She's suspended in the air for a moment, her eyes meeting Wendell's and then she plunges to the ground, her scream echoing through the barn. Wendell climbs down the ladder to kneel at her side. He takes her hand and says, "You're going to be all right. We'll find a doctor."
"Let's just enjoy this moment," she says, her face breaking into a smile that pains him more than anything in his life. He kisses her on the lips one final time before her eyes close forever and her limp hand drops to the floor.
"You killed her!" her father screams. "You killed her, you no good bastard!"
Wendell runs. Once more on the run he doesn't stop until he's reached the safety of a forest. Only then does he allow himself to grieve for the one he loved and couldn't save.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" Molly asked. Wendell didn't say anything. He had failed Prudence just as he had failed Fiona. Her husband would soon be dead and not much later Reverend Crane would turn the water against all the settlers, including Prudence.
No, he could still save her. If he hurried, he might get to the encampment in time to warn them. It was a slim chance, but he had to cling to any chance at all. First, he needed to get past Molly.
She patted his head. "If you promise to behave you can come out of the corner."
He turned around and threw his arms around her legs. "I promise I'll be good, Mama Molly," he said.
"That's my boy. Now let's go outside and get some fresh air," she said. She took a step and toppled to the ground, the string holding Wendell's pants up cinched around her feet. "What's this? What are you doing?"
"I'm getting out of here, Mama," he said. He used the pants to bind her hands and then left her on the cave floor. Then he ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the forest and his one last chance to save the woman he loved.