Were they trees or were there more men like the one who had grabbed her?

The wind made it impossible to determine how much snow had fallen, swirling it around and depositing it deeper in some places than others. She kept her hands out in front of her as she stumbled her way in the snowstorm. She thought to scream out for Tarass, but if there were other men, they would hear her as well.

She continued to stumble around and then like a light in the darkness, she heard Tarass scream her name. She turned, not knowing what direction it came from and took a step as she went to answer him.

Her foot found no solid ground and just before she fell, she screamed out to him, “Tarass!”

Chapter 4

Snow tumbled over and over and over, her hands reaching out frantically trying to grasp something to stop her rapid descent. Something jabbed at her side, struck her leg, scratched her face, but she fought through it all as she tried desperately to grab something, anything that would stop her. Finally, she rammed into a tree, more a sapling since it bent with her weight, and she quickly grabbed hold of it and brought herself to an abrupt stop, smacking hard against the snow-covered hill. She didn’t know what awaited her at the bottom, though she recalled Sorrell not allowing her to walk too far on her own in the area, having warned her of a steep glen that wasn’t far from the cottage, a rushing stream at the bottom. She berated herself for not recalling that sooner.

It took a few minutes for her to gather her wits and not let fear overwhelm her. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest and her breathing came rapidly. She had to calm herself and think what to do. Her breath caught when she recalled that Tarass had called out to her just before she had fallen and she had been able to yell out to him.

She tried calling out to him again, but she barely had a breath to whisper his name. She had to calm herself. She had to let Tarass know where she was.

Her head shot up, thinking she had heard something, but wasn’t sure. She needed to get her breath back. She needed to be able to let Tarass know she needed help.