"Yes, I do. It's part of the game and Miss Madeline said I'd win all the…um…stuff," I heard Bobby say nervously. I could tell he was on the verge of crying.
"She's wrong," I said.
"Miss Madeline is never wrong. I know. She told me she was a noble queen."
From the edge of the darkness, I heard a whispered command. "Do it!"
I could feel the knife wiggle.
"Bobby, can I see the knife?"
"I can't show it to you. You're not supposed to see it."
Another urgently whispered directive came from the shadows; it was closer. "Now, you little shit. Do it!"
"Listen, Bobby. If you kill me, terrible things will happen and everyone loses the game…even you."
I felt the knife withdraw and Bobby came around front of me. "I really don't like this game," he said, handing me the twisted, evil-looking dagger. I gingerly took it. There was a strange sensation emanating from the handle and a slight tinge of glowing red to the blade.
"Sit down, Bobby. Thanks for not hurting me. You did the right thing," I said, patting the ground next to me.
"I didn't really want to do this," he said, crying.
Suddenly, Jackson burst from the black veil of night. He had a machete in his hand. I put my arm around Bobby to protect him.
A loud gunshot roared across the campsite, disturbing the soft guitar playing from the camp next to us. Jackson dropped the machete a foot away from Bobby and me. He fell facedown into the glowing embers. I jumped up and removed his smoldering face from the fire. Vonnie came rushing over and held Bobby.
Another individual whom I didn't recognize emerged from the shadows. He sprang toward me with long, deadly fingernails that tried to claw at my face.
I grabbed his wrists and heard a high-pitched girly voice.
"Die, Heckel. Just die, once and for all."
I recognized Madeline's voice immediately.
"Roger, stop it," Bobby yelled.
Sela came out of the tent, pointing the Glock at the assailant.
"Who's Roger?" I asked, trying to fend off my attacker. I finally grappled my attacker to the ground and pinned the wrists.
"Roger's my eyes and ears," Madeline said.
"Well, I say we put them out," Sela said leaning over him with the Glock pointed at the center of his head.
"Wait," I said.
Before I could ask another question, multiple gunshots rang out at the northern sector of the field. Men ran toward the commotion. Sela spun around and quickly crawled into our tent.
"Ah, that would be my little welcoming party," Madeline said.
I bent down screaming into Roger's face. "Madeline, we will end your reign and triumph over the evil you spread."
"Blah, blah, blah. Since my boy Bobby wasn't man enough to end things, I guess I will just have to do it myself. You can't find good help these days," Madeline said, followed with a high, piercing laugh.
Screams and yelling from the fight continued. "Come on, Heckel. We need to go help," Sela said, emerging from the tent with two rifles. "Put this poor soul out of his misery. Having Madeline in your head has to be worse than death."
I let go of Roger's wrists and put my hands on the side of his head. Immediately, he tried to claw at me, but then went still. He started shaking violently; his body thrashed from side to side nearly bucking me off. I could feel Madeline's power inside fighting to maintain control.
"Madeline, I command you to leave this man," I shouted. Sela stood behind me, pointing her Glock at him. Roger began foaming at the mouth. "Roger, stay with us," I screamed. Suddenly, his eyes burned bright, my hands flew backward and a second later, his head exploded. Blood and shards of his brain matter splattered in my face and hit Sela as well. A faint giggling trailed off into the dark. Madeline had no further use for Roger and saw to it that he wouldn't be helping us.
"Come on," Sela said, wiping her face. "It's over here. We need to go help with the fight."
I looked down at the sad remains of Roger and said a small prayer. A poor, innocent victim in this horrible war.Rest in peace. As I stood up, I looked down and said, "We will defeat your captor."
"Let's go, Heckel," Sela said pulling my arm while she offered me a rifle.
I turned to her with a calm expression on my face and said, "Sela, I think it's best if you stay here."
She looked at me as if I had sprouted a large clump of broccoli on top of my head. She gave me a sarcastic look and was about to say something when I took the rifle from her and said, "You need to stay here with Vonnie and Bobby. Your days of fighting are over for a while. I can't lose you or our baby." She was about to resist when Vonnie came over and said, "He's right. It wouldn't be fair to your child."
Sela put her hand to her abdomen and smiled. "Oh my."
"What is it?" I asked.
"The baby just kicked for the first time," Sela said with a huge smile on her face.
"See. He doesn't want you to go either," I said resting my hand on her belly. The baby kicked again. It was a wonderful sensation. Sela smiled at me. The baby kicked again.
"Guess he thinks I should go help," I said, kissing Sela. "I'll be right back. You go lie down in the tent. I'll take care of Roger when I get back."
Vonnie and Bobby started to walk away when Bobby turned, ran to me, threw his arms around my waist and thanked me. Tears streamed down his face.
"Tomorrow morning, we'll get together and go fishing. Would you like that?" I asked.
Bobby nodded his head and hugged me tighter. He then ran back to Vonnie.
"You be careful," Sela said.
I kissed her and ran off into the darkness.
Just as I got to the edge of the fighting, I saw Jack and his group of men ride over a ridge and attack Madeline's men from behind. It didn't take long to end the attack. About a dozen of her men surrendered.
As we went to confront the small group, each of Madeline's men burst into flames. They ran and rolled on the ground, screaming, writhing in pain. Several of our men went to help, but the white-hot flames incinerated Madeline's followers.
Silently, I said another prayer.
Jack came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. We stood frozen, staring at the remains of our men who died.
"Heroes and brave men," Jack said softly.
I nodded my head slowly, thinking of the widows that were just made. My determination and confidence to end Madeline were fueled by the loss of our friends. No longer did doubt find its way into my thinking. No longer did I feel weak or hesitant.
"You and I need to talk tomorrow," I said, turning to walk back to camp. "For now, we need to bury our friends."
The next morning, we held a funeral service. This one was the most difficult. We lost twenty from our group. We had become such a family over the past several months. It was nearly impossible for anyone to come up with words. Most people just stood there, filled with grief.
As we were about to leave, Bobby came up to me and took my hand. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
I bent down, picked Bobby up, and said, "Don't say that. You did not cause this pain and sadness. You did the right thing. You were brave."
Tears streamed down Bobby's cheeks. His lower lip pouted and trembled.
Sela rubbed his back. "Bobby, you saved Heckel. Your rewards are much greater than anything Madeline could have promised."
Bobby looked incredulously at Sela. "You'll know one day," Sela whispered in his ear.
"For now, Bobby, what do you think about trying our hand at a little fishing?"
Bobby cracked a small smile and said, "With you?"
"Of course. I spotted a good-sized fishing hole about a mile down the river. Do you think you can make that?"
Bobby kissed me on the cheek and said, "You betcha. I haven't been fishing since my dad left us."