Riley flat out refused to follow the men. Her guarded fear, unwillingness to trust and utter incomprehension of what was happening meant that she rejected Shayla's attempts to get her help.

"Shayla, let's go. If we go back to the river, we can follow it back upstream to our tent. I am not going with these nut cases." Shayla looked at Riley with a mixed expression of defeat and terror. The two were standing a number of metres away, both watching with suspicious gazes as the men doused the remnants of orange firelight and packed their bags.

"There isn't another way, Riley. I can't.. I don't know where we are. It doesn't even feel right, it feels.. Everything feels wrong." Shayla spoke in hushed tones, yet her voice audibly quivered and broke as Riley listened.

"But it won't be hard to get back. As long as we find the river, we can get back to our things and follow the trails back to the road." Even as she spoke, Riley knew that she was beginning to grasp at straws; if Shayla had no idea where they were or how to find themselves off of the reserve, then Riley had no chance.

"You don't understand. I don't know where we are," Shayla enunciated, each word conveying the pure frustration and fear she felt. "There was a wolf, Riley. A freaking wolf. We don't even have wolves on the reserve, let alone in Australia!" Tears started to well in Shayla's eyes once more, her body tremoring. She felt at a complete loss; everything she knew and everything she felt had been turned upside down. Shayla didn't know how, but she felt deep down within her that the ground beneath their feet had changed.

Being out within nature was something she enjoyed and cherished above everything else; it was where she found comfort and peace. That is how she knew something had gone wrong, as though something had happened.

Amongst the forest they were currently encompassed, she felt alone, hopeless and completely struck down with a mind numbing anxiety.

The realisation terrified her beyond words.

"I'm not following these freak shows." Riley deadpanned, her shoulders becoming rigid as her eyes narrowed. In Shayla's exhaustion and far-reaching confusion, she snapped momentarily at Riley.

"We don't have a damn choice! You're hurt, and we don't have a way to get to a hospital. I don't care if these people are doing some live action role play, so long as they can help." Shayla exhaled deeply, the anger leaving her body the moment it took over. Regret and fear filled its place, and she begun to shake once more.

"It's just.. I don't know what else to do Riley. I-I have no idea. I should know where to go, where we are, but.. But I don't and I hate it." Shayla's head fell, tears dropping soundlessly from her bloodshot eyes.

Seeing Shayla in such pain caused something to clench within Riley's chest. She dug her nails into her palms, refusing to feel.

How had Shayla gotten under Riley's skin, too? She had sworn to herself not to let anyone get close to her again so as to save herself from the pain of rejection. Yet here she was, first allowing Brax to slip through and hurt her. Now Shayla had done the same; was friendship supposed to feel like this?

"Fine." Riley whispered harshly, her confusion at her own muddle of emotions radiating from the surface of her skin in the form of frustration and annoyance. Shayla flinched back slightly, but their attention was drawn to the sound of approaching footsteps.

"We must leave now." The brunette looked between Shayla and Riley with a small smirk on his face, before something flashed across his eyes in the dim moonlight that snaked through the treetops. His expression suddenly became serious, and within an instant he had bowed from the waist in front of the two girls.

"I apologise, I have not offered my services. I am Kili, heir of Durin, at the service of you and your kin." Standing up to full height- his full height being a head shorter than Riley, she noted quickly- he continued on in seriousness.

"May I ask for your names?" He looked between both of the girls with a mixed look, eyes flashing with almost uncertainty. Shayla cleared her throat after a few moments of awkward silence, which included Riley staring down the man who had said his name was Kili.

"We.. Um, I'm Shayla, and this is Riley. We were camping on the reserve, ah.. But.. Something happened and we got hurt.. We.. Well, we don't know where our camp is and we need to get to the hospital, so.." Shayla stammered her way through their explanation, finding it hard to look Kili in the eyes. Luckily, Riley intervened and saved Shayla from her embarrassment.

"Look, we have no idea where we are and no idea how to find our way off of the reserve. My leg's bleeding and I need a hospital, so if you could take some time out of your little middle ages play group and drive us there that would be great."

Shayla looked at Riley with a mix of exasperation and horror, glancing back at Kili quickly to gauge his reaction. He stared at Riley, before cocking his head to the side with a confused expression evident on his face. After a few seconds he shook his head slightly, chuckling under his breath as he spoke once more.

"Your words are much like Amelia's were. We will take you to her, as she will know what we shall do." With a final smirk, he turned on his heel and beckoned Shayla and Riley to follow.

The girls exchanged polar opposite looks; Shayla was distressed, and Riley was seething with anger. It took moments for the girls to shuffle themselves to support one another as they walked, following Kili.

"Who is Amelia?" Shayla piped up nervously, becoming more and more worried that this was a terrible idea, and that perhaps she should have listened to Riley. The sudden tension in Riley's shoulders made Shayla aware that she wasn't the only one who had been wondering the same thing.

The other men had packed their belongings, standing ready by Kili who had stopped in front of them.

"Lads, we finally have names to call the two humans by." He turned then, a smirk dancing behind his beard as he winked at Shayla and Riley.

Shayla didn't need to look at Riley to see that there might as well have been steam coming out of her ears.

"This is Miss Shayla and Miss Riley. Come, now; if Dis or Amelia could see the lack of manners we have outstretched for two women, then Mahal save us all." The other men grunted in acknowledgement, before introducing themselves as Kili had done just minutes earlier.

"I am Dwalin, son of Fundin, at your service." Riley gave Mr. Badass a hard glare, her annoyance not lacking in the slightest. Why did they have to keep up with the stupid role play?

"Gloin, at your service."

Ranár, son of Dain, at your service."

Gimli, son of Gloin, at your service."

Shayla noticed the man named Gimli, who looked almost younger than Kili, glance at Gloin with a proud smile. Her immediate confusion at their introductions caused her brain to function at a slower rate, as she realised that Gimli and Gloin were a father and son duo.

Observing both closer, she definitely realised their similarities. Both had a mane of orange-red hair and beards, both with almost black eyes. Their whole demeanours seemed different though, as she noticed Gloin's haughty stance and Gimli's self-assured personality.

The man named Ranár had dark hair and a braided beard, both almost raven black. He seemed to be almost as old as Gloin, around his forties or fifties. Shayla was overwhelmingly surprised at their costumes and the extent that they had gone to in dressing up; she had never seen men of such an age dress up like they were off of some game, running around the woods carrying weapons.

She was again left wondering; who the heck were these people?

Without so much as another word, the men began walking through the trees behind them, their footsteps the only sounds that met Shayla and Riley's ears. With some hesitation, the girls followed them into the darkness that was only punctured occasionally by the dim moonlight.

Riley's leg throbbed more and more as the night wore on. The girls began to witness the sky change from black to rich blue, from blue to violet and then to orange as sunlight crept through the sky and held reign over the darkness.

"Are we close to your car or what?" Riley called out to the men that were walking several metres in front of the two. She refused to admit just how much her leg was beginning to hurt her, but she couldn't continue for much longer without some rest.

Shayla looked at Riley worriedly and stopped walking, halting Riley with her.

"What are you doing?" Riley whispered in annoyance, her blue eyes shining as crystal steel in the morning light.

"We can't keep walking like this." Shayla whispered back hurriedly, making sure not to mention Riley's injury as the cause for her worry. She knew that Riley would stubbornly continue as if something wasn't wrong, despite Shayla hearing the slight labour in her breaths as she limped along.

"Your leg is bleeding again, Miss Riley." Kili had stopped the others and walked back, taking the pack from his shoulders and rummaging through his belongings.

"Sit. It must be bound if we are to continue." Riley opened her mouth to yell out some form of a colourful defiance, but a nudge from Shayla stopped her. Shayla shook her head slightly, her eyes almost pleading for Riley not to argue.

With a loud and exaggerated sigh, Riley sat down slowly as she took care not to bump her leg. Kili had been right; there was fresh blood seeping through the leg of her pants, and she narrowed her eyes at the sight as though she could will the injury away with a simple look.

"Miss Riley, if.. I.. Can you lift your trouser leg so that I can look at the wound?" Kili seemed almost flustered then, looking anywhere but at Riley's face. When he finally dared a glance at her, she gave a sharp nod and moved her pyjama pants until they sat above her thigh. She was glad then that she always wore loose fitting clothes.

That was when Shayla gasped at the sight of Riley's wound; even Riley took in a sharp intake of air, and Kili frowned deeply when he glanced down.

The thin, seemingly harmless cut that Shayla had seen the previous morning had begun to fester; blood and pus oozed from the wound that seemed to have torn open further in a mess of jagged flesh.

"Nakha Gimli, bring me a water skin!" Kili barked out, tearing a long piece of fabric off of a deep blue cloak he pulled from his backpack. Gimli hurried from where he had stopped, pulling a water skin from his belt and handing it to Kili.

"I must clean and bind the wound, Miss Riley. I will not lie; this will hurt." Riley clenched her fists, the dirt underneath her knuckles rough against her skin as she supported herself upright.

Shayla looked between Kili and Riley in shock, unable to comprehend what was about to happen. It was when Kili squeezed the wound with his large hands and quickly ran cold water over the pus and dark blood that escaped the wound, that Shayla had to force herself not to collapse.

Riley bit back a scream, refusing to let a noise escape past her lips. The pain was excruciating though; she had never felt anything just so painful in her life, aside from almost drowning the previous morning.

She inwardly cursed Shayla once more for bringing her out into the damn wilderness.

The pain was all too evident on Riley's face, despite her efforts to keep her composure. She was relieved when Kili worked quickly to wrap her leg with the fabric, tying it off and then slowly pulling the end of Riley's pants back over her leg.

Kili's solemn expression did not falter as he begun to shout at the others with foreign words. Shayla could have sworn these guys were from the United Kingdom with their somewhat English accents, though in hearing the unrecognisable language, she became unsure of herself.

Her concern immediately shifted back to Riley, as she heard a small, almost unperceivable gasp leave her lips. Riley's face had become incredibly pale, and sweat was beginning to bead from her forehead.

Shayla's eyes snapped upwards and quickly found Kili's, who was again bending down beside Riley with concern more than visible in his eyes.

"Miss Shayla, we must move quickly. Amelia once spoke of cars and their ability to travel over great distances; metal boxes she had called them. We do not have such luxury here, therefore we must hurry on foot."

Shayla was flabbergasted by his words, unable to understand. What did he mean they didn't have a car? Why did he talk about them as though he had never seen one?

She couldn't even speak in her confusion, and Kili carefully lifted a resistant Riley off of the ground.

"Get off of me! I can walk fine by myself." Riley exclaimed, her voice spitting venom. Kili just stared at her with a hard expression.

"If I were to let you walk, we would not get to Erebor in enough time to save your leg. Dwalin and I will carry you; we must make haste."

Dwalin marched in between Shayla to Riley's side, both him and Kili moving their thick arms around Riley's waist. It didn't matter that she was taller and quite curvy, as the men lifted her with ease. This time Riley didn't argue; instead, she bent her knees upwards so that her feet would not touch the ground. Kili turned to Shayla once more and spoke in a hurried murmur.

"Miss Shayla." Shayla's eyes widened at him, her brown eyes locking with Kili's own. It was as though he could feel the fear radiating from her, because his expression softened slightly and the beginnings of a smirk grew at the corner of his lips.

"Keep up if you can."

With that, Kili and Dwalin began to jog Riley through the forest, with Gimli, Gloin and Ranár leading the group, and a horror-struck Shayla following at their heels like a home-lost puppy.

It was indeed, an accurate description.

Yay, another chapter up! Thank you to my new followers/favouriters and my lovely reviewers! (fardreamer333, DeLacus, Guest, luvgirl101, Obi-wan's girl forever, mh21 and Marina! You guys are wonderful as always!)

mh21- We will see what has come of Amelia and co. in two or three chapters, so you will find out soon! ;)

Oh and for anyone who hasn't read my original fanfic, Amelia and her brother Josh explained to Kili, Fili, Ori and Bilbo what cars were in one of the scenes (just in case the reference to metal boxes made no sense haha).

*Nakha- 'come 'in Khuzdul*

So, I really hope that I am doing Tolkien's characters justice- I always worry with writing fanfics, because I want to stay true to the characters instead of just taking the name/face and making them my own. I created Ranar as my own character though, him being Dain's son (instead of Thorin Stonehelm), just because I feel as though because Thorin survived the battle of five armies, Dain wouldn't feel such a strong need to name his own child after our king under the mountain.

Also, as you may have noticed, Kili has grown up a little bit since my last fiction (28 years since BOTFA to be more precise), and that is due to some things that have happened within his life. You will find out soon enough what this is ;)

Thanks again beautiful people! I will try to have another update soon, but I can't promise anything right now- I am busy preparing to go to Sydney Oz Comic Con (Orlando Bloom and Dean O'Gorman will be there!) in two weeks. If anyone is going, I will see you there! :)