“Alright, you shit-eaters.” Logan’s boots smacked the mountain mud as he approached, “Today Crickett has a special lesson for you, so you’re gonna meet him at the creek down the slope. Double-time it, that way.” He pointed behind him with a thumb.

  “Last one there shines everyone’s boots!” Buster shouted, bolting off in the direction of the creek.

  For a moment Calvin and Teddy looked to each other, processing the challenge. Both of them sprang up, the others following suit. John, shaken now that Calvin had gotten up, blinked a bit. For a moment he wanted to resist the little game, but he let the playful part of him win. John shot up and ran after the others. Logan stood there, the cigar in his mouth trickling smoke upwards. He looked to Smallmouth, who sat nearby carving a piece of wood with a knife. Smallmouth simply shook his head.

  “Guess they got energy to spare.” Logan huffed, “I oughta work ‘em harder.”

  All six of the young guns threw themselves down the slope of the mountain, avoiding protruding rocks and trees. Calvin panted as he carefully measured his footfalls. He grinned at Teddy, who nearly tripped on a knotted root. Teddy chuckled as he slid a bit and regained himself.

  “Buster! You can’t just grab a head start!” Cal shouted at the clown who ran a few yards ahead.

  “When you catch me, you can do something about it!” He laughed.

  Down the slope, a grey squirrel perched herself on a piece of shale which had sat in the same spot for millennia. The ancient moss made a soft spot for her to crack into an acorn. This time of year, her biology was just starting to warn her about the far off winter, urging her to stock food to survive. Today, however, she would eat what she found.

  A rumble grabbed her attention. Looming figures tore through the peace of the woods, kicking up leaves and rocks as they drove on desperately ahead. The squirrels instincts screamed at her to scurry and flee. She bounded off, out of the way. A boot heel hit the rock she had been sitting on only a second ago and the ancient stone was sent free. The tall figure appeared to teeter over as its foot slipped out from under it. The squirrel hurried off as the giant crashed to the ground, shaking up the leaves and moss.

  “Oh brother…” Eugene coughed a bit.

  The wind had been knocked from him. The boys continued on, hooting and laughing. He tried to pick himself up, struggling a bit to regain his bearings. He suddenly found he had some help. Dorene helped him to his feet and brushed off his back a bit.

  “Let’s go! They’re getting farther ahead!” She flashed him a bright smile.

  The witches, bored of their studies, had decided to join in the race. Mavis hugged her broom, a genuine Green Coven article, zipping through the trees to catch up. Elise followed after, standing on her broom with expert balance as she flew onwards. She caught up to Calvin, floating alongside him as he rushed down the slope. Smirking at him, a cat-like look appeared in her eyes. Calvin admired her golden hair as it flowed wildly about. He then grimaced.

  “Hey! This is a foot race! Cheater!”

  “Oh like when you play Rock, Paper, Scissors, huh?” She crossed her arms, appearing to effortlessly fly on the broom.

  Calvin blinked, he had no counter to that. He had to chuckle. “I hope you hit a tree.”

  John bounded past them, hopping over a fallen tree branch. “You guys are gonna have to do better than that!”

  Cal looked to him, noting the smile on his face. He was sure John didn’t realize it, but he actually looked happy. This a rare sight to see, bringing a grin to Calvin’s own face. Cal watched John draw the pistol from his belt and raise it up. It went off with a crack as he pulled the trigger. The .458 Comet “Plinker Pal” practice round ripped through the air, into a hanging branch in front of Buster. The branch was freed from its tree, providing a surprise obstacle for the Clown in the lead. Buster had been Resolute. He saw it coming and broke to the right to avoid it.

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  “You dickhead!” He called back. He had lost much of his lead on them.

  John laughed, “Too easy!”

  “Two can play at that!” Buster quickly formed a shooting lane at another hanging branch above John’s path.

  He shot the branch at its weakest point, breaking it free. John, enjoying the challenge, threw out a shooting lane on the falling branch and shot it as it tumbled down. The branch was thrown out of the way, letting John continue.

  “Playing with guns?” Elise grinned. She was swept up in the excitement of the game, forming her hands together. To her mind, their shooting had given her permission to let loose as well.

  A spark of flame appeared in between them, the boys only partly focused on her as they raced. The spark became a ball of flame. It flew from her as it was shot from a cannon, landing in front of John. When it hit the ground it detonated. The explosive fireball was intense, forcing John to jerk out of the way. Glowing eyes wide, he felt lucky he had seen it coming in time.

  “Holy shit, Elise!” He sounded panicked.

  Buster’s hat brim was smoldering as he had been close to the explosion. He puffed and he pushed himself farther.

  Elise cackled with glee, shooting more of the fireballs at the Six-Guns in front of her. The explosions rocked the mountainside behind the Guns as they ran, tossing up earth and charred leaves. John, Calvin and Buster ran even harder, no longer trying to beat each other but merely running from the witch. John looked to Calvin, a horrified look on his face. Holding his hat to his head, Calvin bounded with him at full speed. Critical Moments gave the boys fair notice of the fireballs, who were able to avoid them with focus.

  “She’s lost it.” Shirley said flatly, straddling her broomstick.

  “Oh definitely.” Wendy chuckled, “That’s Elise for you.”

  Back at the camp, Logan sat with Smallmouth, studying his carving with a bored look on his face. It was coming into the shape of a bass, finely crafted by careful, patient hands.

  “It looks like shit.” Logan told him, puffing a little smoke from his cigar.

  “YOU look like shit.” Smallmouth didn’t even look up, “Smell like it too.”

  With nothing to do, Logan felt like instigating.

  “I’ll take that ugly thing and toss it over the mountain.”

  “You try to take it this one from me, Bootknife, and I’ll shove it up your ass.” Smallmouth pointed his knife at him, not having any of it.

  The distant booming of Elise’s spells caught their attention, the both of them lifting their heads. Logan looked to Smallmouth, brow furled in confusion. Smallmouth shrugged and both of them settled back down.

  Elise drove onward, firing off her spells. She loved to show off the incredible power she had studied. The other witches weren’t so excited about destructive magic as she was. She thought it was fun, watching the boys scatter to avoid the fireballs.

  With his inhuman speed and stamina, Uno caught up to the boys. He ran alongside them, shooting a curious look. John looked to him, eyes still bugging.

  “Yeah, we aren’t racing anymore!” John puffed

  “Oh.” Uno seemed unphased by the exertion or the fireballs. “Well I just wanted to catch you and tell you, you’re headed for the cliff.”

  “Cliff? How far?” Calvin gasped.

  “Well it’s right here.” Uno braked hard, sliding in the fallen leaves.

  The tree line opened up to a sharp canyon. Tectonic activity had split the mountain over time, revealing a dazzling prehistoric sheer face of stone. Glimmering blue-green water lazily slugged on over a hundred feet below.

  The first boys had no time to react, running themselves right off the cliff. Calvin felt his gut sink as the earth was swept out from under his feet. He careened down with a fearful howl. Buster, falling next to him, laughed with delight. Elise and Mavis whirled around, stopping high in the air above the creek. Teddy tried to stop himself but didn’t manage. He was caught by Wendy on her broom, holding him by his shirt. Eugene and Esteban both managed to keep themselves from going over.

  The sensation of falling overcame John. He was unable to hold his Resolve, his stall collapsing as he plunged into the waters of the creek. The impact on the surface was tough but the water was deep enough to stop their fall. His head tumbled in the water as his inner balance failed. He came back up with a gasp for air. Calvin panted next to him, chuckling a bit.

  “I… really gotta trade out my witch….” John looked up at Elise, who sat clapping on her broom. She grinned wide, amused by their dive.

  Old Man Crickett sat cross legged on the far bank of the creek, which was not a sheer face. A look of surprise was replaced by gentle curiosity.

  “That’s definitely one way to make an entrance.”