Page 55 of Burning Escape

“This is my husband, Cameron. These are the two that brought me to Copper Mountain.”

Cameron shook their hands. “Thank you for helping my wife. What can we do for you?”

“We came to help evacuate the people at the Refuge,” Tori said.

Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Good luck with that. They’re good people, but they’re stubborn. They won’t leave. I spent all morning trying to talk some sense into them.”

A teenage boy in jeans and a sweatshirt carried a goat to the truck. Kitri opened the tailgate for him. “Thanks, Kyle.” She turned to the group. “We’ve got more animals to load.”

Cameron nodded. “You’re welcome to use what you can find, but Kitri’s right. We’ve still got more to do, and this smoke is getting bad.”

“How close do you get to the Refuge on that path with a vehicle?” Orion asked.

“You’ll never get that bus down there; you’ll have to leave it here. But you can get an ATV with a little trailer that I use. You’ll find it in the shed over there. Keys are in it.” He pointed to a gray metal-sided building by the barn. “The truck will probably get stuck but might be worth the risk to see how far you can get it.”

Orion and Tori thanked them. A few more kids—a girl with long brown braids like her mom, and two more boys—loaded bags in the back of their vehicle and barely glanced at their parents.

“Can you drive the ATV?” Orion asked Tori. “I think I might try to get the truck as close as I can.”

“Let’s do it.”

The Brink family left in two vehicles as Tori hit the trail on the ATV in the opposite direction. Orion followed her in the truck. At least the trail was dry. But it was tight. Branches and brush scraped the windows and sides of the truck. How he would get out of here, he’d try to figure out later.

Tori made a sharp turn around a patch of white spruce.

Yeah, the truck wouldn’t make that. And there wasn’t enough room in any direction to go off-trail.

He honked and killed the engine. Tori stopped the ATV.

“This is the end of the road for the truck.”

“You made it about halfway at least.” She lifted a couple of Pulaskis and shovels from the truck bed and added them to the open trailer behind the ATV.

They loaded chain saws and everything they could and took off. Tori drove. Orion didn’t mind at all holding on to her as they continued through the dense forest.

They drove until the forest cleared, back to the commune. Through the smoky haze, the chapel and dining hall stood guard over the sides of the community, with cabins flanking the wide grassy area in the middle. If it weren’t for the smoke clogging the air, he would’ve seen the river peeking through the trees. Amos and Hannah stood on the chapel steps, talking and watching over everyone. Except for a few curious glances, everyone moved quickly. Mara stopped when she caught sight of them.

“Orion! Victoria!” She rushed over. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t expect to see you two back here.” Amos walked up to them and met them in the middle of the lawn.

“There’s a big fire headed here. We came to warn you.” Orion offered Tori a hand off the ATV.

“Like I told Cameron Brink, we appreciate the warning, but we won’t be leaving our home.”

Orion wanted to shake the man. “Amos, you’re putting your people at risk. We have a bus and can get you all to safety. You can rebuild the structures. You can’t replace lives.”

“True. And I inquired of the Lord when we heard about the fire. We’re staying.”

“You can’t be serious.” Tori folded her arms across her chest.

“I’m always serious. And if you two don’t mind, we’re making preparations, and you’re keeping me from my work. If you want to help, by all means help.” Amos started to walk away.

“What are you doing to prepare?” Orion followed the man.

“We’re hauling river water and wetting down all the buildings we can, bringing the animals in.” He pointed to three men hauling up a canoe filled with water. They grabbed buckets and scooped the water out of it, splashing it around the first cabin.

“That’s not enough. We need a fire line. We need to remove the fuel that feeds the fire, create a protective boundary it won’t cross around the commune. We have to clear the brush and trees, get down to the mineral soil. You might have a chance if you do that, but with the timeline we have, it’s slim.”

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