Second Chances: The Return of Gollum

Chapter 16

"What was that?" Hayley asked, looking around.

"I don't know," I replied. "Where was it coming from?"

"I'm not sure. It sounds like––"

More movement.

"There it is again, but... I don't see anything," Hayley said curiously.

Then, we heard grunting and growling.

"Okay, what was that?" Hayley looked around more intently. "Wait, there's a cave behind us. I never noticed that."

"A cave?" Sméagol said to himself as he remembered the cave he woke up in right before we met.

Then, we heard a gurgling sound.

"Wait a minute," Sméagol grumbled. "I knows that sound."

"Oh, my God," I whispered excitedly as I stood up, and turned to face the cave. "You don't think...?"

Whatever was in the cave growled and grunted as it made its way towards the entrance. "Where is it?!" It was a skinny, wiry creature, almost identical to Sméagol, except his pupils were much smaller.

"Gollum?" Hayley called softly.

"Where is the Precious?!" Gollum growled angrily.

Sméagol stood up quickly, and turn to Gollum, glaring at him. "You?!"

Gollum looked at Sméagol, completely confused and taken aback. "Sméagol?" He suddenly realized that he and Sméagol were no longer two personalities dwelling in one body, but were now two separate individuals. He looked around, and realized he was no longer in Middle Earth, but in unfamiliar territory. Then, he looked at Sméagol again, who was fully clothed.

Sméagol approached him. "What is it doing here?" he snapped angrily.

"Where is the Precious?" Gollum growled.

"It's gone!"

"No!" Gollum shouted. "We hads it! We finally takes it back! Nasty hobbitses stole it again, they did!"

"They are not nasty hobbitses!"

"Why didn't we kills them when we had the chance?!"

All the rage, resentment, and anger Sméagol harboured for so long finally surfaced. "They did not deserves to die!" He shouted.

"They stole the Precious from us!" Gollum reiterated. "Nasty, filthy hobbitses they are!"

"They are not nasty hobbitses! They are good, kind hobbitses! THey tried to helps us!"

"They betrayed us!"

"No! You betrayed us!"

"Me?!" Gollum's eyes filled with rage. "I saved us!"

"You killed us!" Sméagol corrected. "You made Sméagol believe nobody could ever loves him! Sméagol finally makes a friend! Master was my friend! He tried to help us, until you ruins it! You fills my head with lies, and you tries to force poor Sméagol to kill nice hobbitses! You bites off poor Master's finger, and you kills us both! We falls in the fire, because of you, all for a stupid, nasty, filthy, ugly ring! You puts poor Sméagol through hell! For five hundred years, you hurts poor Sméagol! You were the nasty, filthy hobbit, not Sam and Master!"

The rage in Gollum's eyes faded into sadness and hurt. "I wants the Precious," he said softly.

"It's gone," Sméagol shouted, "and you no longer lives inside Sméagol's body! You don't have control anymore!" He stepped forward.

"Sméagol––"

Sméagol quickly raised his hand, and slapped Gollum across the face. "Shut the fuck up! Sméagol is not listening to you anymore!" Then, he stormed off, and headed back to the house.

"Sweetheart?!" Hayley called gently after him, understanding his rage.

"It's okay," I said. "I'll go talk to him." I hurried after him.

"Okay."