Author's Note: This short story came to me last night when my boyfriend and I were playing Return of the King on XBox last night. Easterlings -rule-, but were not really major in either The Two Towers or Return of the King except as bloodthirsty soldiers. I do not own Lord of the Rings which is the property of J. R. R. Tolkien. I wrote this short story was inspired by the scene in the movie The Two Towers with the Easterling who heard Sam fall down the hill near the Black Gate of Mordor and went to investigate. This short story is his thoughts. Zan Ba To is pronounced 'Zahm-bah-toh'.

Thoughts of an Easterling

It was our time to patrol the Black Gate of Mordor for those who would dare be foolish enough to try and slip through without notice. Our time, the glorious Men of the East, or Easterlings as everyone else called us. I was marching alongside my brother and fellow soldiers when a sound came to my ears. I turned my head swiftly, raising a gauntleted hand to raise the mask of my helm to gain a better view. Even though I lost step with everyone else, that wasn't important at the moment.

'What in the world...?'

I blinked. The sound had been the loud crashing of falling rocks, and I must have been the only member of my division who heard the clatter for everyone else continued marching and patrolling. Arching a brow, I stepped out of line, ignoring my brother when he hissed my name from between clenched teeth.

'I shall find the cause of that clatter.'

I lowered my mask once again as I ventured forth, toward in the direction from whence the sound had come. I held the shaft of my Zan Ba To tightly until my knuckles turned white. I would be ready to fight who or what had caused the rocks to fall.

'Show yourself and fight!'

All I saw were rock, pebbles, boulders of every shape and size imaginable...and more rocks. I felt stupid, but I knew that something -must- have been out here to make such a disturbance. A light tap upon the side of my thigh caused me to jerk in surprise before I whirled around.

'Halt! Who goes there?'

I found myself mask to mask with my brother and a gave a soft sigh of relief. He always had a bad habit of coming up behind me and keeping quiet until a certain moment where he would get my attention-often startling me near to death.

'Rin, how many times must I remind you not to do that?'

"What do you see?" Rin asked, tilting his helmed head to one side in curiosity to why I had ventured from our division.

"...nothing," I replied softly before I turned and left with my brother, however; I narrowed my eyes as I looked back over my shoulder. I raised a gauntleted had to brush my shoulder length, dark hair away from my view as I did so before I looked back as my brother and I marched back through the Black Gate and back into Mordor.

'Something is out there.'

I just know it.