Winters' 3 Dears- The 12: Book Three

38. The Hero From the Well

Philemon gave Ladybird's arm a hard yank when she moved too slowly. Even if she twisted free, there was no place to run. She had a mountain on one side and a cliff on the other and if she tried to run back down the path he could easily shoot her.

"Please, Philemon, don't let them hurt my sisters."

"Your sisters are the start of all of this," Philemon said. "They are one more thing to distract you. One more thing to keep you from me!" His eyes suddenly shifted past her and darkened. "Speaking of which..."

Ladybird turned and looked down the path to see Wysteria running their way, her coat flying in the icy wind and the blade of the sword she bore glimmering in the sun. "Ladybird!"

"Wysteria, no!" Ladybird screamed as Philemon aimed his gun.

Wysteria turned her body when she saw the weapon aimed at her and the bullet struck the blade of the sword with a loud ting.

Philemon took aim at her again as she retreated for the safety of the rocks.

Ladybird felt her heart race in her chest like chariot of war horses. This wasn't happening; it couldn't be happening. "Never let any man make you less than what you are. You are a lady".

She suddenly felt like she was outside her body watching herself and trying to contradict the action she was about to take. She felt as though her body was moving in slow motion or against a furious wind.

"No!" she screamed as she grabbed his arm and forced it upwards. She heard the crack of the gun just above her head as he turned to combat her. The pounding of her heart stopped all other sound to her ears as she felt herself maneuvered around. Her right foot came down on rock but her left went into the air.

Her eyes widened as ground vanished from beneath her leaving her staring down the hungry throat of death.

She saw herself blowing a dandelion, watching her father's foot prints form in the snow as he pulled her on a sled. Her mother was calling her to come in for supper. She was skipping rope with Wysteria, pretending to be a horse as she carried Beatrice, delivering her blanket to the man at the hospital, dancing ballet, getting engaged, and trekking across the wilderness.

Her breath came in a gasp when she collided with a pine limb. The thistles passed her from branch to branch and from tree to tree as she crashed downwards. Before she could get a scream out she was having the wind knocked out of her by a branch or her face slapped. Crashing through one last branch she gasped before her world turned white.

/

Tennessee stormed up the mountain toward Wysteria who was huddled against a rock shivering. He knelt down in front of her and shook her gently. "Are you all right?"

Wysteria nodded. "I'm fine," she said with a shiver.

"I heard the shots," Tennessee said looking around. "Where's your sister?"

Wysteria pointed up the path. "Yewtree fired at me and she tried to stop him. They went over the edge."

Tennessee jumped up and ran up the path. He could see in the snow that there had been a great struggle. Looking of the ledge her peered into the pines. The evergreen foliage was thick but his eyes were skilled enough to see where someone had gone through. Tangled in the branches of a tree a red scarf waved, snagged tightly in place.

Wysteria jumped when he returned to her and put her hand on her heart when she saw it was him. "Did you see, Ladybird?"

"She must have gone all the way over," Tennessee said picking up his sword and returning it to its place.