Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings. If you see any characters or any of that stuff that you don't recognize, it's mine. The rest belongs to Tolkien.

Chapter Twenty-One

The days passed slowly, with hardly anything to pass the time away. If the two hobbits, Ali, and Gollum weren't walking towards their destination, they were resting. It was very discouraging, but Ali forced herself to continue on. She DID choose this course over the other choices she had.

Soon, the four of them reached the end of the rocky terrain of Emyn Muil and Frodo, Sam, and Ali slowed down, relieved to see some vegetation up ahead. Gollum paused and turned back to look back.

"Hurry hobbitses, hurry! Very lucky we find you!" Gollum said. The three of them proceeded and Gollum turned to look at Sam. "Nice hobbit," he said before leading them on.

Sam, not paying attention, stepped into some water, gasped, and pulled his foot out quickly. "Whoa! It's a bog! He's led us into a swamp!" he exclaimed.

"Swamp, yes, yes. Come master. We will take you on safe paths, through the mist. Come Hobbits, come. Real quickly. I found it, I did. The way through the marshes. Orcs don't use it. Orcs don't know it. They go round for miles and miles. Come quickly. Swift and quick as shadows we must be," Gollum hissed to them quietly.

"I wonder why that is," Ali muttered and Sam snickered. Frodo looked sharply at them, but continued on their way.

Ali sighed and followed after Frodo. As she glanced down into the war, Ali gasped when she saw what looked like dead faces in the water. Ali felt a lurch in her stomach. What more was she going to see to test her nerves?

"There are dead things! Dead things in the water!" Sam exclaimed, he had obviously noticed the dead faces, too.

"All dead. All rotten. Elves and men and Orcses. A great battle long ago. The Dead Marshes. Yes, yes! That is the name. This way. Don't follow the lights!" Gollum said, sitting on his haunches looking at him.

"Ooh!" Sam said.

As they continued on, Gollum said, "Careful now! Or hobbits go down to join the dead ones, and light little candles of their own."

"Oh, that makes me feel even better," Ali muttered to Sam under her breath.

"You and me both," Sam replied.

They went on their way when they realized Frodo wasn't with them. They turned to see Frodo gazing into one of the water's reflections.

"Frodo!" Sam yelled.

Frodo falls face-down into the water and Ali stared at Frodo in horror. Didn't he hear Gollum say to not follow the lights or look at the dead faces?

"Oh, move out of the way!" Gollum hissed and growled at Sam and Ali, rushing to the pool of water where Frodo fell in, stuck his hand in, groping for a while and finally yanked Frodo out of the water with Frodo sputtering and choking.

"Gollum?" Frodo asked in wonder.

"Don't follow the lights," Gollum said in a panting-type voice before going on his way.

"Gollum?" Frodo looked after where Gollum went.

"Frodo! Are you alright?" Sam asked, rushing to his side.

Ali sighed irritably and walked over to them. "Oh, come on," she said, pulling Frodo to his feet and they continued on their way.

That night, Ali fell asleep and she didn't wake up once during the night. The next day they continued on their way. Not long after they started on their way when a screech echoed through the air. Frodo cried out and clutched his shoulder, collapsing onto the ground.

"Black Riders!" Sam exclaimed.

"Hide! Hide!" Gollum panicked.

Sam grabbed Frodo and they rushed to the nearest bushed and hid under them.

"Wraiths! Wraiths on wings!" Gollum cried under the bushes.

"I thought they were dead!" Sam growled, grabbing Frodo's hand so he wouldn't put the ring on.

"Dead? No, you cannot kill them. No," Gollum said.

The Ringwraith screeched again and Ali covered her ears. She wished it would go away; she didn't particularly like this foe.

"They are calling for it. They are calling for the preciousssss," Gollum said in a low voice, looking at Ali and the two hobbits.

The Ring wraith screeched once more, circled overhead and flew away. Frodo breathed a sigh of relief as well as everybody else. Gollum went off a little ways and turned to look at the three under the bush.

"Hurry hobbits. The Black Gate is VERY close," Gollum said and disappeared.

The three sighed and followed after Gollum. They had no choice but to go on. They had to destroy the One Ring as soon as possible.

A/n: Extremely, EXTREMELY short chapter, but I'm not feeling very good and not up to writing a long chapter like I've been doing. I hope everybody understands. I didn't write this past weekend 'cause I didn't know what to say and I can't spend my time writing chapters every single weekend and need some time for myself. Yet again, I hope everybody understands. I'll try to write this coming weekend (today's Tuesday evening.), but I ain't making any promises considering how sick I'm feeling at the moment. But innywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, short as it was.

Melissa Ocean- Thanks for the review! And thanks for reminding me the best yeh know. Yesh, I saw the movie the second week it was out. But I'm only allowed to watch it once in theatres and wait until it comes out on DVD, which is really booty considering that's another few months. *Sigh* But I'll survive, I've got the books, can always read those. ^^ Innywho, thanks again!

Kage Miko- Thanks for the review! Yeah, I love her stories, too. I'm waiting impatiently for her to update her sequel, and I'm finding it very hard. Yesh, they're such sweethearts. And I wouldn't say that my story's not following the book NOR the movie because I'm sticking close to Tolkien, and using lines from the book and the movie. Don't jump so fast into conclusions! Laugh out loud. But I like having a little twist, so I'll keep up your last part of your review and hope it keeps you suspenseful. Thanks again!

Sunni07-Thanks for the review! Yup, yup, an update! Laugh out loud. You wrote that kind of story? Coolness. I'll try and get around to it, but I've got other fanfiction stories to read as well as books that I've started. So. I agree with you, though I'm scared of them 'cause I accidentally run into them before I know they're there, sometimes. And I agree with your last sentence. But innywho, thanks again!

Ashes Kittyhawk- Thanks for the review! Yes, they are, no? Glad you liked and thanks again!