Here's chapter 13 ! I really had trouble writing it, so I hope you'll enjoy !

Gandalf closed his eyes when he heard the sound of a fight coming from behind them.

He knew very well who were the opponents, and Valar knows he wished he didn't.

And Valar knows how much he wished that the Hobbits had not heard it. But it was too late. They turned around. The four of them. And they all lost their breath. There were too many Orcs, way too many. Their companions didn't stand a single chance.

Tears began to stream down their faces. They would not see them again. Never. That was now a certitude.

"Come," said Gandalf, putting his hands on Frodo's shaking shoulders, "Let's do not waste the time they are granting us."

Very reluctantly, hearts filled with sadness, they turned around and made their way into the thick woods.

Frodo felt the Ring getting heavier and more painful every minute. It was burning his skin. Literally. And there was that voice in the back of his head. Dark, full of evil and mischief. The words it spoke made absolutely no sense into the young Hobbit's mind, but it was still very unpleasant to hear.

He felt so weakened already, and yet he now had to bear the grief brought by his companions' death. Yes, death. How could they possibly survive such an unfair fight ? Even though it coated him dearly to admit it, they simply stood no chance. Not a single one.

And, according to the look on his four companions' faces, they knew it too. Pippin hadn't stop crying since they had left the others behind, so had Merry and Sam, but not Frodo. Oh, he was sad, deeply sad. It was hard, painful. In his normal state, he would have even been one of the first to cry, but not now.

The Ring was interfering with his emotions no doubt, diminishing them.

The young Hobbit looked at the Wizard beside him. His stern face showed nothing, as usual, and yet, there was something, an almost imperceptible tremor on his lips, maybe, that let the most observant people to know of his trouble.

Suddenly, without a warning, the old man's eyes opened wide as an abominable shriek reached their ears and they all saw a terrible dark creature flying over them. Frodo couldn't hold back a cry of pain as the sensation of burning on his chest increased.

"Mister Frodo !" Sam yelled in alarm.

"Quickly ! Hide under that stone !" Gandalf shouted, pointing a providential rock a few meters ahead of them. Sam hurriedly grabbed his Master under his arms and half-lead, half-pulled him under the flat stone. The four Hobbits buried themselves under it as far as they could while Gandalf kneeled in front of them, pressing a finger to his lips. Merry and Pippin were shakingly holding each other, holding their breath while Sam was still grasping a deathly pale Frodo by his shoulders.

The Hobbit had closed his eyes in pain. Every single part of his body was hurting. The Ring burned him, his shoulder felt as if sharp knives were piercing it over and over again, his head and ears were exploding.

That voice in his head was even louder than before, filling his entire mind. All he saw now was flame and darkness. The Voice was telling him to pass the Ring on his finger again and again, louder and louder. It was so tempting, so convincing... He had no control over his body anymore, the Voice was telling him what to do, and he could do nothing but obey. A small part of him was trying to resist, but it was hopeless, the Voice was too strong.

He felt his right hand grabbing the precious Ring under his shirt, his left hand being brought closer... The abominable shriek in his ears increased.

But then he felt a strong, large hand catching his own, restraining it back. He tried to resist it. He had to reach It, the Ring, to put It on. It was calling him.

It was his... his Ring... his... Precious.

There was a faint voice in the back of his head. A clear voice.

"Fight it, young Baggins !"

Fight ? Fight what ? He was fighting it, he was fighting the hand. Why...?

The questions died in his mind as he suddenly felt his body being torn apart and fell into darkness.

'No... Not Him...'

"No..." was the only mutter that Gandalf could get past his mouth when he felt Him. He was back. And the Wizard could do nothing to help this time, he was too far... The Nazgûl turned around, sensing its Master's presence and prepared to reach Him. It knew what it had to do...

"No !" Gandalf yelled getting out of the rock. No, they would not be taking him today. Not Faramir.

His staff glowed bright white and the light hit the dark beast, which let out a terrible scream before it fell to the ground about a hundred meters before them.

"Run !" Gandalf yelled, pulling the Hobbits out of their hiding place and grasping Frodo's limp form in his arms. The Ringwraith's mount had been hit, but not the creature it carried. They had to be fast, but such a powerful spell had left Gandalf tired and weary. That added to the Hobbit's short legs left them highly disadvantaged.

"Faster !"

He felt the darkness behind him. It was getting closer fast. Way too fast. Even without a mount. It had found the Ring, it sensed it, it won't let It get away. It had been trained to this.

The companions were running as fast as they could, but it was hopeless. That thing was too fast, they couldn't escape it.

"Run ! I will catch you !" Gandalf told the frightened Hobbits, resting Frodo in Sam's arms

The Wizard stopped, turning around, unsheathing Glamdring, ready to fight.

The dark figure was ready, its Morgul blade in one hand.

The hand-to-hand fight seemed inevitable. Gandalf knew he stood no chance, he had only a few remaining strengths in his body.

'Please the Valar they will not be found...'

Without a warning, the creature let out a terrible yell and slowly faded to dust. Gandalf stared at it for some seconds in surprise, but quickly gathered back his thoughts and resumed his run in order to catch back the Hobbits. This mysterious disappearance shall have to be explained later.

Frodo's eyes slowly opened at the sound of a voice. The night had already fallen on the land and he laid in his Elven cloak. He looked around him, trying to figure out where the Voice was coming from. The other Hobbits were sound asleep right next to him while Gandalf was nowhere to be seen.

The young Hobbit had absolutely no idea where they were. They were surrounded only by rocks and a few trees hid them from malicious eyes. Everything that had happened only seemed like a faint memory to him. Yet he did remember that terrible blow, but nothing had hit him... Oh no... He remembered now... It was Him... Faramir ! Was he alright ?

"He's here... We know it, don't we, my Precioussss ?" the voice spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.

"Who's there ?" the young Hobbit asked. That voice was definitely not Gandalf's.

Only silence followed his words and then suddenly, he saw a pair of huge eyes staring at him, the same eyes he had seen in Moria. Gollum, Gandalf had told him. Before his tired body could react, an ugly creature jumped on him and began to tear his shirt, desperately trying to reach what was under it.

"My Precioussss ! He sssstole it ! It is ourssss !"

"Get off me !" Frodo yelled desperately. Less than a second later, the Hobbit caught the sight of a staff colliding painfully with the creature's head and it fell limply on Frodo's chest.

"Are you alright Frodo ?" the deep voice of Gandalf asked him worriedly. Frodo rapidly nodded his head, still under the shock of the sudden attack.

"Did it hurt you, Mister Frodo ?" Sam's concerned and sleepy voice asked and only at that moment did Frodo realised that all his companions were on their feet, surrounding him.

"I'm fine Sam." he answered before mechanically bringing his left hand to his chest and let out a deep breath as it met the hot metal of the Ring.

"Samwise ? Would you mind giving me your rope ?" Gandalf asked the Hobbit, who quickly gave it to him. The old man then tied it around the creature's head and a rock.

"What is that ?" Pippin panicked voice asked, pointing at Gollum in disgust. Merry was still holding his little cousin close to him.

"That, young Peregrin, is Gollum. It used to be a Hobbit, but was corrupted by the Ring's power long ago." the Wizard explained him.

"That is a Hobbit ?" Merry disbelieving voice asked, disgust written all over his face.

"Impossible..." Sam added in a low voice.

"Unfortunately, it is. Or what's left of it. The only purpose of its life, now, is to get back the Ring for itself."

"Why don't we get rid of it while we have the chance ?" Sam asked, disgust and anger in his voice. That thing had hurt his Master !

Frodo stared at him, horror written all over his face at the words. They could not just kill that poor creature...

"I wish we could," Gandalf answered eventually, "But Gollum, here, is one of the last, if not the last living being that knows the path to cross the Dead Marshes."

"Don't you know the way ?" Pippin asked, disbelieving.

"Alas, I do not have that privilege. My knowledge of this part of Middle Earth is quite limited now, after what happened there." the Wizard explained in his tired voice.

Frodo had to admit he let out a small sigh of relief, staring at the poor Gollum curled on the floor. He seemed so weak, so pitiful... It seemed so unfair to have to hit it like that... He was glad they did not have to end its life.

Apparently, Gandalf quickly noticed his troubled look and told the others :

"Try to get back to sleep, you need it. I shall have a small conversation with you, Frodo."

The three nodded and slowly lied back in their cloaks on the floor, a little further away from the Wizard and the Ringbearer, still sitting on the hard rocks.

"You look like you need some rest too, Gandalf." the Hobbit began. It is true the Wizard looked awfully exhausted and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Thank you, you do not look bad either." Gandalf replied, a small tired smile on his face.

They remained silent for a small seconds, staring at their surroundings before Frodo Finally said out loud the question that had been on his mind since the moment he passed out.

"Was... Was it... Sauron ?"

Understanding what he meant, Gandalf shot him a sympathetic look and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid it was..."

"Is he... Is he alright ?"

Gandalf perfectly knew who the 'he' referred to.

"I... have no idea, I am sorry." he answered hesitantly. Though he didn't felt the darkness getting in the man's mind, that did not mean he had survived the fight with the Orcs. That did not mean any of them survived...

'Why did we have to leave them behind ?'

Hope it was good and sorry if it wasn't. The next chapter will be centered back on Aragorn and his companions. I don't know if I'll be able to update on Saturday, 'cause we are preparing to move out as soon as we can, so there are some boxes to make.

Maybe I'll be able to update, but I prefer to warn you.

Stay home and take care !