In separate vehicles, the Fellowship arrived at the Davisville subway station. Outside, Legolas and Frodo were waiting. Legolas was sitting on the ledge, cleaning his knives and arrowheads that needed it. Frodo was standing on it beside Legolas and looking out for their Company. He was anxious for all of them to arrive safely and it was clearly shown.
"Are they here yet?" Legolas asked him a few moments before. His eyes were down, looking at his weapons. They were flecked with blood from recent and past battles and he forgot to clean them until then. Now, his knives shone a brilliant silver but he was having difficulty cleaning the engravings.
Frodo's eyes scanned the streets again but saw no movement except the swaying of the trees and heard nothing but the wind in his ears. "No. There's no sign of them anywhere."
"They'll come soon." He twirled his knives rapidly and slid them into their sheaths on his back in one fluid movement. "I can hear them coming."
After a few minutes, Frodo could also hear the hum of a car engine steadily growing louder. It gradually made its way to the station, approaching from their left. Just before the car came to view, he asked, "Mercedes or Mini? And don't look; just listen."
"Mini," replied Legolas, head still down and arrow in hand. "The pitch is too high for the Mercedes."
Sure enough, the Mini's signature headlights came down the road. With Sam behind the wheel, the car went into an adjacent parking lot.
"Are you ever wrong?" Frodo asked Legolas while they waited for the passengers to come up to them.
"Nope. Not when it comes to cars and my senses." He finished the cleaning and adjusting his arrows as Frodo welcomed Sam, Merry and Gandalf.
"You're not going to tell us why we're here, are you?" Sam asked Frodo after a glance at him.
"No. Legolas and I agreed that it's best if we don't repeat ourselves. Creatures, spies of the enemy might be listening."
And, so, they waited. Merry hopped up onto the ledge on one side of Legolas as Gandalf sat on the other side, between him and Frodo. Sam stood next to his master, but on the ground and also kept an eye and an ear out for the rest of the Fellowship.
Merry was facing the station and was looking at the marred station. On first glance, it looked like it could collapse at any moment because it was completely thrashed. The tiles on the floor were ripped up, revealing the bare cement of the foundation. Shattered glass and clumps of concrete littered the ground as the metal turnstiles sat solitarily in the station, beaten, slashed and twisted into mangled heaps of scrap metal. The fluorescent lights above crackled and flickered with shorting electricity. The whole station reeked with the fetor of the rampaged, destroyed past.
"Well, master Hobbit," Gandalf said to him casually, "what do you see? What do you feel?"
"I see," he began, trying to free his mind from the jam it was in, "I see a wreck. Total destruction but for the walls and the skeleton. The inside's completely ripped up and thrown around."
"What else do you see?"
Merry was a little confused. He had already told Gandalf what he had seen and there was nothing more. He looked inside again, more carefully, but still saw nothing but the debris. But he looked again and realized something. "It's empty. And stale. Cold, too."
"Like the hearts of Orcs, Uruk-Hai, Neos and almost all Dark minions alike. If you had any pity for these creatures in a battle, dispense of it quickly."
"But... they don't know what they're doing. They honestly don't know any better, Gandalf, sir," said Sam. "Are you going to hold that against them? Something they can't control?"
"They were not meant to be created and roam this earth in this way. But it is true that they have no fault for being what they are, whether they are aware of it or not. All the more reason to vanquish the Darkness for causing so much misery and pain. The fact remains that a quick, merciful death would be the best fate any of us can give them."
"A swift death for those who aren't meant to be alive at this point?" Legolas said. "We can only hope. The Darkness is not so merciful."
Before anyone could reply to that, the silver Mercedes cam down the road like a prowling cat and slid into an inconspicuous parking spot. Aragorn, Gimli and Pippin climbed out and crossed the street to meet them. Naturally, Pippin skateboarded across the road and flipped his skateboard on the sidewalk before he actually got to the others.
"Does that skateboard actually come in handy?" Merry asked.
"More often than not," replied Gimli. "It was because of him and that skateboard that we got out of a lot of traps and trouble."
"Plus, you wouldn't believe how cool it is to do tricks all over the place with no one to tell you off," Pippin said excitedly with a grin. "But then, there's no one to really gloat to."
"Except us," said Aragorn. "That kid can do some pretty neat tricks." Pippin beamed at the compliment.
Legolas got up from the stone ledge and called for everyone's attention. He waved his hand to the station behind him. "What do you notice about this station? Minus the fact that it's empty, destroyed and more or less desolate."
"There are a lot of scratch marks," said Gimli, after a small pause. "On the walls, floors... everywhere."
"Right," said Frodo, "that's what we noticed when we saw this at first, too. But when we went inside," he said while walking into the station with Legolas, "we noticed something else. Something that was a little more interesting than a run-down subway station."
With their curiosity thoroughly piqued, the rest of the Fellowship followed them in. The inside of the station was far worse than what they had seen from the outside. Now that they were within the infrastructure, they saw that parts of the ceiling had fallen through and the building was hung open and left to rot, like an infected wound.
"Look carefully at the tracks and the slash marks," instructed Frodo. "Do you see anything peculiar?"
"They're all heading out of the building," Aragorn said, starting to understand the full weight of this discovery. "Unlike all the other buildings, these are exiting rather than entering. So that means..."
"We must go underground, through the tunnels," finished Legolas. "Right to where the Darkness lurks."
Naturally, they made their way downstairs to the tracks. But, halfway through the station, they found that their way was blocked by a cascade of rocks from the ceiling and walls around them. There was no way through and Aragorn was reluctant to use an explosive because of the tremendous noise and shockwaves it makes. So, they spread out around the area to find another way into the subway.
Sam had walked a distance away from the station but was still above the tracks. He saw a crevice in the ground ahead of him so he went to investigate. "Uh, Mister Frodo? Wouldn't this count as an opening to the underground?"
Frodo came up behind him and looked into the crevice. He winced as the pain in his shoulder flared up again. His gaze into the darkness sharpened and he could see the metal tracks below winking in very dim light. "I would definitely say so, Sam."
As Sam called to the others about the crevice, Frodo gingerly rubbed his shoulder and jumped down onto the rocks beneath him until he reached the tracks. His eyes adjusted accordingly to the gloom as they swept around the area for a better look.
Like most city dwellers, Frodo was thoroughly familiar with the subway and its trains. But he didn't quite realize how dreadfully big the tunnels were. Just one side of the subway was about ten feet wide and around fifteen feet tall. The underground tunnels were always dark and often cold, but they were filled with an unearthly presence now. The lights that lined the higher regions of the tunnels were dim and scarce, showing nothing but shadows.
Frodo's eyes pierced the darkness and quickly assessed that the tunnels were deserted. He groaned and clutched his left shoulder. It was becoming a dull pain that throbbed frequently.
The rocks behind him clattered and he saw the rest of his fellow Hobbits climbing down, followed by Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf.
"The shadows cling to us like incessant swarms of flies," grumbled Gimli. "Can someone do something about this?"
"I expected an honorable Dwarf such as yourself to enjoy the underground world," said Gandalf. He grinned at Gimli's disgusted face at his surroundings and produced a small, raw crystal. He carefully placed it in the encasing at the top of his staff. "But, if you wish..."
The crystal glowed with a soft, white light. Pippin realized that it served as a filter for the pure light that Gandalf usually produced so that they could travel safely through the tunnels. In the gentle light, he could see the broken, cracked tracks, the crumbling pillars and the walls that looked like they could fall apart at any minute.
"All the marks on the walls head towards the cave-in," Aragorn said after a moment's observation. "So this way's the right direction."
The dark gloom of the tunnels was pierced only by the shimmering glow of Gandalf's staff. The darkness was penetrated for only a few meters before it swallowed up the pure light. The flickering guide lights somberly hanging high on the sides of the walls offered neither comfort nor guidance to the Fellowship. Mice, rats and spiders crept around their ankles and shook their nerves as they made their way towards the Darkness' lair.
Frodo's shoulder ached frequently now that they were so close to the heart of evil. His eyesight and hearing sharpened greatly when his shoulder hurt and he often warned his companions of the many obstacles that were in their path.
"Are we close, Frodo?" Legolas asked, his voice echoing in the cavernous tunnels. He strategically and carefully made his way around the debris on the tracks through a small bend to follow Frodo when he made no reply. "Frodo?" Merry and Pippin followed him around the bend.
The three of them saw Frodo standing in the middle of the track and felt the stale wind blowing through their hair. Their eyes adjusted to the sudden light and they all said in unison, "Whoa."
They were standing at one end of a bridge that hung over a river valley that connected to a park. They could see right through the steel grate floor to the dry valley and murky river hundreds of feet below. Around them were huge girders of blackened metal, dirtied by dust, blood and time. The dead wind whistled through the small cracks between the metal like the restless shrieks of the damned.
Frodo stared straight ahead right into the black chasm of the end of the bridge where the tunnel continued the train tracks. He heard the rest of the Fellowship arrive behind him and their gasps of surprise. Like the others, he thought that the bridge was incredibly long and could see many things that could go horribly wrong. But, without a single word, he started down the bridge with his friends close behind.
The bridge creaked and groaned from the new weight and months of misuse and attacks. Pipes that ran between the subway rails and the street above had cracks in them and were slowly dripping water onto the grated floor. Spiders, cockroaches and other bugs crept along between the pipes, where there was salvation from the restless wind.
Gimli, who was walking alongside Aragorn and behind Gandalf, had just reached the halfway point when he felt a small rumble beneath his feet through the bridge. "Aragorn. Tell me you felt the bridge shudder." He stopped to see if the bridge would shake again.
Aragorn stopped as well and paused. "No, I do not feel such a thing. Are you sure you--" He was cut off by another, stronger vibration of the bridge that he felt, too.
This time, Gandalf and Legolas felt the shudder as well and stopped with curiosity. The Elf nudged the Hobbits in front of him and stopped them. The whole Fellowship stood still on the bridge, waiting. What they were waiting for, they didn't know. They just knew that they were waiting for something.
As if in anticipation, the wind seemed to die down and silence pressed against their ears. Another heavy pound shook the bridge so violently that some of them stumbled and fell. A deep, terrifying roar echoed from the street above through the valley.
The Hobbits had more difficulty hiding their fear than the warriors because of their natures and started backing towards the tunnels. Their eyes darted everywhere and scared gasps were emitted as they tripped over their feet or the tracks as they walked backwards.
With a huge crash, a chunk of the street fell to the subway tracks. Pieces of concrete and metal flew everywhere and the stench of a Hunter flooded their noses. Aragorn and Gimli were blown off their feet by the sudden appearance of the gigantic monster. They fell and rolled across the tracks because of the sheer force the Hunter created.
"Aaahh!" Gimli had rolled too much and almost fell down into the valley. He managed to catch the ledge before he rolled off. "Somebody help!"
Aragorn and Gandalf kept the creature away while Legolas darted forward and hoisted the Dwarf back on the bridge as the Hunter roared in rage and pain from the attacks. The bridge itself kept vibrating and shaking ominously because of the Hunter's retaliations.
"It's all this heavy armor," grumbled Gimli. "Made me roll too much."
"Just like a Dwarf to blame faults on something else," Legolas sighed jokingly before getting into a good position to release a few well-aimed arrows. He was quickly followed by Gimli and his mighty axe.
The four Hobbits were torn between two very strong impulses. One was the urge to help their comrades who needed their help fighting the Hunter. The other was the urgent feeling of running to the end of the bridge because of the unnerving heights and the creaking of the metal beams.
The Hunter slammed down one of its gigantic fists onto the tracks, narrowly missing Aragorn and Gandalf. The two of them were about to attack when a few bolts burst from their places and the whole bridge shuddered. Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli and Legolas all gave a yell when the metal floor jolted down.
"It's falling apart!" Frodo yelled down to them. "We've got to get out!" He and his fellow Hobbits were already scurrying backwards to the tunnels.
"Frodo is right!" shouted Gandalf over the din. "We must get off the bridge!"
The Three Hunters nodded. Aragorn and Gimli each got in one more attack on the Hunter before turning their backs on it and running with Gandalf to the tunnels. Legolas, however, stayed back to get a few more shots in. He slashed the Hunter with one of his knives and shot it with one of his diamond-coated arrows before deciding to run to the tunnel.
The Hunter let out a raged cry and stomped towards the Fellowship, shaking the whole bridge on the way. More bolts burst from the girders and threatened to destroy the bridge. But, it was a dozen meters away from them and the bridge still didn't collapse on it.
Aragorn slowed down a small distance before entering the tunnel when he noticed the Hunter wasn't going to die by the natural destruction of the bridge. He started to quickly assemble one of his bombs he carried in his chest pocket.
"Aragorn!" Legolas called to him while running as fast as he could to the tunnels. He grabbed his arm and started leading him to the tunnels urgently. "Run and work! Run and work!"
Just as they entered the gloom of the tunnels, he finished his bomb and set it with the flick of a finger.
"Deeper!" commanded Gandalf. "Get deeper into the tunnels!" All except Aragorn and Legolas dashed down the unused tracks underground.
Aragorn threw his grenade as hard as he could at the Hunter and was quickly dragged and thrown into the tunnel by Legolas.
The bomb shot towards the Hunter with its incredible power of destruction. The Hunter was quick enough to see it and try to defend itself from it but had no definite understanding of what it was. In a futile attempt to stop the grenade, it swung out its cruel claws and slashed the bomb.
Even before the claw could slice halfway through the bomb, it fell to the beast's feet and exploded. From a distance of less than ten meters away from the Fellowship, a red and orange fireball ignited.
The Hunter was instantaneously and virtually burned to a crisp. The shockwave that was the result of the explosion shook the area in its radius violently and made all the bolts shoot out of their places. In a fraction of a split second, the sound caught up with the explosion.
That end of the bridge crumbled in a spectacular blaze of fire, metal and concrete. The street above cracked and rumbled as the structure collapsed and fell to the valley below in pieces. In a chain reaction, most of the rest of the bridge, along with the street and creatures on it, crumbled and fell with the fireball.
Inside the tunnel, rocks fell from the ceiling but the whole thing generally held up on itself. Huge boulders from the walls fell and rolled into the tracks.
Just as the explosion occurred, Pippin was already deep into the tunnel. He was thrown into the wall by the shockwave and hit his head onto a particularly hard and bumpy rock. He struggled to stay awake and tried to get up but failed.
In that small period of time, he heard rocks crumbling and echoing around him and one of his friends scream in horrible pain.
But, before he could do anything, everything went black.
--- ---