Page 61 of A Brambleberry Manor Christmas
In desperation, I draw in a huge breath, filling my lungsand bellowing out her name one more time.
And right at that moment, the wind drops a little – justenough for me to hear a cry in the distance, like a faint echo of my owndesperation.
‘Tavie?’ My heart leaping with hope, I start scramblingacross the field in the direction of the cry, moving awkwardly in the deepsnow, not able to get to her anywhere near fast enough. ‘I’m here, Tavie. It’sall right. I’m coming to get you!’ I pant.
I’m losing my bearings, now I no longer have the hedge toguide me. Where is she? Am I moving in the right direction?
She calls out again, sounding closer now, and this time Imake out my name. I change direction slightly and blunder on through the snow,shouting to let her know I’m near.
And then suddenly I see it, up ahead of me. A wide, circulararea of snow that seems different somehow. While the snow is drifting in partsof the field, making the surface irregular, this patch is suspiciously flat,and instantly, my brain makes the connection.
It’s rainwater that’s frozen over, forming a skating rink.It’s deceptive, though, because snow has settled on it and it would be almostimpossible to tell what you were walking on if you weren’t paying attention.
I need to avoid crossing it because otherwise I might crackthe ice and fall under –
Her sudden cry pierces my heart. ‘Jenny? Help me!’
‘Tavie?’ My voice is a frightened shriek. ‘Where are you?’Frantically, I shine my torch around – and then I see her, and a metal vicegrips my insides.
She’s stranded in the middle of the ice. It must havecracked as she walked across it, because her legs are submerged in the freezingwater below. She’s hanging desperately on to the side of the gaping hole in theice, but even as I shine my torch in her direction, I hear a cracking soundthat curdles my blood, and Tavie screams.
As I look on in horror, she disappears under the water…
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
My first instinct is to immediately race over thesnow-covered ice to reach Tavie.
But what if I make things worse and crack the ice some more?
I’ll just have to risk it. I’ve got to get to her…
Relief floods through me when she suddenly bursts out of thewater and manages to grab onto another section of the ice to steady herself.
‘Tavie, can you pull yourself forward, onto the ice?’ Icall, inching slowly towards her.
‘I can’t. Every time I try, some more of the ice cracks. AndI can’t feel my legs.’ She sounds really panicky.
‘Your legs are numb with the cold, love. That’s all.’Ihave to stay calm for Tavie’s sake.‘As soon as we get you out of there andall warmed up, they’ll be fine.’
‘Oh, Jenny, I’m so, so sorry. I should have listened to you…’
‘Tavie, it’s all right. Don’t worry. I’m just glad I’vefound you and I’m going to get you out of there very soon.’
But how?
I’m afraid that if I fall through the ice as well, I mightnot have the strength to haul myself out, let alone help Tavie. I’ve no ideahow deep the water is.
‘Can you feel the bottom?’ I ask her, and she shakes herhead, just as another section of the ice cracks, making her shriek out in apanic.
‘It’s okay, Tavie. It’s all right.’ Racking my brains, itsuddenly seems that lying down might be the best way to get to her. If myweight is more evenly distributed over the ice, it’s surely less likely tocrack. So I get down and start slithering along on my belly, like a snake,until at last, I’m able to reach out and touch her.
She grasps my hand and I can feel the iciness of her skinthrough my glove.
‘That’s it. Now, if I pull gently and you try your best to moveforwards, we’ll have you out of there in no time.’
But this proves to be easier said than done. Tavie isgrowing more exhausted and weaker by the minute, her teeth chatteringuncontrollably. Trying to pull such a dead weight from my prone position is animpossible feat, and every so often, I hear the ice cracking under my weight.
I have to get her out of there and back to warmth andsafety…
