Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings. But, I do own a shiny nickel named Bob.

'They were doing it again' Erin thought angrily.

Her hands were still tied behind her back. She was tired, hungry, sweaty and cranky. The worse part; she was starting to smell. Soon she feared that she and Strider would smell the same. Oh the horrors of smelling like a (dirty) man. On top of that those little people were giving her a headache.

Strider was still no where to be found. Erin didn't mind him being gone either. That man had a caveman mentality: the lack of bathing and his rough treatment was all the proof Erin needed.

So that left Erin with the shorties. The joy...

For the past half hour the midgets had been whispering to each other and just looking at her. It was obvious, almost painfully so, that they were talking about her. And that irritated Erin to no end. It wasn't that they were talking about her that bothered her: no, if someone here understood her, she would be talking about them too. It was the simple fact that she couldn't even understand their language, and they still felt the need to whisper.

'Just great,' she thought sourly 'I've let myself be kidnapped by idiots.'

That made Erin wonder; ' Am I mad because I am being held captive, or the fact that I was stupid enough to get caught by idiots?'

In truth Erin realized, she was the idiot not them. After all, she was sitting here all tied up, and they weren't. That thought only severed to darken her mood.

"Ooooooook, bored now..." Erin sighed.

The worst part of the whole thing, the whole screwed up day, was the fact that she had nothing to do. Her friends often told her that she had the attention span of a small rodent. In an attempt to amuse herself Erin started to hum. The more she hummed, the better things seemed to be. Pretty soon she was singing quietly to the darkening sky.

"This is the song that never ends..." She started off quietly, unaware that she now had an audience. At the sound of her voice the short men stopped and looked to her.

"Yes it goes on and on my friends..." Her voice was louder now, and she started bounce her head to the tempo of the song.

"Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, But they'll continue singing it forever just because..." It this point she was really into her song. She turned her head back toward the little guys as she was about to start the next verse, only to stop dead.

The short men were looking at her with big wide eyes, mouths agape. Ever so slowly they began to inch farther away from her.

"Oh come on now, I don't sing that badly." Erin mumbled.

She got no response, they only moved farther away. Erin hung her head in defeat. It looked like she was stuck being bored. So she looked to the shorties and started to study them again.

Looking at them once more, she began to study them. Frodo was getting ready to go to sleep. He set up his sleeping-roll-thingy a little ways off from the others. Sam, it seemed, was a tad protective of Frodo. Sam fussed over him like a mother hen. These two short dudes, Erin didn't have a problem with. In the short time she had been here they hadn't really done anything to her. Sure they probably thought she was insane, but Erin wasn't to sure about that herself.

It was the other two she didn't like. They were the ones whispering and pointing at her. It didn't take Erin long to figure out that the one called Pippin was the one who had been poking her. He automatically lost points in her book for that. Merry was almost as bad. Right now it looked like he was trying to get Pippin to do something. No doubt it involved her, he kept looking at her.

'Yes, now that's not completely obvious.' Erin mentally rolled her eyes.

No less than five minutes later Pippin got to his feet with a determined look on his face, and started to walk toward her. And once again Erin stared at his feet. They really were big feet, and hairy too.

'There like mini big foots.' Erin thought amusedly, 'I wonder if this little guys run around the woods back home, leaving footprints in the mud. That would explain all the belief in Big Foot. Hmmm, yes big feet, but small bodies.'

Pippin stopped right in front of her, and he just stared her at.

'Fine then, let's have us a staring contest.'

He stared at her.

She stared back him.

'Hmmm, why does this seem so familiar? OH that's right, it's his fault I got kidnapped. It's time for a tiny bit pay back, this will be amusing.'

Just because she was tied up didn't mean she could have a little fun. Erin had an evil idea.

Erin let him stare. For five minutes she stared back. Then all of a sudden-

"BOO!!!" Erin yelled at the top of her lungs.

Merry and Pippin both screamed, and the latter clutched his heart.

Erin started to laugh uncontrollably. Her sides started to ache and tears threatened to leak out of her eyes.

When Erin was finally able to suppress her laughter she snuck a peek at the midgets. Sam didn't seem surprised at all. He was chuckling at the display, as was Merry, who had just over come his shock. Pippin was sulking and shot Erin a dirty look. Somehow Frodo managed to sleep through the whole thing.

Erin was happy to learn that at least these people had a sense of humor. They didn't appear to be holding a grudge. This was a good thing, since, after all, she was their prisoner. Right now they were building a campfire to prepare food. Erin's stomach was rumbling. She realized with a start that she hadn't had anything to eat all day. She only hoped that they would show some pity and feed her while they ate.

Again with nothing to do her mind began to wander.

'How did I get here? Where the hell IS here any way?' She pondered.

The last thing she remembered was going to bed the night before. Then it hit her, her clothes. She wasn't wearing her pajamas that she was wearing when she went to bed. Now she was wearing her favorite pair of jeans, sneakers and a black shirt. Nothing was making any sense.

Erin thought back again. She could vaguely remember getting up. At first she dismissed it as a dream but now she wasn't so sure. Everything after that was a blur. The only thing she could recall after that was fear. It was right on the tip of her mind-

Her thoughts were scattered by Frodo. Apparently he had woken up. He was yelling at the others, and started to stomp on the fire.

'Looks like he not a morning person either.' Erin thought to herself, as he put out the flames.

Less than a minute after Frodo stomped out the small campfire, and an inhuman shriek fill the night air. Erin felt her blood run cold. A shiver ran down her spine. The midgets seemed frozen as well.

'That noise...' Erin thought, '...I know that noise. But from where?'

Erin's body was screaming at her to run, or hide, or just to get the hell out of there. The midgets were freaking out too. Erin started to get up, but she realized that her hands were still bound behind her back. As quick as she could she sat down and slid her arms underneath her legs. Once she did that, she was able to get her hands in front of her. They were still tied but at least this way she would be able to run better.

'Yes, running would be good.'

Another shriek filled the night air, joining the first.

'Running would be very good.'

The midgets were tens steps ahead of her, literally. The short guys were making a break for a set of stairs that was just off to the side. Erin scrambled after them, she really had no place else to go. That thing was down there somewhere. The only place to go was up.

And up she went. Erin ran after the midgets. When she finally caught up to them, they went as high in the ruin as they could go. They now stood on a plateau with the crumbling walls of the ruin around them. There was no other way up or down, they were trapped.

"That's it! I'm never gonna follow any one ever again!" Erin screamed.

The midgets turned and looked at her in surprise. They had forgotten all about her as they were running for their lives. Frodo said something to the others. And they all nodded. The quickly formed a circle around Frodo and Erin.

'There protecting us? Thank God for chivalry! Tha's right, I'm a female, protect me!'

Erin didn't understand what was going on or what was coming. She froze when the bone chilling shriek filled the air, this time others joined it. There was more than one. Something was nagging Erin in the back of her mind. She tried to block it out and concentrate on getting her hand untied from the itchy rope. The rough rope wouldn't budge, and the only thing Erin got for her efforts were bloodied wrists.

She tried to remember how she ended up here, in this strange place. Her head started to throb with the effort.

All at once it seemed like someone hit the mute button on the TV. The night became silent, unnaturally so. This scared her more than anything else. There was no wind, no insects, nothing. The only thing Erin could hear was her own ragged breathing and the hammering of her heart in her chest. Every beat her heart took was almost painful.

The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. Erin's gaze was locked straight ahead, looking toward the decrepit walls. A black hooded figure emerged from the darkness.

Erin was paralyzed. Then her head exploded with pain. It felt like her skull would crack open. In her mind's eye she saw images: broken glass and muck, deep red pools of dripping blood, the hooded creature coming out of the corner, everything.

"Oh god, no.no." Erin moaned. It was real, this was real. That thing was here. She had to get away, now! Her brain felt like it was about to over load. She redoubled her efforts to get out of the ropes, her eyes frantically looking for an escape route. Two more black hooded figures came out of the shadows. Together they slowly advanced on the group of terrified people.

The ropes were biting into her wrists, and rubbing the skin raw. But Erin didn't care. She needed to get out of there.

Without any warning Sam charged one of the hooded creatures, with his sword held high and a strange battle cry that shattered that silence that had taken hold of the night.

'He's so very brave...' thought Erin '...so very useless...'

The black robed figure knocked him away as easily as one would brush away a fly.

Merry and Pippin both stepped in front of Frodo and Erin. They held their swords in a white knuckled grip. Before they had a chance to move, they were thrown aside. They landed in a heap with a sickening thud.

Erin wasn't sure how many black hooded creatures there were, but she knew they were surrounded. They were like lions stalking their prey. Frodo started to step backwards. He dropped his sword, and grabbed Erin by the arm, pulling her back. Erin noticed that the ropes had loosed a little and continued to try to free herself.

Erin felt a strong pull on her arm from Frodo. He had tripped on a rock and was now falling to the ground, taking Erin with him. Once on the ground Erin scooted away from the dark creature thingies, Frodo trying hard to follow. She had stopped when her back bumped into some thing- a collapsed pillar that was lying on the floor. She was trapped. Erin managed to back herself into a corner.

Frodo was just to the left of Erin. She could see that the little guy was terrified. Frodo started to fumble with something in one of his pockets; it was a ring. He took one look at it, then at the creature who were only four feet away, and then he shoved it on his finger.

Erin blinked twice. He was gone.

'He left me, with these things? If I get out of this alive, I'll kill him.' Erin thought in shock.

Erin forced herself out of her stupor. There was a hooded figure looming above her. It had its armored hand reaching out to grab her. Erin moved to the left trying to keep the distance between them. Suddenly it snatched its hand back as if it had been burned. It let out an angry cry.

Erin didn't waste time. The rope that had tied her hands was now loose enough for her to get out of. Once her hands were free she put them out to her sides to stead herself, getting ready to run.

'When in doubt, run.'

She stopped suddenly. Her left hand was resting on something soft and warm. Looking down she saw her hand was resting in midair. Erin didn't have any time to process this new thought, the hooded figure whipped around and drew its sword.

The only thing Erin knew now was pain. Her left hand was on fire, and she felt herself scream in agony. She clutched her hand to her chest, fell on to her back. Beside her came another scream of pain. Before her very eyes Frodo reappeared.

He too was in pain, blood pouring from his chest. Her hand must have been resting on his chest when she was stabbed. Erin slowly lifted her bloody hand to her face. There was a large gaping gash through her palm, and she was able to see the night sky though her hand. She was sure she was going to pass out from the excruciating pain. The only part of her body that she could feel was her hand. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Slowly though the pain, past the agony, she began to hear noises. She let her head roll to the side, allowing herself to see what was happening. Strider was back. He was driving the evil creatures away with a sword and a torch? It seemed like he was playing a violent game of King of The Hill. Erin didn't care any more. She didn't want to think any more.

After Strider was sure the evil things were gone, he ran to Frodo's side. He picked up the sword that had stabbed both Frodo and Erin. As he held it, the sword tuned to dust and scattered in the wind. Strider picked up Frodo and said some thing to the other midgets. Merry and Pippin hauled Erin to her feet, and forced her to walk after Strider, half carrying her. Sam was right next to Strider looking at Frodo worriedly.

Erin wasn't sure how long they walked before Strider let them stop. Some time during the march, Merry somehow tied a piece of cloth around her hand wound, in an effort to stop the bleeding. Erin hurt all over. Each step was agony. Every thing looked odd to her, too. There were colors and shapes swimming across her eyes. Stars and circles and squares—it was all so pretty, she mused half-asleep. She felt like she was on drugs- Not that she would know what it was like to take drugs mind you.

'I don't understand any of this; I'm in a strange place full of weirdoes, smelly weirdoes, and I don't even know how I got here. I was stabbed, stabbed for god's sake. Am I going to die?' Erin thought in misery.

Erin felt herself fall forward, as everything turned black. She had fallen unconscious, and was dead to the world around her.

TBC
Author's ramblings: Hello every one. Whew, that was the longest chapter I have ever written. Be proud. I just want to thank every one who reviewed the last chapter; it was because of you that I'm posting again so soon. So if you want me to update quickly, please leave a review. The next chapter will be from Strider's point of view. Will that's it for now.

By the way, thank you very much to:

Iloveelves: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter

Flopsycon: I like the idea of adding more humor, I'm going to try it when Erin wakes up.

THECheese Turkey: Thank you for your support. And it was an orc and Nazgul. Sorry if that confused you

Kim: thank you.

MSE: I hope you like the changes in this one. And many. many thanks to Mae. She is my beta reader, and now, my slave.


Lady Bella