There and Back Again: A Girl's Tale

Chapter 10 Foresight

Chapter 10 Foresight

Elwen once again found herself in the abandoned stone fortress.

She was standing next to Fili's body, his face already white, eyes glassy and staring. She tried to reach down to close them, the vibrant blue iris already fading and so lifeless. Just as she was about to touch him, she felt herself being jerked away as if by a great hand. She closed her eyes, dizzy from the motion.

When she opened them again, she was inside what looked like a tunnel. A corridor carved into the rock? She didn't know, she didn't care. Fili was dead and she needed to find Kili and Thorin. She needed to know they were safe.

A flicker of movement. Elwen whirled and spotted a tall, slim elf woman dressed in dark green battle leathers, fighting her way down the tunnel. She was beautiful, all smooth skin and auburn hair. And she was fast. Her movements were precise and fluid, as if she'd been training for a hundred years. Her opponents died before they hit the ground.

"KILI!" screamed the elf, and Elwen jerked to attention.

"TAURIEL!"

Elwen sprinted toward Kili's answering call, the woman, Tauriel, hot on her heels.

Suddenly, a huge orc jumped out of a side tunnel too quickly for Tauriel to react to. She was so focused on getting to Kili, she hadn't even noticed him. With a mighty kick, he sent her flying into the rocks.

He was a nasty looking thing, this orc. His face was something straight out of a horror film, and his metal armor was all sharp edges, some seeming to be melded right into his body.

What happened next was a blur. Tauriel was on her feet, doing her best to fight off the monster, but he was too strong. Every time she thought she had the upper hand, he threw her off or twisted out of her grip.

Elwen knew it was over when he closed a huge, meaty fist around Tauriel's throat. He didn't have lips, but the way he drew his tongue across his jagged, sharp teeth was obscene. In a last ditch effort, Tauriel managed to land a hard kick to the monsters knee, but it wasn't long until he overpowered her.

With a jerk that looked like it tore the woman's arm out of socket, Tauriel was lifted off her feet and slammed into a wall as if she weighed nothing. She crumbled to the ground with a moan.

The nightmarish creature advanced on Tauriel, holding up the largest mace Elwen had ever seen. Just when she thought this elf woman was done for, someone gave a mighty shout and Elwen saw Kili fly from a parapet onto the orc's back.

The struggle only lasted a moment. Kili is quickly flipped over and slammed bodily into the stone steps.

Elwen started screaming his name, but no one could hear her. She attempted to tackle the orc, but she ran right through him as Kili continued to fight. He dodged the swipe of the orc's mace and managed to slash the creature in the center of its chest. But the orc landed a hard punch to Kili's face that sent him sprawling backwards, dazed.

The orc grabbed Kili to steady him and raised the sharp end of the mace, readying himself to plunge it into the chest of Elwen's closest friend in the world.

Tauriel made one final effort. She launched herself at the orc and grabbed his mace from behind, but she was soon shaken off. She cast Kili one final, desperate look...

Elwen collapsed next to the elven warrior.

The mace sank deep into Kili's chest with a sickening sound that would forever haunt Elwen's darkest dreams. Tauriel cried out, but Elwen didn't make a sound. Her mouth was open, her body shaking, eyes flowing, but the anguish was so fierce and harsh that her screams were silenced.