Page 58 of Burning Escape

He dropped his voice low. “Who do you know with a fleet of ATVs and guns?”

Tori’s breath caught. “You don’t think?—”

“Yes, I do. Get those girls out of here. The militia is back!”

THIRTEEN

Orion hadto forget the fire line and get these people to safety. Just when he was beginning to feel like they were going to be okay with a raging wildland fire headed straight toward them, now he had the militia invading. With his Pulaski in hand, Orion jogged up the line to the other men. “Go back to the commune!”

The men and boys stopped and looked at him. With wet hair and faces covered in dirt and ash, they blended in with the trees. But it wasn’t nearly enough camouflage to hide from the militia.

“What’s going on?” Amos walked over. Abraham was right behind him.

“There’s a militia group on their way right now. I don’t know what they want, but it won’t be good. You need to get everyone out of here.”

“And leave you to face it all?” Amos glared. “We face the threat together. Like the fire.”

“These guys have guns. They’re not friendly. Go back and protect the women and children. You can leave?—”

“We’re not leaving the Refuge. I already told you that.” Amos didn’t look like he would budge.

One of the engines revved. They were getting closer. Abraham looked back toward the commune. “But he’s right. We shouldn’t leave the women and children defenseless.”

“I’ll do what I can to hold them off. Try to talk to them and figure out what they want. But you might need to fight. Find anything you can to arm yourselves.” Orion spoke to the group, but Amos’s mouth remained tight. “These are your people, your family, Amos. Go watch over them.”

“We’re a body for a reason. We don’t fight alone.”

Oh, he was a stubborn man. He’d have to be to survive in the wilds of Alaska off-grid.

But Orion could be just as determined. “I’m not alone, am I? God is my rock and my refuge.”

“Amos, the children.” Abraham stepped up to the leader.

Without a spoken word—but with plenty of displeasure in his expression—Amos left. The rest of the men followed, holding the tools they’d been using to fight a fire, now for a different purpose.

With that settled, Orion could focus on facing the militia.

He removed his sling. Why advertise the fact that he was wounded? He hiked the incline again. How close were they? The ATVs were moving in, the engines louder. Reaching the top of the hill, Orion stayed behind a thick spruce trunk. Three ATVs, each with two men riding, splashed in the shallows of the river, heading straight to the commune, but from the sound of it, more were coming from different directions.

What could they even want with a peaceful commune like the Refuge?

Could really use Your help here, Lord.

Amos’s words came back to him.

We’re a body for a reason. We don’t fight alone.

He really couldn’t fight them all off by himself. But he had to know the rest of the commune was safe and scope out the threat.

The smoke in the air hung heavy, obscuring his view. The fire roared close now, coming straight from the west. But the militiamen rode in from the north.

Six men, all armed and wearing various patterns of camouflage. Wait—Orion squeezed the handle of the Pulaski. That was Wayne Osborne!

They were heading straight to the village.

Where Tori was.

Forget trying to talk sense with these people. Orion spun and sprinted. He had to get to Tori, keep her safe. Hidden.

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