Page 28 of Burning Escape

“I would think so. How’s the ankle?”

“Sore, but okay. Mara wrapped it tight for me.”

The sound of mewling stilled them. “Did you hear that?” Orion asked Tori.

“I was hoping I was just hearing things. What is it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe an animal?”

“If it’s a baby animal, there’s probably a mama somewhere, and I don’t want to get between them.”

A crack sounded, like footsteps on branches.

“What if it’s Jeremiah?” Tori whispered.

“Let’s get out of here.” He held out a hand to help her up from the fallen log she was sitting on. They jogged down the trail.

Footsteps and the strange sound followed them. Orion led Tori off the trail and behind a stand of spruce. “Stay down. We need to see who or what this is and if they’re following us.” He pulled out his gun and crouched beside Tori, watching the trail.

The sound grew louder. “It sounds like a baby crying,” Tori said, her voice low.

She was right. But it wasn’t the loud, lusty cry of an upset newborn. This cry was weak.

And another sound accompanied it. A soft lullaby being sung.

Orion put the gun in the back waistband of his pants. Anyone singing a lullaby couldn’t be too scary, but if this was some kind of trap, he wanted his gun accessible.

Coming down the trail was a woman dressed like all the others at the Refuge and a man Orion had seen a few times but hadn’t met. She was unfamiliar and wore a bundle in a sling, bouncing it gently as she sang. Orion watched a minute more. The couple looked worried. The man kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings, but they didn’t seem threatening at all.

“Should we see what they’re doing?” Tori whispered.

“Let’s wait.”

But the man must’ve heard them. He stopped and called out, “We don’t want any trouble. You can come out from behind the trees.”

Orion approached them, Tori right by his side. He said, “What are you doing?”

“We came looking for you,” the man said. “We need your help.”

“We can’t stay at the Refuge. We need to get back to our home.” Orion stood, arms crossed, facing the man.

“I know. And that’s why we’re here.” The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders. “I’m Abraham, and this is my wife, Joann.”

“You’re the ones with the baby. Josiah, right?” Tori walked over to the woman and smiled.

Joann nodded. “Mara said there’s help for babies like him. Is that true?”

“Yes. Would you like us to order those special bottles I told Mara about when we get home, and then find a way to get them to you?”

Tears ran down the woman’s cheeks. “I don’t think we have that long. He’s gotten more and more lethargic. He barely eats now.”

Abraham drew her closer. “We’ve tried for a long time to have children. Josiah is our first. We can’t lose him.” His voice faltered.

“You’re the answer to our prayers.” Joann’s wobbly smile among the tears tugged at Orion’s heart.

“How arewethe answer?” Tori asked her.

“I wanted to talk to you, but Mara told us you’d left. We followed.” Joann swayed, holding on to the baby, rocking him back and forth.

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