Legend of Mace by Daniel J. Williams Page B

others of the same affliction. Men, women and children joined their ranks without hesitation. The power of suggestion was overwhelming as the crowd grew.
    “See those two coming towards us?” asked Marty as Stephen rode beside him.
    “Yep, they don’t look right to me.”
    It was a young couple in their early twenties: dirty, thin, and weaponless. They held their hands above their heads.
    “What do you think they want?” asked Stephen as he stopped his horse. Marty stopped next to him and a murmur went through the crowd.
    “I think it’s a trap,” answered Marty.
    Those behind heard the words and paranoia spread through the crowd like a strong summer breeze. The murmuring rose as people grew angry and anxious.
    “Stop!” yelled Marty as the couple drew within twenty feet.
    “We need help,” the woman said. “We’re starving.”
    Stephen could feel darts of fury speed towards him from the couple. “They’re part of the curse!” he yelled, sure of his assessment.
    “We don’t know what you’re talking about,” the woman said nervously. “We were just hoping we could join up with you. We need food. We’ve been on our own for a long time.”
    “To kill us in our sleep,” said Marty quietly and knowingly. “They want to join us to kill us in our sleep,” he reiterated to Stephen. “They’re part of it. I can feel it.”
    “Part of what?” the man said, speaking for the first time. He moved in front of his girlfriend to shield her from the mob. “We haven’t done anything. We just need some help.”
    The murmuring of the crowd grew louder. Shouts of disapproval could be heard. “Abominations!” someone yelled.
    “You want to kill us!" Stephen yelled rabidly, his eyes bulging and irrational.
    "You need to be destroyed, here and now!” Marty added. His face looked crazy and sadistic.
    The girl started to freak out, pulling on her boyfriend's arm as she tried to backpedal. “We need to get away from them!” she said. “We need to go now!”
    “You are abominations!” screamed Stephen louder as he glared down at them.
    The crowd started chanting, low at first but growing in volume, “Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!”
    Marty and Stephen squeezed their knees gently and the horses trotted slowly forward. The crowd instantly followed, continuing with the rhythmic chant, “Kill, kill, kill, kill...”
    “Run!” the woman yelled and the man turned and grabbed her hand. They bolted away from the mob.
    “Get them!” Marty screamed, and the crowd yelled in outrage as it took off in hot pursuit.
    “They're abominations!” Stephen screamed again. “They need to be killed!”
    The couple fled, terrified, down the trail as the crowd chased after them, screaming and wild. High pitched screams filled the air. The path was wide with forest on both sides.
    “This way, Joy!” her boyfriend yelled as he tugged on her hand. He led her directly into the forest off a small adjoining trail. They tore down the trail, stumbling over rocks as they tried to beat the trailing mob.
    “Kill them!” yelled one.
    “Rip their heads off!” screamed another hysterically. Running madly after the couple, their death and mutilation was the mob’s entire focus.
    “What do we do?” Joy cried, stumbling as her boyfriend pulled her along. He plowed through tree branches and shrubs as the trail grew thinner.
    “Keep going!” he panted. “We can’t stop!”
    They could hear the crowd rushing through the foliage close behind. Someone screamed madly, “They're abominations!”
    The trail broke wider again and other smaller, adjoining trails appeared.
    “Which way?” Joy screamed as the crowd closed the gap, screaming, “Kill them!” “Mutilate them!" "Destroy them!"
    Marty and Stephen brought up the rear on horses. “We need to track down all off them!” Stephen yelled, confident in their ultimate success. 
    Plaguers trailed a few feet behind as Joy tripped over a tree root and her hand slipped out of her