The woman was crawling out of the shed when you exited the house, the basket of freshly washed laundry on your hip. You helped Momma with the chores and she was always very particular about making sure the laundry dried well in the Texas heat.

The moment she saw you, she immediately started to crawl in your direction, dragging her smashed ankle behind her, a sickly smear of blood marking her path over the ground

There were only a few of Tommy's shirts left to hang when the woman finally reached you, attempting to pull herself up by the basket by your feet, knocking it over and dirtying the clean laundry that had gone out earlier in the morning

"They're crazy! They're gonna kill us all!"

She grips the hem of your dress and tries to use it to pull herself up, you can hear the stitches popping and feel the fabric tear along your waist.

"Get off!"

You shout, attempting to kick her away. But the woman grabs your foot and this knocks you completely off balance, sending you toppling to the dry ground.

"Tommy!"

You scream out, panic rising in you as you use your free foot to kick her in the face as she continues to crawl her way towards you, the horrible crunch of her nose breaking filling your ears.

"TOMMY!"

You yell again before you see Hoyt bolting out of the house and taking only a moment before yanking the girl off of you with so much force that she flies back and hits her head on the dirt with a solid thump.

"I shoulda called out sooner, I shoulda got Tommy, I shoulda-"

You mumble, a myriad of emotions hitting you

"Hey now, you stop w' that rubbish."

Hoyt scolds, helping you to your feet.

"You know you ain't supposed to do more 'n you have to, 'specially with the livestock."

Tommy comes bolting out of the house, his shoulders heaving as he takes in the sight before him. Immediately, he sweeps you into his thick arms. You can tell he's concerned as he quickly walks into the house and taking you up to your shared bedroom