A Different Life

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR or any of its characters, settings, etc.  However, I do own everything that is unfamiliar from LOTR, including this plot.

A/N:  Finally, I have found the time to write this story as well as my other one.  Thank goodness for spring break!  Anyways, yes this is a 'girl falls into ME' fic and no this is not a Mary Sue, though romance will soon ensue in later chapters.  I am trying to catch a real life effect of what would really happen if a girl were to fall into Middle Earth, so wreaking havoc and bugging the hell out of the characters will be kept to a minimum.  Well, I hope you all enjoy the story and please REVIEW.  It is nice to receive some feedback from the readers or else we authors would not slave for you people.

Chapter One

Devastation

"Renee!  Hurry up or you'll miss the bus!"  A high pitched voice yelled from the bottom of a flight of wooden stairs.

"Hold on mom!  I'm almost done!"  A young girl replied while wrapping a hair tie around a handful of chocolate curls and creating a messy bun.  She observed her work in an oval mirror that hung above the bathroom sink and she smiled in approval.  Ah, just the way she liked it.  Messy.  Quickly, she brushed her teeth and kept the water running to drown out the shrill voice that belonged to her mother.  Did she have to remind her every four seconds?  Yes.  Though mothers that annoying should be tied to a chair and gagged. 

As another call from her mother rang through her ears, she shut off the water, placed her toothbrush in its holder, and switched off the bathroom lights as she strode into her room.  She checked her appearance in her full length mirror and pressed down on her plaid skirt to reduce the number of wrinkles.  It was bad enough that she woke up late due to the absence of her alarm clock, but not having enough time to iron her skirt topped it all off.  She growled, visibly agitated, and then halted her actions as she was getting no where.  Next, her eyes roamed her white blouse in search of more wrinkles, but found only a few.  At least luck was on her side there. 

"Ok, socks are both black and are at the knees, shoes are on the right foot, and nothing is see-through. Good, I'm all set!"  She rolled her eyes sarcastically as she noticed the peppiness in her voice and then set out to catch the bus.  On her way down the stairs, she caught up with her mother, who gave her a pointed look and then tossed her a light jacket.

"It chilly out there.  Now hurry up.  The bus will be here any second."  Renee rolled her eyes once more as she swung the jacket over her shoulders and grabbed the purse that was sitting on the table next to the door. 

"Bye mom," she remarked as she opened the door and flew down the pathway that led to the sidewalk.  A harsh wind blew about as she strolled down the street and she clutched the jacket to her chest as warmth was escaping the confinements of her body.  Soon she became chilled and the slight rumbling above signaled a thunderstorm was abroad.

"Oh, just great.  Here I am with nothing but a jacket and it's going to start pouring soon.  It doesn't even have a hood!"  She sounded exasperated and frantic and just as she was about to cross the street, the sound of a roaring engine caught her attention.  She whipped her head around just in time to see a pair of bright yellow headlights that were attached to a rather large vehicle and she quickly jumped onto the sidewalk.  Barely landing on her feet, she looked up at the vehicle as it drove by and her eyes widened as she watched the big yellow bus drive pass her.  It didn't even slow down!  She hurriedly ran after the bus in an attempt to catch up, but to no avail.  She stopped at the corner of the street and bent over to try and regain her breath.

"You damn bus driver!"  Renee screamed out after the bus as it rounded a corner, earning herself a few weird glances appointed to her outbreak.  She ignored the looks she received from the passerby's and began walking in the direction that the bus disappeared.  It was a one mile walk to her school and she could not afford to be late again or else it was detention for her.  She couldn't ask her father for a ride for he was at work and not her mother or else she'd never hear the end of it.  Detention was not a usual thing for her and she dreaded the thought of being stuck in an empty room with nothing to do except stare at a clock and wait for the minute hand to strike a certain number. 

No way!  She would not deal with that, ever!  Jogging as fast as she could, she made her way down the meandering sidewalks, ignoring the amused looks pointed towards her, and released a sigh of relief as the school came into vision.  It was now drizzling and the rumbling was getting louder and a few flashes of light flashed above.  Glad that she was not going to get drenched, she brushed by a couple of people, apologizing as she did, and soon came to the entrance of the building.  A swarm of students were still entering the school and she joined the herd as they passed through the front doors.  Upon entering the main hall, her ears were bombarded with loud laughter and yelling as teens all around were conversing with each other and greeting others with their abnormally high pitched voices.  It annoyed her to no end.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and she jumped in surprise as she saw two fiery green eyes staring at her happily.  Oh yes, it was her best friend Lynn.  Great.

"Renee!  Finally you're here.  Are you feeling any better?  You were out for like three days.  What's up?"

"I'm fine.  I just had a 24 hour bug or something, but my mom insisted that I stay home for an extra day.  So what have you been up to?  Still scoping out that hottie that sits beside you in History?" Lynn grinned and nodded vigorously as a dreamy look began to cloud her eyes.  "Oh I swear, you're obsessed!"

"No I'm not!"  Lynn lightly pushed Renee on the shoulder and they broke out into a fit of laughter.  Then as if on cue, the bell rang and everyone hurried off to their classes.  The two girls parted and Renee strolled to her most dreaded class of the day, Math.  She strode through a few hallways and then finally reached the classroom and walked in.  She saw her teacher, an old lady who seriously sounded like a goat, and noticed the slight narrowing of her eyes as she stared at her.  Just what she needed.  A boring class and a teacher who disliked her.  She's probably the reason why her grade is dropping too! 

Renee sighed and sat down in her assigned seat and prepared herself for the long boring day she'd have to endure.

After about six hours of being lectured and taught the most unuseful knowledge she had ever learned, the bell rang signaling the end of the school day.  Picking up her books, she quickly fled from her ongoing science teacher who was still trying to teach a lesson, apparently not aware of the bell, and she entered the crowded hallways.  She pushed her way through the groups of people who were just standing in the middle of the hallways talking to each other and made her way to her locker.  A large group of people stood next to her locker-scratch that- a large group of hot guys stood next to her locker and she could feel their hard gazes upon her body.  Ugh, the guys at her school were so disrespectful and self-absorbed it wasn't funny. 

She fumbled with the lock on her locker and pulled on the handle with as much strength as she could muster.  It wouldn't budge.  She released an irritated breath as she attempted to turn the dial to various numbers once more and she pulled on the handle again.  It still didn't open.  Releasing a growl of frustration, she kicked the metal door and surprisingly it popped open.  She glanced to her side at the group of guys beside her and saw their amused faces.  So they got a kick out of that, now did they?  Renee returned her gaze to her locker and placed all of her books onto the shelves inside and exchanged them for a few others that were needed for her homework.  It sucks being out for a couple of days and then coming back to school to loads of homework. Absolutely sucks.  She placed the books into the backpack that hung from a hook in her locker, including her purse, and zipped it up and swung it over her shoulder.  She had to catch her balance as the weight of the pack pulled her down and she groaned as she felt the strain upon her body. 

"I hate school.  All they do is force you to listen to them talk and do loads of homework.  It's useless!"  She whispered under her breath and then closed her locker.  She jumped as she saw a rather good looking face appear from behind her locker door and she brought her hand to her chest as she regained her breath.

"Don't ever do that again!  I'm warning you Chandler."  He grinned as he saw her startled expression and crossed his arms across his chest as he leaned against the lockers beside hers.

"You get scared so easily.  I didn't mean to."  Renee rolled her eyes and smiled.  This was her one other best friend, Chandler.  He was about the only nice guy in this school.  Too bad he was like a brother to her or else she would consider dating him.  Actually, sometimes people mistakenly think they are siblings since they have the same skin type, same hair, and act just like they are brother and sister.  The only exception would be their eyes for Chandler has dark brown eyes and Renee has bright azure ones with tiny specks of silver in certain places.  They are most unusual.  Shivers ran down Renee's spine as the thought ran across her mind and she suddenly forgot about the whole idea.

"Yeah, yeah, so I'm told.  C'mon, let's get out of this hellhole."  Chandler chuckled and followed her out into the main hallway where they soon met up with Lynn.  All three of them were the best of friends and shared common interests such as movies, books, etc.  You get the idea.  Anyways, the three of them walked right pass the line of buses awaiting the students arrival and they ventured out into the streets towards their houses.  Lynn lived only a few blocks away where as Chandler and Renee had a large walking distance ahead of them.  They walked side by side and engaged themselves into an interesting conversation.  Well, interesting for Lynn and Chandler, but not Renee.

"So why weren't you on the bus?  Late again?"  Renee turned to Chandler and glared at him as she thought of the earlier occurrences that he had to so gladly remind her of.

"I wasn't that late!  But then again, that stupid bus driver tried running me over.  She didn't even brake!"  Lynn started laughing at this newly learned information and Renee glared at her while shaking her head.  "Gee, thanks for your concern Lynn."  Lynn slowed her laughter and began to breathe again as she caught the sarcasm in her friend's voice.

"Sorry Renee, but it sounds so funny.  Since when does your best friend almost get smooshed by a bus?  Especially by the bus that you were supposed to be on and the bus driver that dislikes you, a lot."  A smile formed on Renee lips as she thought of the idea and she soon came to laughing at herself. 

"That does sound ridiculous.  Funny, but ridiculous."  Soon they appeared before Lynn's street and Renee and Chandler waved goodbye as they watched their friend leave.  They continued on, getting closer to their houses and they talked with each other during this long period of time.  They would always walk home together since the bus driver always had a problem with Renee, in which she did not know why, and so Chandler decided to keep her company on her long trips.  At least they were getting their exercise for the day. 

After a couple of minutes of walking, they arrived at Chandler's house and they waved goodbye.  Renee watched him enter his house and close the door and she trudged on.  Her house was another twenty or so blocks away, which actually took her the longest to get to since she lived in a busy neighborhood.  Busy, yet dangerous.  She never did trust the local area and her brisk walk soon developed into a quick jog.  She turned a corner and then came upon her street.  Relief filled within her as she saw her light tan house and she quickened her pace as she grew closer.  Though as she came to the pathway that led to her front porch, her eyes widened and panic and fear consumed her.  Her door was wide open and her eyes detected fallen objects strewn across the floor.  Fearing for her mother's life, she raced up the path and then slowed down as she walked through the door.

Objects and papers lay across the hardwood floors and a few of the tables were broken and thrown around lying in different areas.  The TV was gone as well as the stereo in the living room and Renee's heart began to race.  Someone had robbed them.  She quickly opened her backpack and took out her purse and whipped out her cell phone.  She dialed 911 and waited for someone to answer.  As soon as she heard a voice she interrupted them and blurted out words that didn't even make sense.

"Calm down ma'am.  Now please tell us your situation."

"I've been robbed!  I just got home from school and my house is a pig sty!  My dad's going to go nuts!  The TV and stereo are missing and everything's on the floor…"  She began walking around, looking for any sign of her mother as she continued explaining and then she saw it.  Her voice began to crack and then she paused as her mouth dropped in complete shock.  Little stains of a dark red liquid trailed up her stairs and continued on to the second floor.

"Ma'am?  Ma'am?  Are you there?"

"Umm…hold on."  Renee slowly made her way up the stairs, carefully dodging the little puddles of blood and she soon came up to the top of the stairs.  She could hear the voice of the operator on the phone still, but she ignored it.  Her feet stepped lightly on the floor as she followed the trail of blood.  Now it looked as if someone had dragged someone across the floor for the red liquid was smeared upon the hardwood floor.  A lump had formed in her throat as images of her mother lying on the floor around a puddle of blood entered her mind and she shook her head to rid herself of the thought.  She would not believe it! This was a robbery, not a murder!  Slowly she followed the trail to her room and then her bathroom.  The bathroom door was closed and an exceptionally large puddle surrounded the bottom of the door.  It seemed that it was seeping through the crack of the bottom of the door. 

Renee slowly gulped as she stopped dead in her tracks.  She could feel the tears sting the back of her eyes and her heart thumped against her chest wildly.  After taking a deep breath, she gathered enough courage to stumble in front of the closed door and her hand touched the knob.  Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she readied herself for a most shocking scene.  She swung open the door and immediately the smell of rotting flesh filled her senses.  Not able to hold in the curiosity anymore, she opened her eyes and took in the image before her.  A shrill scream emitted from deep in her throat and she dropped her cell phone in shock and it landed in the growing pool of crimson blood.  Renee was glued to her spot on the floor, unable to move or turn her gaze somewhere else.  The sight before her was just too much to bear and she held her stomach as she retched into the sink.  Tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks and her intake of breath was in short gasps.  She couldn't breathe.

Soon, she found strength to move and as soon as she did, she flew out of the room and out of the house.  She held her head in her hands as the warm salty tears streamed down her face and she silently wondered what had gone wrong.  Why did life treat her this way?  Why was her mother lying naked on her bathroom floor surrounded by a thick pool of blood and wounds all over her body?  Why was her throat slit?  How was her body in such an impossible position that it seemed all bones in her body must have been broken?  Renee did not know and she knew that she would never know.

She continued running as fast as she could.  Cars whizzed by her, beeping their horns at her sudden appearance in the road, but she didn't care.  Her life was now completely ruined.  She would never hear her mother tell her to hurry to catch the bus.  She would never hear her say I love you.  She would never see her smile.  She would never see anything of her mother's ever again.  Never.  Renee couldn't take it anymore.  The pain in her heart was so overbearing that she did not know if she would be able to breathe any longer.  It didn't seem her heart would pump anymore blood through her system.  She stopped where she was standing to catch her breath, which was right in the middle of the street, and she was not aware of anything around her.  Air just wasn't circulating through her body and the shock and fear that was within her did not help. 

Suddenly, a roaring engine chimed through her ears and a loud horn beeped at her.  Slowly she turned her head to her side and her eyes widened.  The big yellow bus that she had missed this morning with the same evil bus driver was heading towards her and yet again, no signs of braking were apparent.  Glued to her spot in the road, she just watched with much anticipation as the bus grew closer and finally as soon as the bus was about ten feet away, it began braking.  Renee's eyes grew wider as she knew that the evil bus driver did it on purpose and that she braked too late and soon the bus swerved as an attempt to dodge Renee.  It succeeded in not having the front end of the bus hit her, but since the bus swerved out of control the back end was a different story.  As the bus power slid into the side of the road and hit a car on the oncoming lane, the back end had slid towards Renee and struck her with a large amount of force.  The last thing she remembered was a distant scream and the sounds of sirens before darkness took her.       

A/N: This chapter was sad and slow, I know.  But hopefully you all will review and tell me what you think of it.  Suggestions, comments, and questions are most welcomed!

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