"Fili, where are you?", you ask and open a door. The clock is ticking slowly towards ten, and you should have been out the door on your way to the party by now. It's not like Fili to just vanish like this, he's always on time, never kept you waiting. "Fili, we're gonna be late!", you shout hoping he'll hear you, but you begin to understand that he won't, because he's simply not at home. He's gone...

The door was unlocked when you came to his house, and after ringing the doorbell without anyone opening it, you entered his house. An old record player was spinning in the livingroom, and a bottle of beer was on the table. "Fili?", you asked out loud. "Fili, are you ready to go?". You got no reply, so you started searching for him room by room. Maybe he was hiding, it was Halloween after all, and he loved a good prank every now and then.

"Shit", you say to yourself. "Damn you, Fili, this is not funny anymore! You've gotten me scared all right, you've made your point, come out you bleeping prank master!", you're kinda angry by now. You're not very fond of all this creepy Halloween stuff, but it's been okay since you've had Fili by your side for the last couple of years. He's made you feel safe and at ease, even if you watched the most scary movies imaginable.

You go downstairs to the livingroom again and sit down on the couch. No Fili and no clue whatsoever about his whereabouts. Maybe he's already left for the party? Even though you had agreed to meet at his place and walk the to festivities from there. Plus, his door was unlocked, and it's not like him to be so careless.

You look at the bottle of beer, and decide to go into the kitchen and get your own. You might as well enjoy yourself, he has to show up sometime. Maybe he's stepped outside to get some last minute stuff. Maybe his costume wasn't on fleek, or he needed more booze, or more candy. There are several reasons why he hes not there. And you simply refuse to imagine the worst things possible. He's okay. He's got to be okay.

Suddenly the lights go out, and you almost choke on the sip of beer you've just taken. You listen carefully, but there's no wind, no thunderstorm that could have caused it. The lights simply just went out. You walk up to the window. There are still lights in the street and in other houses, only Fili's house is dark. Has he forgotten to pay the electricity bill? That's not very likely, since Fili's a very organized man, and he's not running low on cash either, even though he isn't exactly rich. Maybe a fuse just blew. That happens.

You fumble towards his kitchen counter and find the drawer that contains the flashlight. You take a deep breath and pull yourself together, you have to go downstairs to the fuse box and check if everything's in order. If Fili's down there waiting for you, to scare you, you'll give him hell. This is not fun, not one bit. You don't want to be marked as a tight-ass, since you know how to appreciate a good prank too, but this has simply gone too far, and you now have a hen to pluck with Mr. Fili Durinson.

You walk slowly down the stairs to the basement. It's picth dark, only the dim light from the flashlight guides your way. You reach the end of the stairs, and step onto the cold, hard cement floor. "Now, where's that box?", you say and look around. "Oh, there it is", you sigh when you see it and rush towards it. You don't notice anything out of the ordinary down in the basement in search of the fuse box, though you've only been down there a few times. You smirk, and kinda blush when you think about the time you and Fili tested the spin cylce on the washing machine... "Good times", you think to yourself and open the box. You aim the light at the content inside and try to figure out what exactly you're looking for. You're not very handy with such things, but how hard can it be to hit a switch or change a fuse? But to your surprise, everything seems to be in tip top shape. You close the door and scream at the top of your lungs. You're looking right into the face of a horrible creature. And then you realize, it's Halloween, maybe it's Fili, or someone else who's dressed up like this. "Ha, ha, very funny", you say. "Take of your mask whoever you are!". "Mask?!", the creature says with a deep, hoarse voice. "This is no mask". "Of course not, it's the result of a face lift gone terrible wrong", you smirk. "I'll cut that smirk of your face", the ugly beast says and raises his arm with a dagger in his fist.

You start to back up towards the wall. The creature acts very treatning, even though you still think it's someone who's just very into their costume and character. "You'll be the first to die tonight", the creature shouts. "Let the blood bath begin!". He's just about to slice you when someone jumps him and stabs him in the back. Fili.

"Oh my god, Fili!!! What the hell is going on???", you look at him, shocked and terrified. He's wearing some sort of armour and he's fully armed with weapons. "I got no time to explain", he says. "Come with me". He takes your hand and drags you with him. "Whatever happens, just stay close to me, and I'll protect you". "Fili?!", you ask as you tag along. "What's happening?". "No time!", Fili says as you run towards the park. "They are here. They're coming".

The ground shakes, and branches break. "Climb a tree!", Fili shouts. "And do not come down!". You back up towards a tree and turn to start climb it. "Wait!", Fili says and takes your hand and pulls you towards him. He kisses you, and you moan and respond to his affection. "I love you", he says. "Always have, always will. Now climb!". "I love you too", you say and look at him for a brief moment before you start to climb the tree. You look down and see creatures like the one in Fili's basement come towards you. "Fuck!", you say and start to panic. "This is a bad dream. A nightmare. I must be dreaming. This cannot be happening". The creatures lurk towards you while Fili's standing his ground, weapons in both his hands. "Bring it on, you filthy orc scum!", he shouts. "Orcs?", you think to yourself. "It cannot be". You start to think about a story Fili told you a long time ago, about a dwarf, a son of Durin, in line to the throne of a kingdom called Erebor. A kingdom inside a mountain filled with all the wealth and riches of a word called "Middle Earth". But there was a battle, and they all died... Fili, Kili and Thorin... The line of Durin ended that day.

Suddenly his brother, Kili and his uncle, Thorin shows up, also wearing armour and fully weaponized. "My sister's sons, we live to fight another day", Thorin says as they line up and face the demons from a world you did not know actually existed. "Let's force them back to the void where they once came", Fili shouts. The orcs are closing in on you, and Kili starts to fire arrows at them. One by one the filth falls to the ground, but those who survive are ready to attack. Fili, Kili and Thorin clash into the the evil clan on monsters and the battle begins.

There are at least 150 orcs in different shapes and sizes. One more hidious than the other. You're still safe sitting in the tree, no one's seen you yet, but you know you won't go unoticed forever. You watch Fili, Kili and Thorin fight like there's no tomorrow, and if this goes bad, there won't be. They are very skilled warriors, and manage to kill off the orcs before the orcs manage to wound them, but you have a feeling that this is just the beginning, that the battle will escalade into something bigger. More blood, more death.

"Fili! Watch out!", Kili shouts. A big troll comes down the hill to the park. "Oh no!", Thorin sighs. "We need to rally! Come with me". "What about Ronja? She's...", Fili starts saying. "Shhh, don't blow her cover, she's still safe", Thorin says. You watch them run and regroup while a second troll comes over the hill. The trolls are tall enough to see you, but you need not to worry about them, because an orc has already spotted you. You want to scream, but that will just draw more attention towards you, so decide to keep still and climb further up the tree. The orc is close now. You back up towards the trunk of the tree, and suddenly you feel something poking into your back. You reach your hand behind your back and pull out a dagger from the waistband of your pants. Fili must have placed it there while he kissed you. "A dagger, great", you say out loud. "How's that gonna help me, I don't know how to use it!". You don't have time to wonder how to use it, the orc's almost with you, it's do or die.

The orc is quite big, you can hear the branches crackle underneath it. The orc's so close now, but just as he raises his hand to strike you, the branch he stands on breaks and he falls down a little. Adrenaline rushes through you, and without thinking you stab the orc in it's forhead. You pull the dagger out just as the orc falls towards the ground. The blade is covered in black blood. "Oh my god!", you shout. "What did I do?". "What you had to do!", you inner conscience says. "It was you or him".

The orc's death draws attention to your hiding place, and you are no longer safe. A handful of orcs start to climb the tree. You react by screaming, you're no longer a secret. They know you're there, and you know you're gonna die.

The orcs climb fast and reach you sooner than the first one. Fili's on his way to you while Thorin and Kili fight the trolls and other orcs. Fili's like a mad killing machine on his way to try to save you. An orc pulls your at your leg and you lose your footing on the branch you're standing on. You fall, but manage to grab another branch to hold on to, but only to come face to face with another orc. The orc draws sword. You got two choices; jump or die. You jump.

Your landing is ugly and you hit your head on a stone and black out...

You open your eyes. A bright light's making you squint. Your head hurts immensely. "Fili?", you ask. "Shhh, my love, I'm here", you hear Fili's voice say and he takes your hand. "Fili?", you ask again. "Shhh, rest, my love. You are safe now, it's over". Fili kisses your forhead and you drift off to sleep.

You open your eyes again. You don't know where you are or how long you've been out, but it feels like you've been sleeping for years. You look around the room you're in. You're not at home, nor in Fili's house, you're in the hospital. Fili comes in through the door, holding a cup of coffee. He's wearing a pair of jeans and a blue sweater, and his long hair's in a loose ponytail. "Ronja!", he shouts happily and rushes towards you. "Amrâlimê!". He kneels beside you and takes your hand. "What happened?", you ask. 

"You know the story I told you long ago?", Fili asks. "Yes", you say. "About how the line of Durin ended". "Yes, but only in Middle Earth", Fili says. "Kili, Thorin and I... We died to live another life. We found ourselves on Earth with our past and history imprinted in our minds, souls and hearts, to never forget, to never forgive... We became men, not dwarves, with the ability to adapt to this new life. We've been living in peace and quiet for years. I met you...", Fili smiles. You smile too. "But something happened a couple of days ago... I was at the Halloween shop to get some stuff for my costume. Yes, the warrior ensamble you saw me in. Thorin made it... He's a blacksmith you know. We thought it was a good idea to dress up as "The Line of Durin" for Halloween. I just needed a few things from the shop to complete the outfit. In the shop I found this sword... A relic... I touched it and I burned myself. No visible marks, just an internal burn that shocked me. I bought the sword, and brought it home to show it to Thorin and Kili. We all agreed that it was not from this world, but from... Middle Earth... And not from the word of the living...

"It was like I signalised them that I was alive when I touched the sword, that's why they came here. To kill us once more. But like I said, we have our past and skills embedded in our beings, we know how to fight, to kill, to defend. Even though those skills did not save us during the battle in Middle Earth, they saved us last night. We won". Fili stands up and runs a hand carefully through your hair. "But they were so many", you start saying. "Yes, it looked bleak for a moment. And when you fell from the tree...", Fili's eyes tear up and he squeezes your hand harder. "I thought I lost you".

Fili takes you through the battle; how they won, how they piled up the corpses and burned them, almost causing the park to catch fire as well. The bonfire was all over the news. People who saw or heard anything on All Hallow's Eve thought it was a Halloween play of some sort. No one knows what really went on except you, Fili, Kili and Thorin. "What did you tell the people at the hospital when you brought me in?", you ask. "The truth", Fili answers. "Well, partly... That you fell from a tree and hit your head on a stone. I kept the battle out of it", he smiles. "Do you think they will try again?", you ask. "We're not sure", Fili says. "We buried the sword. If they know we're still alive, they know we are strong enough to stand against them. Let them try". Fili says and kisses you.