Fangorn 9. Clinging Like Leeches
Without sunlight being filtered through delicate amethyst crystal the water was no longer a peaceful purple, what it was, was brown rock filled and cold, very cold. Resisting the urge to take another silt filled mouthful of the stuff Mouse hauled on Gimli's gambeson, the heaviness of both the fabric and the dwarf were beyond her strength to do any more than hold them both in place and hope that Legolas hadn't been swept away so that he could rescue them.
The cavern was filled with fast flowing water coupled with an occasional large wave as boulders crashed into flow, most of the time all Mouse had had time to do was curse and take a deep breath of air before water and rocks had cascaded down over all of them. A deep gash on Gimli's forehead was the only damage to the comatose Dwarf that she could see, and she hoped that it was the only damage as she looked out at the large boulders that had rolled to a stop just nearby. They were trapped by one of the larger boulders. Gimli's gambeson was stuck underneath it, and the rushing water made it impossible for Mouse to remove it from his limp heavy body, as hard as she tried she couldn't tear or rip the fabric. And still the water was coming, and she still hadn't seen the hobbits or Legolas.
Looking down as her fingers cramped again Mouse made a noise that could have been pure frustration, or as she suspected, more like a sniffle. She could see that soon the water would swamp the dwarf. She had one last go at pulling him free, and then another go at waking him up. She knew that with any head injury it was unwise to shake him too hard though. Her face felt like it was burning as tears tracked down her face. Taking a deep breath she dove under the water and positioned herself as stably as she could and heaved Gimli up with her shoulder to keep his head above the water. Unconscious he'd never survive. She never saw the rock fall from the roof of the cave. It was probably fortunate that the rock struck her unconscious before it pinned her arm to the floor of the cave
Legolas made sure everything; particularly the hobbits were secure further down the tunnel. They'd made it back to dry ground; the hobbits were starting to complain about the state of their new clothes so he was fairly sure they'd survive. The initial force of the water had made him loose his footing but he'd found himself pressed up against the old wall of the cave with the two hobbits clinging like leeches to his arms. He'd have to make sure to thank Pippin for grabbing his bow out of the water as it drifted past. A large splash drew his attention back to the cave. Where were Gimli and Mouse? As he entered the cave he saw a final great wave crashing over Gimli's head and then the dwarf was gone from his view. Legolas ran.
Gimli spluttered as he felt water rushing up into his nose, which was rather disconcerting, not more so than finding himself in water, and unable to remove himself from it. "Something's got ma' cloak" he said out loud to himself and then realized that he was also being held above the waterline by something softer than the rock that seemed to be holding him down. He reached down and felt something soft, and hairy. His initial panic was replaced by real panic as he saw the color of the hair between his stout fingers. Red hair. "Mouse!" he yelled and scrabbled blindly through the murky water. He was no swimmer. And each second that passed made him more frantic. He took a deep breath and submerged himself.
"Gimli!" Legolas neared the spot were he'd seen Gimli disappear just seconds before. "Gimli!" He reached out to steady his friend as he resurfaced with a splutter, a deep gash on his forehead made Legolas wince. Gimli thrashed a little in the water and then yelled something unintelligible while pointing at the large boulder beside him.
"Could you move yer Elf-like self to help me move this thing?" Gimli grumbled and pushed at the boulder with his shoulder. As Legolas stepped closer Gimli yelled "Not there! Ye'll step on the wee thing!" Legolas walked around the spot and added his strength to Gimli's efforts. The boulder shifted suddenly and the rolled away in the current. "And now we can get tae her..." Legolas strained to see what Gimli was talking about and then felt his heart stop as he saw the strand of hair twined around Gimli's wrist.
"She's down . . . there?" Legolas asked and at Gimli's mute look he ducked under the water and cursed the silt that made looking for her impossible, he felt his way instead, relying on what his fingertips told him. He gently lifted the large rock pinning Mouse's arm and then lifted her carefully out of the water.
"Is she breathing?" Gimli asked anxiously. Legolas didn't stop moving towards the edge of the water and the hobbits. "Damn you laddie, is she breathing I asked!" Gimli huffed behind him, finding the wading a bit harder with water coming up to his chest.
"Legolas?" Merry asked solemnly as the tall elf bent over the muddily forlorn Mouse. "Is she breathing?" Legolas looked up and then back down at Mouse's still face.
"No."
Without sunlight being filtered through delicate amethyst crystal the water was no longer a peaceful purple, what it was, was brown rock filled and cold, very cold. Resisting the urge to take another silt filled mouthful of the stuff Mouse hauled on Gimli's gambeson, the heaviness of both the fabric and the dwarf were beyond her strength to do any more than hold them both in place and hope that Legolas hadn't been swept away so that he could rescue them.
The cavern was filled with fast flowing water coupled with an occasional large wave as boulders crashed into flow, most of the time all Mouse had had time to do was curse and take a deep breath of air before water and rocks had cascaded down over all of them. A deep gash on Gimli's forehead was the only damage to the comatose Dwarf that she could see, and she hoped that it was the only damage as she looked out at the large boulders that had rolled to a stop just nearby. They were trapped by one of the larger boulders. Gimli's gambeson was stuck underneath it, and the rushing water made it impossible for Mouse to remove it from his limp heavy body, as hard as she tried she couldn't tear or rip the fabric. And still the water was coming, and she still hadn't seen the hobbits or Legolas.
Looking down as her fingers cramped again Mouse made a noise that could have been pure frustration, or as she suspected, more like a sniffle. She could see that soon the water would swamp the dwarf. She had one last go at pulling him free, and then another go at waking him up. She knew that with any head injury it was unwise to shake him too hard though. Her face felt like it was burning as tears tracked down her face. Taking a deep breath she dove under the water and positioned herself as stably as she could and heaved Gimli up with her shoulder to keep his head above the water. Unconscious he'd never survive. She never saw the rock fall from the roof of the cave. It was probably fortunate that the rock struck her unconscious before it pinned her arm to the floor of the cave
Legolas made sure everything; particularly the hobbits were secure further down the tunnel. They'd made it back to dry ground; the hobbits were starting to complain about the state of their new clothes so he was fairly sure they'd survive. The initial force of the water had made him loose his footing but he'd found himself pressed up against the old wall of the cave with the two hobbits clinging like leeches to his arms. He'd have to make sure to thank Pippin for grabbing his bow out of the water as it drifted past. A large splash drew his attention back to the cave. Where were Gimli and Mouse? As he entered the cave he saw a final great wave crashing over Gimli's head and then the dwarf was gone from his view. Legolas ran.
Gimli spluttered as he felt water rushing up into his nose, which was rather disconcerting, not more so than finding himself in water, and unable to remove himself from it. "Something's got ma' cloak" he said out loud to himself and then realized that he was also being held above the waterline by something softer than the rock that seemed to be holding him down. He reached down and felt something soft, and hairy. His initial panic was replaced by real panic as he saw the color of the hair between his stout fingers. Red hair. "Mouse!" he yelled and scrabbled blindly through the murky water. He was no swimmer. And each second that passed made him more frantic. He took a deep breath and submerged himself.
"Gimli!" Legolas neared the spot were he'd seen Gimli disappear just seconds before. "Gimli!" He reached out to steady his friend as he resurfaced with a splutter, a deep gash on his forehead made Legolas wince. Gimli thrashed a little in the water and then yelled something unintelligible while pointing at the large boulder beside him.
"Could you move yer Elf-like self to help me move this thing?" Gimli grumbled and pushed at the boulder with his shoulder. As Legolas stepped closer Gimli yelled "Not there! Ye'll step on the wee thing!" Legolas walked around the spot and added his strength to Gimli's efforts. The boulder shifted suddenly and the rolled away in the current. "And now we can get tae her..." Legolas strained to see what Gimli was talking about and then felt his heart stop as he saw the strand of hair twined around Gimli's wrist.
"She's down . . . there?" Legolas asked and at Gimli's mute look he ducked under the water and cursed the silt that made looking for her impossible, he felt his way instead, relying on what his fingertips told him. He gently lifted the large rock pinning Mouse's arm and then lifted her carefully out of the water.
"Is she breathing?" Gimli asked anxiously. Legolas didn't stop moving towards the edge of the water and the hobbits. "Damn you laddie, is she breathing I asked!" Gimli huffed behind him, finding the wading a bit harder with water coming up to his chest.
"Legolas?" Merry asked solemnly as the tall elf bent over the muddily forlorn Mouse. "Is she breathing?" Legolas looked up and then back down at Mouse's still face.
"No."