Okay, before I start this story, I'd just like to say that what happened, happened. We had no idea how to get back, or what to do really. We cannot be sorry for the changes we made. We only did what we thought was right.
"Okay, if you two don't shut the hell up, I'm coming back there myself!" Rosie growled through gritted teeth as her patience wore thin with her best friends. Those friends in question were currently sat in the back of the crappy rental car, squabbling. The three of them were going on a road trip to the theme park in the next town, a trip that was supposed to be a treat. Frankie and Cece had argued the main part of the journey to the car on who was to be riding shotgun for Rosie to eventually decide that no one was going to, and then they continued to argue inside the car on who got to play their music, Rosie again shut the argument down by simply turning on the radio.
"Rosie, pull over," Cece suddenly piped from the back, she wrapped her nimble fingers around Rosie's head rest and swung around so that her long golden hair now dangled on top of the gear stick.
"Cece if you need to pee again, I swear to god -" Rosie began her frustration getting the better of her as she batted Cece's hair away. Don't get me wrong, Rosie loved her friends more than she would ever let on, but no quality friendships last without the odd fight here and there.
"No, no, I was wanting to take a photo," Cece smiled sweetly, she had that niceness about her that never seemed to perish, it was both a gift and a curse. Rosie sighed at this, however, turned the wheel and slowly brought the rustic Saturn to a halt. The three of them were on their very first holiday, in England, which all though had a few grey clouds and was infinitely colder than America, was pretty damn photogenic.
However, you could say that Rosie had gotten used to the rolling, green hills and grey sun because she had lived here for fifteen years. However, her parents had made the decision to move to America, where they would be closer to her dad's side of the family. Moving to America had ultimately been both the best and worst thing to ever happen to Rosie because that's where she just so happened to meet Frankie and Cece who have ultimately have made her life so beautifully blissful yet so fiercely frustrating.
"Okay, come on girlies, back in the car, let's get going," Rosie smiled at her friends from where she leaned lazily on the bonnet, they each clambered back in the car, still with Rosie in the front and Frankie and Cece in the back. After arguing some more about what music to play, Rosie turned on the radio once more and rolled down the windows, the crisp, clean air flooding into the car causing their hair and clothes to dance to the music. It wasn't too long until they joined in with the voice on the radio, belting out the words, singing loudly and very out of tune. They continued like this for a while, enjoying the happy moment which in itself was small, but to them was memorable, when it happened.
The car, it came out of nowhere.
Nowhere.
It wasn't their fault, anyone could tell that.
But they're the ones who paid for it.
Rosie's whole body froze with fear when she drove over the hill, the cars headlights glaring at her like the eyes of a bull charging straight for her. Without thinking, she jerked the wheel to the left where she thought she was driving her and her friends to safety. However, the thicket of tall trees she then drove into proved her wrong. They lurched downhill, their happy songs turning into piercing screams, their music now a million miles away. The trees and wildlife flew past them, some branches even getting caught on the open windows. A particularly low branch slammed against the windshield, shattering it. Rosie managed to cover her face just in time but still felt the edges of shards make their way into her hair and cut her arm. Rosie slammed her foot on the brakes so hard that the impact shuddered through the rest of her body. It was a shame because she was a split-second too late. By the time Rosie's foot met with the pedal the car had crashed into what could only be a thick, towering tree. The sickening smell of gas filled her lungs, the screams of the three girls dying out sickeningly quick, the taste of burning rubber filled the air and the feel of broken metal and shattered glass pierced their bodies. All turned dark.
Everything seemed to hurt in its own way. Her lungs burned, her joints ached and her skin stung. But, she could feel. Slowly she shifted awkwardly from where she was lying down, the crunch of glass following her as she moved. She opened her eyes and after a moment of blinding, white light she saw tall trees reaching for the sky above her, she was alive, she was okay. Looking down at her body, she saw bruises and cuts, some awkward lumps and bumps but no broken bones, thank God. Carefully, she sat up feeling her breath rattling in her chest. Tentatively she raised a hand, pressing her fingertips to her throbbing temple before running her fingers through her short, shoulder length brown hair where she managed to pick out some of the larger shards of glass.
Looking behind her she found the wreckage that was the rustic Saturn. Shit, Rosie thought as she scrambled up and towards the mess of steel and glass ignoring the painful sensation this caused through her body. Like she thought, the car had crashed into a thick tree, however, the impact must have caused her to break through her seatbelt and go flying through the already smashed windshield. Ater attempting to open the doors with little success she decided that the only way she was going to get in was by climbing through the hole in the windshield.
Pulling herself onto what was left of the bonnet, she made her way through the mess. Almost instantly, she saw the long blonde hair of Cece and the curly afro of Frankie. She clawed her way to the back seat feeling the odd sting when her bare skin was cut by sharp, broken material.
Rosie reached out and wrapped her fingers around the closest hand, which just so happened to be the hand of Frankie. For a moment, she stayed a still as she possibly could, holding her breath as she waited to hear it. And then there it was, the steady, shaky breath of both girls. Slowly, Rosie moved further forward now placing both hands on Frankie and began to shake her, hoping she would wake up, she didn't, but she was breathing, she was breathing.
Rosie looked behind her, contemplating on whether it was worth dragging Frankie all the way over the two seats and back through the windshield. Deciding against it, she raised her foot and kicked as hard as she could against the cracked window that was closest and carefully cleared away all the small pieces of glass. She then climbed out herself first before wrapping her arms under Frankie's armpit and pulling her out with as much caution as possible. When she had managed to get Frankie onto the soft grass she found herself still pulling her away. She dragged Frankie's limp body further and further away from the wreckage until she was satisfied. Then she stood up and made her way back to the car for her other best friend.
Cece was in more of a state, part of the car had crushed down on top of her right-hand side, a tree branch had fallen from when they crashed into the tree and Cece had paid for that. Rosie had to use all her remaining strength to lift what she could of the roof and with shaky arms pull Cece's limp form out. Cece was the only one bleeding badly, she had a long cut on her right arm which was, thankfully, not bleeding too much, but unfortunately, she too was unconscious.
Sighing, Rosie lifted her hand and wiped away some beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead before deciding to go and find help. Turning around she began walking the way the car came, her legs feeling as if someone had poured rocks into her shoes, and an overwhelming tiredness thrumming through her body. It wasn't too long before she realised something was off. There were no tracks where the car had been driven off the road, and the land was pretty much flat, even though she could distinctly remember driving downhill. Not being able to find the road they were driving on, she made her way back to her unconscious friends.
They lay side by side, slowly breathing. It dawned on Rosie that if someone were to walk past they would simply look as if they were taking a nap in the woods. She then realised that someone was probably coming, there were a few drivers on the road at that point of time, someone must have seen them crash. Rosie looked down at her friends before making sure they were in the safe position before she moved about a foot back and rested against a tree.
Then, she began to shake, she couldn't believe it, she crashed a fucking rental car and almost killed her best friends. Why did she swerve so harshly? If she did it a bit calmer they wouldn't have gone so far. Now they were in a mess because of her and she couldn't find the way back. Before she could stop herself, a sob escaped her lips, and then she realised there was no one around to hear her cry, so she let go.
She cried long and hard, reaching out and grasping onto the fingers of her unconscious friends, she cried until her throat was raw, had no more tears left and had lost her voice. When she quieted down a silence filled the air, it was heavy and crushingly lonely. Then, the snapping of some twigs nearby alerted her, people. Jumping up she turned around, hope spreading through her chest like fire, she was going to be safe.
However, what she didn't expect was to see a very strange man emerge from the bushes, dressed as if he was from another world.
He was taller than her, by about an inch, but the way his body was proportioned you'd think he would be shorter. He had large feet wrapped in, what looked like, space boots and was wearing a long oversized brown shirt with brown trousers, a belt, and cape, he had crazy untamed black hair and very long grey beard where white and black braids were knotted in place. But the weirdest thing of all was the droning sense of familiarity that nagged at the back of Rosie's mind when she saw him, oh and the large scythe he was carrying.
"Hello?" She said in a questioning voice, realising how she too must look crazy in his eyes, all bruised and battered and some lovely new fresh cuts from crawling through glass whilst standing next to two unconscious bodies. The strange man didn't respond, his eyes were steady and calm as he looked her over. He seemed to be going somewhere, with a sort of backpack on his shoulders, maybe he didn't hear the crash? "I know I must look mad but can you help me?" She pleaded.
He didn't say anything for a few antagonizing moments, then he nodded. "As you can see me and my friends here," she gestured to the unconscious bodies at her feet, "Have had a car crash and they're unconscious and I think we need a doctor and I just can't find the main road." Rosie rambled, hoping that some of what she was saying was getting through to him. The phrase 'main road' appeared to grab his attention judging by the fact that he began making sudden hand gestures which looked like signing. The pin dropped in Rosie's mind. "Oh, um, sorry I didn't, um...never mind. Can you lead us to the main road," She asked sweetly, mentally cursing for not realising that this man was deaf. Once again, he nodded. "And if it isn't a trouble can you call an ambulance," She said, he raised an eyebrow. "Oh um, can you get some medical help for me and my friends," She gestured once again to the unconscious bodies at her feet. This didn't seem to get to him, however, he did begin walking closer to Rosie, a limp in his step.
Rosie felt herself freeze up, a small ball of fear growing in her gut the closer he got. One of the last things she expected him to do was bend down and throw Frankie's limp form over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing more than a bag of feathers. Rosie then looked down at Cece and then back at this man wondering if he expected her to do the same. However, he bent down again and before Rosie knew it, Cece was on his other shoulder. Getting lost in thought as she watched him do this, Rosie didn't even notice him walking away, set and ready for the journey to the main road. Rosie went to follow him when she remembered.
"Oh, sorry can you just pause a moment," She called after him, he turned around and looked at her, an eyebrow raised. She scrambled back to the car and picked out everything that was theirs: phones (Cece's was unfortunately smashed), bags, scraps of food and a bottle of water, and finally her sunglasses. She was more cautious this time of traveling around the wreckage, shuddering as the image of the car's headlights heading straight for her came to mind. She clambered back out wearing three bags and holding a large assortment of items. If possible, this man's eyebrow raised even further, he then turned around and walked back into the bushes. She followed and they walked in silence.
Rosie felt like she had been walking for years when they reached a small path, she was sure the car hadn't travelled this far into the woods but she could not be sure. Anyways, she trusted this man, he seemed friendly, even though he did not talk, he carried her best friends without complaint. For a while now Rosie had been staring at the strange metal headdress he wore, wondering what in God's name made him think it looked good. Obviously, he was a part of some sort of culture or something, she was too tired and her body was too sore to think of this now. All she wanted was a hot water bottle, a cosy warm bed, and the knowledge that her friends were going to be okay.
They walked some more until they finally reached a gritty path which wove in twists and turns through some soft, green hills. This looked familiar. However, maybe this was her tired brain talking or maybe she didn't realise it before, but something was different. The grass was greener and the air was more pleasant to breathe somehow, like it was purer? It all seemed so familiar yet so strange, she was wondering just which main road this man was taking her too when she saw it.
They clambered up another small hill, Rosie's muscles screaming after the long journey. When the scene turned into something so familiar it was impossible not to recognise it. Now, she may be high off car fumes, or maybe she just hit her head a little too hard, but she was pretty damn sure the shire just opened up in front of her. It was just like the movies. Little homes tucked into the hills, the circular multi-coloured doors, the stream of smoke coming from little chimneys. It was that and so much more. She saw someone idling along the path before them, carrying a basket and whistling a blissful tune, a bounce in their step. Rosie's eyes darted to their feet to see if the crazy idea that was thrumming through her head was true, and there it was, a pair of oversized and very hairy hobbit feet.
"Oh my god," Rosie managed to choke out feeling fairly faint. Turning to the man next to her who continued to trudge up along the path, realisation washed over her like water. "Bifur..." she almost whispered, but it was enough for his head to snap around with quite a large grin, he nodded eagerly then continued walking. What. The. Hell. Night had fallen and the sky was no more than a dark blue pulse. They made their way up to a very familiar green door.
See the thing is Rosie knew of the hobbit, of course she knew about it. She went through a full phase of reading hypotheses online, but she was not obsessed, she knew the story, she knew the bitter sweet ending, but she didn't know it as well as say, Harry Potter. But one thing she did know for sure is that herself, Frankie and Cece were certainly not supposed to be here.
Bifur gave a quick wrap on the door and from the boisterous noise and laughter coming from inside, she could tell that they were not first to arrive. Rosie felt her heart thud rapidly as the door opened her brain continuously telling her that this wasn't real, that she wasn't here, she couldn't be. But before she knew it, before her stood a very small Bilbo Baggins. He looked tired and a little ruffled, she felt her heart reach out for him knowing all too well the reason for how annoyed he looked.
By this point, he just stood to the side and let Bifur walk in. Rosie stood there for a moment, staring at who her brain was telling her was Martin Freeman, before she realising he was giving her a weird stare, she lurched forward into his cosy home, trying to hide her shaking hands.
"Aye Bifur! Where ya' been laddie!" Rosie heard someone call in the other room in a thickly accented voice. There was no response but there was laughter and love in the air.
"What ya' got there Bifur? Been scouting out some dwarrows!" Another playful voice called out.
"Would you like to follow me?" A small voice said from below, she nodded slowly looking down at Bilbo who looked so utterly fed up with life and nodded slowly. Bilbo led her into a hallway where in the room to her left all the dwarves were sat at a dinner table, on her right she could see her two friends laid carefully on two couches they both barely fit on. Turning back to the room on her left she felt a stab of fear hit her in the gut and she scurried behind the frame of the door. Keeping her body hidden she peeked her head around the corner, her mind completely blank at the situation at hand. She stared at the group and saw all her favorite characters live and in flesh, Bofur, Fili, Kili, Dwalin... the list went on, what she did notice was there was no Thorin, that gave her an idea of how far through the story they were. Whilst the group was sitting Bifur down and handing him a plate of meats and potatoes Rosie heard a voice behind her.
"Why hello there," A soft voice said causing Rosie to nearly jump out of her skin, turning around she felt her jaw hang openly because standing before her was none other than Gandalf the Grey. Rosie felt the colour drain from her face and had the sudden urge to throw up her empty stomach. "Are you quite alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned, as no words seemed to be either forming in her head or falling out of her mouth, Rosie mustered up a nod. She could do this, this was just some horrid dream, she would wake up soon and everything would be fine, she's probably somewhere in a hospital, someone's probably called her parents, they're probably flying over here now, everything was going to be alright, everything is going to be, alright. "I believe you are not from here," Gandalf spoke wisely looking down at her. It was then Rosie realised exactly how small she really was. Gandalf towered over her in a way that she never expected to experience in her lifetime. She again in response could only manage a head shake. "Ah, that is okay, I see that you are destined for this quest, come meet the others," and before she could complain Gandalf placed his large hand on her back and gently pushed into the candlelight, where all the dwarves turned their heads and looked straight at her.