"Joe... Aiden." I called. "Come with me now... someone is out there... they need help and the biters are starting to reach us. Quickly!" I shouted as I collected my sticks and my sword.
We ran outside and walked slowly towards the screams.
"Help... help... someone help." I could hear her voice.
"Damn! That's Lydia!" I yelled as I ran towards the ripped up bodies that were now heading our way.
We ran further through the snow as we fought our way through about six biters. Just when we thought we were all safe, after combating our way through them, more came. About another ten were upon us. With just three of us there, it was proving difficult to get rid of them. I had to call for help.
"Jenny... John... get out here now!" I shouted.
They came running towards us and tried their best to help us. Thankfully we managed to get rid of them just in time, as John proved to be quite smooth with his knife as he bounced about and dodged each creature before cutting them.
When I finally reached Lydia, I could see she was struggling to keep one from biting her. I gave it a whack with my sword and it fell sideways.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"Yes... just about... God... what are you doing out here Tim?" She said angrily.
"What do you think?"
"To kill Shirley? Is that why you are all here?" She asked me as I helped her up.
"Look... we came here to question her... and no... not to kill her. What do you take me for Lydia? I'm not a murderer!" I shouted.
"Then what's going on Tim? Why come here?" She asked.
"We came here to get away from the kids... we didn't want them to know what was happening or scare them. You should go back now... they need you there." I said.
"Why? So you can kill Shirley!" She shouted more loudly now.
"No! I was thinking of doing something other than that if you want to know." I said.
"I see... and what would that be?" Lydia asked as she stood there and brushed snow away from her coat.
"Letting her go." I said at last as Lydia stared harder at me.
"What? But why?" She asked.
"She's got a history of mental illness... Charlie told me before he died. She's dangerous Lydia. I won't kill her, but I think we should make her leave. We can't accommodate someone that is a danger to us and the kids on this farm. It's the right thing to do... John and Jenny agree with me." I had told her at last.
"What kind of mental illness Tim?" She asked as I turned to go back to the cottage. I didn't want to discuss this anymore.
I walked away, but she followed me and I knew she would never let it go. She would hound me until the sun came up I thought. God! Why was she so hard to please?
I carried on walking leaving her behind. I knew it was the wrong thing to do until I heard her fall and scream. I turned around and saw her fall into a ditch.
"Lydia!" I shouted as I ran to help her.
She had slipped on a patch of ice and was now sinking deeper into a ditch of what looked liked icy water. I grabbed her cold, icy hand and tried to pull her out. But I needed help.
"Aiden... Joe!" I called feeling a chill run up my spine at the thought of losing Lydia forever.
35. Lydia Brown - A Chill
Tim grabbed my other hand and I hung on to him as tightly as I possibly could. I felt more hands pull me out and I was thankful that I was eventually saved. Of course, falling into the ditch wasn't the problem. It was the shivering that came afterwards that made my body convulse violently into a deathly chill.
The coldness overwhelmed me as I felt my body being carried inside. The voices that surrounded me were like a blur in the distance. Everything seemed slower than normal. The movement sent a dizziness into my brain as I tried not to be sick.
I knew my clothes were wet. They were making me shiver uncontrollably. The ice in the ditch had electrified my body or that's how it seemed at the time.
I heard someone say, "We need to get her back to the house and change her clothes so we can warm her up... okay? Wrap her in this blanket first."
Hands wrapped me up in a blanket and then a pulling sensation hurled through my limbs. I screamed. The pain was excruciating for a split second and then I passed out.
I awoke later in a bed. I was covered up in blankets. I felt warm. In fact, I was sweating. Who had turned up the heat?
Someone touched my hand. I didn't know who, because it felt like a dream. All I could feel was a hotness like I had never felt before. I knew I wasn't wet anymore, but the feeling of fire was wreaking havoc on my entire body. It was too much for me. I shook my hand away from the person who was holding it and started shaking. I tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. I wanted to tell whoever was there to turn the heat down.
It was getting worse too. I tried to throw the blankets off me, but someone kept on putting them back over me. Who was doing that? I wanted to scream at them
