Chapter 7

            "I knew this was a bad idea.  Now look, no wait, you cannot!  It's too dark!"  Jenny laughed.

            "Erika, please turn on your light, if you please," Katie suggested.  "I can barely make out the road 20 feet ahead of us.  I need to be able to scout, but if I see something, you guys can take care of it."

            Erika smiled and lit her staff, casting light upon the group.  Silence stifled the girls.  They walked in silence for a few hours, until…

            "Guys, I'm really bored.  Let's sing!"  Jenny suggested.

            "I agree.  Maybe the silence will stop driving me insane then," Esther agreed.  Katie nodded her head.

            "Well, does anyone have any idea on what song we can sing?"  Jennifer asked.

            "Hmm…  What's the date here?"  Michelle inquired hopefully. 

            "Well, it's cold.  So maybe it's somewhere near Christmas, but they don't have Christmas, so I'm going to say, somewhere around where Christmas ought to be!"  Paige answered while doing calculations in her head.

            "Oh goody!  Christmas songs!  Everyone knows Christmas songs!  We can sing those," Erika giggled in joy.  "I'll start!  'What child is this who lay to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping.  This, this is Christ the Kin…"

            At that point in the song, Esther, Ashley, Chelli, and Katie attacked.  Esther grabbed her mouth and held it close, while Ashley and Chelli held her arms and legs.  Katie stood to the side with her bow pointed at Erika.

            "Katie," Jenny began, "I thought you were not going to use that thing again unless in extreme circumstances."

            "This is an extreme circumstance, Blondie.  We played five different versions of that song at our last Christmas Orchestra concert!  We still cannot stand the sound of that song."  Katie answered, wincing in pain at the thought of another version of 'Greensleeves or 'What Child Is This'.

            "Yes, Erika.  That is why we did this.  Pick something else to sing."  Chelli pleaded with her good friend.

            Erika jerked away from Esther and began to sing, "Here we come a wassailing among the leaves so green.  Here we come a wandering so fair to be seen.  Love and Joy come to you and to you a wassail too.  And God bless you and send you a happy New Year, and God send you a Happy New Year."

            Everyone joined in and Jenny and Katie dance their way up the stairs that they were now climbing.  Suddenly without knowing what was happening, Jenny was falling, bumping into everyone on the way.  She elbowed Legolas, who was her last victim, and he ran into the wall and fell over, landing on top of Katie who rubbed her arm because he had elbowed her there.  Legolas looked around to find his cushion, but finding none he jumped up.  Esther dragged up Katie because she was trying to hide her blush.

            "I swear there is something here that is dangerous and cannot be seen," Legolas told Aragorn adamantly.  Aragorn just shook his head, hoping Legolas had not hit his head that badly. 

            "Gandalf," Erika started, walking to where he was standing by a large rock, "Can you stall the group.  We have to look for Jenny.  She cannot have gone far because of the thirty feet thing.  We're going to look for her."

            Gandalf mumbled something almost incoherent about stupid unnatural happy hobbits who needed to take some dancing lessons to learn some grace.

            "Gandalf, Jenny has been a dancer since she was three.  Please just stop the fellowship for a moment," Paige begged.

            "I have no memory of this place!"  Gandalf called to the waiting fellowship.  "Make camp."

            Katie hopped joyfully down the stairs only to screech at the site awaiting her.

            "Jenny Ann Jordan!  Get away from that creature!  I…  I … I think that's a Gollum!" she shrieked seeing Jenny holding its hand and dragging it up the stairs.

            "Awww, he's nice once you get to know him, Katie.  Please, can we take him home with us?  Please, please?"  Jenny begged.

            Meanwhile Gandalf and Frodo had finished their conversation and Gandalf had figured out which tunnel led to the exit.

            The fellowship and the girls followed Gandalf, Jenny still holding Gollum's hand at the farthest distance possible.

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            They came to Dwarrowdelf.  The sight struck them with awe.  Gimli yelped when he saw the doors.  Ashley screeched and began sailing behind him; much like Katie had that very first day.

            "Gimli!"  Gandalf snapped.

            "No!  No!  NO!!!!!!!!!"  Gimli cried upon seeing that the room was none other than a tomb.

            "Stupid dwarf!  Don't ever run off like that again!"  Ashley screeched bringing her axe down onto a slap of marble.

            The fellowship followed them in, and Gandalf began to read the inscription, "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.  He is dead, then.  It is as I feared."

            Gimli's cries echoed through the room.  Gandalf handed his staff and hat to Pippin while giving Jenny a stern look.  She smiled sweetly and held out her hand to show that Gollum had gone on his own way awhile back.

            "We must move on.  We cannot linger," Legolas whispered to Aragorn.

            Katie stood behind Esther at the entrance to the tomb.  She nodded adamantly, while glaring at the dead bodies lying everywhere.

            Gandalf began to read from an old tome he had found.  "'They have taken the bridge and the second hall.  We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long.  The ground shakes Drums, drums in the deep.  We cannot get out.  A shadow moves in the dark.  We cannot get out.  They are coming.'"

            Jenny ran in fear to where Pippin was standing.  Pippin touched a skeleton on the edge of a well.  The head fell in making a banging noise.  Jenny was frightened and accidentally bumped into the rest of the body causing it too to fall in and bang around.

            Silence reigned for moment until Gandalf and Erika began to chastise the two who had caused the skeleton to fall.  "Fool of a Took!  Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"

            Pippin and Jenny bowed their heads in shame.  Katie and Michelle braved the dead bodies to give each one of them a hug.  Pippin felt better at having the silent, invisible encouragement.

            Suddenly…Drums!  There were drums!  They started slowly at first, and were faint.  Everyone turned to the well looking in horror.  The drums began to go faster and faster, louder and louder.  War drums in the deep.

            Frodo pulled out his sword, which was glowing a bluish green color.  It was beautiful, but it meant terrible things.

            Katie and Legolas yelled, "Orcs!"  Katie yelled it in fear and Legolas in warning.

            Boromir ran to bar the door, Jennifer stood frozen.  An arrow barely missed his head.  That got Jennifer's attention and she ran to his aid.

            Aragorn and Esther pushed the hobbits backwards.  "Get back!  Stay close to Gandalf!"  Aragorn yelled.  Everyone obeyed.

            "They have a cave-troll," Boromir exclaimed sarcastically. 

            "I swear I saw Jared!"  Katie yelled to Esther.

            "Jared!  Hah!  Why would he be here?"  Esther responded leaning against the door to help hold it closed.

            Everyone prepared to fight, except Jenny who went to hide behind Legolas.  The door began to shake as the wood protecting them gave way.  Gimli climbed onto his cousin's tomb.

            "Let them come!" he growled.  "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath."

            "Stupid dwarf has no idea what he's saying.  Make him shut up, and let's just run for it!"  Ashley yelled to her companions.

            "We cannot, Ashley!  We must stay here, if only because of that stupid thirty foot limit thing!"  Paige yelled to Ashley.

            The door began to give way.  Jenny screeched and dove behind Katie instead of Legolas, because Legolas was about to step on her.  Katie pulled an arrow out of the quiver and shot.  She was not going to be squeamish if it meant saving the fellowship.

            The arrows of Aragorn, Legolas, Katie, and Esther flew quickly and with deadly accuracy as orcs began to flood the room.  Then they were upon the fellowship.  Swords were the only weapons they had.  Everyone, including Jenny fought like they would be no tomorrow (which there would not be if they lost).

            The fighting was furious and bloody (at least for the orcs who fell like flies).  Confusion reigned and everyone fought without abandon, not caring which orc was the next to die.  That was until the Cave-troll came bursting into the room.

            "Jared!  I knew Jared was here!  I told you I saw him!"  Katie yelled in between arrows.  "Jared Trent Anderson, what in the world are you doing here?"

            "I don't know I woke up this morning next to this cave-troll!  I want to go home!  I hated this movie!"  Jared yelled back.

            "Well, just try not to get hurt, though we're going to have to kill your cave-troll.  Stay out of the way!"

            Merry and Pippin pushed Frodo out of the way.  Michelle followed.  Katie stood on the wall cliff and killed orcs with Legolas until the troll got mad and tried to throw a chain at them.  She jumped down and run past the flying chains.  When Legolas did not do the same, she yelled and fainted only to wake up seconds later to find Legolas on the cave-trolls head.  Jared was standing over her fighting off orcs who had no idea they were there.

            After being shot by Legolas and Katie stepping on its toe because it tried to hurt him, the cave-troll went after Frodo.  Aragorn turned and yelled in fury and worry, "FRODO!"

            Michelle and Frodo hid behind a pillar, and the cave-troll began to play a version of hide-and-seek.  Aragorn and Esther fought their way furiously to save them.  Orcs died in the wake of their anger.  Suddenly the cave-troll found him.  It seemed to yell, "Pickaboo!"  Frodo fell over Michelle in fright.

            Aragorn and Esther tried to fight it back, but they only went flying into a wall.  The cave-troll removed Aragorn's spear and aimed it at Frodo, but Michelle was standing in front of him.  Everyone stopped to watch as the spear was flung at the two hobbits. 

            All the girls cried out in fear, "Michelle!"  Everyone stopped.  The cave-troll looked puzzled and began to count the fellowship on its fingers. 

            "One boy, two boys…uh three boys, and I think four boys," it seemed to say staring lastly at Legolas.  Then the fighting continued.  Everyone charged the cave-troll, yelling their fury.  Katie and Paige ran to Michelle, who amazingly enough was not even scratched.  The spear had gone right through her and into Frodo.

            Meanwhile the battle with the cave-troll raged on.  Pippin stabbed him in the back, and Legolas shot it through the neck as it reared back in fury.  Jared began to disappear as the cave-troll fell to the ground.  When it hit, Jared was gone.

            Aragorn crawled to where Frodo was and turned him over.  To everyone's (except the girls') amazement he was unhurt.  The chatted for a second about how Frodo had more than meets the eye.  Then they ran.  Some orcs tried to stop them, but then something far eviler came for them.

            "A Balrog," Gandalf whispered.  "A demon of the ancient world.  This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"  Then they were running again, dodging arrows, and flying down stairs.  Everyone feared they had almost lost Aragorn and Frodo when some stairs collapsed, but quick thinking saved them, and then there was more running from what followed behind them.  There was the bridge!

            Run!  The bridge was there, but the Balrog stopped Gandalf's progress.  A furious battle of wills followed, but the darkness took Gandalf, and as he fell- so did Erika.  They both have fallen into the darkness.

            Erika's friends echoed a cry so grievous that it pierced the silence like Aragorn's blade.  As Aragorn urged Frodo to run, a group of eight girls became visible to him and to Frodo, and he herded them through the doorway because no one deserves to die at the hands of an orc.  What would the orcs do to four hobbit maidens, two human maidens, a dwarf girl, and a she-elf?  He did not want to find out.  The fellowship would talk to the girls and find out about them as soon as they were safe, but for now, it was time to get out of the Mines of Moria.