CHAPTER 16

"Eat."

I'm dreaming. I can feel it in how not-all-there my body feels. Its as if I'm floating in something heavy but painfully invisible. The scene around me isn't all right either. Lawrence, fucking Lawrence, was anything but fashion snob in life,so why my dream has portrayed his torturous basement as a pristine location is beyond me. All the old broken lawn chairs have been reshaped into beautiful Oak masterpieces. Gone is the cement floor that chipped more than one of my teeth and in its place is a plush rug that is softer than clouds look. It's a gorgeous replica of the nightmare I lived.

"Eat it."

Why can't I wake up? Usually becoming aware will help me escape. But not this time it would seem. Keeping my eyes on anything but what it sits before me, only serves to gag me as its scent forces itself up my nose. It's thick and persistent, not allowing itself to be ignored. An invisible hand pulls my head towards the last place I'd want to look but I have nothing of power to stop it.

"This is going to happen, whether you want it to or not, little flame."

With that threat, I come face-to-face with HIM. Or... What's left of him. His head looks you have exploded, leaving behind pointy bone that slices easily through the flesh of his once freckled face. One of his eyes has slid from its socket, hanging limply by a thread of nerve down his torn cheek. The other though, stares deep into me as if my soul lay bare before it. The once fiery orb is horribly cold in comparison to the blazing hand that comes up to pat my cheek roughly. It would sear my skin if I were awake.

"Eat ME."

That hand plunges into my mouth, choking me as it goes down my throat. With his free hand he reaches into his shattered skull, scooping out clumps of brain matter to feed me. I can't move at all. I can only watch as the room grows bloodier with each mouthful I'm forced to swallow. It pours down the walls like rain, soaking everything it touches. It's not enough for the monster though, as he thrusts his other hand into my mouth to meet his first.

It's like he's climbing into my very skin. As if he could crawl inside of me and live on forever, driving me insane, until I don't know who I am anymore. The stretching is unbearable, even more so when it brings his obliterated face within inches of my own.

"You brought a brick to my brain, little flame." Tilting his head to the side for emphasis, parts of my kidnapper's mind sloshes out like sludge "It didn't kill me."

Sinking himself up to his elbows with a laugh, the nightmare scratches at my insides. There's nothing I can do, nothing I could ever do. Bound to stillness, not even my tears fall as he breathes smoky air into my lungs. I cough, the feeling all the worst as his arms slide further down my throat.

"So you burned me, little flame. You burned me ALIVE!" My insides erupt with heat as he releases flames of Hell into my belly "But you can't be rid of me."

'I killed you!' I silently scream yet still he hears me. Shutting my eyes I try to wake up 'This isn't real! You're not here!'

"Oh no no no. I'm right here; look at me! Look what you did to me!"

I don't need to look. I already know. I remember taking up a brick and smashing his head in. I remember the blood... and I remember the fire... and I remember surviving.

"Look what you did to me! Oh ho ho, but look what I've done to you!"

The mirror on the wall loosens from its place to crash on to the floor beside us. It shatters into a million pieces, reflecting my tortured image in all of them. I look at that girl in that mirror, covered in blood and terror, and I hate her so much more than I could ever hate him.

"You may have ended me, little flame..." As he leans towards me to whisper darkly into my ear, I can finally feel the dream edges fading away. Yet, it brings me no peace "But it's more pathetic how its killing you!"

My eyes fly open but there's no time to get up. Turning my head to the side, I empty my stomach painfully. My muscles spasm in agitation but I keep going. I don't stop until I'm as empty as I can get... On my hands and knees, I dry heave continuously while trying to catch my breath but it doesn't help. My head throbs and I begin pounding at the ground.

"I'll never be rid of him! He's inside of me!" Screaming at the ground in agony and anger and frustration, I allow my tears to finally fall "He's BEEN inside of me!"

A gasp sounds to my right, pulling my head towards it. There stands the company of Thorin Oakenshield in its entirety; each staring at me as if it was the first time we had seen each other. I expect to be overwhelmed with shame but my mind is so far gone that all I can do is laugh.

"Hello! My name is Atina Marie Bloodstone and if you couldn't guess by now, I'm rape victim. Oops!" Covering my mouth as Ori's eyes go wide, I laugh all the harder. "I mean 'Survivor.' Because that makes the whole raping thing seem like an adventure!"

"Lassie..." making gentle calming motions with his hands, Balin tries to soothe the situation. "Perhaps you should come down. You seem to have been-"

"Kidnapped? Forced against my will? Traumatized? Yeah, and I don't even mean by just you guys. I've been through some stuff and its made me one sick puppy but I don't want you to worry about that! You've got a dragon to face. It's way too late anyway. I'm sorry if it bothers you."

"Lass-"

"It bothered me a whole lot too, even more so after he amputated my sister's leg, strip by strip mind you, and made me watch him eat it." Gnashing my teeth together, I break into a fit a girlish giggles. Somewhere in my mind, that's not funny. Yet it's too hilarious not to be "Now I'm afraid to eat anything that I don't prepare because he always said that he snuck a little of her into my meals too. Talk about trust issues!"

Grinning wildly I pull myself off the ground and shake out my stiff limbs. Everyone is watching me with varying degrees of worry that just makes me laugh more. It's just too funny. How can they be so worried about me when they have so much to worry about themselves? I mean it's not like they can save me. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. I'm waaaaay too far gone. And even if I could, I don't deserve to be saved. It's just so funny.

"She would have loved to be here but you've got me instead. We're are twins, so yes we look very much alike Kili, so maybe it makes no difference in the end. Then again, she's a fighter."

"Lass..." looking over to Bofur, I find his usually cheerful face tilted into a very deep frown. His hands fist and then unclench and then fist again before he continues "This he you speak of... where is he now?"

"Don't worry. Don't worry. He's dead. I killed him, was no small amount of help from my dog." shrugging my shoulders, my mind wanders too my beautiful puppy. My beautiful dead puppy. Shrugging again as my chest twinges in pain, I nodded at Dwalin "You know, Dwalin, the dog you killed. Thanks for that... I didn't deserve his loyalty."

"Miss Bloodstone..." I've never described the dwarf King as being speechless but it appears that I have left him with the way too much and not enough to say. He stares at me and I returned it with a blinding smile that surprisingly makes him avert his eyes with unease. I must look quite the sight "No woman should ever-"

"Please don't." Tilting my head to the side, I make a nest out of my fingers and rock on my toes "Saying that means absolutely nothing. It's like me saying 'no one should ever have a dragon burn down their home.' It really goes without saying and sympathies are the worst kind of consolation."

Nodding his head stiffly, we all lapse into a silent atmosphere that slowly wipes away my initial waking nonchalance. I quickly become aware of the awkward air followed by the weight of the personal baggage I just dumped onto the group. Even Radagast (when did he get here) has come down from his high for long enough to look unnerved. Despite all that, I feel great, weightless even, and I know that's probably freaking them all out.

"That was really unfair of me." Ducking my head in regret, I rub the back of my neck. I got sombre heavy mess off my chest... And it seems that I put it all on theirs. That's not very fair of me... but I wonder when I started caring about being fair with them "Just... Just forget I said anything. It'll be easier for all of us. I'm sorry for dumping this on all of you like- Warg!"

The howl of a warg sounds in the distance immediately after my shout. It alerts the company of the coming problem easily. I spin in a continuous circle, making sure nothing creeps up on my expose back to use me as a chew toy. I catch sight of the monstrous creature before it tries to eat anyone. Shouting to get someone's attention on it, I point at the approaching thing. Dwalin makes quick work of the creature before aiding in killing the second.

"Warg scouts?!" Thorin kicks the beast in the head even as it lays dead in a puddle of its own blood. Tossing his gaze around, the dwarf King searches the trees "What is going on here?"

"They probably have something to do with that bounty the orcs put on your head." he shoots me a wide eyed 'be silent, woman' glare before rolling his eyes to the sky "Just saying, a lot of people don't like you for some reason. Or maybe it's all a big game of chance."

"This is no mere chance occurrence." Peering down at the dead warg on the ground, Gandalf surprises me "Young Oracle, did you tell anyone about this Quest?" Looking around I find all eyes on my person "Farseer Bloodstone!"

"M-Me?! I'm not seer or an oracle o-o-or anything like that!"

"You can hide it no longer. Gandalf, she has not been away from us to share a sight. Crossing his arms, Balin addresses Gandalf as I try to catch up to this major misunderstanding "What is happening?"

"...You are being hunted."

To my reviewers without accounts: thank you for the reviews! To one in particular, YES! The dwarves want our lovely OC to feel less... intense. For their sake and her own. Atina's behavior is unhealthy any way you look at it. In addition, the dwarves feel justified in their ability to made judgments about that. They are the 'good guys' so anything they do can be explained away.

Yeaaaaaah, they kidnapped Atina but only because they had to due to her actions. They don't want her harmed and will treat her well, so its ok. They cheered at the troll deaths but only because they were the enemy. Understand that to the dwarves, they have done nothing that is so wrong that they should need forgiving. Atina's defensive actions make them feel bad but why should they if they haven't done anything wrong? So she needs to stop with her defiance because while they are sympathetic to her plight, they are in a bind too.

Please note that I'm explaining the dwarves behavior, not justifying it. I really want this story to put every thing that fans have accepted and taken for granted into perspective. No one in this story is bad. No one is wholly good either. Yet, they all have a warped sense of self. Its like war: both sides think they're right and that the other is wrong but in reality they are both equally fighting for their own views. I hope this helps!