The Undecided Title Of Sara Miller *Hobbit Fanfiction* (Thorin/OC)

Chapter 39: Pursuit

Alright so it took a while. I went camping with a mom friend of mine and I didn't write while away... but this is the longest chapter so far... Hopefully you enjoy it and the middle of the story is not sagging. Your still out there right? I had a smaller response on FFN the last chapter. Have I lost your interest?

Chapter 39: Pursuit

In which there is more rain and a few promises.

"Oh no!" cried Bilbo as they reentered their campsite. Sara could not quite see what had distressed the hobbit but she could hear Nori, Bifur, and Bombur's muttered curses. Thorin had insisted they return to camp before continuing the discussion with Dwalin, as the branches that Bilbo, Ori, and Bifur held were all threatening to burn themselves out and none wanted to be left in the dark. Only Bifur's branch still gave off any light by the time they found camp again, but as she pushed forward into the light of the campfire they had left behind, she could see the wreckage that had been camp. Their packs had been pilfered and food was strewn helter skelter across the ground, as were some of their smaller possessions.

"What happened here?" asked Ori, picking up his open pack. No one said anything as they set about gathering their belongings and salvaging what they could. Sara found her bag and pulled the opening at the top wider, searching its contents with a hand. She screamed and fell backwards dropping the bag as a furry missile shot up her arm and over her head into the darkness beyond, chittering all the way. Her heart hammered an erratic staccato in her chest as she fought to get her breathing under control. A squirrel. It was only a squirrel.

"Ya all right lass?" asked Bofur as he helped her to her feet. She nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. It just startled me. I guess I'm still jumpy."

"Understandably so," said Bombur, depositing Gloin on the ground beside where Dori had laid Oin. The brothers were both still unconscious, although Oin showed signs of stirring.

"At least we know what happened to our packs," growled Nori, snatching a large rat from his open bag before snapping its neck and throwing it off the path. Sara poked her bag with a toe, bracing for another critter barrage but when her pack remained still she picked it up and began to sort through it.

"Bring any food that remains and we will assess what we have," said Thorin, helping Dwalin to sit by the fire. The warrior still did not look good. There was a dark stain from his shoulder and his arm hung limply by his side.

"How is Oin," asked Thorin as he began to go through his own bag.

"Still out but coming around," said Dori.

"Do we have his bag with the medical supplies?" asked Thorin as Sara brought two cakes and her jar of honey and put them on Thorin's bedroll where a small pile was forming.

"Yes we did find his, but not Gloin or Dwalin's," answered Dori, bringing the pack over to Thorin who sat next to Dwalin helping him out of his shirt and accoutrements. Sara's stomach turned as she saw the flesh around the two punctures in his shoulder. The skin was gray and swollen, so much so that the bleeding had stopped. Instead of blood the wounds wept a sickly yellow pus that gave off a nauseating smell. She stepped closer, covering her nose and mouth with a hand.

"Can you even feel or move your arm?" she asked. Dwalin did not respond but kept his head turned away from her. "Dwalin?" she asked again. Nothing. She looked to Balin who was pulling bandages from Oin's pack. He glanced up at her and gave a small shake of his head.

"Perhaps you should occupy yourself elsewhere," suggested Thorin. "See if you can bring Oin around, this wound is beyond my capability to treat." She saw the muscles tense in Dwalin's cheeks as his good hand clenched in a fist on his pant leg.