Avadis - A legolas story (slow moving!)

Chapter 37 - The Talking Dead

The passage was long, narrow and windy. They walked in a line, Avadis following behind Legolas in complete silence, aside from Gimli's shuffling feet behind her. The air was dense, and it felt that the shadows crept towards them from nameless places, trying to engulf them in a giant blanket of darkness only being fought against by the flame of Aragorn's torch as he led them forward. 

Darkness was the one thing Avadis hated the most. Her eyesight was a gift, and without it she felt helpless. She squinted, her eyes darting to each crevice and corner, each side passage and each hole. Searching, hunting. The faces taunted her, they hid in the darkest of spaces, watching them pass further into the darkness of their lair. 

I see you

Avadis jumped and let out a gasp, seeing her breath float infront of her face in the chill air of the caverns. Leave me alone. She forced her legs to continue on, one step infront of the other. 

Come to us

Go away. 

We know what you are. We know what you have done.

One step, another step, onwards she walked, trying to drown away their voices. But it was useless. Soon her mind became consumed by it, the corners of her eyes grew dim and her steps began to blur away into a mindless rhythm. She could hear their whispers, see their faces. Sometimes their hands would reach towards her, but she could not feel their grasp.

Come to us. 

She was dizzy, and she had lost the rhythm of her walk. She struggled onwards, dragging her feet behind her as they became heavier and heavier. Her stomach began to turn, and her lungs began to close in. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. She found rhythm again, forcing her breathing all the while her legs carried her forwards. Slowly her mind returned to her, the faces disappeared and the whispers quietened. Breathe in, breathe out.

She dared to lift her eyes upwards, desperately hoping she would not be met with a dismembered hand. But it was all gone, the faces, the hands, and more importantly her friends. "No. No, no no" she spun around and around, looking for the faintest trail of light, listening for their voices. But there was none. "Aragorn! Legolas! Gimli!" She called out into the darkness, "oh what have I done?" She began to run, not sure of the direction she had come from. She turned left, and then right, her feet pounding against the solid rock. 

"Legolas!" She called out, "Please! Someone!" 

The longer she ran, the more she began to notice the path changing. The walls had become smoother, the roof had been cut away and the ground had slowly turned from dust and rubble to smooth stone slabs. Kneeling down, she ran her finger across the perfectly crafted placement of the stones beneath her feet, but she did not feel them beneath her fingertips. 

"What magic is all of this?" She whispered, looking around carefully and slowing her pace as she continued forwards. Carefully removing a small dagger from her pocket, she tucking it away in her hand and crept onwards.

Alone again?

She gritted her teeth with disgust, and gripped her dagger harder in her hand. "Where have you taken me" she spat out in a harsh whisper, looking around her for whoever the voice belonged to. 

Somewhere they will not find you

"Then I will find them" she responded, continuing her footsteps forward as she cautiously rounded a corner, only to be met with two more passageways both leading off in different directions.