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needed a stable life, the mundane and the ordinary, that's what gets her through the days. He shouldn't leave her too long on her own but shit wages meant grabbing as much overtime as was offered. But there were more important things.
    Fuck the council, he wouldn't be working Christmas Eve ever again. Maybe quit overtime completely.
    'And how are you feeling ?' Peter asked again looking for a better answer.
    'OK, not great.' She turned her head to look at him, his eyes were filled with tears that hadn't yet spilled down his cheeks; not yet anyway. 'I took my pills this morning, but I'm due another batch in an hour, but I'm fine, honest.' Peter stro ked the soft tissue area of skin between her thumb and forefinger.
    A screech echoed around them but Peter thought it was far away. Hoped it was far away. Mary cowered down closer to Peter's chest. His thighs burned as never before, he was uncertain if he c ould make the last couple of hundred yards to the mill - it was all up hill.
    'I'll be OK.' She started to cry and Peter recognised the downturn as he had on numerous occasions since her diagnosis. The mood swings could be controlled with medication but onl y to a certain degree, what she really needed was less stress and he had pulled her out the house as if this was her problem.
    He really didn't want to leave her alone but thought now that that would be a good idea, even send her back home. The creature had moved away from them but would he take the chance? 
    He actually wanted to fall asleep, right here amongst the three hundred year old stone that had crumbled from the surrounding walls. Amongst the dog shit and the rat shit that piled undoubtedly under t he snow. Amongst the decaying animals that littered the area. Sleep ... with Mary.
    His eyes closed for what felt like only a second, but a few minutes had passed. It was enough to see Danny. He was smiling that infectious grin of his, but it was just a head in the snow. Blood spewed in thick clumps from his neck and pooled around the head, melting the snow beneath, and then it spoke, 'Fight or Die.' Blood bubbled from his cracked lips and his eyes rolled back in his head to reveal just white. A creature appeared with the shovel in hand and smacked Danny's head like a large golf ball causing it to spin toward Peter's face.
    Peter was startled awake and his mind was made up. 'Mary? I want you to stay here, it's safe here, but I have to finish this.' Peter stra ined as he got to his feet and he heard the crack of his joints as they extended and stretched, his knees ached, his back hurt. He took a deep breath and the cold air chilled his teeth but it also woke him up.
    'You need to stay with me, I need you,' Mary said sitting sorrowful in the snow. Her legs were turning blue from the biting cold.
    'I'll be back to get you as soon as I'm done.' He looked down at her slumped against the stone wall. His eyes were heavy but h is heart was heavier. 'I need to do this, you're safe here, and I’ll be back before the family arrive.' He smiled at her but she didn't smile back, streaks of tears gave her face a two tone affect and tasted salty when he kissed her goodbye.
    'If you think you see something, some movement, try and keep it in your sights, at all times. OK? Try and focus only on its movements.'
    He turned his back and stepped out of the ruined castle building and made his way down the slope to the road below. He never looked b ack once.
    Within a minute he was standing on the asphalt road, it felt good to be on solid ground. He stamped his feet to clean his boots, looked at the incline up to the mill and felt the burn in his thighs again. He climbed the hill nevertheless, onward. Fight or Die.

Reaching the Mill
     
    Peter trudged up the hill with his legs screaming in pain. Every step caused a burn in his thighs, a jarring pain in his ankles and a jolt in his knees, but he plodded on regardless.
    Pomathorn mill was up a few hundred yards on the left and he had wanted to get