Birds chirped, wind rustled through leaves and whistled around burnt trunks, and squirrels scavenged for food. Nothing unusual.
“Evil lurks close by,” Calan responded, still peering into the forest.
Tori followed his gaze, searching for signs of demons, but saw none.
Nyla slipped her hand into her husband’s. “Calan is rarely wrong about these things.”
Tori sought the Spirit within.Danger.She sensed it now.But from where? Kneeling before Carla, she moved a curl from the girl’s face. “Do you see the angels?”
The little girl nodded. “Onafiel says to run.”
???
Thomas could only stand by and watch as Calan issued orders for them to split up and run in different directions. He whispered something to Tori—no doubt a location where they could meet up again—before he grabbed Nyla’s hand and disappeared into the shrubbery.
“I’ll go this way,” Tori said, pointing to her left. “You go that way,” she thumbed to her right. “I’ll find you guys later. Don’t worry.”
Clutching her children, Brianna headed off, gesturing for Thomas to follow.
He shook his head.
She hesitated a moment, fear sparking in her eyes, before she took off, dragging Carla behind her.
Leaving Thomas all alone.
Maybe that was their plan all along, a way to leave him without just walking away.
He heard nothing unusual. Saw nothing unusual, especially not angels or demons. Frowning, he lowered to sit on a nearby boulder to rest his weary feet, battling a vicious mire of emotions, and all the while wondering how it had come to this?
Then he heard it… the softest of sounds, the snap of a twig, the crunch of a leaf, the brief static of a communication device.
Someone was coming.
Leaping upright, he darted after Brianna and the girls, but they were long gone.
Minutes passed, maybe an hour? He lost track of time. In fact, it washimwho was now lost. Everywhere he turned, everywhere he ran, everything looked the same—burnt trees, shrubs, fallen logs, dead leaves and an occasional squirrel. Why was he running anyway? More importantly, who was he running from? He’d lost Tori and Brianna. Maybe he’d never find them again.
The thought sliced a gaping wound across his heart.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, arms, and neck. Thirsty. He was so thirsty. Yet he kept running. Grabbing his backpack, he attempted to pluck out his water bottle. His foot caught on a fallen branch. Down he went. He tucked his shoulder just before he hit the dirt, hoping to avoid a broken hand. Instead, excruciating pain shot from his ankle.
“Ugh!” Pushing from the ground he sat and pulled his leg toward him, then slowly turned his foot to the right and left.
“Ouch!”
Struggling to rise, he tried to put weight on it, but it hurt like hell. Sprained, at least. Not broken. Either way, he wasn’t going to get very far.
Reaching in his pack, he finally got that drink of water, gulping it down and cursing himself for being so clumsy. Some hero he was.
More leaves crunched in the distance, followed by the faintest echo of a human voice.
Grabbing a nearby stick, he rose and hobbled in the other direction, ignoring the pain. Whoever these people were, they probably weren’t friendly.
Leaves crackled. Footsteps padded.
Thomas stopped, preparing himself to be caught.
But it was Calan who stepped out of the brush. His breath was heavy, sweat glistened on his forehead, and his wary gaze looked this way and that. “Thomas, what happened?”
