Woah, so I've been dead for like a while now so if anyone is still here, thank you. I know you're not interested in excuses but I like sharing unnecessary info. So I got swamped with exams, finals, and homework. I was in Summer School, which was awesome, moved, and did a 5K obstacle course with zombies. Oh, I've also been sick for like two weeks and still had to do 40 hours at work.
Thank you to HanVanHelsing, Constellationsoftears, and TolkienGirl. Really appreciate your reviews, they make me dance and be happy. :)
And to answer a question I was asked: I have Fili, Kili, Elli and Wendy not able to understand each other cause they're from different worlds and I figured that while Westron was like English, it wouldn't be exactly English and understandable. Plus I had some other things in mind for them to get to understand each other. I love making up spells for Elli and them not really working the way she wants them too. I hope this kind of answers your question - I really don't explain things too well or make sense often.
Anywhoo, I don't own the Hobbit, know much about it, and appreciate any information and ideas. Also, don't kill me - I don't do drugs so I don't know if my drug statements are anywhere near correct. Also, I can't do math so if my math is wrong - feel free to correct me there too.
Warning there are some bad words.
Read, review, and enjoy - please. Pretty Please.
Wishing Well
***Three***
(With the Company)
Fíli and Kíli were gone. Everyone in the company was thinking it but no one was willing to say it. Verbalizing their thoughts meant that they'd have to accept it. Accept the fact…
That the Durin heirs weren't going to be found…
That their disappearance meant their deaths…
That the Company would have to move on without them…
That they'd have to tell Dis that her sons were not coming home…
Saying that they were gone meant that they'd had to actually accept it.
And no one was ready for that, especially Thorin.
The King Under the Mountain was soaking wet, having jumped into the river multiple times to find his nephews. Numerous times he dove underwater in the spot where Bofur said he last saw Fíli and Kíli only to come back up with nothing. An optimistic part of him was relieved, saying that there was still some hope that that maybe his nephews were alive. Maybe Fíli had saved Kíli and they had resurfaced somewhere further down the river and had made a little camp on land to rest before traveling back to them.
The pessimistic part of him kept saying that they were dead - that his nephews had drowned and were somewhere at the bottom of the river, never to be found. Fíli and Kíli wouldn't receive a proper dwarven funeral and their bodies would lie at the bottom of the damned river. The pessimistic part of him kept telling him that when his nephews' spirits were called on by Mahal, Fíli and Kíli wouldn't be able to reach the Halls of Waiting.
Thorin would never see his nephews again. Not in this life and not in the next.
Everyone in the company was cold and wet, shivering in the light drizzle of the rain. The sun was slowly sinking behind the trees and the light was fading with it. Bilbo looked at Bofur who turned his attention to Bifur who glanced at Nori who finished the cycle by looking at Bilbo. The hobbit and dwarves continued the game of eye tag for one more round, each of them thinking the same thing.
What do we do next?
Do we continue searching in the dark?
Do we make camp and rest for the night?
Are we going to search again tomorrow or continue on with the quest?
It was the Grey Wizard that finally broke everyone from their thoughts.
"I think it would be wise if we stopped for the night." Gandalf stated from his spot on the bank, earning a cold glare from Thorin.
"We need to keep searching for Fíli and Kíli." Thorin snapped back, furious that wizard would think such a thing.
"Your company needs to rest," Gandalf retorted, "they've worn themselves out looking up and down the river for your nephews. They're tired, wet and cold. They need some time to rest." Thorin seethed, glaring at the wizard, knowing he was right. Everyone was tired and shivering in the cold. The last thing he needed was someone falling ill and losing another member on their journey. The King Under the Mountain let out a defeated sigh.
"We'll rest for the night," Thorin reluctantly stated glancing at the fading sun. "We'll start searching for them again in the morning." Everyone mumbled in agreement, slowly making their way back to their camp. Bilbo trailed behind a bit, walking alongside Gandalf as they dwarves traveled in front of them. The weather matched their mood and what was once a merry group was a depressed gathering of dwarves.
"Do you think we'll find them alive?" Bilbo asked, looking back to the river. There was a sound from Gandalf causing the hobbit to look up to him. Bilbo could see the worried look on Gandalf's face and the hobbit felt uncertainty build within him. If the great, Wise Wizard thought that the two young heirs were dead, then maybe they were. No one would say it and only Gandalf would be so brave to break it to Thorin. Bilbo waited on pins and needles, waiting for Gandalf's opinion.
"To be honest Bilbo, I don't know."
(To Elli and the awful world of Indiana)
Sometimes I wish Wendy would just calm the freak down - rearrange her furniture and feel the positive feng-shui of the world around her.
Or take a Xanax, those things work miracles too, but sadly no, Wendy didn't do either of those things to calm down which left me to watch her run around kitchen like a maniac. I sat idly at the table, watching as Wendy flitted throughout the kitchen having a mild panic attack and cooking everything we had in the kitchen.
Literally, everything.
It started off with chicken parmesan.
Cool. I was hungry. I could eat that.
Then she started making spaghetti with meat sauce.
Not bad. Those go together.
Then came the breadsticks once the oven was free.
Then the salad.
And now she was mixing brownie batter.
Wendy just turned our house into a mini Olive Garden. I have no clue if that's a yay or a no kinda thing, but whatever, our kitchen smelt amazing.
"You gonna calm down anytime soon?" I asked, getting up from my chair and taking a seat on the counter next the brownie mix. That sly SOB was calling my name and saying, 'Eat me Elli, eat me'. I would resist though. Mind over matter, mind over matter, mind over brownie batter.
Wendy stopped for a second, thinking before heading to the cabinets and pulling out some plates, interrupting my mental mantra.
"Who says I'm not calm?" She replied back as she started setting the table. I dipped my finger in the brownie mix, unable to resist the temptation as I continued to watch her. There was the clinking of ceramic against the wooden table and the ticking of the timer in the background, making everything less awkward. If we were sitting in complete silence, staring at each other at the table I would have probably started freaking out too.
"Have you seen the kitchen lately, Wen? Hire some Mexicans and this would be the back kitchen of the Olive Garden. We just gotta put on some black pants, white button ups, ties and ta-dah! We're in business!" I dramatically threw my hands up in the air for emphasis, splaying some of the batter on my finger onto the cabinet. Apparently Wendy wasn't amused with my statement. She gave me a look then turned back to her kitchen duties.
"That was a little racist." She replied back, putting on oven mitts and pulling the breadsticks out of the oven and placing them onto a cooling rack. I rolled my eyes at her as she passed by, slapping my leg then pointing to the floor. "Down." Wendy commanded like I was some kind of dog. I made a face at the back of her head as I hopped off the counter. I started pulling cups out of the cupboard and began helping her set the table, trying to make myself useful before she could nag about something else.
"So, what's bugging you?" I casually asked, walking around the table and setting the cups down. Honestly I knew she was uncomfortable about the whole situation but maybe her voicing it would help her calm down. Wendy stopped and turned to me, staring at me incredulously. Or voicing it could have been a bad idea too.
"What's bugging me?" Wendy repeated, "what's bugging me? I'm sorry but there are two strangers in my bedroom who don't speak English and look like they came from the Medieval Times Fair in Ohio. That's what's bugging me." We had a staring contest, her green eyes all panicky and fearful while my blue ones stared back completely calm and confused over the whole situation.
"And?" It didn't sound that bad. I mean, there could be worse situations. They could've been druggies or gang bangers. They could have been aliens or zombies. They could have been prisoners who broke out of the Indiana State Prison but they weren't so it wasn't that bad.
"And? And?" Wendy asked, her voice raising a bit. Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say at a time like this. "What are we going to do, Elli? Where did they come from? How did they get here? How are they going to get home?" I bit my bottom lip, taking it in. I hadn't really thought of that. What I had thought about is that I'm 75% responsible for this mess and I'm pretty sure Wendy was right when she told me to not do whatever I was planning on doing. 25% responsibility was attributed to the state of Indiana – if the sucky state didn't suck so much, this probably wouldn't have happened.
Oh and that magick was the answer to all of this! It brought them here and it would send them back! Insert dramatic music and or pose.
But how do you break that kind of information to your friend? I mean, come on. How many people actually believe in magick?
"We don't know who they are, how they got here, or what to do next." She whined, rubbing her temples as if fighting away a headache. "It's getting difficult to tell myself that they are foreign exchange students, cosplayers or super intense LARPERs or whatever people call them. This is just…weird. I don't like it."
I made some faces, trying to think of a good way to express my theory.
"Well, I was down by the river practicing a few things when you told me not to." I started off, earning a glare from Wendy. "And there was this spell I made that I wanted to try out…" I trailed off hoping she'd get it. Now that I was actually saying it out loud, there was no way to make it sound….sane. "It was a combination spell of protection and purification and I just wanted to make the bridge safe to cross. I didn't think I'd make some kind of portal or worm-hole time traveling thing…" I inwardly panicked as Wendy stared at me like I had completely lost my mind.
"You're kidding right?" She began, "This isn't the Wonderful World of Harry Potter, El. This is real life. We have things like science and logic and…" She placed the palms of her hands against her head as if trying to keep her head from exploding. She looked up at the ceiling trying to find some word to finish her sentence with.
"Magick? Faith? Believing that not everything in the world can be explained with science and that there are other powers out there?" I questioned, hoping she might open up to the thought a little.
"No," she whined, looking back to me and shaking her head. "No. Science is real, Elli. Witchcraft, portals and time travel are not. We need to call the police. Get someone who can actually help them. Not play MythBusters around the bridge to test your ideas."
"I can help them, Wendy," I pleaded, moving around the table so I was directly in front of her. I clasped my hands together, practically begging like a small child for her to side with me. "We can help them, just give me a few days and we'll figure something out. Think of something, maybe another-"
"We? We are going to get them back?" She asked cutting me off and pointing to herself. "I'm not a part of this. I'll be nice. I'll make sure they have a place to stay, food to eat, and clean clothes to wear but I am not going to venture out into the Mystical Land of Make Believe and join you on this quest to find wormholes and portals." I winced at her statement as she continued on. "I'll give you a day or two to play whatever game you want to play but after that I'm going to the police." I couldn't tell if she was trembling out of fear or anger, but she looked ready to cry or have a mental breakdown.
All I could ask my self was - where did the fun Wendy go? The girl who used to go outside and search for faeries with me? The kiddo who said we'd go on adventures and get rich by finding treasure? We used to talk about fighting goblins and trolls, running off into battles, becoming heroes and saving the day! Life apparently sucks at 20 and college takes the fun out of you. Darn you advanced education!
I narrowed my eyes at her, feeling them sting a little as I tried not to get all teary eyed. What she said hurt, but I wasn't going to let her know how much it upset me to know that she didn't believe me.
"Really?" I asked, trying not yell at her. We were both thinking the same thing and I knew it. The only difference was I was a little more open minded than her. "You're just gonna act like something different didn't happen today? Something great and amazing and a little surprising didn't just happen to shake the foundation of your reality?" I was making motions with my hands while talking to elaborate some kind of point. "You're really just gonna say, 'oh – that's nice' and pass on by like this isn't happening? Act like this is someone else's problem?"
"Yep." Wendy simply replied back, staring at me like if she even considered the possibility that Fíli and Kíli came from another world or time period that everything she knew would collapse from right under her feet. There was a moment of silence while the alarm for the washer went off in the background, emitting a loud beep.
"What do you mean, 'yep'?" I yelled as Wendy turned around and walked away from me. She continued out of the kitchen and towards the laundry room ignoring me. "This argument isn't over, Wen! Just because you're doing laundry doesn't mean we are finished!" I yelled, furious she just did that.
Are. You. Freaking. Serious?
"I refuse to believe it," Wendy yelled back, "Just because you believe in cosmic powers of the universe and fate doesn't mean that science and logic isn't going to backhand reality right into your face! And yes, clothes take precedence over this conversation!" She finished.
Dear sweet Mother of Earth! The Heaven's forbid if Fíli and Kíli didn't have a clean shirt to wear tomorrow – accepting the reality of them coming from another world wasn't as important as solving the mystery of if their clothes could be put in the dryer or if they needed to be hung dry! I stomped over to the counter and began pouring the brownie mix into the pan and stuffed that sucker into the oven. I set the timer and seethed, stomping around the kitchen and finished setting up the table. There was the sound of a door creaking that caused me to momentarily stop my rampage. I peered out of the kitchen to see Fíli and Kíli roaming around the front room, poking around at things that caught their interest. They looked silly wearing Cole's old clothes that were too big for them. Fíli was wearing an oversized black Batman t-shirt and a pair of grey AE dorm pants while Kíli was sporting a too large Superman t-shirt and dark blue AE dorm pants. Both of them had the pant cuffs rolled up so they wouldn't trip over themselves but every now and then one of them would stumble over the hems. Fíli was poking at the T.V. and DVD player while Kíli was aimlessly walking around, poking and nudging random items such as the DVDs on the shelf and Wendy's nursing books.
Wendy squeaked in surprise, coming out of the laundry room and finding the two in the front room going through our things (well, mostly her things).
"How are you guys feeling? Are you okay? Hungry or anything?" She asked, firing one question after another. Kíli looked to Fíli who looked at Wendy, confused. There was an awkward second of silence before I decided to intervene.
"Hungry," I said and pointing to my stomach as the two men looked at me strangely. "ARE YOU HUNGRY?" I asked, raising my voice and slowing my speech. I pointed to them when I said 'you' and then back to my stomach at 'hungry'. Pretty sure pointing to your stomach was the universal sign for hungry but Fíli and Kíli didn't seem to get it. Instead they stood there, eyeing me suspiciously and mumbling things to each other.
"One minute." I turned back into the kitchen and grabbed one of the plates off the table and began throwing noodles and spaghetti sauce on it. I snatched up one of the breadsticks and headed back to the doorway holding the plate up. "FOOOOD. IT'S IN THE KITCHEEEEN." I taunted, trying to temp them with it. Kíli took the bait, eagerly walking towards me and into the kitchen without sparing Fíli or Wendy another look. Poor Fíli was being reluctantly ushered in by Wendy. He was looking at my plate and saying things to her, probably in protest of eating with us.
"IT'S SPAGEHTTI," I stated loudly to Fíli, making him raise his brow at me as I pointed out to each of the foods that were out. "SPAGEHTTI WITH MEATSAUCE. BREADSTICKS. CHICKEN PARMESEAN." Kíli was piling up food on his plate, completely ignoring the salad that was available. He was saying things to his friend, his words slightly incomprehensible due to the fact that he was chewing on a breadstick while talking. I decided to try my hand at suckering the other guy to join us. "Eat Fíli!" I begged, giving him my best puppy dog eyes I could and lowering my voice. Doing the whole slow talking-shout thing you did to deaf people really strains your voice. Wendy rolled her eyes as she picked up a plate and handed it to Fíli who was giving me weird looks.
"El, you sound like an idiot," she giggled, "just shut up and eat. He doesn't understand English and you raising your voice and elongating every vowel when you speak isn't helping." I stuck my tongue out at her as I took a seat across from Kíli while the others prepped their plates. Kíli dug into his food, making a mess of himself as he managed to get sauce all over his face and bread crumbs down his shirt. Fíli took a seat next to Kíli and glared at the plateful of pasta and sauce like it some poisoned dish set out to kill him. Eventually he caved and took a small bite of his spaghetti.
"Do you think it tastes bad?" Wendy asked, taking a seat next to me and anxiously waiting for a reaction from Fíli. I took a bite of the chicken and shrugged.
"I think it taste good." I said between bites. Wendy wasn't Chef Ramsey but she could cook and it's pretty hard to ruin spaghetti and chicken parmesan – especially when it was my recipe. We both eyed Fíli, impatiently waiting for his response. It didn't take long after that initial bite the he was like Kíli and digging in and not caring that he was getting sauce all over his face. I smirked, eyeing Wendy from the corner of my eye and watching her try to restrain herself as she poked at her food uncomfortably. We sat around eating, well us eating and Wendy looking mildly grossed out with the two's table manners, in silence. A few minutes passed by and the noise of silverware clinking against dishes and the sounds of Fíli and Kíli scarfing their food and chugging their drinks echoed around the room. I took this awkward moment to think and reflect on the day.
Somehow today I screwed up my spell. Got that. I screw up a lot which isn't too surprising. But due to my mess up, I got Fíli and Kíli stuck in the worst place in the world - Indiana. I saved those two from drowning so it wasn't totally a bad day. I'm gonna count that as a point on my side – if I didn't cast that spell in my world, would they still be alive in theirs? Honestly, I don't know. I bit my bottom lip and stared at the two guys in front of me.
Fíli and Kíli were different and it was exciting. They were strangers from a foreign land, another world, a different time period or something and here they were – at our kitchen table, eating dinner with us. How Wendy could freak out was beyond me. This was awesome! This could be the greatest thing that could ever happen to me. To us. We'd pray and wish and hope that this would happen to us when we were children and just because Wendy grew up and "got a life" didn't mean I had to right? There was the ringing of the timer, signaling that the brownies were done and startling me from my thoughts. Fíli and Kíli nearly jumped out of their chairs, tensing up and grabbing for weapons that weren't really there. They glared suspiciously towards the oven as Wendy excused herself to check on the brownies.
I watched her, frowning as she timidly tip-toed around our guests and removed the brownies from the oven. She glanced back at Fíli and Kíli quickly, looking at them as if she couldn't really believe that they were there before turning away and probably pretending that this was 'normal' or not actually happening.
'That's it.' I thought to myself, 'Something crazy was going to be good for Wendy. Good for us.' We needed this… whatever…this was and a little excitement wasn't going to kill us.
***The Next Day***
I never did get Spanish at school. I was never really good at it. Wendy tried to teach me Japanese once but I gave up on that and only remembered a few things here and there. Teaching Fíli and Kíli English was just not gonna happen so I opted for a short cut. It was late in the afternoon and we were sitting under the bridge, waiting to for Wendy to come back from class. The rest of the night was uneventful. After dinner the guys went to sleep and Wendy cleaned the kitchen and did her homework before going to bed. I pretty much just passed out in my room after the guys went to their room. I guess Wendy got up early this morning to do her run and make breakfast because when I got up, Fíli and Kíli were at the table dressed in their normal clothes and scarfing down breakfast like there was no tomorrow. Wendy was nowhere in sight and her book bag wasn't in its usual spot. After scavenging for some extra eggs, bacon and biscuits that Fíli and Kíli didn't manage to annihilate, I got ready for the day and dragged the two outside.
So here we were, sitting under the bridge on this fine beautiful day! Fíli was next to Kíli, both of them talking as I sat across from them trying to figure out how to go about a spell I had in my mind. I had crushed mint leaves to promote energy and communication, a tiny vial of lilac oil for wisdom and good luck (really needed that one), and a yellow tea-light candle to represent the element of air to connect everything together. I began carving the air symbol into the top of the candle, making sure not to disturb the wick in it. I mixed a pinch of the crushed mint leaves in the lilac oil, shaking it up before I poured it into the tea light, filling in the markings. Fíli and Kíli stared at me, making faces as I pulled a lighter out of my satchel and lit the end of the wick.
"Ouch!" I hissed, drawing my hand back as the fire spread from the wick to the oil and nicking me in the process. I shot the candle a glare as the flames quickly evaporated the oil and leaves, focusing back onto the wick. I took in a deep breath of the light mint and lilac fragrance, trying to clear my mind and focus on the spell. I quickly drew the pentagram with my finger in the air above the flame and turned my attention to Fíli and Kíli hoping this communication spell would work.
"We mean what we say and say what we intend; let this barrier between us end." I chanted, moving my hand over the flames and making the smoke from the candle dissipate. "By this spell, when their mouth reopens, let the language of today be spoken." We waited for a moment in silence as the flame from the candle flickered. Eventually it went out and I stared at the two in front of me excitedly. I bit my bottom lip, impatiently waiting as Kíli opened his mouth to say something.
And it was gibberish.
Complete nonsense.
Fíli replied back and they began a conversation of in whatever crazy language they spoke. I let out a frustrated growl and got up, stomping around and snapping obscenities left and right. Good thing the two didn't know English cause if they called me out on it I would have been incredibly embarrassed.
Ladies to not cuss up a storm like I was doing at the moment and trust me, it was a violent storm of curses.
"Nana korobi, ya oki." Someone stated behind me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I whipped around and saw Wendy standing beside the pillar in her nursing scrubs a few steps away from Fíli and Kíli.
"What did you just say?" I asked, trying to calm myself down. Fíli and Kíli were up, looking ready to attack but calmed once they saw it was just Wendy.
"It is a Japanese proverb my grandma used to say to me when I was frustrated." She stated, setting her book bag down next to the guys and heading over to me.
"And?" I asked, hoping she'd say it in English.
"And I thought I'd come down here to see if you needed any help. You weren't at home so I suspected you'd be wreaking havoc down by the river." She teased, not telling me the translation.
"Thought you didn't believe in this kinda stuff." I replied back whining childishly and stomping over to the edge of the river. Wendy made her way next to me and we stared at the blue water in silence. She shrugged her shoulders and started nudging a rock around with her foot out of nervousness.
"I don't. I just want to be able to help you if you need it." She replied, looking guiltily at the water as I examined her from the corner of my eye. "I'm sorry about last night, that was unfair and mean of me to say those things." We were quiet for a moment and Wendy fidgeted, poking her forefingers and thumbs together as she waited on me. I sighed, knowing I couldn't be mad at her forever. What was going on was a tad unreal. I guess normal boring people would freak out.
Also, she was my best friend – we've been through thick and thin. No one else was going to put up with my craziness.
"So you're going to help me?"
"Yes."
"And this is a 'we' thing, not just a 'me' thing.
"I'll help you get Fíli and Kíli home."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Alright then," I stated, straightening up and giving Wendy a hard slap on the back. She stumbled a bit, stepping into the water and getting her shoes and scrub pants all wet. "I forgive you, so, here is the plan: we recheck the triquerta symbols on the pillars for anything that maybe out of the ordinary." I said, spilling out some of the ideas I had running around in my mind. It didn't occur to me that Wendy had no clue what I was talking about.
"Triquerta symbol?" Wendy asked, stepping back onto land and shaking out her shoes in a sad attempt to get the water out.
"Yes. Then we move onto the bridge and start dropping some things from the railing. Maybe there is some crazy Platform 9 and three-fourths going on, like an invisible line that allows things to move in and out between two worlds." I think there was something like that in Harry Potter, but I wouldn't stake my life on it.
"Elli…" Wendy said, not really breaking my train of thought. I ignored her and continued ranting, ideas just flowing as I became more and more excited.
"If we can find a boat or something we can get under the bridge and see if there is anything in the water."
"Elli…"
"If worst comes to worst, we can always get in the water ourselves…"
"Elli!" Wendy snapped at me, grabbing my arm and turning me to where Fíli and Kíli were earlier. "Did you see where they went?" She asked, staring wide eyed at the pillar.
My jaw dropped as I stared at the empty spot.
How in the world does one lose two short, oddly bearded, medieval looking men in the state of Indiana? And honestly, where would they even go?
"Alright, new plan!" I yelled, running up to the pillar to see if there was any clue to where they went. Wendy followed behind me, asking what she should do. "Let's split up. I'll take the house, neighborhood and the southern route of the river."
"I'll get the northern part of the river and the campus." Smart girl. I nodded and made my way uphill towards our house. Maybe he two went back home to grab a snack or something.
"If we find them, let's meet back on the bridge." Wendy shouted back to me, heading up north along the river.
"Yeah!" I shouted back to her as we continued off in our separate ways.
This sucked.
This really, really sucked.
***Hours Later of Hide and Seek***
I panicked on the bridge, pacing back and forth as the street lamps flickered on and the sun slowly sank out of view. I had no luck finding Fíli and Kíli and could only pray that Wendy was having better luck than me. I continued looking back towards campus, hoping to see some sign of the trio.
"C'mon, Wen." I whined out loud to no one in particular. Daylight had quickly faded and there were no people on the streets, making me feel uncomfortably vulnerable and alone. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to keep warm as the temperature dropped along with the sun. The Green Power Ranger T-shirt and blue jeans I was wearing just wasn't cutting it tonight and I didn't want to run home for a sweater in case Wendy or the two guys passed by. I continued waiting in uneasy silence till someone called out to me.
"Elli?" A male voice asked somewhere behind me in the distance. My blood ran cold as the voice spoke again. "Elli Thyat, is that you?" I slowly turned around, feeling my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. I froze in fear, staring at two of Cole's "good friends" who were casually walking on the bridge as if the run in was an everyday occurrence.
"It's been a while Elli." Eddie said, walking up to me and lighting a cigarette. The other guy he was with, Darrel, circled around me, eyeing me up and down like I was some kind of piece of food. I didn't say anything to either of them, my mind slowly registering what was happening. These were just two of the few people who were really pissed off with me and that I didn't want to bump in to. Ever.
"Did you hear what happened to Cole?" Darrel asked, getting a little too close me. He stopped circling around me and positioned himself behind me, his chest just barely bumping into my back. My body tensed and I reflexively tried to step away from the man before he could do anything. Unfortunately for me, Darrel was quicker and he grabbed wrists, twisting them behind my back. I winced at the pain as Darrel held my wrists and forced me forward so I was almost face to face with Eddie.
Before I die this brutal death, let me tell you some more about Eddie and Darrel. These two hoodlums became close friends of Cole around senior year of high school. Eddie was one of those ridiculously good looking guys with dark hair and bright blue eyes that girls really loved. He had one of those mischievous grins that made it look like he was always up to something bad, which was mostly true. If someone needed something sinister planned, Eddie was the go to guy for ideas. The only good thing about him was his tattoos. He had 'Veritas' written down his left forefinger and 'Aequitas' on the right, both beautifully done tattoos if you ask me and the only things I liked about Eddie.
Darrel was the typical hoodlum. There was nothing too special about him - he was just some blond haired, brown eyed guy that looked like he'd taken too many punches to the face. He'd been kicked out of school and sent to juvie so many times I've lost count. He was tall, built and made sure he was in every fight. He was a big and brutal guy that no one wanted to mess with and those who did found their way to the nearest Emergency Department. He wasn't always a fair fighter - he'd been known to deal a few low blows below the belt and pull out a weapon in a fist fight. If he wasn't winning, it was smart to assume he'd do something foul to turn the tides in his favor.
Now you can picture me about to be murdered again.
"What do you want?" I asked, wincing as Darrel twisted my wrists a little bit more just for fun. I hissed in pain, trying to move myself out of my captor's grip but it was useless. He had a pretty tight grip on me and the more I struggled, the more he twisted. Eddie continued smoking his cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the air as if contemplating what he wanted to say to me. I knew what they wanted and honestly I also knew I was screwed.
"Don't play stupid with me Elli," Eddie said, letting out an annoyed sigh. "You know what we're doing here." He moved away from me and positioned himself up against the bridge's railing, causally leaning against it. He still had that stupid smirk plastered onto his face that I just wanted to smack right off of him. Darrel shoved me into the concrete railing, keeping his tight hold on me. I winced, feeling pain radiate around my knees and legs from the impact and the sharp pain of the concrete corner digging into my stomach. "Just because you were Cole's girlfriend doesn't really mean much to us." Eddie stated, taking a drag off his cigarette.
"Screw you guys. I had nothing to do with the business Cole was doing with you." I growled, casting Eddie a sideways glare. He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. Darrel on the other hand didn't appreciate my moment of boldness. He let go of one of my wrists and used his free hand to grab the back of my head, slamming it down onto the hard railing. I cried out in pain, feeling the left side of my face slam into the concrete and him holding it here. At least Darrel was kind enough to turn my head to the side so he didn't break my nose. My vision blurred as my eyes began to tear up. A terrible pain was radiating on the left side of my face and the ringing in my ears was contributing to a horrible headache that was pounding violently away in my head. I closed my eyes and tried not to cry. I was in pain. Serious pain. I was bent over the railing, the concrete edge digging into my stomach and my face and skull feeling like it was about to explode. It didn't help that Darrel was pushing down on top of me, slowly squeezing air out of my lungs and shoving my wrist into my back. It felt like I was being squished in a mini trash compactor.
"Do you know how much money you owe me? Let's do some math here," Eddie stated, leaning over the edge next to me, hands folded together. "One gram of crystal meth is about $200 - $250. Let's say the batch Cole made was four ounces of crystal meth. How much money do you think we lost when the police raided your apartment?" If the moment wasn't so serious I would have laughed at how it sounded like a terrible math problem.
I can't do math to save my life and this was literally a, 'I need to do math to keep myself alive' situation. I kept my mouth shut, mentally praying that someone would come a long; the campus police, a student, someone! I prayed that Wendy was okay and she had found Fíli and Kíli and would help get them home and get far away from Indianapolis. I also prayed that the bridge would do something about my situation but no such aid came from it.
Darn it you traitorous bridge!
"$5,600 to $7,000 Elli. That is a shit ton of money you owe me." Eddie blew smoke in my direction, causing my eyes to sting.
"Fuck you Eddie. What was going on between you and Cole doesn't involve me. If Cole owes you money, take your ass to the Indiana State Prison and get it from him." I snapped back, throwing him a glare. I used my free had to claw at Darrel's hand that was on my head but it was worthless. When I thought I had dug my nails in deep enough to cause him pain, he grinded my head harder into the cement. It literally felt like someone was taking the course side of a cheese grater to my face and just dragging it back and forth over my skin. I yelped in pain again, immediately letting go of his arm. As soon as I had my free hand down, Darrel stopped grinding my face into railing.
"We're not scared to beat you around. We are going to hurt you. Your family. Your friends." There was a pause and I could literally hear the gears turning in Eddie's head. Awful images of the terrible things I've heard about him doing to people flashed through my mind. My body involuntary began shaking in fear as I thought of my loved ones getting beaten by the two. "Doesn't that one girl go to school around here," Eddie asked, his voice feigning politeness as if making small talk, "That one quiet girl that never really talked to anyone. Cindy? Candy? Something like that?"
"Wendy." Darrel corrected.
That's it, we were screwed. I bit my lip, trying not to cry as I glared at Eddie. He continued talking, rambling on and on about his stupid money and his stupid drugs and stupid what not's. It didn't matter to me if I listened to him or not. I was probably going to die here tonight and just be another accident that happened on the bridge. Stupid protection spell, thanks for having my back tonight.
All the poor choices in life I've mad flashed through my mind, making me hate myself and wishing I had listened to my parents. To Wendy. To everyone and everything that told me I was getting way in over my head when I was with Cole. I was so gone in my little pity party of regrets that I barely heard a meek voice off in the distance.
"Le-let her go!" I heard Wendy's voice faintly echoing in my head as if she was a million miles away. It took me a second to realize that she was really here, yelling at Eddie and Darrel and that I needed to react. With my head being positioned to the side and me only being able to see Eddie, I could only guess that Wendy was on the opposite side out of my view.
"Run Wendy! Get out of here! Call the police!" I shouted when I came to my senses. I struggled under Darrel, reaching back with my free hand again to claw at his hand while I used my legs to kick back at him in hopes to strike him in the shins. I heard the shouts of crazy gibberish and realized that Fíli and Kíli was with her too.
"What the Hell are those two?" Darrel asked, loosening his grip on me for a second. Before Wendy or I could make a snappy comment Darrel lifted my head off the railing one more time and slammed it down against the concrete railing with such a force I thought my head busted open.
Intense pain shot through my skull, causing stars to dance in front of my vision. I heard Eddie order for Darrel to 'take care of the other three' that sounded slow and faint in my head.
I slid off the railing, trying to catch my fall on anything as the ringing in my ears increased in pitch, blocking out any other noise to indicate what was going on. I tried to reach my arms out to grab onto anything but they felt heavy and flaccid and wouldn't move to my mental commands. I fell onto the floor, banging my body up more and causing it extra unnecessary pain. The world was in slow motion as the blurry image of Eddie came into my view. He grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me up to my feet. He leaned me back onto the railing like I was some kind of ragdoll so I was staring up at him as he spoke. His face slowly began blending into the dark sky above him as black spots started replacing the stars. The ringing in my ears blocked out anything he may have been saying to me and I watched his mouth silently move.
This was it.
I was gonna die.
I was falling in and out of consciousness, barely recognizing anything happening. The image of Eddie was blurring together and just becoming a mess of colors. If I was still aware of everything around me I wouldn't have laid there like some kind of idiot. I would have fought back. I would have helped Fíli, Kíli and Wendy but unfortunately I wasn't able to.
All I could do was try not to black out as I was lifted off the ground. When couldn't feel the ground beneath my feet and I wanted to scream. It felt like everything was in slow motion as Eddie dropped me over the edge. At first nothing really hurt. I was just falling – plain and simple. It wasn't until my body hit the water that I was in agonizing pain. My body stung the second it hit the water. It felt like a thousand little needles were being pushed into my skin as the water enveloped me.
The next thing I felt intense coldness and then afterwards numbness. The ringing in my ears was replaced by the turbulent noise of water and waves washing over me and pulling me under. Then everything went from blurry to dark.
After that, I couldn't really remember anything else.
So that's it. There isn't much going on in the state of Indiana so let's have our characters go to some nicer places. :) Please send me a comment, some reviews, questions, statements, letters of the alphabet randomly strung together.
There wasn't a lot of dwarves in this one but the next chapter will have more Fili and Kili. Also, they'll start understanding each other too. It is getting difficult to keep them not talking with each other. I guess I'm like Elli and ramble a lot and want them to ramble too.
This is the most I've ever written in my life and I'm making it a goal to keep the chapters long!