Chapter 1.

Hello. :) Please review and tell me any ideas you have. I love to have reader inspirations in my story.

I do not own Lord of the Rings.

"Collin. If you don't get that camera out of my face, I will take it and shove it up your-"

"Woah, Sophie! Chill! I've got everything under control!" Collin gave me his cheeky smile for the millionth time that day, and it made me want to punch his teeth out.

"Under control? We're in the middle of a bloody forest!"

Collin, my carefree, 'go-with-the-flow' best friend was completely unconcerned with our rather serious predicament.

He shrugged and began to film some squirrels climbing up a tree several feet away. "We can't be that far from home."

"Collin." I stopped walking and just stared at my friend in disbelief. "We were just driving on the highway, and we got in a car accident. And now we're in the middle of some forest, when there wasn't supposed to be any forests for another five miles. Not to mention the fact that we can't find Kristy or James."

Again, my friend simply shrugged, his perky smile never leaving his face. "Maybe we're in heaven!"

"Then where are Kristy and James?"

Collin got a mischevious glint in his eyes and I knew that he was forming some ridiculous story in his mind.

"Maybe they're in hell."

The cheer in his voice as he suggested the idea that our two best friends were in hell worried me. We had been walking for hours trying to find the two friends that had been driving with us when we crashed. It was so weird. Our car rolled off of the highway overpass, and when we landed, Collin and I were in the middle of this huge forest, but twins Kristy and James were nowhere to be seen.

To make matters worse, Collin's video camera had somehow survived the crash unscathed, and he had insisted on filming anything and everything. What was even worse than that was the fact that its battery simply would not die.

"I'm serious, Collin. If you don't stop filming me I will kill you."

Instead of replying, Collin took off running, shouting back at me to follow.

"Collin! Wait!" I was by no means fat, but I was definately an American, and my lack of physical exercise was showing. My legs were short, and I was definately out of shape, so keeping up with Collin's giant, quick paces was all but killing me. While I was putting all of my focus on moving my legs and catching my breath, I managed to smack face-first into Collin's back. "What the hell, Collin! Why'd you take off like that?"

Collin wasn't even breathing heavy. His bright blue eyes were studying our surroundings. We were no longer in the thick, dark woods, but we were out on a long dirt road.

"I thought I heard something..." He began to mumble to himself as I pushed myself off of the ground.

"I don't care if you heard something, you're giving me a piggy back ride. I'm tired of walking."

"Shh! Quiet!" Collin held his hand up to silence me, but it's not like I had much to say. I was too busy trying to catch my breath. "There it is again!"

I could hear it. A faint whistling was coming from around the bend of trees, where the road disappeared. Though, how Collin heard it from all the way in the forest was beyond me. He kneeled down and let me crawl onto his back, and once my arms were securely wrapped around his neck, he took of in the direction of the whistling, his camera still rolling.

As we made our way around the bend in the road, a wagon came into sight. Sitting on that wagon was a bearded old man with a pointy blue hat and grey robes. He was smoking a pipe, and whistling a cheerful tune. I liked him immediately.

Even if his hat clashed with his robes.

At the sight of us, the old man stopped the waggon and lowered his pipe. Pure astonishment crossed his features, but I can't say that I blame him, I'm sure that Collin and I looked quite odd to a man dressed in robes and riding in a wagon.

"Hello!" Collin smiled and waved excitedly. Oh, Collin.

The old man's eyebrows furrowed as he studied us. Collin was holding his camera in one hand, filming the scene as it played out. After a moment, the bearded man smiled back and nodded.

"Hello there. What brings two young ones such as yourselves so far away from town? And why are you dressed in such clothes?"

What's wrong with our clothes? He was the one wearing a robe, when it was clearly the middle of the summer.

"You mean we're alive?" Collin had never sounded so disappointed in his life. That boy had his heart set on being in Heaven.

"Yes, you are very much alive..." The man sounded confused, which was understandable. Most people preferred to live. "Might I ask why you would be dead?"

I decided that it was about my turn to talk with the cool old guy. "Car accident. We crashed and fell off of the highway overpass."

If you thought he was looking at us strangely before, you should have seen him now. We must've been like aliens to the poor man.

"What is that you've got there?" He completely ignored the fact that we just told him we were supposed to be dead and gestured to the camera.

"Oh, you like it?" Collin's smile grew wider and he looked to his camera in admiration. "It's my new camera. I'm an amateur film-maker. I want to be a director when I'm older."

"Huh..." The old man clearly had no idea what Collin was talking about. Maybe he was some hardcore amish man who completely avoided all civilization. "What are your names?"

"Oh! I'm Collin, and this little monkey on my back is Sophie!"

"Hello!" I gave the old man a cheerful smile from over Collin's shoulder.

He simply nodded and gave us a happy smile. "It's a pleasure to meet two such refreshing young spirits. I am Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey."

"Then why's your hat blue?" Collin asked the question that I had been wondering about ever since we stumbled upon the strange old man. But before Gandalf could answer, Collin spoke once more. "No! Don't tell me. I completely get it."

I looked up at my best friend with a raised eyebrow. "You do?"

"Of course!" Collin smiled proudly. "He's making a statement! Personally, I always thought that fashion statements were stupid, but hey! Whatever floats your fancy."

"It's 'floats your boat,' Collin."

But he just shook his head and kept on smiling. "Fancy is the name of my boat."

Figures.

Gandalf laughed at us and tapped the wagon he was sitting in. "Well, please do join me, Collin and Sophie. You two do seem quite lost, and this isn't a safe place to be wandering around."

So adding an old guy to the group would make us more safe?

But hey, he was right. We were lost, and it was nice of him to offer us a ride. I liked him, too. For an old man he was pretty nice.

"So where are we, exactly?" The land around us was beyond unfamiliar. It looked like we were out west somewhere, but I was never good with geography.

"Rohan, my dear Sophie. Land of the horselords."

"Horse-what's?"

Gandalf looked at me like I was a complete fool. "You do not know what Rohan is?"

"Nope. But horses are nice. Tell us about it." Absolutely nothing got Collin down. It was a trait that I wish I had.

"Rohan is the country to the north-west of Gondor..."

My eyes widened even more. "What's Gondor?"

Gandalf sighed and slowed the wagon to a stop. "I had a feeling that something was wrong with you two. At first I thought you were simply mad, but now my fears are confirmed... Brace yourselves, for what I am about to tell you might be a little hard for you to handle..."

(Kristy's POV)

"James, help!" I swing the small pot at the little people, but again, they dodged my attack. My brother was nowhere in sight, and I had absolutely no idea where I was. All I knew was that I had to duck my head to stand, and everything was far smaller than normal. The last thing I could remember was plunging to what I thought would be my death, but instead of dying, I wound up in munchkinland.

"Milady, please stop swinging that thing!" A chubby red-headed munchkin dodged another blow as he hid underneath the table.

At that moment, another little man ran into the room, followed by two fair-haired munchkins. The first one was older than all four of the others, and he looked up at me with wide and cheerful eyes.

"My dear, might I ask why you are making such a mess out of my house?" His voice was calm and friendly, and a bright smile was dominating his features. He reminded me my grandpa, all happy and friendly.

I looked at the pot in my hand and dropped it. What was I doing, attacking these little people?

"Where am I?"

The little man looked up at me curiously, but his friendly smile never fell from his face. "Why, you're in the Shire, miss. Land of the Hobbits."

"Hobbits?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, halflings, my dear. Little people, such as myself. What is your name?"

Something about the little man made me feel calm and safe. He was kind, and I found him trustworthy.

"Kristy..."

"Ah, well, Kristy, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed, and the other four followed suit. "I am Bilbo Baggins. This here is my nephew, Frodo." He gestured to a kind-looking hobbit with bright blue eyes. "This is our gardener, Samwise Gamgee, or Sam, as we prefer to call him." The red-head chubb gave me a small smile. "These to here are Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. Merry and Pippin."

The two fair-haired hobbits waved excitedly, reminding me of Collin. Collin. The others!

"Where are my friends?" I hadn't seen any of them since appearing here, and I had begun to worry that they didn't make it.

"You are the only one here, miss." Frodo's voice was soft and gentle.

"The only one?" Were they dead?

"Yes..." Bilbo's eyebrows furrowed and he studied me carefully. "My dear, you're not from this world, are you?"

The truth is, I had no idea. This certainly wasn't the highway, but it definately wasn't heaven, either.

"I don't know..."

The five hobbits gave me sad looks and rushed me with comforting hand-pats, hugs, and words of encouragement.

"Bilbo, we can not let her go to fend for herself. Let her stay here!" Spoke the blue-eyed hobbit, quite chivalrously.

Bilbo gave me a warm smile and nodded in agreement. "Yes, Miss Kristy, why don't you stay here with us in the Shire? I do believe that you'll like it very much."

The two fair-haired hobbits nodded excitedly and began to speak all at once.

"Miss Kristy, you must stay!" Pippin took my right hand and began to hop up and down.

Merry took my other hand and squeezed it. "We've got some of the best ale and pipeweed!"

"Uh... I don't really drink... Or smoke." James would kill me if I tried. That is, if I were to find him. Oh, I hope he's alright.

My ponderings went unnoticed as the hobbits gaped at me in disbelief.

"No drinking?" Pippin looked like he could cry.

Merry's expression was no better. "Or smoking?"

I shook my head and gave them a shrug. "Alcohol makes you act like a fool and smoking kills you."

Bilbo saved me before the two friends could express their disapproval. "Not to worry, Kristy. Nothing is expected of you. I feel as though we might make a proper hobbit out of you, yet." He took my hand and flashed me yet another happy smile. "Oh, do stay. You've got no home to go to, and it has been quite some time since I've had the pleasure of entertaining a big person."

What else was there for me to do? Obviously, I was no longer on Earth, and my friends were no where to be seen. Without James and the others, I was lost and alone. I should count myself fortunate enough to land here among such friendly people.

"Okay."

The hobbits all but lept for joy at the news. Such happy people, this race. Perhaps I could get used to it, here.

(James)

Head throbbing, legs cramping, and eyes drooping, I continued to make my through the forest. I didn't know where I was, and I couldn't find Kristy or the others to save my life. The only thing that I could remember was having my head slam into the steering wheel when we collided with the other car. Everything went black, and I suddenly ended up here. I was either dreaming, or dead.

If I was, in fact, dead, then the others must still be alive, because none of them came with me to this strange world. That was fortunate, for them, because I've seen some of the craziest things. For example, the giant spider webs everywhere. Yeah. Poor Sophie would have a heart attack. Collin would go crazy, though. I can see him now... 'Hey, guys! Get a picture of me being eaten by this giant spider!'

Oh, Collin. I worry about him.

Hours had passed, and the sun was beginning to set. I didn't know where I was, but it was clear that I wasn't going to find civilization any time soon. The trees just kept coming, and I was beginning to wonder how I was going to survive in this environment. Sure, I could survive well enough for a few days, but there was something weird about this place. I had a feeling that something was following me.

Before I could walk several more paces, a loud rustling came from the bushes. Slowly, I turned to come face to face with a spider twice my size. Its eyes glittered in the dim lighted forest, and it slowly began to move closer. If I was dead, then how could I die again? If this was a dream, then being eaten would just wake me up, right? I didn't want to find out, nor did I want to go through the pain of being eaten alive by a giant spider just to wake up. There was only one thing that I could do.

I ran. Silently, I blessed all of those years of track I'd been running, training for the Olympics. Running from a giant spider in a thick, dark forest wasn't the same as running around a track, but the training sure did help. Bushes slowed me down considerably, and the spider was quickly gaining on me. There was no way I could keep running forever...

A high-pitched whistling cut through the dense air. A loud cry came from the spider behind me, but I didn't dare look back. I ran faster and faster through the undergrowth, jumping over roots and dodging low branches as I grew endurance. If anything was a good motivation to run, it was the thought of being torn to pieces by something you used to enjoy smashing as a child.

Another whistling sounded, and the spider cried once more. Still, I ran. Whatever it was that was hurting that monster, I am sure that it's just as dangerous, and just as willing to eat me.

Unfortunately, the world had a different plan for me, and I tripped over a root that was hidden under a thick patch of grass. My head hit a rock, and spots clouded my vision. Warm blood trickled down my skull, and I turned over to face my approaching death. The spider crawled above me and raised for the final strike. Instead, it fell on top of me, dead, an arrow protruding from one of its eyes. Exhausted, I fell back onto the cold ground, too weak to push the spider off of me. The blood continued to flow freely from my skull, and I closed my eyes.

Voices made their way to my ears, sounding fuzzy and distant. They were speaking in some language that I did not recognize, but it was foreign and beautiful.

I could feel a presence around me, and I opened my eyes. Three tall, inhumanly perfect men were standing above me, studying me with curious eyes. Their ears were pointed, and bows were slung across their backs. They looked like male supermodels working at a renaissance fair.

The blonde one kneeled down next to me as the two brunettes bent down and lifted the massive creature off of me. My vision was slowly blurring, and I could barely make out the man's face. More foreign words escaped into my mind, but even they began to fog up and turn into a distant humming.

"W-what?" I could barely force the words from my mouth before everything went black.

(Sophie)

Silence engulfed our little traveling party as Gandalf finished telling us about his world, the world we were lost in. Collin watched me with curious eyes, gauging my reaction. But there was nothing. What could I possibly say?

"Well." Collin shrugged after a while, his voice quiet, but cheery, nonetheless. "This world is a lot cooler than America, I can tell you that." He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me into a comforting hug. "So what now?"

Gandalf gave me a sad smile, and turned to face the road again, pushing his horse into motion once more. "You will be traveling with me, for the time being, seeing as you have no other place to go." He re-lit his pipe and brought it to his mouth once more. "We'll see where the times take us. One thing is for sure, and that is that we must get you two some new clothing." He took one look at my capris and shook his head, moving his gaze back to the road.

Collin held on to me, understanding that I was not as carefree as he was. He ran his fingers through my hair as I simly stared forward wordlessly.

"Everything will be okay, Soph." He leaned his head against mine and closed his eyes. "We still have each other, and that's good enough for me.