Title – Missing the Midges
Author: Linda Hoyland
Characters/Pairing: Sam, Frodo
Rating: PG
Warnings: mild horror
Book/Source: LOTR book-verse

Disclaimer - These characters all belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. This story was written for pleasure and not for financial gain.

A cold mist swirled around him, chilling him to the very bone. No sunlight shattered the gloom. The stench was hideous. Sightless eyes stared up from the water. No birdsong broke the silence. Unearthly lights blazed, flickered and died in the distance.

The Midgewater Marshes seemed as blissful as the Undying Lands compared with this! Then they had honest Strider guiding them in sunlight. Frodo had looked a proper Hobbit then, not the walking shadow he had become. Merry and Pippin had chattered while they swatted the midges droning round them. In this desolate place, Sam even missed the midges!