Okay, so this will be the last update until Tuesday or so. I need a tiny break you know? Oh! Exciting news! Tonight I'm going to a political dinner for a congressman named Dr. Bob Johnson and Viggo Mortensen will be there. :) I'm so excited about it. I'll be sure to take pictures (If I can) :) So enjoy. :)
Chapter thirty-two
The Missing
Morgoth complained the whole way back to camp but in actuality he was doing better then he let on. Gwen seemed rather sympathetic and asked if she wanted to drive him back and then walk back into the woods to get the other four-wheeler. The idea sounded delightfully wonderful to Morgoth but he declined. The two pulled into camp and parked the four-wheelers next to Lammoth. They then walked back to the beach. The staff still seemed to be at the beach enjoying themselves.
"Gwen! So good to see you! What did you have to do?" Kisha asked.
"One of the campers sprained her ankle. It was nothing much. In fact Morgoth got hurt more then the camper did," Gwen replied with a smile.
Fëanor laughed.
"Oh spill! What did he do?"
"He fell off the four-wheeler. He said a tree branch jumped out and hit him in the head," Gwen replied.
Morgoth felt his face turning a brighter shade of crimson. Gwen patted him lightly on the back.
"Oh you'll be alright. If y'all would excuse me for a moment I need to use the bathroom," Gwen said and headed for Lammoth. Morgoth made his way to the beach towel and plopped down.
"Aw, is the Dark Lord okay?" Fëanor asked.
Morgoth glowered at him.
"Shut up."
Kisha laughed and closed her book.
"Fëanor that's not nice. Leave him alone he was probably thinking about what he was going to do for Gwen tomorrow."
Morgoth raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
Kisha looked at him innocently.
"What? You didn't know? Tomorrow's her birthday! She's turning thirty-five."
"Well what's so special about a birthday?" Morgoth asked.
"You don't have the same custom? Over here on a person's birthday friends and family make the birthday person presents and cards. The hobbits are helping me make a big cake and we're going to throw her a surprise birthday party in the Great Hall. I guess the plans never got to you."
Sauron whistled.
"Oh no Morgoth. You're going to look like the laughing stock of the party tomorrow."
Morgoth quickly jumped off the beach towel.
"Where are you going?" Kisha asked.
He turned and ran towards the arts and crafts building without a reply. Kisha opened her book again and started reading.
"I wonder how long its going to take him to realise tomorrow is not Gwen's birthday," Kisha mused.
Fëanor laughed.
"You mean you lied to him?"
Kisha nodded and turned her page.
"Yup."
"Oh this is rich! I'll definitely have to observe this tomorrow," Sauron said as he opened his notebook and flipped to a new, crisp page.
"When is Gwen's birthday?" Nerdanel asked.
"It's September nineteenth," Kisha replied.
"And what's today's date?" Manwë asked.
"Today is the second of August."
"Oh, and this camp has three weeks left?"
Kisha nodded.
"Yup, the kids get picked up on August twenty-seventh. I'm already counting down the days."
"Oh they haven't been that bad," Arwen remarked.
Kisha smiled.
"Yes the staff has been worse then the campers."
"I don't know but I'm still waiting for someone to play volleyball with me!" Ulmo exclaimed.
"Speak of the devil eh?" Kisha said with a smile.
Manwë rolled his eyes.
"Oh knock it off already! You're driving me insane!" he roared.
"Stupid king of the Valar…" Ulmo muttered.
Manwë sat up.
"What did you call me?" he asked.
"Who me? Nothing! Why do you ask?"
He stretched back on the beach towel again.
"Good, because I thought I heard you call me something."
"I would never do that," Ulmo said.
"You better not or you'll find yourself in the void when we get back."
Ulmo grumbled.
"Who made Manwë king?"
"That would be Ilúvatar," Manwë reminded him.
"Right."
--
Everyone was still at the beach when Gwen came back. The sun was still high in the sky and it was a little after one in the afternoon. Ulmo had convinced a handful of staffers to play volleyball with him. He still beat them.
"Where's Morgoth?" Gwen asked.
Kisha looked up from her book.
"Oh I don't know. I think he went for a walk or something."
"Come join us Gwen! We need another person to play against Ulmo!" Tulkas exclaimed.
Gwen nodded and pulled off her sandals.
"I'm coming!" she exclaimed as she ran into the water. Tulkas tossed her the ball.
"It's your serve."
"Sweet as," she said as she launched the ball into the air.
--
"Okay so normally I would be able to tell you what plants are edible and what are not but over here I really don't have a clue," Aragorn explained as he led the campers through the woods.
"So then what are we doing out here then?" a camper asked.
Aragorn shrugged.
"I think I'm supposed to teach you how to survive in the wild," he said.
"Can we spend the night in Gwen's tree?" another camp asked.
"No! Now stop asking that question!"
One of the campers in the back heard a tree branch snap behind her and so she turned around. Arathorn II was supposed to be behind her but he wasn't. She turned back and was going to say something when a hand went over her mouth and pulled her into the woods. This continued to happen until one of the campers was able to let out a muffled scream and alert everybody. Aragorn quickly turned around and realised that he was missing about thirty campers.
"Circle up!" he yelled to the other Dúnedain.
All the staff in the woods circled around the campers.
"Did anyone see where the campers went?" Aragorn asked.
Nobody had seen anything and Aragorn counted the staff. He was missing his father.
"Has anyone seen my father?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Okay nobody panic. I'm going to call Gwen okay?"
He dialled Gwen's number.
--
"Gwen! I think your shoes are ringing!" Kisha yelled.
Gwen was still in the water playing volleyball with the rest of the staff.
"Damnit! I hate being emergency patrol!" Gwen yelled as she ran from the water and answered her phone.
"Yes?"
"Gwen! Oh thank Ilúvatar!" Aragorn exclaimed. To Gwen he seemed very panicky.
"Aragorn, what's wrong?" she asked.
"I'm missing thirty campers and a staff member! They just vanished!"
"What? That's impossible!"
"Well it happened okay? I heard one of the campers scream and when I turned around I realised that I was missing thirty campers and a staff member!"
"Where are you now?" Gwen asked.
Aragorn found the nearest marker.
"We're next to marker twenty-two fifteen A."
"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Hurry!"
"I'll be there soon. Don't panic."
Gwen hung up the phone and quickly threw on her shoes.
"Gwen? What's going on?" Kisha asked.
She shrugged.
"I have no idea. Aragorn said thirty campers and a staff member have gone missing. He doesn't know where they are. Where did Morgoth go? I think I'm going to need him for this one."
"He's in the arts and crafts building."
Gwen clipped her phone to her shorts.
"Okay thanks."
--
"Morgoth are you in there? We need to go!" Gwen said as she pounded on the door. Morgoth had locked it on her. She heard him scurrying about inside.
"Gwen? What's going on?" he asked after he unlocked the door.
"We got a big problem in the woods! Now let's go!"
She then spotted one of the swords Fëanor had forged in the first week when he was showing the campers. She grabbed it.
"Alright let's go."
"Do I get a weapon?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Hurry up and grab something. Aragorn seemed frantic over the phone."
Morgoth grabbed another sword and the two left the arts and crafts building. Since Gwen was in a rush, she did not see the present Morgoth had been making her by the fire. Morgoth forgot all about it as the two ran down the stairs.
"Are we taking both four-wheelers?" Morgoth asked.
"No, we better take just one because I need to speed over," Gwen replied.
They reached the four-wheeler and Gwen hopped on. Morgoth got on behind her and the two took off in the woods. Gwen handed Morgoth her cell phone.
"Quick, call Aragorn."
Morgoth played with the phone for a few seconds and then found the number for Aragorn in the contact list.
"Aragorn?" Morgoth asked after he picked up.
"Morgoth? Are you guys on your way?"
"Yes."
"Hurry damnit! We don't know how it happened but we just lost another ten campers and two more staff members."
"Aren't you keeping watch?" Morgoth asked.
"Yes but it's happing so fast! Oh shit…"
Morgoth then heard the phone drop to the ground. He heard a struggle. Aragorn shouted something inaudible and then there was a crunching sound and all was silent. Morgoth was pretty sure Aragorn's phone was the thing that got crunched.
"Um Gwen?" he began.
"Yes?"
"I think they've all been captured," Morgoth said.
Gwen stopped the four-wheeler to a screeching halt.
"What? What happened?" she asked.
"Well, I heard Aragorn say, and I quote, 'oh shit' and then the phone dropped to the ground. He shouted something I could not quite hear and then something stepped on the phone."
"Oh this is not good. Okay call Thorin," Gwen commanded.
"Sure thing."
He found the number in the contact list and dialled.
"Thorin?"
"Yes? Is something wrong?"
"Are you missing any campers?" Morgoth asked.
"Um, not that we know of."
"What's your coordinates?" Gwen yelled.
"We're at thirty-five A twenty-seven B," Thorin answered.
"Stay there! We're heading right over!" Gwen yelled.
"Okay."
Morgoth hung up the phone with Thorin and handed it up to Gwen.
"You know if you wanted to talk to him I could have handed you the phone," Morgoth commented.
"Shut up I'm trying to think," Gwen replied.
"Well sorry."
--
Gwen stopped the four-wheeler to a screeching halt and looked around with confusion.
"Thorin did say thirty-five A twenty-seven B right?" Gwen asked.
"Why yes he did. Is this the place?"
Gwen nodded.
"It sure is."
She got off the four-wheeler and looked around. She stepped on something and she bent down to pick it up. It was an elven broach. She knew this particular one belonged to Kat. Gwen smiled.
Well we know they were here. Thank Ilúvatar for small favours. Good job Kat. She thought.
"We have to head back to camp," Gwen said after she put the broach in her pocket.
"Why?"
"All of the campers and the staff with them have gone missing. We can't find them by ourselves. We're going to have to up our arsenal."
--
Beast roared into Camp Glingal as fast as its engine could hold. Gwen wanted out of the woods ten minutes ago. She knew they would have to get the arsenal out and she smiled.
See Kisha? I told you Jack was right when he suggested the arsenal.
She drove next to the beach area and saw that it was completely void of life so she drove it next to Lammoth and parked it. Gwen and Morgoth entered into the living room of Lammoth. The remaining staff was all there.
"Well? What's going on?" Kisha asked. She heard the two enter and she looked up from her book.
Gwen shrugged.
"I haven't the slightest idea. They've all gone missing," she stated.
"All? What do you mean by all?" Manwë asked.
"All the campers and all the staff that went in are missing. The Dúnedain, the house of Théoden, and all the dwarves are gone."
Kisha jumped off her chair.
"What? How is that possible?" she roared.
Gwen shook her head.
"I don't know but what I do know is it's time to open the arsenal."
"The what?" Beren asked.
Gwen smiled at Kisha.
"And here you thought we should have never built it."
--
"Where are we going?" Morgoth asked as Gwen led the rest of the staff towards the Glingal tree.
Gwen pointed to Glingal.
"Do you see the tree?"
Morgoth nodded.
"Look to right. Do you see anything odd?"
Morgoth looked and shook his head.
"No…"
Gwen smiled.
"How about you run ahead through the trees," Gwen suggested.
"Why?"
Gwen shrugged unknowingly.
"That way if you see anything odd you can let us know before we get there."
"But why would I do that?"
Gwen put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. After the kiss Morgoth looked dazed.
"Because you love me," she replied.
Morgoth nodded and ran ahead.
"Gwen, what is he doing?" Kisha asked.
Everyone heard a sickening thud.
"He's showing where the arsenal is."
"Ow! What in the name of Ilúvatar is this! Why is my head bleeding?" Morgoth roared.
Fëanor smiled.
"I assume he found said arsenal?"
Gwen nodded.
"Indeed he did."
--
"This, my friends, is the arsenal."
Gwen opened the doors to the camouflaged warehouse that stood hidden in the trees. Inside the warehouse sat twenty to thirty four-wheelers and on the back wall was a rack of guns. Manwë looked at Gwen with a very confused face.
"Gwen, why does this warehouse exist at this camp?" he asked.
"It was Jack Thompson's idea. Two years ago we started a camp in the winter for hunters. This is where we keep the guns and transports. It's camouflaged so the campers don't see it. I haven't been in here since last winter."
She took a step inside and beckoned everyone to follow her in.
"Okay we need about twenty-five people to go into the woods and search for the missing. The rest need to remain here and watch to make sure whatever took the staff and campers doesn't show up at camp," Gwen said.
"Well who's going to go?" Kisha asked.
"I'm going," Morgoth replied. "My four-wheeler is already outside waiting."
"Yes and I'll go to because I know the woods," Gwen said.
It was then decided that Legolas, Fëanor, Maedhros, Amras, Amrod, Curufin, Caranthir, Beren, Bregolas, Celebrimbor, Dior, Elrond, Fingon, Gil-Galad, Thuringwethil, Aulë, Tulkas, Manwë, Oromë, Eönwë, Tilion, Tim the Witch-King, Sauron, Gwen, and Morgoth would go. The rest would remain and guard the camp. Gwen then gave the search party a quick lesson on how to drive the four-wheeler. They then drove them out of the arsenal and parked them on the Great Lawn. It looked like a big convoy ready to go out hunting.
"Okay, so two last things. In everybody's four-wheeler there is a walkie talkie. Turn it on and make sure it's on channel five."
"Why channel five?" Dior asked as he pulled out the walkie talkie and turned it on.
"These walkie talkies are special in that they have encryption technology. You can only understand what's being said over the clear non-static channel if you have this walkie talkie and if you're on channel five. If you listen in from any other walkie talkie you'll hear a harsh repetition of the letters 'Z' 'Y' and 'X'. Kisha, you should hand out walkie talkies to the ones staying at camp. I don't trust the cell phones right now."
Kisha nodded.
"Okay."
Gwen then put the sword she took from the arts and crafts building in the arsenal and took a pistol instead.
"I don't know what we're dealing with so I'm taking a gun. There are swords in there too."
--
"Frodo, do you think I could talk to you for a moment?" Gwen asked as she pulled Frodo to the side of the arsenal.
Frodo nodded and the two began talking in hushed voices in the corner of the arsenal. No one paid any attention to the two as the ones going into the woods began practicing with the four-wheelers.
--
Ten minutes later the four-wheeler search party was in the woods. Gwen told everybody to fan out and keep in constant communication with each other. Gwen decided she would go back to where the dwarves group was when they disappeared. She stopped the four-wheeler and began looking around.
"Hey Gwen, did you find anything over there?" Dior asked over the walkie talkie.
She put the communication device to her mouth and pressed the button.
"Nothing yet but I'm still looking. Whoever took them knew enough to take everything they had," she replied.
She examined the ground for clues. She thought that maybe another camper would have dropped something like Kat had done but it was not so. She looked up in the trees and sighed.
Oh I'm really going to take a long cruise when this is all over. Maybe see Japan or England. Maybe I'll go to New Zealand and visit the areas where they filmed The Lord of the Rings.
Gwen began looking around in the immediate surrounding area when her walkie talkie buzzed to life.
"Gwen! We're missing somebody! I was driving looking for clues and I found an empty four-wheeler!" Tim exclaimed
"Alright everyone say your name. Gwen here at dwarf disappearance zone."
She bent down to examine the ground for footprints.
"Fëanor here, I'm near fifty-two A."
"Maedhros, thirty-seven B."
"Amras, three A."
"Amrod, twenty-two A."
Gwen stood up and walked back to the four-wheeler. There were no clues to be had where she was.
"Curufin, nineteen B."
"Caranthir, seven A."
"Beren, two B."
"Bregolas, fifty-two B."
"Celebrimbor, three C."
"Dior, eight D."
"Elrond, twenty-seven A."
"Fingon, fifty-nine C."
"Gil-Galad, two E."
"Thuringwethil, Gwen's tree with Sauron."
"You better not be doing anything in that tree!" Gwen exclaimed.
She started up her four-wheeler and drove off into the woods.
"We're not!" Sauron exclaimed.
"Yes, we're looking for clues!"
Gwen could just picture Aulë's eye roll as he called in.
"Aulë, fifty-five E."
"Tulkas, thirty-seven E."
"Manwë, eighty-four D."
"Oromë, one E."
"You're too close to Gil-Galad Oromë, fan out more!" Gwen ordered.
"Sure thing."
"Eönwë, I'm with Manwë."
Gwen rolled her eyes.
Stupid herald of Manwë.
"Tilion, eight D."
"Tim, uhhh….I can't find my tree marker…"
"Well at least we know you're here," Gwen replied.
She zipped past marker twenty-seven A. She could hear the other four-wheelers in the distance.
"Morgoth, I'm where the Dúnedain disappeared."
Nobody else called in so the group assumed it was Legolas who had vanished.
"Okay it's Legolas. Dior are you still near his four-wheeler?" Gwen asked.
"No, I passed it five minutes ago."
Gwen stopped the four-wheeler and let out a string of swear words.
"Why?" Dior asked.
"What was that location?" she demanded.
"Three D."
Gwen turned her four-wheeler in that direction.
"I'm on my way over right now," she said.
She sped through the trail and passed by a few other four-wheelers. She then could see Legolas's four-wheeler in the distance. She parked next to the four-wheeler and began searching it for the walkie talkie.
--
"Abort for the moment! A walkie talkie is in enemy hands!" Gwen screamed into the walkie talkie.
"Did you hear that? A walkie talkie in enemy hands? And to think that everyone just gave their location," a voice said to another.
The second person nodded and smiled.
"Me thinks this Gwen lady is not smart."
The first person rolled his eyes.
"Please try to use proper grammar. We are not savages."
The second person nodded and spoke into a separate walkie talkie.
"Did everyone catch the transmission? Go get them."
--
"Did anyone hear me?" Gwen yelled into the walkie talkie.
"Gwen! Get back to camp! They've got Beren and…"
Static drifted through the walkie talkie and Gwen booked it back to camp.
Come on Beast just get me back to camp.
"Gwen! I watched them get Sauron and Thuringwethil!" Morgoth shouted.
"Just get back to camp!" she replied
She pushed Beast harder and heard him sputter. She patted the handlebars.
"Come on baby, just get me back," she said.
"Hello? Is there anyone else out there? They've got Manwë and Celebrimbor!"
"Don't use the talkies!" Gwen shouted and turned hers off.
The trees rushed past her as she sped through the woods. All sense of time and memory left her. She became determined and focused on leaving the woods. In her heart she knew she'd be safe if she got back to camp. Her focus became shattered when Beast sputtered again.
"Come on baby," she pleaded.
Gwen looked down to check the gas gauge and when she looked up she saw a thick tree branch chest level and so she flattened herself on her back and drove under it. When she had cleared the tree branch, she sat back up and looked around as she flew past the trees. In the distance she spotted a road block consisting of tree branches and so she screeched the four-wheeler to a halt. She turned it around as quick as she could and headed back in the same way. She swore when she saw the way was blocked and that she was trapped. She stopped the four-wheeler and grabbed her gun. She looked around and could not see anybody in the woods but she knew they were there. She got off the four-wheeler.
"Come out you batards! I'm ready for you!" she screamed.
Her head danced back and forth as she spun around trying to find them. She could feel them getting closer.
"Where the Mordor are you? Show yourself!" she roared.
Her demand was requested when a single arrow broke through the trees and pierced through her back. The surprise was what got to her first. Her eyes widened in disbelief and she turned around to find the culprit. A second arrow blew through the trees and struck her in the chest. She looked down and could see the slender piece of wood below her breast. The gun dropped from her hand as her knees sagged to the ground. A third arrow hit her from behind in her leg and she screamed in pain. She could feel the blood oozing down her leg.
And here I thought camp would be fun this year , she thought.
She felt the cold breeze on her face as a fourth arrow struck her shoulder. A black haze drifted in front of her eyes and she never remembered falling on her back. The arrow in her back and leg snapped when she fell. The archers in the woods almost launched a fifth arrow at her but the head archer waved it off. As far as he was concerned, the woman in the woods was dead.