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I crouched next to Bilbo behind the boulder. My eyes scanned the orc infested terrain, watching them frantically search for us below. I shivered as my eyes shifted past Azog. Cold memories ran through me and slight anger bubbled. I shook myself back to reality and continued to look for any lingering orcs. I carried my sight to the left of me to find a much larger creature, but it was no orc. It almost looked bearlike. I tapped Bilbo's shoulder and pointed. He gasped and ducked down further. His eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. Once we finished scouting the area, I looked to Bilbo and nodded. He turned and started his way down the elevated path to the dwarves and Gandalf. I followed close behind.
"How close is the pack?" asked Thorin.
"Too close, couple of leagues, no more," I answered.
"But that's not the worst of it," Bilbo interjected.
"Did they pick up our scent?"
"Not yet, but they will shortly," Bilbo corrected.
"Did they see you? They saw you, didn't they?"
"No, that's not it either."
Gandalf began to ramble. "Ah, very good burglar material I see. Like I said, as quiet as-"
"Would you all shut it?! We are trying to tell you!" I interrupted. Blank, surprised stares surrounded me. A slight chuckle came from Kili's mouth. "There is another creature out there."
"What form did it take? A bear?" Gandalf wondered. His eyes were locked on Bilbo and I. We exchanged confused glances.
"Why, ye-yes. But it was much bigger. How did you know?" Bilbo questioned.
Bofur looked up Gandalf with furrowed brows. "You know of this beast? I say we fall back."
"We will be run down by a pack of orcs," Thorin added.
"There is a house where we may be able to take refuge in. It's not far from here." Gandalf gestured ahead, pointing to a meadow followed by a heavily forested area.
"Whose house? Are they a friend or foe?" Thorin demanded.
"Neither. He will help us... or he will kill us," Gandalf answered.
"I assume we have no other choice?"
"No, Sir, you don't. Now, this way. Quickly!" I threw my bag over my shoulder and adjusted my sword on my belt. Kili swung his bow over his head and tightened the bowstring across his chest. He turned to me once he was finished.
"Are you ready?" He asked. I tied one last knot into the binding on my leg. The bleeding had stopped but an infection had already begun to spread throughout the deep wound. I gritted my teeth and groaned with pain.
"Ready as ever," I sighed.
"I won't let go, I promise." Kili reached his hand down to help me up. He laughed, "By the way, you seem to surprise the company more and more every day."
"Is that so?" I chuckled slightly through the stabbing pain. I slowly stood and slung my arm around his neck, letting a majority of my weight fall on his shoulders.
"Yes, my dear. You never fail to turn heads. All eyes tend to be on you." He wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me close. A sly smile curled across his face as he shot a quick wink at me. "Nothing but charm and grace."
The dwarves filed behind and took after Gandalf when he began his sprint across the meadow. I hung on tightly to Kili and followed his steps as quickly as I could. I felt guilty for weighing him down, so I continued to push through the pain. I refrained from pounding my foot into the ground, but I momentarily put my weight on it for Kili's benefit. When we were about halfway across, my leg buckled. I couldn't carry any more weight on it. I stumbled forward so that my face fell into the itchy grass. My sight blurred and my ears rang due to the effects of the major blood loss I had experienced.
"Adina!" Kili exclaimed. He keeled next to me. His fingers grasped my shoulders and tried to help me lift myself. I tried to dig my palms into the ground to lift my chest, but I had no energy to do so. Then I felt another hand that was neither mine nor Kili's. Suddenly, I was lifted from the ground with ease. I found a blurry Fili next to me, helping Kili carry my dead weight the rest of the way. I looked back to find the bearlike monster chasing after us. My heart skipped a beat with every step it took as it gained on us. Once my sight and heartbeat returned to a somewhat normal manner, I lowered my feet to help the two brothers. Soon enough our faces were shaded by trees. We were almost there.
Finally, we arrived at the cozy looking house that stood before the thick woods. We raced through two sets of doors until we arrived at the entrance. Several dwarves pounded and banged on the wooden doors until Thorin, the only sensible one, unlatched the doors and swung them open. We almost trampled one another trying to get inside.
Once everyone was inside, the dwarves grabbed both doors to slam them shut. Unfortunately, half the monster's face was closed into the doors. I leaned my body weight up against the doors and pushed as much as could, trying to help in any way possible. The bear continued to shove itself through the doors, but together, the dwarves were too strong for the bear to persist.
The closed doors were quickly latched. Everyone exhaled. Each dwarf sunk to the ground with relief. Kili rushed to my side to be sure I was okay. I clutched his hand tightly to settled his worrying. I brought his face to mine and pressed my forehead to his. I took a deep breath, he did the same.
"I'm fine, Kili. Calm down and breathe."
Once he was calm again I looked up to Fili.
"Thank you," I said in an exhausted whisper. He nodded a 'you're welcome' as Kili went to hug him.
"What was that?" A dwarf asked.
Gandalf straightened himself up and cleared his throat. "That, my friend, would be our host."
