To Middle Earth and Back Again

Chapter 1: A New World

Chapter 1 - A NEW WORLD

Dim lights illuminated the dark of the night streets. Darting between the small patches of light was a small figure covered head to toe in black clothing. None of it fit, or matched for that matter. The wearer had long ago forsaken any ideas of fashion rather preferring any barrier to the harsh December weather. She was a girl. Young, and yet old. You had only to look in her eyes to see how aged she was. Her green eyes had once sparkled but now they were hard, like sharp emeralds that bore through your soul. Her dark hair hung limp about her shoulders. She had lived a hard life. It wasn't easy growing up the oldest of ten children and having an alcoholic father. Her mother, poor thing, had done her best but after the cancer set in there was nothing to be done. There hadn't been any tears. She couldn't cry. Not when so many depended on her. Soon enough, however, she lost them too. To foster families and group homes. She had been in a home once, multiple homes actually, each one worse than the last. She had run then. Now she scavenged the city streets. It hadn't been easy, no. It had been horrifying at first. Only two months after hitting the streets aliens had fallen from the sky. There was talk about superheroes and such but she didn't pay much attention to the outside world. She lived in her own. On the dimly lit streets where no one mattered and no one cared.

She panted slightly as she slipped around one final corner and into a narrow alley. It sat behind a Deli. Delmar's or something like that. On a good day, she could find a half eaten sandwich; on a bad day she found the out of date things that had been tossed. Busy rummaging through the enormous dumpster she didn't notice a circle of blue light slowly forming a small hole right behind her. It wasn't until she heard voices that she turned, searching the night for potential attackers. It was a constant danger living like she was. She gasped when she noticed the blue passageway and the forest that showed through from the other side. She giggled, thinking she must be dreaming. No matter, the forest looked like her grandfather's old farm. It was gone now like everything else. She reached forward. "It's not real," she thought. "And I just want to feel the trees." but at the precise moment her hand brushed the leaves of the magnificent trees, she and the passageway disappeared without a trace, leaving a startled alley cat and a half eaten sandwich from Delmar's.

Tony Stark was very confused. He had been helping S.H.I.E.L.D. locate any Chitauri weaponry that had been missed after the attack on New York. He had hacked his way into every camera in the city and had found something that was extremely interesting and equally disturbing. He commanded Jarvis to replay the footage while he waited for the rest of the team and Fury to arrive. The girl was dressed in black and entered the alley at precisely 12:34 A.M. She couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 and was rummaging through the dumpster. Tony felt a pang of guilt at the way she tore into the half eaten sandwich she'd found. If he found this kid he'd give her all the sandwiches she wanted. He had Jarvis slow the footage when a thin blue line of light began circling in thin air behind her. Once it was fully formed, the girl turned as if startled by something he couldn't see or hear and then dropped the food and reached for the light. Then boom. Flash of light and she was gone. He shook his head.

"Nothing has changed since the last time you watched it, Sir." Jarvis admonished. "I advise you to leave it until the rest of your colleagues can view it, Sir. They have just arrived."

The girl groaned and stretched her arms and legs as far as she could. She didn't open her eyes yet. She must be having a wonderful dream, because wherever she was it was warm and soft; neither of which she had experienced in years. As she lay enjoying the floating sensation that comes with being half asleep, her memory slowly pieced itself back together. She gasped and shot up her eyes open and back ramrod straight. Then, she stopped.

"Where am I," she whispered. She was sitting in a low bed. The room was dim; the light from outside blocked by thick curtains. She could hear noise outside, but it wasn't New York noise. No sirens, or horns, or even the rumbling of the subways. No, it was a rough sound. She threw the covers back from the bed and gasped. Her ill fitting dirty clothing was gone. In its place was a white blouse covered by a long, brown, sleeveless dress that tied in the back and front. underneath she wore thick brown pants and woolen socks. She stared in wonder before continuing to the window. She reached for the corner of the thick curtains, and then hesitated. She had a guess on what was outside, but wanted to prolong the realization just a bit longer. Finally, she pulled back the cloth and looked out on the streets beyond.