I totally was listening to Jennifer Lopez - Until it Beats No More while writing this.
I normally listen to soundtrack music because I can't write to lyrical songs but yeah, for some reason the Gollum chapters have been this crazy mix of music.

I swear, Skyfall, Taylor Swift, J-Lo, and every manner of pop star is the anthem of Gollum's life.

Summary:
Bilbo escapes from the Misty Mountains...

I ran along the very corridor that however long ago I cowered in, too nervous to go on and too afraid for what would happen to me if I stopped.

I was terrified because I was being chased and I wasn't even sure where I was going. I knew that if I continued along the tunnel that I would eventually come back to the place where I had fallen but what else could I do? I had absolutely no idea where to go!

I could hear Gollum behind me, hissing furiously, scrambling in that strange way he moved but I could not seem to shake him. Gollum knew the various ways through the tunnels better than I ever would and in the dark, he was better equipped still. Running from him, losing my breath and feeling the ache in my ribs and my foot, I knew that even if I ran into a thousand passages, he would find me.

I could not escape.

I ran up the passageway, my feet scraping against rock and my hand every so often making contact with the wall just so that I could ascertain where I was in the giant mass of singular darkness.

"Give it back to us!"

I didn't want to look back. I didn't want to see how close Gollum was to me. My fingers prickled and felt numb with his outrage and it was only by chance that I saw a hint of light reflect off the wall nearby. I ran to it, seeing that it was a passageway that veered off from the tunnel I went down before. I was in the unknown now, unable to see and needing to move quick enough that I couldn't actually keep track of the wall. If I were to fall off a cliff now or -Yavanna forbid- run into a dead end, I wouldn't even know until the last second.

The path became jagged, twisting sharply in sharp angled lines that forced me to slow down only because whenever I had to suddenly move out of the way, my ribs would ache and make it hard to breathe. I looked back, hoping that my foot wasn't leaving a trail for Gollum to see but I couldn't be sure given how little I could see from my face to the ground below. I had to keep running. I had to escape.

A second too late, my body bounced off a rocky wall, making me yelp in agony and twist away to clutch at my side. I dug my fingers into the rocky surface, coughing and groaning under the pain of it all. I looked up and used my hand to run along the wall, panicking when I saw that it was just a wall. I ran along it, "No, no, no, no, no, no!"

I felt tears well up, I didn't want to cry but as I followed the surface of the wall, I couldn't see any sort of exit that I could use! It was just a wall and I was trapped! I hit the wall in frustration, still wishing in vain for the dead end to not be true, even as I refused to stop and scrambled along the wall.

My fingers dipped and I held my breath in the utter relief that maybe all was not lost. Bringing my sword around quickly, I saw that there was a narrow passageway that was a tight fit but with my choices, I would take it. I threw off my backpack, tossing it through the narrow opening and tried to squeeze through...

...Oh! You have got to be kidding me!
Had I really jinx myself earlier?

I tried to move but the more I tried, the more I realized that I was truly well and honestly stuck! I couldn't breathe given the way I was wedged in the opening and even trying to tug my vest did little good. I tried to suck in, cursing all the plates of mushrooms I had eaten in Rivendell and how the Hobbit gossiping circle said that copious amounts of sex made a lass gain weight!

"It's ours."

I looked up from my struggle to get unstuck and saw Gollum prowl towards me, a sure grace proving that he could see everything just fine with those eyes of his. Fear chilled its way down my body, making me struggle anew, cursing how it was my buttons and my fat stomach that were responsible for getting me caught in the first place. I couldn't even cut them off either due to the fact that my sword was in my other hand and that hand was on the wrong side of the passage!

So panicking aside, I was stuck.

"It's ours!"

I sucked in a great gulp of air, wincing from the pain in my side, and jerked myself over, trying desperately to move in the gap and get free! I felt my buttons give, just a small sign, but it was enough for me to try again. I jerked my body, not even caring anymore if I would hurt myself further and with a great pop of buttons of my vest, I was slipping free and tumbling down.

When I smacked down onto the ground, I cried out in pain and rolled over onto my knees in a ball, clutching at my side and breathing heavily. I didn't have time to exactly nurse my wounds though. Gollum would come in after me since he was much thinner than I was-
What was that?
A ring? The tiny gold ring that I picked up earlier. Had it fallen from my pocket? Pocket. My nasty little pocket...

The ring was what Gollum was desperately chasing me for?

Without thought at all as to what I was doing, I reached out for it, feeling as it slid onto my finger. In the next second, Gollum jumped out from the gap but before I could do anything to try and defend myself, I watched in confusion as he simply passed me by and went on his way, cursing and growling.

"Thief!"

I stared wide eyed at his fast retreating form, going on through the tunnel despite the fact that I hadn't moved an inch from where I fell and rolled over. I got up quietly from my spot, slowly picking up my backpack and thinking that I needed to follow Gollum if I was to have any chance in getting out. Now that I was standing again, I looked around in wonder; no longer was the cave dark and unknowable but bright and wispy. What had happened? Everywhere I looked, the very surfaces seemed to be in a whirl of movement, a shaping of wind without air at all.

Sounds were muted, unable to be processed clearly, but there was something out there in the distance. Something that eluded my ears. I couldn't tell what it was with everything washing over my ears in a giant haze so I did what I had to do and followed on after Gollum.

I had to escape and unwittingly, Gollum would once again help me.

In the dark but surrounded in the bright and wispy world I now found myself, I followed Gollum, careful to keep my distance from the muttering creature but sure to keep him in my sights. On we went through the tunnels, him leading me up and up until I swore I could smell the air freshen around us. He really was going back to a way where I could escape. I felt it was a wild gamble when I first thought of it but Gollum was too angry to see his folly. The entire time before when he chased me, he had been able to keep up with me and yet now I was no where in sight.

As I crept up behind him, I listened to the things he muttered to himself, arguing back and forth about goblins and back doors and how the passages in the dark were dangerous without his precious. My ears perked in curiosity when he started to talk about what would happen should a goblin actually have his precious and what would happen if they were to put it on. What was this ring? I looked at it even as I followed along after him, the glint of cool gold shining up at me and making me understand that what Gollum spoke of was actually something I already knew of from old tales.

Mention of magic rings lived in the tales of old that were in books that could be found practically falling apart from age even on my shelves. What were the chances of actually finding one down in the dark? I understood why Gollum wanted to hunt me down for it but that didn't change my resolve to leave with it.

On and on, we went back up the tunnels, Gollum counting his way as he turned left and right and scrambled up the path. I eagerly followed, careful to keep quiet until I saw him stop and quickly followed suit. He looked up and peered into what looked like a cross passage and looking at my sword, I realized that it glowed brightly now. We were very near to the goblins and most likely this was why Gollum hesitated. "This is it! This is the way, precious, but we dursn't go in. Goblinses down there. Lots of goblinses."

Almost as soon as he spoke, he shot back and hid behind a rock. I stumbled a little to keep my distance but Gollum didn't seem to notice any sound I made. What had scared him? What was he hiding from? I heard some sort of shouting in the distance. A pressure on my shoulder, faint but there, a scratching on my cheek. I closed my eyes but the world that I was in made it nearly impossible to be sure of what I heard.

"Come on! This way!" I opened my eyes and wanted to shout out because of the familiarity of the voice I heard but I kept myself quiet. I looked ahead and actually felt relief in my bones, exhaustion washing over me even as my adrenaline swirled in my veins. It was Gandalf! Gandalf! How was Gandalf actually here? No matter how he was there, I was so happy to see the Grey Wizard and when I saw the dwarves all passing him in single file line, I nearly cried. There was everyone! "Right, good!"

Gandalf looked once more down the tunnel and I moved to follow him; I stopped myself before I forgot where I was. I glanced at Gollum, who still crouched behind the rock. I should have just cried out for Gandalf but there was no telling what the creature would do when given such a situation as the wizard and I surrounding him. I kept quiet and watched Gandalf run off, leaving me alone in the tunnel with Gollum who inconveniently still blocked my path.

I parted from the wall, trying to be quiet and see if I could slip by but the second I did so, Gollum tensed and his head turned to face me. He didn't see me, obviously, but he crept closer and nosed the air like he could try and sniff out my scent. I grew furious with the thought that Gollum would once again block my path and keep me from the dwarves and Gandalf. I had to get away! I had to get out and I had to escape for this horrible dark place that would surely drive me mad!

I knew what Thorin would do if such an obstacle were in his path and I knew what any of the other dwarves would do if they were to find themselves in the same situation as I. They were hardened warriors with weapons and while I was not a warrior, I was still with a weapon. No, it wouldn't be a fair fight but who was I to care about such things? Gandalf had brought me along on the quest as a burglar and since when did burglars care for something as silly as fair?

The choice was obvious before me. I had to kill Gollum. Already by now, the dwarves would've been shouting at me to have already done so. Yes, I had to do it. I was quiet as I drew my sword up, knowing only in theory what it would take to get Gollum out of my way. A quick swipe, a quick stab; it was already something I was used to seeing with the company.

...And yet, Gollum had every right to block my path. I stole something from him and until he realized that fact, he hadn't actually tried to kill me. Should a detail like that matter to me? I found myself torn between the fairness of such a question. Should I have bothered to even care about my indecision? Thorin, and even the brothers, wouldn't have hesitated to cut down the miserable creature in front of them if it meant getting to safety...

But Gollum was indeed miserable. What he was was not so removed from my knowledge. Just mere moments ago, I told myself that I would go mad down in the dark and what was Gollum if not that? I wondered how long he had been in the darkness, all alone, without anything to comfort him or provide him any sort of companionship.

I let my sword drop to my side. I pitied this thing in front of me, even as he still searched for me to try and kill me. No doubt Thorin and the others would still be willing to strike down such a pitiable creature but I found that I wasn't sure what type of person I would need to become if I were to kill Gollum. I was a Hobbit through and through. I was as soft as Thorin said, gentle as Dwalin first stated, but I didn't understand what could make the dwarves actually capable of something that I considered murder.

No matter what the company said about me -gentle or soft or whatever else- I knew that I didn't want to be that person. I was content with the fact that I would be considered soft and useless if it meant Gollum's blood was kept from my hands. I resolved to find the Hobbit way to end all this.

I didn't care any more about the consequences.

I took a loud step back and ran towards the passageway, leaping up and over Gollum's head. I knew from the noise that I made and from the twist of air around him that Gollum would most likely be able to detect me but I didn't care any more. I had to get away.

Somehow or other, I felt a hand on my ankle; Gollum had thrown himself back and caught me!

Down to the ground, we tumbled in a pile and I felt that wiry strength as his hands went for me, "Thief, thief, thief! Baggins!" Pain in my side exploded fresh and violent, stealing my breath away. Fingernails clawed at me and ripped fabric and I shouted in fury because I would not let this bastard creature of the dark beat me now! Not when I was resolved to my freedom! I kicked and punched him with my fist, brought the hilt of my sword down on him and yet nothing deterred him from me!

Even as his hands scratched, fists balling to beat on me, knocking wind from my lungs and making me curl in on myself, I twisted around and gripped the strap of my backpack that I dropped in our tumble. With a shout of determination, I swung it down with enough force to startle Gollum away from me though it was for only half a second. It was more than enough, and with it, my legs flew out and I kicked him right where his balls were.

Gollum flew back from me, clutching at his groin in pain, and I got up in a mad dash, grabbing my sword and just abandoning my backpack before taking off in the direction that Gandalf and the company went. I recognized the sound of Gollum's voice in my ears, shouting and hissing at me that he would hate me forever but I didn't even care. In the distance was the glow of the sun beyond a doorway and I raced towards it, ignoring the various pain that I still felt in my body. I knew that I was in a sorry state, clothes ripped and bloodied and bruised but I didn't care.

I was free. I escaped.

As the light of the sun washed over me, I laughed with the realization that when I caught up to the dwarves and told them the story of my escape, Dwalin would be proud of me. I had performed without even thinking his two requirements before an enemy could actually think to kill you.