We head northeast like before, taking the same main road for hours. For that time we only see trees... we don't even see remains of cars or other things... until we do here and there...

We drive for hours... and I nibble on a bite of Lembas when the sun is at its peak. More time passes...

But once the trees part I see buildings ahead. Steel structures there still... but in the distance... the very very far distance I can see a concrete skyscraper collapse into the land beneath, hardly making a sound because of how much space there is between us and it.

For a while we drive towards the city, larger buildings coming into view; buildings that are still a light blue because of how far away they are, but large nonetheless.

I can tell we are getting to bigger areas and cities the farther we travel. I wonder if perhaps this is some sort of capitol.

Large structures made of cement approach us as we drive, crumbling windows and weathering supports making a collage of abandoned sorrow everywhere we gaze.

I can see grass and other plants trying desperately to reach the sun from under the concrete but failing, still cracked the foundation to where the roads and buildings show black lightning bolts on the grey surface.

Foggy glass allows nothing to see inside of the once filled homes and businesses. And when I focus my eyes on the windshield I notice tiny pieces of ash hit against the glass.

"Vilora," Legolas's voice cuts my daydreams.

"What?" I ask, my head turning to see his frown as he stares out the window.

"Orcs."

I adjust my posture and look where he is, my expression matching his. There on the rooftop in the distance is an orc archer. I also hadn't noticed that both our vehicles have stopped. My eyes dart around the area and immediately I see another black dot moving farther away.

I breathe and try to think.

"Vilora, can you hear me?" Thranduil's voice asks in my ear.

I press my finger to the button. "Aye. What's up?"

"Could you be more clear?"

"Sorry. I meant 'what do you need?'."

"Aragorn says we shouldn't get caught."

"Negative..." I sigh. "I think we should drive straight through. Cause as much gunfire and kill as many as necessary. Orcs are cowards. As soon as they figure out they are being slaughtered they'll retreat. And that means they'll be leading us closer to Sauron."

"If we are noticed then the dark lord will send more after us. We will surely be killed."

"It's the only way, Thranduil."

"Have you considered all of the options?"

I bite my lip and look to Legolas who returns my expression.

"Yes," I finally respond. "Get prepared for anything. The windows should deflect arrows but if you need to roll them down... uhh if you need to... well press the button below it if you want to fire out the window. It takes away the glass."

I pick up my pistol and cock it, handing my husband another, the rifle here between us.

"You ready?" I look up at him.

He breathes and then nods.

"Go."

He faces forward and steps on the gas, the car lunging forward and sending us down the street.

We drive down the cement not too fast, but fast enough to get the orcs' attention.

For a few minutes it is silent... until an arrow smacking the windshield makes me jump. It leaves a scratch on the glass. And ahead I see them. Orcs come from the shadows, running from various places towards us.

When they are close enough I roll down my window and aim my gun, the wind tearing back my white hair form my shoulders. I close one eye and focus on an orc ahead, holding my weapon out with one hand. I fire at its chest and the bullet buries into his leather armor, causing him to fall onto his back, the large metal sword flying from his hand and hitting the concrete with a clash.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and adjust myself, hearing arrows fly past our vehicle.

I hear gunfire come from the car behind us as well. And I stick my hand out again to shoot another that demon that stands in the road ready to attack our car.  A couple shots and he is down. But Legolas has to swerve to avoid hitting his body.

I turn my head at the massive hoard behind us and fire a few bullets. I think I see a few of them collapse.

But my eyes look forward at the skyscrapers we are headed towards. "Speed up," I say to him and stick my gun out the window, remembering that I have to kill as many as possible.

I try to make a mark on a few as we drive by but it's more difficult than I thought. Another arrow hits the side of the vehicle and I pin myself to my seat, hoping that their aim isn't skilled enough to be able to shoot into the car.

"Give me that," I say picking up the rifle by my elbow. I hold it firmly against my shoulder and aim it out the window, holding the trigger then, and letting a blast of bullets spray across the buildings, shattering a glass window and killing three orcs at once.

I conserve ammunition by focusing my fire on a single being, only holding the trigger for less than half a second at a time.

Another arrow hits the windshield in front of me. My eyes dart ahead of us and I see an overpass. From there the orcs fire at us as we head to the bridge that travels under it. Another arrow hits the glass, making a crash but not yet breaking it.

I shut my mouth and rest my elbow on the door where the window would be, aiming up at them from here and squinting to see them... but down the sight I select my target as he loads another arrow...

I fire and the double bullets pierce the demon-A bash to the left of me scares me from my own skin. My eyes look as I see an orc that had smashed against the driver's side of the car and is hanging on by the side mirror and opened window.

Legolas almost swerves in a panic way but restrains. I point my gun at the orc that claws at Legolas, trying to get in with his knife to kill him. But I can't make myself fire. It's to close to him...

My heart rate quickens.

But before I can do anything Legolas steers left hard as we near the bridge. A shadow falls on us and I am prepared to be thrown from the vehicle as it tips over. But it doesn't.

I hear a scrape and a nasty sound of crushing bone and flesh in the darkness, still going full speed, and breaking of metal. Then the sunlight hits us again as my elf swerves back to the center of the street.

He had scraped the side of the tunnel and lost the orc. Brilliant.

I look at the missing side mirror and smile. But my hands go back to my weapon as I return to fire out the window as we pass orc scum. They mob from other huge steel buildings but my bullets string the demons back to hell.

An orc leaps out in front of us but Legolas just speeds up, slamming against the thing's body and running right over it.

I fire out at the crowd, the rattling against my shoulder making my arm go numb. But I keep hitting mark after mark. Until a knife hits the glass on the back window behind me and I pull back, breathing.

"Take the wheel," Legolas says quickly, grabbing a pistol.

I hold onto it, dropping the rifle into my lap and keeping the car moving forward.

He fires out the window after he adjusts his posture to stick his arm over the door, letting bullets kiss orc flesh until I have to hand him the wheel again, turning to shoot out of the passenger window. As we pass I almost scream when one jumps out from the top floor of a building and lands on the car roof, creating a dent in the metal above the back seat.

My heart rate speeds up five hundred percent.

A hand grabs the window seal at the top from above and I gasp. "Legolas!"

Gunfire makes me cover my head without thinking. The orc falls to the ground after my elf fires at him in front of me.

I lift my hands and snatch my weapon again. "Thanks."

The car turns sharply to the left and avoids rubble that lines the streets. Distant orcs run our direction. But I see some of them fall down, the sound of repeated bullets behind me. Thranduil no doubt. No one else would have that well of an aim.

I squint down the sight of my weapon and pull the trigger again, a demon flying back into his friend, black blood slinging from his forehead. My fingers feel stiff from holding the gun for so long but I don't notice it.

I prop myself up on my right foot to get a better angle but gasp when another arrow hits the windshield, causing a spider-web crack across the glass to blind us from seeing out.

"Bloody hell," I curse and take out the clip to refill it. My fumbling fingers grab the bullet boxes and I begin to load my weapon again as the sound of orcs growling and snarling gets closer.

I hear my husband fire again with his pistol as I slip the clip back into its place and return to my position out the window... firing as necessary. But orcs and goblins begin to surround our vehicle as we drive. From far off they gather... a sea of black.

"Legolas," I say with a warning voice.

I scream when another arrow finally shatters the glass in front of us, feeling Legolas's hand immediately on my shoulder.

But the broken glass reveals the massive swarm of orcs now in front of us. "Legolas!"

As I speak he slams on the brakes, still managing to hit a goblin with the front bumper.

An arrow flies past my ear, piercing the backseat.

"Get down!" Legolas urges and puts a hand on my head to make sure I obey.

I hear him take the rifle and start blasting the orcs in front of our vehicle.

"There are too many," he says after another arrow sticks into the passenger seat where my head was.

I grab the pistol from the car floor and lift my head to see out, aiming my weapon over the hood and firing a few times. But he's right.

What do we do?

Then I see the grenade. If I can part a spot big enough in the crowd we can floor it and be out of here.

I pick up the thing and calculate this. But arrows and orcs jumping on the hood with their swords makes me panic. Legolas takes out the closest one, and then again.

The window breaking behind me makes me almost scream again as an orc bashes it with his sword.

Quickly I pull the latch on the grenade and toss it in front of the vehicle. "Duck!" I say as his hand covers my head and we bend down. It is a sudden silence and then we hear the explosion that rattles the car and shakes my ear drums. Bodies fly in all directions. Rubble sprays from the ground. Ash leaps from its place. Smoke clouds the air.

Immediately my head lunges back up and I see a way clear. "Go!" I urge.

He presses on the gas but we are still in a pile of orc carcasses. The wheel is having trouble running over them.

"Come on!" I say though I know he is trying.

But then something else gets my attention. "Wait," I say and silence him... the orcs are quiet...

But the sound... thunder? No. It cracks and creaks ahead of us. The ground almost vibrates from it... And then it gets louder. And I know what it's coming from. Pieces of concrete begin to fall on the road ahead. And my eyes gaze upon the skyscraper before us...

The sound gets louder as the building's supports finally give way.

"Floor it!" I yell in panic but it's no use.

"Come on!" Legolas says and leaps out of the car with the rifle.

I snatch the backpack and the pistol and jump out his side.

He fires behind me as I run to him, the bullets taking out the pursuing orcs.

I chase him as we run past Aragorn's car, the man giving us a wide eyed look.

"Aragorn run!" I yell as his eyes flash back to the building coming down ahead.

They scramble from the car and run after us. The terrifying sound of cracking architecture and falling chunks of concrete follow behind me, my heels hitting the ground hard with every step, my knees reaching high as I sprint.

Legolas turns around to fire at some goblins that still chase after us. But my attention goes to the tower that is now hitting another building in front of it, dust and ash covering the ground and making clouds at the base of the structure.

"Vilora!" I hear Legolas say and I feel an arm grip around my shoulders, pulling me faster along, because I had stopped in marvel at the sight.

The two of us frantically dodge falling pieces of rubble but everything is coming down faster than we can move; faster than our legs and carry us.

My heart thumps in my ears when a piece of concrete smashes against the ground behind me, turning into dust on the incredible impact.

I stomp my feet and charge as hard as possible.

Another chunk of rubble hits the ground right in front of us, sending me off balance but Legolas keeps me from falling over.

"This way!" he says and takes me to the right. We fly down an alley as the sound of an earthquake fills our ears.

The noise of glass breaking and metal crushing drywall follows us, creeping up on our right as we press forward. Legolas has the rifle strap slung across his shoulder, the weapon on his back. Dust shoots through the air and I leap forward just as the large crash occurs above my head, escaping the crushing blow of the collapsing building by a hair.

But the impact sends us flying forward.

My palms reach out to catch myself before my face hits the ground and I tumble, the backpack leaving my hand along with the pistol.

The world is quiet... No it's not... but I cannot hear it. My ears ring, and my cheek rests on the pavement. My head aches. My bones sting. But finally I manage to move... I lift my arm and then my head. I open my eyes as my vision blurs. I see my elf that had tumbled down as well, a hard scowl on his face from pain. He lifts himself back up and looks at me with worry.

Unable to move, I watch him run to me and say something frantic but I cannot hear it. Arrows fly past him and he looks up, his eyebrows pulled together but his eyes wide.

He says something to me again, placing his hand on my arm to try and bring me to my feet. I try to move my legs and eventually do, planting my foot on the ground and standing up

He holds me around the waist as we hurry but I am quite slow. Then another arm helps me walk. Thranduil. And they take me into a dark area...

I finally hear again. And my mind wakes up. I lift my hand enough to see the scrape on my palm, the dark flesh under the layer of skin ripped away.

Once my eyes adjust I notice we are down under the city, beneath an old ladder leading to the circular iron door. We sit against the wall that you would think would be damp. But it hasn't rained here in ages.

Éowyn, Aragorn, and I catch our breath.

We were all just almost crushed to death. And I think we are getting the big picture here finally.

My fingers wrap around Aragorn's arm beside me for comfort as I heave from multiple different reasons.

Our group sits there trying to regain our strength, hearing only our thick breathing and hearts pounding for as long as minutes. My cheek rests on Aragorn's hard shoulder.

"What do we do now?" Legolas asks Thranduil who stands there looking at our surroundings already with deep thought of tactics. That's when I notice the other rifle is strapped to the king's back.

"Get out of the area. Perhaps wait until nightfall and sneak out in the darkness," he answers without looking at the prince.

There is a moment of silence before I speak. "No we can get out of the city using the under ground." I open my eyes and look up at them. "That way we stay clear of orcs."

My husband looks at his father and he seems to agree.

"Let's go," Thranduil says.

Éowyn gets up and then Aragorn does the same, helping me to stand to my feet, though when I am upright I feel my head become heavy. But I ignore it. I must.

"Do we have torches?" Éowyn asks.

"Yeah I think so," I answer. "In the backpack."

Aragorn picks it up off the ground and looks at it curiously.

"Here," I say and pull the zipper open for him. I take out one of the flashlights and he takes the other.

  When I turn mine on and begin walking down the path I notice Legolas has a cut down his arm. Though he seems to not even know it's there as he leads us, walking ahead with swift feet.

My legs don't want to move as fast as his but I walk, ignoring any tire or pain. I shine my light ahead, revealing the dark concrete of a hallway and then nothing beyond.

I keep my feet moving forward and when we enter the room I see a place where water once fell into a circular chasm. There are three levels in the huge room. I shine my light down to let the beam show me what's over the edge and it goes far... but stops at a pile of rubble and dirt.

The rest of my companions gather around the edge to observe. I back away and continue to the doorway on the other side, passing Éowyn who gazes curiously over at the bottom.

My footsteps make an echoing sound as I walk on the concrete. It is eerily quiet down here. And that makes me anxious. Though I suppose the sound of orc footsteps behind us would be worse.

We walk for a few hours until I hear whispering. I know that it must be late now but I can't know for sure down here, being blocked from the sun and moon.

I look over my shoulder at Aragorn and Legolas that talk quietly. But when my gaze falls on them they look at me.

"What's the hold up?" I ask.

"We're going to rest now. Éowyn is tired and I am as well. We cannot continue like this without sleep," Aragorn says.

Éowyn and he eye each other, her almost giving a look to him but quickly dismissing it and nodding in agreement.

Is this some form of telling me that I need to sit down? I didn't think they noticed how bad I looked but maybe they did.

I sigh and light up the room with my beam of light, observing the black walls and dim corridors...

But after the others sit against the wall I do the same, not realizing how good it feels to rest my legs.

Legolas sits by me after the others mingle quietly about what to do next and where we are now.

I lean my head against the wall, realizing how much my hands sting now and my knee begins to feel the same way.

"I won't be able to sleep," I mutter to him.

He places a hand on my back comfortingly. "What if I promise to rest with you?" he whispers.

"...Then maybe I can..." I nod subtly.

He tucks a lock of hair behind my left ear. Then I feel his lips against the skin there with a gentle kiss.

I smile and fold my hands together in my lap.

But I turn my head the other direction and reach for the backpack on the ground. My fingers travel inside it and pull out the medical kit. I open it and find some spray that is used to keep cuts clean.

"Give me your arm," I say

He looks puzzled at me for a second but I pull his arm up and examine it. I take off his bracer and pull his ripped sleeve up to his shoulder plate. Popping the lip off the can I spray it onto his long cut quickly and he doesn't flinch like I thought he would. He's not really sensitive to pain I guess.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Making sure this doesn't get infected," I answer. "This kills bacteria."

He doesn't know what I mean of course so is just shut up. I pick up bandages from the pack and wrap his arm in them gently.

"Anyway it just helps the cut heal I guess..." is all I say.

"Then may I use it on your hands?"

I look down at my palms after I knot is arm band. He's right it might need it... I pick up the can and carefully spray my palm once and then the other. I try to gently pick up the bandages with my fingers but Legolas stops me.

He holds my hands tenderly and all I can feel are his soft fingers against mine as he carefully wraps around my hand the bandage. "Thank you," I whisper regretfully.

He eyes me with a cute smile that makes me almost forget where we are for a second.

I sit there watching his fingers cover my palm with fabric ever so gently.

"How are we going to get out of here?" I finally ask.

"We always find a way, darling," he answers surely.

I look up into his eyes as he focuses on my other hand to mend.

I don't speak for a second but wait. "...I miss the trees of Mirkwood..." I mutter under my breath. "Legolas I miss the rain..."

He ties off my hand and moves his to my face to hold my cheek softly.

I shut my eyes and breathe. "I feel like I'm suffocating under here in the dark."

He holds my head with both hands. My fingers wrap around his wrist. "We shall be home soon a'maelamin," he says quietly.

I smile and feel his soft kiss on my forehead that takes away any discomfort or worry. I have him with me and that's all I need.

All of us split some Lembas and Legolas and I join into the other's conversation.

"We'll keep heading this way," I say. "We'll avoid stairs because those will lead us further underground. We'll just have to find another way out and hope that where we find isn't covered in orcs."

"And what if it is?" Thranduil asks after finally sitting down, his back against the wall that Legolas and I also lean against, Éowyn and Aragorn across from us.

"Then we come out shooting," I answer as I pack away the medical things.

"A very interesting world you have, Lady Vilora," Aragorn says with a smirk.

"Yeah it's boring and dangerous. Your point?" I sigh.

He chuckles.

"It is very different from anything I have seen," Éowyn says after glancing at the ranger.

"It's almost as if the whole place is made of concrete and steel," Legolas breathes.

"It almost is unfortunately," I say.

"It's incredible..." Éowyn says.

"No... it's corrupt. I like your world better. I like the mountains, the trees, the rivers... the rain."

"But this was all built... It is revolutionary what your people have accomplished."

"In some cases. Yes we have made life easier... but in that we lose respect, honor, dignity, and the value of hard work... and look at where it brought us," I mutter silently.

"We'll bring this world back, Vilora," Aragorn says to me with kingly confidence.

Legolas takes my hand in his subtly.

I lift a brow. "This world is already gone."

"Then we will create a new one," Thranduil finally says, reminding me that he's also here.

I look up at the faces of my fellowship: Aragorn, Éowyn, Legolas, and Thranduil whose eyes are all on me, each with a different look beneath the iris. But something is in all of them. And that is hope.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        .

.

.

.

.

.

.

_______________

PS: please please please COMMENT and tell me anything on your mind or what you think so far. I REALLY need reviews if i am to grow as i writer! thank you!