Red (The Hobbit Fan Fiction)

16. Caught

16. Caught

            We were all anticipating an attack, some sort of ambush. We did get an ambush, just not one that we were thinking of. One minute we were on solid cave ground, and the next thing we all knew, the ground dropped out from under our feet. The fifteen of us fell.

            Our fall led us to be tumbling and sliding down a series of tunnels. While some of the others were screaming, I wasn’t. I probably would have if I wasn’t so frozen with fear. I wheezed, trying to keep myself from rolling around in the tunnels and colliding with the others. How come we didn’t see this coming? We should have expected to walk right into a trap!

            Though, thinking about having us lose the ground from under our feet was the last thing we would ever think of in terms of a trap.

            The company finally stopped its nauseating sliding trip through the tunnels, only to be dropped into some sort of cage, only it wasn’t a cage—it had no top. It was as if we were laundry that had just come down from a dizzying maze of laundry shoots. We all piled on top of one another, squishing those towards the bottom. I immediately gagged, nearly vomiting at the new smells that invaded my nostrils.

            We didn’t have time to take a good look at our surroundings nor untangle ourselves, because before we knew it, we had company. I managed to get a good look at the grotesque creatures. They were short, stubby, with lanky arms and legs. They were hardly Orcs due to their height and skin color. They’re Goblins.

            The Goblin herd came to us, diving into the pile, pulling us apart from each other and forcing us to follow them. I hit away any grimy-looking Goblin hand that dared to touch me. If I didn’t want Orcs to touch me, I sure as hell didn’t want any Goblins to.

            The Dwarves, Bilbo, and I all struggled as we were nudged onward. I was towards the back of the pack, hitting any Goblin that was within my reach. I couldn’t see where the Goblins were taking us; there was too much commotion up ahead to look past. I could see Fili and Kili try to force their way back to reach me, to lend me a hand. There was too big of a Goblin blockade that separated us.

            Suddenly, I was ripped down to the ground. I fell stomach first, lying low. I looked over my shoulder only to see Bilbo, who put a finger to his lips. This plan isn’t going to work. Surely they’ll notice we’re missing, and then they’ll come back for us!

Yet, Bilbo’s escape plan from the crowd worked. The commotion proceeded onwards without so much as backtracking to search for us Hobbits. I held my breath; there was still room for error with this plan.

But the plan went on, and the Dwarves were hauled away over rickety wood bridges, down a path to who-knew-where. I let out the breath I had been holding. With all the racket fading ahead of us, the area was really quiet. Carefully, I got to my feet. Bilbo was brushing himself off.

“Clever,” I commended him, “but very risky.”

“It worked, and that’s all that matters.”

“We better go after them and see if we can help them.”

“Ladies first, then.”

I snorted. “Always the gentleman, aren’t you?”

Very cautious, I pulled out my curved knife, leading our party of two. Our feet were silent against the shiny cave floor. I felt like our breathing was magnified, echoing. My heart pounded fiercely.

“Have any plan as to how we’ll help them?” I asked quietly.

“No. I was hoping you would think of one.”