Riley and Shayla's screeches perforated the air, causing the birds roosting in nearby nests to squawk and take flight in shock. Gripping onto Shayla tightly, Riley stumbled away from the man, whose face was slightly illuminated from the orange firelight. He held two large weapons in his large hands, drawn by his side as though he was ready to use them within a seconds notice.

This couldn't be happening.

"Shayla, run when I tell you to." Riley murmured almost unperceivably, low enough that she believed the weapon-wielding maniac couldn't hear. Shayla's hold on Riley's arm became almost painful as she realised what her friend was saying to her.

"I can't." Shayla whispered in horror, stepping backwards quickly with Riley almost glued to her side. Hurried footsteps sounded from behind them both, and Riley's heart stammered in fear. She couldn't run, but Shayla could.

"Now, Shayla!" Riley suddenly yelled, pushing Shayla with a hard shove away from her side. Shayla stumbled several metres, falling to the ground with the sudden force. She looked up at Riley's stony blue eyes in shock, frozen as Riley screamed at her once more.

"Go! Run!" Tears pricked at Shayla's eyes as she scrambled to her feet, only hesitating to glance at the countless shadows that quickly approached with incoherent shouts.

Shayla frantically found Riley's eyes before she turned on her heel and ran into the darkness. Her heart ripped out of her chest in what she saw in Riley's expression, something that she had never seen in her eyes before.

She had seen fear.

A shattered sob escaped her lips as she ran, barely able to see where she was going. Shayla could hear deep yells from behind her, as well as the rapid sound of approaching footsteps.

Her breathing came out in jagged, rough pants. She was terrified, absolutely and completely so.

She ran, unstopping but completely exhausted.

One foot in front of the other, she chanted within her mind, as though it were some hopeless prayer she was sending to the stars.

"Stop!" One of the voices yelled out, edging closer and closer to her. Sweat began to drip from her temples and down her chest, as her lungs burst with raging pain.

Within a matter of seconds, several things happened at once.

The footfalls behind Shayla stopped, leaving a moments silence before a sound much more frightening emanated from in front of her.

A low growl caused her to stop instantly, absolutely paralysed with terror.

Then she saw where the noise came from. Through the darkness, two beady, glowing yellow eyes approached her.

Shayla stiffened, her breath catching in her throat. The creature growled again, moving around her as she stared at the yellow orbs through the dark.

She didn't need to see its body to know what it was. She didn't even have time to wonder how the hell it had gotten on the reserve, or how it was here, but she knew.

It wasn't a dingo, no. It was a wolf.

Shayla turned slowly, making sure that she could see exactly where the eyes were. They watched her intently, and she knew that this was it. She couldn't do anything.

A low growl tore from the creature as it continued to stalk her. She watched it in terror, looking into its eyes as it watched her back.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow. The noises surrounding her, calling out in the distance, melted away completely. There was nothing else, nothing but the darkness of night and the intelligent eyes that still bore into her own.

Wait, intelligent?

The only intelligence it had was attacking her, Shayla thought dejectedly. She couldn't fight it, and the creature knew that.

Her skin became flooded with goose bumps, eyes not straying from those knowing, yellow orbs. Maybe she could get away, turn on her heel and sprint. The moment the thought passed through her mind, she knew that she wouldn't be able to. Shayla was paralysed with fear.

She snapped out of her daze the second the world rushed back into existence, a harsh cry ringing through her ears from close by.

Her head snapped between the yelling and a sudden guttural snarl, but there was no time to move in the abrupt realisation that the wolf had leaped towards her.

She stumbled and fell backwards in shock, arms flailing everywhere as she watched death in the form of piercing yellow eyes soar through the air towards her.

Just as Shayla's body hit the ground, she heard a shrill noise puncture the air. There was an abysmal whine that lasted but a second, followed by the pain of a solid weight landing atop of Shayla.

She cried out in pain, the impact forcing the air to leave her lungs. Her legs were rendered useless with the incredible pressure, her arms hanging uselessly at her sides as she moaned.

Shayla wished that she could pass out, to just fall asleep. There was not a part of her body that didn't burn. She was on fire, she swore she was.

There was nothing she could do for many moments, until the weight that pinned her small body to the ground was suddenly lifted.

She could finally breathe once more, cool air rushing past her lips and to the legs which had felt non-existent seconds beforehand.

When she realised the reason she had been running in the first place, Shayla gasped in shock and sat upright with a sudden outburst of energy. In an attempt to make herself stand, her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell down onto her backside.

"Do not move." A deep voice murmured close to her ear. In a last ditch attempt to get away, Shayla ignored his words and attempted to scramble away from the unknown man.

She hadn't even gotten a metre away before two large hands grasped her by the shoulders. Shayla attempted to thwart the offender away, but her muscles failed to respond. His grip was unrelenting, keeping her in place as she swayed in exhaustion.

What had just happened? Shayla couldn't see the creature that had lunged for her, yet she could feel fur at her left leg. Heat lingered there, fading slowly as she focused on the sensation that seemed to dissipate as it diluted with the breath of cold air and of death.

The wolf had been killed. An emotion foreign to Shayla's mind began to stir within the deepest part of her being. The dead creature filled her mind. Why did it feel like sadness was washing over her?

What was going on?

Her mind became foggy, as she struggled to keep a hold on her consciousness. Where was she? Who the hell was leaning in beside her?

The stranger was talking, but she wasn't listening. She couldn't comprehend the words that left his mouth. Shayla's hands lingered atop the soil that she seemed almost anchored to. There was a prickling sensation at her fingertips, a feeling of warmth that lingered at the nerves of her hands.

Slowly, her mind cleared of the thick fog that had encompassed it. It left her with a stronger sense of clarity, yet her body still seemed to weigh down heavily with fatigue. She couldn't keep running. She couldn't fight.

How could she? She would be alone and without Riley.

"Where is my friend?" Shayla made out, her voice raspy and worn. She could barely make out more than a silhouette in front of her, yet she felt the grip on her shoulders slacken.

"Your friend is safe," was all he said; Shayla listened to his voice, a trace of some emotion that she couldn't put a finger on. Familiarity? Empathy?

Without another word, the man let go of Shayla's shoulders, instead moving his hands to her waist and picking the girl upwards. Shayla screeched louder than she had screeched in her life, as she was lifted up and over the shoulder of the person.

"Let me go, let me go!" She screamed, her whole body protesting at the sudden movements and the sound that scraped out of her hoarse throat.

The man moved quickly with Shayla over her shoulder, but she fought with the infinitesimal remaining energy left in her being. She threw clenched fists into his back, and attempted to knee him in the chest.

It was to no avail, however, as she fought more like an octopus with her arms floundering everywhere.

Despite this, she didn't relent until she heard a familiar yell and she was lifted quickly from the offender and onto the ground.

From the dry earth beneath her body, she saw everything all at once. She had been placed on the ground close to a small fire, casting a bright orange light on her surroundings.

Riley sat on the other side of the fire, a hard expression on her face as she looked with narrowed eyes trained on the man who had just dropped Shayla.

The man in question stood with a slightly amused look between Shayla and Riley. The expression caused Shayla's eyes to open wide in fear, thinking of all the axe murderers she had seen in horror movies look at their victims with the exact same look. Gulp.

He had long brunette hair, reaching past his shoulders. The hair of the top of his head was tied, forming a thick braid that fell down the back of his head. She noticed his distinct facial hair as well, a thick, dark beard covering his lower face. He looked to be mid to late twenties, with broad shoulders and stocky legs.

Shayla shook in shock. Who the hell was this person?

Glancing around her, she noted four other men standing around, staring at both her and Riley.

"Please don't hurt us!" Shayla cried out suddenly, her fear gaining hold of her common sense. Riley shushed her harshly, giving Shayla a pointed look.

Shayla looked at the men desperately, eyes pleading for them to let her and Riley go. She didn't even want to think about what could happen. She stopped the dark thoughts from continuing the instant they popped into her mind, though it didn't stop her from shaking all over.

The men looked at each other with different expressions in their eyes. Curiosity, concern and… Embarrassment?

One of the younger looking men suddenly spoke up, his eyes averted from the two girls.

"Where are your garments?" His voice seemed flustered, his orange hair glowing even brighter in the firelight. His massive array of hair on his head and face made him look as though he were a lion in Shayla's eyes. Riley simply snorted, looking at him in disgust.

Shayla didn't know how to reply. What did he mean by that? She looked down at herself, making sure that she was fully dressed.

Shorts, check. Boots, check. Singlet, check.

Huh?

She then really looked at what the men were wearing. Each of them was clad in medieval type clothing, as if they had just walked out of a renaissance fair.

These guys were creeps. They must be. Who else would be out in the middle of a forest, dressed in clothes from the middle ages and donned with weapons, like actual weapons?

Not to mention she had just been attacked by a freaking wolf. There were no wolves in Australia!

This was getting far too much for her to comprehend.

The man standing in front of Shayla, the brunette, looked down at her quizzically and then turned to the man standing on the left of him. Shayla knew who that man was; he had first caught the girls, though his axes had now disappeared.

Looking over the man who had tattoos covering his bald head, she realised he still looked freaking scary; scarier than she had ever seen any person look in her entire life.

"What do you want with us?" Shayla asked again, another strangled sob escaping her mouth.

"Don't say anything else!" Riley whispered heatedly.

The man cast a quick glance between the two girls before speaking to the bald, tattooed man.

"Do you recognise the way they speak, Dwalin?" The brunette almost laughed, looking down at Shayla with a smirk dancing at his lips.

There was a moment of silence, before the scary man named Dwalin nodded and gruffly replied.

"Aye. She speaks as Amelia does." Riley frowned at them, their conversation holding no significance to her whatsoever. She was absolutely rigid with fear, though she was too stubborn to show it. There was no way she was going to let these assholes know that they terrified the crap out of her. Her expression softened slightly with concern when she looked back to Shayla, her eyes as round as an owl's were.

When the brunette moved and knelt in front of Shayla, Riley rose suddenly and took a shaky step forward, almost collapsing with the exertion to her leg.

"Don't you dare go near her." She growled out beneath a clenched jaw, her whole stance rigid with anger and fear. Riley couldn't let anything happen to Shayla.

The man looked up at Riley with a small, humourless smile, much softer than his previous smirks.

"I would never harm a woman, my Lady." There was a slight pause, where Riley and the man stared each other down. To Shayla, the moment dragged on forever. She tried to move backwards subtly, though it was in vain.

In an instant, the man turned back to her and searched her eyes. With the glow of the fire, Shayla saw a thin pink line stretching down the man's face, from his temple to beneath his thickly bearded chin.

"What is your name?" He asked gently, chocolate brown eyes searching hers. She looked from him to Riley, who had stubbornly limped around the fire, standing next to Shayla defiantly.

"That's none of your business," she spat out, again eyeing off the man. That was when big, scary Dwalin stepped forward, his chest puffed out in rage.

"You do not speak to the heir of Durin as such, woman." Another tense pause. Shayla shifted uncomfortably, searching the faces of these strange people. She smothered the rigid fear she felt at the way they were talking, the words they were speaking, knowing that they didn't have anyone else to help them get to the hospital.

Surely if they meant to hurt Shayla and Riley, they would have done it already?

"Can you please help us?" Shayla whispered to the man who was still knelt in front of her. His gaze left Riley's and found Shayla's instead.

"We.. We don't know where we are.. And Riley's hurt, she needs to get to the hospital.." Shayla stammered her words out, afraid of what could happen. She just wanted to get Riley to a damn doctor.

The man knotted his brows in confusion, before looking back at Riley, glancing at the bloody leg of her pyjama pants.

Swiftly, he stood up and took off his fur-fur?- coat. Handing it towards Shayla, he nodded at her in sudden seriousness to take it.

After many moments of hesitation, she did. It was absolutely freezing by now, the air feeling as though blades of icy steel were piercing her skin.

"Dwalin, lend your furs to the injured human. Gloin, Gimli, Ranár; pack the belongings and douse the flames. It will be two days march to Erebor with an injured human." He turned to face Shayla and Riley once more, his brown eyes twinkling in the firelight.

"We take them to my dear sister-in-law."

Ba-dum tish! So obviously this was going to happen, but the girls won't meet Amelia for another few chapters. UGH but I am so excited to write it, because Amelia was my first OC and obviously I am having a hard time letting go of her! Don't worry though, this story is not in any way going to revolve around her! It will still be Riley and Shayla's journey :')

Thank you to mh21, Marina Oakenshield, DeLacus, Fire and Ash, luvgirl101, Obi-wan's girl forever, Evakarina and fardreamer333 for your wonderful reviews, as always! You bring many moments of happiness to my days with your kind words!

Fardreamer333, thanks for your review! In answer to your questions- this story is in the same AU where Amelia and Josh are, but this story is set almost thirty years after The Battle of Five Armies :) I am creating my own plot in a slight prelude to the war of the ring (obviously there is a lot of discontent in ME only 30 years before Frodo's own quest). I will be adding my own plots and subplots, so I hope that is will turn out the way I envision! Also, you were right about the last chapter- I didn't write in the justification of why they walked into the forest! I added an extra paragraph, but basically Shayla thought it would be better to try and head straight for where she thought the road would be. Obviously her being in Middle Earth now kinda stuffed that up :P

Thank you for the comments, follows and favourites! This is obviously another short chapter, but I think I will keep it that way for a while; I don't want to keep anyone waiting for updates :)

Review and have a great day! :)