The Iron Fortress

Eve was dreaming.

Her dreams were not usually so vivid but on this occasion, it swirled around her
head with such clarity that she felt almost like a participant instead of a mere
spectator. She was walking along a bridge overlooking the most beautiful
landscape she had ever seen. It was as if someone had taken a Monet and given it
life. Pristine cascades of water flowed from mountains covered in lush shades of
green. Colour filled her senses as she gazed at a sky that was vibrant with
shades of blue and amber. Air that was cool and refreshing entered her lungs as
she took a deep breath, so different from the dusty and chemically contaminated
atmosphere of the modern world.

Once across the bridge, Eve found herself entering a wood inhabited by
magnificent looking trees, shrubs that were seemed almost alive with their
bright and colourful flowers and equally exotic wildlife oblivious to her
trespass in their domain. Eve walked across the velvet like grass beneath her
feet, thinking that she had wandered into a fairy tale. Every little girl who
owned a Barbie had this fantasy, she thought with a hint of cynicism. She was
still admiring the unreal beauty of the place when she heard a man’s voice
singing. Strangely enough, she understood every word he was saying and sought
out the voice to satisfy her curiosity.

What she found was Aaron.

At least she thought he was Aaron. He was younger, not long out of his
adolescence. She estimated that he was twenty if that. However, it was
difficult to tell because his hair was longer than what she was accustomed to
seeing and he sported a beard. His clothes reminded her a little of what the
elves were wearing and he carried a sword at his hip. He raised his eyes to her
and stopped singing abruptly, his gaze locked on hers for the longest time. He
appeared mesmerised.

“Tinúviel, Tinúviel?” He finally called.

“No,” she shook her head, beginning to comprehend that he was not Aaron. He
would not be Aaron for a hundred thousand years. “My name is Eve.”

“Eve,” he smiled and when he did, Eve saw the Aaron she knew.

“You are?”

“Estel I was called,” he answered, unable to move his eyes from her.

That boyish look of adoration in his eyes was one she was starting to recognise
very well. She had seen Aaron look at her in the same way, though with not as
much unabashed infatuation. She supposed he had good reason for being so damned
cocky, Eve thought with a frown as she remembered how confident Aaron had been
around her, he probably has it as bad as this kid and had fate on his side. .

“Who is Luthien?” She asked

He stared at her with surprise but then proceeded to relate the tale of Beren
and Luthien, lovers who had endured all kinds of terrible trials to be together,
even though she was an elf and he was human. As Eve listened, she realised that
Undomiel, the Evenstar that Elladan kept referring to, was an elf and Aragorn
who was her husband was human. Had this been where it began for the two of
them? Would the odyssey that would see them finding each other a hundred
thousand years in the future begin here? There was something about this moment
that felt like a turning point. Her dreams had brought her to this place, like
it was bringing her to the so many others of late, even in waking dreams. It
was as if her subconscious mind was prompting her to remember the person she had
been.

Had she loved him so much that she was willing to die for him? To give up the
immortality that was the due of all elves, to live out a human existence that
was savagely short in comparison? Eve looked at the young man staring at her,
who would go on to be a king and a healer and knew instinctively, that what he
would become in the future was because he loved the woman called Undomiel. Eve
was glad that Undomiel had loved him just as much and she reached for him, her
hand caressing his cheek as she felt another pang of need for Aaron. Even
though this boy looked like him, Eve knew that this was not her Aaron.

She was still thinking this when, the world around started to collapse around
her.

“Eve…” she heard him cry out with alarm but he and his voice became distant as
she was ripped away from his world forever.
*************

“Aaron!”

Eve shouted as she woke up with a start.

For a moment, she could only lay there breathing hard as her mind acclimated her
to the fact that she was very much in the waking world again and not some fairy
tale world of the past. However, once this realisation settled upon Eve, her
memories of this reality returned with a vengeance and everything that occurred
prior to her falling into darkness swept through her mind with the force of a
tidal wave. Everything that had happened to her, the attack on the lodge, the
dart she felt in her back and the blackness that overwhelmed her flashed through
her mind in a split second and drove the hard edge of fear into her being.

Her first impulse was to jump out off the bed but that thought was soon quashed
when she took stock how she felt. She also noticed that she was no longer
wearing her own clothes and was wearing a thin silk nightgown that sent a blush
of colour to her cheeks when she realised that someone would have had to undress
her to put the thing on. The effects of the tranquilliser dart had yet to wear
off and she could feel the heaviness in her limbs and the slight dizziness as
she attempted to ease off the bed. Realising that she would get only worsen her
situation by making an ill advised attempt to escape, Eve chose instead to take
stock of her surroundings and regain her faculties before considering her next
move.

Her eyes swept around the room and she tried to remember when she had seen a
place furnished in the same way. The floor was polished black marble and the
décor was very much in the spirit of Dali or Sartor, with its surrealistic
paintings and its bizarre looking sculptures. The furniture was little of it
there was, came in dark colours that added a nihilist slant to the place. While
some would consider it stylish, Eve found it to be clinical and sterile. The
thought sparked Eve’s memory of John Malcolm’s office and with that
recollection, told her without doubt where she was.

Almost in anticipation of her realisation, she heard his voice breaking the
silence and startling her at the same time.

“Detective McCaughley,” John Malcolm announced his presence in the room.

If it was not for the drug, there was no way he could have entered the room
without her being unaware but then Malcolm was not exactly what he appeared to
be. She turned sharply to the direction of his voice and saw that he was
crossing the floor towards her. Despite the fact that he looked like a man, Eve
knew that he was more than that. While she was unsure exactly what he was, Eve
did not doubt the danger she was in being so close to the man. She wished she
had a gun because he was regarding her with a decidedly predatory gleam in his
eyes, a look she had seen within the eyes of too many murderers and rapists.
Eve struggled to maintain her composure even though she felt even more helpless
than ever. It was a feeling she was not accustomed to and she did not like it
very much.

“Mr Malcolm,” Eve said coolly, noticing that he was carrying an arrow in his
hand. She hid this observation as well as her recognition that the arrow was
the same as the one she had seen Legolas carrying. Her heart sank at the
thought that he was in possession of such an item. Did that mean he had captured
Aaron and the elves as well?

“How did you sleep?” He asked smoothly, lowering himself next to her on the bed,
an action that immediately told Eve that she was right to compare him with a
rapist. Eve had been around men long enough to know that he wanted her and that
realisation scared her more than anything else about her situation.

“Considering I was shot by a tranquilliser dart? Not well,” she said abruptly,
hiding her anxiety with sarcasm. “Where is Moses?”

“Moses?” He stared at her and then chuckled slightly as if enjoying some private
joke, “is that what you’re calling Olorin?”

“I thought his name was Gandalf?” Eve exclaimed involuntarily and saw his brow
arch in surprise. She knew immediately she had made a grievous error by
volunteering that name.

“Now how could you know that?” Malcolm asked, his eyes narrowing in calculation
as his gaze pierced her skin with such intensity, it might have drawn blood.

Eve cursed under her breath at her own stupidity for letting that slip, “he must
have mentioned it while we were playing gin. You know how it is.”

“I seriously doubt that,” he said with so much confidence that Eve no longer
held any doubt that Aaron was right, that John Malcolm was responsible for
Moses’ condition.

“Perhaps you learned his name from whomever own this,” Malcolm retorted
smoothly, holding the arrow up for her to see.

“An arrow?” She looked at him with indifference.

“Its an arrow inscribed in the language of the elves,” he stated firmly, his
gaze boring holes into her skin with its intensity. “You do know what elves are
don’t you?”

“Those little guys working for the shoemaker?” She said sarcastically.

Malcolm reached out and grabbed her by the hair with such speed that Eve was
barely able to register the movement until he was holding her face inches away
from his, with the point of the arrow pressing hard against her cheek. She could
feel it on the verge of breaking skin. His eyes were almost black with menace
and as Eve was forced to stare into them, she could very well believe that
Malcolm was some dark creature born of an ancient world.

“This was made by the First Born and I will know how it came to be here in this
day and age. I can make this pleasant Eve or I can make it agonising. The choice
is yours,” he hissed, lowering his hand enough to brush his knuckles against her
bare thigh.

Something inside Eve snapped at his touch. The tranquilliser might have dulled
her reflexes but the rush of adrenaline and her fear compensated nicely. Eve
slammed her palm into his face and grabbed the hand holding the arrow, forcing
it away from her as she used the momentum to jump off the bed. Her limbs still
felt heavy but she had recovered enough to sprint for the door. Eve did not look
back at Malcolm as she raced towards freedom when suddenly she felt a great
force slam into her body. The power of it was violent enough to send her
sprawling towards the hard floor.

Through the pain flaring through her as she hit the marble floor, Eve saw
Malcolm climbing off the bed, wiping a smear of blood from his lips.

“When this is done Eve,” he spoke to with a chilling tone as he approached her,
“we will have plenty of time to get to know each other and then I will show you
how much pleasure there is to be gained from pain.”

As he said those words, Eve prayed that she could escape before she was forced
to experience what he meant by that, first hand.

**********

The moment it appeared through the broken window of Eve’s horseless carriage,
the elves knew precisely what they were seeing before them. Aaron was oblivious
to it and so did most of the inhabitants of this city but for Legolas, Elladan
and Elrohir, the sight of it made them shudder inwardly. They had heard tales
of it from the more ancient members of their race and were grateful that they
were not born during the time when the Dark Enemy had ruled the world. Middle
Earth had not seen its like since the destruction of Beleriand and even though
Baradur held its own sinister presence, it had never quite compared to the sheer
terrifying nature of Angband or Morgoth’s Iron Fortress.

As they approached the structure that Aaron had been calling the Monolith, the
elves knew without doubt that this was the seat of Melkor’s power in this world.
They could feel its darkness emanating through the air, filling their lungs like
thick dark smoke. The building was a tower made of stone and glass but its
construction was the personification of the Iron Fortress. For the first time
since arriving in this strange new world, the elves felt real fear because they
had not counted that the enemy they would be facing would be Morgoth. It had
taken the might of the Valar to depose the tyrant aeons ago. What chance did
they have?

Aaron had no idea the thoughts running through the minds of his companions as he
drove Eve’s battered T-Bird towards the Monolith because he was too busy running
through the insane plan he had in his head to retrieve the woman that he loved
and his patient. His plan, such as it was, had been borne partly out of
desperation and the belief that it was just insane enough to work. Also, he was
certain that Sandra Collins was expecting him to make some foolhardy attempt at
a rescue. While she was not far from the truth, Aaron was certain that she had
no concept of just how much destruction he was willing to cause in order to get
Eve and Moses back.

“Are your seat belts on?” Aaron turned to the elves, trying to ignore the fact
that they were staring at the Monolith like it was the gateway to hell.
Considering what he knew about Melkor, Aaron supposed that it was completely
understandable. After all, they probably knew better than he did, was Malcolm
truly was and of what he was capable.

Legolas looked at him after a moment, tearing his eyes away from the structure
before him. Aaron had brought the car to a halt at the kerb before the tower of
dark glass. The elf reached for the strap across his body, feeling somewhat
anxious that Aaron had requested that they be bound to the inside of the
carriage so firmly. However, he was certain that his concern had more to do
with the fact that they would soon be facing the dark enemy, not any experience
within this mechanical carriage.

“Danger,” Legolas stated, casting another glance at the Monolith when his eyes
met Aaron’s again.

“No kidding,” Aaron nodded in agreement before leaning over the elf to ensure
his seat belts was on firmly.

Once the healer was content that they were all firmly strapped into their seats,
Aaron reached for Legolas’ hands and placed it on the dashboard.

“Brace yourself,” he explained, trying to clarify his request with some gestures
but he was confident that when the time came, the urgency of the situation and
the elves’ dislike of cars would cross the language barrier.

“You too,” he looked at Elladan and Elrohir, expecting them to do the same.

“Aaron, what?” Elrohir asked, unable to endure the suspense any longer. Elrohir
had a terrible premonition that Melkor was not the only danger they were facing.
Aaron’s insistence on their need to wear these uncomfortable straps had provoked
Elrohir’s suspicion as well as concern.

“Trust me,” Aaron retorted under his breath as he faced the wheel again, “you
don’t know want to know.”

His expression alone was enough to induce more worried concern on their face as
he sat forward in his seat and placed his hands on the wheel. Once he started
the T Bird’s engines, there would be no going back, for any of them. Aaron
wondered how he had gone from respected psychiatrist to a lunatic about to wages
seven kinds of hell on a corporate giant with three elves and a T Bird loaded
with a lot of optional extras. He supposed it did not really matter how he had
come to this, only that he was here and he was going to rescue Eve and Moses or
die trying.

The rumble of the car caused his passengers to instinctively grab something as
the vehicle prepared itself to surge forward. Aaron took a deep breath, waiting
in anticipation as the dial on his speedometer made its steady ascent. The car’s
engines were roaring so loud that he could feel its vibrations through the seat.
Legolas was staring at him worriedly, trying to discern what he was doing. As
it was, the elves had no love for cars and this was not alleviating their fears
any.

“This is why we wear seat belts,” Aaron replied as he jammed his foot on the
accelerator and sent the car flying across the sidewalk onto the kerb.

The T Bird sped through the sidewalk, causing pedestrians to jump out of the way
with shouts and curses at his reckless driving. Most simply scurried out of the
vehicle’s path, particularly when it was coming at them with the speed of a
juggernaut. The car jolted dangerously when it reached the first in a small
series of steps. While making the bumpy climb up some steps, Aaron was treated
to a wide range of words he was certain elves did not use in polite company.
The T Bird groaned as metal scraped against concrete and something disengaged
from the underside of the car, which Aaron was certain, was Eve’s muffler.
Fortunately, the car crossed the uneven terrain quickly and relatively
unscathed, though the same could not be said for his passengers.

Once the T Bird reached the concrete walk in front of the building where workers
gathered to have lunch on benches or feed the birds, Aaron shifted the vehicle
into a higher gear and forced the accelerator all the way to the floor. The T
Bird raced forward, a tonne of unstoppable metal with a lunatic behind the
wheel. By now, people were sensible enough to stay clear of the car as Aaron
tore through the walk towards the main doors of the building.

“Keep your head down!” Aaron ordered instinctively and as the elves saw the
building rushing towards them, needed no understanding of his words to obey.

Aaron turned his head away as the car smashed through the revolving doors,
demolishing it in a spectacular explosion of glass and metal. The front of the
T Bird suffered considerably but there was enough steel in its frame to ensure
that it was still capable of being very formidable. Aaron vaguely heard people
screaming as he forced his way into the lobby of the building. He paid them
little attention as he swung the wheel around and aimed the nose of the car at
the security desk and the guards who were staring at the unfolding scene with
nothing less than shock.

Aaron shifted the car to a lower gear and slammed his foot on the pedal again,
racing towards the men who were in the process of unsheathing their guns from
its respective holsters. The T Bird continued its onslaught and sped towards
them, crushing glass and debris under its wheels as it closed the distance
between the armed men. For an instance, Aaron had this terrible fear that they
would not leave, that they would instead attempt to gun him down. Fortunately,
the sight of the car bearing down on them at great speed ended that question and
Aaron released a sigh of relief when he saw them running for cover.

“What in Elbereth’s name is he doing?” Elladan swore as the carriage continued
its destructive course throughout the front lobby of the Malcolm Building.

“I think he was trying to surprise them,” Elrohir replied, deciding that if he
were not free of this accursed vehicle soon, he would not be responsible for his
actions.

“He surprised me!” Elladan retorted.

“He has a plan!” Legolas declared, refusing to think that Aaron had completely
lost his mind. Of course he was also accustomed to Aragorn’s thinking and part
of what made the King of Gondor such a formidable warrior was the fact that he
was never predictable. Legolas was not sure that he was happy that Aaron still
possessed this trait.

Aaron did have a plan. Once he had sent the security guards running, he took
the car to the elevators at the far end of the lobby. Pulling the T Bird to an
abrupt halt outside one of the doors, he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to
the others.

“Let’s go!” He shouted as he jumped out of the front seat.

The elves were more than happy to comply as they unfastened themselves from the
carriage and quickly exited without further protest. Aaron grabbed the knapsack
he had secreted in the back seat of the car and searched the debris covered
lobby for a safe place to put it. The doctor saw a pot plant that had been
upended at the far end of the room and immediately raced towards it as his
companions collected themselves after their automotive ordeal. It took no more
than minute before he returned to them and pressed the elevator button.

“Legolas,” he called to the elf that was already arming his bow with one of
Nicky’s arrows.

Legolas nodded in acknowledge and took aim as the first elevator door slid open.
The blond elf stepped into the small space with Elladan, Elrohir and Aaron, his
eyes still trained on the target even as Aaron pressed the buttons to close the
doors.

“NOW!” Aaron shouted as the doors started to slide towards each other.

Prior to their arrival here, Aaron had told Legolas what he needed to do with
the explosive tipped arrow. While Legolas still appeared unclear on how one
arrow was going to aid them in their effort to create enough chaos to enter the
building unnoticed, he nonetheless trusted Aaron’s judgement and was more than
ready to act, now that it was time for him to play his part. Releasing the
bowstring, the arrow flew past the elevator doors and struck the rear section of
the wounded T Bird, in the exact place where Aaron had showed him.

The last thing they saw before the elevators closed the lobby to them was the
arrow striking its mark and turning Eve’s beloved T Bird into a fireball. A wall
of flame rushed towards them as the doors slid to a close and the elevator began
its journey upwards. The floor shuddered a little from the shockwave but
nevertheless continued without hindrance. Aaron could only imagine what damage
the exploding car had caused, however, he had a good reason for his actions. He
had wanted to clear the building quickly, without giving away the rest of his
plan. His dramatic entry through the lobby of the building had ensured that
everyone in the area would leave while he was carrying out his onslaught with
the T Bird.

“Well that went alright,” Aaron looked at his elven companions and saw that
Elrohir was still rather shaken, while Legolas and Elladan were frowning at him.

“What?” The doctor declared innocently. “I told you it was going to be rough.”

“You danger, driving! Idiot!” Elladan snorted.

“Oh that,” Aaron grinned. “That’s why I told you to wear seat belts.” He replied
making a slashing gesture across his body from shoulder to hip.

Legolas’ answer was to repeat the same gesture across his neck and retort, “no
more driving.”

“Fine,” Aaron replied, deciding he was not about to deal with sarcastic elves
considering their present situation.

However, the elves were no longer listening to him. Aaron’s eyes widened as he
saw something settle shadow like over their faces. Legolas was pressed against
the wall, his hand clutching his bow so tight his knuckles were almost white.
Elladan and Elrohir were in no better condition as they wore expression of real
anxiety on their faces, even more so then when he was ramming the T Bird through
the lobby of the building. All three were taut with fear, as if something
terrible had gripped their hearts with a black fist and would not let go.

“What is it?” Aaron demanded with grave concern.

“Danger,” Legolas managed to say, his gaze sweeping briefly across the space
within the elevator.

“Where?” Aaron asked puzzled, confused because he could sense nothing.

Elrohir’s eyes dropped to the floor of the elevator floor at the same time they
all felt the sudden shift in the motion of the car. Instead of going up, the
elevator was suddenly going down and fast.

“Hell!” Aaron cursed and immediately began jabbing at buttons to keep the
elevator from continuing its downward journey. However to no avail. He had lit
up almost every button the on panel, however the elevator was stubbornly
refusing to stop at any of the floors. Aaron watch the digitised screen on the
panel showing them the floors they were passing and felt his stomach hollow as
they approached the ground floor where they had began. Security must have some
kind of override control, he thought with dismay. He pulled out the gun he had
tucked away in the knapsack and prepared himself for a fight. The elves that
were still affected by the danger they were sensing in the elevator had
recovered enough to follow suit by brandishing their weapons in readiness.

The panel was no longer registering what floor they were on but Aaron sensed
they were going down much farther than the basement parking lot. The seconds
stretched into minutes and the elves seemed even more anxious as the time
stretched. Aaron could not blame them. He had not foreseen this happening and
wondered if it was necessary to play his trump card a little sooner than
expected. However, the question became moot when the elevator came to a jolting
halt and sent everyone tumbling to the floor.

“This contraption is going to kill us far sooner than Melkor!” Elladan hissed as
he picked himself up from the floor and brushed his hair out of his face.

“Calm down,” Legolas barked since he was more concerned with getting out of
their confinement rather than the mechanics of this box they were trapped in.
“I do not think this…device is customarily so unsafe. If not, Aaron would not
have led us here.”

“You have too much faith in him Legolas,” Elrohir snorted as he picked himself
up from the floor.

“I seemed to recall that you both had a great deal of faith in him one time,”
Legolas’ tone turned hard as stone.

“That was he was the Dunedain,” Elrohir returned, angry enough to rise to
Legolas’ challenge. “He is not that man any more.”

“Hey!” Aaron’s voice interrupted their ‘discussion’ before it became any more
heated, “some help here?”

The healer was attempting to pry the door open but was not having much success
since he was using his fingers. Legolas immediately stepped forward, producing
his dagger and sliding it between the crack of the door to pull it apart.

“Thank you,” Aaron added softly as he helped Legolas widen the gap the elf had
managed to produce thanks to the dagger. By the tone of the argument the elves
were having a few seconds ago, Aaron assumed that Elrohir had not been impressed
by the turn their plan had taken. Aaron could not blame his vitriol and guessed
by the manner in which Legolas tried not to glance Aaron’s way as they argued,
that Elrohir was questioning his ability to lead them in this rescue mission.

“Friend,” he said just as quietly. “Always. Even idiot.”

Aaron let out a short laugh but he was hiding the effect the sentiment were
having upon him especially when he felt Elrohir coming forward and patting him
on the back, in a conciliatory gesture. The elf looked somewhat guilty for
doubting him and Elladan offered Aaron a small smile, indicating solidarity to
whatever Aaron planned to do next. Forcing away the emotions churning through
him at their renewed confidence, Aaron turned back to the door.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said firmly and meant it.

It was time to find Eve and Moses.

*************

The sprinklers activated while Eve was attempting to discern what had been the
cause of the sudden tremor that rocked through the building.

She pressed her face against the glass window, trying to see what was happening
on the lower floors and could only see smoke rising from below. People were
running from the base of the structure like ants after a rock had been thrown at
their anthill. Even though she could not hear anything from her prison, she
could see the pandemonium erupting in the courtyard below. There was a fire in
one of the lower levels, Eve guessed, because she could see the smoke billowing
past the window. It was inevitable that the building fire protection systems
would kick in shortly after. Since the destruction of the World Trade Centre,
city engineers had become almost fanatical to ensure that every precaution was
taken against any kind of calamity.

As the water sprayed throughout the room, Eve soon realised that it was her one
chance to escape. Hurrying towards the door she knew was almost certainly
locked and guarded by one of Malcolm’s thugs, Eve watched her step to keep from
slipping on the smooth marble floor. She had not been able to find her clothes
and had this terrible feeling that Malcolm believed she would not be needing
anything but what she was wearing during her stay in his company. The thought
of what he had planned for her made the usually unflappable policewoman shudder
in disgust and fired her determination to escape at all costs.

She reached the door just as the knob started to turn and took up a flanking
position just as it swung open. Eve held her ground, knowing that she would
have only one chance at this. A tall man in a dark suit slipped past her,
trying to find her through the hiss of water spraying through out the room. The
visual and auditory distraction gave Eve a small advantage and she took it with
both hands as she brought her hand down on the back of his neck in what could
only be called a classic ‘karate chop’. While the strike did not have the power
to render him unconscious, it knocked him off balance and Eve threw a flying
kick into the small of his back, propelling him forward.

The slippery floor finished the rest off the job when he lost his footing and
landed face first on the smooth marble. Through the low hiss of the sprinkler
system, Eve heard the terrible crush of bone as his nose shattered, sending bone
fragments in all directions. His body was slapped so hard against the floor
that Eve was unsurprised that he did not move again. She did not even waste
time checking to see if he was alive. All she wanted was the 45 in his hand.

By now she was soaking wet, with hair plastered to her face and the nightgown
plastered to her skin. She thought absurdly as she stepped out of Malcolm’s
private suite into the corridor leading to the elevator that she would be the
first woman to fight off a dark lord looking like a contestant in a wet t-shirt
contest. She prayed they did not find her like his if she was killed. The
indignity of it was too much for her feministic mentality.

There was no one in the corridor and Eve strongly suspected that everyone was
too busy trying to deal with fire in the floors below. Hopefully she could get
lost in the evacuation process before Malcolm and his people knew that she was
gone. In any case, Eve was going to avoid coming into direct contact with the
man when she knew what he was capable of. The only thing that had saved her
from his wrath after her attempt to escape was his desire to find the elves.
Eve could not fathom why he was concerned about the trio when Moses had the same
telekinetic ability as him and was a more formidable threat. The elves, with
their ability to sense danger and possess hair that would put Vidal Sassoon out
of business, were more or less normal. Despite their immortality, they could
still be killed.

Why would Malcolm be so concerned about them?

A question for later, Eve decided as she ran past the elevator and made her way
to the fire stairs. Right now, she had to find out where they were keeping
Moses and if possible, rescue him without being caught herself.
**************

When they finally opened the doors of the elevator, Aaron almost wished they had
not.

A wave of hot, humid air rushed into the cool confines of the elevator car,
carrying a fetid stench that immediately made the elves wince in disgust. For
once Aaron pitied their superior sense of smell because if he could barely
control his own gag reflex, he had no idea how they managed it. Beyond the
bright, fluorescent lights near the elevator, was a dimly lit world where there
were shadows everywhere. The immediate area outside the elevated was paved but
as Aaron took a few more steps, the concrete paving discontinued and he found
himself on dirt.

Gazing upwards, he could see the ceiling of the place and it was not reassuring
concrete but rather a composite of rock and dirt. Stalactites hung from the
ceiling like serrated teeth and as Aaron delved deeper into the cavernous
enclosure they had suddenly entered, he heard what sounded like the swirl of
water.

“Aaron,” Legolas called out softly.

Aaron looked over his shoulder and saw that the elves were even tenser than he
was. Legolas had armed his bow, while Elladan and Elrohir were holding their
swords in striking pose. Their eyes were hard and set as if they expected to go
into battle at any second and their grim visage only prompted him to reach for
his gun and feel the security of its steel within his grip.

“Stay,” Legolas spoke further and the tone of his voice indicated that it was
not a request.

“What is it?” Aaron looked around and found it was difficult to see. They were
in a very large cave, that much was certain because its boundaries were so big
and the light which was coming from the service lamps around the elevator area
was not quite enough to illuminate all of it.

“Danger,” Legolas said flatly.

Aaron heard the swirling once again. He looked towards the direction it had
come and took another step forward without thinking.

“Aaron!” Legolas snapped sharply. “STAY!”

“We can’t stay here,” Aaron protested, wanting to get out of this place so they
could resume their search. “We have to find the others.”

Legolas did not answer because like Elladan and Elrohir, he knew there was
something in the darkness and it was coming for them. It was alive and drawing
closer, Legolas could feel its warm breath being carried on the waves of hot air
that filled this cavern. The stench that was so unbearable to them was without
doubt the rancid smell of rotting flesh. This cave was home to something
terribly vile, something that needed to feed.

The elves’ palpable fear made Aaron nervous and he gazed into the dimly lit
cavern, trying to see what was out there but could hear nothing except for that
damnable swirling of fluid that was gnawing at him to be explained. The smell
alone was stomach turning and Aaron who had been in surgery, who had seen
dissections and body parts being emersed in formaldehyde could not help but feel
sickened to the pit of it as he tried to recognise what could produce such a
rank odour. The humidity in the cavern left a fine sheen of moisture on their
skin and Aaron puzzled at the hot house temperatures, considering this was New
York in early spring and while it was not exactly freezing at this time of the
year, it was not meant to be this warm either.

“Legolas, can you feel it?” Elladan asked.

“Yes,” the former Prince of Mirkwood nodded. “It draws nearer.”

“We should go,” Elrohir advised.

“Where?” Legolas turned to him. “That contraption brought us here, I highly
doubt that it will take us away from it.”

Scrape.

All four turned to the new sound as they heard its scratch across the dirt
surface. The shadows seemed to move and Aaron decided that perhaps Legolas was
not so wrong after all, that there was danger here and it was closer than then
he could possibly believe. The doctor took a step back, retreating to join the
others when suddenly; something lashed out of the darkness and wrapped itself
around his waist. Aaron had barely time to register what had happened before he
felt the air beneath his feet as he was lifted off the ground.

“AARON!” Legolas shouted as he saw the beast for the first time.

It was dripping with water and glistened under the dim light of the cavern but
there was no mistaking what it was. Legolas had not seen it’s like in almost a
hundred thousand years, not since the Fellowship was forced to flee into the
Mines of Moria to escape the fearsome beast. Its tentacles moved like lashes and
flayed through the air as it waved the limb coiled around Aaron about, intending
to disorientate its prey enough for the eating.

“Is that what I think it is?” Elladan asked as they ran towards the beast.

“Yes, yes!” Legolas nodded arming his bow. “It is a watcher!”

The watchers had been created at the same time that Melkor had established his
kingdom in Angband. Within his Iron fortress, the dark lord had given life to
some of the most terrifying creatures to ever walk the earth. Among these were
the great spiders of whom Ungoliant was the first, the balrogs, the dragons and
a host of other monsters that would continue to terrify the Eldar and the other
races for centuries to come. It should have been no surprise to any of the
elves that Melkor would have created more of these beasts to safeguard his new
kingdom in this world.

Meanwhile, Aaron was coming to grips with his situation, that is being readied
to be swallowed by a creature that looked a good deal like a giant octopus
except this one had the musculature for terrestrial movement and was presently
widening its jaws full of enormous teeth. The doctor was fighting the urge to
scream, determined to calm himself despite his terrifying situation. However it
was difficult to do so when faced with the fact that all it would take for this
thing to kill him was one snap of its jaws while it was gulping him down.
Remembering he had a gun, Aaron pointed the weapon at the creature’s open mouth
and emptied a full round into its gullet. The beast roared in pain as the
bullets tore through its flesh but while it registered the pain, its bulk was
such that bullets did very little damage to it.

Aaron saw Legolas firing an arrow into the limb that was coiled around him. The
projectile dug deep into the creature’s flesh and had more effect on it than
Aaron’s bullets. It reacted to the pain by shaking Aaron even more violently
than before and the healer was certain that if he did not get eaten, he was
going to break every bone in his body from the shuddering he was being subjected
to. His gun was empty and even if he had another magazine, there was no way he
was going to be able to load the weapon anyway. Elladan ran forward bravely and
swung his sword in a wide arc across the tentacle holding Aaron. The beast
roared with agony and Aaron suddenly found the ground rushing up to meet him.

Black blood flowed from the severed tentacles, spurt of it creating a spray as
the watcher slammed another tentacle at Elladan and sent the elf flying.
Elrohir was quick to move to his brother side as the behemoth surged forward
towards him. Aaron scrambled free of the limb that had held him, searching the
dark for the backpack he had dropped when the thing had snatched him off the
ground. It did not take long to find it and Aaron raced towards it as Elrohir
slashed wildly at the tentacle reaching for Elladan who had struggling to
recover from his impact against the cave wall.

Aaron was about to lend his bullets to the fight when he noticed what Legolas
was doing. The archer was calmly arming his bow with one of the explosive
tipped arrows, despite the fact that barely metres away from him as a very
enraged monster about to kill them all.

“Help Elladan!” Legolas glanced at Aaron long enough to say and the doctor was
not about to argue with him. Aaron hurried to Elladan who was bleeding
profusely from a gash across his face as Elrohir battled to keep the tentacles
from snatching them both. The elf showed just how effective he was with a sword
as his strikes tore through flesh and caused the beast to flay its severed limb
in agony. Elrohir was trying to avoid being swatted aside as he defended his
brother and there was more than one occasion when he was almost taken himself.

“Elladan,” Aaron wrapped his hand around the elf’s arm and helped him to his
feet. Half of Elladan’s face was smeared with blood but the wound looked a good
deal worse than it actually was. “Go!” Aaron gestured to the elevator. “Now!”

Elladan nodded and stumbled away as Aaron took position next to Elrohir and
fired at the beast repeatedly. The creature seemed to flinch away from the
bullets and was now turning his attention towards Legolas who was alone and was
so far doing nothing to harm it. Aaron who knew what Legolas was planning
grabbed Elrohir’s arm and pulled the elf towards the elevator, hoping that it
was suitably far enough away from the creature to keep them safe.

“Legolas!” Aaron called out as he saw the lone archer standing face to face with
the creature. “Come on!”

Legolas paid little heed to Aaron’s call for help because he was too busy taking
aim at the watcher’s most vulnerable spot, its mouth. The thing was snapping
its jaws wildly, anticipating a meal and Legolas had every intention of feeding
it, though the beast would not find it at all palatable. He released the arrow
and saw it fly through the darkness. No sooner than the arrow had left his bow,
Legolas turned on his heels and sprinted toward his companions.

The explosion was not as fiery as the one that had encompassed Eve’s car but it
was more than sufficient to tear apart what passed for the watcher’s skull.
Blood and charred flesh splattered the walls of the cavern as the creature
stopped moving in a dead heap. Its huge tentacles slapped against the ground as
it met its fiery end, its head alive with flame and flooded the chamber with
much needed illumination. As the light filled the cave, they were able to see
the large pool in the centre of it that had been the watcher’s home for who knew
how long. However, none of it was as chilling as the mound of bones had been
collecting through the years, no doubt the remains of the victims Malcolm had
send down here to meet a grisly end.

Legolas was still marvelling at the power of these arrows, even if they were
more destructive than he liked. While he was rather awed hat he had managed to
put down such a deadly beast so easily, he was more grateful that his friends
had come out of the affair relatively unscathed. Glancing over his shoulder
briefly, he saw Aaron tending to the wound on Elladan’s forehead while Elrohir
hovered nearby, reluctant to leave his brother’s side.

The fiery remains of the beast had allowed Legolas the opportunity to examine
their surroundings closer. He would prefer avoiding the metal contraption that
had brought them here and find a more conventional means of leaving this place
since they would have more control over where they were going. One thing Legolas
had observed since arriving in the new world, the more labour saving devices man
created for himself, the more opportunities there were for things to go
completely awry.

Skirting the edge of the beast’s flaming body, Legolas moved deeper into the
cavern and deduced that it had been a fully contained subterranean chamber that
Melkor had linked to the surface by means of the metal contraption that had
brought them here. However, the watcher like most beasts needed air to breathe
and Legolas searched for another opening that might act as an air passage. The
fire was starting to die and if it were not for his superior eyesight, he might
have missed completely a small aperture at the far end of cave.

“Aaron!” Legolas called out.

Aaron dressed the wound on Elladan’s head as best he could and joined Legolas
when the elf called after him. Legolas was staring hard at something in the
distance.

“What is it?” Aaron asked.

“That,” Legolas pointed at it and Aaron followed his gaze to see what he was
staring at.

“That my friend,” Aaron said with a smile as he saw the access way for some
undoubtedly ancient and forgotten civil works project, “is our way out of here.”

*************

Eve stayed out of sight, as best as a woman dressed in a sheer nightgown could
during an emergency situation with people tripping over themselves to leave the
premises. She made her way down the fire stairs and was grateful when the only
people she saw were Malcolm Industry employees filing out of their offices
further down the staircase. Eve was certain that if Moses was being kept
anywhere, it was in the floor where John Malcolm’s office was located. The
bastard would want to keep his prize close to him.

Eve knew how dangerous this was and if she had any sense, she would be making
her way out of here. Malcolm’s questions to her indicated that he did not know
where the elves were which meant Sandra Collins had not captured them when she
and Moses were taken. If the elves were safe then chances were good that Aaron
was as well. That thought alone filled her with a deep sense of relief. The
idea that he was hurt had the potential to harm her as badly as she had been
when she lost both her father and her brother.

It was a sad but undeniable fact, Even thought as she emerged into the corridor
where Malcolm’s office was located, that she was in love with Aaron Stone. Why
else would she be risking more than just her life to recover the patient he was
so determined to protect? She supposed that she had been fighting it ever since
she learnt that he was her husband in a past life, but in truth it had not been
that much of a fight. It had only been less than two days ago that they had
kissed for the first time and almost every waking moment since then had been
filled with thoughts of him and how she was not about to play into the hands of
fate by falling in love with him.

Talk about denial.

For a few minutes, Eve remained hidden in corner of the corridor, waiting for
the opportunity to act so she could be assured of a reasonable amount of
success. Despite her desire to free Moses, Eve could not deny that Malcolm
frightened her, more than she had ever been in her whole life. Fear was not
something she was accustomed to. In her line of work, she resigned herself to
the fact that death could be a consequence of the job and she had accepted it as
most police officers did. However, this was different. Malcolm would not just
kill her. He would hurt her in ways she dared not even imagine and after seeing
humanity at its worst, Eve could imagine quite a lot.

Footsteps against the wet floor made her shrink further into her hiding place.
She remained out of sight when suddenly she saw one of Malcolm’s dark suited
thugs walking past her. Eve waited until he was a few steps ahead before she
crept up behind him and jammed the barrel of her gun into the small of his back.

“Move and I’ll see to it you’re eligible for disabled carparking for the rest of
your life,” Eve hissed and pushed him against the wall.

“What do you want?” he asked worriedly, all too aware of the barrel against his
spine.

“You know who I am?” Eve ignored his question and asked one of her own.

“Yeah,” the man replied shortly.

“Good, then you know I came in with old man,” Eve retorted, her eyes cautiously
aware of everything thing going on in the corridor. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” he answered swiftly, too much for it to be the truth.

“Listen,” Eve said very slowly. “I am having a really bad day. Aside from the
fact that I’ve been drugged, kidnapped, told that I’m going to be love slave of
some kind of dark lord and I mean the Darth Vader kind, I’ve also had to run
around this place in completely inappropriate clothing, so don’t misunderstand
me when I say that if you don’t tell me where he is, I am going to blow your
fucking head off!”

Her words were sharp enough to penetrate and she could see the shudder rippling
through him following her words.

“Alright, alright,” he submitted unhappily. “I’ll take you to him.”

“Thank you,” Eve replied, prompting him into movement by jabbing him forward
with the gun barrel. “I’m glad you decided to see things my way.”

************

It felt as if they had been climbing forever and Aaron was starting to think
that they would never reach the surface again. The access hatch took them
through the systems of underground water mains, electrical lines and other
utilities required for a structure the size of the Monolith. All through their
exhausting climb, Aaron was coming to grips with the fact that he had almost
been eaten by a creature that could not possibly exist, living for who knows how
long beneath New York City and feeding on the helpless victims Malcolm delivered
to it.

His limbs were aching by the time they emerged from the long shaft into the
basement carpark. Thankfully, emergency services were concentrated on the ground
level of the structure where the fire had either been put out or was still
raging, Aaron honestly did not know. He led the elves to the service elevator
which he was certain would not be scrutinized as the elevators in the main
lobby. In any case, they had no choice. Their detour to the bowels of the earth
had cost them greatly and the margin of time left for them to utilise their
earlier distraction was dwindling.

The elves did not appear happy to enter the elevator again but Aaron did not
give them much of a choice as he stepped into the car and waited for them to
join him. Legolas followed without question but Aaron could see the concern on
his face.

“We have to find Moses,” Aaron said to them, knowing that they understood
English a good deal better than he spoke it. “We have to take the fastest way
there.”

“Gandalf,” Legolas reminded.

“Yeah, Gandalf,” Aaron nodded, supposing it was time to remember that Moses had
a name.

“Aaron, Melkor danger. We must stop,” Elladan replied, struggling to make
himself understood.

“I know,” Aaron answered and said nothing more as he pushed the button on the
elevator and hoped this journey toward the upper levels of the Monolith would
not be as eventful as their last attempt.

In truth, Aaron was not looking forward to finding Gandalf because he knew that
none of them would be able to stop Melkor, not if even half of what the old man
had told him was true. There was only one way for this to end and it was a
course Aaron did not wish to take nor could he confide to the others until
moment was upon them. He could not even confide in Legolas because Aaron was
not entirely sure that Legolas would understand and Aaron did not have the words
to explain it as well.

Aaron just prayed that he was right because if he were wrong, then he would doom
them all to death.