Two days passed and Merry was not faring well. No one had trekked through these lands and so Merry was still where he sat. The hobbit had been too weak to move. His pack, filled with his food and water, was on his dead pony. Merry had not been in the mood to eat in the last two days because of the pain. The hurt he felt was more then he could ever imagine. The agony was so great that it was mind-numbing. At items, in fact would send him into a state where he neither was awake nor asleep. When he was in this condition, he did not dream. All that he saw in this half-awake, half-sleep state was blackness. It was a darkness that was consuming and near impossible to get out or break until it was ready to be broken.
As the hobbit leaned against the tree, his condition slowly deteriorated. Meriadoc was becoming paler and cooler with the passing moments. His breath was growing erratic as well. Because of the lack of liquids, the hobbit's lips were parched and cracked. Merry's skin was turning translucent and taut. Also, if someone had looked at his side, they would have seen blood-red lines of poison etching away from the wound.
Far away, Merry heard voices and sobbing, however, he did not nor could not recognize them and they made no sense. Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were not the same bright, inquisitive brown eyes however. They had turned as dull as mud. He squinted and tried to figure out who the beings were, but Merry could not.
His heart raced and his muscles tightened in fear. The hobbit had no clue if the beings were friend or foe. With the panic, his breath became even more erratic. Meriadoc wished to cough, but he did not dare because he was fearful of being seen – even though Merry was not exactly hidden and that Pippin, Diamond, and Estella had all ready seen him. Pippin, Diamond, and Estella rushed to the cloaked figure that was leaning against the tree.
"Merry!" Estella cried, "Are you all right?" She took up one of his hands. It was like ice. She suppressed a gasp when she felt it. Never before had Stella felt something so cold.
Merry's eyes drooped a little when he heard the voice of his wife. The sound brought a little joy to his heart; however it also brought a chill to her very bones. Meriadoc Brandybuck turned his head slightly so that he may peer upon her delicate features. Wearily and weakly, the male hobbit smiled at her. In his dusty colored eyes worry show.
"Stella," he whispered, the pain from his wound mixing with the worry, "How did..." Merry stopped and coughed. He grabbed his side with his so that the hobbit could protect himself. The hobbit leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. Slowly the fear Merry had felt a little while before, passed and his heartbeat slowed. "Know?" he finished after a drawn out time of silence.
"I'm your wife. I have a sort of sixth sense for this sort of thing. Pippin here..." Estella spoke gently. She gestured towards Pippin, whom Merry had not seen until then. "He had a nightmare," Stella explained as she continued, "But how we knew that is not important now." She gently rubbed Merry's hand.
Pippin looked about, his wife's hand still in his. He felt quite uneasy, but why he could not say exactly.
"What is it, Pip Darling?" asked Diamond, noticing his restlessness.
Pippin looked off into the distance because he thought he saw something moving. "Oh, it's nothing Di. Just my eyes playing tricks," he lied. Pippin didn't want the women hobbits to be frightened, especially because of Merry's state. What if they panicked? Where we would be then, Peregrin thought. He gently patted the hand of his wife.
Di looked up at Pip, as feelings of fear come over her. "What shall we do, now that we have found Merry?" she whispered.
Pippin's mind whirled as he thought over the question. He had hoped that they would be safe and that his nightmare was just that; a nightmare. However, it was not so.
