From Wyoming, to Middle-earth

Chap. 22 - Riders of Rohan

~ ARAGORN'S POINT OF VIEW ~

As we ran down the hill, I saw Alex being taken by the orcs.

"Aragorn! Boromir!" she yelled. I tried to sprint after her, and screamed, "Alex!!"
I reached the bottom of the hill, where Boromir was laying. He had arrows in his torso.

"No," I said, and ran up to him. I kneeled down.

Boromir opened his eyes, "They took the little ones. They took Alex."

"Hold still," I muttered.

"Frodo! Where is Frodo?" he asked.

"I let Frodo go."

"Then you did what I could not. I tried to take the ring from him."

"The ring is beyond our reach now."

"Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed you all."

"No, Boromir. You fought bravely. You have kept your honor," I said, and reached to pull the arrows from him.

"Leave it! It is all over. The world of Men will fall. And all will come to darkness, and my city to ruin," Boromir said.

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail."

"Our people? Our people," he said, and tried to grab his sword. I handed it to him. Legolas approached, and watched from a distance.

"Take care of Alex. I know how much you care for her. I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king," Boromir uttered. His eyes closed, and he passed away.

"Be at peace, son of Gondor," I said gently, and kissed his forehead, "They will look for his coming at the White Tower. But he will not return."

I turned to Legolas and Gimli, and we carried his body to the lake. One of the boats were missing, so Frodo and Sam must have left not long ago. We set Boromir down in the canoe, and put his sword onto his chest, and pushed the boat into the water. Gimli watched the boat go down the falls.

Legolas pushed the third boat into the water, "Hurry. Frodo and Sam have reached the Eastern Shore."

I stared at the other side, and watched the two hobbits walk away. "You mean not to follow them," Legolas said softly.

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," I said.

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed," Gimli said sadly.

"Not if we hold true to each other. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc," I said, and started to run up the hill.

"Yes! Haha!" Gimli laughed, and followed. We reached the place where Boromir had died, and I spotted something glttering in the sun. Alex's sword. I grabbed the orc blood covered sword, and kept running.

~ ALEX'S POINT OF VIEW ~

I woke up, and my cheek burned. It all came back to me. After I had tried to sprint away, they caught me. I yelled curses at the top of my lungs, and to get me to shut up, they slashed my face. Then they knocked me out.

Pippin and Merry were on top of the orcs besides me. I was being carried. Where were we? I looked around. We were in a dry grassland, with rocks and boulders spread out on the landscape. The orcs slowed down, and took a water break. The new leader looked up, and sniffed, "Man flesh!"

Another orc said, "They've picked up our trail."

"Let's move!"

Pippin looked behind us, "Aragorn!"

Aragorn. He was coming for us! I watched Pippin bite off his Lothlórien leaf clasp, and spit it on the ground.

The orcs were gaining speed. I wasn't doing much, but I was sweating in the hot sun. The afternoon turned into night, and the orcs stopped. I was thrown to the ground.

"We will go no further until we've had a breather!" one orc said. The leader snorted at the orc, "Get a fire going."

I crawled to Merry and Pippin. My hands were bound, so it was hard. "Merry! Pippin! Are you guys alright?"

Merry turned to Pippin, "I think we made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin."

An orc approached us, "I'm starvin'. We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinkin' days!"

Another orc looked up, and looked at us, "Yeah! Why can't we have some meat? They're fresh!"

The leader grabbed us, and pulled us away from the orcs, "They are not for eating."

"What about their legs? They don't need those," an orc said. I glanced at my legs, and my eyes widened. The orc came towards us, "Ooh, they look tasty!"

The leader kicked him back, "Get back, scum! The prisoners go to Saruman. Alive and unspoiled."

"Why alive? Do they give good sport?"

"They have something. An elvish weapon. The master wants it for war."

They think we have the ring. I look quickly to Pippin, who was going to open his mouth to say something. My look shuts him up.

An orc came closer to us, "Just a mouthful... Just a bit of flank!"

The leader quickly turned around and cut of the orc's head, "Look's like meat is back on the menu, boys!"

All the orcs yowl, and run towards the scavenge. "Go!" I said, and tried to stand up. The hobbits crawled, and Merry found an axe on the ground and cut his binds. An orc grabbed Pippin, and held a knife, "Go on. Call for help."

"Pippin!" I cried, but then the orc fell forward, and I saw a spear in it's back. Men on horses rode, and started to kill the orcs. Merry quickly untied our binds, and we started to run. I ran around the battle, afraid I'd get shot with an arrow. The hobbits ran underneath horses, and dodged orcs and men. Pippin fell underneath a horse. The horse reared, and Pippin rolled away. I thought it was going to crush him. They got to the border of the forest, and looked at me.

"Go!" I yelled, and they nodded. I was blocked by two horses, and I couldn't get around fast enough. I watched them run into the forest. I whirled around just in time to see an orc about to stab me with a sword. An arrow hit him in the head, and he fell over. I looked around, and saw all of the orcs on the ground. The men who had killed them all were now piling the carcasses into a huge pile. They set fire to the bodies, and mounted their horses.

I watched an orc run into the woods, and I started to run after it with my bow pointed right at him. I was about to the the bowstring go, when a hand reached down and pulled my cloak's hood. I let the arrow go and missed. I spun around, and saw a handsome man on a horse. "I was going to kill that orc! My friends are in there!"

The man totally disregarded my statement, and yelled to someone. A soldier came up on a horse, and pulled me up onto the saddle. The man yelled again, and the men on the horses started to ride.

I watched the forest, and thought of Pippin and Merry.