Page 39 of Thin Ice

“What should we do?” Snake asked.

Abby tried to collect her rattled thoughts. “The only thing we can do. Wait.”

“Let’s slip to the edge of the woods and see what’s happening.” Snake said. He and Victor headed toward the water along with Joe and Nick.

Abby dropped beside Brooks. “How are you feeling?”

He peered at her. “Not so great. I’m ready not to be on the run.” He stared at the fire where Kinsley warmed herself. “What about you?”

Kinsley shook her head. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck, but I’m alive, so God is good.”

Brookes chuckled at her words, then winced and grabbed his chest. “Truer words were never spoken.”

The car appeared to stop. Doors opened. Voices carried their way.

“They went into the water,” a voice she didn’t recognize said.

Please don’t let them search the area.

“If they went into that frigid water, they’re all dead,” another man said.

“Maybe. I’ll radio it in. See what they want to do. We can’t afford to let them get away. If Douglas manages to escape, he has a lot of followers who support him. This could be a game changer.”

Silence followed by doors shutting. The vehicle fired and left the area.

Soon, the rest came back.

“You heard that?” Victor asked.

Abby nodded. “We did. They’ll be back. I suggest we warm up and then keep moving in case they return.”

Abby glanced to see Brookes’s reaction. She hated that he wouldn’t have time to rest after what happened, but if they wanted to save everyone’s lives, they couldn’t afford to wait around for Legion to return.

While Brookes and Kinsley stayed near the fire, Abby took Snake and Victor with her to scout out the best direction to reach the road.

At any other time, it would be amusing how quickly Snake and Victor had bonded. They were as opposite as two people could be, and yet with the world falling apart, they’d developed a friendship that she believed would last beyond this nightmare.

The trees begin to thin. The road came into view.

Abby slipped to the edge and listened. No sound could be heard. The road was not a popular one.

“Do you think they’re close?” Snake asked in a shaky voice.

“I don’t know. But I don’t believe they just gave up on us being alive. They can’t afford to. You’re too dangerous to them alive.” She turned to Victor. “Which is all the more reason why we need to get you to safety so that you can tell the world what’s happening. More than anything we need your faith to bring us back to the country God wants us to be.”

Snake watched their exchange with curiosity. “You believe in all that God stuff?” His voice carried doubt.

Victor didn’t hesitate. “I sure do, son. If it weren’t for God, I would be dead now, and I’m not talking about what happened recently.” He paused for a breath as they headed back to the others. “I was captured by the Taliban when I served in the Marines.” He stopped, his voice heavy with pain. “I’d given up. The torture was so bad I didn’t think I could survive. I wanted to die.”

Abby saw the wealth of emotion in his eyes.

“Then, I heard God’s voice just as clearly as I hear you speaking to me, Snake. He told me I wasn’t going to die. He had plans for me.” Victor looked Snake in the eye. “I was rescued two days later.”

Snake eyes widened. “Wow.”

Abby smiled at the younger man’s reaction. She believed God was working in Snake’s life now to bring him to salvation. God had a purpose for Snake in this new world facing them. And Abby for one couldn’t wait to see what that was.

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