Disclaimer: I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not Tolkien so no
unfortunately I don't own anything that he created. I own David and the
three main characters but that's it.
A/N: This is quite an odd chapter so if there is anything that people don't understand review and ask me, I'll try and answer. If not then review anyone because I write for you, and my own pleasure of course.
Ch 9 Attack in the Dark
The dark figure was well over six feet tall. In fact almost seven feet. It towered above the four people. Fred and David were still crouched on the floor, David shielding Fred from the occasional falling of sharp glass. He had a few cuts on him but he was alright and was soon standing and pulling Fred to her feet. They faced the monster and for the first time Fred got a good view of him. It. Whatever it was.
It was tall and very large but at the same time it had something frail and vulnerable about it. It looked like it couldn't be defeated and also that it wouldn't be. Something told Fred that this thing wasn't there to just frighten them but to kill them. Although at that exact moment it didn't seem to be doing anything, just standing there looking at them through the black hood that was drawn over its invisible face. It was because of this that Fred recognised it. It was the creature from her dream, the thing that had been staring at her with unseeing eyes.
In real life, if that's what she could call it, it was even more terrifying. She knew this was real and no one could wake her up to take it away, she also got the feeling that this thing wouldn't just stand there and watch her without drawing its sword.
By this time Bob and Ned were also stood up on the other side of the hut with the creature in between them and David and Fred, and worse, the door. They quickly realised there was no way of getting past that thing without fighting it. All they had were a few knives and their hands but they didn't know how useful they would be against something that looked so powerful. It was almost like a Ring Wraith but there was something spookier about this creature.
Strangely the shadow didn't move. It just stood there staring into space like it was waiting for orders to do something. Almost like a robot. Unfortunately Bob was too scared to move anyway and Ned knew that if they ran for the door it would startle the creature and it would probably kill them. This was a very big problem. They had no idea how to kill something like that; all they knew is that they couldn't stay there all night waiting for something to happen.
Ned got her knife out and nudged Bob who took the hint and did the same only more slowly in case the creature saw her. Fred and David saw what they were doing and did the same thing. David, with his knife drawn edged towards the doorway trying not to make a sound and twisted the handle. He pulled the door open but in doing so seemed to make the shadow jump to life. It rushed towards him and Fred who were by now diving out of the way.
The shadow swung its sword at them full force and they just managed to jump out of the way before the sword hit them. During this Fred couldn't help but notice the small stone embedded in the hilt of the sword. It looked just like the Orb David had destroyed in Middle Earth. This didn't make much sense seeing as there was only one Orb which was, according to David, useless. As far as she could remember there was no creature like this in Middle Earth anyway.
Fred hadn't time to think about this anymore. The creature was attacking them with the sword again. It was so strong. It seemed to be going after David mostly, probably because he kept swiping at it with his own knife. Fred was suddenly reminded of that day in Orthanc where he had fought off the Orcs with her. She hadn't been a lot of help then but she could be now.
She leapt forwards and slammed into the creature. David and the others, seeing what she was doing tried to do the same but the creature held out his sword and send them crashing to the ground. They were thrown back with such force by the blue-white light that they didn't have time to think. Strangely Fred was still fighting with it, it was like she hadn't been affected by it.
David was the first on his feet and back helping Fred who was desperately trying to keep the creature away from her using only a small knife against his full-sized sword. David threw himself at the creature again whilst the other two picked themselves up from the floor and ran towards the creature again.
Soon the thing was swamped by them again. It screamed as David thrust his knife into it's black back and twisted it around so the creature fell to it's side, almost crushing Bob in the process. Luckily she managed to avoid it by rolling out of its way. Fred and Ned were left standing by the side as David attacked the thing.
Before anyone could do anything the creature lifted its sword to David and once again that bright light came from the sword throwing him across the room. He landed awkwardly against the wall. He was bent over trying to catch his breath. He waved to the other three who were heading towards the door. Ned was guiding Fred who was trying to get back to David.
"Go." He whispered before going back towards the creature who was now standing again looking a little dazed but no less dangerous.
Bob and Ned pulled Fred through the door and out into the open. They stopped for a moment catching their breath. Fred was looking anxiously towards the door and when she heard the shout from David she rushed towards the hut again. Bob caught her just in time.
"No Fred, there's nothing you can do." She held onto her.
"I won't lose him again Bob. I can't." Still she struggled to get free but Bob held onto her tightly not letting her go back into the hut even though the blue-white flashes were getting more intense.
One more scream from David was all it took. Fred tried to get away again but still she couldn't. She looked down at her knife wondering whether she should use it on Bob. Something suddenly hit her. On the hilt of that creature's sword there had been a bit of the Orb. Maybe if she could.
She stopped struggling so Bob released her grip slightly. Instead of running towards the hut she went to the edge of the trees moving as quickly as she could and searching the ground. Bob and Ned looked on in confusion. Fred picked something up off the floor. When she got closer Bob and Ned realised she was carrying a rock.
"Fred what are you doing?" Bob asked.
"There was a bit of the Orb on its sword. If I break it it might kill the creature." She said walking determinedly towards the hut. She couldn't just let David die in there.
"You don't know that it'll work. Fred, that thing will kill you if it gets the chance." Bob shouted standing in front of her so blocking her entrance to the hut. They were constantly distracted by the occasional blasts coming from inside.
"I only just got him back, I won't lose him again." She screamed pushing past Bob. "If I can kill this thing I have to. I'm not going to abandon him, he wouldn't do it to me." She was almost at the entrance now.
Bob had backed off, not wanting to stand in the way but wishing she could do something to stop Fred from doing such a stupid thing. The thought that her plan might work was too appealing. She didn't want David to die either but she didn't want to lose her friend because of him. She took a step forward when Ned grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Leave her. I get the feeling this is going to work." Ned shouted above the noise.
Fred continued to go towards the hut and when she reached the door she paused for a moment remembering what David had told her and everything that had happened. She checked the stone's weight again, wanting to be absolutely certain this would work, then she stepped into the hut.
She was met with a scene that she would never forget. David was fighting with the shadow but every so often it would strike out with the power from the sword and send him back. He never stopped though, each time it pushed him away he came back and resumed the fight. Fred had never seen him look so angry. It was like the shadow had done something worse than just fight with him. Once or twice Fred swore she saw a flash of happiness rush across his face, quickly replaced by the anger. This scared her almost as much as the shadow.
She was snapped into her senses when David shouted her name. The shadow took advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration and send a great charge from it's sword which hit him with full force and knocked him unconscious against the opposite wall. Fred resisted the urge to run to him but stood firm as the creature turned to face her.
Face her, probably wasn't the right expression. It didn't have a face, which in fact made it all the more terrifying. She wanted to run, just grab David and run but she knew the thing would kill her before she even reached him. It would also kill Ned and Bob and she wasn't going to let that happen.
It seemed to stop what it was doing, like it was listening to something, maybe her own thoughts. She didn't know and didn't really want to find out. She thought she saw the shadow waver slightly but tried to convince herself that it was just her overactive imagination. After all, all of this was very strange and she had just about been pushed to her limits. She glanced across at David who was just coming back into consciousness. The shadow also looked that way. Fred was certain that if it had a face it would be smiling wickedly.
Then, the strangest and most unexpected thing happened. The shadow that had been fighting and trying to kill them all just a few moments ago knelt down. Fred didn't know what to do. She hadn't even hit its sword. It let its head face the ground, like it was ashamed of something. Then, slowly it raised its sword so it was in front of its face.
Just like the dream. Fred thought. She could see the thing in her dream so clearly now, it was exactly what was happening in real life. The black- cloaked figure was kneeling down with its sword in the same position. Could it have been reading her mind? She didn't understand.
David was now awake and sat leaning against the wall looking at what was going on in front of him. He wanted to move but found that something held him against the wall, an invisible force that he couldn't compete with. He knew it came from the thing attacking them.
Fred looked confused at the creature hoping that maybe it would offer some kind of explanation but nothing. It didn't move, it didn't even look alive as far as she could see. If it was alive in the first place. She took a step closer, she was cautious but at the same time eager to understand what was happening. Before she could go any further the shadow quickly rose to its feet and stabbed her through her chest. She screamed out loud as did David who was now desperately battling against the invisible barrier trying to get at Fred who was falling to the floor.
The shadow looked around at David and nodded slightly. He shouted something at it. It didn't seem to make any difference. The shadow just stood there looking at David. It seemed satisfied with what it had done. Just then David smiled. This seemed to unnerve the thing a bit and it twisted around just in time to see Fred standing up with the stone aimed at the jewel in the hilt of its sword.
The creature seemed completely shocked, too shocked to move. Fred wasn't dead like she should have been. Fred too advantage of the shadow's surprise and slammed the stone hard into the jewel.
It was an amazing sight. The shadow just looked down at the pieces of that shattered jewel and then looked back up at Fred who was smiling. David was now laying on the floor staring in utter amazement at what was happening in front of him. He knew Fred couldn't die but he hadn't expected her to be getting up so soon. But there she was, still holding the stone and smiling with pleasure at seeing the shadow's obvious fury. David couldn't resist the smile that came to him. Fred had finally got her revenge on the bad guys and she looked like she was enjoying it.
Quickly the shadow began to fade, like it was being erased. Both Fred and David looked on him both horror and amazement. Soon there was nothing left in the hut except the pieces of stone and the fading shape of the shadow's head.
For a moment after the shadow's disappearance neither David nor Fred could say anything. They just looked at the space where the shadow had disappeared in front of their eyes moments before. It was an incredible thing to see but at the same time both almost knew that it was what was meant to happen.
David slowly stood up and let his knife fall to the ground. It was as if this triggered something and made everything come back to animation. Fred looked away from the empty space the thing had previously occupied and looked over at David who was looking at her with confusion all over his face.
"Thank you." Was all he could say to her.
"You're welcome." She replied equally surprised. "What on earth was that?" She finally managed to say.
"I have no idea." David replied. "I.Wow." He walked around the space, never taking his eyes off it just in case the thing came back. Fred did the same and they met in the middle.
"Are you alright?" Fred asked. "You looked like you were losing against that thing. Whatever it was." She smiled.
"I'm fine. You looked like you were winning against that thing." He laughed.
"Yeah. Juts don't ask me how. I don't understand any of this." She said looking at the floor.
David followed her gaze and bent down to look at the floor where the shadow had been. "At least we know how to kill these things. Is this part of the Orb?" He asked picking up a few of the small pieces of red crystal that lay on the ground.
"I think so. The power from that sword was pretty. you know. Do you think this is Saruman's doing. He has the Orb, maybe he got it working again." She suggested.
"No, I don't think this is Saruman's style. He'd send an army of these things, not just one. Did you see his sword? It didn't look like anything I've seen from Middle Earth."
"I saw it." Fred said looking down at the slice in her jacket and the small amount of blood.
"Are you alright?" David asked standing up and taking her hand.
"I think I'm alright. At least I can't die right?" She attempted to smile. "It hurts a bit though. I was lucky he.it didn't use too much force. It was like it wasn't trying to kill me." She looked up at him. "Does that make sense?"
He nodded. "It's probably best you don't tell your friends about this. They can't know yet Fred." She nodded understandingly.
"Bob knows more about the legend of the Orb than we do. Maybe she'll know whether there was another one made."
David nodded and they walked towards the open door. Secretly Fred wasn't looking forward to confronting Bob, she didn't like lying to her friend especially about something this big. She wished David would just let her tell them so there wouldn't be the uncomfortable feeling she was expecting from them. She decided to just carry on as if everything was normal with them and say nothing to suggest something bad was happening to them. At least she could distract herself with the riddle of the shadow.
Bob and Ned were waiting for them a few meters from the hut, they had wanted to help but knew they could do nothing. Bob ran forward when she saw Fred alive, not quite well but well enough. They met and Bob looked at them expectantly. When neither Fred or David said anything she asked,
"Well. What happened? Are you alright?"
"Fine, just a little battle weary." David smiled.
"Fred?" Bob asked, instantly noticing the bloodstain on her jacket.
"I'm fine. It's nothing, just a small cut." She smiled trying to make her act more believable even though she knew Bob would see right through the deception.
"What was that thing and what happened to it? Did you kill it?"
"I have no idea what it was. I know that it wasn't from Earth or Middle Earth. David says that it's nothing like the things he's seen before. It was carrying a sword with a stone in it that looked like that Orb we destroyed in Middle Earth. I thought maybe if I broke it it would be killed. Luckily it worked. It was like a shadow, it was there but it wasn't. When I broke the stone it just disappeared. Literally, disappeared into thin air. Nothing left but the remainders of the stone. I think it's from the Orb it looks the same and it is certainly powerful."
Fred held out her hand so the others could see the fragments of the stone in the palm of her hand. Strangely they were already turning to the natural colour of crystal.
"It looks the same as the Orb." Bob said picking some of it up and inspecting it closely.
"Yeah and it had the same kind of power in it. It threw David across the room." Fred said also looking at the pieces in Bob's hand.
"Maybe it's parts of the Orb itself. It's certainly made of the same stuff."
"It can't be. David said the Orb is still in Isengard with Saruman so it must be something else."
"Are you sure this isn't something to do with Saruman? He's certainly capable of doing something like this. He has the power." Bob asked looking at both David and Fred.
"Whatever that thing was it wasn't from Middle Earth. Fred says that it isn't from your planet so I guess the big question is where it came from." David said looking around him checking that everything was normal around them.
Ned was doing the same but also listening to what was being said, she didn't say anything because she didn't know enough about anything to do with Middle Earth so decided to keep quiet.
"Are you sure it's not from Middle Earth?" She asked.
"Positive. I have never seen anything like this before. It looked like a ghost, we don't have those in Middle Earth." David almost laughed.
"Great so we're back to square one. We know nothing about this thing. It could be an invasion for all we know and there's nothing we can do."
"We do know something about them." Fred said, the others looked over at her. "We know how to kill them."
"Unfortunately it's quiet hard to do." David said. "They were strong, really strong. I don't know if we could fight off hundreds of them."
"Right, so the first thing we have to do is make sure we don't bump into any more of them. I think we should leave. That thing came here so it knows where we are and if it knows others might know as well. We can't stay here just hoping they don't attack again." Ned said looking around at the woods.
"Well, we can't go into the woods, it's too dangerous." David said.
"I know but we can't stay here." Ned protested.
"We should make up our minds fast. Whoever sent that thing will soon know it failed and send another one." Bob interrupted.
"Right so we can't stay here or go into the woods. That's great." Fred said looking annoyingly over at the others.
"We probably stand a better chance in the forest. We can hide there if we have to." David reasoned.
"Right. We go into the forest then." Ned said trying to suppress the smug smile at being right.
"Great, another night in the forest, my favourite place." Fred said as they walked back to the hut to collect their things.
David couldn't help but smile. Fred seemed to be taking the bad news surprisingly well; he just hoped she wouldn't say anything to the others. It wasn't the right time. He knew that she didn't entirely trust him but he was certain that in time everything would work out.
They went back into the hut and quickly put their things away. Everything was silent; no one wanted to mention what had just happened. Bob and Ned looked at each other occasionally, they knew something was wrong. They sensed it, especially Bob. No one could blame Fred for being nervous in the forest; they were too, after all the forest was where there other 'adventure' began. Still they were sure it was something else, Fred was afraid of something far more important than the trees. She had been keeping something back during their stay in the flat.
Bob remembered that day in Isengard when she had arrived and defeated Saruman, Fred had been so frightened then. She had admitted that and Bob couldn't blame her for it. After everything she had been through it was only natural that she would be a little edgy but now there was something more. Bob wished she knew what it was but wanted Fred to tell her. She hated seeing her friend in pain and Bob knew there was something going on and it was only a matter of time before she found out what it was.
For now though she kept quiet hoping that Fred would come to her eventually. Until then she was going to keep a close eye on Fred. Whatever she was hiding had to be more important than a simple fear of the woods.
Finally they had finished packing their things away. Ned was looking eagerly at the door whilst Bob was inspecting the ground where Fred had said the creature was killed. Ned didn't know what she was looking for but knew she wouldn't find anything. She hated this hut, so many bad things had happened there already, this was just one more thing to add to the ever- growing list.
Fred and David were also looking forward to getting out of the hut, simply because of what had happened earlier. The memory of that ghost or whatever it was was still frightening to them. They stood in a corner talking about what had happened and trying to make some kind of sense out of it but they came up with nothing. Nothing they knew was fitting to what they had seen.
"Can we go now? The longer we stay here the more likely we are to be faced with one of those things again and I really don't want that." Ned said.
"Me neither, lets get out of here." Fred added walking away from David.
"I told you this place was bad. Okay Frank wasn't here but there was something worse. Maybe we should burn this place down, we don't want any more bad luck." Ned said looking at the hut from the outside as the others slowly came out.
Bob was putting some of the stone into her pocket for some reason.
"I hope one of those things doesn't chase us for that." Ned said looking harshly at Bob.
"You're always so pessimistic Ned, I think we're safe for now." She smiled as they walked towards the woods.
To Fred they looked unusually threatening. She didn't want to go in there. She was certain that there was something waiting for them in there, she just hoped that it was Gollum instead of a shadow. She unconsciously moved closer to David and took his hand. He looked over at her but said nothing and squeezed her hand for support before putting his arm around her shoulders. She was grateful for this but didn't have to say it.
A/N: This is quite an odd chapter so if there is anything that people don't understand review and ask me, I'll try and answer. If not then review anyone because I write for you, and my own pleasure of course.
Ch 9 Attack in the Dark
The dark figure was well over six feet tall. In fact almost seven feet. It towered above the four people. Fred and David were still crouched on the floor, David shielding Fred from the occasional falling of sharp glass. He had a few cuts on him but he was alright and was soon standing and pulling Fred to her feet. They faced the monster and for the first time Fred got a good view of him. It. Whatever it was.
It was tall and very large but at the same time it had something frail and vulnerable about it. It looked like it couldn't be defeated and also that it wouldn't be. Something told Fred that this thing wasn't there to just frighten them but to kill them. Although at that exact moment it didn't seem to be doing anything, just standing there looking at them through the black hood that was drawn over its invisible face. It was because of this that Fred recognised it. It was the creature from her dream, the thing that had been staring at her with unseeing eyes.
In real life, if that's what she could call it, it was even more terrifying. She knew this was real and no one could wake her up to take it away, she also got the feeling that this thing wouldn't just stand there and watch her without drawing its sword.
By this time Bob and Ned were also stood up on the other side of the hut with the creature in between them and David and Fred, and worse, the door. They quickly realised there was no way of getting past that thing without fighting it. All they had were a few knives and their hands but they didn't know how useful they would be against something that looked so powerful. It was almost like a Ring Wraith but there was something spookier about this creature.
Strangely the shadow didn't move. It just stood there staring into space like it was waiting for orders to do something. Almost like a robot. Unfortunately Bob was too scared to move anyway and Ned knew that if they ran for the door it would startle the creature and it would probably kill them. This was a very big problem. They had no idea how to kill something like that; all they knew is that they couldn't stay there all night waiting for something to happen.
Ned got her knife out and nudged Bob who took the hint and did the same only more slowly in case the creature saw her. Fred and David saw what they were doing and did the same thing. David, with his knife drawn edged towards the doorway trying not to make a sound and twisted the handle. He pulled the door open but in doing so seemed to make the shadow jump to life. It rushed towards him and Fred who were by now diving out of the way.
The shadow swung its sword at them full force and they just managed to jump out of the way before the sword hit them. During this Fred couldn't help but notice the small stone embedded in the hilt of the sword. It looked just like the Orb David had destroyed in Middle Earth. This didn't make much sense seeing as there was only one Orb which was, according to David, useless. As far as she could remember there was no creature like this in Middle Earth anyway.
Fred hadn't time to think about this anymore. The creature was attacking them with the sword again. It was so strong. It seemed to be going after David mostly, probably because he kept swiping at it with his own knife. Fred was suddenly reminded of that day in Orthanc where he had fought off the Orcs with her. She hadn't been a lot of help then but she could be now.
She leapt forwards and slammed into the creature. David and the others, seeing what she was doing tried to do the same but the creature held out his sword and send them crashing to the ground. They were thrown back with such force by the blue-white light that they didn't have time to think. Strangely Fred was still fighting with it, it was like she hadn't been affected by it.
David was the first on his feet and back helping Fred who was desperately trying to keep the creature away from her using only a small knife against his full-sized sword. David threw himself at the creature again whilst the other two picked themselves up from the floor and ran towards the creature again.
Soon the thing was swamped by them again. It screamed as David thrust his knife into it's black back and twisted it around so the creature fell to it's side, almost crushing Bob in the process. Luckily she managed to avoid it by rolling out of its way. Fred and Ned were left standing by the side as David attacked the thing.
Before anyone could do anything the creature lifted its sword to David and once again that bright light came from the sword throwing him across the room. He landed awkwardly against the wall. He was bent over trying to catch his breath. He waved to the other three who were heading towards the door. Ned was guiding Fred who was trying to get back to David.
"Go." He whispered before going back towards the creature who was now standing again looking a little dazed but no less dangerous.
Bob and Ned pulled Fred through the door and out into the open. They stopped for a moment catching their breath. Fred was looking anxiously towards the door and when she heard the shout from David she rushed towards the hut again. Bob caught her just in time.
"No Fred, there's nothing you can do." She held onto her.
"I won't lose him again Bob. I can't." Still she struggled to get free but Bob held onto her tightly not letting her go back into the hut even though the blue-white flashes were getting more intense.
One more scream from David was all it took. Fred tried to get away again but still she couldn't. She looked down at her knife wondering whether she should use it on Bob. Something suddenly hit her. On the hilt of that creature's sword there had been a bit of the Orb. Maybe if she could.
She stopped struggling so Bob released her grip slightly. Instead of running towards the hut she went to the edge of the trees moving as quickly as she could and searching the ground. Bob and Ned looked on in confusion. Fred picked something up off the floor. When she got closer Bob and Ned realised she was carrying a rock.
"Fred what are you doing?" Bob asked.
"There was a bit of the Orb on its sword. If I break it it might kill the creature." She said walking determinedly towards the hut. She couldn't just let David die in there.
"You don't know that it'll work. Fred, that thing will kill you if it gets the chance." Bob shouted standing in front of her so blocking her entrance to the hut. They were constantly distracted by the occasional blasts coming from inside.
"I only just got him back, I won't lose him again." She screamed pushing past Bob. "If I can kill this thing I have to. I'm not going to abandon him, he wouldn't do it to me." She was almost at the entrance now.
Bob had backed off, not wanting to stand in the way but wishing she could do something to stop Fred from doing such a stupid thing. The thought that her plan might work was too appealing. She didn't want David to die either but she didn't want to lose her friend because of him. She took a step forward when Ned grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Leave her. I get the feeling this is going to work." Ned shouted above the noise.
Fred continued to go towards the hut and when she reached the door she paused for a moment remembering what David had told her and everything that had happened. She checked the stone's weight again, wanting to be absolutely certain this would work, then she stepped into the hut.
She was met with a scene that she would never forget. David was fighting with the shadow but every so often it would strike out with the power from the sword and send him back. He never stopped though, each time it pushed him away he came back and resumed the fight. Fred had never seen him look so angry. It was like the shadow had done something worse than just fight with him. Once or twice Fred swore she saw a flash of happiness rush across his face, quickly replaced by the anger. This scared her almost as much as the shadow.
She was snapped into her senses when David shouted her name. The shadow took advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration and send a great charge from it's sword which hit him with full force and knocked him unconscious against the opposite wall. Fred resisted the urge to run to him but stood firm as the creature turned to face her.
Face her, probably wasn't the right expression. It didn't have a face, which in fact made it all the more terrifying. She wanted to run, just grab David and run but she knew the thing would kill her before she even reached him. It would also kill Ned and Bob and she wasn't going to let that happen.
It seemed to stop what it was doing, like it was listening to something, maybe her own thoughts. She didn't know and didn't really want to find out. She thought she saw the shadow waver slightly but tried to convince herself that it was just her overactive imagination. After all, all of this was very strange and she had just about been pushed to her limits. She glanced across at David who was just coming back into consciousness. The shadow also looked that way. Fred was certain that if it had a face it would be smiling wickedly.
Then, the strangest and most unexpected thing happened. The shadow that had been fighting and trying to kill them all just a few moments ago knelt down. Fred didn't know what to do. She hadn't even hit its sword. It let its head face the ground, like it was ashamed of something. Then, slowly it raised its sword so it was in front of its face.
Just like the dream. Fred thought. She could see the thing in her dream so clearly now, it was exactly what was happening in real life. The black- cloaked figure was kneeling down with its sword in the same position. Could it have been reading her mind? She didn't understand.
David was now awake and sat leaning against the wall looking at what was going on in front of him. He wanted to move but found that something held him against the wall, an invisible force that he couldn't compete with. He knew it came from the thing attacking them.
Fred looked confused at the creature hoping that maybe it would offer some kind of explanation but nothing. It didn't move, it didn't even look alive as far as she could see. If it was alive in the first place. She took a step closer, she was cautious but at the same time eager to understand what was happening. Before she could go any further the shadow quickly rose to its feet and stabbed her through her chest. She screamed out loud as did David who was now desperately battling against the invisible barrier trying to get at Fred who was falling to the floor.
The shadow looked around at David and nodded slightly. He shouted something at it. It didn't seem to make any difference. The shadow just stood there looking at David. It seemed satisfied with what it had done. Just then David smiled. This seemed to unnerve the thing a bit and it twisted around just in time to see Fred standing up with the stone aimed at the jewel in the hilt of its sword.
The creature seemed completely shocked, too shocked to move. Fred wasn't dead like she should have been. Fred too advantage of the shadow's surprise and slammed the stone hard into the jewel.
It was an amazing sight. The shadow just looked down at the pieces of that shattered jewel and then looked back up at Fred who was smiling. David was now laying on the floor staring in utter amazement at what was happening in front of him. He knew Fred couldn't die but he hadn't expected her to be getting up so soon. But there she was, still holding the stone and smiling with pleasure at seeing the shadow's obvious fury. David couldn't resist the smile that came to him. Fred had finally got her revenge on the bad guys and she looked like she was enjoying it.
Quickly the shadow began to fade, like it was being erased. Both Fred and David looked on him both horror and amazement. Soon there was nothing left in the hut except the pieces of stone and the fading shape of the shadow's head.
For a moment after the shadow's disappearance neither David nor Fred could say anything. They just looked at the space where the shadow had disappeared in front of their eyes moments before. It was an incredible thing to see but at the same time both almost knew that it was what was meant to happen.
David slowly stood up and let his knife fall to the ground. It was as if this triggered something and made everything come back to animation. Fred looked away from the empty space the thing had previously occupied and looked over at David who was looking at her with confusion all over his face.
"Thank you." Was all he could say to her.
"You're welcome." She replied equally surprised. "What on earth was that?" She finally managed to say.
"I have no idea." David replied. "I.Wow." He walked around the space, never taking his eyes off it just in case the thing came back. Fred did the same and they met in the middle.
"Are you alright?" Fred asked. "You looked like you were losing against that thing. Whatever it was." She smiled.
"I'm fine. You looked like you were winning against that thing." He laughed.
"Yeah. Juts don't ask me how. I don't understand any of this." She said looking at the floor.
David followed her gaze and bent down to look at the floor where the shadow had been. "At least we know how to kill these things. Is this part of the Orb?" He asked picking up a few of the small pieces of red crystal that lay on the ground.
"I think so. The power from that sword was pretty. you know. Do you think this is Saruman's doing. He has the Orb, maybe he got it working again." She suggested.
"No, I don't think this is Saruman's style. He'd send an army of these things, not just one. Did you see his sword? It didn't look like anything I've seen from Middle Earth."
"I saw it." Fred said looking down at the slice in her jacket and the small amount of blood.
"Are you alright?" David asked standing up and taking her hand.
"I think I'm alright. At least I can't die right?" She attempted to smile. "It hurts a bit though. I was lucky he.it didn't use too much force. It was like it wasn't trying to kill me." She looked up at him. "Does that make sense?"
He nodded. "It's probably best you don't tell your friends about this. They can't know yet Fred." She nodded understandingly.
"Bob knows more about the legend of the Orb than we do. Maybe she'll know whether there was another one made."
David nodded and they walked towards the open door. Secretly Fred wasn't looking forward to confronting Bob, she didn't like lying to her friend especially about something this big. She wished David would just let her tell them so there wouldn't be the uncomfortable feeling she was expecting from them. She decided to just carry on as if everything was normal with them and say nothing to suggest something bad was happening to them. At least she could distract herself with the riddle of the shadow.
Bob and Ned were waiting for them a few meters from the hut, they had wanted to help but knew they could do nothing. Bob ran forward when she saw Fred alive, not quite well but well enough. They met and Bob looked at them expectantly. When neither Fred or David said anything she asked,
"Well. What happened? Are you alright?"
"Fine, just a little battle weary." David smiled.
"Fred?" Bob asked, instantly noticing the bloodstain on her jacket.
"I'm fine. It's nothing, just a small cut." She smiled trying to make her act more believable even though she knew Bob would see right through the deception.
"What was that thing and what happened to it? Did you kill it?"
"I have no idea what it was. I know that it wasn't from Earth or Middle Earth. David says that it's nothing like the things he's seen before. It was carrying a sword with a stone in it that looked like that Orb we destroyed in Middle Earth. I thought maybe if I broke it it would be killed. Luckily it worked. It was like a shadow, it was there but it wasn't. When I broke the stone it just disappeared. Literally, disappeared into thin air. Nothing left but the remainders of the stone. I think it's from the Orb it looks the same and it is certainly powerful."
Fred held out her hand so the others could see the fragments of the stone in the palm of her hand. Strangely they were already turning to the natural colour of crystal.
"It looks the same as the Orb." Bob said picking some of it up and inspecting it closely.
"Yeah and it had the same kind of power in it. It threw David across the room." Fred said also looking at the pieces in Bob's hand.
"Maybe it's parts of the Orb itself. It's certainly made of the same stuff."
"It can't be. David said the Orb is still in Isengard with Saruman so it must be something else."
"Are you sure this isn't something to do with Saruman? He's certainly capable of doing something like this. He has the power." Bob asked looking at both David and Fred.
"Whatever that thing was it wasn't from Middle Earth. Fred says that it isn't from your planet so I guess the big question is where it came from." David said looking around him checking that everything was normal around them.
Ned was doing the same but also listening to what was being said, she didn't say anything because she didn't know enough about anything to do with Middle Earth so decided to keep quiet.
"Are you sure it's not from Middle Earth?" She asked.
"Positive. I have never seen anything like this before. It looked like a ghost, we don't have those in Middle Earth." David almost laughed.
"Great so we're back to square one. We know nothing about this thing. It could be an invasion for all we know and there's nothing we can do."
"We do know something about them." Fred said, the others looked over at her. "We know how to kill them."
"Unfortunately it's quiet hard to do." David said. "They were strong, really strong. I don't know if we could fight off hundreds of them."
"Right, so the first thing we have to do is make sure we don't bump into any more of them. I think we should leave. That thing came here so it knows where we are and if it knows others might know as well. We can't stay here just hoping they don't attack again." Ned said looking around at the woods.
"Well, we can't go into the woods, it's too dangerous." David said.
"I know but we can't stay here." Ned protested.
"We should make up our minds fast. Whoever sent that thing will soon know it failed and send another one." Bob interrupted.
"Right so we can't stay here or go into the woods. That's great." Fred said looking annoyingly over at the others.
"We probably stand a better chance in the forest. We can hide there if we have to." David reasoned.
"Right. We go into the forest then." Ned said trying to suppress the smug smile at being right.
"Great, another night in the forest, my favourite place." Fred said as they walked back to the hut to collect their things.
David couldn't help but smile. Fred seemed to be taking the bad news surprisingly well; he just hoped she wouldn't say anything to the others. It wasn't the right time. He knew that she didn't entirely trust him but he was certain that in time everything would work out.
They went back into the hut and quickly put their things away. Everything was silent; no one wanted to mention what had just happened. Bob and Ned looked at each other occasionally, they knew something was wrong. They sensed it, especially Bob. No one could blame Fred for being nervous in the forest; they were too, after all the forest was where there other 'adventure' began. Still they were sure it was something else, Fred was afraid of something far more important than the trees. She had been keeping something back during their stay in the flat.
Bob remembered that day in Isengard when she had arrived and defeated Saruman, Fred had been so frightened then. She had admitted that and Bob couldn't blame her for it. After everything she had been through it was only natural that she would be a little edgy but now there was something more. Bob wished she knew what it was but wanted Fred to tell her. She hated seeing her friend in pain and Bob knew there was something going on and it was only a matter of time before she found out what it was.
For now though she kept quiet hoping that Fred would come to her eventually. Until then she was going to keep a close eye on Fred. Whatever she was hiding had to be more important than a simple fear of the woods.
Finally they had finished packing their things away. Ned was looking eagerly at the door whilst Bob was inspecting the ground where Fred had said the creature was killed. Ned didn't know what she was looking for but knew she wouldn't find anything. She hated this hut, so many bad things had happened there already, this was just one more thing to add to the ever- growing list.
Fred and David were also looking forward to getting out of the hut, simply because of what had happened earlier. The memory of that ghost or whatever it was was still frightening to them. They stood in a corner talking about what had happened and trying to make some kind of sense out of it but they came up with nothing. Nothing they knew was fitting to what they had seen.
"Can we go now? The longer we stay here the more likely we are to be faced with one of those things again and I really don't want that." Ned said.
"Me neither, lets get out of here." Fred added walking away from David.
"I told you this place was bad. Okay Frank wasn't here but there was something worse. Maybe we should burn this place down, we don't want any more bad luck." Ned said looking at the hut from the outside as the others slowly came out.
Bob was putting some of the stone into her pocket for some reason.
"I hope one of those things doesn't chase us for that." Ned said looking harshly at Bob.
"You're always so pessimistic Ned, I think we're safe for now." She smiled as they walked towards the woods.
To Fred they looked unusually threatening. She didn't want to go in there. She was certain that there was something waiting for them in there, she just hoped that it was Gollum instead of a shadow. She unconsciously moved closer to David and took his hand. He looked over at her but said nothing and squeezed her hand for support before putting his arm around her shoulders. She was grateful for this but didn't have to say it.