Chapter 15 The Aftermath of Terror
Frodo was in agony and the pain was great, but there were small moments when he was himself. He would watch Sam and his cousins as they tried to ease his pain but he could not say anything, he did not have the strength. All the long night they took care of him and still there was no sign of Strider. But they could not really spare time for those thoughts of his whereabouts. Sam had stopped the bleeding but in all his days he had never seen a wound like this all white and red and the edges of the wound almost seemed as if they were burnt. The edges were hard and there was such a heat coming from the center of the wound while all around the outside, through the rest of Frodo's body, there was a terrible coldness that was growing and spreading outward. Merry and Pippin kept the fire glowing hot and they constantly kept a pot of water on the flames for Sam to use. Sam would take this hot water and bathe Frodo's wound and the warmth of the water seemed to bring Frodo some comfort. Hours passed. Morning was coming they could just see the little light that heralded the dawn. Merry suggested that they all eat something, for in their concern for Frodo all thoughts of food had flown from their minds, even Pippin's. So it was with a strange unhobbit like feeling that they made their food. There was no joy in the making of it and that was a strange thing. Merry also decided while he was cooking that he would make a little broth for Frodo, hoping that he would be able to eat a bit. Maybe it would make him feel warmer inside. The Hobbits were strangely quiet too, not one joke or happy thing was heard in the camp. Even Pippin was strangely quiet, but they were all of them too worried to notice. All thoughts were centered on Frodo. Merry brought over the food to Sam to eat and the bowl of Broth for Frodo. "Here Sam, for you and see if you can get Frodo to take a bit of this Broth." Sam looked at Merry and Merry could see that Sam's eyes were red from unshed tears. But he took the broth gratefully but seemed forget the food that Merry had brought for him to eat. Sam saw that Frodo was awake so he gently took him and lifted him to a better position. "Here Mister Frodo I have a little something for you." Frodo felt Sam lift him and he opened his eyes and saw that Sam had a bowl in his hand. He started to tell Sam that he could not take anything when he looked in Sam's eyes and saw nothing but worry for him. He could not bear to worry anyone and then he glanced around and saw Merry and Pippin with the same look on their faces. That did it; even Pippin had a serious expression on his face and he could not bear that, so he decided that he would at least try for their sake. "Alright Sam" Frodo was very surprised with how weak he sounded and when he tried to shift his body just a little he felt a rush of pain and then a hand of blackness seemed pass over his eyes. He took a deep breath and the blackness passed. Sam took a spoon and gave some of the broth to Frodo, being very careful to not spill it on him. For Sam had a lot of experience with his small brothers and sisters feeding them when they were small hobbits. Frodo was able to take a couple of spoonfuls but the effort of eating was a bit too much for him. "I think that is all that I can take right now Sam." He looked around and said "Where is Strider" Sam looked at him and decided that talk may help Frodo keep conscious so he told him what he knew:
"Strider went out right after we found you and told me that he was going to scout out where the rest of those black devils were. He seemed very concerned about that and we have not seen him since and it has been hours and here it is almost dawn and there ain't been no hide nor hair of him been seen since" "That is because he had been making sure that you were all safe for a little while at least" All the hobbits turned with a start, for there was Strider leaning against the wall. How long he had been there they did not know, for he made not one sound with his approach. Strider looked at the Hobbits and then walked over and knelt down by Frodo.
" How are you doing Frodo?" " Frodo tried to struggle to sit up when he heard Strider but he felt both Sam's hands and Striders hands stop him "Don't you go a moving Mister Frodo you'll make it start bleeding again. From the look on his face I could tell that Strider somehow did not think that it would start bleeding. He pulled back Frodo's shirt and looked at the wound. There was a terrible look of sadness on Striders face that Sam did not see. When Sam say the wound he was surprised for the wound looked like it had closed in just a short while, from the last time he had bathed it 'Oh Glory be it looks like it is on the mend" Strider looked at Sam and shook his head "No Sam this is not good, this wound should have a very different look to it, if it was healing, see how red it is in the center and white around the edges and if you look you can see the lines of infection staring out from the wound. No! This is not right. This wound was made by one of the weapons of the enemy Sam and I do not like how this looks at all. This wound is beyond my healing! This is going to take elvish magic to heal! We have to get him to Rivendell as soon as possible" Frodo tried to listen to what they were saying but as the sun rose he felt a terrible weariness spreading over him and they all seemed to fade from his vision. The things of the night had seemed somehow brighter and easier to see and sound seemed to be coming to him from a far distance. Frodo tried to shift his weight again and blackness came over his eyes and His mind started to drift away.
Sam and Strider were arguing! Sam thought that Frodo should not be moved because he was too weak and Strider wanted to leave now, to take Frodo to Help. I wanted them to stop Arguing. It was not helping. I wished that I could make Sam see that Frodo was in Danger from that terrible wound. they argued back and forth for almost ten minutes and Strider tried to get him to understand, but that stubborn hobbit blood of Sam's would not let it go, he just knew that it would be bad to move Frodo. Finally Strider just scooped up Frodo in his arms and said over his shoulder "I can not waste time arguing with you, we are many days from Rivendell and Frodo's life depends on how soon we get him there. I fear there are foul things at work with this wound and I do not like what my spirit is telling me, Put out the fire and all of you get your things we must be off" Strider carried Frodo and all the while he kept talking to him: "It will be alright Frodo it will be alright" Frodo drifted in and out of consciousness and he could not quite catch what was being said to him, he only knew that he felt Safe and he knew that it was Strider that was carrying him. Frodo could only catch on to a few bits and pieces of his own thought, but the thought that seemed to be uppermost in his mind was Gandalf. Strider looked back over his shoulder at the other hobbits and said "Hurry" Strider could hear Frodo mumbling something and he was getting agitated and then the sounds became clearer Frodo whispered "Gandalf" "Strider held Frodo tighter "Hold on Frodo Hold on" and then Frodo screamed "Gandalf"
Sam heard him scream and was sure that Strider was hurting Frodo so he rushed up "What are you doing to him" Sam was that worried. " I am not hurting him Sam, it is the pain of the wound that is making him cry out like that. I would not hurt him Sam, for all the world" Peace Sam Peace I whispered. Sam finally heard the sincerity in Striders voice; Thank Eru and Sam finally realized that Strider truly cared for Frodo. He looked at the ranger and it was then and there that Sam decided to trust him, so he said "You can't carry him all the way to Rivendell Strider what are you going to do" "What we are going to do Sam is get on more even ground and then we are going to take all we can carry upon our backs and then we will put Frodo on Bill and then we are going to cover him with all that we can put on him to keep him warm, all of our cloaks and the blankets that we do not need. We cannot put him on Bill here because the terrain would only cause him more harm than good, the bouncing would jar that wound. Sam I fear that there is some part of that blade still inside that wound. I cannot dig for it! I do not have the things that I need and I do not think I have the skill for it. I only know of one person that has the skills to help him and that is Master Elrond. So, we have to travel fast, but if I put Frodo on Bill now we could force whatever bit of the knife is still in there and that would not be a good thing. The ground here is too rough and uneven. When we do put Frodo on Bill I will try to pick a path that will cause him the least harm. Do you understand Sam?" Sam looked at him and his eyes were big as saucers and then he gulped and took a deep breath and then he said. "Yes Strider I understand"