Brother's Keeper

Notes: Yes, I know. I take forever to get the story moving along. Hell, Todd spent five chapters sitting on his butt in Lorien, but hey! Two chapters in two days - so don't complain.

Part 11

The torches came inevitably closer, filling the valley from cliff-face to cliff-face like slow trickling flood.

I pushed any thoughts of Haldir out of my mind. I was done with the bastard...finally, satisfyingly done. I was in Rohan with its people (my own kind), and if we survived this, Hal was going home, and I would likely be starting a new life...far, far away from him.

Of course, I thought as I watched the approaching enemy, it's more likely that neither of us is going to be breathing tomorrow.

I shook the thought out of my head. No negatives, soldier, I commanded myself. They're the ones going down.

Hah! I argued back. "Twenty to one odds with a conscripted army." Sound familiar?

Shut up.

You've only got four more mags for your rifle, three for the .9ml, and a handful of grenades.

I've got a bow, arrows, and a sword too, I shot back.

Yeah, I sneered. A bow you barely know how to use and not enough arrows even if you did.

Well I do fucking know how to use a sword, I can go hand to hand, and I'm probably wearing the most advanced body armor this world has ever seen, so SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Somewhere in the middle of my debate, it started raining hard. Peachy...I'll survive the battle and die of pneumonia.

Shut up.

I looked around at my compatriots. The kids and old folks were high on the castle battlements...out of the way of the heavy fighting. The old man in nice armor (King Theoden, I've been told) was up there as well with his lieutenants. A few real soldiers were dispersed throughout the conscripts, so they'd have a better clue what to do when the fighting started. The elves were either lined up alongside me on the wall or lined in a formation behind the wall, bows at the ready.

The conscripts looked scared shitless. Anyone with any battle experience just looked grim as they prepared for what lay ahead.

The march of torches was agonizingly slow. Yet, the valley filled with surprising swiftness. Far too soon, the amorphous bundle of torchlights, became an army of...just what the hell were those things anyway?

Orophin had called them Uruk-hai. They looked a lot like orcs, but...way nastier...and bigger, much bigger...and worst of all, they looked organized.

As they came closer, I could start recognizing divisions among them: blocks of spear-soldiers, sword-soldiers, ladder carriers, crossbow ranks...is that a catapult? Shit.

My breath quickened as the adrenaline started through my system. I started checking my weapons for the umpteenth time since I got in line.

Guns still have bullets: check.

Extra mags for both in easy reach: check.

Sword in sheath: check.

Sword slides easily out of sheath: check.

Bow and quiver on back: check.

Arrows in quiver: check.

Knife in boot: check.

Boots still laced: check.

Boots laces knotted tightly: check.

Spilled arrows when checked boots: check.

"Fuck," I muttered and began picking up arrows. Legolas smiled down at me and helped me put them back in the quiver. "How do you keep them from falling out?" I asked him.

"By keeping my shoulders above my buttocks."

I looked at him, wondering if that was meant as instruction or teasing. His smile twitched, and mirth danced in his blue eyes. Gimli outright laughed at me.

I smiled back. "Go fuck yourselves," I muttered before laughing with him. I felt a little better after the joke.

I stood back up and looked out over the wall.

They were here.

I will get to the actual battle in the next chapter, promise.