Free Legend of Mace by Daniel J. Williams

cocked his weapon. “I ain’t going out like that.”
    “We need to go tell the others,” Marty said as he nervously searched the area for savage specters.
    “And then what?” Stephen jerked as something moved up ahead behind a car. He lifted the rifle and lined up the scope. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel the evil-longing in the energy. It didn’t come from the car. It came from somewhere behind it.
    Traces of fury shot at him like darts from the source, and he could feel them fight to get inside his skull.  Feeling the waves grow steadily stronger, he realized they would become unbearable if they stayed where they were. The energy wanted to destroy them.
    His heart raced and he fired two holes into the metal. Marty felt the waves near him as well. “We need to leave!” Marty yelled. “We need to leave now! Let’s get everybody out! Now!”
    “Where are we going to go!?” Stephen asked as he aimed the rifle all over. The feeling was everywhere. It wouldn’t stop.
    “We need to find the source and kill it!”
     

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    The crowd roared as Bowie and Crockett raced past them along the obstacle course. Built by Mace over the course of a year, it stretched around the entire compound, surrounded by large rolls of razor wire on its outer edge. Just inside the trench, it was used regularly by the kids to increase their physical and mental aptitude.
    The boys were neck and neck as they dove under the netting to army crawl through the latest obstacle. “Give it up, Davey,” Bowie huffed as he dragged himself through on elbows and knees.
    “Eat shit,” grinned Crockett as he struggled to keep pace. His head stayed down and he scampered furiously to try to pull ahead.
    They emerged out the other end of the net together and briefly made eye contact. As Bowie jumped to his feet he threw a handful of dirt in Crockett’s face. Crockett bent over and tried to blink the dirt out of his eyes.
    “You asshole!” he yelled. He shook his head then took off in pursuit. Bowie laughed as he headed for the mud pit next. The crowd all ran ahead, cutting through the Alamo to beat them to the next obstacle. The crowd was a little out of breath as they ran to the vantage point and found Mace and Roger already waiting. At the sight of the kids, Mace knew Bowie would come through any moment.
    “Watch this,” Mace said to Roger with a mischievous grin. Bowie picked up speed once he saw the obstacle and was now a good fifteen feet ahead of Crockett as he timed his jump. He leapt for the first rope that hung across the middle of the pit to swing himself across.
    As soon as Bowie leapt, Mace yanked on a piece of fishing line tied to the rope. The rope moved to the side and out of Bowie’s range. Bowie yelled as he frantically grasped for the rope and it slipped out of his fingers. He fell face-first into the mud pit with a splunk. The crowd was in hysterics as Crockett came upon the scene. Leaping for the second rope, Crockett easily swung across. He paused on the other side to grin at Bowie, who slowly dragged himself out of the pit.
    Crockett flashed a thumbs up to Mace before he took off again, heading for the finish line. Bowie stood up, covered in mud, and yelled, “That is messed up!” to Mace.
    “Teach you not to cheat,” Mace said in all seriousness.
    “How do you know I cheated?”
    “You always cheat. You need to learn it’s not just about you, Bowie, it’s about the camp.”
    The boys around him continued to crack up. A few rolled on the ground, holding their bellies as they pointed at Bowie. Roger looked around and was surprised what he felt. They were actually a pretty solid group, he thought. There was a camaraderie to them.
    “You do this often?” he asked Mace quietly.
    “What, teach them not to cheat?” He showed a hint of a smile.
    “No, the races.”
    “At least once a month.Keeps them sharp.”
    “Are there more?”
    “Where you been? Jersey’s racing next.”
    “What?