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She nodded in acknowledgment and treaded softly behind him.
The group traveled quickly. It was like they were familiar with this terrain. They had to be from somewhere close, but neither Ali nor Eli knew much about outside civilizations. At a closer look, they all seemed to be very fit and strong. His gut told him they were dangerous. He didn’t want to get into a confrontation with this group, and definitely not while Ali was with him. She shouldn’t be here, but she was too stubborn to return home even if he told her to. She was brave, even to her own detriment.
They followed the group of men for at least twenty minutes. The temperature dropped even lower than it had been that morning and flurries of snow started to fall. It added an eeriness to the air around them. He couldn’t recall the last time strangers had come upon their town. It must’ve been when he was a child. He vaguely remembered a mother and child seeking refuge after stumbling upon their town. They hadn’t stayed long before continuing their travels. Andus hadn’t been the sanctuary they’d hoped for.
“Eli, look.” Ali grabbed his shoulder and pointed in the distance. It was hard to tell with the snow coming down harder, but it looked like there was billowing smoke a few miles away. It could only mean one thing—there were more than three outsiders in their midst.
“We should head back home.” He was already worried about confronting three men. Now there was potentially a whole army they were at risk of stumbling upon. “This is too dangerous. We should get more men to come back to investigate. And more weapons, too.”
The knife he carried would only be useful in close combat. He doubted Ali was armed at all.
“We can’t do that.” She looked at him with disbelief. “We need to know what they’re up to. The snow is getting worse. It could be a full storm by the time we get back and ready to head out again. There’s no time.”
She was right. There was a good chance this storm would worsen in the next couple hours. “What’s the plan, then? We can’t just waltz in and ask who they are and what they’re here for. We don’t even know if they’re looking for Andus. Maybe they’re just passing through.”
She considered the possibilities. “We’ll get as close as possible. At least find out how many there are. If there are women and children with them, I’m less likely to believe they’re dangerous. But if they look like soldiers…”
“If they look like soldiers, then what?”
They were both quiet. Andus wasn’t equipped to handle an attack. Neither of them wanted to say it, but they’d be forced to evacuate their home. Eli prayed to God, if there was one, that this gathering was small and non-threatening. Small enough that their village could defend themselves.
It would be even better if they were simply passing through. They could laugh about it afterwards, how paranoid they had been.
“Come on.” Ali led the way this time.
They were careful to keep their distance from the trio as they headed south, away from the shore and away from their familiar route. It didn’t take long till they were on the outskirts of the campsite. They did their best to stay hidden under the cover of the trees, lying low on the ground. The snow did them a huge favor by reducing visibility. No one would spot them unless they knew where to look. They had gotten lucky.
“How many are there?” Eli asked her, squinting into the camp. By his count, there were at least twenty, maybe even thirty men.
“There’s got to be at least fifty,” she said with a look of defeat. “And I don’t see any children. It’s too hard to tell from here if there are any women.” She took his hand and turned to him. “What are we going to do, Eli?”
“We have to go back and warn everyone. They need to get out as soon as possible. Maybe…maybe we’re overreacting, but we can’t take that chance. If they move on, then we can return home.”
They both watched the group to see if they could make out any other helpful details. They were definitely armed. Many of the men had gathered in a circle. One who appeared to be their leader was yelling something indistinct. He had very regal air about him and he commanded the other men’s attention. They moved into some kind of formation, like they were getting ready to move out.
“They’re moving. They’re headed straight toward Andus,” Eli said in alarm. “Ali, we have to go.”
He jumped up and grabbed her by the arms to pull her to her feet. His heart was racing, and Ali’s shoulders were tense.
They moved as quickly as they could while maintaining distance, but the army had a lead on them. Unfortunately, they were positioned at the rear of the convoy. It was becoming impossible to cut them off or get ahead of them to reach Andus first. Ali remained quiet. He could tell she was scared and truthfully, so was he. The closer they got, the less opportunity they had to warn everyone.
"We're not going to make it. We have to make it, Eli. Our parents, our friends…" Ali turned to him with a look of frustration. A tear trickled down her frozen pink cheeks, and he reached up to wipe it away.
"This can't be happening." She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, preventing a breakdown.
"Stay strong, Ali," he said.
He took her hand and they started running as fast as they could, which was difficult since the snow had accumulated a few inches. He kept sinking and nearly tripping over his own feet, entrapped by the drifts. It was even more difficult for Ali who was a foot shorter than him. The worst of the snow drifts surpassed her shins.
A roar split the air and Eli’s stomach dropped. It was a battle cry.
They were too late.
He couldn’t see clearly through the trees yet, but it was evident from the noise that an invasion of some sort had begun. His heart crumbled before he even saw the damage.
When they could finally see through the trees, they both stood in shock.
The air burned orange with fire. It started small but grew quickly until the whole town was ablaze. He and Ali stopped to the side of the main entrance of town where the foreign army was bottlenecked. Screams sounded from inside Andus.
