Here is chapter 4. I will try to make it longer, but this story isn't exactly writing itself and I am having a hard time putting my thoughts and feelings into words, so bear with me.

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            As Merry Followed the rest of the fellowship, he noticed something was terribly wrong. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before. He didn't know how he could have missed something this important, but he supposed that in the few minutes that he was running he was caught up in the intensity of the moment. All he was worrying about the last couple of minutes was getting himself to safety, not about who else was next to him.

            Merry realized the graveness of his mistake almost as instantly as he noticed he made one. He stopped abruptly, almost causing Frodo to run into him.

            "What is it? Keep running!" Frodo yelled at him.

            "Pippin!" Merry yelled back, turning around and beginning to run in the opposite direction.

            "Merry!" Aragorn yelled after him, noticing that he was running straight for the Balrog.

            Merry ran as fast as he could, back to where he last saw Pippin. He only managed to get a few hundred yards away from the rest of the fellowship, when he was grabbed by Gandolf, who had been trailing the group. Merry fought desperately to get away from Gandolf, but he was unable to pry his small body out of his grip.

            "Meriadoc Bradybuck, what are you thinking?" Gandolf questioned Merry, while running with the rest of the fellowship. No one had noticed Pippin was not with them, nor had they heard Merry scream his name.

            "Pippin! We left Pippin!" Merry yelled as loud as he could.

            "Do not worry about him now, worry about yourself." Gandolf told him, right before the fellowship got to the stairs. "Lead them on, the bridge is near." Gandolf instructed Aragorn, handing Merry over to him. Aragorn hesitated for a moment, but Gandolf shoved him forwards, commanding that he did as he said.

            After going down the stairs for a few flights, they came to a gap. Legolas jumped across the gap, followed by Gandolf. Arrows from other orcs began to rain down upon them, nearly hitting them a couple of times. Aragorn handed the still fighting Merry over to Boromir and instructed him to jump. Another part of the bridge began to give away just as Boromir jumped across the gap with Merry, leaving Aragorn and Frodo with Gimli and Sam. More arrows were coming at them now and Aragorn realized if everyone didn't get to the bridge soon that they would end up being shot. Legolas was shooting back at the orcs, never missing, but he was greatly outnumbered. Aragorn grabbed Sam by his jacket and threw him across the gap to Gandolf, who caught him effortlessly. Aragorn glanced back at Gimli, getting ready to grab him and toss him across, but Gimli refused.

            "Nobody tosses a Dwarf!" He told Aragorn, preparing to jump. He misjudged the distance and landed on the very edge of the other side, but Legolas was there and snatched his beard trying to pull him up.

            "Not the beard!" Gimli yelled to Legolas, but he continued to pull him up by the beard.

            After Gimli was safely on the other side, another huge chunk of the stairs broke off and Aragorn and Frodo scrambled to get safely back. Now the gap was too large for anyone to jump or be tossed across. While Aragorn was thinking what to do, the stair a huge piece of the ceiling gave and crashed into the stairs, causing the portion that Aragorn and Frodo was on to crack and begin swaying. Aragorn used this to their advantage and he and Frodo leaned forward to help get the portion of the stairs to fall forward, enabling them to jump to the other side. The broken portion of the stairs move forward and connected with the part the rest of the fellowship was on and Aragorn and Frodo fell forward into their companion's arms. Almost instantly after the fellowship was safely on the remaining part, they took off running again. After they had successfully left the stairs, fire was all around. The rest of the fellowship ran past Gandolf and Merry, and Gandolf told them,

            "Go to the Bridge. Hurry!" After everyone had passed him, he turned and faced the fire, that's when the Balrog rose from the flames. The whole time Merry had been fighting to get back to Pippin, but when he saw the Balrog, he froze in Gandolf's arms. The Balrog roared in the wizard's face and lunged after him. Gandolf turned and ran the opposite direction, with the rest of the companionship. They ran until they got across the bridge, but Gandolf, who was holding Merry, stopped in the middle of it. He turned and faced the oncoming Balrog and began to command it.

            "You cannot pass!" He yelled at the Balrog, who wasn't even phased by Gandolf.

            "Gandolf!" Frodo yelled at Gandolf, as if trying to warn him to get away from it.

            "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You shall not pass." Gandolf commanded and raised his sword and staff over his head with one hand and slammed it down on the bridge. There was a bright light and then when the Balrog lunged for him and Merry, the bridge collapsed under its weight. Gandolf stood holding Merry on the half of the bridge that was still intact, thinking he had succeeded in sending the Balrog back to the shadow, but when Gandolf turned, the Balrog used his fiery whip to grab onto Gandolf's leg and pull him down. When he went down he dropped Merry on the edge of the bridge and Gandolf slipped further, now only holding on with his fingertips. When Merry landed, he smacked his head hard on one of the jagged rocks, slicing his forehead. He sat up just as Gandolf spoke his last words.

            "Fly you fools." Was the last thing Gandolf said before he plummeted into the black abyss.

            "Gandolf!" Frodo yelled, but he was too late.

            "Mister Merry!" Sam yelled to Merry, silently pleading that he come away from the edge.

            "Legolas, Boromir, take the Hobbits outside. I will get Merry." Aragorn instructed the Elf and Man.

            Aragorn swiftly ran to Merry, who was staring absently across the gap, where there once was a bridge. Silent tears fell down Merry's cheeks. Aragorn slowly took the last few steps to him and spoke softly.

            "Merry we need to go. It's not your fault, but we need to get out of here. Everything will be alright." Aragorn tried to sound encouraging, but found his voice failing.

            When Merry did not respond, Aragorn gently picked him up and carried him towards the exit. Merry, who was just a minute ago fighting to get away from Gandolf, now was uncharacteristically quiet. All he did was stare at the gap that separated him from his cousin and best friend.

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Was that long enough for everyone? Sorry there was no Pippin in this one, but I needed to explain what was going on at the other end of the story. The next chapter might have Pippin in it, but I haven't decided yet. Open for suggestions.