This chapter took me quite some time to write. I really hate writer's block. But here it is, and I hope you can all enjoy it!
I was carried uncomfortably for what seemed like an eternity through the forest. After I had been picked up, I was gagged with a piece of cloth and I couldn't make any noise whatsoever. There were times when my head hit some brush or a tree branch and my face got scratched. Whoever was carrying me didn't seem to really care about my well being.
I couldn't figure out who or what had taken me, since it was still pretty dark. They didn't say a word to me. The only thing I could hear was my muffled screaming and the sound of the footsteps. Even though it was dark, I could tell that whoever carried me was tall; taller than me at least.
At last we reached a small clearing, and there was a small bonfire in the center. There were a few other dark figures, but they kept themselves well disguised from me, so I couldn't tell their race. I was brought to the edge of the clearing, and roughly placed on the ground. My attacker then tied my arms behind me around the base of a tree, and joined his fellow comrades around the fire.
I could hear them conversing in hushed tones, but still I couldn't figure out what language they were speaking. Suddenly, all three came over to me, and one bent down to lower the cloth that gagged me.
"You will be silent unless I address you," he said. He then held a knife to my throat. "Or else I will force your silence. Understood?"
I quickly nodded my head. So he was a man. Whether he was human or not, that was yet to be found out. I then saw that all three of them were wearing some sort of hood over their faces to shield them from my view.
"Who are you?" the first one asked me. He had a very authoritative tone to his voice.
"I..." I started. I didn't know whether to tell him my name or not. "I'm just a traveler."
"We know that, girl," he hissed. He placed the knife to my throat again. "What is your name?"
"S-Samantha," I choked out. The knife was starting to prod through the skin on my neck. I didn't dare move my head.
"Is there a surname that goes with that?" my attacker inquired.
I hadn't told anyone my last name when I got transported here. I figured it wouldn't be safe if anyone knew my whole name.
"I don't have one," I said.
"Liar!" The knife was being pushed even further into my throat now.
"Please, just let me go, I haven't done anything to you!" I pleaded with them.
"Hold your tongue!" he snarled. I stayed silent. "We have been following you for a little more than a week now, and we have seen you traveling with that other hobbit. We have figured out that he is Bilbo Baggins from The Shire, but we couldn't determine your name. No one had seen or heard of you before. Therefore we believe you to not be from this land. You come from somewhere else, is that true?"
"Yes," was all I could say. I had started to cry now. How had they found me out? And why did it matter to them?
"Where are you from?" he asked. The other two accomplices remained behind him, watching the exchange and standing as still as statues.
"I can't tell you," I squeaked out. I waited for another bite from the knife, but it never came.
"And why is that?"
I swallowed before I answered.
"Because I don't want to put my homeland at risk, if you are planning to infiltrate it."
He growled, and stood up. He paced in front of me for a few seconds, then stood in front of me again. He then surprised me by lowering his hood.
He was definitely a human. He had scraggly black hair that reached his shoulders, and his face was unshaven and menacing. He had black eyes that could look into your soul and make you feel like you were being violated. He was undoubtedly a man not to be trifled with.
"Well then, Samantha," he snarled at me. "I guess we'll just have to keep you our prisoner then."
Just then, any and every horrifying and disturbing thing I could think of that could be inflicted upon me flashed through my mind. I expected them to act upon at least some of them at any moment. But to my surprise and relief, they turned away and headed off into the forest, leaving me alone.
I was left with nothing but my thoughts for several hours. I watched the light from the sunrise gradually get brighter over the tops of the trees until it was late in the morning. I was starting to get hungry.
At about mid afternoon, the two accomplices returned, and proceeded to cook something over the bonfire. After eating, one of them came over to me, lowered my gag, and let me drink from a bowl. They had made some kind of soup, with some herbs and small meat chunks, though I couldn't tell what kind of meat. It wasn't a lot of soup, so I was left still hungry. At least I got something.
Soon afterward, they walked back into the forest, and I was left alone. I wondered where they had gone off to, what they were doing. I like to convince myself that I didn't want to know what they did with their time.
Nighttime fell, and I was getting really worried about Bilbo. I figured he must have noticed my absence by now. I hated to think that he was angry with me for deserting him again without telling him. I would have rather he return to his home than try to look for me. I didn't want him to run in with these dangerous men. If either of us had to be kidnapped and/or killed, I'd rather it was me.
Long after the sun went down, the three men returned. I had had to go to the bathroom for a while, but I didn't want to make them angry by making any noise loud enough for anyone other than them to hear. But once they were back, I tried to get their attention. I yelled through the gag until the leader came over to me, not looking happy in the least.
"What do you want?" he barked. He bent down and forcefully lowered the gag.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I said.
He groaned, then moved behind me to untie my hands.
He lifted me up, grabbed my forearm, and practically dragged me out into the forest. We stopped, and he shoved me towards a tree.
"Go behind there," he said. "If you try to run, I will know, and I will stop you."
I nodded in understanding, and made my way over to the other side of the tree. I finished up, and just as I was about to head back, I noticed a glowing light off in the distance, through the trees. It was too small for me to figure out what it was, but it sparked my curiosity.
"Hurry up!" my captor barked, and I made my way back over to him. He grabbed my arm again and led be back to the clearing.
He tied me back up, then rounded in front of me, and knelt.
"Now," he said, taking his knife back out of his belt and palming it. "We are going to try this again."
I gulped. Was he going to torture me now? I braced myself just in case. He pointed the knife at the base of my throat again.
"Where are you heading?" he asked threateningly.
"I told you, I'm trying to find my way back home," I said as bravely as I could.
"Yes, I know that. But where is your home? I know you're not from around here. You had to have come from somewhere outside of Middle-earth, but where?" His eyes were peering into my soul again, and I immediately felt uncomfortable.
"Far away," was all I could say. The last thing I wanted was for this asshole to know where I came from and somehow find a way to get to it.
"Just how far?" He started twirling the knife against my skin, and I could feel the sting of the blade cutting into it.
"Farther than you can ever imagine," I said coyly.
He grabbed me by the collar and pulled my face towards his. We were just a few inches apart, and he stank something awful.
"Don't get smart with me, girl," he snarled. "Tell me the name of the land from which you come."
I swallowed. I might as well just tell him. Maybe he was too stupid to find a way to it. And even then, if he was successful, what exactly could he do once he found his way? The police would have his ass in seconds.
"It's a place called Earth," I said.
"Earth..." he repeated, narrowing his eyes at me. He let go of my shirt and I dropped back to the ground. "And how are we to believe you?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "You're just going to have to take my word for it. But I come from a different planet, or realm, and it's called Earth. And it's solely inhabited by humans and various animals."
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Then why do you have the appearance of a hobbit?" he asked warily.
I hated having to answer this question several times.
"I am really a human, on my home planet, but I was forcefully pulled through a portal of some kind, and turned into a hobbit. And now I am trying to find someone that could send me home," I explained.
"And what about this Bilbo Baggins you're traveling with? What is the significance of him?"
I swallowed hard. I couldn't let them track down Bilbo and do something horrible to him.
"He's just helping me, that's all. He's my guide." I answered.
The man sensed the note of worry in my voice and smiled menacingly.
"Oh, I think he's more than that," he hissed, and turned away. Oh no.
"Boys," he called out to the other two men sitting around the bonfire. "Go out and find me this Bilbo Baggins. Find him and bring him here. I think he could be of some use to us." At the end of that sentence he turned his head toward me, and smirked devilishly.
"No!" I screamed. I jerked my hands, but they were too tightly bound for me to move them. "Leave him alone!"
"You will shut your mouth," the leader came back over to me, and put the gag back over my mouth. I continued to scream through it, my words muffled and diluted. He turned back to me, and kicked me, hard, in my gut.
I fell forward, hunched over in my pain. I felt my hair being grabbed and yanked up. My scalp now screamed in pain.
"I said shut up," he said quietly but frighteningly near my ear before letting go of my hair. My head hit the bark of the tree, and I instantly felt dizzy. The world around me started to turn dark, and I still tried to plead with him to stop his henchmen from searching for Bilbo, but all that came out was whimpering before I ceased to hear or see anything.
I dreamed that I was back home, but instead of being by myself in my small apartment, Bilbo was there. I could see the two of us from afar, as if I was another person in the room. We were sitting on my couch, watching TV, and I was explaining to him what the TV was, and showing him all the shows and movies I like. Then I saw us eating a meal together at my kitchen table, smiling and laughing at my poor attempt at cooking something decent. And lastly, I could see us saying goodnight to each other and hugging. Then, we pull apart, look at each other, and I could feel my heart flutter as we both start leaning into each other, our faces almost touching-
"Wake up!"
I jerked myself into a sitting position, my eyes and ears instantly alert, my dream forgotten. The leader was standing alone right in front of me, peering down at me.
"My head..." I mumbled into the cloth.
"What's that?" he rudely asked me.
I shook my head, indicating I had said nothing. It appeared to have been in the late afternoon, judging by the position of the sun.
"We are moving to another part of the forest. The others know where we are headed and will join us later. Once they have found your little friend, of course," he said, again with a menacing smile.
He untied my hands and forced me to my feet. My head suddenly throbbed with pain, and I winced.
"Go on, move it!" he barked at me, and pushed me forward.
We headed into the forest. It wasn't too hard to figure out the direction in which we were heading. I could tell we were going southwest of where we just were. I had always made a note of where the sun rose and set, so I had gotten my bearings from that alone. We didn't walk for very long, but we found a spot that was much more secluded than the clearing had been. It was hidden by a thick patch of bushes, a lot of them with thorns.
My captor found a new tree for me to be tied to, and I resumed my position of sitting on the ground. At least I got to walk around for a little while. He cooked dinner, and fed the remains to me in the same fashion as before. It tasted exactly the same.
Several hours passed, and the other two didn't return until long after the sun went down.
"Well?" the leader asked as soon as the two others appeared.
"We couldn't find him," one said, and it was the first time I had heard any of them talk. It sounded just as rough and rugged as their leader's.
"Damn," the leader mumbled. "Well try again at first light, I'm sure he's out there somewhere. He couldn't have gotten far."
With that, they went into their designated sleeping area, which was out of my sight, and the night became silent. I sat against my tree, my mind wandering.
Something caught my eye. I looked over to my left, and once again saw the glowing light I had seen the night before. It was still far off, but I could tell it was following us. I had no idea what it could be, but nonetheless, I hoped that it could be the key to my escape.
The next morning, the two henchmen were sent out again to look for Bilbo, and I mentally kept my fingers crossed in the hope that they won't find him. I knew that since he's small, it's easy for him to hide and remain unseen. Nothing eventful happened for a while, and I was left feeling exceptionally bored. I had been held captive for a few days now, and what exactly did it accomplish? Not much, from what I observed.
I didn't know whether to regret telling them that I come from Earth or not. I wasn't in any circumstances telling them that we were looking for Gandalf. I didn't want to put him in any danger, especially before I even met him. I know that Gandalf can defend himself pretty well, but I would feel bad if someone came after him because of someone he's never even met before. I feared that he would turn me down if that happened.
Again I wondered about Bilbo. Was that him that I had seen those two times? I had thought it over all night, and realized that that light might have been his sword. Maybe that was his way of letting me know that he was on his way to rescue me. I didn't want to get my hopes up, though.
Later that day, the two henchmen showed up again, and to my relief, still without Bilbo. When their leader saw this, he stormed them in a fit of rage.
"I thought I told you to find that hobbit!" he yelled at them.
"We apologize, but we searched the whole forest for him. Even that tree house they had been staying in before. There was no trace. He probably went back home," one of them said in a calm monotonous voice.
The leader growled in exasperation and paced in front of them. He seemed to do that a lot when he was in unfavorable circumstances.
"Then look beyond the forest," he finally said to them. "See if he is headed toward Rivendell. Make sure not to cross their borders. If there is no trace, then look back in the other direction. We need to find him."
They bowed to him, and receded into the forest yet again. The man seemed to be seething in front of me. He turned to me and glared at me.
"This better not be your doing," he snarled, then made his way over to me. "What did you do?" He yanked off my gag.
"Nothing!" I said quickly. "I swear, I haven't had any contact with anyone."
"Stop lying to me," he barked, and lifted me by the hair again. "I'll teach you to lie to me," he mumbled. He lifted me up so that I was standing against the tree.
At this point, I was so frightened that I was shaking. There was no doubt in my mind that he was about to torture me now. He stood in front of me and looked me over.
Without warning, he punched me with full force in my abdomen. I hunched over, crying out in pain.
"Get up!" he shouted, and grabbed me by the hair again, yanking me back up.
Tears had formed in my eyes, but I couldn't speak a word. The wind was knocked out of me.
"WHERE IS HE?" he practically screamed in my face.
All I could do was shake my head. He punched me again. The air in my lungs hitched, and I tried gasping for breath.
"TELL ME!" he snarled, and this time, kicked me in the shin. If he would have kicked it any harder, I believe he would have broken it.
I was openly weeping now.
"Please," I gasped.
"WHERE IS THE HOBBIT?" he screamed again, and slapped me hard across the face. I was beyond crying out in pain now. There was so much of it that it hardly seemed like a shock when he did something new to me.
I was silent, save for trying to regain my breathing pattern. I thought I was going to die, right here and now. He might as well just kill me.
"I swear I will cut your throat if you don't tell me," he spat in my face.
"Do it," I breathed.
He stepped back, looking at me, then pulled out his knife and held it to my throat.
"With pleasure," he whispered.
I closed my eyes braced myself for what he was about to do. I thought of everything in my life that I had ever enjoyed.
There was a loud thud, and the knife left my throat. I opened my eyes to see that the man had been knocked over. Then I gasped when I saw who had hit him.
"Don't you touch her," Bilbo snapped at the man on the ground, his small sword Sting held out, pointing at my attacker's throat. Before the man could reply, Bilbo lifted the sword, and struck it down, deep into the man's chest.
There were a few gurgling sounds, then the form of my attacker ceased to move. He slumped down, his eyes staring unfocused at Bilbo.
Bilbo was stock still for several seconds, then he pulled the sword out of the lifeless body. He looked up at me, his eyes full of shock. I could tell that he wasn't used to killing anyone.
"I thought I lost you," he said, and his eyes began to water. He came over to me, and before I could say a word, he threw his arms around my neck. I was still in a lot of pain, but I didn't care at that moment, because my savior had come to rescue me. I cried tears of joy.