Taken From My Hands

Taken From My Hands

By Silreth


Ch.1: Dark Road

I wasn’t listening to what my aunt was saying, something about her lunch with her neighbor the day before. I really didn’t care. Instead, I stared out the kitchen window at the new Autumn foliage. I would have enjoyed that, once upon a time, I mused. I would have smiled and let the warmth of it wash over me. Now I only saw it as dying leaves, no beauty, only reality. Beauty and fantasy had no place in my life. I cared only of fact, not emotion, which was why I didn’t listen to my aunt. She realized that she was only actually talking to my grandmother and turned to get my attention.

“Audrey,” she snapped irritated. “Are you not listening to me? I honestly cannot understand why your father doesn’t bring your sister himself.”

I shrugged, “He is busy.”

“It is not polite to ignore people,” she instructed me. “You are not even sorry are you? Your father should have sent you to a prep school rather than college, perhaps then you would have learned something. I heard that you are failing in college too. Aren’t you the least bit grateful that my brother was kind enough to pay for your education?”

I looked at her, stunned at the vehemence she had spoken to me with. I had known that she didn’t like me but she had just insulted me and treated my as though I were still in high school. She knew what had happened in my past; she knew, or at least I thought she knew, how much I hurt inside. She sounded frustrated and I realized that she didn’t understand. Hate flooded me and I leapt to my feet.

She couldn’t simply leave it at that, but then she was my aunt. “You waste all your time drinking alcohol. I know how college students party and get drunk and neglect their studies. I stopped believing years ago that it was because your father died and you are depressed. You have family that you have neglected. It’s far past time to move on.”

She glared at me haughtily. The anger in me died. I knew that she was right. I was by no means an alcoholic but I had neglected my family. The only time I saw my mother was when I came to take my sister to our grandmother’s house, like now. Yet, she should have known better than to say things about my father. The one she referred to was dead. Her brother was my step-father. She called him “your father” but I didn’t consider him my father in any way. I left and stepped out on to the front porch before I could say more to encourage conflict.

I heard my grandmother rebuking her as I walked out, “Bethany, you shouldn’t speak to her like that. She lost her birth father.”

My grandmother got up and followed me. I could hear her heavy steps as I stood outside. There was plenty of her to love but I did love her. She was the best thing to come out of the marriage between my mother and step-father. I disappointed every one but her and when I failed, I only felt bad about upsetting her. She was more my mother than even my mother was.

“I understand,” she sighed as she joined me. “Don’t listen to what my daughter says. You are plenty polite and have a good heart. But as she mentioned it, what is going on in school? Are you failing again?”

I hung my head in shame, “Yes, gram, I’m failing again. The only reason my ‘father’ keeps me in that school is because he doesn’t want me around. I’m a failure to every one. There is so much to regret.”

“Audrey,” she said to me. “Do you know what your name means?”

“No,” I said, startled at the change in subject.

She smiled, “It means ‘strength’. It has taken strength for you to deal with your father being gone and your mother’s marriage. It seems like your strength is failing now but I know you will find it. Your father, I’m quite sure, is looking down from heaven, cheering you on, my girl. Find it and you will succeed, I have every faith in you.”

I stared at her for a moment. Ever since my father died and my mother married her son, she had been surprising me by saying just what I needed when I needed it. I was still alive because of her. I didn’t want to disappoint her in any way. I remembered what my aunt had said about partying being the reason I lacked in my studies. I hastily moved to amend that.

“Gram,” I told her. “I don’t drink that heavily. I only drink on weekends, never during the school week. It isn’t the reason my grades are falling.”

She wasn’t at all surprised, “I knew that. I have faith in you.”

“Thank you,’ I whispered, truly grateful. “Thanks for all you have done. I’m going to leave now but know that you have nothing to do with it. I love you.”

She hugged me and I closed my eyes, relishing in it. It was rare that I felt love but it was always here that it resided. We went back into the house together and she woke my sleeping sister, Katelyn. We called her Kay and Gram loved her just as much as she loved me. Kay had come with me today and spent sometime with Gram but she had been out late the night before with her friends.

“Time to go already?” she asked Gram sounding so innocent.

Gram grinned down at her, “Your aunt is boring your sister.”

I almost laughed but I never really smiled, even around my grandmother. I watched as Kay suppressed a laugh and yawned. She didn’t smile much either I had been told. I felt bad for her sometimes. I was off to college a lot during the year and I never got to see her. We had been very close before and right after our dad had died but when I became depressed, I stopped really paying attention to her. She was my only other family member, besides Gram, that I really loved. Yet, she didn’t know that.

She hugged Gram goodbye, they exchanged a few words and she hopped into my car to wait for me. I turned one last time to Gram before I left, and gave her a hug. She held me close then pulled away.

“Try to spend as much time with your sister as you can while you’re here,” I looked away shame as she continued. “She needs you still. Don’t feel ashamed, you were only a kid. But remember, it is never too late to love family.”

She kissed me on the cheek and I went to my car. We waved to her as we pulled out of the drive way. My sister stopped waving and stared morosely out the window once we were out of sight of the house. I felt a sting inside my chest but I didn’t say any thing. Truth was, I didn’t know how to. Gram had said not to feel ashamed but I had failed her. She was soon asleep any way and I didn’t have to worry. I was all to myself.

I rolled down my window as we passed through Route One, turning on the heat first to keep my sister warm. The fall foliage was magnificent here. I actually found myself enjoying it as the car passed through. The wind blew in my hair and for once, despite all that my aunt had said to upset me, I smiled.

I startled out of my reverie when my car started acting funny. The engine slowed down like it was about ready to die and the car started shaking violently. The sun had sunk below the horizon by now and the world darkened to blue twilight. My headlights went out and I felt a thrill of fear shoot through me. My car slowed, almost ominously coming to a halt. Suddenly my wheels hit what sounded like a dirt road. The car stopped dead in the middle of the road. The lights on my dash board went out, leaving me in growing darkness.

My heart pounded. Outside the windshield, tall pine trees loomed threateningly and I couldn’t see into the darkness beyond their trunks. I had never been to a part of Route one that had not been paved before. The abrupt change between tar and dirt had been eerie. I sat stiff in my seat trying to swallow my fear. Night fell fast , I had no cell phone and a child slept in the back of my car. I reached over and grabbed a flashlight out of my dashboard.

I stepped outside and turned it one. I looked back and the paved road was suddenly gone. My jaw dropped and I stood staring at the pine trees behind me. The road was narrower than before, not wide enough to let two cars pass. It defied logic but this couldn’t be Route one. I must have been dreaming. But I couldn’t be dreaming, I had just been driving a real car. The day had been real too. Nauseous fear grew in my stomach. I didn’t bother to swallow it. I couldn’t believe this. What was going on? Had I got in a car accident that I didn’t know about? But how could that have been?

My world started spinning. Could I really feel this bad if I was dead? I didn’t think so but I honestly had never died before. Suddenly a detachment settled over me. I thought logically and without emotion. It scared me somewhere inside. How can you think logically when what you are experiencing something considered fantastical.

Kate stepped out of the car suddenly, rubbing her tired eyes. I screamed, having completely forgotten that she was there. Her eyes bugged out of her head. “What?” she asked panicked. “Where are we?”

Apparently there was still part of the old me left inside. I tried to calm her down, “I don’t know but it’ll be alright,” I said, turning my flashlight on.

Darkness had completely fallen now and I flashed my light around. I gasped at the trees above me. They were draped with grayish threads that looked something like the Spanish moss hanging off trees in Florida. The threads flowed in an invisible breeze. I shined my flashlight around a little more and suddenly a huge bird flew from the trees. It let out a sound I had never heard on Earth and I screamed, my heart jumping in my throat.

Katelyn looked around in utter astonishment, too. We had never seen a place like this in New England. It seemed untouched by modern time, something archaic. Something prompted Katelyn to scream again and I whipped around. She paled and looked ready to flee. Whatever it was, it was moving towards us. I shifted my light to rest on it. It was three feet tall, had eight legs and looked like a giant spider.

I couldn’t handle any more. I dropped my flashlight. My body didn’t seem to be working. I couldn’t make my legs move and the world was topsy-turvy. I heard scuttling feet, Kate screamed and ran as fast as she could the other way. I dropped to my knees, threw up and blackness consumed me.





Sunset hadn’t yet fallen when the Ranger reached the sentry flet of Mirkwood’s outpost. It was growing chillier by the moment and the human had to admit he felt weary. He looked up at the darkening trees with heavy eyes and his feet felt weary beneath him but he was glad to be back. Mirkwood meant home to him as much as it did to any of the elves that dealt in its caves. His last three months had been spent patrolling the Eastern March of the Shire with the Dúnedain and the sons of Elrond. Things in the north were growing edgier as time passed. He had been spending more time there than patrolling the borders of Mirkwood with its guard.

It was becoming difficult to be both a Ranger and a Guard of Mirkwood. He had friends, whom he considered close as brothers, in both areas but it was rare for him now to return to his home in Esgaroth. The days were beginning to grow colder and the leaves were changing. He needed to ready his home for the winter. His thatched roof needed to be patched. He needed a heavier door to survive the cold. Fall was at its peak, soon it would be too cold for him to finish his work.

He almost smiled at those thoughts. It had been at least six months since he had thought of anything but duty and the present time. As a Ranger, your life was in your hands. You must be alert in every circumstance, no matter how relaxed it seemed to be. Many times when he returned from the North and finally found a chance to a warm room and a soft bed, the effects of that awareness would remain for a few days. His recovery began to happen more quickly as he got used to the lifestyle but he still needed time to adapt once again to civilized living.

He did smile when he reached the sentry post. He knew the elves could see him even before he had entered with 100 meters of the tree. This was closer to home. Here he could finally begin to relax. It wasn’t his time to serve, so he needn’t worry. He would rest here tonight and probably return to the caves with the elves within the next few days. Then he would find warmth once again.

His good friend, Calaelen, leapt down from the tree and embraced. When he backed away again, Calaelen greeted him amiably, “Mae govannen, Dag. You have been missed, mellonen!”

“I am glad to be back here as well. I am weary and famished from my journey,” Dag replied.

“And you are in dire need of a bath,” Calaelen’s eyes sparkled even as his nose wrinkled with distaste. “ Legolas and our friends are waiting on the flet.”

Dag shook his head. Calaelen was always the first to greet him when he came home and it was always with great affection. The elf had known many humans in his few millennia and Dag sometimes wondered where the elf managed to find the friendship for him. Yet there it was, bright and unblemished. Whatever sorrows Dag had brought with him fled and were left at the foot of the rope ladder as they began to climb. A serious Legolas met him at the top. He gave Dag a short greeting before he asked for a report from him.

“The Dúnedain have been scouting the borders of the Shire in greater numbers. We are called to defend the innocence within its boundaries. Meanwhile, the orcs have been active in the surrounding countryside and there have been skirmishes between our peoples. Rivendell is recruiting and training guards as well as educating the Dúnedain sent there. An evil is growing; we all sense it,” Dag informed him.

Legolas’ fair brow drew together as he assessed the man’s appearance. Then his face relaxed. “It is good to have you again in Mirkwood, my friend. I assume, aside from this new danger, that our friends are faring well in Imladris,” he said affectionately in Sindarin. “Forgive me for pressing, you are weary and should rest now.”

Dag relaxed some more and set his baggage down. Rolling his aching shoulders, he smiled at Legolas. “You know the twins. They have been frequently with the Dúnedain. Elrond has more wrinkles on his face than an elf should but he is pleased with them, and his daughter, though she is as in love with Aragorn as ever. She holds a strong hope that one day Aragorn will see pass whatever fear still keeps him. Aragorn is still with us, always training new Rangers such as I was once.”

There was something that remained unspoken. Aragorn was chieftain of the Dúnedain and the heir of Isildur. All the elves present knew that but they dared not speak it aloud. Aragorn was hunted by the darkness and the wood was full of it. Arwen waited for him to reclaim his crown, but to himself he had renounced it long ago. With the arising evil, that destiny slipped even further away from his future. Whatever cheerfulness had found its way into the flet vanished in a moment at these unspoken complications.

Norion shook his head ruefully. “He is a fool,” he said softly.

A spark of anger showed in Legolas’ eyes, “Like any of us, he does the best he feels he can,” he smiled slightly again, turning to Dag, “But let us put these aside for tonight. I am sorry, my friend, we will feed you and let you rest now. You are not an elf and need to sleep far longer than we must. Settle yourself; I will return swiftly.”

Legolas leapt into the tree, climbing to where they had their provisions stored. Dag gratefully sat down on the flet and rested his back against the tree trunk. The Ranger sighed in pleasure and closed his eyes, drawing his cloak close about him. The chill air bit at his face and froze his nose. He relished in it; it was the air of home. It smelt like leaves, Earth and few nastier things. It was as familiar a scent as the one that now pervaded from him. He chuckled hardly, opening his eyes again. He did indeed need and desire a bath.

His best Elven friend sat before him with his legs crossed. Calaelen’s eyes glittered in amusement as if he knew what Dag was thinking. They had known each other for 15 years at least and the friendships that elves formed were far deeper than those of men. Dag had been eight years old when he had met Legolas and Calaelen at Mirkwood’s edge. He had played there often. That day had been the day that his father died. He was sitting at the edge of the woods, staring blankly into its depths. Being so young, he hadn’t quite understood what it meant when his mother had said his father was gone. He guessed that the elves had taken an interest in the lonely boy. Legolas and Calaelen told him they had been off duty then and hunting.

Legolas returned with a pack of food and a pile of blankets. Dag just gazed up at him, not bothering to rise. The Elven prince set his pile down, grinning and handed Dag the miruvor and lembas. The human downed the elvish liquor and stuffed a lembas into his mouth. Calaelen beamed at, full of mirth. Legolas looked like he wanted to slap himself, though his face was expressionless.

“Humans!” Norion laughed affably.

All of a sudden, a scream echoed through the woods. Dag leapt to his feet, immediately alert. Calaelen and Legolas wretched out their long knives and dove off the platform. Dag slung his bow on his shoulder and descended the ladder to meet the rest of Legolas’ soldiers. Calaelen led through the trees on his arm as if he were a blind man. Dag knew the woods well but the elves wouldn’t light the torches until they had reached the source of the noise.

The source turned out to be on the Old Forest road. A horde of spiders clustered around a child and something lying on the ground. The child had in its hand a strange object that emitted a beam of light. None the less, the elves lit their torches, drawing the spiders’ attention to them. Careful to miss the child and whatever the other lump in the middle of the road was, they let loose their arrows. The spiders shrieked and ran into each other as they tried to flee. Many spiders made it back into the wood but others began to attack the elves. When the arrows were spent, swords and long-knives were drawn.

Dag and Calaelen hacked their way through the black sea to where the child stood. The spiders attempted to draw close to her but had to hide their eyes from the white light she was holding. She spun around, pointing the stream at any spider that drew near. The faint illumination of her face at least said it was pale and she was terribly frightened. The human swung his sword in large strokes and kicked at any spider that drew near to him as he made his way to her. He and Calaelen swept their way around her until all the spiders were dead.

Dag surveyed the child. She couldn’t have been more than 12 or so, having still remnants of infancy in her face and body. She had barely started developing into a woman. Her eyes were wide with panic. Despite the fact that he and the elf had saved her life, she backed away from them, saying something in a strange language. The child then looked past them. Her face paled even further if it was possible and her eyes teared up. Without heed of her fear for them, she rushed through them and fell to her knees beside the white bundle. Legolas had cut away the spiders thread to reveal a young woman, still and pale.

“Audrey!” the child cried mournfully.

Legolas soothed her gently, “Avo’ osto, tithen pen. She is alive.” (Don’t worry, little one.)

The child sobered abruptly, staring heavily at Legolas. Her tears cleared; she looked surprised. Dag watched as she turned her gaze around the spiders, the wood and the elves. She looked back at Legolas and pushed her hair behind her ear shyly.

“Pedich edhellen?” she questioned hoarsely. (Do you speak elvish?)

Legolas’ brow rose at the fact that one so young would speak Sindarin, “Ia. A le?” (Yes. And you?)

The girl’s jaw dropped. She sat still and speechless for a moment, simply gawking at him. Dag would have laughed and so would Legolas if the air had not been solemn. The child looked as if she had discovered something beyond what she was capable of imagining. Legolas tried to draw information from her in elvish, speaking gently and encouragingly.

“Im Legolas,” he said with a smile. “Man I eneth lin?” (I am Legolas. What is your name?)

“L…legolas,” the girl stuttered. “Ernil o Eryn Galen.” (Prince of the Greenwood?)

Legolas frowned in consideration of this young girl. Dag’s eyes narrowed. She had called Mirkwood Eryn Galen, or the Greenwood, as easy as if she were from a time that it had been called that. It had been more than a thousand years since any one in the wood had heard that title for their home. It was called of late Taur-na-Ndaedelos, the wood of great fear. The child was turning out to be as much of a mystery for them as they seemed to be to her.

Legolas decided to go with it, apparently unsure of how much Sindarin the child actually understood. “Ia, Im I Ernil o Eryn Galen. Man I eneth lin?” he repeated. (Yes, I am Prince of the Greenwood.)

The child managed to find a steady voice, “Im Kay.”

Legolas smiled, albeit a bit uneasily, “Mae govannen, Kay. Hin Naneth lin? Man I eneth hin?” (Is she your mother? What is her name?)

“Law,” the child answered frighteningly calmly. Dag suspected that she was numb with shock. “Hin muinthel lin, Audrey.” (No. She is my sister.)

The child went on, almost to herself but speaking plainly in Sindarin, “Taur I eneth Eryn Galen, annan io. U-si,” she turned to Legolas. “Man I eneth o I taur, si?” (The wood is named the Greenwood, long ago. Not now.)

“Taur-na-Ndaedelos,” he replied with amazement. “Mas ledhiach na lin?” (What happened to you?)

Kay shook her head, “U-chenion le, hir nin. Pedin English.” (I don’t understand you. I speak English.)

“E…english?” Legolas stumbled over the word.

This hiss of an un-avenged spider sounded from near by. The girl involuntarily whimpered in horror. The elves drew their bows but the spiders came no closer. They slunk like cowards back to their gossamer nets as soon as the torchlight touched them. Legolas appraised the woods around them. Dag knew it was no longer safe to stay there. The girl would have to be questioned later. Somehow they must move both humans to the outposts until day brake.

Legolas removed his cloak and set it on the ground. He beckoned for two elves to come and they lifted the unconscious young woman onto the cloak. Her dark hair gleamed red as it sprawled around her when they laid her down. She moaned and all eyes flew to her pale face, hoping for some sign of unfailing health. Perhaps the woman had been surprised just as the little girl seemed to have been. She simply couldn’t handle it and passed out. Dag found himself praying that the woman hadn’t been bit.

As they lifted the cloak, the woman stirred but didn’t open her eyes. Kay leaned over her, paling a little further. The little human started to tremble and her lips loosed. She turned glistening eyes to Legolas, “ Muinthel nin harn. F…firo?” (My sister is wounded. Die?)

“Aviston,” Legolas responded gravely. (I don’t know.)

The elves began to carry the woman to the flet. The girl stood back for a moment, her eyes following her sister’s inert form. Then she buried her head in her hands and began to sob forcefully. Calaelen bent her head up to his, pity in his eyes. He studied her for a moment, while Dag watched. The elf’s lips parted, though the rest of his face was blank. He looked briefly at Dag, knowledge hidden behind his eyes. Then he turned back to the girl, smiled softly and wrapped his cloak around her. Dag followed as Calaelen lead towards the sentry’s post.




Kay watched the elves take her sister in the bower, stunned for a moment. She still couldn’t believe where she was but her amazement had been set aside for a moment. Her eyes simply followed the elves as they took away the only person she had left in the world. Her mother was back where they had come from, her friends were there as well and her father had been dead for 8 years now. The only person she loved was unconscious. Suddenly, she was over taken with grief and buried her face in her hands. She wept for the last 8 years; for the dream that had unbelievably come true; for the one person whom she had always loved in her family, that was not yet dead.

Kay had wept when her father had died. She had wept when her mother had married again. She had wept long ago when all the world seemed scary and lonely, after the sole living person that she trusted had left her. She hadn’t wept since then. For at least 6 years, she had buried herself in her dream world. She had kept busy and when she wasn’t busy, she read. Now suddenly, the deepest of the secret dreams she had had come true. She was in Middle Earth.

The tears stopped flowing for a moment when the elf lifted her face to his. He read her, deep into her eyes. She knew from reading that she couldn’t hide anything from an elf, especially still being a child. She let herself look back into his, searching him boldly as well and letting him see the deepest parts of her. There was wisdom and understanding in his eyes. His face was blank but he turned his head to look at the human briefly. There was something in the gaze between them that Kay couldn’t see but the human seemed a little baffled as well. Then the elf turned back to her, without saying a word, and wrapped his cloak about her shoulders with a smile. He guided her after the elves carrying Audrey.

Kay let the tears fall freely. It was Audrey that she had trusted and been abandoned by. A long time ago, Audrey had been a good sister to her. After their father had died, she had been there constantly, crying but comforting her when their mother didn’t seem to care. Their mother had been so wrapped in her own grief that she hadn’t been able to comfort them, Kay had realized later. At fourteen, Audrey had been put in a part of responsibility that she had handled well at the time. Despite the fact that Audrey had abandoned her, Kay loved her with a deepness that seemed to transcend sisterhood. Audrey had been more like a mother to her than her own mother.

She delved into her thoughts as she followed the elves. She did bear a little resentment towards her still for leaving her. The wish that Audrey could have remained so close to her over those eight years made her sick with longing. Yet the thought that her sister would die sent the hot tears rolling faster and harder down her cheeks. She still had a chance with her, she still relied on her sister in some ways. Or at least she wanted to. If they were indeed in Middle Earth, Audrey was the only one that Kay knew. She realized that she trusted her a little too, in spite of the past.

Kay’s heart gave a jump when Audrey moaned again. The elves stopped ahead of them and Legolas bent over the litter. Kay dropped the elf’s cloak and flew to her sister’s side. The torchlight turned her pale face golden and shadows flickered across Audrey’s now open eyes. She looked at Kay a moment. She could tell that her sister’s mind was still a little fuzzy.

“Kay…” she murmured. Her eyes flew wide when she caught sight of Legolas above her. Kay realized then that Legolas glowed. Her eyes hadn’t picked up well in the torch light and her mind already knew that elves were luminescent because of their faer. Audrey couldn’t know this. Her breathing became shallow.

“Am I dead?” she stuttered lowly.

Kay jumped in to explain before Audrey could panic, “No, we’re still alive. These are elves, not angels. We’re in Middle Earth?”

“What?” Audrey shrieked, sitting up suddenly. The force made her lose her balance and she toppled out of the litter with a cry. She scrambled up, her eyes even wider with panic. “W…we’re in Middle Earth? Elves?” she echoed.

“We are safe,” Kay soothed.

“S…safe! We were just attacked by giant spiders!” Audrey screamed.

Kay felt a coldness pervade her spine. They had been. Middle Earth had giant spiders, particularly Mirkwood, that was being overrun with darkness day by day. She had no idea how long it was before the War of the Ring. She didn’t even know how this was possible. She tried to catch her breath as everything whirled in on her. She suddenly knew how Audrey felt. She looked at Legolas and at Calaelen. Was she going insane? They couldn’t possibly be real. Tolkien had invented them. Tolkien had written a fiction epic.




I sprang up and pain shot through my body, every limb ached and a spot on my arm stung. I reached over to touch it. I hissed in pain and drew back my hand to see it covered in blood. The human watched me intently, then his eyes narrowed. I suddenly realized how weak I felt. I saw one of the elves moving towards a stricken looking Kay. I stepped forward and my eyes blurred. I blinked, trying to clear them. Something hot flowed through my veins, making me feel feverish. My eyes cleared again as I shook my head. There was too much pain for me to feel fear. Illogical thoughts about them murdering her and I went through my head. Then my eyes widened.

The elves had been glowing like radioactive elements before but now the wood darkened rapidly and a white fire burned around all of them. Even the human began to glow subtly. His eyes pierced me like lights in the consuming darkness around me. A spider shrieked somewhere in the woods and I couldn’t see in. I let out a low scream and turned my eyes in every direction in the darkness. I couldn’t see even the boughs of the trees lit by torches.

The elves’ ears perked at the sound. One of them, a radiantly handsome blond, narrowed his eyes and peered out into the woods. He turned to Kaye hastily and murmured, “ Aphado nin.” Kay shook her head, seeming to understand. (Follow me.)

I stood, rooted. The man came forward and grasped my arm, leading my as someone would a blind person. His elven friend took my other arm. Both seemed to understand what was afflicting me and guided me gently after the blond elf. I stumbled, blinking and trying to clear the darkness away. My limbs grew heavier as I walked until my guides were half-supporting me. A wave of dizziness came over me as we reached a certain tree and a rope ladder was thrown down. The blond looked around then ushered Kay. My companions drew me up next, though the human seemed to have serious doubts about whether I was able to climb. Drew away from him, giving him an almost drunk look of disgust. He looked terrible in stained cloths filled with holes and a long ratty beard.

I climbed maybe four rungs before another wave of dizziness overcame and my grip slipped. The human rushed forward and caught me as I fell. I landed in his arms, and was assaulted by the smell of old dirt and human excretion. I turned my head away and heard a faint chuckle. My vision started to go black, my body went limp, feeling weighted by something. I fainted into a blaze of heated pain.