Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters created by the master,
although I often wish I did.
A/N I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review.
Ch 27 Realisation
Fred and David were talking quietly about things they had done in the past, Fred was trying as best she could to stop the terrible pain that wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted it to stop but knew there was nothing anyone could do about it until the Orcs let her down. David was trying to keep her mind off it but it wasn't working all that well as every time he made her laugh with one of his stories she felt that familiar pain again.
She was also beginning to feel that exhaustion seeping through her again and longed to lie down on the bed. She had gotten very little sleep over the past few days and her recent torture had made sleep completely impossible. She tried to fight the feeling but every so often felt herself leaning more and more on the chains that held her up.
Time seemed to go so slowly in the cell, she didn't know how long she'd been there although it felt like an eternity. She had tried to work it out in her head once but couldn't remember how to do it. It was frustrating that she couldn't work it out but secretly she wasn't sure she wanted to know, after all she knew she had been there for a long time and she didn't want to think how long she had been away from her family and friends.
David was watching Fred as she leaned down on the chains. He wanted to help her so much but he was just out of her reach, he wished there was something he could say to make her feel better or at least make her more comfortable but it seemed like no matter what he did it made things worse. It was so unfair that someone so young should be suffering so much.
David watched her as she nearly fell asleep.
"Fred." He said loudly so as to wake her up. "Fred, I know you're tired but you should try and stand straight, it'll help the wounds heal and you won't feel as much pain. I know from experience that it will only make things worse."
Fred woke up and stood straight as instructed.
"It's all very well for you to say. Do you know how long I've been up here?"
"I know it's a long time but."
"But what? What did you do when you were tied up?"
"I can't remember. I'm sorry Fred."
"No, it was my own fault, I was the one that convinced you to escape, you tried to warm me but I didn't listen. I'm just tired. And sick and tired of being chained to this damn wall."
David nodded understandingly. He knew that Fred didn't like not being able to move and he wished he could help her more than holding her hand and giving her instructions on how to make herself feel better.
"Are you sure you're alright? You've been on that floor for a while."
"I'm better than you." David smiled. Fred laughed. "Besides the only thing that is torture to me right now is not being able to help you."
"It's hardly your fault. You can't break that chain and I can't get free. This is a great date." She smiled.
"Date?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I was just making conversation."
"You want to go on a date if we ever get out of here?"
"Sure why not?"
David smiled sweetly at her; she was the first person he actually wanted to be in a cell with, all the rest of the prisoners he had been put with were either drunk most of the time or complete idiots that wouldn't leave him alone.
"What? You had that funny look on your face."
"What funny look? There was no funny look."
"Trust me there was a funny look. I know that look when I see it."
"Trust you?" David instantly regretted saying this and carried on, "I was thinking about you. How you're the first cellmate I've actually enjoyed spending time with."
Fred was a little shocked by this, the fact that he liked spending time with cellmates was enough but that he really did like her was a little shocking.
David looked at her for a while as if he was trying to read her mind; he looked away suddenly when he heard voices outside the cell. He sat up and tried to listen to what they were saying. It made no sense to him but guessed it had something to do with Fred as he was sure he had heard her name being mentioned. The door was suddenly opened causing David to fall onto his stomach and try and crawl out of the way before the Orc entering the room could stand on him.
At the sight of the huge Orc coming in and David falling to the floor Fred leaned further back into the wall trying to ignore the burning pain on her back. She tried to get free but she couldn't. The Orc came closer and she closed her eyes not wanting to see what he was going to do to her. She didn't feel anything and she slowly opened her eyes and adjusted her head so she could see what was happening out of her good eye. She tried to focus on the Orc and when she did she saw that he was unchaining her although keeping the chains around her ankles and her hands she was no longer tied to the wall. She resisted the urge to fall the floor and go to sleep and stood up straight.
The Orc sneered at her and pulled roughly on the chain forcing her to fall forwards into him. The Orc stood her up and once again pulled on the chain forcing her to move forwards. The Orc rushed her out of the door where she was joined by another two of the foul creatures. She looked back at David who was now sat up trying to get his chains off but when he realised there was no hope he looked directly at Fred with a look of regret on his face.
"David." Fred whispered. David moved closer to the door but an Orc put out his foot and kicked the man back into the cell.
Fred moved towards the door but the Orc closed it before she had a chance to check that David was all right.
She was roughly pushed and pulled along the long corridor that she knew too well. She knew exactly where they were taking her. To Saruman's room and usually bad things happened there so she tried to brace herself for what was coming.
**
Bob was taken into the room where Saruman always stayed. She was left alone in the room when the Orcs walked back out of the door. She didn't understand what was going on or where she was. She guessed they would take her straight to Saruman; this was exactly what she had wanted to happen. There she could find out if Fred was alive and everything would work out. Still there was a doubt in her mind, she couldn't help but think that maybe she was still making a mistake and that her plan wouldn't work.
She wondered whether Fred had stood in this room when she had first arrived. Bob looked around hoping to find some sign that someone was here, she couldn't see anyone but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Suddenly the door swung open and she was faced with a tall being dressed in white. He was as terrifying as she had imagined.
"Welcome to Orthanc. Roberta."
Bob was completely surprised that the White Wizard knew her name, her real name. Maybe Fred had told him but that didn't seem likely, if she told him that then she would have told him about the Ring and she wouldn't have been tortured and Bob certainly wouldn't be standing there.
"How.?"
"I know a lot about you. Bob. That is what you like to be called is it not? Your friend has told me so much about you." He towered over her making her feel inferior to her but also filling her with dread. He seemed to know an awful lot about her and that was not a good sign. She wondered if Fred had really told him about her, she very much doubted it, Fred would have been too stubborn to help them.
"You seem a little surprised to be here Bob. Did you really think you could hide from us forever, and now I have someone else to torture the truth out of. Your friend wasn't very helpful and she held on even though I had great fun watching her and her boyfriend suffer."
Bob didn't understand what he meant but she knew she had to say something.
"Why?"
"Come now, you can't hide anything from me. I know you know where the Ring bearer is so you should just tell me and I won't hurt you the way I hurt your friend."
"Ring bearer? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me. Don't think I can't hurt you, perhaps you should ask your friend just how hard it is to keep things quiet when you're being tortured." Saruman sneered.
At that moment the door swung open and a gang of Orcs strode through, they walked purposefully towards Saruman carrying something. A poker. A red-hot poker. Bob gasped.
"Oh don't worry, this isn't for you." He smiled.
Bob looked at him confused. Her confusion dissipated when she saw another, smaller group of Orcs coming through the door. They were pulling Fred behind them. She was chained up and looked as though she had been through hell.
"Welcome Fred. I hope we didn't disturb your sleep. We have someone who insists on seeing you. Fred you remember Bob."
At this Fred looked up completely shocked. It was true Bob was standing in front of her, she was still suspicious though, she remembered the ghosts Saruman had shown her, he could make people see things. Even though she wasn't sure that what she was seeing was real she decided that it was better than nothing and tried to run forward. The Orc holding her pulled her back and stopped her suddenly making her cry out in pain.
Bob couldn't believe what they had done to Fred. She was obviously in pain and her face was caked in blood, both fresh and dry. She had one of her eyes closed but Bob didn't need to question why, she remembered what she had seen in her vision. It was hard to believe that it was really her friend stood in front of her, she looked completely different. In fact Fred was almost unrecognisable.
Bob noticed the chains around her ankles and hands and cringed when she saw the marks that ran from her back to her sides. She guessed they were from whipping but decided not to think about it. When Fred tried to move towards her friend she was roughly pulled back causing her to cry out and causing Bob to run towards her. An Orc reached out to grab her but Saruman waved him off.
As Bob reached Fred Saruman signalled for the Orcs holding Fred to drop her, they did let her go and she fell to the floor at the sudden shock of being free. Bob dropped to her knees and knelt beside Fred who was struggling to get up. Bob could see that she was terribly wounded now and reached out and touched her shoulder. She felt Fred flinch but she did not move away.
Fred lifted her head and looked at Bob who was looking at her with concern. Bob didn't know what to say and Fred didn't wait for her to speak. Fred threw her arms around Bob and held her tightly ignoring the pain that threatened to throw her into unconsciousness. Bob responded in a shocked way at the sudden trust Fred had placed in her.
She returned the embrace holding her friend tightly but not so tightly as to hurt her, she didn't want to make Fred feel any worse than she was already if that was at all possible. She felt Fred shaking in her arms and wondered just what they'd done to her, she knew that she had only got a watered-down picture of what had happened and she didn't want to think about what they had put her friend through.
They stayed that way for some time, Bob trying her best to comfort her terrified friend. Fred was holding on tightly in case her friend suddenly disappeared, she begged that this was not a trick by Saruman. Eventually she forced herself to pull away and looked at Bob.
"It is really you isn't it?" She said in a whisper.
Bob nodded. "Yes, it's really me." She smiled at Fred who just gave her a surprised look.
"Thank God." Fred almost shouted as she hugged Bob tightly. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."
"It's going to be all right. I promise." Bob replied hoping the statement was true.
Fred let Bob go and nodded, she wasn't feeling the pain for the first time since she had arrived she was just so pleased that she was no longer alone.
"A touching reunion." Saruman's voice boomed through the room disturbing the thoughts of both the girls. "Unfortunately I cannot allow it to continue. I have far more pressing matters and me and Fred have some unfinished business."
He nodded at the Orc who was still holding the hot poker. One of the Orcs that had brought her in went over to her and grabbed the chains and pulled her to her feet, once again she cried out in pain. The Orc held her upright and grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. Fred tried to scream but she was finding it very difficult. She wasn't sure what Saruman was going to do.
"Tell me what I wish to know or I'll make your friend's life even more difficult than it already is."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Bob shouted.
"I think you do. Either one of you tells me or I let my friend here do his job to his full potential."
"We have no idea what you're talking about." Bob shouted angrily at him, she didn't want to see her friend hurt but knew there was nothing she could do about it, she couldn't tell him about Frodo or all this would be pointless. She looked across at Fred who confirmed her thoughts with a small nod that only Bob could really see.
"Tell me where is the Ring bearer? NOW." Saruman was losing his patience. He had never met two more stubborn people and he didn't like it. "Fine." He almost ran over to the Orc holding the poker and snatched the instrument out of his hand.
He grabbed Fred by the neck and hit her hard across the stomach with the poker, he smiled when she screamed and did it again, this time in a different position. He knew exactly where to hurt her most. Bob tried to stop herself from running to her friend knowing there was nothing she could say to help her without telling him about the Ring and Frodo.
Saruman repeated his tortured several more times before he stopped and threw the poker to the ground, the whole room was silent except Fred's heavy breathing and the occasional whimper that escaped her lips. Saruman glanced around and then fixed his eyes on Bob who could hardly believe what had just happened. Saruman took one last look at Fred who was leaning towards the ground with only Saruman's strong hand holding her up. He dropped her and she fell to the ground. She felt something crack inside her but guessed that it wasn't anything too bad as she barely felt the pain. She longed for that familiar blackness to come but it seemed to just linger on the edges of her mind never letting her fully go.
Fred reached her hand down to her stomach and pulled it back when it not only hurt her stomach but also burnt her hand. She wanted to find out how bad it was but she couldn't find the energy to look down and she was frightened about what she might find. She wanted to be back in her cell with David talking about his past and making her laugh even though she didn't want to.
Bob couldn't take her eyes off Fred who was lying on the floor after Saruman's brutal assault. She wanted to get up and help her friend but she knew it would do no good. Fred knew that Bob couldn't help here and glanced her way giving her an understanding look, a knowledge passed between them that no one was to blame and that Bob should stick to it and not tell Saruman anything no matter what he did to Fred.
Saruman walked back over to Fred who was still lying on the floor trying to recover from what had just happened. She kept a wary eye on Saruman who was circling her.
"Tell me what I want to know or I let my Orcs do more awful things to your friend. I know how much she enjoys it." He smiled evilly.
"No." Bob shouted back hating the fact she couldn't help her friend.
"Very well." He bent down and picked Fred up from the floor holding her roughly and painfully by the arm. "I wonder what I can try that would make you tell me everything. I think I've been rather nice to you so far but maybe you do not deserve it. Let me see. Ah yes." He watched Fred as an Orc came in carrying something. Something that moved.
Fred watched the Orc as it brought in the moving object.
"Did I ever tell you that I could see everything that went on in that cell? I heard everything as well. I know your deepest fears. And now it is time you faced your phobia." He smiled as the Orc lifted the object up to Fred's face.
It was literally crawling with bugs, all kinds and some that Fred didn't know. She wasn't sure what he was going to do with them but she guessed that it wasn't going to be good.
Saruman smiled when he saw the reaction he got from Fred when she looked at the bugs.
"It was spiders wasn't it? Your worst fear. What was the other one? Oh yes, enclosed spaces. How convenient look what I have here."
Fred saw the Orcs bringing a box in, she instantly knew what was going to happen, she remembered seeing something very much like it in a film once. Saruman was going to throw her in that box with those bugs! She couldn't believe that he would do it but something in his voice changed her mind.
Bob also understood what was happening, she wanted so much to tell Saruman everything and had to use all her will power to stop herself from shouting out the truth. She would even have swapped places with Fred if she could. That gave her an idea.
"Please, do it to me instead. Whatever you're going to do, do it to me. You have hurt Fred enough please, don't do this."
Saruman smiled. "Do you really think I'm going to do anything to hurt you? Oh no, I need you to talk and you can't do that when locked in a box with creatures around you. Especially if like these ones they eat your flesh." He laughed when he caught the horrified look on Fred's face. "You can make it all stop if you tell me where the Ring bearer is." He gave them one last chance.
Bob looked at Fred who was now completely white and back at the box which the Orcs were preparing. She reluctantly nodded her head.
"I don't know where the Ring bearer is or anything about it. Please do whatever you want to me just leave Fred alone."
"No." Screamed Fred but not because they were now leading her towards the box, she didn't want anything to happen to her friend. It was her fault Bob was there in the first place and she didn't want to make things harder for her friend. "No. Do whatever you want. We don't know where the Ring bearer is."
Bob shook her head amazed at Fred's bravery. Saruman was not wrong, bugs and enclosed spaces were Fred's worst nightmares but she was still not going to tell them anything.
Saruman nodded at one of the Orcs who unchained Fred, she thought about running but knew that she hardly had the strength to stand up let alone run away from Orcs. She allowed them to lead her into the box although she resisted a little when they pushed her down. They forced her to lay down and she couldn't help but cry out in pain when her back was pushed against the bottom of the box. The Orcs ignored her and continued positioning her. She held out her hands to be chained but noticed that there were no chains anywhere in sight. She didn't understand at first but what she saw next explained everything for her even though she wished it didn't.
One of the Orcs was holding something that resembled a hammer in one hand and some pointy bits of metal in the other. It suddenly dawned on Fred what they were going to do. They were going to nail her inside the box to make certain she didn't get out. She moved back in terror knowing that nothing she said would make any difference.
Bob had also seen what they were about to do and began moving towards the box in order to help her friend. An Orc grabbed her but Saruman quickly pushed him away and led Bob to the box. She watched as one of the Orcs put a brown sack over Fred's head and held the nails out to Saruman. He shook his head and nodded towards Bob who didn't know what to do. The Orc held them out for Bob who on reflex opened her hand to receive them. She understood what they wanted her to do. They wanted her to nail her own friend into the box.
She dropped the tools she had been given and Fred moved her head towards the noise in curiosity and fear. She tried to see through the sack but could only make out blurred shapes. She had a good idea of what they were doing.
"No." Bob said, she was not purposefully going to hurt her friend.
"You will do it or I will get him to." He pointed at a particularly strong looking Orc. "I do not think he will be as gentle as you."
Bob looked in horror at the Orc Saruman had pointed to and then back at Fred who was trying to figure out what was going on. Finally after thinking a moment Bob nodded and bent down to pick up the tools. The Orc nearest the box reached down and roughly grabbed Fred's hand and placed it where she would be nailed. Bob leaned over the box wishing she didn't have to do this. She leant forwards so Fred could hear her.
"I'm so sorry." She said trying not to cry and make Fred feel worse.
"It's all right." Fred whispered back. Even through the thick sack Bob could hear the fear in Fred's voice.
Bob Held the piece of metal up to Fred's hand and placed the hammer above it. She said sorry under her breath one last time and pushed the hammer down quickly and as smoothly as she could hoping it wouldn't cause her friend too much pain. Bob almost dropped the hammer when she heard Fred's cry. The Orc holding her hand let it go as blood trickled from the wound. Bob remembered that it was safer to leave an object in a wound as it stopped the blood-flow. At least her friend wouldn't bleed much - until they took it out. She didn't even want to think about that right then.
The Orc grabbed Fred's other hand and ignored the plea from Fred. Bob did the same as she had done before, this time Fred's cry was not so loud, this betrayed how much she had been through the past few days and how terrified she was about what was going to happen.
Saruman grabbed Bob and pulled her away from the box. She couldn't move, she just stood still as the box of bugs was poured on top of the writhing Fred, she wanted so much to get Fred out but there was nothing she could do. The screams echoed throughout the tower as the lid of the box was slammed shut and Fred could no longer be seen. Bob didn't want to imagine what was happening to Fred inside there. She tried not to think about it but she couldn't get it off her mind.
"As soon as you tell me what I want to know I'll let your friend go." He said.
"You can't keep her in there forever, you want her alive and you know it'll kill her to stay in there." Bob hoped her argument was right.
"That is true but there are far worse things I can do to your friend remember that. Take her to a cell." Saruman ordered and the Orcs pulled Bob away from the room. Slowly the cries of distress from the room died as she got further away from helping Fred.
The plan hadn't worked out quite as she expected, she hadn't anticipated that Fred would be so badly hurt and that she herself would have to participate in her friend's torture.
The Orcs threw her into a cell and left her there with a small tin of water very much like Fred's. She get up and sat on the bed and buried her head in her hands hoping to get rid of the images.
What Bob didn't realise was that she was in the cell right next to David who was also getting worried about Fred. Normally they would throw her back in the cell after a while but her long absence meant that something very bad was happening to her and David didn't want to think about what kind of Torture Saruman was performing on her. She had been through enough the past few days without having to suffer more. He hoped she was all right but deep down he felt like she was in great pain. He didn't know how right he was.
A/N I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review.
Ch 27 Realisation
Fred and David were talking quietly about things they had done in the past, Fred was trying as best she could to stop the terrible pain that wouldn't leave her alone. She wanted it to stop but knew there was nothing anyone could do about it until the Orcs let her down. David was trying to keep her mind off it but it wasn't working all that well as every time he made her laugh with one of his stories she felt that familiar pain again.
She was also beginning to feel that exhaustion seeping through her again and longed to lie down on the bed. She had gotten very little sleep over the past few days and her recent torture had made sleep completely impossible. She tried to fight the feeling but every so often felt herself leaning more and more on the chains that held her up.
Time seemed to go so slowly in the cell, she didn't know how long she'd been there although it felt like an eternity. She had tried to work it out in her head once but couldn't remember how to do it. It was frustrating that she couldn't work it out but secretly she wasn't sure she wanted to know, after all she knew she had been there for a long time and she didn't want to think how long she had been away from her family and friends.
David was watching Fred as she leaned down on the chains. He wanted to help her so much but he was just out of her reach, he wished there was something he could say to make her feel better or at least make her more comfortable but it seemed like no matter what he did it made things worse. It was so unfair that someone so young should be suffering so much.
David watched her as she nearly fell asleep.
"Fred." He said loudly so as to wake her up. "Fred, I know you're tired but you should try and stand straight, it'll help the wounds heal and you won't feel as much pain. I know from experience that it will only make things worse."
Fred woke up and stood straight as instructed.
"It's all very well for you to say. Do you know how long I've been up here?"
"I know it's a long time but."
"But what? What did you do when you were tied up?"
"I can't remember. I'm sorry Fred."
"No, it was my own fault, I was the one that convinced you to escape, you tried to warm me but I didn't listen. I'm just tired. And sick and tired of being chained to this damn wall."
David nodded understandingly. He knew that Fred didn't like not being able to move and he wished he could help her more than holding her hand and giving her instructions on how to make herself feel better.
"Are you sure you're alright? You've been on that floor for a while."
"I'm better than you." David smiled. Fred laughed. "Besides the only thing that is torture to me right now is not being able to help you."
"It's hardly your fault. You can't break that chain and I can't get free. This is a great date." She smiled.
"Date?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I was just making conversation."
"You want to go on a date if we ever get out of here?"
"Sure why not?"
David smiled sweetly at her; she was the first person he actually wanted to be in a cell with, all the rest of the prisoners he had been put with were either drunk most of the time or complete idiots that wouldn't leave him alone.
"What? You had that funny look on your face."
"What funny look? There was no funny look."
"Trust me there was a funny look. I know that look when I see it."
"Trust you?" David instantly regretted saying this and carried on, "I was thinking about you. How you're the first cellmate I've actually enjoyed spending time with."
Fred was a little shocked by this, the fact that he liked spending time with cellmates was enough but that he really did like her was a little shocking.
David looked at her for a while as if he was trying to read her mind; he looked away suddenly when he heard voices outside the cell. He sat up and tried to listen to what they were saying. It made no sense to him but guessed it had something to do with Fred as he was sure he had heard her name being mentioned. The door was suddenly opened causing David to fall onto his stomach and try and crawl out of the way before the Orc entering the room could stand on him.
At the sight of the huge Orc coming in and David falling to the floor Fred leaned further back into the wall trying to ignore the burning pain on her back. She tried to get free but she couldn't. The Orc came closer and she closed her eyes not wanting to see what he was going to do to her. She didn't feel anything and she slowly opened her eyes and adjusted her head so she could see what was happening out of her good eye. She tried to focus on the Orc and when she did she saw that he was unchaining her although keeping the chains around her ankles and her hands she was no longer tied to the wall. She resisted the urge to fall the floor and go to sleep and stood up straight.
The Orc sneered at her and pulled roughly on the chain forcing her to fall forwards into him. The Orc stood her up and once again pulled on the chain forcing her to move forwards. The Orc rushed her out of the door where she was joined by another two of the foul creatures. She looked back at David who was now sat up trying to get his chains off but when he realised there was no hope he looked directly at Fred with a look of regret on his face.
"David." Fred whispered. David moved closer to the door but an Orc put out his foot and kicked the man back into the cell.
Fred moved towards the door but the Orc closed it before she had a chance to check that David was all right.
She was roughly pushed and pulled along the long corridor that she knew too well. She knew exactly where they were taking her. To Saruman's room and usually bad things happened there so she tried to brace herself for what was coming.
**
Bob was taken into the room where Saruman always stayed. She was left alone in the room when the Orcs walked back out of the door. She didn't understand what was going on or where she was. She guessed they would take her straight to Saruman; this was exactly what she had wanted to happen. There she could find out if Fred was alive and everything would work out. Still there was a doubt in her mind, she couldn't help but think that maybe she was still making a mistake and that her plan wouldn't work.
She wondered whether Fred had stood in this room when she had first arrived. Bob looked around hoping to find some sign that someone was here, she couldn't see anyone but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Suddenly the door swung open and she was faced with a tall being dressed in white. He was as terrifying as she had imagined.
"Welcome to Orthanc. Roberta."
Bob was completely surprised that the White Wizard knew her name, her real name. Maybe Fred had told him but that didn't seem likely, if she told him that then she would have told him about the Ring and she wouldn't have been tortured and Bob certainly wouldn't be standing there.
"How.?"
"I know a lot about you. Bob. That is what you like to be called is it not? Your friend has told me so much about you." He towered over her making her feel inferior to her but also filling her with dread. He seemed to know an awful lot about her and that was not a good sign. She wondered if Fred had really told him about her, she very much doubted it, Fred would have been too stubborn to help them.
"You seem a little surprised to be here Bob. Did you really think you could hide from us forever, and now I have someone else to torture the truth out of. Your friend wasn't very helpful and she held on even though I had great fun watching her and her boyfriend suffer."
Bob didn't understand what he meant but she knew she had to say something.
"Why?"
"Come now, you can't hide anything from me. I know you know where the Ring bearer is so you should just tell me and I won't hurt you the way I hurt your friend."
"Ring bearer? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me. Don't think I can't hurt you, perhaps you should ask your friend just how hard it is to keep things quiet when you're being tortured." Saruman sneered.
At that moment the door swung open and a gang of Orcs strode through, they walked purposefully towards Saruman carrying something. A poker. A red-hot poker. Bob gasped.
"Oh don't worry, this isn't for you." He smiled.
Bob looked at him confused. Her confusion dissipated when she saw another, smaller group of Orcs coming through the door. They were pulling Fred behind them. She was chained up and looked as though she had been through hell.
"Welcome Fred. I hope we didn't disturb your sleep. We have someone who insists on seeing you. Fred you remember Bob."
At this Fred looked up completely shocked. It was true Bob was standing in front of her, she was still suspicious though, she remembered the ghosts Saruman had shown her, he could make people see things. Even though she wasn't sure that what she was seeing was real she decided that it was better than nothing and tried to run forward. The Orc holding her pulled her back and stopped her suddenly making her cry out in pain.
Bob couldn't believe what they had done to Fred. She was obviously in pain and her face was caked in blood, both fresh and dry. She had one of her eyes closed but Bob didn't need to question why, she remembered what she had seen in her vision. It was hard to believe that it was really her friend stood in front of her, she looked completely different. In fact Fred was almost unrecognisable.
Bob noticed the chains around her ankles and hands and cringed when she saw the marks that ran from her back to her sides. She guessed they were from whipping but decided not to think about it. When Fred tried to move towards her friend she was roughly pulled back causing her to cry out and causing Bob to run towards her. An Orc reached out to grab her but Saruman waved him off.
As Bob reached Fred Saruman signalled for the Orcs holding Fred to drop her, they did let her go and she fell to the floor at the sudden shock of being free. Bob dropped to her knees and knelt beside Fred who was struggling to get up. Bob could see that she was terribly wounded now and reached out and touched her shoulder. She felt Fred flinch but she did not move away.
Fred lifted her head and looked at Bob who was looking at her with concern. Bob didn't know what to say and Fred didn't wait for her to speak. Fred threw her arms around Bob and held her tightly ignoring the pain that threatened to throw her into unconsciousness. Bob responded in a shocked way at the sudden trust Fred had placed in her.
She returned the embrace holding her friend tightly but not so tightly as to hurt her, she didn't want to make Fred feel any worse than she was already if that was at all possible. She felt Fred shaking in her arms and wondered just what they'd done to her, she knew that she had only got a watered-down picture of what had happened and she didn't want to think about what they had put her friend through.
They stayed that way for some time, Bob trying her best to comfort her terrified friend. Fred was holding on tightly in case her friend suddenly disappeared, she begged that this was not a trick by Saruman. Eventually she forced herself to pull away and looked at Bob.
"It is really you isn't it?" She said in a whisper.
Bob nodded. "Yes, it's really me." She smiled at Fred who just gave her a surprised look.
"Thank God." Fred almost shouted as she hugged Bob tightly. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."
"It's going to be all right. I promise." Bob replied hoping the statement was true.
Fred let Bob go and nodded, she wasn't feeling the pain for the first time since she had arrived she was just so pleased that she was no longer alone.
"A touching reunion." Saruman's voice boomed through the room disturbing the thoughts of both the girls. "Unfortunately I cannot allow it to continue. I have far more pressing matters and me and Fred have some unfinished business."
He nodded at the Orc who was still holding the hot poker. One of the Orcs that had brought her in went over to her and grabbed the chains and pulled her to her feet, once again she cried out in pain. The Orc held her upright and grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. Fred tried to scream but she was finding it very difficult. She wasn't sure what Saruman was going to do.
"Tell me what I wish to know or I'll make your friend's life even more difficult than it already is."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Bob shouted.
"I think you do. Either one of you tells me or I let my friend here do his job to his full potential."
"We have no idea what you're talking about." Bob shouted angrily at him, she didn't want to see her friend hurt but knew there was nothing she could do about it, she couldn't tell him about Frodo or all this would be pointless. She looked across at Fred who confirmed her thoughts with a small nod that only Bob could really see.
"Tell me where is the Ring bearer? NOW." Saruman was losing his patience. He had never met two more stubborn people and he didn't like it. "Fine." He almost ran over to the Orc holding the poker and snatched the instrument out of his hand.
He grabbed Fred by the neck and hit her hard across the stomach with the poker, he smiled when she screamed and did it again, this time in a different position. He knew exactly where to hurt her most. Bob tried to stop herself from running to her friend knowing there was nothing she could say to help her without telling him about the Ring and Frodo.
Saruman repeated his tortured several more times before he stopped and threw the poker to the ground, the whole room was silent except Fred's heavy breathing and the occasional whimper that escaped her lips. Saruman glanced around and then fixed his eyes on Bob who could hardly believe what had just happened. Saruman took one last look at Fred who was leaning towards the ground with only Saruman's strong hand holding her up. He dropped her and she fell to the ground. She felt something crack inside her but guessed that it wasn't anything too bad as she barely felt the pain. She longed for that familiar blackness to come but it seemed to just linger on the edges of her mind never letting her fully go.
Fred reached her hand down to her stomach and pulled it back when it not only hurt her stomach but also burnt her hand. She wanted to find out how bad it was but she couldn't find the energy to look down and she was frightened about what she might find. She wanted to be back in her cell with David talking about his past and making her laugh even though she didn't want to.
Bob couldn't take her eyes off Fred who was lying on the floor after Saruman's brutal assault. She wanted to get up and help her friend but she knew it would do no good. Fred knew that Bob couldn't help here and glanced her way giving her an understanding look, a knowledge passed between them that no one was to blame and that Bob should stick to it and not tell Saruman anything no matter what he did to Fred.
Saruman walked back over to Fred who was still lying on the floor trying to recover from what had just happened. She kept a wary eye on Saruman who was circling her.
"Tell me what I want to know or I let my Orcs do more awful things to your friend. I know how much she enjoys it." He smiled evilly.
"No." Bob shouted back hating the fact she couldn't help her friend.
"Very well." He bent down and picked Fred up from the floor holding her roughly and painfully by the arm. "I wonder what I can try that would make you tell me everything. I think I've been rather nice to you so far but maybe you do not deserve it. Let me see. Ah yes." He watched Fred as an Orc came in carrying something. Something that moved.
Fred watched the Orc as it brought in the moving object.
"Did I ever tell you that I could see everything that went on in that cell? I heard everything as well. I know your deepest fears. And now it is time you faced your phobia." He smiled as the Orc lifted the object up to Fred's face.
It was literally crawling with bugs, all kinds and some that Fred didn't know. She wasn't sure what he was going to do with them but she guessed that it wasn't going to be good.
Saruman smiled when he saw the reaction he got from Fred when she looked at the bugs.
"It was spiders wasn't it? Your worst fear. What was the other one? Oh yes, enclosed spaces. How convenient look what I have here."
Fred saw the Orcs bringing a box in, she instantly knew what was going to happen, she remembered seeing something very much like it in a film once. Saruman was going to throw her in that box with those bugs! She couldn't believe that he would do it but something in his voice changed her mind.
Bob also understood what was happening, she wanted so much to tell Saruman everything and had to use all her will power to stop herself from shouting out the truth. She would even have swapped places with Fred if she could. That gave her an idea.
"Please, do it to me instead. Whatever you're going to do, do it to me. You have hurt Fred enough please, don't do this."
Saruman smiled. "Do you really think I'm going to do anything to hurt you? Oh no, I need you to talk and you can't do that when locked in a box with creatures around you. Especially if like these ones they eat your flesh." He laughed when he caught the horrified look on Fred's face. "You can make it all stop if you tell me where the Ring bearer is." He gave them one last chance.
Bob looked at Fred who was now completely white and back at the box which the Orcs were preparing. She reluctantly nodded her head.
"I don't know where the Ring bearer is or anything about it. Please do whatever you want to me just leave Fred alone."
"No." Screamed Fred but not because they were now leading her towards the box, she didn't want anything to happen to her friend. It was her fault Bob was there in the first place and she didn't want to make things harder for her friend. "No. Do whatever you want. We don't know where the Ring bearer is."
Bob shook her head amazed at Fred's bravery. Saruman was not wrong, bugs and enclosed spaces were Fred's worst nightmares but she was still not going to tell them anything.
Saruman nodded at one of the Orcs who unchained Fred, she thought about running but knew that she hardly had the strength to stand up let alone run away from Orcs. She allowed them to lead her into the box although she resisted a little when they pushed her down. They forced her to lay down and she couldn't help but cry out in pain when her back was pushed against the bottom of the box. The Orcs ignored her and continued positioning her. She held out her hands to be chained but noticed that there were no chains anywhere in sight. She didn't understand at first but what she saw next explained everything for her even though she wished it didn't.
One of the Orcs was holding something that resembled a hammer in one hand and some pointy bits of metal in the other. It suddenly dawned on Fred what they were going to do. They were going to nail her inside the box to make certain she didn't get out. She moved back in terror knowing that nothing she said would make any difference.
Bob had also seen what they were about to do and began moving towards the box in order to help her friend. An Orc grabbed her but Saruman quickly pushed him away and led Bob to the box. She watched as one of the Orcs put a brown sack over Fred's head and held the nails out to Saruman. He shook his head and nodded towards Bob who didn't know what to do. The Orc held them out for Bob who on reflex opened her hand to receive them. She understood what they wanted her to do. They wanted her to nail her own friend into the box.
She dropped the tools she had been given and Fred moved her head towards the noise in curiosity and fear. She tried to see through the sack but could only make out blurred shapes. She had a good idea of what they were doing.
"No." Bob said, she was not purposefully going to hurt her friend.
"You will do it or I will get him to." He pointed at a particularly strong looking Orc. "I do not think he will be as gentle as you."
Bob looked in horror at the Orc Saruman had pointed to and then back at Fred who was trying to figure out what was going on. Finally after thinking a moment Bob nodded and bent down to pick up the tools. The Orc nearest the box reached down and roughly grabbed Fred's hand and placed it where she would be nailed. Bob leaned over the box wishing she didn't have to do this. She leant forwards so Fred could hear her.
"I'm so sorry." She said trying not to cry and make Fred feel worse.
"It's all right." Fred whispered back. Even through the thick sack Bob could hear the fear in Fred's voice.
Bob Held the piece of metal up to Fred's hand and placed the hammer above it. She said sorry under her breath one last time and pushed the hammer down quickly and as smoothly as she could hoping it wouldn't cause her friend too much pain. Bob almost dropped the hammer when she heard Fred's cry. The Orc holding her hand let it go as blood trickled from the wound. Bob remembered that it was safer to leave an object in a wound as it stopped the blood-flow. At least her friend wouldn't bleed much - until they took it out. She didn't even want to think about that right then.
The Orc grabbed Fred's other hand and ignored the plea from Fred. Bob did the same as she had done before, this time Fred's cry was not so loud, this betrayed how much she had been through the past few days and how terrified she was about what was going to happen.
Saruman grabbed Bob and pulled her away from the box. She couldn't move, she just stood still as the box of bugs was poured on top of the writhing Fred, she wanted so much to get Fred out but there was nothing she could do. The screams echoed throughout the tower as the lid of the box was slammed shut and Fred could no longer be seen. Bob didn't want to imagine what was happening to Fred inside there. She tried not to think about it but she couldn't get it off her mind.
"As soon as you tell me what I want to know I'll let your friend go." He said.
"You can't keep her in there forever, you want her alive and you know it'll kill her to stay in there." Bob hoped her argument was right.
"That is true but there are far worse things I can do to your friend remember that. Take her to a cell." Saruman ordered and the Orcs pulled Bob away from the room. Slowly the cries of distress from the room died as she got further away from helping Fred.
The plan hadn't worked out quite as she expected, she hadn't anticipated that Fred would be so badly hurt and that she herself would have to participate in her friend's torture.
The Orcs threw her into a cell and left her there with a small tin of water very much like Fred's. She get up and sat on the bed and buried her head in her hands hoping to get rid of the images.
What Bob didn't realise was that she was in the cell right next to David who was also getting worried about Fred. Normally they would throw her back in the cell after a while but her long absence meant that something very bad was happening to her and David didn't want to think about what kind of Torture Saruman was performing on her. She had been through enough the past few days without having to suffer more. He hoped she was all right but deep down he felt like she was in great pain. He didn't know how right he was.