Page 20 of Burning Escape

“If we can get to the Brinks’ homestead, we can get that special bottle ordered at least.” Orion moved to stand by Tori.

“I don’t know if we can wait that long, but I’ll talk to Hannah and Joann.”

“Do you know where that homestead is?” Tori asked her.

“To the east of us a few miles. I’ve never been, but my brother has.”

“Have you lived here your whole life?” Orion asked.

Mara gently released Tori’s wrapped foot onto the seat of another chair. “I think I was four when my parents joined the community.”

Tori gaped. “And you haven’t been away from here since? No trips or school or anything?”

“We school here. I’ve seen a computer and phones. When the Brinks come, sometimes they show us those bits of technology, but everything else I’ve learned from others or from books.”

“Do you like living here? You’re not being held against your will or anything, are you?” Tori asked her.

“Sometimes I dream of going to school to understand medicine more, but I know it’s not possible. I don’t want to leave my family. And I do love this community. We all rely on each other. If I were to leave, I would be taking away my knowledge of herbs and medicine. The Refuge needs me.” Mara smiled at them, then packed the extra bandages in her small basket.

“But what if you could learn more to help them?” Tori was getting fired up now.

Mara sighed. “I don’t know. I’m sure it’s strange to you, but there’s something about depending on God and depending on the people around you that I love about living here. Do you have that where you are? Hannah and Amos talk about how godless modern society is.”

Orion and Tori looked at each other. Tori’s expression said,This one is all you.

“In general, they’re right. But we both work as wildland firefighters. We were separated from our team. We’d really like to get back to them as soon as we can. Will you help us?”

Mara’s gaze shifted to the door and back to them. “I’ll help you heal as quickly as I can. The rest is in the Lord’s hands.”

Tori rested a hand on Mara’s slim shoulder. “Will you tell that mother about the bottles? This baby has every chance at living a healthy, happy life if he can be seen by medical professionals. He doesn’t have to suffer from the long-term effects of his cleft palate and lip.”

“If it were up to me, I’d take baby Josiah there in a heartbeat, even if it meant leaving the Refuge for a time. But it’s not up to me.”

“You’ll tell her though?” Orion asked.

“Yes. But I’d better get you over to the dining hall for dinner prep before Hannah comes after us.” Mara helped Tori stand.

And Orion could hopefully scope out more around the commune as he helped haul water. The rest of the team had to be worried and wondering where they were by now.

* * *

No one would ever call Tori domestic.

She was better suited to rescuing people and battling wildfires. Or training people at the gym and helping them reach their potential. Yet here she was, stuck in a weird commune kitchen and surrounded by women who seemed to thrive on homemaking skills. Skills Tori did not possess. But she refused to be a freeloader, so she was determined to learn.

Tori pried open the green pod and pushed out the peas with her thumb the way the young teen on her right, with freckles and long, dark hair, showed her. Gabby had made it look easy.

Actually, all the women, even the little girls sitting at the table across from them, were helping and much faster than Tori.

“You do this every day, for every meal? Cook for all the men while they get to traipse about?” Tori kept her voice low. An older woman, Constance, supervised them all from the stove, where she stirred a huge pot, releasing the savory aroma of a fresh vegetable soup. She didn’t seem the type to appreciate that kind of question.

Gabby just giggled. “They’re not traipsing about. They’re working too. They hunt and fish and provide a lot of our meat. They provide the wood to fuel our boilers, and the water we use. They’re pretty handy to have around. And men like yours sure are nice to look at.”

“Gabby!” Her friend on the other side of her, with curly brown hair and a sweet round face—maybe her name was Rebecca?—blushed bright red. “You shouldn’t talk like that about a married man. Or any man!” She whispered and looked around like she wanted to make sure no one else had heard.

Constance called from the stove, “Back to work, girls.”

Gabby didn’t seem bothered. She swiped another pod and giggled again. “Well, it’s true. Her husbandishandsome.”

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