Chapter 43: Into the Fire

In that moment, Sam knew he had failed Frodo and could die because of it. "No, dear, no!" he cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. A great howl of grief went up in his soul, but even then, he refused to despair. As long as his brother lived, there was hope and Sam held on that, even more tightly than he did the Ring, which he held out over the edge, away from Frodo.

Frodo did not respond to Sam’s cry, did not even show he had heard it. He groped for the Ring, inching forward on his stomach nearly on top of the pinned Sam. His fingers closed around it and his nails dug into his friend’s hand fiercely enough to cut them. He forced Sam’s fingers open, but he was not fast enough. The Ring slipped from fingers slick with sweat and his own and Sam’s blood and fell into the fire. An unearthly scream howled in Sam’s ears as Frodo lunged after it, nearly toppling them both over the edge.

"No!" the Ring-bearer cried. "I can’t lose you again!"

Sam grabbed him and pulled him back from the edge. Frodo fought him fiercely, kicking at him and pounding him with his fists so hard Sam knew he would have plenty of bruises later.

"Let me go!" the Ring-bearer demanded. "Let me go!"

Sam grunted under the assault, but kept a tight hold with both arms around his struggling brother. One arm was around his back, one arm cradled Frodo’s head against his shoulder as he remembered his mother doing when his sister, Marigold, was inconsolable after a bad fall.

"Hush, my love, hush," he said right into Frodo's ear. "Quiet now. Shhh. Shhh. It’s all right. It’s all over now. All over. You’re through. You made it. Shhh now, dearest. Shhh. It’s all right. It’s all right."

Frodo continued to fight but Sam continued to hold on and talk. The attack weakened a little when the Ring began to melt, then greatly increased in ferocity as the bearer felt his precious die. Still Sam held on.

He was greatly startled when a horrific howl of despair, hatred and rage rose from the Ring-bearer’s throat and filled the chamber. It hurt Sam’s ears greatly, but he would not let go of his brother, only held him tighter. He was amazed that such a terrible sound came from so small a being, then he realized it wasn’t really coming from Frodo, that his throat was merely the instrument for another creature. The Ring-bearer’s body convulsed violently once and then went deathly still in Sam’s arms.

A/N: My thanks to my oldest nephew, Drendlmaire, and my brother-in-law, Lord of Rohan, for their help in how the Ring would be destroyed.