Chapter Six

“I wonder how good this snake’s sense of smell is,” Aragorn hissed between clenched teeth.

“That’s an excellent question,” Legolas replied, without taking his eyes off of the giant serpent across the dirty, littered tower floor from him.  “I have no idea about this one.  However, if it’s senses are increased with it’s size, we could be in a lot of trouble.” 

Aragorn gave the elf a strange look.  “A lot of trouble?  What do you call what we are in right now?”  His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

The elf was used to such remarks spoken in that tone and ignored the words and the attitude.

The shake of Aragorn’s head accompanied by a deep sigh clearly showed that he didn’t care for the kind of trouble his friend was referring to.  Of course, he himself had been the one to go down into the lower level to begin with, just to satisfy his curiosity.  “I hope that thing isn’t a heat-seeker,” the man added.

At those words, and not having thought of that before, Legolas couldn’t keep himself from lowering his head to make sure it was well below the top level of the rock pile, which, being cold, would block the body heat of the two friends - he hoped.

The archer then turned to look toward the rotting, but still sturdy, door nearest them.  He felt sure they could reach it before the snake could reach them.  Getting the door open in time to escape damage, if not death itself, was another matter all together.

When Aragorn saw what it was Legolas was looking at, his thoughts turned in the same direction.  He eyed the door.  “The question is,“ he sighed softly, “can we get it open in time?”

Legolas laughed silently.  It was scary sometimes when he thought about how often one of them thought something that the other ended up saying out loud.  That kind of thing he expected from identical twins like Elladan and Elrohir.  But, was a mystery to him that such a feat existed between an elf and a human.

Retuning his mind back to the present predicament, the elf said, “We broke the rust loose when we came in, so the door should not be as hard to open a second time.”  He added in his mind that getting it open with less difficulty didn’t mean it could be done before the snake managed to get to them.  He hoped that disquieting thought hadn’t occurred to his friend. 

They had to take the gamble, though.  It was, however, a gamble that could cost them their lives.  Then again, just sitting here and waiting for the snake to make the next move was not only a very pleasant idea, but it was unacceptable.

Earlier Legolas had taken note of Aragorn’s quivering leg, but the  immediacy of possible death had pushed it to the back of his mind.  Making sure the snake’s attention was still elsewhere, the elf now took the time to address his friend’s trembling limb.  He didn't know how Aragorn could have hurt himself, but he asked anyway.  “Is you leg injured?”

“Cramping,” the ranger replied, continuing to rub up and down the effected area.  He needed to get up and try to walk it off, but at the moment, that was not a very good option.

“Can you run on it at all?”  The elf needed to know.  If Aragorn had to limp, or worse yet fell, it would greatly hinder their escape plans.

Aragorn knew that now was not the time to give the usual “I’m fine” answer he and Legolas usually gave to the other when trying to hide injuries.  Under these current circumstances, complete truthfulness was called for.

“I know we can’t hang around here too long, but I honestly don’t know if it will hold up for as far as we probably need to go.”  The man hated admitting that as much as Legolas always did when he was the one injured.  “We can’t let that fact stand in the way,” he declared.

Legolas nodded and then slowly raised his head to peek between the rocks again.  He was relieved to see that the serpentine creature was looking intently into a far corner that was now deep in shadow.

It was the perfect time to try for the door, but he had doubts that Aragorn could make the move.

“What’s that thing doing?” Aragorn asked.

“Looking for us in the far shadows.”

“Then now is the time to go,” Aragorn said firmly.

“But your leg...”

“Will hold up fine,” the ranger interrupted, deciding that he would force his rebellious limb to cooperate no matter how hard it proved to be.  “If we stay here, you know that snake will find us sooner or later.”  With a sign, he added firmly, “I’d rather die on the move than stay here and be a sitting duck.” 

“No one is going to die,” the elf stated just as firmly. 

“Except maybe that snake.”  As he said those words, his face brightened.  “Do you think you could kill it with an arrow?”

The archer was thoughtful for a moment.  “I do not think an arrow would penetrate the creature’s scales.  They must be very thick to protect such a large body.  Also, they overlap, so trying to find a space between them would be futile.”

“You could hit it in the eye,” the man replied hopefully.  

“Yes, but be aware that if the shot does not work, it will still be fully capable of finding us with one good eye left.  And, it will be very angry.”

“I was trying to be positive,” the ranger said, “but as usual, you have to look at the practical side of the situation.” 

“Just warning you,” the elf said.  “Would you rather be surprised?”

“No, but I have faith in your aim.  After all, you are the best archer among countless elven archers.”

“It is not a matter of hitting the snake’s eye.  I can do that.  It is a matter of hitting it’s brain, which would be small, even in such a large creature.  And, I am not that knowledgeable on the location of the brain of a snake.  Is it on top of the head, buried in the middle, forward or toward the back?”

“All right.  I get the point.”  His tone may have been tinged with exasperation, but it wasn’t aimed at Legolas.  It was aimed at the situation in general.

The two friends had been speaking so softly that no one sitting ten feet from them could have known it.  Still, when Legolas turned to Aragorn with his finger to his lips, the man knew that the snake had shifted it’s attention.

Silence fell over the tower’s interior.  Elf and ranger were both holding their breath. 

Legolas leaned over and whispered in Aragorn’s ear, “It has turned this way.”

In a flash Legolas’s bow was in his hand and instant later he had pulled an arrow from his quiver and had it strung to a full draw.  An instant after that, his arrow was flying toward the snake.

Just then, the snake, having seen one of it’s prey stand up, raised it’s head.  The arrow hit the creature in the jaw and shattered.  Three broken pieces then spun away into the darkness.

A strange shriek emanated from the snake as it shook it’s head side to side.  Whether that was a reaction to pain or was just plain rage, or both, neither Legolas nor Aragorn knew.

The ranger spit out a curse.  “Bad luck,” he uttered.  Knowing they now had but one option, he said, “My leg will hold.”

Just then, the loud crash of shattering stone sent a clear message to the two friends.  It was followed by loud hissing and the grinding of broken rocks by something very large moving over them.
 
Without a word, the elf put his bow on his back, and the ranger stood up.  As if by mutual consent, both began running together to the door and grabbed the iron ring that hung beside the latch.  Gripping it firmly until their knuckles were white, they pulled with all their might.

The door didn‘t budge.

As time seemed to drag by, It was getting more and more frustrated.  It knew beyond a single doubt that the two creature’s It sought were still in the tower.

The shadows were lengthening, creeping up the crumbling walls, as the sun sank lower. It made perfect sense to the snake that they would be hiding in the darkness.  But, the darkness was a comforting friend.

Able to discern warm objects from the surrounding cold stone and dirt, It stared into the shadows in order to make that distinction and discover the location of those irritating creatures.

It wanted these beings.  It wanted them badly, and It was prepared to search as long as it took to find them, because It knew that the swiftly descending darkness would only increase It’s chances of finding what It sought.

Moving in small increments, punctuated by long moments of intense searching, It covered the north end of the tower from corner to corner with It‘s intense gaze.  The only warmth It saw were a few rats, which were too small to even think twice about.

When It was sure the prey was not in the part of the tower It faced, the serpent turned back the other way.  Since the south end was farther away from the entrance to the lower level, It pulled it’s body free of the shattered entrance and began to move forward.

It was then the snake saw one of the beings rise up.  It raised It’s head to get a better look.  It saw an object coming toward It, but had no notion what it was.  Then It felt a flash of pain in It’s jaw.  In rage, It shrieked.  It was a sound It rarely found the need to make.

As anger overwhelmed It, a quick jab of joy flooded It as the second prey creature made its appearance beside the first one.  Then It saw them running toward one of the doors.

It started after them.

Legolas and Aragorn continued pulling on the ring as hard as they could. 

The ring had a metal rod that ran through a hole in the wood and bolted onto a thick metal plate on the outside of the door, so it wasn’t likely that the ring would come off in their hands.  It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, neither Legolas nor Aragorn were going to let up one iota.

“It’s coming,” the ranger ground out between teeth tightly clenched in the effort he was expending to get the door open.

Not bothering to answer, Legolas simply pulled harder, although he didn’t think he had any reserve strength that he wasn’t already expending.  He was  hoping, however, that desperation would find that little bit extra.  It was certainly needed now.

At first the movement was agonizingly slow, but then it began to move easier and faster. 

Neither Legolas nor Aragorn let up until  there was a space big enough for the pair to get through without having to spend time  forcing their way between door and wooden frame, they let go of the ring and made their way around the door and out of the tower.  The two then began to run toward the area where they had left their horses.

The euphoria at being free of the tower was so great that Aragorn did not even think about his aching leg.  So far, it wasn’t proving to be a hindrance. 

It came as a shock when the pair heard the tremendous crash of stone being slammed and then collapsing.

The need to find out what had happened was too great, and Aragorn  turned to look behind them.  What he saw made him stop in his tracks and gape.

Legolas followed suit.

Both saw the near side of the tower, as it  crumbled amid a huge shower of dust that billowed upward and outward.  Large parts of the top of the adjoining walls had also collapsed inward.

“I don’t believe it,” the ranger uttered.  “That snake has destroyed this whole end of the tower and part of two other side walls.”

“It does not appear to be letting anything keep it from trying to get to us.”  That fact amazed him.  He assumed the creature would give up and go back down into its tunnels, once it realized its prey had escaped the tower.

The elf and the ranger turned and stared at each other.  This was one determined creature.  It, however, was facing two equally determined beings, who were not going to waste any more time staring at the remains of the tower or the giant snake that was moving closer to them with each passing second.

They turned and ran.

TBC