Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 28 - Nightmares Or Reality?

~~ Celia ~~

It was strange if she thought about it. One minute, she was soaking wet, and sure she had just pulled Fíli and Elena into the water with her, which could have all sorts of unfortunate ramifications for the quest.

The next, she was watching them stumbling through the forest, their eyes glazed and their actions uncoordinated. She could see the others in the Company doing the same, all staggering about as if they had been drugged. It was almost as if she were watching actors on a stage, where she was standing there with them, but unable to interact with them.

It all seemed familiar to her, like she had seen it before, but something seemed off, as well. There was something - someone? - missing. Several people, in fact, although the dwarves were all milling around, so she couldn't quite make out who was missing.

They seemed to notice their missing members as well, for several of them bore worried looks on their faces, and Fíli made sure to keep Elena close, occasionally dropping his hand to the hilt of his sword defensively and moving in front of her, as though seeing a threat she was unable to see. Then he would shake his head and drop it again, blinking hard.

It was like they were all wandering in and out of lucidity, though they managed to still maintain some small level of watchfulness, and tried to keep going in one straight direction. Celia frowned, feeling the memories dangling teasingly at the edge of her mind, just out of reach.

It wasn't until Thorin finally stopped and yelled sharply, bringing everyone to a halt, that she drew in a sudden breath with her intangible body, starting to remember where they were as a sweet, refreshing scent came trickling by, clearing up the cobwebs fogging her mind.

She drew closer to the Company, wincing instinctively when Dwalin seemed to walk right through her, though neither of them seemed to be affected by it. She shrugged it off, frowning when she noticed that Bilbo was gone as well, though she had noted him stumbling around earlier.

She swung her head around, scanning the murky forest for signs of her adopted uncle, and spotted him clambering up a tree, his expression determined. Her eyes narrowed, and she began to scan the clearing again, this time warily, recalling this to be the time when the spiders attacked.

She didn't know what had really happened to her, that she was only able to watch, and not interact, nor what had happened to the other missing members. Everything seemed shrouded in mist, and she wasn't sure if that was a result of what had happened to her, or if it was actual mist in the forest, as she was unable to clear it away either way.

Still, she kept watch, trying to see whether or not the spiders were coming, her heart starting to pound in her chest at the thought of seeing one of her worst fears - and memories - come to life. 

She wasn't the first to see one, though. A shrill scream made her spin around in time to see a horrifying sight. Elena had spotted something in one of the bushes, and, perhaps influenced by whatever enchantment lay on the forest, had moved closer to inspect it, heedless of the possible dangers and what their memories told them lay waiting.

Now, she lay defenseless on the ground, trying futilely to scramble backwards as a giant tarantula-like creature sprang out from the bush and towered over her, hissing menacingly, waving its two front legs in the air threateningly as it reared above her.

Celia screamed her sister's name at the same time Fíli did, and was just as useless at trying to reach her in time. Elena screamed again, terror filling her voice as she managed to flip over and onto her feet, trying to run away, only to come face to face with another spider as it dropped from above, knocking her back down to the ground as it stabbed her in the shoulder and injected her with its venom.