Chapter 11
Last Hope
Lydia's POV
The fish was exceptional and filling. Stiles couldn't keep his eyes open after he'd eaten his fill and drank his water. The wind still howled outside drifting the snow against the door but it looked like no more new flakes were added to the mix.
Lydia cleaned up their fare as best she could and added more kindling to the fire before lying carefully next to Stiles. Her phone was surprisingly still on but since she had turned off the radio and quit searching for signal and didn't use it for anything other than the time or for the light she guessed it would last a while longer than normal. She set the alarm for herself so she could continue to feed the fire.
They slept side by side, Lydia rising to tend the fire and check outside at the conditions. She returned to a fitfully sleeping Stiles, his brow furrowed as if in pain or some nightmare. She thought about rousing him but decided against it. He had been pushing himself too far since long before they'd taken this disastrous trip. She knew he hadn't been sleeping well but had refrained from comment. She knew all too well what it was like to have things pursue you in your dreams. It wasn't fun.
By morning she found him still asleep. She added the last of the kindling they had to the fire and knelt beside him. He seemed to be shivering even though he was still encased in the blanket, his brow was sweaty and his skin pale. She laid the back of her hand on his forehead and was dismayed to feel how warm he felt.
She ran through a list of possible causes to the fever in her head. It could have been any number of things, exposure, the frost bite to his toe, septicemia (blood poisoning from the bites). She bit her lip in worry as she tried to rouse him to get him to drink from the bottle. He only took a few small sips before laying his back exhausted on the bag. She tucked the blankets in around him and sat back to plan what she was going to do.
They had left on Friday afternoon to catch the bus, were stranded by Friday night and come to the shed. They had spent Friday night and Saturday night here so Lydia figured it was Sunday morning by now. Hopefully the group had reached Yosemite and gotten their various texts and phone messages that said they were going to attempt to catch up with the bus. When they never arrived she hoped they would have been smart enough to call home and alert the Sheriff and the emergency responders that they were stranded somewhere between home and Yosemite.
Stiles didn't appear as though he would wake any time soon so Lydia dressed warmly in her coat and gloves, she borrowed Stiles's warmer boots and layered her socks so they fit snugly. She cracked the door open to see the sun shining brightly above her, it looked like the storm had finally blown through. The air was still biting and cold but at least the winds had stilled and the snow had given way to clear skies.
She leaned back in and grabbed the tire iron from by the door and ventured outside. She trekked around and grabbed armfuls of wood being wary of any traces or movements for fear the coyotes would come back to exact their revenge on her and finish her off. The woods were still and silent, the snow gleamed like diamonds in the sun, it was as if the whole world had stopped. Lydia dumped a pile of wood inside and peeked on Stiles he was still grimacing in his sleep but was still out of it.
Lydia decided that she should try making it to the road to see if there were any signs of life. The snow was deep but thankfully packed in hard, she was able to walk across the top of the snow drift instead of it being up to her chest. She found her bedraggled looking scarf tied to the tree still marking their location. The road still hadn't been plowed but she hoped they would be soon. She noted that it was nearing lunch time and with only a little left over fish they'd be out of food soon. She made the decision that if Stiles hadn't improved by two she'd make the trek to the highway. It wasn't that far and the odds that people were cleaning up out there increased with it being a main highway.
She went back to the shed and let herself back in. Stiles was sitting up looking around with worry. "Where were you?" He asked and though he tried to sound angry his voice lacked the strength to make it sound that way.
"Checking out at the road and getting more wood. The snow and winds have stopped, the sun is out! They'll be cleaning the road soon and we can get help. How are you feeling?" She asked as she undressed from her layers and lastly from Stiles's boots. He smirked when he saw her wearing them.
"Well next time tell me I was going out of my mind with worry. Thought you might have been dragged off by those coyotes or something. That's all I seemed to dream about last night." She didn't miss him avoiding her question.
She gave him a small smile and handed him a bottle of water. He took only a small sip before passing it back to her. She felt his forehead and was alarmed that it seemed hotter than only an hour before. "You have a fever." She stated and Stiles simply shrugged his shoulders. "Let's get something to eat and I'll check the road again in a little while." He made to argue that it wasn't safe but he pointed glare silenced him.
He lay back down defeated as she tended the fire and unwrapped their remaining fish. He only chewed a small bite and pushed the rest towards her. "I don't want to waste it and I'm starting to think it might be making a reappearance, you eat it." He looked a little green and his face had an unhealthy sheen to it. She simply nodded and it took it without argument.
He fell back asleep after lunch and she made the choice that she needed to go and get help and she needed to do it now. She didn't want to think how bad things would be if they had to wait another day. She bundled back up in her attire, grabbing her trusty tire iron before sneaking out the door. She followed her tracks from earlier as they were undisturbed without the gale force winds, and reappeared on the road. Still no plows had gone through but she trekked on shivering in the still arctic air.
It took her almost an hour to make it to the exit ramp in the deep snow. It was difficult with her short stature to get through the snow that was often above her knee in places. The exit or on ramps still had not been cleaned and it looked like the highway hadn't either. She felt a sinking wait of despair in her stomach and feared her fish too might be coming back up.
She swallowed down her sickly feeling and decided to make a trek to the car to see if anyone had been there. The cold bit at her the whole way and even with Stiles's boots and her extra layers she still was already shivering from the cold. The car had a heavy layer of snow on it but nothing looked to have been disturbed. Lydia brushed the snow off and hopped into the driver's seat and cranked the engine. Surprisingly it sputtered to life. She flicked the radio on and waited for a transmission hoping one would come before she ran out of gas and her battery died.
Finally a ray of hope. "Crews are out and are doing the best they can to get to people stranded. Please be patient. Please try to stay inside and keep warm until crews can reach you. Emergency centers have been set up in nearby towns for people stranded without power. We will keep you updated." She turned the radio off just as her car engine died. She flicked the key into the off position and sat for a moment, feeling nearly defeated but knowing Stiles would be going out of his mind with worry if he was awake, and if he wasn't… she was really worried about him.
The sun was setting causing the temperature to drop even further. By the time she had reached the ramps to the highway she was numb from the cold. She'd have to collect more wood and she'd have to hurry, she didn't want to be out in the dark, the coyotes might be out again. She glanced down the highway and stilled for a moment. Sure enough there was a haze of lights in the distance. Someone was coming. They were saved.
She waited and waited and slowly the haze of lights made their way to her, but it was nearly dark by the time they were clearly visible. She turned her flashlight on her phone and began jumping up and down waving it wildly in the air in the hopes they would see her. She was drained of energy but she found enough for this. This was their only shot.
There were two enormous snow plow trucks, and it looked like emergency vehicles following behind it. She was crying so hard with hope and worry. Thankfully they must have spotted her because they veered from the main highway and made their way up the exit ramp stopping beside her.
She barely saw the driver of the snow plow truck as he approached her when John Stilinski barreled into her and wrapped her in a vicious hug. "Lydia thank God you are okay. Where's Stiles?" He asked her and she shakily wiped her tears.
"He's back this way, we've been holed up in a shed, he's sick though, and he got attacked by some coyotes yesterday." She whimpered and her knees nearly gave out as her strength finally wilted. He didn't miss a beat simply gathering her from under knees and cradling her as he and the driver helped her into the warm cab of the truck. The driver motioned for the crew behind him to follow him.
All Lydia could hope that Stiles was still waiting in the shed and that he was still breathing… she couldn't function otherwise. "There!" She yelled as they stopped only a short distance from the ramp. She had thought it was so much further when she walked it but by truck it only took moments. " Just through the trees". She made to climb with them but John put his arm on her.
"No sweetheart you stay here we'll get him and then we'll get you two someplace safe and get you both sorted out." She wanted to argue but she didn't want to slow them down. She simply nodded as she watched a group of EMS make their way to the shed. To her Stiles.
A/N: Almost there! One more chapter to wrap things up. Then who knows. Maybe I'll have a second one based off this. I've never written a fic this fast or easy. Maybe I'll continue on with this version of Stydia for a bit =) Thank you all so much for your kind words and follows… you all rock! As promised the "conclusion" for this will be up today and if you all think it's a good idea I might start drumming up an idea for a sequel.
