Chapter 1- At the Beginning
Notice to Readers: This story does not presume to change the fate of Middle Earth. It isn't a tenth walker and my dearest hope is that it won't be construed as Mary-Sue. My biggest goal in writing this was to entertain myself and put to print what had been stewing in my mind. If you don't like what you see then don't continue to read. Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Disclaimer: In no way do I own 'The Lord of the Rings' franchise. I do however own all original characters and plot lines.
"Life is either a great adventure or nothing"
-Helen Keller
It all started by mistake, just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A run that should have lasted an hour turned into the adventure of a lifetime and the end of a life.
They were packing up, it was the end of practice for Virginia Tech's cross country team and everyone was finishing stretching out. Longs legs and short shorts abounded. One young woman with hair the shade of a leaf in august scrambled to her feet startled because her butt was vibrating. Smiling widely, revealing a row of neat chiclets she unzipped the back pocket of her running shorts and grabbed her cell phone.
"Hello" She set the cell phone to rest comfortably on her shoulder as she swept the back of her legs watching distractedly as little pieces of gravel fell off.
"Yo, you finished yet?" The voice on the other line was masculine but carried humor in it. Shaking the rest of the tension out of her legs she answered him as she turned to pick up her gym bag. "Yea just finishing up are you at the main gate?" As she spoke a woman slightly shorter than herself skipped over and tapped her on the shoulder. Still speaking she smiled and nodded to acknowledge her. The voice on the other line continued "Yea see you in 5?" Motioning for the other woman to grab her things she said "Yeup ciao" and snapped the phone shut, slipping it back into the pocket of her shorts.
"All set?" Elizabeth, the shorter woman had grabbed her things and was standing hands stuffed in her windbreakers rocking foot to foot. "Yea let's go"
The two turned and headed off the track amidst a chorus of 'byes' and made their way to the gate at the back of the school that led to the trails weaving through the county's small forest reserves. At the end of one trail was a large parking lot, where many of the students parked during sports practices. It was a bright day and the women chatted amiably as they walked. A voice stopped them and they turned abruptly.
"Gwen! Hey Gwen wait up!"
A handsome African American man was hustling to catch up to the girls, a backpack slung over his shoulder. Gwen waved calling "Hey Chris what's up?" They waited for him to catch up. Neither knew him very well. New to the team this year, Chris had joined at his coach's behest to increase his stamina for football. "Do you mind if I catch a ride with you, my house isn't far from yours so you can just drop me in your neighborhood?" Gwen made a dismissing noise "don't be stupid we'll drop you at your house." Chris smiled, a move that would send most girls in the school into a swoon including Elizabeth. "Thanks. Hey Elizabeth." Elizabeth, who had been openly gazing at his chest the last couple seconds blushed a violent red and choked out a shaky "Hey."
The group walked in companionable silence for a while before coming upon two men loitering around a large chain link fence. Both men were lean and buff, neither was as tall as Chris but both were pushing 6'. One was obviously related to Gwen, his hair was the color of bright flames his eyes a brilliant Irish green. The other young man was more toned and looked like he was part Native American. His hair, like his eyes was a deep rich brown highlighted with sandy streaks. They spun lacrosse sticks in their hands and had large equipment bags beside them. The redheaded youth looked up at the sound of the others approaching and waved merely. "Gwen! Elizabeth! Who's your friend?" Chris stepped forward and the boys met with a strong handshake, "I'm Chris your sister agreed to let me catch a ride with you all." Quickly sizing the other guy up, determining whether protective brother mode was called for he loosened his grip with decision. "Patrick, glad to help out. This is Jordan." Jordan nodded hello. The minute male moment was ended when Gwen snatched Patrick's stick out of his hands and gave him a friendly jab in the gut. "Come on lets go." Catching it before she could poke him again Patrick used his other hand to heave his bag off the ground as Jordan did the same. They all headed down the well worn dirt path at an easy pace, sounds from the street and school following them until they were deep into the trail.
It was a surprise, one second they were all walking along Elizabeth heading the way when suddenly a dog leapt out from among the trees and sped across the trail. Collectively they watched as the dog crossed them and kept going, disappearing into the foliage on the other side. "DeeDee!!" Gwen cried dropping her bag. Without a glance back she sprinted after the dog. Patrick and the others were for a second left dumbfounded. Quickly they gathered their thoughts and hustled after her, Patrick in the lead. Elizabeth stopped to grab Gwen's forgotten bag and hurried to catch up.
Weaving between the trees, trying the catch up but dragging under the weight of his equipment bag Patrick tried to find out what was going on. "Gwen slow down. Gwen what's going on?!" Not stopping to explain Gwen let her long legs carry her faster and faster over the easy terrain. Her eyes trained on the dog ahead of her she called back "The dog! It's Melinda's dog! There've been signs! We have to catch it!" She gasped as she ran up to the edge of a large pond; the dog was already half way across. There was a split second in which she thought to run around the pond and try to beat it to the other side, but that part of her was overruled as she drove into the water letting her momentum carry her as far as she could until she had to swim. She hoped that with the dog weighed down from all the water she'd be able to catch it.
Patrick and Chris were next to reach the pond and saw that Gwen was free styling her way towards the center of the pond, catching up quickly to the runaway. Elizabeth was behind them and Jordan behind her all of them shifting their bags to more comfortable positions now that they had stopped. Jordan brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Looks like she's almost got it." They all watched as Gwen drew closer to the dog, the only sounds those of nature and the splashes coming from the pond.
A tiny wave brushed against Patrick's shoe without his notice, that wave was followed by another, this one a bit bigger and like that the water that had been moments ago crystal clear became choppy. A strong gust lifted and tossed Elizabeth's hair making her shiver. There was a yelp from the pond, Gwen was going under. Her arms were flailing wildly as she fought to stay above surface. "Something…MY FOOT…Something has my…" Bags dropped, Patrick was the first in the water running with his arm outstretched lacrosse stick in hand. "Grab hold!!" The sunshine became almost unbearable bright the birds screeched and the wind picked up so much that each step in the water was like a step up a steep hill.
All were scrambling to get to Gwen when there was a loud whirling noise like a ship going down and she went completely under. Patrick and the others dived under, Jordan's strong strokes taking him deeper faster than the others. Fingers nearly touching Jordan and Gwen strained against the strong current. A bright flash, the air whooshed out of everyone's lungs, stars blinded them and skin went numb, everything froze.
Hacking coughs, great gasps for air, exclamations of shock and joy. All five college youths were sprawled in various positions close to each other. Chris was the first to his feet. Patrick dropped his lacrosse stick and gathered a bewildered and shaking Gwen into a giant hug. Jordan spoke, his eyes darting back and forth "why aren't we wet?" Chris shook his head "more important…where are we?" Patrick released Gwen and all slowly collected themselves, quickly realizing that something wasn't quite right. "Okay…um even if some natural whatever happened and the lake is gone, where is our stuff…and what's with the trees?" Elizabeth who had been farthest from the others drew closer finding comfort in numbers. They were standing in a small glen, surrounded by enormous red-wood Esq. trees. The grass beneath their feet was greener than any that grew naturally in the United States. Chris reached out and tentatively laid his palm against the truck of one of the trees then snatched it back staring wide eyed and aghast. "I think the tree just breathed." Jordan eyeballed him "Excuse me?" Chris turned and stared at them, then at his hand. "That t.r.e.e just breathed." There was a moment of silence as the group contemplated what that meant.
Elizabeth began to blink rapidly and wave her hand in front of her face dismissively. "Obviously we've all had some head trauma or something. This is a dream…or maybe that whole lake was a dream. Either way I'm ready to go home so let's just wake up and get to the car okay." Jordan glared at her skeptically "We're all collectively dreaming…the same dream?" Elizabeth opened her mouth and Patrick took that moment to step in. "I agree. We should all get back home and take a long nap but I don't think any of us are stable enough to drive right now so lets call someone and have them come pick us up." Chris gestured at the empty glen "No bags…no cell phones." Everyone grew quite, processing this new fact. Gwen, who had been quite throughout the last few minutes let out a small cry of glee and twisted to unzip her back pocket, "negative! We have one!" She whipped out her Rzr2 and pressed speed dial. All waited with baited breath but her exuberant face quickly fell. "No ring. No dial tone. We got nuthin." Patrick took in a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh that was mimicked by a unified drooping of shoulders. "Looks like we're walking. Anyone have a preference as to which way?" Multiple pairs of eyes scanned the glen, the question was sarcastic of course, because everyway looked the same.