Would You Find Me In The Stars (A Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter Three

Leah -(England-Earth)

The Thing that leapt out of the portal was like nothing I had ever seen. A grotesque monstrous creature, like a wolf that had devolved in a dark cave for generations.

I dropped my phone and screamed as it landed on the forest floor, snarling like some rabid dog. An arrow was lodged in its right shoulder and its left leg was bleeding but that did not stop it from moving with speed. The monster jumped straight at us claws first.

I was frozen, eyes wide in terror. It was like every nerve in my body was firing, telling me I needed to do something. But it was a crowd screaming in a hall, all of them shouting over each other, contradicting each other, echoing off the walls. I couldn't think, couldn't move.

Mum wasn't in the same state as I was, she was mobile and moving towards me. With surprising strength, she shoved me away from her. Not a second later the creature launched itself through the spot I was just standing in. It could not stop its momentum and careened straight into a tree. The force of the impact shook the whole tree and I swear I heard the trunk crack. A strangled yelp escaped its throat as it crumpled to the floor.

I landed several feet away, the suddenness of it buckling my legs under me. The fall seemed to knock something loose in my mind and my senses returned to me. I needed to do something. I needed a weapon and fast. Something big enough to actually injure the thing.

The monster backed away from the tree, shaking its head as if dislodging something.

I scanned the ground hurriedly, looking for something to hit it with. My eyes caught onto a rock a few feet in front of me. Large and jagged. Perfect. I was just about to reach for it when Mum's voice cut through the night.

"No Leah. Don't. Move," she said through gritted teeth.

I looked up, fear in my eyes, questioning. Then I could see why. The creature had recovered from its hit and was now growling, looking between Mum and I. It was deciding who it was going to go for. Any sudden movements could trigger it to attack.

I held my breath, trying to anticipate its next move. Why won't it just stop? It was already deeply injured.

In a split second it made its decision. Its rabid stare burned into me and with a blood-curdling snarl, it made to attack. My heart beat spiked, so loud in my ears I almost couldn't hear anything else. I'm going to die!

This time I reacted, my body finally deciding on a plan of action. I hurled myself at the large rock and grasped it in my right hand. It was almost too big to hold and its sharp edges cut into my palm. With a cry and a guttural sound of my own I smashed the rock into the side of its face. Not before its claws raked down my arm, tearing through skin and sinew. The burning shock of it lanced through me and I cried out.

The rock caught it in the eye. A deep gouge cut down from its eye socket to the hole already in its face. A spray of blood escaped its wound, dousing me in the process. The monster fell to the left with the force of the blow. My hand, now shaking, lost its grip on the rock. A wave of nausea rippled through me when I looked down and saw the mess of my forearm.

"Holy shit, holy shit," I panicked.

The skin was split and tattered and blood poured freely from the wound. There was so much of it blooming out of the scratches, down my arm and onto my pyjama bottoms below. Bile burned the back of my throat and it took everything not to throw up.

The beast staggered, trying to find its feet again. But before it could recover, Mum was there, wielding a huge tree branch as if it was a mighty battle axe. Her eyes were set and determined, her mouth open in an angry roar. Mum brought the branch down as hard as she could, bludgeoning the thing around the head. It was sent sprawling several feet away.