The Undecided Title Of Sara Miller *Hobbit Fanfiction* (Thorin/OC)

Chapter 27: Captive

In which there are Orcs.

Sara hurried along the mountain path, anxious to know what had caused the company's sudden outcry. She rounded the last corner expecting to find Nori at the cave entrance, but he was not there, no one was, at the cave entrance or otherwise. The cave was completely empty. Where could they have gone? She searched the cavern but other than the faint smell of musty clothes, dwarf boots, and pipe tobacco, there was no indication they had been here at all. She felt panic well inside her as she exited the cave… and screamed at the hideous face staring back at her.

There was an orc on the path! She reacted instinctively as it reached for her, clasping it's wrist and pulling it forward off balance and to the side, causing it to tumble over the edge, screeching as it clawed for purchase. Arms closed around her neck from behind and her hands came up gripping it as she thrust her hips backward, simultaneously pulling her attacker over her, dropping him on the ground in front of her. She stomped hard on it's face and leapt over the fallen orc. She ran down the path praying her eyes didn't deceiver in the faint light from the sky.

She did not stop or look behind as she tore along the mountainside until she came tearing around a corner and into the arms of another orc. This one larger than the other two, and she shoved away from it turning to run again but a hand caught the hood of her coat. She gripped the opening and yanked it apart, her adrenaline lending her strength. As the deer antler buttons popped off, she slipped from her coat and fled. She was a ways up the path when a warg dropped down into the path before her snarling, its hackles rising as it stalked towards her. She could not climb fast enough and down was too perilous. She backed down the path unwilling to turn her back on the creature bearing down on her, even when she heard the tread of heavy feet behind her. Something struck the back of her head and she collapsed blacking out.

Sara came to… and screamed. She was looking out over a sheer drop moving quickly. Sharp fingers pinched her ribs harshly and she fell silent. The ground rushed past her and she felt coarse fur rubbing her cheek. Her hands were bound in front of her and she was draped over the oscillating shoulders of a warg. She looked up to see the orc rider beside her; he was the one she had flipped. He sneered down at her with his one good eye and pinched her hard again. She winced and dropped her head looking sideways down the path to see three other warg and orc pairs in front of them; behind them followed a lone warg. She tried to readjust herself, for the warg's shoulder blades jabbed into her ribs painfully as it ran, but she stilled when she felt the cool brush of metal against the back of her neck. The orc said something in a language she did not understand, but the tone and knife were message enough. She relaxed back down trying to ignore the discomfort in her chest. She had to get away and find out what had happened to Bilbo and the dwarves, but she could see no way out of her current situation … yet.

They rode this way for several hours, One Eye pinching her now and again for no apparent reason. She guessed it was mild revenge for escaping him earlier, or perhaps he didn't like his face being stamped on. It was only as the sun was coming over the horizon that they began to slow, turning off the path and bounding up a steep incline until they reached a stand of close set pine trees. One Eye dismounted pulling her off the warg by her bound wrists and clumsily she staggered to her feet rather than be dragged through the dirt. He pulled her to stand beside a fire ring filled with smoking coals. He released her as the other riders came to join him, circling her. There were four orcs all together. One orc was One Eye, there was also one with a gimp leg, another with a face that reminded her of a pug, and a large one who seemed to be in charge.

The leader looked at her appraisingly and barked an order she did not understand and the other three reached for her. She jumped back trying to avoid their grabbing hands, but was brought up short when she felt a spear point in her back. The large orc stood behind her sneering. He repeated the order and she let her shoulders fall as she submitted to the probing, pinching, and squeezing hands running over her body trying to fight back her revulsion. In their searching they ripped the pockets of her jeans and the back of her t-shirt, exposing her shoulders. When they were satisfied her pockets were empty and she carried nothing other than her old SD card, her necklace, and a braided leather bracelet Kili had given her, Pug Face shoved her to the ground and tugged her boots off her feet to examine the strange footwear. The leader gave another order in the guttural language and she was dragged to a tree and forced to kneel as her hands and feet were tied behind her around the slim trunk of the tree. The orcs moved off arguing over her boots, each trying to wear them but when no one could fit them on their disfigured feet they were tossed aside along with her other belongings on top of her coat.