"Merry?"

Pippin's voice called out into the woods. He glanced around at the trees towering over him. They were missing their leaves, and the bare branches were home to blankets of snow.

Snow was all over the ground, deeper than a usual Shire winter. Pippin had to struggle to get through, even on the path. He looked around him. Had he ever been this deep into the Bindbole woods before?

"Merry?" He yelled again.

No answer.

The wind started to pick up, and the cold air whipped against Pippin's face, making him shudder. Was it this cold before? He wasn't sure.

Snap!

A stick broke somewhere around him. Without thinking, Pippin jumped in fright and galloped down the path as fast as his short legs would take him in the deep snow, running blindly in fear of…something. He kept running until-

"Ow! Pip, watch it!"

Pippin opened his eyes. Was that Merry he had heard? He sat up. "Merry? MERRY!"

"I'm. Under. You," came a strained voice. Pippin looked down, and quickly sprang aside.

"Oops! Sorry, Mer!" He rushed forward and pulled his older cousin off the ground. Merry brushed snow off of his clothing.

"It's alright, Pippin. Just watch were yer going next time!" He gave Pippin a playful shove and ran off.

"Hey!" Pippin yelled with a laugh, and took after Merry. The hobbits ran far, farther than they were allowed to go, but they didn't remember. They didn't notice that it had started to snow, crystals of ice slowly drifting down to the ground.

Finally, Merry stopped to catch his breath. Pippin caught up to him, and glanced around in horror. The snow was falling heavy now, and it was almost dark.

"Merry, where are we?" he panted, resting his hands on his knees. Merry glanced around them.

"I…I don't know Pippin," he muttered. They stood there, silent for a few moments.

Suddenly, the snow started to fall thicker. The wind picked p, whistling through the bare branches of the trees. Pippin took a step closer to Merry.

"Now what?" He asked. Before Merry could answer, the wind started blowing harder, and in the distance they heard a branch crack and fall to the ground with a thud.

"Run!" Merry commanded. He took off, with Pippin following. Pippin could barely hear the cracking and clashing of branches around him over the noise of wind racing past his ears as he ran, his head bowed. He looked up.

"Merry?" The older hobbit had disappeared from sight. Pippin stopped running, and looked around.

"Mer-" A branch, much bigger than Pippin himself, crashed to the ground next to him. Scared out of his wits, the young hobbit sprang to the right and ran blindly off the path, not even in the direction of home, but in the opposite direction altogether.

Crack!

A branch fell, snagging the back of Pippin's cloak that was twisting in the air. He fell back, and sprung up again, running desperately, trying to free himself. He heard his cloak rip, but he didn't care. He kept running, the ragged ends of his cloak flying behind him.

----x--X--x---

Merry thought it took him years to reach the road, but he did. He whipped his head around, and took the quickest route up the road to Bag End. He reached to door to the hobbit hole and banged his fists on the door.

Inside Bag End, Bilbo and Frodo sat with Sam and the Gaffer, all of them looking around uneasily. All of them stood when they heard the door knock. Frodo, however, was closest to the door. He ran up and flung the door open.

"F-Frodo!" Merry stuttered, throwing himself at the other hobbit. Frodo staggered backward, but was supported by Bilbo and the Gaffer, who had gotten up from where they sat. Sam was behind them.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Merry," Frodo said with a laugh. The Gaffer and Sam smiled, but Bilbo looked around the group.

"Where's Pippin?" he asked.

Merry's eyes widened. "But, he's behind me…" he turned around and looked out the door. There was nothing but blinding snow.

----x--X--x---

His lungs ached. His muscles burned. The snow blinded him. But he kept going.

Pippin ran until he couldn't run anymore, and finally collapsed in a snow bank. He curled up, shivering uncontrollably.

"H-h-help," he moaned into the wind. "P-please, anyone!"

Tears slid out of his eyes, and Pippin was sure that they froze on his cheeks. He tucked his head into his chest, shuddering with dry sobs and from the cold.

Minutes passed, and Pippin had to face the truth. No one was going to find him. He would die here, alone, slowly. He had no hope in his heart, he was just waiting. Waiting for death to take him. He wasn't sure how long it would take, but it was the only option. He was sacred out of his mind. He snuggled deeper into the snow bank in spite of his better instincts. The minutes began longer. And only one thought could appear in his mind, no matter how he tried to rid himself of it.

'I am going to die.'