Sam looked on in horror, they didn't want Ned to get hurt no matter how bossy she was. Frodo set to work trying to untie his thick bonds. The rope was so thick that it was difficult and Sam wasn't being overly helpful, he was sat there trying to attract as little attention as possible.
"Fred. Fred? FRED."
Bob called out, in obvious distress but she didn't feel the weakness she did last time but just the knowledge that something was happening to her friend was enough to upset her and take her mind off her current situation.
**
Outside the hut a Ring Wraith strode into the clearing in the woods. He looked suspiciously at the hut and sniffed the air, searching for the Ring. It felt so close but the shrouded figure knew that it was so far away. It swept past, knowing that there was a lot more ground to cover.
On the floor a tiny red squirrel searched the ground for its nuts, instead it found something quite unexpected. A knife. Ned's penknife. It sniffed at it for a little while and then went back to searching for its winter store. The warmth from the hut was too much for the little creature to resist so it headed for the gap in the wood.
**
Fred screamed out in pain as the Orc tortured her further with the hot poker.
Her screams once again filled Orthanc.
Fred finally awoke, confused and not knowing where she was. She almost thought that the cold floor was her warm bed but this was most likely caused by the strange food and drink she had consumed. Most of what she saw the night before was blurred and not much of it made sense, the most vivid thing she remembered was that there were bodies, mutilated, wounded. Another thing that was still clear was that someone living was there with her, someone close to her. She had a feeling that it was a friend, someone she was close to, perhaps Bob or Ned. The details were fast fading and they were soon jumbled up with the other things that had once been so clear.
Fred looked around her, still disorientated and confused as to where she was. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious but it certainly wasn't a restful sleep, it was dream-filled and frightening. Although she should have felt refreshed and calm she felt that same coldness, and weakness she had sensed before she went into a coma.
The room was the same as she remembered it, dark and dingy and she felt completely alone again despite her earlier feeling that someone was guiding her. She wished Ned were there to help her; she was so knowledgeable in the subject of Lord of the Rings and was always willing to help you. Fred remembered the time when Ned had tried to give up speaking about her favourite subject for a week, she laughed when she remembered that her friend hadn't lasted a day. If only Ned was with her now, she would know what to do. Even Bob would have known more than her for she knew more about it than Fred could even hope. She had been practicing longer though. Fred had convinced herself that that was the reason, Bob had always laughed at her.
The frightened girl quietly recalled all her 'adventures' with her friends. It was true that she had once said that whenever she was around Ned that she felt like she was going to die, this was a quote that had stayed among the group for some time, but Fred didn't think that anymore, she would have felt a lot safer if Ned was there to instruct her.
Fred noticed something during her thoughts, there was no longer any sound coming from outside, she thought this rather curious. Why wouldn't they be guarding her?
She walked over to the door hoping to get some idea of what was going on. She creeped closer hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She didn't want to alert anything that might be out there that she was awake, not after what happened last time. She put her ear to the door listening to see if there was anyone out there, she heard nothing. Fred sighed in relief at least they couldn't give her any more potions. Just as she thought that images flashed through her head, memories of last night, they were awful but this time there was no one to help her, there was no comforting voice helping her.
She put her ear to the door one last time just to check. She still heard nothing, she was just about to back away when a noise came from outside. Before she could pull away the door swung open and nearly knocked her over. An orc came striding in and grabbed her arm roughly, he pulled her out of the cell, she wondered if she could pull away from him and maybe make her escape but the orc had such a strong grip that she stood no chance. A further two orcs joined then just confirmed her thoughts. There was no way she could get past them.
The orcs led her through a maze of tunnels and passages, she could never find her way around this place and she was surprised that the orcs could. Orthanc must have been huge, she could tell this because her feet were starting to ache but that could have been because she had hardly walked at all the past few days.
The orc took her to a huge door and then left her there. All three walked away from her, she didn't know what to do, she couldn't run away she couldn't find her way back through the labyrinth. She didn't know what to do. She was completely lost. Then unexpectedly a thought entered her mind that she should walk into the room, she didn't know where that came from but she did it anyway. Once again she decided that she must be under some kind of spell. But she could not resist the urge to walk into the room, she sensed that there was something inside and she needed to see what it was.
Carefully and slowly Fred opened the door, she was unsure as to what lay on the other side but something compelled her to carry on. When she walked through the door she felt a rush of excitement run through her, this surprised her, as she was completely terrified. Strangely she felt safer walking in to this place than she did when she was locked in her cell.
At first she could see nothing in the room, it looked black as night but at the far end there was a white figure standing and it seemed to be drawing Fred towards it. It was an odd feeling, she wanted to run, just like she felt earlier on when she had met with the man in white outside Orthanc. It suddenly dawned on Fred that this was the same man. It wasn't just the memory that reminded her who this stranger was, it was also that when she entered the room she seemed to exactly what was happening and what was going to happen to her. It was this last bit that frightened her most, she sensed that something bad was going to happen to her and once again she wished that that Ned or Bob were there to help her.
The man turned around and Fred instantly recognised him as Saurman. She couldn't believe it; she was stood just a few metres away from the White Wizard. It all seemed impossible to her even after everything that had happened to her so far. At first he just stared at her and she found herself becoming increasingly self-conscious, she could believe she was feeling like that she could be in terrible danger and she was thinking about how she looked in front of a Wizard. She thought that she was starting to sound like Bob.
The White Wizard walked over to her but didn't bother looking at her the way he did when she first arrived. This time he came right out with his question knowing fully well that Fred was so scared that she would tell him anything.
"Where is the One Ring?" His voice frightened her and she wanted so desperately to run away but she couldn't move, it felt just like when she was kidnapped in the forest.
"I.I." She tried to talk but she couldn't think of what to say.
She shook her head.
"Fine," came that hard voice again "just tell me where the Ring Bearer is, that isn't so hard. Or perhaps I should force it out of you. You see I have ways of making people talk." He smiled and looked towards an ugly-looking orc who was holding a firey poker in his hand.
Fred flinched at the thought of what might happen to her, she had no recollection of people ever getting tortured in Lord of the Rings, except Gollum but even then there were no details, so she had no idea what to expect. From the look on that Orc's face it was going to be something very bad. She dreaded to think what that monster could do to her.
The Wizard was now walking around her as if looking for weaknesses. Fred strangely felt a fascination with this place even though she was dreadfully afraid of what might happen to her there was something that made her want to look in every corner of this place. She could almost imagine the kinds of things Ned would ask. She was a fan of torture techniques and loved hearing of things like that and Fred knew that this would be like heaven for her. When she thought about what she was saying she realised how crazy that was, she was about to get tortured with a hot poker and she was thinking about what her friends would say. She couldn't believe it.
When she was thinking about all this a part of her remembered everything that had happened earlier and what she had seen in her hallucinations. Even now they were with her, the bodies, the loneliness. Suddenly a flood of memories came back to her and she cried out aloud, it was as if there were figures in the room with her. White spectres that were slowly encircling her and trapping her in the dungeon. There were hundreds of them all trying to get closer but it seemed that there was some invisible barrier holding them back. If Fred had been able to think straight then she might have thought that they resembled the scene in The Two Towers with all the ghosts but this was far more frightening than anything that she had ever seen. It was like the hallucinations but these things were actually there.
Saruman looked on with an evil smile on his face, he knew exactly what this weak girl was seeing, he was using his mind tricks to bring out her worst fears and bring them to life. So far it was a very entertaining show.
A few of the other Orcs that had been loitering in the background had now come out and were cheering on the Wizard and revelling in the girl's pain, they loved seeing people getting hurt and seeing these terrible things. They wished they could see what she was seeing, but for now her pained screams were enough to satisfy them as they were sure that they would soon have a chance to submit her to their own private torture.
For a while the Wizard looked on, liking the audience that were cheering for his wizardry and at seeing this thing's pain. He gave a grim smile. This soon faded when the Fred started thrashing out as if trying to get away. In distress she ran towards the great doors that to her were just a blur. One of the braver Orcs grabbed her before she reached it and roughly pushed her towards another one waiting to catch her.
This went on for a while and Saruman seemed to enjoy it for a little while but then his amused smile faded and he grabbed Fred and held her against him.
"How dare you touch my girl." He shouted commandingly.
The Orcs stopped their cheering and looked confused at the White robed leader. He held Fred close to him and looked down at her fear-filled face, she was still breathing heavily but the screaming had now stopped and there was just the occasional whimper from the scared Fred.
Saruman looked down at her and sighed, he loved seeing people like this but enough was enough, he wanted her to suffer and he feared that this would just make her more determined not to talk. He uttered a few words and the spell was lifted. The ghosts slowly walked away just as quickly as they had appeared.
Fred tried to get free from Saruman's grip but he was too strong for her, she had no idea what was going on or where all the Orcs had come from. Despite her current fear she was pleased that the ghosts had gone and that she was back among the living, no matter how evil and dangerous. She tried once again to get away but that strong arm still kept her there. He was so close to her.
"Tell me what I want to know or I will make you regret it. Who bears the Ring?"
Fred closed her eyes in an effort not to tell him anything, she wished she could and that he would let her go.
"I will make this so hard for you. I know a few disgraceful creatures that would love to get their hands on fresh, young meat, so save yourself the trouble and tell me where the Ring Bearer is." His grip was tightening and beginning to hurt Fred's arm.
She shook her head violently.
He nodded in acknowledgement and gave a quick glance at one of the Orcs, it stepped forward and Saruman pushed her towards him, he grabbed her and held the poker to her face. Even from this distance she felt the heat burning her skin. She would have tried to struggle free but she knew it would do no good so she just stood there and cried as the poker came ever closer to her skin.
"Wait..." Came another, unfamiliar voice. "She's just a child, does she look like she knows anything?"
The poker was taken away from her face and the grip on her was released, she collapsed on the floor in terror and exhaustion. She took a few short breaths and then looked around to find the source of the voice, at first she couldn't find it but then she saw him. A man was tied to a pole and was looking wildly around him. Fred looked at him and realised what the approaching Orc was going to do to him.
"Wait. Leave him alone, he's done nothing wrong." She screamed.
Fred had no idea why she did this and soon realised this when the Orc holding the poker came back towards her. She scanned the room to see if there was anywhere to run or at least buy herself some time, there was nothing, the place was sealed up. She tried to stand but found that she had no strength in her legs and could barely move them, she was unsure whether this was a spell or just pure fright.
The Orc grabbed her and once again held the poker up to her face and she felt that same burning sensation. This time the poker came into contact with skin and she felt it brandishing her skin, she screamed, they drowned out the protests of the man that had tried to help her earlier.
The Orc doing this seemed to be enjoying it. Although he only kept it there for a few seconds to Fred it appeared to go on forever and she wished she could stop it. Finally the sneering Orc withdrew the poker and let Fred fall to the floor clutching her burnt face. He then went back over to the man.
"Now it's your turn." He snarled.
The screams of Fred and the stranger mingled together and filled the tower of Orthanc. A sound that made Saruman very happy. He was going to enjoy this new being, he also knew that his Orcs would as well.
He turned to the window and looked out over his newly claimed empire, yes this girl was going to answer all his questions and was going to help him win the war.
**
Ned and Bob approached the hut, not knowing what to expect but knowing that there must be some form of shelter inside there.
"Hang on a minute." Bob said quietly. "I think I see something."
"Stop being so paranoid there could be shelter in there. We might find help, or even better we might find Sam and Frodo. Maybe even Fred. We should take the chance."
"And what if we don't like what we find. It might be a trap."
"I hardly think a Ring Wraith is going to hide out in a small hut with smoke coming out of the chimney." Ned joked.
Bob looked sternly at her and gestured towards the smoke coming from the chimney.
"We don't know what's inside there, it could be something bad." Ned rolled her eyes up, "I'm just saying that we should be careful, that's all."
Ned nodded, no longer really listening to her complaining friend. She could be so stressed sometimes. She always had to worry and sometimes it annoyed Ned. In a way she understood her friend's caution, she had seen something when she was taken over by those visions, Ned knew that something had scared her and that she was just trying to play it safe.
Ned motioned Bob forward; once again trying to adopt that stealthy thing she had done when they first left the school. Bob smiled at her friend and followed her, glad that Ned had reassured her; at least together they were safer.
They were now so close to the hut and it became clearer that there was someone inside although as they approached they couldn't see anyone. The house seemed to have an inviting, warm glow to it, something that the two tired girls craved.
They were so busy looking into the house that neither of them noticed the slope until it was right beneath them. It just so happened that Bob's reflexes were quicker that Ned's and she managed to grab hold of a trunk of a tree to stop herself falling. She grabbed out for Ned's hand to help her but she was too late.
Ned fell down the slope that was a further fall than she had first realised, she tumbled down. She reached out to try and grab something that might halt her fall and prevent her from hitting the ground but she was moving too fast and she couldn't grip anything. The ground loomed below her and she braced herself for the pain that would strike as soon as she hit the ground. Instead of the pain she thought she'd experience she felt nothing; it was actually quite nice, complete blackness.
Unfortunately for Ned she was drawn away from that blackness by the frenzied shouts of Bob from the top of the fall. She was shouting out to Ned who was now sitting up and checking herself for any injuries. She thought she might have a sprained ankle and perhaps a bruised rib but apart from that she had small cuts and bruises and her head was throbbing. She didn't think it was too serious.
Bob sighed in relief when she saw that Ned was sat up, she had to find a way of getting down there. She looked along the ridge that disguised the fall; she searched for a part that wasn't quite as steep as the rest of it.
She found what she was looking for and slowly made her way down. She used the trunks of the trees as support but still found herself slipping every now and then.
"Be careful Bob" Ned shouted out not wanting her friend to get hurt as well.
Eventually Bob reached the bottom and went over to Ned.
"I don't know what you are complaining about, that was easy." She laughed.
"Yeah, well you didn't fall down it!"
Bob grabbed Ned's hand and helped her up, Ned flinched when she tried to move her ankle and she was now certain that it was sprained. They decided that their best bet was to get to the hut, it wasn't far away now and there would be somewhere where they could rest Ned's ankle.
They took the first step forward when Bob felt a forceful pressure on the back of her head. She didn't know how but she instinctively knew that it was a gun. She put her hands up in the air and Ned followed this action, not really understanding what was going on. They stood still for a while and wondered what was happening. This was all they needed, a madman loose in the woods.
"Move!" A gruff voice commanded.
They did as they were told, they had no idea what was happening or what to expect, they hadn't thought this would happen. One thing they were glad about was that it wasn't the Black Rider that had captured them. However, this man did have a gun and that was certainly a bad thing. Only they could stumble upon the house of a mad man with a gun. It was just their luck.
The man led them into the hut and they were almost blinded by the glow that welcomed them. In one corner were two figures tied up with rope and pieces of tape over their mouths. Bob and Ned knew that it was Frodo and Sam even though they couldn't see them clearly.
The man roughly pushed them towards a crackling fire, it would have looked comfortable to them if the man had not been pointing a gun at their heads. How could this happen? What had they done so wrong? They were only trying to help Fred.
The rough looking man tied them to chairs with thick rope, there was no way they could get out of it now. Whoever this man was he came prepared.
He circled the two imprisoned girls and inspected them, he looked at them suspiciously. He seemed fascinated by them, like he hadn't seen anyone for a long time. From what Bob could make of his clothes that was true. He wore scruffy, out-of-date clothes. They were a faded brown colour, on his head he wore a ranger-like hat, this was what scared Bob, she could not see his eyes. If she had known what they were like she would have been grateful.
Bob felt a wave of terror run through her again and she shuddered but it wasn't because of their situation but she felt that familiar presence of Fred. Ned felt the shudder as they were tied together on two chairs - back- to-back.
"You need to help her, she isn't well." Ned said shortly to the man.
He didn't say anything but looked straight at her. She saw the craziness in his eyes and wondered how long this man had been out here on his own, he was obviously insane. He glared at her for a long time and she wished she could break away from him but something held her there.
After a while he moved away, he had only taken a few steps when he grabbed Ned's shoulders and held her close to his face. She could smell his breath, once again she struggled to get away from him but he held her firmly.
"You have no idea what you're getting into little girl." He said in a raspy voice.
The man got a knife out of his pocket and held it up to Ned's cheek, she saw it gleam in the light and felt the coldness of it on her skin. She sat back in the chair and decided that she shouldn't try to challenge him. He looked at her and went to walk away again but this time he came back and slashed Ned across the shoulder. She screamed out in pain and tried to grab her arm.
From the corner of the room Frodo and Sam looked on in horror, they didn't want Ned to get hurt no matter how bossy she was. Frodo set to work trying to untie his thick bonds. The rope was so thick that it was difficult and Sam wasn't being overly helpful, he was sat there trying to attract as little attention as possible.
"Fred. Fred? FRED."
Bob called out, in obvious distress but she didn't feel the weakness she did last time but just the knowledge that something was happening to her friend was enough to upset her and take her mind off her current situation.
**
Outside the hut a Ring Wraith strode into the clearing in the woods. He looked suspiciously at the hut and sniffed the air, searching for the Ring. It felt so close but the shrouded figure knew that it was so far away. It swept past, knowing that there was a lot more ground to cover.
On the floor a tiny red squirrel searched the ground for its nuts, instead it found something quite unexpected. A knife. Ned's penknife. It sniffed at it for a little while and then went back to searching for its winter store. The warmth from the hut was too much for the little creature to resist so it headed for the gap in the wood.
**
Fred screamed out in pain as the Orc tortured her further with the hot poker.
Her screams once again filled Orthanc.