THREE DAYS EARLIER
Dazed and utterly bewildered, Erica Farrow staggered down the main street of a small town. Signs and shop windows on every side announced proud citizenship of Lonely Mountain, North Carolina. It was name she'd never heard before, but this obscure moniker wasn't the cause of her confusion. No, the detail which left her reeling had to be the fact that until ten minutes ago, Erica had been hiking through uninhabited forest in the Blue Ridge foothills. Ten minutes ago, the town of Lonely Mountain didn't exist.
Kíli's hands fell helplessly to his sides, and he cursed himself for a fool as his brother stormed off. His efforts to convince Fíli of the truth fell short once again. But then, how could he have expected today to be different than any of the last 28,855 days?
He shoved his hands in his pockets and trudged down Main Street of Lonely Mountain, USA. Eye contact was a thing easily avoided, seeing as the people here followed the same exact routine every day since Professor J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937. Like sleepwalkers, the citizens of the tiny town went about their days without a clue that they'd done it all before. It didn't take long for Kíli to realize he was alone in his knowledge of Middle Earth and what came before the banishment to this strange world. Though he knew some of the citizens as friends and family members, there were many others whom he did not recognize. For decades Kíli searched for answers. There had to be some clue, some detail he must have missed.
Nothing.
And so, as the last flicker of hope began to gutter and fade out in his heart, Kíli ran into a pedestrian on the sidewalk. He stared, and she stared back. Instead of the hazy indifference of the sleepwalking townsfolk, her eyes were crystal clear and full of remorse.
"Sorry," she said quickly before hunching her shoulders and continuing on.
It took Kíli a three count to comprehend what happened. One. After nearly a century of reliving the same day, he had memorized the activities of the townsfolk. He could walk through the town blindfolded and not brush a single shoulder. Two. He'd memorized every face - even the ones he didn't remember from Middle Earth - and he'd never seen this girl before. Three. In seventy nine years, no one had entered or left the town.
Kíli's heart raced as he spun on his heel and caught up with the girl. Something had changed. He didn't know what exactly, but hope roared to a blaze in his chest. Suddenly a light shone at the end of this interminable tunnel, and maybe, just maybe, that girl could help him get there.
"Excuse me," he said, and she turned to him with a distracted frown. "You're not from around here, are you?"
A mirthless chuckle escaped her, and she shook her head. "I'm not even sure where here is."
Kíli chewed his lip, quickly coming to a decision. The truth was crazy, but the way she studied the town around her suggested she might already have doubts about the quaint little place. Perhaps she might believe the truth. She looked lost and not a little terrified. This girl needed to relax before he told her anything.
"You look like you could use a coffee," he offered with a smile.
"That's the sanest thing I've heard in the last ten minutes," she accepted. "I'll follow you."