Legend of Mace by Daniel J. Williams Page A

the moment. “Of course. That makes perfect sense. What does the rat think he knows?”
    “Take my blindfold off and I’ll tell you,” the man said quietly. It was the first time he'd sounded rational.
    Mace felt like strangling him. “Okay, stay still for a second.” He lifted the blindfold off the man’s head and waited.
    The man’s eyes were buggy as he stared at him. He leaned his head forward. “I know you’re not like him,” he whispered as he nodded towards Woody. “I know you’re one of us.”
    “Yes, yes I am,” Mace answered, continuing the charade, although his hands itched to choke him out. This was a waste of time.
    “It’s in you,” the man whispered.
    “What’s that?”
    “The knowledge.”
    It suddenly dawned on Mace there might be something here. He studied the man’s face for a few long seconds before he turned towards Woody. “Could we talk outside?”
    Woody nodded. The man yelled, “You’re not one of them! They’ll kill you!” He tugged fiercely on his restraints. “They’ll kill us all!”
    “I want to try something,” Mace said to Woody once they were outside.
    “He’s crazy,” Woody answered. “I don’t think there is anything useful here. At least we know how nuts they are.”
    “Let’s let him sit for awhile. I’ll come back. I’ve got a hunch I want to play.”
    “What is it?”
    “Let me test it first.”
     
    A half-an-hour later, Mace sent Jade in to speak with the man. His eyes looked wild as she entered, and he yelled, “Name, rank and serial number!”
    “My name’s Jade,” she said quietly as she sat in front of him. “Would you like some water?”
    “The wolf is in the hen house!” he screamed wildly in her face. She looked at him closely for a few seconds. “You can trust me,” she said.
    “You’re one of them! You’re trying to kills us! You all need to be exterminated!”
    Jade saw the crazy in his eyes and got up and left.
    A minute later Lisa walked straight to the chair and sat down. He stared at her intensely for a full twenty seconds before he whispered, “We’ve got to escape. They’re everywhere.”
    Watching him closely, Lisa whispered, “They read our minds. Be careful what you think.”
    The man blinked a few times as he processed the words. After a moment he nodded his head in agreement and said, “I felt them read my mind. I felt it.”
    Lisa smiled. Getting up, she said, “Remember, be careful what you think.” She walked out of the room.
    Mace approached the man next and the man looked confused. “Be careful,” he whispered to Mace. “They can read your mind.”
    Mace studied him closely. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes,” the man nodded. “I felt it.”
    Pleased at what had been accomplished, Mace stood up and unsheathed his knife. “What are we going to do?” the man asked.
    “I’m going to help you escape. Where are the rest of your party?”
    “They killed them.”
    “There was only the four of you?”
    “Yes.”
    Mace slashed the blade across the man’s throat. The man gurgled a few times before his head went limp.
     
    “They’re highly suggestable,” Mace explained to Woody, “and they connect with others through the infection.”
    “How do you know?”
    “He picked up that Lisa and I were both infected. He trusted us. I had Lisa plant a suggestion and he not only repeated it but believed it.”
    “That was your hunch?”
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s amazing. That could come in real handy if we ever face an assault.”
     

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    Stephen and Marty led the journey on horseback. They were traveling through New Brauns, TX on the Memorial trail. They stayed clear of the main roads so the curse wouldn’t discover them. 
    The evil-longing in the energy beckoned them. They needed to find the source. Most of their followers walked behind at a steady pace. They were focused and ready, part of a growing army of infected minds. Connections were instantly made as they came into contact with