I am sorry I kept you waiting so long, but I had some problems with uploading the chapters. But now it's working again. (:
Fili beat around wildly when he walked through another spider web. The threads stuck at his arms and were so thick he could barely get rid of it. Even with the help of his sword he could hardly free himself.
Anxiously his eyes flashed from left to right. Until now the makers of the gigantic webs hadn't shown themselves and he felt very lucky about that – but he knew they were spying at him from the high tree tops.
The darkness around him made him depressed. It was so dark he wouldn't be surprised if he walked right into the mouth of a monster, only realizing he did so when the jaws collapsed.
A shivering crawled down his spine when he made an image of it in his mind, which was way too realistic and he sent his thoughts in another direction. Alyssae. At this moment she was the only light he could see. He got the feeling the webs would pulverize when he touched them with the hand she had held yesterday. Yet also a shadow came over his memories when he thought about her. For the second time he had left her behind – again without a reason. There had been something in the woods that had attracted his attention. He had heard someone crying and for a moment he had believed he had seen a helpless silhouette, which lured him further and further away from his brother and her.
Where would they be now? Would they have found the others? Would they ever find him here? He knew they would go out looking for him, but these woods were enormous and probably nobody would survive here for more than just a few days. The darkness depressed him and he wandered around for just one day – although that day seemed to last a year.
Fili looked over his shoulder when he heard a strange noise, like a rodent that snapped a branch between his teeth. Two luminous eyes took his breath away, which were just a few inches away. The eyes rose above him, by which he recoiled backward stumbling. Long, bony legs held up a fat, hairy body and helpless he looked at the sword in his hands, which only seemed a void piece of cutlery. He didn't dare to turn around to run away, scared the deterred creature would push him to the ground. He however also realized it neither was useful to attack the animal, nor to keep standing still and in the end he decided trying to escape from the monster was his only chance to survive. He didn't look over his shoulder while he tried to find grip on the humid soil. The leaves slipped away under his feet, but he knew how to keep balance.
After a few trees he slipped sideways, hoping to confuse the animal. His heart raced in his throat and he couldn't remember he had ever been so anxious. He understood how Alyssae must have felt, when she was faced by a hungry warg. He lost his balance because of a sudden difference in height and rolled over the floor. While he lift himself up with help of a thick tree root he looked carefully over his shoulder, but the spider was nowhere to be seen. This didn't make him feel safer and he started to run again, although he had no idea where he was heading for. That beast could be anywhere.
Because of the stuffy atmosphere which hang between the dead trees, it didn't take long before Fili gasped for breath. He breathed heavily while he leaned against a thick bark, wiping off the sweat from his forehead and trying to control himself again. He didn't know anymore. He had no idea where he had to seek for salvation. Everything looked the same. There didn't seem to come an end to the rows of trees and the shadows seemed to enclose his heart. In vain he searched for beautiful memories. The mischief he caused with his brother when they were younger. Their uncle who invited them to this journey. The food fight in Rivendell. His arms around Alyssae, while they danced elated on the music.
It didn't matter. Before a smile could appear on his face he was thrown to the ground. His wrist snapped when he came down on a stump. He rolled on his right side, while he chopped with his sword in the body that hang above him. The beast screeched viciously when he cut open the stomach of the creature, because of which he became smeared with the intestines of the immense insect. The large legs stepped around him and made it rain fallen leaves. Fili knew how to free himself. The animal stood on his sword, so he fled without the weapon. The fear that congeners would be attracted by his death cries clasped his heart. Run, was all he said to himself. Run.
And that was exactly what he was doing. He almost paid no attention to the environment but kept running, now and then avoiding roots at the last moment.
Suddenly the ground disappeared beneath his feet. He tumbled forward, flinging with his arms. The awareness that he would die penetrated his mind when he kept falling into a deep hole. He must have been fallen from a cliff.
His body made convulsive movements when he fell in ice cold water. The current dragged him along and it took a lot of effort to keep his head above the water. An effort which took its toll in the end, because he slammed with his head against a rock. The pain was so heavy he was afraid his head exploded. In an outburst of coloured stars and bright flashes of light he saw Alyssae's smiling face, but even that faded away lastly.