Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit, nor do I profit from this story.
Chapter 28: Mass Hysteria
Fire from the hills, pick up speed and let's go
Fire for real, shoot to kill with no aim
—Young Men Dead by The Black Angels
"We are so fucked."
"So it would seem."
Gemma was fairly certain that would be the closest she'd ever get to hearing an elf swear. She and Legolas stood on the docks of Lake-town, stupefied, as the dragon headed their way, growing in size as it came closer. She couldn't even comprehend how large Smaug was. Oh, they were royally fucked. "We've got to..."
"Warn everybody, evacuate the town," Legolas interrupted.
"No. I mean, yeah, but I was going to say that we've got to find Bard." Legolas shot her a look, clearly wondering what could be so important about this man. "Oh, don't look at me like that, I'm not insane. Bard's the only one who can kill it. He's got a..." Gemma was still staring at the dragon, distracted and unable to find the right words, so she just vaguely gestured with her hands.
"A... black arrow?"
"Bingo! I mean, yes. He's got one of those, but I don't know where, so we've got to find him. I think the Master, slimy bastard that he is, had him arrested."
Legolas nodded and said, "I know where the town prisons are, follow me."
It still took both of them a second to tear their eyes away from the dragon in the sky. Gemma was almost afraid to look away. But then they were sprinting along the streets towards the prisons, shouting and banging on doors as they went. Disgruntled, half asleep citizens emerged from their homes, but soon were forced into harsh reality as they registered what was going on. Soon screams filled the air, and the town was thrown into mass hysteria. Gemma and Legolas pushed on ahead, shouting for people to clear the way.
They made it to the other side of town in record time. Boats of all shapes and sizes passed by as they ran, and Gemma could only hope that the people would get out in time. "Bard!" she shouted as they neared the jailhouse.
"Up here!" a voice called back, and Gemma and Legolas spotted the man through the bars of a structure that spanned the gap over a canal.
"The hell are you doing up there?" Gemma asked, relieved they had found the man.
"Oh, nothing much, I simply decided to spend some time in jail. It's quite nice up here, perhaps I'll take a nap," Bard replied sarcastically.
Gemma ignored him and followed Legolas into a building on their right and up a flight of stairs, until they reached Bard's cell. "No keys," Legolas said, searching the area.
"Fucking'ell," Gemma swore and rattled the bars of the door. There was a great big iron padlock on it. "Okay, I can probably pick the lock, just give me a minute."
"We don't have a minute," Bard said, looking out the window in his cell. "The dragon is here." As if in answer to Bard's statement, a screeching roar was heard from outside. It shook the ground and seemed to force its way into Gemma's mind, blocking out thought and feeling.
Concentrate. Gemma found two loose nails in the floorboards and pried them out, inserting them into the padlock and giving them an experimental wiggle. "Well," she said, trying to hide her fear, "he'll just have to wait. I haven't done this since my days in the F.B.I academy. I've never really needed to." She wiggled and twisted the nails again. Bard and Legolas nodded, but she knew they had no idea what she was talking about.
"I can see the smoke on the far side of town. We're doomed," Bard declared.
"Not if you can retrieve your black arrow and slay the beast," Legolas said.
"I gave it to my son to hide when I was arrested. I do not have it."
Gemma let out a string of appalling expletives, but she continued to work at the lock, and the other two ignored her.
"Do you have any idea of where your son may have hidden the arrow?" Legolas continued.
Bard thought for a second, and then nodded. "We were by the marketplace, near the watchtower. He must have hidden it nearby, and we must head in that direction anyway if we are to take a shot against the firedrake."
"Almost got it," Gemma told them, biting her lip and twisting one last time. The padlock opened with a satisfying click. "Okay, Bard, you're sprung. You've got to get over to that tower."
"I must find my children first," the man said firmly. Legolas stood by the doorway, looking impatient.
"They're fine, I left them with Tauriel, she's Legolas' lady friend, and the dwarves. They'll have left town by now, I'm certain of it."
"Thank you Miss LaRoche. And thank you, my Lord Legolas." The elf simply nodded in answer. Bard grinned. "We make a rather good team, don't we? Shall we go slay a dragon?" He ducked out the door and Gemma made to follow, but stopped. "Milady? Gemma, are you alright?" Bard asked when he saw that she did not follow.
The scent of smoke had caught on the wind and frozen Gemma in her tracks. With that single breath she'd lost all her courage. She was suddenly so very afraid. "I'm sorry Bard," she said weakly. "You were right all along. It's all my fault, I should have stopped Thorin, I could have tried."
"There is nothing to be said about that now. It was inevitable either way. Now, we must hurry." But Gemma still didn't move.
"And Legolas, it's my fault you're here. If I hadn't asked you to stay…"
"Lady LaRoche, you are not to blame for this, now we must go," the elf urged. Gemma could see the flames in the distance now. She braced herself against the door frame, breathing hard.
"I should… tell you something. I was tortured. Burned." She pulled down the zipper of her jacket to reveal some of her scars. "And now, when I see fire… I become so weak, so afraid. I have these flashbacks and I'm useless. And this whole fucking town is made of firewood." Another roar sounded, and flames lit up the sky, causing Gemma to whimper. "You need to leave me here."
Bard and Legolas looked at her carefully, and seemed to come to some sort of decision. Legolas grabbed Gemma around the waist and said to Bard, "Go now, Master Bard. Retrieve your arrow and slay the beast. I will bring the lady to safety."
"No, leave me. Help Bard, save the town," Gemma groaned. Legolas just shook his head.
Bard nodded to them both and said, "Be safe, and thank you." He looked at Gemma when he spoke. Then he sprinted off toward the watchtower.
"You should go," Gemma said to Legolas again as he led her in the opposite direction. The scent of smoke grew stronger and she closed her eyes, hoping to block it out. "Help Bard, leave town, whatever, just don't stay with me. I'll get you killed."
Instead Legolas adjusted his hold on her and hoisted her up. "Do you not remember what you said to me while leaving my father's kingdom?"
"You mean when I had you as a hostage?" Gemma managed to make a crack even between gasping breaths.
Legolas grinned ruefully. "You said," he continued, ignoring her comment, "that you were helping the dwarves because they needed it, because they deserved it. And you said that if one helps another, eventually that help will be returned unto them. Back in Mirkwood, you killed an orc that might have killed me, so now I will help you in return." He pulled her along the docks, steering her away from the flaming houses. "Besides, it will take more than a lizard to defeat the elven prince of Mirkwood," he winked at her.
Gemma smiled slightly, and her breathing began to slow. "A bit full of yourself, aren't you? And if you call that beast a lizard then you're as crazy as I am. Must be why we make such a good pair."
The two stumbled along as more homes burst into flames. Gemma was breathing heavily, her vision swimming in and out of focus. She screamed as the house right beside her exploded and burning debris rained down upon them. Smoke and embers filled the air, and a single spark floated down to land on her bare hand. It burned ever so slightly, but it sent a shockwave through her system.
"How long must we hide here?" The bald man in the corner asked the tall man standing above her. "When will we put the plan into action?" His accent was thick, unidentifiable. He took a long drag on his cigar.
"Soon. We must wait to receive word." The tall man said as he surveyed her on the table.
"Lady LaRoche!"
The man dragged the tip of a blade along her cheek, down her neck, around the curve of her breast, idly, as if tracing a pattern. "In the meantime, we have entertainment."
"Leave the bitch alone. The Americans have trained her too well, she will not scream. I have grown bored of her," the bald one said.
"We need her. She will keep us protected. She is insurance. But she is the enemy. We will send them a message in more ways than one."
"Well then," The bald man said, "hurry up with it." And he ground the butt of his cigar into the hollow of her collarbone. She screamed.
Legolas was at her side when her vision cleared, pulling her along another path, more frantic than she'd ever seen an elf. The flames rose all around them. "Gemma, hold on. Keep running, that's it. Clear your mind." She tried, she really did, but it was like fighting a war inside her head. As always, she lost.
"No, no! Damn you, damn you, stop it, please!"
"The American begs. Entertainment indeed."
"Gemma, you've got to talk to us." It was Patrick now, right in her face. But she couldn't speak; she could only see the horrors, projected like a movie on the inside of her eyelids. She scratched at her eyes in desperation, and Patrick had to restrain her arms.
A different memory, bittersweet: she was twelve, up in Quebec with her father at a little cabin in the Laurentian Mountains, watching the stars.
She was older, in a coffee shop before going to her psychology course. She watched the little TV above the cashier's counter in disbelief as it showed images of the burning Twin Towers.
"You are being hunted." Gandalf said gravely.
She was back in the cellar, shrieking.
Thorin stood before her, eyes glowing golden. And then a single eye, red like fire and radiating evil, filled her mind. Was this even a memory?
"Á norë, Gemma! Keep going!" Legolas was dragging her now, and they were closer to the town centre. She could hear screaming.
She was screaming.
She could see people burning, smell it.
She could smell her flesh burning. She could feel it.
For once, her reality nearly reflected her delusions.
A great screeching roar tore through the smoke and the beast emerged from above. "Gemma! Into the river, into the river now!"
The cold water momentarily paralyzed her. Slowly, Gemma opened her eyes. It was surreal down here, in the cold, calm depths of the lake. The water was black around her, illuminated slightly by the golden glow of flames far above the surface. So peaceful. It banished the insanity from her mind. And then her lungs began to burn and she kicked to the surface.
Chaos again. Debris crashed into the water around her and she ducked back under to avoid another flashback onset. Kicking back up again, she caught sight of Legolas and swam toward him. "This way!"
Swimming in the freezing canals while the whole town crashed and burned around her was disorienting, to say the least. Whole walls fell into the river, forcing Gemma and Legolas to swim under and around, dodging debris with only milliseconds to react.
When she next surfaced, the belly of the beast (and no, that was not an idiom, she literally meant Smaug's stomach) was above her head. She was close to the watchtower now, where Bard should be. Smoke once more filled her lungs and her mind fogged, but just before she pushed herself back under the water, she caught sight of him. Not Bard, no; it was his son. Gemma surfaced quickly once she realized what she had seen. "Bain!" she shouted. The boy was running along the half destroyed walkways, right beside Smaug's tail. In his hand he clutched the black arrow. Bain looked back at the sound of her voice. He looked terrified, and yet so determined. But he was just a child; Gemma barely noticed the flames at that moment, so worried was she for the young man.
Unfortunately, Smaug too heard her shout from below him, and turned to the noise, levelling half a dozen homes with his tail as he did so. He rose up towering over her, and Gemma, despite being terrified, could only think, I see why Thorin doesn't like me towering over him like that. The dragon's golden eyes shifted from Gemma to Bain, slit pupils dilating at the sight of the black arrow. His stomach began to glow as fire built up within, ready to roast Bain on the spot. "Run! Run to the watchtower Bain! Find your father!" The boy did as she said.
Gemma processed everything in a split-second, twisting in the water and sinking down a bit. For once, she was so grateful that Mac was a dirty great weapons dealer; he had given her just the thing she needed. Gemma pulled a grenade, the only one she'd snagged before leaving Bard's house, out of her belt. She took a deep breath, pulled the pin, kicked hard in the water and launched it up into the air, towards the beast's stomach. Then she dove into the water and swam down, down, down. The explosion was a dull roar from above the surface.
Of course, the beast wasn't dead. Gemma had never been, and would never be, that lucky. The good news was that she had distracted Smaug from Bain. The bad news was that the dragon was very angry. It was only Bard's arrows, fired from up in the watchtower, that stopped Smaug from catching sight of Gemma when she resurfaced. The dragon turned towards the watchtower, and said, in a deep, blood-chilling voice, "Who are you that would stand against me?"
Gemm probably should have been surprised that the dragon could speak, but at this point, there were few things remaining that could surprise her. She swam closer and found Legolas once again, hidden under the edge of the platform that held up the tower, watching. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and together they looked up towards the beast, feet away.
"Da!" It was Bain scaling the watchtower with the arrow. Don't hurt him, Gemma thought, please. Thankfully Smaug was too transfixed with the daring bowman to notice that Bain was the boy with the black arrow. Even if he did, the dragon seemed far too arrogant to ever believe he was in danger of dying.
Smaug stalked forward, rumbling, "What will you do now, Bowman? No help will come. "Bain reached the top and handed his father the arrow, but the wind lance and Bard's bow were both wrecked beyond repair. The dragon stalked closer still, and Gemma and Legolas, still hidden in the water under the docks, huddled closer. How did she even get into this mess, when seemingly hours before she had been in her own world? She looked around at the wreckage of the town, at the dead, lying on the docks or floating in the water, and a small part of her was thankful that she had returned, if only because she had ensured that the dwarves and the girls had left town.
"Is that your child? You cannot save him. He will burn." The dragon was nearly upon them now. Gemma and Legolas retreated farther beneath the docks, and were now unable to see Bard and Bain. Come on Bard, Gemma thought, think of something, come on. "How now will you challenge me?!" Smaug roared, raising up to full height and gathering a fire in his chest. Gemma closed her eyes and waited.
A roar filled the air at a frequency that could have shattered window, but no flame followed. Instead, the watchtower came crashing down as the dragon thrashed the sky. Gemma opened her eyes and slowly swam forward, Legolas in her wake. She didn't dare to hope, but… yes. Yes, Bard had done it! Smaug struggled into the sky, convulsing in agony. He twisted, flapped his wings once, uselessly, and then stretched right up, as if attempting to crawl his way into the clouds. And then the great beast's lifeless body fell back to earth.
They weren't out of it yet—the entire town was still blazing all around them— but Gemma didn't care. Maybe it was her massive adrenaline rush, but Gemma barely even noticed the flames around her. She swam out into the middle of the lake, looked up to the sky, and let out a whoop, hands in the air. "Ha!" She grabbed Legolas and pulled him into a hug, which the elf, after several seconds of startled stillness, lightly returned.
"Bard! Bain! Where are you?" She yelled out. "Bard, you crazy bastard!" She swam around a bit more. They had to be here. The town had crashed, they should be right here. At once, her excitement evaporated. They had to be here, they couldn't be...
"Gemma, over here," a voice groaned, and a very exhausted Bard swam over, half-dragged by his son.
"Alright there, Dragonslayer?" Gemma beamed.
"If that is my new job, then I think I shall retire." He gave Gemma a hug, and Bain joined in.
"Well, you're not done yet. The refugees will be over on that far shore. Now let's get the hell outta here, it fuc..." Gemma caught sight of Bain and stopped the swear from leaving her lips. "I mean, it's very cold."
AN:
Hey guys! What did you think of the chapter? Was it as epic as you had hoped? This one was pretty difficult to write, but I think it turned out pretty well. Also, check out the song that I quoted at the beginning of the chapter. It's badass and fits this chapter perfectly.
There were considerably less reviews than usual last chapter, but the ones I got were lovely, so thank you so much. I'm running out of pre-written chapters now, so updates may be a little more spread out, unfortunately, but I'll try my best.
I have a question for you. If Gemma was a character in the movies, which actress could you see playing her? I'll let you know who I picture her as next chapter. Looking forward to hearing your responses!