The wind, which had been blowing from the west, shifted suddenly and now came from the east. With it came a crackling sound together with the acrid odor of filth, blood and smoke. What new devilry is this, Legolas thought.
Legolas saw Orophin headed toward the healing tents where Legolas had visited earlier. He was covered with soot, his clothes were spotted with blood and dirt , but perhaps the most unsettling thing about Orophin's appearance was that his face was a mask of fear. Elven warriors faced terror on a daily basis and Legolas had only rarely seen such fear on the face of one of his kinsmen. Legolas immediately followed Orophin, runing with all his might simply to keep pace with him. Just as Orophin entered the healing tents , Legolas caught up with him. Both elves were sweating and breathing hard from the exertion. Legolas arrived just in time to hear what he had already begun to dread; the woods were ablaze. The orcs in the forest had shot flaming arrows and with the shift in the wind's direction, the blaze was headed directly toward the healing tents. The fire was pushing in front of it everything with the ability to run. Orophin had been sent back to warn the camp and collect reinforcements. The forces would now be divided between those defending the helpless from the various evil creatures pouring out of the wood ahead of the flames and the group attempting to create a firebreak.
There was no time to break camp. Those who could not run were carried or assisted by those who could. Haldir and Anna fled together, between them half carrying , half dragging one of the soldiers who had come north with Orophin from Helm's Deep and been badly wounded during the attack on Dol Guldur. Orophin had given Haldir a sword and a knife before returning to the battle. Black squirrels ran by them chattering in fear. A giant deer leapt out of the wood in front of them. The air became thick with smoke and soon it became very difficult for Anna to breathe or even see what was in front of her. She clung by Haldir's side terrified for her life.
As they neared the river a small band of orcs over took them and Haldir was forced to strain his newly healed muscles to the limit in order to protect the three of them. Anna wondered where all the others were or if anyone else had made it out safely. They reached a running stream, the bank littered deep in leaves. Haldir gave Anna the knife which Orophin had left, covering her and their almost unconscious companion with his cloak then covered this in turn with the leaves that littered the bank.
"Stay here and remain silent for as long as you can, I will return. Move only if you are attacked or if the fire reaches this far. Take care with that knife; it is very sharp. Do you understand?" Anna nodded her head. Haldir seemed torn between leaving them there and returning to help with the fight , but in the end his longing to fight again won out. He reasoned that he would only be gone long enough to determine where the others were and insure they were not followed. "I will return soon," he said and left.
Anna was not sure how long the two of them remained hidden but it seemed like hours. The wind shifted again and it grew dark and cold. She was just debating whether she should have a look around and find out what was happening when she felt the cloak lift off of them. Anna held the knife in front of her just in case it wasn't Haldir. She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder from behind and startled a little, but when she glanced at the hand on her shoulder it was obviously that of an elf so she said " It's about time you came back. I was tempted to come and start looking for you, and when are you going to learn not to sneak up on me?" Anna turned around and came face to face with the largest spider she had ever seen. From its legs hung a person which the spider was wraping in silk. One arm hung out at a strange angle and it was this which Anna had felt touch her shoulder. The spiders mouth parts were dribbling a spittle of venom. Anna screamed.
Even in her fever, Anna had never dreamed of anything so horrible. It looked like a spider, but larger than a grizzly bear and more terrible because of the evil purpose in it's remorseless eyes. Those eyes were lit with a fell light, clustering in its out-thrust head. It had large horns, and behind it's short stalk-like neck was a huge swollen body, a vast bloated bag, swaying and sagging between it's legs. It's great bulk was black, blotched with livid marks, but the belly underneath was pale and luminous and it stank. The legs were bent with great knobbed joints high above the back and hairs stuck out like steel spines. At each leg's end there was a claw. It's hide was knobbed and pitted with corruption and thickened with layers of wrinkles and evil growth. Suddenly she saw, too, that there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches above her, and she trembled. Standing beside the tree frozen in fear she realized that these loathsome creatures were speaking one to another as they crawled towards her.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
This one has forest fires and big spiders so if you fear either read this chapter with the lights on.