The Ringbearer
Chapter 1: The Death of the Hobbits"Yes, we shall get the Precious, we shall, gollum," Gollum whispered at the large, leafless tree under which Frodo slept. "We must get the Precious back – it is ours, my Precious"
"But Master has been so kind to poor Sméagol – we mustn't hurt our nice master!" squeaked the (just-recovered) humane side of his once hobbit-like conscience.
Gollum had been having this somewhat pointless debate with himself for almost an hour by now, and still hadn't decided whether he wanted the Ring badly enough to lose Sméagol forever, and finally betray Frodo and Sam. And all the while, the hobbits slept peacefully, not knowing of their companion's antics.
"We simply must get the Precious back – it is our Precious: not Master's, ours!" Gollum hissed through his rotten, pointed teeth, reaching his long-fingered hands towards Frodo's pale, thin neck. But, as his fingers interlocked, he flinched and pulled back. "We mustn't – Master has been so kind to us, he has not tried to hurt us."
"But the Precious is OURS!" Gollum hissed and spluttered like a mad cobra, and looked wildly about to make sure that Sam wasn't anywhere near. Once he'd seen that is was safe, he once again wrapped his slender fingers around Frodo's neck.
******
Sam tossed and turned mercilessly as he slowly rose from a deeply disturbed sleep. He felt a cold, lifeless breeze ruffle through his unkempt hair, and heard a familiar (hissing) noise – that slimy rat Gollum was up to something. Sam got up slowly, and walked towards the source of the noise.
******
Frodo jolted awake as he felt something cold and slimy wrap itself around his neck. At first, he couldn't register it, but as his senses fully adjusted, he let out a strangled gasp. It was Gollum – Gollum was throttling him.
"What… what are you doing, Sméagol?" Frodo yelped, as the grip around his neck tightened.
"We. Want. Our. Precious. Now." Gollum snarled, baring his piercing yellow teeth.
"No, Sméagol! You mustn't take it – I must take it to Mordor… to destroy it." Frodo struggled to speak, as he gasped for more air.
"The Precious is ours! The Precious is ours! We must get it back – we must not let you take it to the Dark Lord!" Gollum cackled. "The Precious is ours!"
And, as Gollum finally slipped into the clutches of insanity, ever so slightly tightening his grip on Frodo's neck once and twice more, Frodo let his last words escape, only to be lost to the shrieking wreck that was now Gollum.
"You will regret this, Sméagol. The Dark Lord will… seek you out. He will find you, and he will get the… the Ring. He will take it from you, and will then… kill what is left to kill… of you. Then he will destroy… Middle Earth. Your greediness will cause… the destruction of our world. It will be all… your… fault…" And that was the last of the hobbit who was Ringbearer. He slipped into the oblivion of death once and for all. Gollum let go of his neck, and undid the catch that held the chain on which Frodo had kept the Ring. As the Ring fell from the chain onto Gollum's hand, his eyes opened wide, staring at it greedily. His Precious had finally returned to him.
*****
Sam had a really bad feeling about the hissing he had heard. He hoped against all hope that Frodo was safe – still alive. He crept stealthily towards the tree under which Frodo (to Sam's knowledge) was still sleeping. There, he saw Gollum. Slimy little rat, Sam thought, glaring at the twisted form that stood over Frodo's 'sleeping' body. Sam crept closer, closer, closer… He crept up behind Gollum, and saw Frodo's body lying sprawled along the ground. He looks a lot paler than normal… Then Sam realised – Frodo was dead. Gollum turned around to see Sam mouth the words 'Master Frodo' in terror. Sam caught sight of the wretched creature gloating at the dead body, and a terrifying rage filled his heart.
He leapt at Gollum and caught him by surprise. Before Gollum could turn around to face him, Sam had him pinned to the ground, hands tight around his neck.
And, just as he thought he had the little creature under his control – at a position at which he could snap the little rat's nack – Gollum bit him, forcing Sam to let go, screaming and cursing at the pain that coursed through his wrist. Instinctively, he ran towards where he himself had been sleeping before, looking for his backpack, and some bandages. But Gollum (curse him, thought Sam) was a fast runner, and no sooner than the hobbit had run off, that he had him in a headlock. Sam struggled to get some air, and his head swam. He could see dead trees, but his vision blurred, and the trees, the sky, and Gollum's malevolent face all smudged and blended. And, as Sam drew his last breath, he felt ashamed – felt he had betrayed Frodo. I'm sorry, Frodo. Sorry that I wasn't there to save you – that I wasn't there to protect you, dear friend. You and the cursed Ring. Bloody stupid Ring.