Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own any music by Stephen Foster, Thomas Haynes Bayly, Caroline Atherton Mason, S.M. Grannis, or George Loder. Their lyrics are included in this fanfic and they are old enough to be considered public domain.
ooOoo
Guardians of Arda
By Ponytail Goddess
Chapter 14: Unexpected Visitors
After what felt like nearly an hour of dallying, Duckie finally found herself pulling up a chair next to the fireplace and sitting down to rest for the evening. It was late and Haldir had long since gone into town to help James investigate the Haymond home.
A few minutes after he left, Duckie had cursed upon realizing that she left all of her laundry out on the clothesline to dry before going to the Glenn's home for supper. Seeing as she had fallen in the creek in the brown calico dress she was currently wearing, that was problematic indeed. She was wet, cold, and uncomfortable, not to mention terribly frustrated that she had torn her dress while dismounting from Haldir's horse.
"Your own stubbornness created the problem," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head in defeat. She remembered how Haldir had offered to help her and how vehemently she had refused, not wanting anything to do with him in the moment because of their argument. Now she regretted it though, as she had a dress in desperate need of repair and no access to her pajamas, nor even a clean dress, since they were all outside.
Duckie briefly contemplated the possibility of leaving the house to run outside and grab what she needed. After all, it would only take a minute or two to remove a dress and a nightgown from the clothesline behind the farmhouse. However, Haldir's ominous warning by the door still lingered within her mind and she remembered how badly things had gone when she did not heed his warnings previously. The whispered voice on the wind had reminded her gently to trust him, in spite of his unkind words, and reluctantly she still did. Thus, she resigned herself to doing without for now and remedying the problem in the morning.
Not knowing what else to do, Duckie had stripped off her dress, petticoats, and corset, placing them on the floor by the fireplace to dry. She had felt weirdly exposed, not to mention cold, as she walked around the farmhouse in naught but her white linen chemise and drawers. Therefore, after she had wiped most of the dirt from her body with a wet rag, she took the well-worn quilt off the bed with the hopes of achieving modesty and warmth.
Now she found herself wrapped in the burgundy and plum blanket as she sat by the fire in one of the dining room chairs, nursing a cup of hot tea. At last, the icy feeling the creek water had left upon her skin was gone and replaced with a welcome, comforting heat.
The bright orange tendrils of the fire arose and flared out as they burnt steadily through the logs and kindling she had fed them earlier, crackling softly in the quiet of night. Duckie enjoyed the smell coming from the smoke in the hearth, as well as the herbal scent of her chamomile tea. The musical sound of crickets serenaded Duckie from outside of the house as she found herself ruminating on the argument she had with Haldir before he left.
Oh, he had made her so angry with his comments about the failings of mortals! Duckie's temper was rarely an issue for her, but she had no longer been able to hold it in check when he had finally admitted his derision towards them.
She groaned in despair as she recalled the anger-filled words that passed between them. Truly, she could not believe she had exploded at the one elf whose help she really needed. Having grown up surrounded by mortals though, she had taken great offense to his prejudiced view of them. While a few mortals were indeed as thoughtless and nasty as Haldir had implied, Duckie could not help but see the beauty in the few she had befriended.
How could Haldir harbor such a negative view towards them all? How could he go through life that way, thinking so poorly of the people that were surrounding him? It confused her because he had seemed so friendly with Chester and Old Roy earlier in the evening, but then could somehow turn around and say such horrible things about their kind, without them having any chance to defend themselves.
Was everything she had seen tonight just a big lie? Was everything Haldir said and did around the mortals an act? Did he truly hold no affection for any of them? Could he really be as cold and calloused as his words implied?
Duckie groaned in frustration after taking another sip of her tea from her metal mug, then shook her head in dismay. Perhaps she needed to let this go and just give him the benefit of the doubt. He had, after all, said he did still care about what happened to the mortals and she knew he valued honesty above all else.
Still, it was hard to let such harsh words go, even when she knew she needed to. Like it or not, Duckie did need his help and was now so deeply caught up in the web of lies they had woven that she could not go on without him. At least, not at the settlement. Margaret and James, Father John and Arthur, the entire Glenn family, and many more were anticipating their marriage the next day. They would have to work as a team to pull this off, so the quarrel would need to be resolved in a timely fashion.
"What a fine mess we've made," Duckie murmured to herself as she stared down at the steam wafting up from her half-empty mug.
If Duckie was really honest with herself, she knew she was partially responsible for their falling out, as she had started the whole debacle by bringing up her aunt. Duckie had known from the conversation they had on their way to the Glenn's homestead that Arwen was a sensitive topic for Haldir, but had chosen against her better judgement to rehash the conversation. She had not only done that, but had pushed it into new and uncomfortable depths, asking him questions that she had no right to ask him at this point in time.
His words played back in her mind repetitiously as she attempted to see this thing from his perspective. Haldir had fought hard to try and help her see his point of view, but Duckie was stubborn and had not desired to understand his stance in the heat of the argument. Distance and time had changed her thought process though and now she could actively try to see his side of the feud. One particular part of his speech had lingered uncomfortably longer than the others within her mind:
"Arwen was indeed a bright and shining star, a beacon full of energy and light within a world where I often only saw depravity and despair."
He had described his world as one of depravity and despair. Depravity and despair. This had been before he set out on the long and arduous mission that was painfully taking him away from his kind for several millennia. This had been before the weight of loneliness and many other problems had fallen upon his shoulders.
It made Duckie wonder what his life been like before all of this. She knew Haldir had been a captain of soldiers. He had been leader of those who defended Lothlórien, the home of her great grandparents, where everyone lived deep within the reaching heights of the mysterious mellyrn trees, which he had described to her in great depth.
But that was all she knew. What had his day to day working situation looked like? What kinds of things had he seen and what horrible evils had he dealt with regularly? How had he coped with such things? Who had been his confidant? If he was the leader of all the soldiers, had there been anyone he could confide in or trust with his inmost feelings?
Had his previous life held any happiness at all?
Duckie remembered the joy he harbored while speaking about his parents and the great love shared between them… but they had died long ago. He said so himself. His words had been nothing but positive concerning her aunt as well… but she had also died.
Haldir needed a reprieve, she concluded. Something to hold onto that was good in the midst of all the darkness that surrounded him. A light and a hope for the future, for without it, what use was living?
But what, or who, could he hold onto now? He had his brothers here with him, the ones whom he referred to as cousins in front of the mortals. Was there closeness between them though? Thinking back, Duckie remembered the conversation she had eavesdropped upon between the two of them while she hid in the grass. They had both been concerned for him, one of them even implying Haldir was past due for sailing to reunite with his kin in Valinor. Both brothers were aware of Haldir's predicament, but neither seemed to have a clue as to how to help him.
Perhaps they couldn't. He was their superior, after all, in addition to being their older brother. Maybe they felt they could not bring up such a personal topic to him. They had to work peacefully with him until the end of time, just like all of the other soldiers. Thus, they would surely not be willing to make waves with Haldir in the way that Duckie's father had before being promptly removed from their fold.
So, who did that leave as his supporter? Duckie could think of no one and immediately despaired, for everyone needed to have someone to confide in and trust. She had desperately missed her father's presence for that very reason and could not imagine what it might be like to have no one to turn to during life's hardest moments.
Surely she was overlooking someone though… perhaps the brothers were closer than they seemed. After all, she had just met them and did not really grasp the dynamic between them from the brief interactions she had seen thus far.
And then it dawned on her, or rather struck her like a brick to the head.
He had trusted her tonight.
Her.
Haldir told her that being around her was refreshing and different earlier in the day. He had opened up to her about the argument between him and her father, all while working hard not to offend her during the process. Though it had clearly hurt him to think of it, he had candidly spoken with her about her aunt, for no other reason than to indulge her curiosity about her family. And then…
And then he had opened up about himself. In a roundabout way, he had informed Duckie about his own problem when she had urged it out of him; one he had not likely discussed with anyone else. In return, she had argued that he was wrong and had pushed him away, determining that she could not trust him…
Hurting him. Haldir ardently wanted her trust above all else and she had heartily proclaimed he did not have it. She had seen the glimpse of vulnerability in his eyes upon hearing those words, but had done nothing to correct it and had let him leave without a word.
While she had managed to get warmed up earlier, a coldness entered her chest now that she realized precisely what she had done. He had reached out to her, as if she were his light, and she had promptly doused his hopes and left him in darkness. Prior to that, he had done nothing to inspire her wrath though. No, it was quite the contrary. She remembered how tenderly he had held her hands as they lingered together after the dance ended and the intensity of his grey eyes as his lips gently caressed the back of her hand-
"Stop," Duckie said, scolding herself as she covered her eyes with her hand in response to her distress. "You have already embarrassed yourself once tonight, thinking his kiss meant more than it did. It is nothing, nothing but an act! Control yourself!" She hissed under her breath in frustration.
Her heart twisted inside her chest though, for she wanted it to be more. Even after their heated feud tonight, Duckie wanted the kiss and gentle touches he bestowed upon her to have meant something…
She wanted to be his light.
His confidant.
If there had been any chance of it though, she had ruined it tonight. Again, Haldir's hurt expression flashed before her eyes, the one that lasted mere seconds before he contorted his face into one of indifference. He was a great actor indeed, but still, some of the truth had shown through his carefully-placed mask. Duckie's harsh words had pained him just as much as the bullet he had taken before her birth and he had not been able to put up his façade fast enough to disguise it.
"How do I fix this?" She whispered to herself introspectively. "How do I take back my careless words?"
She was not given any time to think about it though as her head jerked to the left upon hearing someone knock on the door. Duckie froze, the memory of her encounter with Ralph Thomas at the farmhouse still fresh in her mind. It was late at night and Haldir said he would not be back until morning. Who could it possibly be and did she dare to make her presence known to them?
Well, technically her presence was already known, as a fire was blazing in the hearth and no one would leave a fire unattended in their home. It could easily be seen from the windows. Silently, Duckie walked to the door and huddled down in front of it, hoping that whoever it was had not caught sight of her. She studied the knots in the wooden planks below her bare feet, hoping this stranger would turn and leave without comment.
They did not though. Another set of knocks rang out, vibrating the door in front of her face as she now heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Duckie! Duckie, are you there?"
Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized her caller. "Arthur?" She inquired quietly beside the door. "What are you doing here so late at night? It's past 11 o'clock and I was nearly asleep." She lied, uncertain of why he had come.
"Duckie, I need to speak with you. Will you please let me in? This will only take a few minutes of your time." He said hesitantly. Duckie could hear the uncertainty in his voice and suspected he had come to make amends, but faltered momentarily because of the late hour and her current state of dress.
"It is too late for this conversation Arthur. I do not understand why you waited until now. Please return in the morning and we will speak then." She replied, not wanting to explain her lack of clothing to him.
"Please Duckie," he begged with a pitiful voice that nearly tore her heart in two, "I will not be able to sleep tonight unless I get this off my chest. I would have come earlier, but I was distraught and… and I may have turned to alcohol to soothe my pain." He admitted warily.
Duckie's eyes enlarged at the sound of that. She knew Arthur's stance on such beverages and it was rather shocking that he had compromised his morals over her. "Arthur…" she started, not knowing quite what to say over his sinful confession.
"I… I had to wait until I sobered up, but I came as soon as I felt able and I really, really want to make this right Duckie. Will you please hear me out?" He pleaded from behind the door.
"I am listening." She said in a resigned manner, standing up now that she knew the risk of danger had passed. Already deeply taxed by her argument with Haldir, this was about the last thing she needed right now. However, hearing the desperation in his voice, she decided the only kind thing to do would be to let him say his piece.
It took him a few moments to start. Meanwhile, Duckie found herself picturing him shifting his weight from side to side on the other side of the door, as she knew he often did when he was nervous. She could just imagine his brown eyes willing her to forgive him as they peered through the curtain of his wavy brunette hair. Sighing in annoyance, she leaned her forehead against the door as he finally began.
"Duckie, I… I would ask for your forgiveness concerning the argument we had this morning. I have had my heart set on you being my wife for the last two years and I… I never imagined our relationship would turn out any way other than what I had pictured."
"I never saw any other man take interest in you and I am loath to admit it, but I was glad because I figured it meant that your heart would be mine. I was not concerned that you would be swept away from me in my absence and was looking forward to asking for your hand in marriage upon my return from school." He said with sincerity practically dripping from his lips as he continued.
"I could have never predicted your brother's tragedy though, nor my father's insistence upon quickly finding a home and husband for you. I had always hoped you would happily accept my proposal when I finished my education." He said, his voice almost dying down to a whisper as he uttered the final sentence.
After a few moments of silence, he continued in a high and rather emotional voice, "I had no idea Henry would move here and win your heart so readily. After all, we've always had a special bond between us… I thought I would be the easiest and safest choice for you to accept. I thought we would make one another happy. At least, I know I certainly would have done everything in my power to prove my worth to you…" He said, trailing off as he was no longer assuming she felt the same way as he had previously.
Arthur's words made her feel numb inside, now that the extent of his feelings for her was out in the open. Gently, Duckie rested her pale hand on the smooth wood of the door and imagined herself laying it on his shoulder as a show of support during his confession.
"I… I just… I hope you have made the right choice and that this Henry fellow knows what a beautiful gift he is receiving. From what father has told me, he is more than capable of taking care of you and even holds some affection for you. I know you had said the same earlier and I'm sorry I did not believe you then. I am also sorry for the accusations I directed at Henry; he has done nothing to imply ill intentions towards you and I merely spoke out of anger." Arthur acknowledged, sighing as if the words pained him to say.
"I should not have said those things though and I am sorry for it. I promise that I will learn to accept your union in due time and I wish you and Henry all of the happiness this world has to offer. I hope that in time you will be able to forgive my anger over my loss and accept me as your dear friend once again." He finished succinctly.
A drawn-out silence lingered between them before Duckie answered solemnly, "I forgive you Arthur and I appreciate that you were willing to come all the way out here to share these words to me. A weight has been lifted from my heart now that I know you have accepted my decision. Thank you for that."
Once again, silence reigned between them as Duckie could hear that he was still lingering on the doorstep. She could hear his breathing and the occasional creaking noise of the wooden deck as he rotated his weight from foot to foot. "Duckie, won't you please let me see you?" He begged in a soft tone. "It would reassure me greatly to know that you are okay."
"I am fine Arthur, truly. You need not worry about me." She said, trying to soothe him with a calm tone of voice.
"Please Duckie," he pleaded, "Selfishly, I just need to it see for myself. I need to see that you are okay and then I promise I will walk home and leave you in peace."
"Arthur… I-I…" She stuttered, looking down at her attire once more, uncertain of what to do. Her chemise wasn't really see-through, but the woven, white linen fabric was well-fitted to her body and exposed the tops of her breasts, which she really did not care for Arthur to see. "I-I can't." She stumbled awkwardly, not really wanting to explain why.
"Why not?" He asked with a worried inflection in his voice. "Duckie, are you okay? Has something happened?"
Cursing under her breath, Duckie resigned herself to the truth, lest he spend the entire night on the veranda pleading with her in fear. "I… I cannot come out and see you as I am, for I fell in the creek by the Glenn's home earlier in the night. It was an accident, but I was soaked when I got home. Henry made me promise I wouldn't leave the farmhouse before he left to do a shift as the sheriff tonight in the settlement."
"Arthur, he's very worried about the wildcat that got Lewis and he-he doesn't want anything like that to happen to me. I realized after he left that… that all of my clothes were still on the clothesline out back and… Well, I decided it was best to leave them there until morning." She confessed, blushing as she implied her current state of attire without outright having to say it.
Duckie hugged the quilt that was wrapped around her even tighter as she heard Arthur start to speak again. "Oh... OH. Oh, I see… Well, umm… that is a problem indeed." He said thoughtfully. She listened as she heard the creaking of the wooden plank he was standing upon increase in volume.
"Perhaps, if umm… if you were willing," He continued slowly, "I could go and fetch you a dress from out back. If you crack the door, I will hand it to you and then once you are dressed, perhaps I could see you briefly before I go back home?"
"Okay," Duckie acquiesced, willing to do just about anything to make this uncomfortable conversation end, "If you fetch me a dress, I will let you see me. Do be careful back there though, the ground isn't exactly even." She replied.
"I will. I'll be right back," he said and she heard his loud footsteps descend the stairs and heard him whistling a broken tune as he headed around the house and into the backyard.
While she listened, Duckie sighed in relief and turned so that her back was to the door. Leaning against it heavily, she slid down into a sitting position as she murmured to herself, "Goodness Arthur, could that have possibly been any more awkward?"
She let her eyes close in relief for a moment, then opened them a few seconds later. Her eyes slid back to the flickering flames of the fire she had been beside before Arthur's arrival. That was when she saw it—an odd-looking light was coming from inside her brown calico dress.
"What is that?" She murmured, immediately getting up and holding the quilt around herself tightly as she went to investigate. The blue light seemed to be coming from inside of her dress pocket, but she had no idea what could be creating such an eerie glow…
Tentatively, her trembling fingers reached into her dress pocket and pulled out the ornamental dagger that belonged to her father. The rubies, emeralds, and sapphires inlaid throughout the scabbard twinkled in the firelight, as did the shining silver of the handle, which was shaped like an eagle's body. This all appeared quite normal. However, the dagger itself was sticking an inch out of the scabbard and seemed to be emanating a glistening blue light. Duckie slowly unsheathed the dagger, finding that the entire thing filled the dim room with a glowing blue light.
"What on earth…" she murmured to herself as she tried to figure out what was happening with the family heirloom. It had never glowed before.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang out from behind the farmhouse. Arthur! Shocked and not knowing what to do, Duckie froze as she heard the shrill squeal of a spider, followed by more shouts from her dearest friend.
"He's unarmed," she remembered out loud, as she knew her friend had never wanted to carry a gun for anything other than hunting. "He's in trouble!"
Haldir wasn't here and there was no one else to bail him out of the troubling situation she had sent him into. It was her fault that this was happening, so Duckie found that she could keep Haldir's request to stay inside no longer. She suddenly found her legs springing into action, taking her towards the door as fast as they would carry her.
Without a single thought for her own safety, she raced to pull the board from the locked door. As she slung the door open, her quilt slid down her shoulders and fell to the ground, utterly forgotten in the heat of the moment. With her father's glowing dagger in hand, her bare feet led the way into the cold night air. She flew down the stairs as quickly as her limp would allow her, barely pushing through the aching feeling lingering in her knees from the creek incident. She could see her breath as she sprinted around the house in nothing but her linen chemise and drawers, straight into harm's way.
"ARTHUR!" She shouted as she saw one of the foul beasts grabbing at her scratched up friend. Arthur was on the ground, clawing at the dirt to try and get away while the spider used a couple of its legs to pull him through the grass towards its body in the shadow of the night.
"DUCKIE, GET BACK BEFORE IT COMES FOR YOU!" He screamed at her desperately. "OH GOD, PLEASE HELP ME!" He cried out as it pulled him towards its stinger and jabbed him in the shoulder. He shouted again and then started crawling towards her as the spider let him go. Having succeeded in in doing what it wanted, it now started to come after her.
The lantern Arthur had brought with him to the backyard caught Duckie's eye and without wasting a moment, she quickly grabbed it and flashed it in front of the spider's eyes, trying to scare it away. "BACK! BACK YOU DEMON!" She screeched, waving the flaring flame back and forth in front of its face, causing it to scream at her and then back up a few steps.
Duckie tried to approach Arthur and grab him when the spider backed away, but the beast came back towards her the moment she put down the lantern. Not really knowing what she was doing, she pushed the dagger awkwardly in front of her with a repeated stabbing motion, trying to keep the beast at bay long enough for her to get to her injured friend. "BACK! BACK!"
The large, hairy spider gnashed its large fangs at her in response, trying to bite at her left and right sides in response to her unskilled offensive. While she was distracted by its fangs, it grabbed her up with one of its legs and drew her screaming form up to its face. It shrieked in anger though when one of her dagger jabs somehow managed to stab it in the eye. It dropped her reflexively and as Duckie fell, the dagger slashed it right down the spider's face, leaving a large cut that was spewing some sort of black fluid. Duckie screamed as some of it dripped on her face and then cried out as she hit the ground in an undignified heap.
The spider retreated again, screaming in pain from the cut she had accidentally inflicted as she fell. Duckie watched as it shrieked and backed into the clothesline, immediately becoming tangled in the ropes. The sound of ripping fabric could be heard as Duckie's dresses, nightgowns, and drawers went flying everywhere. The beast squealed and shrieked as it tried to free itself from the snare.
Now was her chance! Grabbing up the lantern along with the dagger in one hand, Duckie quickly ran over to Arthur, who was writhing face down in the grass and moaning in distress. Her eyes looked down saw where the beast had stung him in his upper back. White puss was bubbling out of his shoulder, right over top of his navy vest, along with a bit of blood. She quickly rolled him over on his back and took a good look at his freckled face in the lantern light. His brown eyes were deeply bloodshot and appeared to be out of focus as he shook violently underneath her hands. His face was scratched up and bleeding; his wavy brown hair was completely tousled and full of knots, but he was still breathing and appeared to be attempting to look at her.
"Duckie… go…" He gasped, grasping awkwardly at her face with one clumsy hand, as if he couldn't quite find where it was in his delirium.
"No, I'm not going to leave you!" She cried with a look of determination in her hazel eyes, "Get up now! We're going back to the house!"
"I… I can't…" He grumbled lowly, then started to choke on something she couldn't identify.
"Yes, you can! GET UP!" She commanded, her voice leaving no room for questioning. "WE WILL BOTH DIE HERE IF YOU DON'T! GET UP NOW!"
Somehow, that seemed to get his attention. Arthur somehow managed to get some sort of adrenaline-fueled second wind. He started to awkwardly sit up, teetering dangerously from one side to the other in dizziness. Duckie quickly maneuvered his limp arm over her shoulder and did the best she could to help him rise to his feet. He was shorter than her, which resulted in her having to hunch over underneath his weight, which nearly made her fall to the ground. Arthur seemed to catch onto this problem though and did his best to carry his weight on his own, trying to only use Duckie for balance as he forced one foot in front of the other in his zombie-like state.
Together they stumbled around the side of the house, both of them limping painfully over the uneven turf. Duckie trembled beneath Arthur's weight as she repeatedly looked behind her to see if the spider had freed itself from the clothesline. Arthur simply did his best to keep moving, as he was barely staying upright at this point. Each step he took seemed to require more and more effort and came along with less and less speed.
"Oh no! Oh no!" Duckie breathed, trying not to panic as she noticed that Arthur was starting to dribble white foam from his mouth. He was also starting to lean very heavily against her as they hobbled over to the veranda. "Keep going Arthur, we're almost there!"
He could not keep going though. His footsteps slowed as he reached the stairs and when he went to take his first step up, his knees gave out and he fell face first on the stairs, dragging Duckie gracelessly with him. She cried out as her arms and cheek painfully landed against the stairs, his body weight lying heavily upon her prone figure.
"Get up," her muffled voice demanded from under his body as she tried to shake him off her, "Get up!"
"Oh no…" She moaned in vexation, panicking from her trapped position as she tried to wake him, shaking him as violently as her pinned arms could manage. Arthur did not move or respond though.
Giving up, Duckie shoved her way out from under his dead weight, catching sight of the quilt that was in the doorway as she finagled her way out from under him. She stumbled up the remaining stairs, every part of her body screaming out in pain and effort as she reached down for the quilt. She could still hear the spider shrieking in the distance as she rolled Arthur's unconscious body onto it and then somehow managed to stand up on her unsteady feet.
Using more strength than she even knew she had, Duckie tugged with all of her might and felt his body start to slide up the stairwell, then balked for a moment when she heard the sound of a rope breaking and whirling through the air. The shrill shrieking coming from behind the farmhouse had suddenly ceased and Duckie knew she only had a few seconds to act.
Pulling with all her might, Duckie yanked the blanket through the farmhouse door just in time to see the spider hissing and sputtering as it rounded the corner of the house. It had a section of the clothesline hanging off of it, as well as a couple of her undergarments dragging behind it, still pinned to the clothesline. It scrambled towards her with tremendous speed, ascending the stairs with greedy, drooling fangs as she slid to the door and attempted to slam it shut.
One leg had gotten access though and violently reached out, grasping at whatever was within reach as the beast screamed. Duckie pushed all of her body weight against the door and shuddered with effort as she tried to push the beast out. As she pushed and pushed against the door with the heals of her black boots practically digging into the floorboards below her, she found herself fighting a battle of wills with the creature, one she could not hope to win with strength alone. While she struggled, a gleam of silver caught her eyes as she glanced down…
Her father's dagger.
It was still in her hand.
At once, Duckie took up gleaming dagger, still glowing with a luminous blue light and dripping with the foul black fluid, and slashed it across the spider's intruding leg. It cut quickly and cleanly through the appendage, severing it from the beast as it squealed in pain. The hairy leg fell to the floor and continued to writhe around on the floorboards as Duckie was finally able to push the door shut while shouting with effort. Immediately, she grabbed the board from the floor and pushed it into place, effectively locking the farmhouse as the creature continued to scream in outrage, rattling against the door repeatedly to no avail.
Once its attempts at opening the door had finally stopped, Duckie's back slid down the door to the floor for the second time that night. She was exhausted and quietly panting from the monumental effort she had put forth to save her friend. The dagger, dripping with a foul-smelling black fluid, dropped from her hand and landed on the floor beside her with a loud thunk.
Duckie leaned her head upward and closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate on slowing her breathing. Even with her eyes closed she shivered in disgust, as she could feel the beast's black goo dripping down her cheek and onto her prominent collarbone while she tried to regain her composure.
At last, her hazel eyes flashed open with intensity as she remembered her companion. "Arthur," she blurted, then forced herself to crawl over and inspect him. His eyes were open, but they did not seem to respond when she moved her hand in front of them.
"Arthur," she said again, this time louder than before as she shook his shoulder. Still, he did not respond and felt limp beneath her hands. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…" She cried out repeatedly, her voice getting higher in pitch as she shook him harder and harder, her arms smarting with effort as she tried to rouse him. "Arthur!"
Was he?
He looked it. He had the same glassy look in his bloodshot eyes that the sheriff sported when Ralph Thomas had gunned him down. Her trembling fingers fumbled along his neckline for a pulse, but could not seem to locate one.
"No," she sobbed, tears now rolling down her face uninhibited as she stared at the motionless body before her. "Oh God, no! Please no! Not Arthur!"
While Duckie had seen plenty of dead bodies in her life, she had never actually been around the body of a person she had known and loved before. Just staring at the hollow shell that used to be her friend rattled her deep into her core and her entire body shook with sobs as she pushed herself back towards the door with her legs. Both of her hands cupped her mouth as she stared at him, hoping to see some sort of sign of life come from within him.
There was nothing though. Nothing at all.
Unexpectedly, a terrifying scream ripped out of her lips, for at that very moment, a dark hairy leg pressed under the doorway and grabbed both of her ankles. Before she could figure out what to do, it had pushed them both up against the door. Quickly, Duckie tried to reach for the dagger lying beside her, but a second leg threaded its way under the door beside it and sent it careening across the floor, well out of her reach.
"NO!" She shouted as the second leg started to grasp at her as well. Duckie quickly stood up as best as she could with her ankles bound tightly together by the beast, only to gasp as more legs pushed under, now grabbing at her legs as she squealed in fear.
"HELP ME!" She screamed out desperately, hoping that someone, anyone, might hear. "HELP ME PLEASE! HELP ME!"
Suddenly, one of the legs reached up and started to push upward on the wooden bar that was holding the door shut. "No!" Duckie shouted, leaning her bony butt against the wooden plank with the hopes of deterring the creature. It was determined though, now pushing upward even harder with two legs instead of one.
At once, it seemed to realize that she was the reason it could not get in and suddenly all seven of its legs seemed to take hold of her, a few even coming in from the side of the door that was bulging inward from the pressure of the spider's weight.
"HELP ME!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "HELP ME!"
The beast now had one leg around her neck and with great force, pushed her forcefully against the door. Duckie saw stars as her head slammed against the solid oak door. She wept in pain as the beast repeated the motion, making her vision start to tilt and swim around the room.
"Please help," she murmured once more, as she felt the beast move into place to smash her against the door again. A wave of grogginess flew over Duckie, as she could no longer think straight or make sense of which way was up or down. "...help…"
A loud pounding sound abruptly started to thunder outside, causing the creature to shriek loudly and it managed to smash Duckie against the door one last time before starting to scramble away from her. All of a sudden, the creature set her free. Its screaming and shrieking with displeasure went on and on as the banging sound continued, shaking the door behind Duckie, as well as the entire house.
Too dizzy to be able to stand on her own, Duckie fell face first to the floor, moaning as she heard the spider scrambling and slipping on something outside the door, all while the mysterious banging noise continued to echo throughout the entire house. She could feel the vibrations from it shaking the floor boards as she laid limply next to Arthur, trying to make sense of her surroundings with what little energy she had left.
However, her thoughts suddenly seemed much less important as the spinning room whirled around her over and over again, the golden glow of the room soon fading into a cloudy grey before completely vanishing into darkness.
ooOoo
Oooh, a cliffie! My favorite! All comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for coming back to read more of GOA. There's more to come soon and I'm excited to share it with you!
-P.G.