"…Maybe life is like a ride on a freeway
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing
It brings me down, but I won't let them…"
Chapter Nine Deliverance
They were off in a mad dash before more could be said. Already they could hear the enraged Orcs on their tail, they where now back out in the open and if indeed the seemingly thousands that where swarming behind them caught up, any chance that they had of getting out of this confounded place would vanish. This of course would happen to be the least of their worries, something terrible was coming and Yunalesca could feel it. She didn't have to see it to know it was there and that it was gaining on them, fast. It breathed power and rage, hunting for those whom had awoke it from its eternal slumber and she knew it would not stop until a horrible price had been paid. The Fellowship where trailing behind her now. She was easily the fastest there, fuelled by a desperate need to feel the sunlight on her skin once more, and was in no mood to succumb to their moderate pace. In spite of this she held back just a fraction and made sure to keep in a leisurely range of the party. This was lucky as Sam stumbled suddenly, tripped and had a severe meeting with the ground. Within seconds she was by his side, picking him up and dragging him along behind her.
"This is no time for a lay down, Samwise." She said, a little harsher than she had meant to. By this time the thing that in any tongue she would only be able to describe as a demon was but a few minutes away if they where incredibly lucky. She doubted very much however that they would actually ever live that long. Hundreds of foul Goblins where now closing in around them from every place imaginable, even the pillars where covered top to bottom in cruel eyes that gleamed in the darkness. They swarmed in from the darkness, encircling the party. Within seconds their path was firmly blocked by an impenetrable wall of crazed Orcs and Goblins. They screeched with delight at their quarry's emanate destruction. The small party huddled together, weapons drawn. They might be able to hold of the first fifty or so but after that they where quite literally dead meat. Yuna tightened her grip on the claw, awaiting the first move. And then, as the passing of time, a frigid silence fell upon the entirety of the immense hall, broken only by a wretched gurgling noise from behind them that quickly morphed into something resembling a roar. This grew louder with every irritable second. The horrid creatures that surrounded the party looked in dreadful awe as a burning light started to draw nearer to the entrance of the hall. They frantically looked around from one to another. On one hand if they stayed they would be able to kill the intruders, but on the other they knew that what was coming could easily obliterate each and every one of them. It is widely believed that Orcs and their associates are simply mindless killing machines, but this is not always so. Every once in a while they make a wise decision, and thankfully for the Fellowship, this was one of those times. As fast as they had come the creatures scurried away, into cracks and back up pillars. The group was left standing alone. The Dwarf let out a victorious laugh, while the rest of the Fellowship was more concerned with the rapidly approaching fiery light that shone from the direction they had just come from.
'…If I seem
bleak
Well you'd be correct
And if I don't speak
It's cause I can't disconnect
But I won't be burned by the reflection
Of the fire in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun…'
The elf was ready with his bow strung and aimed at the apparition. This of course was futile, as was anything that most of them could come up with.
"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked warily, not taking his eyes off the rapidly illuminating hall.
After a while, Gandalf answered, his head bowed in anxiety. "A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you."
'If you already know that, then why are we still here and not a hundred yards further away!' Yuna thought, angry at the lack of speed and at the same time, fearful for what she knew was coming.
"Run!" He bellowed at last, much to her relief. Needing no encouragement, she took off at something that wasn't quite a fully-blown sprint, but near enough. It took them a little time to pass through a small arch leading to a large staircase. She quickly ran through and skidded to a halt just before falling to certain death. She was just about to turn back round when Boromir sent her almost completely over the edge, sending her even closer to said certain death. Legolas followed, not seeing them until the last second and by then it was too late, he crashed into them and with their combined weight behind her, Yuna lost her footing and plummeted down the ample drop.
She heard a voice above her cry out, but this was drowned out by the adrenaline she could almost hear pulsing through her veins. There was another path just to her left, if she could only grab on to that, it might just save her. Without thinking, she thrust out an arm in that general direction and winced as the impact shot through her shoulder. Her hand gripped onto it, and with that in place, she heaved her other arm up to join it. A wave of panic swept through her body as she felt the small portion of rock supporting her give way. It was with this thought plaguing her that she rapidly hoisted her torso above the path and kicked up into a split-second handstand before landing rather uncomfortably on her backside. Yunalesca saw the Fellowship hurrying down to her position, and rose as fast as her appendages would allow in their current state. Aragorn shot her a strange sort of look that almost resembled concern, she replied by hastily brushing herself off and speeding along the stone path.
They came to a part of the stair where a large chunk had long since fallen away, leaving a gap in the staircase. The elf was the first to cross, nimbly jumping the distance. He turned round and beckoned to Gandalf who leaped across after sizing up the space. Yuna readied herself to join them when she found an arrow missing her head by a matter of centimetres, without hesitation, she pulled out her crossbow and began to fire mercilessly at the Goblins that had appeared.
She felt another chunk of stone loosen beneath her feet and stepped off just as it gave way. Boromir, armed with a Hobbit under each of his arms, cleared the rift and landed rather gracefully on the other side. Aragorn took Sam up in his arms and flung him into Boromir's. He reached for Gimli, but the Dwarf refused and attempted to clear the division himself. Of course, this was impossible considering his size, and as a result he was caught, in all places, by the beard by the elf who hoisted him up. The situation would have been comical, if not so dire.
There was no time to pursue this train of thought as the cracks in the rock appeared once again beneath her. This time several slabs fell away, but, anticipating this, she was already some distance up the steps. Aragorn had not been so lucky, and was holding on to stop himself from falling. She swivelled round and grasped his arm, hauling him upwards. Their predicament soon became apparent as they looked at the now sizeable crevasse that had been formed. Even with a long running start, she would not be able to make it, let alone Frodo. The Balrog was not far behind now; a sense of urgency gripped her. At the moment all she wanted would have been to get out of the mines alive, even though this, too, seemed impossible.
The ceiling overhead started to cave in on them, knocking yet another large piece of stone from behind. Whatever chance they had of an alternate route was now long gone. As if to add insult to injury, the area of stairs they were standing on seemed to move. Lower down, it had split and was now teetering dangerously close to the left-hand side. She moved over to the right to try and balance it out as Aragorn and Frodo leaned over in an attempt to get the sizeable object forward. They stayed in limbo for a few moments; not knowing whether the quickly conceived plan would succeed. Then, ever so slowly, the great walkway started on its descent. It collided straight into the section on which the other members of the Fellowship where already standing and both Hobbit and Ranger where launched into their waiting companions. Yuna however was less fortunate. She had decided not to get off at that precise moment purely because there had not been enough room to do so. But now she faced a far worse predicament as immediately after impact, the staircase had started on its rapid demise left of the remaining section, the fact that the rough impact had made her loose her balance momentarily only added to the wasted time. In the precious last seconds before it plummeted to the darkness bellow, Yunalesca had somehow managed to vault to where the Fellowship had stood moments before, but a miscalculation meant that she had missed her footing by centimetres, and had no choice but to hang on to the ledge with her gloved hands. A similar situation not long ago entered her mind, and the fact that the very section she was holding onto was once again caving away only served to add to the irony.
Legolas turned his head slightly as the rest of the Fellowship made their way down the steps. He saw the Half-Elf hoist herself onto the path. Fearing she might be left behind, he went to her aid, ignoring her protests and helping her up before the ledge caved away. Her eyes locked with his briefly, and for the first time, her face was fully visible in the firelight.
Her face was rounder than most elves, he could see that now, but the higher cheekbones and more defined features gave it away that she was no mere human. Her lips were full, and at the moment, slightly chapped, but still retained the cupids-bow shape that graced the features of most if not all elves. Her nose was small, sloping gently downwards. Her eyes were not particularly oval, but were rounded, and a deep emerald in colour, with just a hint of cerulean. At the moment, they were focused on him with a slightly confused expression. The scar adorning the right side of her face was long and had obviously been a very deep wound. It was still healing, however, so it couldn't have been made more than twenty years ago, he was amazed that the blow had not taken out her eye, it must have missed her lens by millimetres. Her frosty hair was pulled back in a practical bun that encompassed the back of her head. Now that he saw her face, it became apparent that she wasn't really anything special to look at, rather plain if you took away the outstanding features.
With this split-second well and truly over, he concentrated on getting back to the other members who were already speeding away from the scene. Yuna didn't waste time either; she was hot on his heels as they caught up.
'…When I ran I
didn't feel like a runaway
When I escaped I didn't feel like I got away
There's more to living than only surviving
Maybe I'm not there, but I'm still trying…'
Gandalf ushered them past as they entered the hall leading up to the bridge. The air was super heated as six-foot flames erupted around them, barring all exits but one that led to Kazad-dûm. The Balrog of Morgoth had finally caught them up. Her and Boromir where at the head of the party with Aragorn and the Hobbits a close second. She felt a tremendous roar vertebrate through her body as a wave of scorching breath brushed past them. She looked back and in that moment realised just how close it really was. This quickened her pace rather drastically and in moments she was almost half way across the bridge with the others not far behind. Upon reaching the other side of the shoulder width ford, she slowed down but still kept going. There was a faint pool of sunlight not far ahead and she was now more then intent on reaching it.
Hurrying up hopefully the last set of stairs in this god-forsaken dwarf-hole, she came to a halt at the top and looked back to the others who where following in her footsteps. But the old wizard was unfortunately not with them. He had stopped at the beginning to impede the demons immediate advance.
'…Though you
hear me
I don't think that you relate
My will is something
That you can't confiscate
So forgive me, but I won't be frustrated
By destruction in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun…'
"You cannot pass!" He bellowed at the unfeeling monster that, in response, pulled itself up to full height and whipped its wings about him, sending dust and ash raining down. It was an awesome sight to behold and Yuna was glad that she was not in the same position as Gandalf. " I am a servant of the secret fire." He went on, raising his staff as a brilliant white glow started to take shape around him. "Wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!" The Balrog took out a sword from somewhere about its person and brought it down hard. There was a bright flash of light, and it was forced backwards as the sword ricochet off the shield that had been formed. It howled at the lone figure in front of it and tried to look as menacing as possible. Which wasn't hard, considering. "Go back to the shadow!" The Balrog took one step forward in defiance, his cloven hoof surrounded by flames. Again, almost from nowhere, a fiery whip appeared its many thongs bathed in flame, the demon cracked it against the wall behind him, whirling it around threateningly. "You shall not pass!" He shouted again, crashing his staff down on the rock. One thing the Balrog hadn't expected, however, was the fact that the portion of the bridge it was on was slightly weakened by the blow, and as a result, when he stepped forward, it crumbled away.
Relieved, the wizard turned back round to face them, taking a step forward. A step was all he managed, though, as the whip reeled back up and wrapped around his ankle, dragging him downwards. Frodo struggled with all his might against Boromir's grasp. Yuna saw him sink down so just his arms now held on. She made to run, but found her arm was caught on something unmistakably Dwarvish. Shaking Gimli off, she bolted to the bridge, resolute on not letting him fall. But a fraction of a second before she'd cleared the distance, his strength failed him, he was gone, and she was left grasping air. His last words lingered in her mind. 'Fly, you fools.' She did just that, skidding round and dashing back. Aragorn was the last to go round the corner that led to the Moria's exit. Everything seemed to creep along in slow motion, and she was suddenly aware of the multitude of Goblins sporting bows. All her thoughts were now focused on getting out, so much so, that when an arrow pierced her right shoulder, it hardly registered in her mind. She was almost out, she could feel the cool breeze, but more importantly, she could see the light…
A.N. READ ME I would like to make known that we are well aware of the lack of description or elaboration, a scene that takes up about a paragraph in ours might consume an entire chapter in others, but this is only temporary. We both feel that if we tried to describe Moria in all its glory, it'd just be like reading FOTR again, but with a considerable lack of skill. Once we get onto the original story line (Which we will do if we are pushed hard enough) then things will start to get a lot more in-depth and 'our style.' I've also discovered that I, personally, write much better in 1st person, so we'll be doing more of that soon. As always, we would like to remind people that a change of perspective or style is indicated with a . READ ME